A Season of Change
July 28, 2023
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
1st Corinthians 15:58
A Quick Summary of Where We've Been...
In our last newsletter we shared our plans to visit some of the South Pacific Islands. What a whirlwind of activity we’ve experienced since that time. This update is so long overdue we’ll have to summarize to keep it from getting too long. Over the past months we have:
Visited the Fijian Islands in March/April to explore opportunities for aviation mission service.
Returned to Canada to find our travel trailer and storage containers burglarized.
Flew back to Nicaragua in June where we closed down most of our mission work and sold or gave away our personal belongings as we realized that flight permissions would never be granted.
Upon returning to Canada in July we learned that Nancy’s mother was very ill as the cancer had spread. As of this writing we are now in Panama for a few weeks so Nancy can spend time with her family.
Why did God bring us here?
As we look back over the past three years, the beginning of MiracleAir, the excitement we all felt when a beautiful float plane was donated. Then as we arrived in Nicaragua at the beginning of 2021 during the craziness of the Covid pandemic and Nancy was diagnosed with two types of cancer. Surgeries followed along with months of recuperation. The continual delays and problems faced with importing our airplane into Nicaragua. Yet, even during this time we saw God working as we began evangelistic work and dental mission work in underserved areas of the country. We admit that many times we’ve been discouraged and we can’t fully understand why God has led us down this difficult path. We can only be certain that God wants to teach us to trust Him even more.
What price is too high?
People have suggested that perhaps it's time to “throw in the towel”. You’ve given it your best shot… why continue to struggle so hard? It’s true we’ve been tempted many times to quit, and we’ve even had good offers of employment but when we seriously considered those options we’ve never felt peace in our hearts and we are driven to continue with MiracleAir. However, when we realize the sacrifice that Jesus made for us no cost seems too high.
Nancy with Marta - we supplied zinc and nails for her house that was completely destroyed in the hurricane last October.
Where does your strength come from?
In the remainder of this newsletter we could tell you about all the difficulties we’ve had and the challenges we are facing, but instead, we want to share a few Bible verses with you, our “Source of strength". We know that each one of us has to face similar challenges, Satan doesn’t spare anyone from his temptations and no one is exempt from trouble.
Next Steps
So what are the next steps for the Hansen’s and MiracleAir? We plan to attend the ASI convention that will be held the beginning of August in Kansas City, MO. We have found that this convention allows us to recharge spiritually and connect with donors who love Jesus and want to see Him come back soon. We are looking forward to uniting with the other missionaries as we pray, share and strategize to spread the gospel around the world. We hope to leave these meetings with a clearer plan on how we can specifically reach the islands of the South Pacific.
After ASI we will return to Canada and spend a few days together as a family before Steven & Melanie begin studies at Southern Adventist University in Tennessee. Steven plans to study Film Production so he will be even more prepared to serve God by creating videos to support small ministries like MiracleAir. Melanie will begin her second year studying pre-dental hygiene and our oldest son, Andie, will continue his studies in economics at the University of Alberta. A special thank you to the anonymous donors who have helped them financially at various times in the past as they continue their studies.
Prayer Requests & Praises
We praise God for:
Loving us so much that He has promised to never leave us or forsake us.
Protecting us in ways we do not even know and for safe travels as we have been moving so much this past 5 months.
Opening doors for us in Fiji. One of the first hurdles, a business license, has already been granted. MiracleAir Fiji exists!
Please pray for:
Finances to begin a new project in Fiji.
Our children who will all be in university this year. To protect their minds and hearts as they prepare their lives for service.
The work of evangelism and dental missions that we have started in Nicaragua and that it will continue even when we are not present.
Healing for Nancy's mother, Nory, who's faith is strong but her body is weak, but we praise God as we are seeing small improvements.
May God continue to richly bless each one of you as we work together in preparation for Jesus' soon return.
Nancy & Norman Hansen & Family