June updates

Hey Folks,
So sorry this is a week late...the beginning of June was a whirlwind at our place. Among preschool 'good byes' and grade school awards ceremonies, Vacation Bible school planning and helping build the extension at church, we were very busy and lost track of time. So here are the updates, prayer requests and praises for the month....

During the recent trip to the Dominican Republic, Lance was able to meet several missionaries we served through Agape Flights. It was really amazing to see all that is being done for God’s kingdom. We thought that this month we would take a little time to tell you about some of the missionaries we are connected with so you can get a glimpse of their ministries and how they are being served through Agape Flights.

One of the ministries, Lance got to visit was Sharing the Vision (STV) in Santiago, DR. Jim and Teresa White lead this ministry and they served with Agape extensively during the Haiti earthquake relief. They serve as the host couple for STV’s Mission Team House and during earthquake relief, many Agape pilots stayed with the Whites while shuttling loads from the DR to Haiti. The Whites also preach/teach in local churches, plant churches, provide outreaches for the poor, provide medical clinics in remote areas. Currently, they are developing a discipleship training center. It was a great pleasure to meet the Whites and thank them for all they have done to help Agape.

Another ministry that Lance got to visit was Casa Grande deMisiones Internacional (CGCMI). This ministry is located in Santiago and is led by Tim and Trena Johnson. The Johnson’s work is mainly evangelism which takes many forms. They are involved in preaching, teaching, youth and children ministries, church planting and humanitarian aid. Because of some conversations during the picnic, Lance has been helping the Johnsons by connecting them with Tri-County Air in Venice, Fl. Tri-County is assisting them in exploring the set up of a solar power system to help them eliminate the high cost of electricity. The DR is ranked as one of the highest countries for electrical costs, so this system would be a great benefit to them. What a great connection and relationship to be able to help foster. Only God can work like that. Another need that the Johnsons mentioned during the visit was a need for sports uniforms. Within just a few weeks of the trip, Lance and Allen Speers located a university which donated several sets of uniforms for their youth sports ministry. We love watching His divine connections that come together to fill a need in their ministry.

A third ministry that Lance was able to visit was that of Students International(SI) in Jarabacoa. SI’s focus is to bring students and the poor together. They have a cross-cultural approach to bring students to a deeper understanding of how they can help the poor and serve God’s people through their occupations. They work through technology, arts, construction, dental clinics, sports ministries, physical therapy, schools, and many more avenues. Currently, Agape is trying to acquire a dental chair for their new dental clinic they will be opening. (Anyone with leads on a dental chair ready to be donated, let us know.)

These ministries are just a sample of some of the great things being done for Christ in the Dominican Republic . The trip was not just a time of refreshment for the missionaries. It was an opportunity to see that the needs are and strive to find ways to help. We really enjoy being able to see first hand what Agape has been able to do to help and what we can do to help more. We are very grateful to be partnered with all of these amazing servants. Please continue to pray for all the missionaries serving in the DR, Haiti and the Bahamas. They are the feet on the ground in these countries and they are serving with all of their hearts.

Prayer request and praises.

Praise God for ways He builds connections and bridges for us before we know we need them.
Praise the Father for being our provider. We are constantly awed by the ways He takes care of our needs.
Please pray for the people of Haiti. Fear and uncertainty are a constant problem for the people in Haiti. This month some of the tent cities were destroyed by the government, leaving hundreds homeless again. Pray that the body of Christ will help them meet their needs and find a place to start over.
Please pray for the missionaries in the DR, Haiti and the Bahamas. Pray for strength, wisdom and provision as they strive to reach more souls for Christ.
Please pray for us as we serve Him. Please pray for strength, health and favor in every area of our lives.
We are very grateful for every prayer lifted on our behalf. We believe in the power of prayer and we never take for granted the prayer team God has given us. Please know that we are praying favor and blessings for each of you.

Also pray for the people of Haiti as the rains of this week are causing mud slides and horrible living conditions for those in shanties and tents. Please pray for protection of their lives and homes.

