Beauty in the Basics

Every now and then, when life gets really busy or we find ourselves especially taxed we like to get back to the basics. In our home we have a list of weekly goals or values we like to prioritize.  Things like quiet times, exercise, date-night, lesson or teaching time with our kids, and house cleaning are the things that make us feel right. When life gets crazy sometimes these things can fall out of balance or out of their proper place.  When we find this happening Jess will pull out our little dry-erase board and we make sure to block about specific time for the things that matter most to us.  This week, we did just that and suddenly we feel lighter, more focused and even happier.

One of the things that makes date-night special is the couple’s devotional we are going through from the author of Sacred Marriage.  This week we were reminded that our each of us who is married is responsible and accountable to the ultimate Father-in-law: God himself.   We were challenged to consider if we were treating our spouse as well as our Father-in-law expects.  The main thrust of the devotion hinged upon a healthy fear-of-the-Lord.  Would we speak that way toward our spouse if we knew our Father-in-law was listening?  Would we be as lazy or apathetic in our treatment of our spouse of we were mindful that God reads our thoughts?  

We are in a particularly busy (I like to say “full”) season of life. Support raising is going well.  We are blessed and encouraged as even more people have joined our support team. (Thank you, friends!) We are still praying for around $3000 in monthly support.  Partnerships in any dollar amount are exciting because we love knowing that people are excited about the work we’ll be doing with MAF and that they will be praying.  Prayer partners truly are the glue that will hold us together when we are overseas.  We thank our partners, even now, for being faithful in prayer.  

This weekend we are hosting an informational meeting at our church.  We will be sharing the vision for the work we will be doing with MAF.  The meeting is at 12:30 this Sunday in the Loft at Summit Christian Church.  If you are local, please consider joining us.  

May you each be blessed beyond belief this week.

Love in Christ,
The Vana Fam 

Overwhelmed…

There aren’t words to express the gratitude and blessing that we feel as a result of the families who have already reached out and offered to financially support us when we join MAF. It is simply amazing to receive emails, texts, phone calls, and comments on our blog in which people are excited to partner with the work that God is doing. It is humbling to see the generosity of you all. We do not deserve any of this and we recognize that it is simply the grace of God. Thank you so very much!

Here is a little update on where we are at with support raising…

• $4,160 – has been committed to our monthly expenses and there are a few others who have said that they want to give and will give us an amount soon. That leaves us with $3,440 left to raise for our monthly expenses.
• $30,160 – has been committed to our one-time outgoing expense!!! That is amazing!!! We have $9,840 remaining with our one-time outgoing!

Come to think of it. “Overwhelmed” can hardly describe our feelings. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

In other news, we want to invite anyone who wants to hear more about what we will be doing with MAF. On Sundays November 3rd and 10th, we will be hosting a meeting at Summit Christian Church immediately following the 11:15 service. The meeting will take place in Base Camp, the children’s service room. We will share a little about how God called us to Aviation Missionary work, what we will be doing as missionary pilot/mechanics with MAF, and how you can keep up with us on all of our adventures! If you want to hear more about what we will be doing, please join us on November 3rd or 10th after the 11:15 service in Base Camp. Refreshments will be served!

Lastly, we are looking forward to arrival of Jessica’s book, “Adelina Aviator.” We will be receiving the books on November 11th! You can pre-order “Adelina Aviator” here. Feel free to check out our web-site http://mksrock.com. The vision is to support and encourage to MK’s (missionary kids) and their families in a variety of ways. Check out the site and tell us what you think! 

God bless you each and all!  Here’s to a grand adventure in the Lord, for each of us!

October Fun…

October has already been a great month and we are barely half-way through!!! We celebrated my Dad’s 60th birthday up in Truckee, CA. Phil’s whole family came out to be together and celebrate the patriarch of the family. This last weekend we celebrated the marriage of our dear friends, Ryan and Hannah Sexton. The joining of two lives into one is always such fun, especially as it reminds us of the joyful wedding that awaits for Christ and His bride, the Church!

We also got to visit Apple Hill in Placerville, CA and have all sorts of fun as a family. We have made some new friends with a family up the street. There are three children, Angel (11), Bianca (7), and Natalia (6). They are extremely sweet and like to play with Adelina. They have come to our door numerous times in the past few days and practically begged to play with Adelina. They also love being around Jessica because she makes even the most mundane tasks fun!

We continue to press forward while making the most of each day. Thank you for keeping up with us! God bless.

 

The Grace of Giving

I (Jess) am enjoying a fantastic women’s Bible study at my church on Wednesday mornings.  This week in my reading we were reminded about Paul’s exhortation to grow in the grace of giving (2 Corinthians 8:7).  We were encouraged, even if we’ve been tithing and giving to God’s kingdom for many years to continue our growth in this area.  And then, we were reminded of all the promises united with this grace of giving. In our current season of life, I am praying about new ways to give.  I am hungry to draw close to my Savior’s heart as I continue to grow in this grace – especially when no one is looking.  I know in doing so my Father will see, be blessed and be glorified.   I long to be with Him, heart and soul, in all I do – most especially when it’s just Him and me.

Last week we sent out support letters to friends and family, many of whom follow this blog.  In just one week we have seen God’s crazy goodness.  Over three hundred dollars has been pledged this week toward our monthly support needs and fifteen hundred dollars pledged toward our outgoing support needs. Amazing.  Humbling.  Encouraging.

To me, what those dollars represent are three very cool things:

1.  People are excited and motivated to see lost souls redeemed and healed by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

2.  People are entrusting and commissioning us in this work by offering their support.  

3. People are willing to make sacrificial lifestyle changes because of their love for and knowledge of their Savior.  

These are only some of the most beautiful and radical sentiments ever.

As we pray together, please pray for our remaining monthly and outgoing support to come in swiftly and surely.  We are ready to get to work!  We currently need $3,470 in monthly support and $15,000 for our one time outgoing support.  It’s an elephant, to be sure but we know we can eat this baby one bite at a time. If you are interested in joining our support team and would like to know how and where to begin sending support, please give us a call, send us an email, read our last blog post, or click on the “support” page on this website.  

What a gift it is to know the riches of His grace and to walk with you, precious friends and family, as we grow in the grace of sharing His love with others.