God's Grace at Hobby Lobby

Hi ya'll. This is Amanda.
So recently I had my first experience with Hobby Lobby. For those of you who do not know what that is...it is only the best store EVER!  My dear friend Erin introduced me to it.  We made a whole girl day out of it! It was a blast.
We were just walking around the store, I was soaking in all the goodness that is Hobby Lobby, and then Erin called me over to look at some wall art.... she pointed to it and said..."I think this should be your motto for Indonesia and Helimission."

It touched me in the moment....but these last few days it has been nagging at my heart.  I have really been thinking about the saying and find myself looking at this picture on my phone often...it makes me thankful.  Thankful that God used my friend to encourage me, and to show me in a small and thoughtful and loving way that He is in control.  Thankful that He cares about my heart....all of it, even the fears, the doubt, the sadness...He cares, and He has this under control.    

I feel like this saying is straight from Jesus to my heart...

Dear Amanda, 

The will of God will NEVER take you where the GRACE of God will not protect and completely cover you. 

Love, Jesus

Learning more and more each day to trust completely.   Just thought I would share what is in my heart. 

Love, Amanda

Just got our Very First Newsletter?!?

Hello there! Perhaps you are checking out our blog because you got our "Very First Newsletter" 

Can we just say.......WE ARE SO EXCITED!   We sent it out just a few minutes ago!  That newsletter you just read has been a long time coming and it is a HUGE step in our journey!  We literally spent ALL day today working on it.....about 11 hours.  We only stopped to eat and feed/play with Gracie.  =)  (if you don't know who Grace is....just check out our blog...then you will know.)

So needless to say we have worked hard on this, and we are so excited to share it with you! 

You might be family who knows all about our plans, or you might be new to this, not really knowing us or what the heck this is all about...if so WELCOME, you are already a friend.  Look around our blog....(there is lots of stuff to look at) Get to know us. Ask any questions or tell any story you want.  We love it. 

None of what we are doing could happen without you...whether it is prayer support or financial support, or both.  We need you, and we are thankful for you. 

Just so you get an idea of our journey in a nutshell...and what we mean by a "long time coming"  Matt has been working toward this by building his skills since 2004 (When he knew Jesus was calling him to this) .... 10 years!   In 2011 we were married. Since then we have been working toward this as a couple...  

                          So that is why we are so excited about this, and that is why a mass newsletter mailing is so exciting for us!    Thanks for taking time out of your life for us! We appreciate it dearly! 

We want lots of communication with you....so feel free to email us anytime for any reason at  helibladesoflove@gmail.com. 

                   Love, 

                         Amanda, Matt and Grace

About to send it to you! 

         

Sent! Bam! We might have had a celebration in our living room just now. 

HeliExpo in Anaheim CA

A couple weeks ago we got to fly to Anaheim CA as a family.  I (Matt) was manning a booth for Helimission along with Ben Dodzweit and Simon Tanner.  This Expo is the largest helicopter get together in the US!  Inside the building they had 60 different types of helicopters! It was amazing. We were there for three full days and in those three days we saw amazing things happen!  Just for us to be there was such a blessing from

God.  The expo gifted us a 10x10 booth with everything we needed to set up!  That was a very generous gift!  It was amazing to see how many people in the helicopter industry love God and want to bless Helimission! We got to talk with many potential pilots and  mechanics that are interested in using aviation to extend God's kingdom!  We will continue to pray that God raises up many more hands because the harvest is ripe but the laborours are few!  When people walked by our booth they would slow down to check out our "shocking" photos of the Indonesian people and try to figure

out just what we were "selling".  This usually led to amazing and bold conversations about Jesus and helicopters!  While we were there Ben led two people to Christ!  Amazing!  In the middle of an aviation convention and we get to preach Christ!  One night after a long day of talking and standing we all went out to dinner.  Ben had been there the night before and found the owner to be a Christian.  So, we got to chat with the owner for quite some time and hear how he is trying to plant a church in his home town and that there is so much political things holding them back.  We got our food and I went to wash my

hands and ran into the owner and his cousin.  They told me I had to meet "Paul" so I did.  We ended up talking for over 30 minutes about Jesus and how Paul wants to bless missionaries.  He gave all of us a gift that he has put his life into.  An entire library of books, music, movies and classes all downloaded onto an external hard drive.  It is amazing the people God brings into our lives and how they are faithful in what God calls them too! 

On the last day of the convention Amanda, Grace, and my Grandparents got to join for the day!  It was so neat to have my grandparents there to see the overwhelming sights and to meet with the leaders of Helimission!  The very first time I ever met with Simon Tanner (the president of Helimission) was in my grandpa's living room, and now almost 10 years later when we are so close to accomplishing what we talked about in that living room we all met again!  It was such a joy to be there with Simon and Ben and to create a better friendship!  It will be cool to see what doors God opens through our time at the expo!  Pray for many good contacts and opportunities to arise through our time in Anaheim!