I will proclaim the Lord's decree:

He said to me, "You are my son: today I have become your father.

Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,

the ends of the earth your possession. Psalm 2:7-8

May updates

PICNIC TIME!!!!

This month the hangar has been a buzz with lots of planning and preparations as Lance has been very busy planning a trip for 14 staff members to travel to the Dominican Republic to provide a “REST and RELAXATION” picnic for the missionaries we serve. Planning the menu, purchasing the food, setting the agenda and pulling all the pieces together was a challenge but was all worth it to give the missionaries a well deserved break.

Along with the time of fellowship and refreshment, the staff also took time to travel to several missionary sites to see each ministry and look for ways to better serve them. Often, after Lance returns from this type of trip, he will see a donated item come into the hangar and immediately knows someone in the field who could benefit from the item. It is a wonderful way for the staff to see the needs, but also, it is a way to see how what we do in Venice, FL makes an impact across the ocean. By putting faces to the names, we feel a stronger connection to the missionaries and we are propelled to work harder to help them in every way.

Besides the picnic work this month, Lance got to use one of his favorite hobbies at work….designing a mezzanine for extra storage space in the hangar. When we lived in Iowa, he was also planning and drawing out plans for shelving. This month, God used this pastime to help him design a new set of shelves for Agape. Home Depot supplied the materials and a crew of volunteer workers through a community grant program. We really loved seeing the project come together and the thought of an old hobby being used for God was such a highlight. Thank you Lord for using us in so many different ways.

Praises and Prayer requests

Praise God for a safe trip to the Dominican Republic last week. He made every detail come together from the flights to the weather.

Praise the Father for the resurrection of His Son that we celebrated last week. He is risen...He is risen indeed!!! We are so grateful for His sacrificial love for us.

Praise the Lord for the doors He opens for us in our own community.

Please pray for us as we strive to live our faith “out loud” for Christ. Pray we will never miss a chance to bring another soul into the Kingdom.

Please pray for the Agape staff as we prepare to transition to a new Executive Director this month. Pray that change will be an opportunity to stretch our faith and trust God for every detail.

Please pray for Agape members, Jan and Val Gutwien, who lost their 5 year old son in Haiti this month. Brett had a medical condition from birth but that did not stop this family from answering God’s call to serve in Haiti. Please pray for comfort and peace for Brett’s family.

Thank you for your prayers for us. You are a vital part of all God is doing.
Hope you all have a month full of blessings and abundance.
Living victoriously in Christ,
The Andersons

Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
Jeremiah 32:17

April Prayer request and Praises

Thank you for stopping by to check out what has been happening this month. It was a busy month as always. Here are a few highlights: This month started with our annual volunteer appreciation lunch and this year we did "FLIP FLOPS" over our volunteers. Once again, I (Lynn) was asked to help plan and prepare our volunteer appreciation event. This year our theme was “At Agape Flights, we do FLIP FLOPS over our volunteers.” and we had a beach BBQ to pay tribute to our hard working volunteers. To truly appreciate what volunteers do for Agape, let me list for you some of the jobs they perform for us. Volunteers...process packages, sort mail, load cargo, wash airplanes, lead weekly chapel services, clean (the condo, kitchen, bathrooms, offices and hangar), pilot the airplanes, mow the lawn, maintain the airplane, complete plumbing jobs, build special projects, make ORS kits, assist in accounting, answer phones, stamp envelopes, fold letters, prepare mailings, make videos, and other jobs as specified. What would we do without them???? Agape could not function the way we do without the many hours that volunteers serve. Many of them serve on a weekly basis. Others with special talents are called in as needed. Either eay, each of them is part of the Body of Christ that is helping the missionaries in the field. Every volunteer hour that is put in is being used to further God’s kingdom in some special way. We are so grateful for our volunteers at Agape. We know that we could not “Serve Christ through serving His missionaries” without their help. We salute our volunteers and thank God for their servant hearts. This month was also marked with the announcement of our new Executive Director. Allen Speer will begin on May 1st. Allen has been the pastor of many churches in the Midwest and will be joining us from his most recent position in Cobden, Illinois. We are very excited to see the vision Allen has for Agape and welcome him and his family to the Agape ministry. Here are our prayer requests and praises for this month:

• Praise God for our Executive Director at Agape. We are very excited to see the new ideas and challenges that Allen will bring to the ministry.


