Dear Friends
This week has been a hard week for our staff and missionaries here in Nairobi, we have had two of our missionaries go home to be with our Lord.
Last Saturday we were hit with the news of a tragic place crash here in the city, news came that our pilot Frank Toews died in the accident, our aircraft mechanic Ryan Williams that was along for the ride was severely injured, broken hip and severe burns. Two passengers amazingly made it through with mild injuries and are doing well.
All week we have come together to support these two families, the Toews and the Williams, we have been blessed with a community here that is strong and has come together in this time of need.
Today we received word that Ryan Williams succumbed to his injuries and went home to be with our Lord as well. It is a hard day, Ryan was a good man, that loved his service for the Lord and had a young family, a deacon in the church here...and a crazy singing voice! He will be missed tremendously. Even from this short time getting to know him, and being around the hangar, it will be changed.
I write today and ask for prayer, for all our Kenyan staff, for our missionaries, for the Williams family and continued prayers for the Toews family, they each have four children. There is a memorial service on Tuesday for Frank, possible Thursday will be Ryan's. The extended family for their travels here, some have made it already some on are their way this weekend. Pray for all the friends and the ministries that these guys were a part of and how they will be missed.
Continue to pray for the passengers that were injured in the crash, that they will be able to see God in this, for their story www.giveadamndoc.com, that their lives will be changed. Rob, who is an unbeliever is going home to St. Louis today. The other passenger is still in hospital, should be released soon. They have and will continue to be blessed by God in their journey.
I ask for prayer, I have joined the crisis team, my capacity sees everything, including testimonies of the investigation, it is a hard time to process two deaths and learn how, I ask that I will be the one that is supportive as well to those that were really close to these guys, that God will grant me strength.
Praise God that these men gave their hearts to God, and their lives, a true meaning of laying your life down for God. These men are now in rejoicing in glory, oh what a glorious day it is!
Thank you all for your prayers!
For more information....check it out! http://aimair.org/ there is a link at the bottom of the page.
Check out this link for a video of AIM Air Pilots it truly is touching and a great story of what these guys are called to do. The link is on the side of the page.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Prayer Update
Check it out for further updates!
http://www.aimair.org/
Thank you all for your prayers!
Well it has been several days since the aircraft accident here in Nairobi. It is just so much to take in at the moment, our whole operations of AIM Air has been voluntary grounded and waiting on further investigations to take place and compiling the evidence.
Please pray for Ryan, he is the mechanic that was aboard the flight, he is being transferred to South Africa this morning for burn treatment, he was severely burned in the accident and they are trying to find the best possible treatment, they are also concerned with the timing and hope that infection does not set in. Pray for his family, and the kids.
Please continue prayer for Franks family, has left behind four children between the ages of 4-14, there is plenty support for them here but his parents and his wife's parents are flying in later this week for the memorial service.
Further updates are located here http://www.aimair.org/page21/page21.html there is also a link to the families website.
Thank you so much for your prayers at this time, this tragic event has affected so many more missionaries then those in the immediate area, the missionaries that are serving in countries around Africa have been touched in one way or more through these guys, and through our ministry.
I also got an opportunity of meeting the friends of the two passengers that were injured in this flight, this all adds to their story. They are here in Africa doing a documentary on poverty. They have a seriously interesting story, there is two Christians on the team, and Agnostic and a former youth pastor that is definitely against religion in all ways. The two passengers injured, were the former youth pastor, and a Christian. God has a bigger plan for these guys, please pray for Dan and Robb. The Agnostic, Tim, is a professional aerial photographer, there was no reason that he should not of been on that flight. There is a bigger story here of God at work, pray that these guys will see God in everything.
thank you for praying with us here!
Joelle
http://www.aimair.org/
Thank you all for your prayers!
Well it has been several days since the aircraft accident here in Nairobi. It is just so much to take in at the moment, our whole operations of AIM Air has been voluntary grounded and waiting on further investigations to take place and compiling the evidence.
Please pray for Ryan, he is the mechanic that was aboard the flight, he is being transferred to South Africa this morning for burn treatment, he was severely burned in the accident and they are trying to find the best possible treatment, they are also concerned with the timing and hope that infection does not set in. Pray for his family, and the kids.
Please continue prayer for Franks family, has left behind four children between the ages of 4-14, there is plenty support for them here but his parents and his wife's parents are flying in later this week for the memorial service.
Further updates are located here http://www.aimair.org/page21/page21.html there is also a link to the families website.
Thank you so much for your prayers at this time, this tragic event has affected so many more missionaries then those in the immediate area, the missionaries that are serving in countries around Africa have been touched in one way or more through these guys, and through our ministry.
