Recent News...

How's Lynn? 07/22/2008 Thank you for your prayers on Lynn’s behalf. They have made a difference. Her headaches have gone. For that we are extremely grateful. We are still waiting for an appointment with the neurologist, and are not sure what caused the seizure. Her doctor believes it is possible that there was a conflict between her fibromyalgia medicines which caused it. Today has been the first “normal day” since Thursday afternoon. You folks have been a blessing to us and we are at a loss for words to thank you for your prayers. You can join us as we pray that this was a fluke caused by medicine and that it will never happen again, and that the neurologist will not find any abnormalities. All the flights were made by other Christians and Earl was able to stay close to home, which was a comfort to Lynn. We only have a few more flights to make before we head out on furlough in September, but there is much preparation that still needs to be accomplished before we leave our Alaska ministry for 6 months. Our village ministry, distribution ministry, facility maintenance, packing, moving, prepping the vehicle, etc... God is good, all the time!

Update 07/20/2008 Lynn has suffered with a headache and pain in her left shoulder since Thursday night. The neurologist can't see her until August 12th They said Anchorage is busy too. They said that if someone cancels their appointment, Lynn will be the first they call. Her regular Dr. took a long weekend off. So we have to "hang out" and wait... at least until Monday. Two families have been a blessing to us in the area of meals. Meals fit for a cruise! Thank the Lord for caring friends. Brett Zurkowski from BJU took my plane w/ 7 people to Selewik in my stead. Brett will then take his team to Ft. Yukon late tonight. Praise the Lord for Brett being willing and able to help, because I'm not sure how we would have done it other wise. Lynn's in a lot of pain today. These teams have planned for months to help missionaries, and it would be devastating to them if they got as far as Fairbanks, and had to stop or try and fly commercially. I called the folks in Manley Hot Springs and explained the situation. They suggested that I stay here this weekend too. It would be a four hour drive one way, and if something happened, it would be four hours back. Lynn is not feeling up to that long of a ride on a dirt road either. Bro. Dave Crispell will be flying up here Sunday night from PA to replace me and help Ronnie Starr with Operation Saturation on Monday. I'm not sure how he got a ticket, but praise the Lord. Dave has been here numerous times during the summer to help me fly & minister up here. That will allow me to stay here in Fairbanks with Lynn. I don't think it would be wise for me to be away from Lynn for four days. It would be different if she felt okay. Thank you for your prayers. This trial pales in comparison to what others are going through. But we can attest to the Lord's goodness to us.

Pray for Lynn 07/18/2008 Friday morning. I (Earl) received a cell phone call last night from a stressed Jeremiah around 6:30 PM. He was with Lynn at Walmart and Lynn was completely disoriented, confused, and starting to have a seizure. She has never had one, and Jeremiah (14 yrs old) has never seen anything like this before. She had to be taken to the Emergency Room. I arrived at the store in time to ride with her to the hospital. As she came out of the seizure, she was in terror and completely confused. At the ER, they took a CAT SCAN, blood work, etc… looking for anything obvious. Nothing obvious was found. Jeremiah and I later joked with her that they did in fact find a brain By 8:30 PM she was groggy, had a headache, but was otherwise back with us. She was released at 10:30PM and I brought her home. As a testimony of our Lords goodness, allow me to share how He was so very gracious to us during this trial. First, Jeremiah was with her and acted like a man...albeit, a scared one. He usually would have stayed home while his mother goes to "Wally World". Second, Tammy Youngblood (a close friend) was the manager who responded to the "Customer in distress" call at Walmart. Lynn was so disoriented, she didn't know her at the time, but she was there for Lynn and Jeremiah. Third, an RN was in the isle when it occurred and helped protect Lynn as she went deeper into the seizure. Forth, someone else from our church here in Fairbanks was there and coached Jeremiah to call 911. Jeremiah is not sure of her name. Fifth, I wasn't in a village with Operation Saturation, hundreds of miles away, with no phone service, bad weather, ... God would still be God without these blessings, but we rejoice in these "handfuls on purpose". What a kind, loving God we serve. God was good to us when He gave us friends like those who pause and offered up a prayer for my bride. More later

Independence Day 07/04/2008 Greetings! It has been a challenge to our heart to watch the Lord work in lives. Rejoice with us as we rehearse for you just a few of His many blessings. Our last trip to Nuiqsut was different than other trips into Eskimo villages in the Arctic. It seemed very much like an un-religious village. The oil companies give large royalties to these native folk, and that might be a factor. Nonetheless, 6 souls received Christ! Others rededicated their lives to our Lord, and received the men from NC well. Our next trip for Operation Saturation will be this Monday (July 7th). We are praying for good flying weather and receptive hearts to God’s Word. We have replaced several parts on the twin engine airplane and believe we have solved the “stutter” in the left engine. July fifth is a full day of flying cris-cross across this large state, and over numerous mountain ranges. Please pray for safety. Our services have been well attended at Manley. This weekend will be a busy one. We wish we could enjoy the weekend with you folks. But there will be time enough in eternity! Right now, it’s time to work! Speaking of work, the paperwork is ready for closing on the larger hanger on the international airport. We’ll have to wait until we get back from Bible distribution in the Arctic to sign. But, then we will be readying for winter. Bro. Dave Youngblood and his dear wife and family have joined our team on a volunteer basis. What a blessing this has been! Their hearts desire is to take the online store and distribution ministry on and grow it! Praise the Lord. Put yourself in the missionary shoes who live in the Bush. All prices go up, but you have no means to raise your support. This innovative ministry cuts the cost of living in the Bush for missionaries! Please pray for the Youngblood family as they grow into this new role. And thank you who prayed that the Lord would send us some help! More later! Bro. Earl