• Praise the Father for beautiful weather and day for our volunteer appreciation lunch. God provided a wonderful day to fellowship at the beach and honor those who sere with us.


• Praise the Lord for a great family vacation over Spring break. We are so thankful for the time of rest and family fun. God knew exactly what we needed and He gave us the rest and recreation we needed.


• Please pray for us as we face a month with a full schedule of work, church and family obligations. Pray that we will not get too busy to remember to rest in the presence of the Almighty and hear His voice.


• Please pray for the Agape staff as we prepare to transition to a new Executive Director at the end of the month. Change can be a very stressful time so we pray for patience.


• Please pray for Agape staff and volunteers who will be traveling to the Dominican Republic at the end of the month for a missionary picnic.

We are grateful for each of you and cherish your faithfulness in praying for us. We pray you have a month of God's blessings and abundance in your lives.

Living victoriously in Christ, Lynn, Lance, Grace and Hope

March Update and Prayer request/Praises

We are always looking forward to what God is working on, and this month was full of new and interesting challenges. In the past few months, we have been focusing on ORS (cholera supplies), normal missionary requests and donated items, but this month was different. This month we received a few extraordinary requests which took us into new territory.

The first request started with a phone call from a friend who had acquired a truck, which the owner would like to donate to a ministry in Haiti. WOW!! A truck….how do we ship a truck???? That was a new one for us so Lance started working on options and plans. The truck was no ordinary truck. It was a 1970 M35 Deuce and a half. This truck was big and heavy, so it was definitely not going on the plane. But through a series of God ordained phone calls and connections, Lance found one of our missionaries who has experience shipping vehicles. He also discovered that this ministry was in need of a vehicle. The next step was to get the truck to their headquarters so it could be shipped to Haiti. Although this may seem like a very easy transaction to make, let me tell you it was no easy feat. Getting the right connections, the proper licensing, and the required phone calls was the key. We know it was God who made all those things happen. Thank the Lord for how He led us down this new path with His guidance.

The second surprising request this month came in the form of an email. An organization called Haiti Care Mission sent an email requesting that we link arms with them to provide dresses, diapers and sleeping mats for Haiti. Their sewing ministry (“threads of love”) makes over 50,000 items each year for Haiti. They have ladies sewing in 48 states and six countries. Their simple request was that we contact our missionaries and offer them free handmade items with free shipping. What a wonderful gift for the children of Haiti! Lance spent a few days sending out the information and gathering the requests. Next, we will wait for the items to arrive in FL and process them so they can be on their way to Haiti. What an awesome provider we serve! His connections are the best. We were just the middle man, He provided the rest.

Another special task this month was to work on donated medical supplies. Caring Partners is another organization which has linked arms with Agape to provide free medical supplies twice a year to the medical missionaries. Shipping to FL is paid by a separate supporter so these supplies arrive in the field for a fraction of the cost of actual product and actual shipping. Lance works to receive and organize the orders so they can be filled and sent. It is truly extraordinary to have all of the costs for these supplies greatly reduced. One of the most exciting parts of our job is watching these groups of people come together to be His hands and feet. Through all His connections, He is providing for the needs of His people.

Needless to say, this month has been busy but it has also been remarkable. It is amazing to see how things work out when God is in it. We may start with our plans for the month, but they rarely ever turn out the way we envisioned. Serving Christ through serving His missionaries, that maybe our mission statement, but truly we never know what that will involve. The best part is that if we stay focused on serving Him, we can trust that He will provide the direction we need to accomplish it.

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Phillippians 4:19-20

Prayer requests and praises.....