I also got an opportunity of meeting the friends of the two passengers that were injured in this flight, this all adds to their story. They are here in Africa doing a documentary on poverty. They have a seriously interesting story, there is two Christians on the team, and Agnostic and a former youth pastor that is definitely against religion in all ways. The two passengers injured, were the former youth pastor, and a Christian. God has a bigger plan for these guys, please pray for Dan and Robb. The Agnostic, Tim, is a professional aerial photographer, there was no reason that he should not of been on that flight. There is a bigger story here of God at work, pray that these guys will see God in everything.
thank you for praying with us here!
Joelle
Monday, August 3, 2009
Pray for AIM
Friends, urgent prayer is needed here in Nairobi!
The following is a letter from our AIM Air General Manager, one of our aircrafts went down on Saturday afternoon here in the city.
Please pray for the families affected and our community of missionaries, this time is very sorrowful but all in all, God is our strength.
August 02 2009
An accident occurred on August 1, with an AIM AIM Cessna 206. It occurred around 2:30PM (EAT) near the Nairobi Wilson Airport. There were four people on board; AIM AIR pilot Frank Toews, AIM AIR mechanic Ryan Williams and two Americans. At this time there is still medical evaluation being done but this is what we know: The two passengers have some broken bones, minor burns, cuts and bruises. They are both being kept in the hospital for treatment and further evaluation. Ryan Williams' injuries currently include a fractured pelvis, multiple contusions and some significant burns. However, his prognosis is good and he is receiving good medical attention in Nairobi. Frank Toews, the pilot, did not survive the accident and has gone to be with the Lord and Savior whom he loved dearly and served well.
Please pray with us, specifically for the timely return for health of those who are injured, their families, and particularly for Frank's wife and 4 children as they trust God for strength and comfort during this difficult time.
We are trusting God, with all of you, to show Himself to be good, even beyond our expectations and understanding of what good could mean, in a
situation like this.
The following is a letter from our AIM Air General Manager, one of our aircrafts went down on Saturday afternoon here in the city.
Please pray for the families affected and our community of missionaries, this time is very sorrowful but all in all, God is our strength.
August 02 2009
An accident occurred on August 1, with an AIM AIM Cessna 206. It occurred around 2:30PM (EAT) near the Nairobi Wilson Airport. There were four people on board; AIM AIR pilot Frank Toews, AIM AIR mechanic Ryan Williams and two Americans. At this time there is still medical evaluation being done but this is what we know: The two passengers have some broken bones, minor burns, cuts and bruises. They are both being kept in the hospital for treatment and further evaluation. Ryan Williams' injuries currently include a fractured pelvis, multiple contusions and some significant burns. However, his prognosis is good and he is receiving good medical attention in Nairobi. Frank Toews, the pilot, did not survive the accident and has gone to be with the Lord and Savior whom he loved dearly and served well.
Please pray with us, specifically for the timely return for health of those who are injured, their families, and particularly for Frank's wife and 4 children as they trust God for strength and comfort during this difficult time.
We are trusting God, with all of you, to show Himself to be good, even beyond our expectations and understanding of what good could mean, in a
situation like this.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Thank you to my Fireflies and Stars!
Check out this article:
Copy and paste into a new browser...
http://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/2009/julaug/firefilesandstars.html
I would like to thank you all that have been fireflies and stars in my life, you have all made a huge impact on me, I am thankful for each one of you!
Love you lots and be blessed...Joelle
Copy and paste into a new browser...
http://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/2009/julaug/firefilesandstars.html
I would like to thank you all that have been fireflies and stars in my life, you have all made a huge impact on me, I am thankful for each one of you!
Love you lots and be blessed...Joelle
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Just good sense, or common sense!
Have you ever just said something and you wish just as fast as it came out of your mouth you were able to take it back and say it with a much softer approach?
Have you talked about someone and as it got belittling and as the conversation went on, more gossipy, do you regret it?
As I have been thinking about this, often what comes from the mouth, even the thoughts of others reflect what their heart is occupied with. If their heart has been hurt, then those feelings are going to come out in frustration and in a flurry! If it is gossip, perhaps they have been hurt by that in the past and know no other way of talking about someone.
Our mouth is a reflection of the state of our heart, if we are encouraging and lift up others, if we share the truth in love, reveal the overflowing joys and peace it all reflects our relationship with Christ.
The good heart will produce good words; the evil heart will produce evil words. Christ’s heart produced perfect words.
Fill you heart with God's word, prayer and love those around you, in good times and hard times! You will be better for it, and those around you will appreciate it!
Have you talked about someone and as it got belittling and as the conversation went on, more gossipy, do you regret it?
As I have been thinking about this, often what comes from the mouth, even the thoughts of others reflect what their heart is occupied with. If their heart has been hurt, then those feelings are going to come out in frustration and in a flurry! If it is gossip, perhaps they have been hurt by that in the past and know no other way of talking about someone.
Our mouth is a reflection of the state of our heart, if we are encouraging and lift up others, if we share the truth in love, reveal the overflowing joys and peace it all reflects our relationship with Christ.
