Looking Back and Looking Forward
2020 is almost at a close. Wherever you spent this past year, however you were personally affected, we can be assured that God has been with us the entire time.
Looking Back:
Joel – The first three months of 2020 were extremely busy with flying and preparing for inevitable Covid lockdowns in East Africa. When the Uganda lockdowns came in March, initially the time at home was a welcome rest, but the uncertain duration of lockdown was challenging. AIM AIR still needed to be ready to fly and received permissions for periodic cargo only flights. The limited flying meant administration projects, and lots of them. This is not Joel’s favorite part of what he does. The flight restrictions for passenger flights were lifted on October 1st and the busyness of mission aviation tenuously resumed. As with the rest of the world, AIM AIR evaluated how to resume operations while navigating health regulations and Covid testing for each region (Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, CAR, and DR Congo). With that many governments involved; it has proven to be an ever moving target changing almost weekly.
Remember when Joel went to the US last October to be qualified as Training Captain for AIM AIR? Joel is finally able to put that to use as our team-mate in Arua is transitioning into the Cessna 208 Caravan, meaning AIM AIR will soon have two Caravan pilots in Arua to share the flight schedule. This will be the first time in 5 years Joel has had another base pilot to share the Caravan workload.
As most of 2020 had AIM AIR flights suspended (and thus most of our flight budget suspended), we would appreciate prayer for AIM AIR’s finances. We thank each of you for your constant financial support for us personally during this time. THANK YOU!!! Thank you also for your prayers.
LaReina – Four new girls were accepted into the Girl’s Home in February, but lockdowns went into effect the week after they moved in. LaReina and Renee restarted teaching once a week in September, and we praise God that four more have been added to the group (for a total of 8!). A former resident of Hope House joins us to translate and encourage the girls, and Renee has been leading the art portion of the session (which is always a hit with the girls). In October, LaReina stepped into a mentor role as Renee transitioned into teaching the classes as well as facilitating art. We would love prayer as we teach Tuesday mornings. We don’t have a set program that we follow, but instead ask God weekly what the girls need to hear in response to the Trauma Healing class (we collaborate weekly with the Trauma Healing facilitator and choose a Bible story to further develop what was discussed). The Lord has moved amazingly through one girl who was able to experience deep spiritual healing in an area of physical and emotional trauma.
Renee Teaching at Hope House
Renee – Renee is in her Senior year of High School with Liberty University Online Academy (LUOA). She has been doing Dual Credit in addition to her high school courses and will graduate in May from LUOA. This is a busy season for Renee as she has been accepted to Liberty University pursuing a BA in English. She was invited into the online LUOA Senior Beta Club and is applying for scholarships and admittance into the Honors Program. In preparing for teaching at Hope House, she has from Saturday to Monday to prepare, and teaches Tuesday morning. We would appreciate your prayers as Renee prepares for this next season of life.
Ian on a trip to DR Congo with Joel on Thanksgiving morning
Ian – We seldom see him! He is in his Junior year of online High School with NorthStar Academy (NSA) taking all honors courses, helping facilitate a Bible Study in NSA, weight-lifting with two friends in the gym in our backyard, Youth Group … and if you know Ian, you know he’s social. He has found a passion for crafting wooden rings from exotic hardwoods. We would appreciate prayer for keeping all the busyness in balance.
Looking Forward
Joel’s 2021 flying starts January 5th. The next couple of months are quickly being scheduled out with flights to DR Congo, South Sudan, and a week-long Central Africa Republic flight. That being said, we are planning a short family vacation to Murchison Falls Game Park for a few days of R&R before hitting the ground running.
As a team, we are looking forward to welcoming two families to AIM AIR Arua early in 2021. In January, a Cessna 206 pilot is moving to Arua from Nairobi for a few months to cover a staffing shortage (we hope to adopt them permanently in the future!), and February has another family moving from Nairobi permanently.
Looking Forward with some Big Decisions:
We are preparing to launch Renee into university Fall 2021 and Ian into his career path 2022, which means we have some big decisions in our near future. This coming July will be eight years of living in Africa, and we have treasured each one (okay, maybe not 2020, but we remain thankful for all we have been privileged to be part of). We are prayerfully sensing that God may be moving us back to the US for a season. America is not the America we left in 2013, and we are feeling that our kids will need us close as they reintegrate into American culture, into university, and settle into independence. We were planning to return for a year for Renee, but then Ian graduates 2022. We are feeling we are not done with missions and unsure of what that means. Our desire is to be close to Renee at Liberty or somewhere on the East Coast, and with that we know God will provide the best direction. We know with certainty that God is in control over this time and feel His peace, we just don’t know what it means and want to be transparent with you. Please join us in prayer regarding this next season.
Above the haze sunrise out of Arua.
In His Service,
Joel, LaReina, Renee and Ian