*Praise God for the connections He has for us. It is hard for us to imagine the network He has and the way He weaves lives together. It is even more amazing when you sit back and watch His connections unfold in your life.
*Praise the Father for His guidance and direction with every new opportunity we face. He always seems to take us by the hand and lead us through new waters.
*Praise the Lord for all the people who have linked arms with Agape to provide for the needs of those in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
*Please pray for us as we desire to serve with excellence. Pray for strength and wisdom to complete what we are being called to do.
*Please pray for the Agape staff as we prepare to transition to a new Executive Director in the next few months.
*Please pray for the missionaries we serve. They need constant refreshing and renewing to serve in these challenging areas.

Thank you for all your faithful prayers and support. We are blessed to have linked arms with each of you, and we pray that your lives are filled to overflowing with God’s abundance.

Here are a few pictures from the field....

The truck that was donated for Haiti.

Recipients of the ORS that were made at Agape. Many lives are being saved through these packets.

Living victoriously in Christ,

The Anderson ministry team

February Updates and Prayer requests

This month Agape Flights presented a dinner celebration to celebrate 30 years of ministry. We held a “gala” event to reminisce about the beginning of Agape, celebrate the successes of Agape, and the cast a vision about the future for Agape. Guest missionaries joined us to share stories of how Agape is helping in the field. We also had time to praise God for the lives that have been touched through Agape Flights.
Here is a short account of how Agape Flights began …..

On October 24, 1980, Agape Flights was incorporated as an independent Christian ministry committed to “Serving Christ through Serving His Missionaries” in Haiti.
Barely three weeks later on November 15, the inaugural flight left the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport, captained by Alan Cayo, and bound for Cap Haitien, Haiti. The first flight served one missionary family but soon the small Cessna 411 delivered emergence supplies and mail to about 25 missionaries each week. (excerpt taken from the “Gala” program)

Keith and Clara Starkey started Agape Flights in their home in Bradenton, FL with a pool table as the mail sorting area and the garage for packages. These two farmers from Ohio had no idea what God was going to do with the ministry He had planted in their hearts. Through the years, God has been faithful to provide for every need of this ministry. God took care of the funding, the planes, the buildings, the people and the leadership. Every detail was directed by the Lord through the years.

Now, thirty years later, God is still in control at Agape Flights. He has allowed Agape to grow and expand, He has hand picked workers for the field, and He has allowed us to accomplish more in the earthquake relief than really seems possible. Today, Agape is serving 325 missionaries in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. Weekly flights carry approximately 3000 pounds of supplies. Lives are touched daily from the supplies delivered through this ministry.

We are truly grateful for the vision and dreams that God put in the Starkey’s hearts. We are thankful to be chosen to serve in this ministry and we are humbled by the response of our supporters to continue to allow us to work in the field. It is awesome to see where this ministry has come from and it is hard to imagine what is to come. God has plans so much bigger than we can imagine. We are grateful that even when we can’t see where God is going, we can trust Him. Thank you for your support of Agape Flights and our calling to serve. Here’s to another 30 years of serving the Lord through serving His missionaries…...

Lance and I with Keith and Clara Starkey, founders of Agape Flights

We also had some time with Rachel and Emma Mills this month. Rachel was one of the moms who we helped fly to Haiti to bring home her daughter Emma. Emma is a very happy and healthy 18 month old. We were so blessed to spend time with them this month and see the precious cargo that was delivered one year ago. Here are a few picts of their visit...so fun...

The cholera epidemic is still a concern in Haiti. This month, two new teams from our church worked with us to make another 1500 ORS kits. I love when God brings the workers and we don't have to fret about who we will call to work. HE brings them in with perfect timing every time. We appreciate the ears that hear His voice and respond by coming to help us.

Here are this month's prayer requests and praises..

