Dear Family and Friends,
Wow how the time flies throughout the years. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were updating you on what happened in Alaska last year; what an amazing year it was! This will be the last summer before both Daniel and I graduate. How amazing that this December I (Kathryn) will be graduating, and Daniel will be graduating next May. Before we know it, the four long years in school will be over, and we will be on our way.
As we told you last time, we both attend Letourneau University. This school has provided the means for bringing us to the awareness and love of Kingdom Air Corps. Kingdom Air Corps is known for it’s real world flight and mission training. As you may already know, we have a love for missions. Daniel is very passionate about the flying, and I am passionate about the teaching; together we are excited for it all. Although we do not know our long term plans yet, our hearts lead us towards continual missions work.
With that being said, we are once again departing to Alaska this summer 2011 for 8 weeks with Kingdom Air Corps. New and exciting things will happen this year with the organization, as well as with us. As we embark on our journey with missions our heart is not just for one specific place, but many. Daniel and I very much have a heart for travel. Daniel has had the chance to go to numerous amazing places throughout his years, and I (Kathryn) have been to a few. We love the nations! We are missionaries on the move. We believe firmly that every brother and sister in Christ, wherever they have been strategically placed, is a missionary. With that, we know that not every missionary is called to just Asia, Africa, or Australia; God has called Daniel and I to a different missionary lifestyle. Although we firmly believe in that, we do not know all the details of our lives for the years to come, but ask that you take part in this with us.
As of right now, the summer after our graduation will be spent somewhere new. Daniel had the opportunity to go to boarding school in Switzerland for high school. The school has a summer school program for children and teens from all around the world. Daniel got in contact with some professors he knew during his stay in Switzerland. After a few emails back and forth, we were told we would be at the top of the pile for positions to work at the summer program for summer of 2012. The school is not a Christian school; it is very secular. Daniel has had a heart to return to Switzerland and continue to share the gospel to those at the school. Daniel and I will work at the program and help shine forth the love of Christ to children and teenagers in need. Daniels church and pastor Lou Felo in Switzerland were very influential on his life during his stay in Switzerland. We will also use this time to reconnect with the congregation and gain some important discipleship from Lou and his wife Jan—Lou and Jan have traveled the world as life long missionaries in places like Afghanistan, Nepal, Switzerland, and Germany to name a few places. A final decision will be made in October regarding whether or not this is where we will actually go for summer of 2012. God seems to be stirring our spirits and is beginning to show us glimpses of what our next step in life will be. We do not know what our next solid leap of faith will be, or where it will lead us; we ask that you would truly join us in prayer for summer 2011 in Alaska as well as the following year and summer. Our hearts are ready to carry the gospel wherever God leads us!
Summer 2011 will definitely be spent in Alaska. During our stay, Daniel will have the opportunity to work on his flight instructor rating. This is a HUGE opportunity for him; it cuts down on the cost, and it is real-world training in the mountain terrain of Alaska. I believe that it will allow him to obtain the practical skills he needs for future success. Daniel has already obtained his private, tail wheel, and commercial ratings; the flight instructor rating is switching from being a student to now being the teacher. This summer, Kingdom Air Corps plans on having a Cessna 206 on amphibious floats—meaning the plane has floats to land on lakes and wheels inside the floats to land on airstrips. The plan right now is to use this aircraft for the flight instructor training. By using this aircraft, Daniel will receive further training in a large and heavy piston aircraft (similar to aircraft used on the missions field), and will be able to get both his flight instructor certificate and Seaplane certificate in a single FAA check ride flight.
I (Kathryn) am working on my student teaching this semester, and so far it has been a blast. Everyday is a learning experience for me in that classroom. Although I still feel unsure about a lot of details of teaching, I know that I am called to be a teacher. It is definitely my passion; I fall in love with teaching every time I get to teach. This year at Kingdom Air Corps, I will get the chance to update the bible camp syllabus and make necessary changes, help prepare for Bible camp, and be a teacher/counselor. This years Bible camp will be more than just bible teaching; the program will now be based on discipleship. The teenagers will spend one week on a boat trip up in the Arctic Circle seeking God and being discipled. As you may know, last year we had numerous kids and teenagers accept Christ as savior. Hallelujah! Now our move is towards teaching them how to live that out by providing the practical application of the gospel. Similar to last year, there will be a kids camp and a teenager camp. Our jobs as counselors will center around chapel times, skits, activities for the kids, games, and most importantly, loving on the kids. Each one of the kids has a very unique story; some of the stories are very sad. If nothing else is accomplished, we want to show the love of Christ simply by being there and showing the kids we care for them.
Together, Daniel and I will be helping out Kingdom Air Corps Ranch before Bible Camp in any way we can. This means: construction, cooking, cleaning, maintenance and more. We will also have the opportunity to meet many new people. Dwayne has left his mark throughout the world, and people from all over the world come to work at Kingdom Air Corps every summer. Last year we met people from Canada, Russia, Germany, and Japan to name a few. Our connections around the world grow every summer, and our vision for the future multiplies with every experience in Alaska. Alaska is a beautiful place, and we have definitely fallen in love with it.
We ask that you support us in prayer, as we finish the semester, head to Alaska for this summer, and seek our personal map for future missions. We would also like to ask that you prayerfully consider supporting us financially on our trip to Alaska this summer. Anyway that you can and are able to help would be a great blessing in our efforts to get to Alaska and back this summer. It will also go towards benefiting the works of Kingdom Air Corps and their outreach since we will be devoting our whole stay to the bible camp and smooth operation of Kingdom Air Corps. We are in need of at least $5500 for this summer. Around $1500 will go to plane tickets; $1600 dollars towards covering our room and board for 6-7 weeks; and $2400 or more will go towards supporting the aircraft operations (including the flight instructor training) and the bible camp outreach.
If you wish to give money towards our trip, you can make the checks out to Kingdom Air Corps. They will be able to give you a tax write off for this donation. But just to clarify; our names (Daniel and Kathryn) can be no-where on the checks. If you wish to write something in the memo part, simply write missions trip. If our name is on the check, no tax write off can be given. You can mail the checks to our address at: 2100 S. Mobberly Ave., CPO# 1916, Longview TX 75602. We will then send all the checks together at once to Alaska.
We would love to hear back from everyone about his or her thoughts, encouragement, and prayers! You have already been a wonderful blessing to our lives in every way. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact either Daniel or myself at daniellafon89@gmail.com or kllafon@gmail.com.
We have also (upon request by many) created a blog to update you while we are there. Our blog is: http://dklafon2.blogspot.com/2011/02/welcome.html. We will be posting pictures, comments, and daily activities on the blog to keep everyone up to date and in contact with our trip this summer. Thank you for your time in reading our letter, and we hope that you will prayerfully consider supporting and praying for us. We look forward to this summer and everything God has for us!
Sincerely,
Daniel and Kathryn LaFon
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