A Posse ad Esse

A posse ad esse
- From possibility to actuality

This Latin phrase seems fitting in light of the fact that Africa Inland Mission Candidate Week is nearly upon us. It begins on Monday, February 15th. At the end of Candidate Week we will know whether or not we are accepted to be long term missionaries in Africa with the organization. Something that has for so long been a possibility (our dream of living and serving in Africa) may perhaps be on the cusp of become a reality. Considering this though, we don't want to be presumptuous about our acceptance, nor do we want to make conjectures about our future, knowing that it is God who turns the pages and writes the narrative of our story.

With all that said we want to ask you to pray with us and for us as we fly to Pearl River, New York in the next few days. Pray we have hearts that would be humble to learn from those at AIM. Pray that AIM has discernment and wisdom about whether or not we would be a good fit for them and them for us...And in light of recent weather conditions on the East Coast, please pray that we have patience during potential delays and that we would not find ourselves stuck in Chicago (our layover) for days on end.

Regarding Financial Contributions to Candidate Week

In response to our previous blog, Candidating, a few people have asked how they might go about giving financial gifts to help make this trip possible. Just like any other contribution, financial support can be given through Proclaim Aviation Ministries by clicking on their "donate" page, or mailed via snail mail to:

Proclaim Aviation Ministries

PO Box 356

Worthington, MN 56187

***Also, please make sure to designate that the gift is for "Holtz AIM Candidate Week"

Christmas in Pictures

We had too many Thanksgiving pictures to post here, but you can check out our Thanksgiving pics here and here. The rest of the pictures posted here are from our trip to the Seattle area to spend Christmas with Clarissa's family.

Ice Skating!

With Clarissa's Sister

Clarissa's niece Josie, learning to skate with help of John and Dad

Clarissa and Josie making Julia Childs' sticky buns for Christmas morning

Christmas would not be complete without a gingerbread Americano at Starbucks

For our 17 month lunaversary we went out on the town in Seattle which included swing dancing and yummy late night Korean food in the University district

Neices: Bailey and Josie

John experienced Dim Sum for the first time, ah Chinese food at its best!

Hiking in the cascades with Starbucks; it would feel wrong if it didn't feel so right.

Clarissa and Mom

Mom's Christmas Village... a long standing tradition


Buddy (mom's dog)

Christmas Eve= Homemade Pasta = Yum

Singing Christmas Carols on Christmas Eve

My favorite Christmas morning pic :-)

Candidating!

The light of the sun is deceptively warm looking on the city of Spokane. Unlike last year we are not buried under four feet of snow, but our apartment is still quite chilly even when the golden sun rays are streaming in the windows. The dawn of a new year gives us the opportunity to re-calibrate our hearts onto God's purposes. We remember that we have been saved out of the mire of our own sin and selfishness. We are no longer enslaved to the things that we thought would bring significance or success. We are no longer under condemnation of trying to live a good enough life and continually failing. We live in the freedom to do good out of joy rather than obligation. That is such an amazing promise that we are often too busy to remember and reflect on how incredible it really is.

Our next year is already filling up rapidly. We have plans to attend Africa Inland Mission's candidate week in mid February. All prospective long term missionaries are required to attend as part of their application to work with the organization. This means we will spend a week at AIM's headquarters in Pearl River, NY for what might be described as a week long interview, company orientation, and counseling retreat all rolled into one. At the end of the week we will find out if we have been accepted with the mission, so it is a rather intense point in the process.

If we are accepted my(John's) technical evaluation will be scheduled, and if I pass that then we will be accepted into the aviation arm of the mission. And after that (yes, there is more) will be my technical orientation. I know you don't know what those are either but I did not want to overwhelm you in one blog post. We are really excited about this next step, it brings our dream of working and serving in Africa into a more real and possible light. Every one keeps asking how long it will be before we are actually overseas long term, and we are still measuring that distance in years. Candidate week will move us more strategically forward and give us more complete answers on what is required next.

Whew, it is a long process and an expensive one, candidate week alone will cost $750 a person plus air fare. Please continue to pray for us as we raise funds for our current work at Moody and the candidating process with AIM. Thank you for taking the time to read this and thanks for praying.

A quick preview of what is on the horizon for us: We are planning a short (2 month) trip to Kenya this summer that has a two fold purpose. The first is to lead a small team of aviation students from Moody on their internship, which furthers their ability to complete the program. Second, it will be a vision trip for us. We will be looking into housing options, and getting a feeling for how we as a couple (and eventually family) will be able to fit into the work there. More on all this later. Thanks for letting us share with you as we go though this process.