Praise God for His servants who bless us with their time. This month, we had 2 amazing teams of workers from our church who served alongside us and helped us just when we needed it. We love when we see God’s perfect timing and His provision.
Praise the Father for His protection over our lives from the attacks of the enemy. We are so blessed to have prayer teams covering us in prayer every day. Through those prayers God has given us a hedge of protection on every side. We are grateful to God and we are grateful for our faithful prayer warriors.
Praise the Lord for the provision and guidance of Agape Flights over the past 30 years of ministry.
Please pray the search for an Executive Director at Agape Flights. We are praying that the person God has chosen will clearly hear His voice and answer the call.
Please pray for healing in Haiti as the one year anniversary of the earthquake passed this month. We know there are still many homeless and hopeless. Pray for a touch from God to heal their hearts and their land.
Please pray for end of the Cholera epidemic.
Please pray for our family as we struggle to complete all that God is calling us to do. Pray for strength and wisdom as we listen to His call and respond.

Many thanks to each of you that lifts us to the King. We appreciate you very much and we feel God's hands moving because of your prayers. Please let us know how we can pray for you as well.

Living victoriously in Christ,
Lynn for the Anderson ministry team

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Happy New Year and January updates

Sorry for the late update this month, we made a short trip to Green Bay for the holidays. It was a great time of family and fun. Thanks Dad for letting us come and taking such good care of us. We are so blessed to have a wonderful tight-knit family. It is always fun to get together.

This month has been another busy season at the hangar. Christmas deliveries, missionary needs and cholera supplies have filled up the loading areas with boxes and packages. Unfortunately, due to the political unrest in Haiti and some mechanical issues with the planes, several flights were delayed or cancelled. Learning to be patient and waiting for the Lord to open the doors has been our lesson.

I’m sure many of you heard on the news about the riots that have been occurring in Haiti due to the election results. The people of Haiti were not satisfied with the outcome of the election so many of the young people took to the streets and caused incredible amounts of damage to government buildings. They started fires in the streets and blocked several main roads in protest. As a result, some of the airports were closed for several days. Flight schedules were quite fluid this month to work through this unrest.

The cholera reports from the field indicate that the problem is still very prevalent. We have cleared our shelves of ORS kits and the production continues. With the help of church friends, family and a local youth group, Lance and I have overseen the production of 7,500 ORS packets. We are hearing very positive results from the missionaries on the ORS and we will continue to make the kits as long as the missionaries request them. We are grateful to have so many helping hands to make the job easier. God has brought amazing workers just as the supplies were getting low. Isn’t that just like God? We love how He works things out for us.
We pray that January will bring increased peace and healing to Haiti.

At the end of December, we had the greatest pleasure of having another family member join us here at Agape to serve. Our niece, Katie, wanted to make a difference and spend some time working on the mission field with us. Katie came over her Christmas break and spent 3 days working at the hangar. She helped make ORS, did some office work and helped with phones. It is awesome that God has plans for our family at Agape too. We can’t tell you the joy and encouragement it brings us to have our family working along side us. Thank you, Katie for your heart to serve and your desire to make a difference. We love you and appreciate all your hard work.

Here are this month's prayer requests and praises....
Praise God for an amazing year of God’s provision and protection. This year has been an extremely eventful year for us and at Agape. Through every storm, the Lord has provided exactly what we needed. Whether it was a cargo plane, a perfectly timed airline ticket or a financial gift, God always came through. It is so incredible to watch Him work and know that whatever comes our way, He has it covered. Praise the Lord for who He is...our provider.

Praise the Father for the provision of a work team of 15 teenagers who helped make ORS kits the day after we ran out. And also for the extra hands of our niece, Katie, who came to help us make more ORS during her Christmas break.

Praise the Lord for the safe return to Haiti for Katelyn (missionary girl who was med. evacuated from Haiti) and her family. We were very blessed to spend time this amazing family and get to know them better.

Please pray for family as we continue to seek to serve Him with all our hearts. Pray for a hedge of protection on every side and for guidance in all we do.

Please pray safe travels for the Agape plane and pilots. Aviation ministry has a great deal of risks but we know God is bigger than any mechanical or political issues.

Please pray for the violence to end in Haiti and for the political unrest to be settled. Haiti needs our prayer through the election process. Also, please continue to pray for an end to the cholera outbreak.

