Nee's News

Dave recently took a trip into Haiti, photographing and videoing over a period of 4 days. The photos and video will be used for many MFI projects, the biggest of which is the upcoming annual fundraising banquet. The trip included touring several missions organizations in Cap Haitien, Limbe and Pignon, as well as delivering Christmas Bags that were collected by churches in our Gulf Coast area. Three of our local churches had participated in the Christmas Bags for Haiti project this year, collecting a total of about 130 bags. Children in Limbe were excited to receive these bags and see what was inside. Praise the Lord for a safe trip and the faithfulness of His people!

Well, it's that time of year again and the hurricanes keep on coming. In partnership with Samaritan's Purse, MFI has responded to Hurricane Dean, flying supplies to both Mexico and Jamaica. Dave was on one of the flights to Jamaica, documenting the loading and unloading of the plane, as well as the destruction that could be seen from the air. As we await reports on damage in Nicaragua from Hurricane Felix, Samaritan's Purse and MFI are already planning flights, bringing tarps, water, and water purification kits. Because of this ongoing partnership, one of our tasks was to prepare a new "Missionary Spotlight" for the MFI website, this time focusing on the co-laboring between the two missions. It is our hope that, through the work that we do documenting and communicating the missions work in progress, more Christians will be encouraged to become involved. If you are interested in knowing more, or in sponsoring one of Dave's upcoming hurricane relief flights, we'd love to hear from you!

We finally got a break in the weather this week. Temps in the upper 80's, instead of the mid-90's, so we actually ventured outside to play. Caleb and IrisAnne enjoyed a favorite childhood game - puddle stompin'!

As for Dave and I, we tried to stay dry, but also are enjoying the "cooler" weather. Dave just returned from a trip to MFI. He's working on putting together a quarterly "Flight Briefing", which goes out to about 9,000 supporters across the United States, reporting on MFI's continuing work. Please pray for this outstanding ministry and its staff, as they faithfully serve the missionaries in the Caribbean.

Lori, the director of the Alpha Center for Women, just reported to us that the new website is effective. They have received both new clients and new donations because of it. Praise the Lord! We are preparing to send out flyers to about 50 more pregnancy centers around Florida, offering our services in designing websites. We feel it is an important piece of reaching the young women in crisis and helping them to make good decisions. Most abortion mills have beautiful, professional-looking websites, whereas about 2/3 of all pregnancy centers have no presence on the web. We believe that one of the first places a young woman will turn for information is to the Web, so it is crucial that she is directed to those who can truly help, both physically and spiritually. Please pray that we can reach these hurting women with a message of hope, love, and LIFE.

We continue to work on the book about the hospice protests. All of Dave's photos are placed, and now we are working on setting in the testimonies and the live commentary from The Bayly Blog. We are excited about how the book is coming together. Soon we hope to send off a copy to the Bayly brothers for their input. Please pray that this project will be used to educate and encourage Christians to stand up for LIFE.

This evening was the annual banquet for Missionary Flights International at the Airport Hilton in West Palm Beach. About 400 people gather each year for a time of food and fellowship, and to hear about the work of MFI. Our job is to put together and show a banquet presentation, which this year was a multimedia presentation honoring the Lord's faithfulness to MFI. As always, we were blessed to be a part of this event, and blessed that the Lord has allowed us to be a part of this outstanding, God-honoring ministry.

On March 3, 2007, MFI had an open house and dedication of their new hangar facility in Fort Pierce, FL. A full day was scheduled, with tours, food (580 hot dogs!), a dedication service, and rides in the DC-3's. Dave and Evan were on the job, taking photos and video of this historic moment in the ministry of Missionary Flights International. MFI Founder Don Beldin flew in for the event. He shared with the crowd that it had been his prayer for over 40 years for a permanent home for MFI, and that it was a thrill to see that prayer answered in such a mighty way. The day was such a blessing, to staff and attendees alike, that plans are being made to have the open house become an annual event.

What a joy as a parent to watch our children grow and mature! This weekend was a pro-life rally in Ocala, Florida, the home of a very active abortion mill. Dave was unable to attend, but Evan rose to the task of covering the event photographically for us. Then, back home, he jumped into web design and put together this photo gallery for us. Thanks Ev!

The rally was organized by the Marion County Right to Life group, and included speakers from all over the country. First to speak were the members of a local group of "Silent No More". These are women and men who have been affected by abortion, and are now speaking out against it, while also spreading a message of hope and healing. I was really struck by the courageousness of the women standing in front of this large crowd and saying, "I had an abortion". There were tears shed by many who listened to their stories. Another speaker, Jim Sendlak of American Life League, provided us with startling information and statistics about Planned Parenthood. The keynote speaker, Bishop Wenski, is a well-known speaker about the sanctity of life. It was a blessing to see about 200 committed pro-lifers in attendance.