 December 2022 It is hard to believe that we are already entering the advent season. As we think about Christ coming, this year we are reflecting on how different Jesus’ arrival was than what was expected of the Messiah. Those expectations contrasted against the reality of Jesus resulted in many missing Him. We had expectations for what this season at Missionary Flights would be like and the reality is very different. In our last letter, we felt things in Haiti overall were improving. The reality was that things were going down hill. The gangs established a blockade that prevented gas and diesel entering the country for over two months. The fuel shortage that followed prevented supplies from getting into the country. Today, food is still scarce. The water treatment companies ran out of diesel to run their plants and cholera is now out-breaking throughout the country. The gangs are still blockading roads in the country and kidnapping people daily. Veteran missionaries are reporting this is the worst they have ever seen things. Many evacuated for their family’s safety. Many that stayed are keeping a low profile. Pastors are telling us that some of the Haitian Christians are turning to voodoo rather than Jesus to get through. Please pray that the Haitian people will find and rely on Jesus through this situation. Pray for wisdom for those in country on whether or not to stay. Pray for wisdom for those that have evacuated on when they should return.  Working together on James’ birthday  Feed My Starving Children cholera treatmentThis time of year we are normally sending lots of boxes of Christmas gifts for the missions. Due to the fuel shortages, many missions have delayed sending the boxes. Instead, we are busy sending water filtration products and cholera treatment products. As the fuel blockade is now broken, we are starting to see an increase in the amount of cargo that people need us to send. The Christmas boxes are beginning to come. Please pray that we will continue to have the pilots and the planes available that we need to fulfill these needs.  Packages beginning to resume in volume  MFI Hangar Banquet Each November, MFI hosts a banquet to celebrate what God has done that year and to fund raise for the coming year. This year, the theme of the banquet was preparedness. It was encouraging to hear stories from missionaries on how God prepared missionaries we serve and how MFI makes their ministry possible. For several years now, MFI has been refurbishing a third turbine DC-3 and God has made a way that we could have it operational by the end of next year. It is awesome to see God working to prepare MFI for the work He has for our future even when it does not look how we expected. Thank you for your love, prayers, and support as we serve at MFI. James and Sam Gabhart  |
| Family News Good news, friends, we have survived, not just our first hurricane, but our first two. Hurricane Ian gave us quite the insight of how hurricanes can look. It was quite the learning curve as a homeschool family to learn the balance between what we want to do compared to what we feel like we have to do. Forty-two days later, we got to put into action the things we learned from Hurricane Ian as we went through Hurricane Nicole. While in each storm we had some minor flooding, Nicole brought some new challenges to us – losing power for 19 hours. Jesus brought us through, and our neighborhood fared well overall. Learning to trust through the storms on a different level brought one worship song to mind most, “Firm Foundation”. The bridge of that song says, “rains came, winds blew, but my house was built on You. I’m safe with you, I’m going to make it through”. Those words brought comfort, especially as the winds blew outside.  Chris turns 12!   Birthday Celebration Day  Birthday Celebration Day November ends for us with celebration. James turned 40 the beginning of Thanksgiving week. Chris turned 12 the end of the same week. We are so grateful to be able to celebrate them. We took a trip out to Busch Gardens the week prior to their birthdays and had a spectacular day riding coasters and spending time with a dear friend from church. Having the passes we do has been such a gift, over and over, with spending time doing something different from our daily lives. It has also been such a joy to take friends with us as our guests. As we come to the end of the year, Sam is finding opportunities to take pictures for families. It’s a blessing to have a little extra income, especially with a decline in our regular support from some and the ever rising prices.  Prayer RequestsPraise for the winter volunteers coming to MFIPrayer for wisdom and opportunity for Sam as we prayerfully consider her getting a part time jobPrayer for the Christmas outreach activities at church and the families that can be impacted by themPrayer for Haiti and the missionaries serving there to have wisdom and safety as they do what God has called them to doPrayer for Sam and I as we seek to be good examples to our children in our walk with JesusPrayer for God to bless our ministry partners in their consistency to support the work He is doingMinistry UpdateWe are so thankful to all who are following God’s leading in supporting us. We are currently receiving $5,000 (81%) monthly. We need an additional $1200 monthly to be fully supported.Online Giving: www.missionaryflights.org/gabhart OR Mail Checks to: 3170 Airmans Drive Fort Pierce, FL 34946 Memo: Gabharts #2837 |
| Click here to download a printer friendly version. Copyright © 2022 Gabharts Flying By Faith, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Gabharts Flying By Faith 742 Forster Avenue Sebastian, Florida 32958 Add us to your address book |
"…Shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life…" Philippians 2:15b-16a