Blessings & Battles 06/17/2008 Blessing and Battles We’d like to share blessings from this weekend. Our Lord gave us a special day this Sunday (6-16-08). We had the largest attendance that I know of at Manley. Many churches would blush if they had 26 attend the Sunday morning service, but for us, it was a “packed house”! It also represents about 50% of the population of our community! I guess it is all perspective. We were glad to share God’s Word with the 3-5 who were faithful through the winter, but it is indeed a blessing to see our number gradually increase as we visit house to house. We also were encouraged to have, what we were told was, the first ever scriptural baptism in Manley. Two teens trusted Christ at Bible camp, and one of the teen’s mother had never been baptized after salvation. Now the place where Earl baptized them was especially nice. Remember the name of the village? Manley HOT SPRINGS. We were able to use the hot springs and the tubs were in a green house with all kinds of flowers and grapes hanging around. What a joy it was for all! Thank you Lord! Check out some pictures at: http://missionaircare.org/site/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=1070 There are some battles we are facing though. Would you please pray for the aviation side of the ministry? The twin engine is plagued with “little” problems that has the potential of grounding us for the rest of the summer. We have committed not to go into debt paying for parts on the credit card, but we are in a tight pinch. Like everyone, our heating oil has gone up 300%, car gas 200%, and we have had to park our diesel truck because of the cost of that fuel. We drive to Manley (3 ½ hrs vs. 30 minutes flying) because of the cost of fuel. All this has tapped our work fund for the plane. We need an electric fuel pump ($1250), an engine driven fuel pump repaired ($800 est.) and we just paid for a fuel servo ($1500)! Would you join us in prayer, that our Lord will keep this plane from breaking down, and that He will provide the funds for these flight safety matters? He is working. He prompted one of the missionaries we serve to donate $1000 towards the repairs. What a humbling experience, but we need more humbling too. You folks are a blessing. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your prayers. Bro. Earl

All Work, No Write 06/06/2008 We’ve been working more than writing! But we need your prayers, so here’s a short update. Earlier in May, we were blessed by having a team from our sending church come up and visit us. It’s always a joy to have these men in our home and discuss what God is doing up in this part of the world. As usual, they helped with projects Earl doesn’t know how to do, or needs help accomplishing. What seems small to these men, is a huge help to us. They always take care of nagging problems that need to be done, but always seem to put off. Thanks Tom, Bill & Dean for several “hand full’s on purpose”! What a week! Earl spent last week in the Arctic coastal village of Wainwright. It was the first of eight (8) trips this summer into the Arctic assisting in Operation Saturation. Bro. Ronnie Starr and Earl flew a Cessna 207 and a 206 out of Fairbanks on Monday, May 26th for the four day event in this Eskimo village. A team from North Carolina sponsored the trip and handed out over 150 Bible packets which include a Gospel DVD which gives a clear presentation of salvation. Despite a successful whale hunt that previous day, many folks were at home and received us well. They even shared their whale with us! Evangelistic services were held each night, and we rejoice with the angels over the 10 souls who gave testimony of receiving Christ! Earl has been using this week to catch up on aircraft maintenance, home projects, and paper work. We are getting closer to reaching another major milestone for our ministry. Most of the major hurtles are cleared for the purchase of the larger airplane hanger on the international airport. Friday the 6th of June, we’ll be talking to the owner about a under ground oil tank that we found on the property. The current owner didn’t know about it, and proper removal & disposition is a must. Please pray that all continues to go smoothly and that our Lord gives clear direction in the next two weeks. Would you please pray for these trips out to these Arctic villages? Souls are being saved, saints are being edified, and the Devil is getting mad. This is a great way for you to have an impact in Alaska. Set your alarm for 4:00PM EST on your cell phone. When it goes off, please pray for Bro. Ronnie, Earl & Operation Saturation. You folks are a blessing. Bro. Earl

Here's the Numbers 04/23/2008 Some have suggested that we give more details regarding the hanger, so here you go! The hanger/office complex is expected to be appraised at around $370K. The asking price is $335K, but our offer of $325K was accepted ($45,000 below appraisal). We need 20% down, or $65K plus about $5,000 in fees. Existing tenants (in offices we won’t need) pay for all operating expense, plus some. We have very good reason to believe that we will bring in additional tenants that will also cover the entire mortgage. A Christian business has signed an agreement with us that will help a great deal on our heating fuel cost, plus they have helped us create a aviation fuel incentive package for potential customers who will park their plane on our property. Our good friends and fellow missionaries, Ronnie & Rebecca Starr, are planning on becoming part owners in this building with us. They are prepared to put 10% down if we can put the other 10% down with them. The hanger is large enough for both of our ministries to operate out of it. If the Starr’s ever had to retire, our ministry (Mission Air Care) plans on buying their part back. Our position is this. We have about $19,000 towards our $35,000 needed for the down payment. We need to raise the remaining $16,000. The risk, even according to the banker, is very minimal because we have contracts with the current renters to cover all the monthly expenses and most of the mortgage already. We understand this is a non-typical missionary financial need. Therefore, the likelihood of most churches helping out is unlikely. However, with the cost of aviation fuel, heating oil, and utilities going through the roof, we feel a little creativity is in order. We can give up and say “Okay Devil. You win.” Or we can use a little “sanctified common sense” and try other means. I prefer not to have to search out additional churches to support our ministry in order to survive. We don’t want to be accused as Israel of old was, when Jeremiah stated “For my people…have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.” (Jer 4:22) What think ye?