Christmas Special

This Christmas:

Dear Friend,                                                                                                  December 2010

Much is happening on the Amazon regarding the aviation program. It has been (and still will be) an uphill battle, but without it, we could not cover the 14 Indian villages we are covering with Bible Institute training for their leaders (that being the main reason for its existence, there would be no MEDIVAC flights, there would be no supply flights…).

The paperwork problem is almost at its end! Our thanks to Sharon Payne who has done a tremendous lot to help us get that detail done!

We no longer have had our shop. The last shop we worked with has cost us thousands of dollars in missing equipment, time down, and we are being asked not to use them anymore. The new shop, mentioned in our last prayer letter (with the roof blown off) is really struggling to get going, though at this time, humanly speaking, it is our only hope for maintenance. We thank God for Tim and his great sacrifice to help our missionary aviation stay alive.

We have done the calculations and it will cost far more to rebuild CJG than it is worth. We are down to (practically speaking) one airplane and it is still heavily regulated by a system that has not caught up to modern aviation (i.e. months waiting line for checkrides, float plane regulations that conflict with each other, etc.)

We have now found another major solution. Please read this carefully… The plane pictured above is a four place amphibious airplane that is under a category that does not need to be taken to a licensed shop to do maintenance (but does still require a Brazilian-approved mechanic, which I am). It has proven over time to be very reliable, will fly the speeds of our big-bird Cessna 185s, and will run at almost half the cost in AVGAS per hour, though it does carry less load. We can use it in the water and we can use it on land. We can do our own maintenance at our floating house/hangar under my Brazilian mechanic's license and save thousands of dollars per year.

We are now planning to keep DNY alive, but make some more changes to be able to comply with ANAC regulations. We are putting what is left of CJG up for sale.

We believe getting this airplane will move us into a new phase of ABWE-Air missionary aviation that will be workable at a fraction of the cost. The beauty of it is, we already have about half the money we need to make the purchase!

Now, this is going to sound like a sales pitch and it is not! It is just an excited aviation church planter that has found a solution to 10 long years of trying to solve a difficult situation. This is Christmas, a time when we spend megabucks on gifts for each other. May I have the liberty of making a comparison? If 50 people were to not get that plasma large screen TV and send that money to God's work, with the money we already have, it would be ours. If all of the members of all of our supporting churches were to give 10 dollars each, the plane would be flying for Jesus on the Amazon. Or, if all of our supporting churches were to give 1000 dollars, the airplane would be ours to set our program up for a long, long time.

We are not begging for money! If God wants us to have this, He will provide. I just wanted to show how little sacrifice it would take to make a major impact in ABWE Amazon aviation church planting, let alone freeing me up to do much more ministry flying than beaurocratic paperwork.

Please pray with us concerning this - a Christmas gift for the One who's birthday it really is! And please pray that God would send MORE pilots from either the USA or Brazil to train up to keep this work going, long after I can't fly anymore, if the Lord does not come back sooner.

Thanks so very much,

For HIS glory, for HIS work in His name.

Your servant, HIS bond slave,

Allen and Kimberly Yoder

ABWE

PO box 8585

Harrisburg, PA  17105-8585

Yoder Aviation account  0111983 sub account 007 aviation

ANY QUESTIONS?

allenyoder@aol.com

PLEASE check out our website: http://theyoderministry.com/

Special Project List

Special Project's list

Aviation:

                                                                                               

1-     The Brazilian Mission paperwork- (aviation) it has taken a long step forward last week. We hope to get the airplane's paperwork all in order as we start this next term.

 

2-     The new shop- Tim Lankford's shop seems to be our only option open to us. Pray still for the funding we need to replace his roof that was destroyed in that storm.

 

 

3-     New pilots-  Things are looking much better for the continuation of the aviation ministry, but we as yet do not have replacements on hand to take over the flying of our little band of Cessna's… Please pray that if it is God's will to continue on, that He would soon supply some new pilots, either American or Brazilian to join the team.

 

4-     Annual Inspection-  We will be headed back to Brazil early next year, the first project being doing an annual inspection on DNY then flying it back down to SPO to start a new term

 

 

5-     Teams- we are still hoping to have workers/teams in several areas. Tim is looking for mechanics that would give a short term to his maintenance hangar, with A&P and experience in doing annuals, on airplanes and/or helicopters

 

6-     On land hangar- We are anticipating the possible construction of a hangar on land. More details after we get back and do some preliminary work.

 

 

Non-Aviation

1-    MAP- missionary apprentice-  Any older high school or college age that are interested in the MAP program for next summer or any other summer, please contact us at allenyoder@aol.com

 

2-    GYM FLOOR-  We will be having to re-cover (cement work) the gym floor behind our church (part of our property). Any teams of cement workers interested, please contact us as above…

 

 

3-    Long range projects this term- we are anticipating the moving of the floating house downriver to another point in the latter part of this term. 

getting our attention

Pray for the Aviation Church Planting work in São Paulo de Olivença

Is God is getting our attention?- we need prayer

Two weeks before we go home on furlough, we are robbed by our own guard

of two stainless steel drums of AVGAS- forcing us to move out all AVGAS

and leave the airplane in a hangar 150 miles upriver from “home”.

Military control turns to Civil Control in Aviation- result- Hangar license revoked.

The airplanes are taken to another shop for annuals. We are grounded for 3 years.

One airplane (above left corner) is now airworthy. The other airplane:

came up needing a lot of work…

To solve our woes, God supplied a new friend, Tim Lankford, BMM MK

now Continental pilot USA/Europe

who purchased a shop in Manaus

And a few weeks ago, along came a storm

and blew the hangar roof off.