The good heart will produce good words; the evil heart will produce evil words. Christ’s heart produced perfect words.
Fill you heart with God's word, prayer and love those around you, in good times and hard times! You will be better for it, and those around you will appreciate it!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Adventures of Mt Longonot!
Well Saturday morning started off quite early, ok...I was barely with it at 6 am but it didn't help that I didn't wake up until 5:45 am, without the coffee to get ready for a day of adventures.
Saturday we headed out to Mt. Longonot, about an hour drive just pass Kijabe, (where RVA is located) located in the Great Rift Valley, with amazing views of Lake Naivasha off in the distance and incredible terrain of ash, and lava pebbles made it an interesting climb.
Interesting fact: Longonot is derived from the Masai word Oloonong'ot meaning mountains of many spurs or steep ridges. The park covers 52 km2 most of it being occupied by Mt. Longonot a young volcano rising to 2,776 meters above sea level, the base of the hike starts at 2150 meters. The last eruption was in 1863
The trail ahead of us looked do able, we were going to climb to the top of the ridge, hike around the edge of the crater and back down. The conditions were unforeseen! I unfortunately have been struggling with the dryness this past week and my asthma has flared up, I thought hiking would help me in the breathing process but I wasn't ready for windy dry dusty ash blowing in my face. This trail slowed me down.
So about 600 metres later I made it to the top of the ridge and it was well worth it! The view was spectacular from the top, if there wasn't the haze, you could see forever through the Rift Valley and the inside of the crater was a dense forest. But this point the ridge looked like it was easy to take on. So as we all took a needed rest at the top and refueled on fruit, we set off to take it on.
As we were hiking, there was three peaks, that gradually got larger and my first thought was, do we know what we are getting ourselves into? The peaks were very much able to do, but we had six year old children with us! So our group started to diminish, no we didn't leave people behind, but some of the kids opted out. I unfortunately didn't make it beyond the third and largest peak, my lungs were not going no further, the dust was unbearable for me.
But that was the best part of the day, taking in the view, checking out Lake Naivasha, Hell's Gate, and trying to pin point where RVA was on the hill side...even SMS'ed my brother, said...I am waving from Mt. Longonot!
Looking back at what was accomplished, was great, we came back with dirt in every exposed part of our body, my hair was grey with ashes, everyone had dirt smeared on their face, it was just filthy after we were done. This picture is looking down toward the gate entrance, you can vaguely see the trail etched in the green terrain.
We raced back down the trail to the picnic lunch that we had packed, dirty as we were, all the food went down as we were famished from a day of hiking! I ended up with a pretty good wind and sun burn, but it was all worth it in the end!
It was a great day, with great weather, with great people!
Saturday we headed out to Mt. Longonot, about an hour drive just pass Kijabe, (where RVA is located) located in the Great Rift Valley, with amazing views of Lake Naivasha off in the distance and incredible terrain of ash, and lava pebbles made it an interesting climb.
Interesting fact: Longonot is derived from the Masai word Oloonong'ot meaning mountains of many spurs or steep ridges. The park covers 52 km2 most of it being occupied by Mt. Longonot a young volcano rising to 2,776 meters above sea level, the base of the hike starts at 2150 meters. The last eruption was in 1863
The trail ahead of us looked do able, we were going to climb to the top of the ridge, hike around the edge of the crater and back down. The conditions were unforeseen! I unfortunately have been struggling with the dryness this past week and my asthma has flared up, I thought hiking would help me in the breathing process but I wasn't ready for windy dry dusty ash blowing in my face. This trail slowed me down.
So about 600 metres later I made it to the top of the ridge and it was well worth it! The view was spectacular from the top, if there wasn't the haze, you could see forever through the Rift Valley and the inside of the crater was a dense forest. But this point the ridge looked like it was easy to take on. So as we all took a needed rest at the top and refueled on fruit, we set off to take it on.
As we were hiking, there was three peaks, that gradually got larger and my first thought was, do we know what we are getting ourselves into? The peaks were very much able to do, but we had six year old children with us! So our group started to diminish, no we didn't leave people behind, but some of the kids opted out. I unfortunately didn't make it beyond the third and largest peak, my lungs were not going no further, the dust was unbearable for me.
But that was the best part of the day, taking in the view, checking out Lake Naivasha, Hell's Gate, and trying to pin point where RVA was on the hill side...even SMS'ed my brother, said...I am waving from Mt. Longonot!
Looking back at what was accomplished, was great, we came back with dirt in every exposed part of our body, my hair was grey with ashes, everyone had dirt smeared on their face, it was just filthy after we were done. This picture is looking down toward the gate entrance, you can vaguely see the trail etched in the green terrain.
We raced back down the trail to the picnic lunch that we had packed, dirty as we were, all the food went down as we were famished from a day of hiking! I ended up with a pretty good wind and sun burn, but it was all worth it in the end!
It was a great day, with great weather, with great people!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)