When You're Not Working, You're....

...having pancake potlucks, remote control car races, and getting letters from loved ones!

Our pancake chefs....EXCELLENT!

Sam takes on a fellow mechanic in remote-control car races...and loses :)

Painfully long laps for the girls :)

Letters from Mom and Dad!

When Things Culminate...

"Hard to believe this day was finally here!! The names collected, from many who are excited about the journey that is ahead! How amazing to be putting together our first mailing. Thankful to the Lord for His faithfulness and for this time with you all." 

-Written by an MAF classmate on what it felt like to send out our MAF acceptance letters to all our friends today.

Stuffing envelopes with our ACCEPTANCE LETTERS!!!

Breath of Fresh Air...

After days of workworkworkwork and living and breathing workworkworkwork, it was so refreshing to get off campus for awhile and eat dinner with our Ministry Partnership Coach, Teresa Dickson, and her husband Rick (who happens to be on our candidacy committee and is the MAF Regional Director for Haiti!).  How FUN and what sweet fellowship to share laughs, but also hear their hearts for missions and see pictures of how they lived and worked overseas driven by a genuine love for God.

Switching from Proclaim to MAF!

If you aren't on our email list:


Hi Friends!

We are officially Mission Aviation Fellowship staff!  We are impressed with MAF's determination to reach isolated people groups so they can be physically and spiritually transformed.  We are also impressed with their professionalism and drive for excellence in aviation as MAF staff does their work as unto the Lord.

Next Friday, we will be sending out our FIRST MAF newsletter, a letter of acceptance from our President John Boyd, and financial partnership slips for MAF!  If you have partnered with us through Proclaim, you can stop financial donations there and continue with MAF by sending in their form once you get it in the mail.  We are SO grateful for you who are committed with us to reaching the neglected reaches of the earth for God's glory!

PLEASE take 1 minute and 31 seconds to see where your dollars and prayers are going by checking out MAF's Impact 2011 video!

MAF Impact 2011

We love you all and have loved this crazy journey of "Until the last one has heard"!  

Sam and Anna

If you would like to be removed from our mailing list, please let us know!

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us 

so that 

your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations."  Psalm 67:1-2

A Tour If You Please...

Come along on a quick tour of MAF!

Main Office right outside our temporary housing.

Temporary housing complexes.  See our van?  Now we'll span to the right....

Still see our van?  Main office.....keep spanning right....

The hangar

Odd spools of who knows what in MAF's neighbor's yard 

Temporary housing, main office, hangar 

Creatures in MAF's OTHER neighbor's yard 

Happy Saturday Afternoon from MAF!

Disaster Response...

Yesterday we heard from John Woodberry, MAF's Disaster Response Manager.  He shared on MAF's disaster responses to Haiti, Aceh, Bangladesh, and others.   His team is on 24/7 alert to global disasters and determines how and when to effectively carry out response.  They have various "go-kits" that are pre-packed to grab and quickly respond to various disasters.  There are different types of go-kits: personal, office, PR, aviation, etc.  He unpacked one to show our class and it included things such as a SAT phone, GATR ball, packaged goods, katadyn filter, travel printer, travel solar panels, electrolytes, cell-phone, tent, mattress, and "rocket-chocolate" (highly caffeinated chocolates).  I appreciated his distinction between disaster relief and rehabilitation (the point at which relief ends and the national community rebuilds itself).  Check out the following videos on Haiti and Kenya:

MAF Disaster Response in Haiti

MAF Response in Kenya

John Woodberry, MAF's Disaster Response Manager

Learning about MAF's programs...

Between yesterday and today, we (and the 10 other families in Candidacy) have learned about MAF as an organization, their foundational beliefs (which we hold!), and their programs in Haiti, Central Asia, and Africa.  Most of the presentations are with the regional directors in person, but thanks to technology, we were able to learn about the Africa program by skyping with their regional director.  Tomorrow is Indonesia and Latin America.  Tonight we all had a pizza night with the Central Asia regional director and former missionaries.  The work in each program is cutting edge using aviation to be the hands and feet for Christ to isolated people groups.  This is an incredible organization with a genuine heart bringing physical and spiritual transformation and healing to the otherwise neglected.

Badges to enter the building for a "Welcome lunch".

Welcome lunch to meet staff

Pizza dinner with Central Asia team

Candidacy with MAF...

We moved into our new one-bedroom pad at MAF headquarters in Nampa, ID for the month.  Candidacy starts tomorrow!

Elaina's bed in our closet

Sawyer's bed in our closet

CORRECTION DANFORTH ADDRESS

Disregard the earlier post for our address.  Our correct address until the beginning of February will be:

Danforth
PO Box 47
Nampa, ID
83653