Monday, May 26, 2008

Serving on the Amazon this Summer!


Above: A Cessna Caravan used by Asas de Socorro to fly missionaries along the Amazon. (Photo courtesy Darrel Carver.)

To my friends and family,

I’m very excited to show you an opportunity God has opened in Brazil! From mid-June to mid-August, I plan on serving as a short-term missionary—cleverly disguised as an aircraft mechanic on the Amazon River.

God has been preparing me for service while I study to be a missionary pilot/mechanic at Moody Aviation in Spokane, WA. Although I won’t graduate from Moody until 2011, I can still serve as a missionary and a mechanic now.

The organization I’ll be helping this summer is called Asas de Socorro (Portuguese for “Wings of Help”). It was founded by Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), and now it’s run by believers within Brazil itself. Asas flies doctors, nurses, dentists, church planters, and other missionaries into the Amazon interior, extending the reach of the gospel to some of the most inaccessible areas of the globe.

Basically, I would be helping keep Asas’s planes—and, more importantly, the people on board—flying this summer. Additionally, I can be a helping hand in whatever outreaches Asas is doing in their immediate community.

On top of the opportunity to serve, this will also be my first missions trip! I hope to take lots of pictures and bring you back plenty of stories from the field!

In His Hands,

Jonathan


Top 3 Ways You Can Help

3. Financially — As of right now, I have about half of my support raised to cover my plane tickets, passport, visa, and immunizations… about enough to actually enter the country. I still need support for rent, transportation, and food while I’m there.

2. Communication — I’d love to hear how you’re doing while I’m gone! Shoot me an email, or if you’re really feeling old school, buy an international stamp and send me a letter while I’m there (June 19 to Aug 21):

Jonathan Schultz

Rua dos Japoneses, 320A

Shangri-La 2, Pq 10 Manaus

1. Prayer — More than anything else, please ask God to use me for His kingdom’s work!