We pray you have a prosperous 2011 and that you may see God at work in your lives. Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Pictures of Katie and the girls making ORS packets and, of course, a trip to the beach. (it was 45 degrees and very windy...not the best of weather for a trip from cold WI, but we made the best of it.)

Living Victoriously in Christ, Lynn for the Anderson ministry team

December Prayer requests and Praises 2010

Welcome to the Christmas season! Here at Agape and in our home, the calandar is filling up quickly with fun holiday festivities and fun as well as a very busy season at work. A very large increase in cargo occurs every year at Christmas as the missionaries are trying to get their gifts delivered on time. Aircraft maintenance issues are slowing the process down a bit but we are praying to have everything fixed soon and back in the air.

This month in Haiti, the cholera outbreak struck with vengeance. What began with just a few cases here and there is now an epidemic. Over the past month, our missionaries reported going from seeing just a few patients with cholera to hundreds of patients in their clinics and schools. The number of affected is rising and the ability to control the disease is limited. Over the border in the Dominican Republic cases are popping up as well.

Here at Agape, we are doing our best to help load up the missionaries with supplies to help treat those affected and support their efforts to save lives. When we received the first call for help, the Agape staff jumped into action to gather all the supplies requested. Lance and the Agape staff gathered up 40 cases of IVs of ringers lactate to send on the next day’s flight. It was not easy to work our way through the medical channels to obtain the supplies but God made a way and the supplies were in the hangar by evening of that day.

Our efforts to help are not stopping there. After spending time researching a more affordable way to send IV’s, Lance found from several experts that we could make ORS (oral rehydration solution) kits to send over for much less money but with equal effectiveness to the IVs. The IVs weigh quite a bit and are cumbersome to send via plane, where as the ORS are packed in Ziploc snack size bags and are sent in cases of 100. Each ORS is added to safe water and replicates the ringers lactate IV. Our first batch of 1000 ORS were made last week and the plans to make more this week are in the works. The missionaries are very excited for this help and are requesting more ORS than we have available. We will continue to make and send the ORS as long as there is a request from the missionaries.

We are committed to helping the missionaries and the people of Haiti and DR through this crisis. We hope you will continue to pray for the people of Haiti and the DR, as well as pray for the missionaries. Fear and unrest is breaking out as fast at the cholera. We pray that God will use the missionaries we serve to bring the love of Christ and the peace that comes from Him alone to these fearful and hurting people. Please pray for an end of this outbreak and breakthroughs for Christ through the storm. Also pray for wisdom for us to know the best ways to help.

Here are our praises and prayer requests for the month...

*Praise the Father for a wonderful trip to Missouri and Iowa last month. We had a very refreshing time of fellowship with the Parkview church missions conference and Altar of Praise church. It was also a huge blessing to spend time with Grampa Dale. This time was exactly what we needed.

*Praise God for wonderful friends who hosted us at their homes during our trip. It was an incredible blessing to have a place to call “home” while we were on the road. Thank you, God, for the Drums, Espys and Damewoods.

*Praise the Lord for the availability of the supplies needed in Haiti for the cholera outbreak. Only through His provision were the supplies found and delivered in one day. Also praise Him for all the guidance of how to develop a better way to produce the necessary materials.

*Praise the Lord for the healing for Katelyn. She is doing remarkably well. She and her family will be returning to Haiti in December.

*Please pray Agape’s staff as the busy season of Christmas is here. We have a huge increase in cargo and demands. Pray for focus and strength to complete what God is calling us to do.

*Please pray the people of Haiti and Dominican Republic. Cholera is causing fear and unrest in several areas. Please pray that God will provide peace and healing to the people of these nations.
*Please pray for Agape’s search for a new Executive Director. We need guidance to find the person God has ordained for the position and not settle for anything but God’s divinely appointed person.

Thank you for lifting our prayers to the Most High. We hope you all have a great Christmas and enjoy celebrating the birth of the Mighty King.

Living victoriously in Christ,
The Anderson ministry team