Few weeks ago, our home town, with water at a record low and heavy rains, had a

landslide- leaving people without jobs, 200 without homes, and a fledgling church with a

lot to do.

For more pictures, check out our face book albums

IF you want the pictoral letters, please let us know via allenyoder@aol.com and we will add you to the list

Thanks for your prayers

Allen and Kimberly

August

Dear Friend,

It is somewhat hard to write letters to you at this time, for we feel so "un-plugged" from our real life. Being at home visiting our churches is not only a great joy, but also has precedence (Acts 14:27- … gathered the church… rehearsed all that God had done with them…) But it is so hard to leave our beloved children and all the work, hard to slow down from a heavy teaching preaching schedule to a "devotional and slide show"… though for sure, we have enjoyed the delightful weather (!) and seeing the beauty of God's creation as we travel the many miles…

We just finished a week of ME (missionary enrichment) classes and a second week as a "facilitator" for the candidates headed to the field in a class to teach them strategies and methods of church planting. We now are headed up for a meeting in NY Sunday followed by a wedding in Oxford Michigan. The wedding is on a Saturday, then we have an overnight drive to Atlanta to catch our plane back to Brazil.

August is busy, with a weeklong meeting in Sao Paulo (down south) with the Brazilian Association of Biblical Counselors. The next week we will be in Manaus a whole week working on renewing my mechanic's license (which is vital to our aircraft maint. needs - we really need prayer on that one- Aug 16-20), The following week, we will be joining Randy Richner, Fernando (VP for the association mentioned above) and another Brazilian for a combined track 1 and 2 of Biblical Counseling training we are giving at a seminary in Fortaleza, Brazil.

GOOD NEWS from the field- Our church is going rather well, far better than we expected, praise the Lord! We had a half hour call last night and got all caught up. We won't go into details here, but to ask for continued prayer for our toddler whom it seems is walking on it's own! This will allow us (upon return) to work more on outworks as we help the church continue to develop its autonomy. They also continue to support the young Ticuna Indian missionary from our church that is covering all the Indian works in our absence. This is very exciting news in the life of a church plant.

OTHER GOOD NEWS:

Pictured on the next page- we are finding solutions to our aviation dilemma- we are forming a partnership in networking with other pilots from other missions in the area of maintenance. Tim Lankford is a BMM MK, now a Continental Airlines pilot, that has purchased a shop (see pics) in Manaus. We hope (with successfully renewing my mech. license) that this will allow us to do all inspections at our own place, give us two bases in our area, and greatly help the security situation. Please pray that all this works out, greatly enhancing our current work and securing a future for this (still) very needy work! We are also working (with special help now) at getting the plane documents changed over to our area in Manaus. Some documents are needed from the 1960s that we have not been able to find yet- so pray with us that we can find them or resolve the problem through a hired on attorney.

August 1, 2010

The new shop in Manaus is at the Airclub. It's success can keep the airplanes up and flying, and therefore keep the Indian works growing- and starting to reproduce.

GOOD NEWS- we received a letter from the two Indians that work on staff with us, one a missionary from our SPO church. They want teaching in how to organize a mission and start sending our missionaries from their own association- this is also quite exciting! We are prepping classes even now on the subject.

As weather changes, so does the interpretation of the law by those in power over us. It is becoming apparent that if we tie in with the NEW shop, we will not have to buy a rebuilt engine! But with the paperwork push and inspections at hand, and a lawyer now to pay, we still need to pray for and ask for funds to help. Thanks for joining us in prayer for that one!

As I write while putting through the Pocono mountains and the breathtaking beauty and majesty- I am reminded how big our God is, and how small our problems really are in comparison.

Thanks to all of you once again for your love, prayers, and support. God give you a blessed summer's end.

Always

Your servant and HIS bond slaves

Allen and Kimberly

On the road

Dear Friends,

Hello to you all- crazy two weeks, 5000 miles on the road- sometimes I wonder if there is a better way… but wow, what a blessing it is getting to see you all again and have the sweet fellowship we so miss when on the field. Besides meeting in churches, we also got to work on a few planes with Phil Bowers, a man that has made it his mission to help us missionary pilots in a big way.

Next on the list is a renewal course in Nashville Tuesday, and then up north east to see Al's folks for the first time this furlough! We are really looking forward to that - Our nephew Robbie Colby will be getting married on the 10th, all gifts can go to the Yoder aviation fund (just kidding)…

We then have a week at the ABWE ME conference and will get to help out at the new candidate training school the week after. We have a meeting in the far north of New York state Aug 1, then a wedding in Oxford Michigan the 6th/7th, a long drive to Atlanta overnight as we board Sunday afternoon for Brazil again.

August: 9- 13 we are in the annual meeting of the ABCB (Brazilian Association of Biblical Counselors). 16 – 20 (please mark these for special prayer!!) we head to the other end of Brazil to Manaus where we hope to renew our Mechanic license, Move the other plane to a shop that will help me rebuild it, and work on aviation paperwork. 23- 27 we return to Fortaleza to team teach an entire track 1 and 2 conference in Biblical Counseling. We head back for home arriving Lord willing August 30, Atlanta.

Many pastors and churches have asked for project needs- our outstanding one now is the finances to do the rebuild on the airplane engine and equipment for the shop.

Please pray with us as this is no small project, but we have no small God! We should have (in about a month) a website with all the information, films, description, etc.

Thanks again for your love and prayers. Looking forward to seeing the rest of you in the months to come as we head to your churches for the needed report.

Your servant, HIS bondslaves
Allen and Kimberly Yoder