It feels like we have been away as much as we have been home in the last few months. In mid-April, Sam got the opportunity to travel to Chicagoland and share at the 50-year celebration for an organization that had a huge impact throughout her life. Outreach was the community center in Carol Stream where she spent much of her time in grade school, helped her go to camp where she met Jesus, walked with her through traumatic events in high school, and helped her be able to go to college. It was great to be able to be present for the event and for Sam to be able to talk about how this organization saved her life to people who are supporting this wonderful ministry.
Sam recording her story for future promo videos for Outreach
MFI booth – Moody Aviation’s Missions Week
At Missionary Flights, Haiti continues to be an on-going prayer request. Gang activity is on the rise and people are beginning to be fed up. This is leading to people acting out against the gangs and then the gang members retaliating. Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti, that this situation can be resolved, preferably without additional bloodshed. Please also pray for the missionaries to have safety and wisdom as they continue to serve the people of Haiti and point them to Jesus.
James sharing in a breakout session for Moody Aviation’s Missions Week
Sam sharing in a breakout session for Moody Aviation’s Missions Week
At the end of May, Sam and James got the opportunity to spend almost two weeks in Spokane to be able to visit with supporters. It was a wonderful time connecting and updating as we were able. God also orchestrated the trip dates to align with Moody Aviation’s Missions Week. We were able to connect with the Moody students and provide encouragement as they pursue mission aviation as well as share about Missionary Flights. We were blessed by all the opportunities to share while in Spokane and our only regret is that some people were overlooked in our notification that we were coming.
In the interest of improving on that front, we are in the process of finalizing our travel dates for fall. We are planning on being in the Midwest during September and hope to be able to visit with all of those desiring to catch up. Those who receive our newsletter via email, watch your inbox in Mid-August for dates when we will be in your area. We will include the finalized schedule in the September newsletter, but if you want to reach out early and get on the calendar, please let us know.
Thank you for your love, prayers, and support as we serve at MFI.
James and Sam Gabhart
Family News
May was a busy month for our family! Two weekends in a row, we had mud runs. The first was with the youth group kids at Teen Missions on Merritt Island. Their Tough Gator 5k was a huge success for our kids. Chris and Abby ran it this year while Sam and Jonny took pictures. In Sam’s words, she wasn’t going to “punish” her body two weekends in a row doing mud runs. The following weekend, Sam and Abby ran in an all-women’s mud run in Tampa with the Mud Girl. They had such a great time doing that this year that they have tickets to do it again next year. These events are such fun and truly show the progress everyone has been making with becoming stronger!
Chris and Abby at Tough Gator
Sam and Abby post run at Mud Girl
Summer is arriving at Growing Minds Academy, the name of our school. This summer brings us the joy of sharing that Jonny is officially moving on to high school work come fall! This feels huge to us, and truly is an achievement for him. For those unfamiliar with Jonny’s challenges, he battles reading disabilities, as well as learning delays, as a byproduct of his primary disorder, Neurofibromatosis type 1. Also, this next year we will officially have two middle school kids – Chris and Abby met their milestones of moving onto 7th and 6th grade work. As their parents, we are so excited about the next steps as we continue to meet them academically, persevere with them, and to challenge them too. We are so proud of them!
Jonny with his 8th grade completion certificate
Chris and Abby at Tough Gator
This summer also has a lot in store for our kids. First up is youth camp for our boys. The first full week in June, they are off to Student Life Camp with our youth group. Shortly after that will be our church’s High Power Sports Camp and then Vacation Bible School. Summer though won’t be all spent at church. We do want to check out some new beaches we haven’t been to yet, as well as focus on, as a family, finding what truly refreshes our souls so we can start the next school year off well.
Prayer Requests
- Prayer for people to fill the open positions at Missionary Flights (Director of Development, Marketing, and Warehouse Assistant)
- Prayer for opening of doors for us to share the ministry opportunity with new people
- Prayer for the full summer schedule – the ability to participate in the activities as well as the margin to rest around them (in short, a balanced summer)
- Prayer for Haiti and the continued turmoil, kidnappings, and hurting hearts and for wisdom and safety for the missionaries continuing to serve there
- Prayer for God to bless our ministry partners in their consistency to support the work He is doing
Ministry Update
We are so thankful to all who are following God’s leading in supporting us. We are currently receiving $5,500 (93%) in monthly commitments. We need an additional $400 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