January 2018 newsletter

What’s happening at Trinity Aviation Academy?

Trinity Aviation Academy has finally been able to connect to power. This is a HUGE answer to prayers! The students can now have their heaters plugged in and use their microwaves at the same time. Trinity is already connected to water. They still need to connect to the sewer; which they will start in the spring when the weather is warmer.

TAA currently has four active students and does not plan to take on additional students until the facilities are finished.

Tim Brown, who has attended TAA in the past, is currently serving an internship with Mission Aviation Fellowship at their headquarters in Nampa, Idaho. He is getting good experience and receiving opportunities to stay proficient at flying airplanes. I plan to work with Tim later this year to earn his advanced pilot ratings.

What’s happening with the Swinefords?

               

We have been lots of craziness here! This is part of the reason that it has taken SO long to get a newsletter out. We made the decision to apply to Mission Aviation Fellowship back in January and spent four months applying and preparing for the technical evaluation. MAF decided not to accept us based on Ruth’s food allergies. We have had multiple persons contact us with other opportunities. We are praying and seeking the Lord’s direction as we move forward and continue our present ministries.

In March we endured some physical and emotional difficulties.  Ruth had a miscarriage early that month in her tenth week of pregnancy. She recovered quickly and we are all dealing well with it. She experienced another miscarriage at about ten weeks again in September. They are unsure of the cause, but it is possible the second one was caused by some tissue that was missed from the first one. This has been taken care of and Ruth is healing.

Also in March, about two weeks after Ruth’s miscarriage, I spent four nights in the hospital due to some internal bleeding in my esophagus. I had to get a blood transfusion and was on a restricted diet for a few days. The wound has healed and it took me several weeks to regain my full stamina after the blood loss, but I am doing well.

Our younger son, Zebedee, was diagnosed with a speech disorder and has been in speech therapy for the past year and we are also using a web-based program to help him at home. He has made lots of progress but still has difficulty communicating and often gets frustrated.

 Ruth’s hip which had been fine for six months decided to act up in April. She has had to deal with multiple doctors, lots of waiting, and lots of new medication allergies. There have found some changes in her hip and also in the nerves in her back. Currently she is taking nothing for the pain and is awaiting another MRI. They recommend that she try to take it easy and rest. This is very hard for Ruth to do with the kids, but would be anyway. Ruth has lots of energy and doesn’t sit still well.

 Despite all this craziness we have had lots of good days in the year and a half since our last newsletter. We have lots of days of happy and healthy kids, support from our friends and family, and prayers that help us navigate through the crazy. We are all alive and we praise God for that.

 We would greatly appreciate your continued prayers! We would also like to partner with more churches. If anyone would be willing to hear about our ministry. Please let us know. We would love to come and talk about our ministry with your church, pastor, mission board, and/or elder board.

Serving Him,

Andy & Ruthy