We Are All Living In A Different World

How the world has changed since our last blog! And how the world continues to change as I write this post.

A few bullet-points to bring you up-to-speed on ministry in the midst of COVID-19:

Keith & Karen

• Karen and I are fine. At this point many of you are under more severe restrictions than we are in Alamance County, North Carolina. As of Friday, there are two confirmed cases of the virus in our county.

• As of this post, we are not under stay-at-home orders though all the other hygene/health related recommendations requirements you're already very familiar with wherever you live are in place. While downtown Graham is yet to be a ghost-town, my office is pretty much an isolation chamber. Karen and I talked about it over the weekend and, at this point, there continues to be advantages to me going in to the office. Should the number of viral cases spike, I'll put myself in a work-from-home mode. If the State doesn't do it first.

• Our Spring newsletter, soon to be distributed, was created prior to COVID-19 going critical so it will focus on ministry updates as if the world had not changed.

Look for us on the cover of our next newsletter mailing!

Ministry

• We continue to fulfill our ministry responsibilities as before. The nature of our work being relational in nature, administrative in form, and personal instead of mechanical, the partnership coaching and training process continues even in this environment. Especially now our skills are needed more than ever for everyone living on faith support. 

• As of this morning, MMS Aviation has closed their hangar doors for the duration of this crisis. Actually, Karen's and my work load may very well increase as the hangar load decreases. Raising support and maintaining support, has never been more challenging in this generation of missionary work.

MMS Maintenance Team Leader Mike Dunkley repairs a missionary aircraft prior to hangar shut-down.

Prayers

• Prayers that God's people will be a source of calm and confidence in a sea of panic
• That relationships with our neighbors will grow as we reflect Christ in a time of focused intimacy in local isolation.
• For contentment in the moment, grace to fill our hearts, and open hands with which to freely give.
• Praise that Karen and I can fulfill our ministry responsibilities from the office or from home.
• Wisdom as we coach, train, and encourage our missionaries in this new context of relational development and personal connection.

Thank you for your continued faithfulness in this difficult time. Be assured we're still at work, expanding God's Kingdom, regardless of COVID-19 or any other challenge this world can throw at us. 

And YOU are the ones MAKING OUR CONTINUED SERVICE POSSIBLE!

Back in the Saddle with MMS Aviation

Here's our first official blog on what we're up to since our return to service with MMS Aviation!

Sunrise behind our hangar facility in Coshocton, OH.

I'm currently coaching two families in partnership development: the Wagners (70% supported) and the Cleators (10% supported). Two other families I'd previously coached have reached full support and have moved/will soon move to Coshocton to begin ministry.

I'm overseeing the application process of a family from Virginia, a young man from Ohio, and a young lady from Texas. I'm also focused on candidate development with people from Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and have established primary mobilization relationships with twenty other families/individuals at various stages of exploring possible service with MMS. Two MMS staff families are also using us for partnership training and coaching.

Using technology to train and coach missionaries around the US and the world from our little office in downtown Graham, NC.

Karen stays busy developing spreadsheets for me, taking care of initial data and contact organization, picks up all my loose ends, is training the personnel we coach in the use specialized donor management software, and is working with MMS leadership to explore options for the mission's next integrated financial software package. Not only that, she's Mom's primary means of transportation and acts as her medical advocate. She also assists our neighbor with walking her dog, infant twins, and three year old.

Karen and friends out for a walk in our neighborhood.

In the hangar, our mechanics and apprentices are maintaining, modifying, and repairing seven different missionary aircraft for six different ministries.  We'll travel up to MMS next week for three days of meetings.

Missionary aircraft in Hangar C

Thanks for walking with us through your friendship, encouragement, love, prayers and financial partnership. 

To be part of our lives and this ministry, Click Here!

Mom, Karen, Lynette (my sister), and me.

Backyard Christmas Birds: 2019

 Eastern Bluebird

 White-throated Sparrow

 Chickadee

 Carolina Wren

 White-breasted Nuthatch

Northern Cardinal

Brown-headed Nuthatch

BIG NEWS: Back to the Future with MMS Aviation!

Faithful blog-followers, get ready for some BIG NEWS...we've returned to service with MMS Aviation! Here's our latest newsletter and a letter from MMS with all the details!

How's that for some news in a newsletter! Please note the new donation portals on the blog and if you'd like to test technology CLICK HERE to go directly to our MMS Aviation donation page!

Thank you for being part of our team and our ministry family!