“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear.” (Psalm 46:1-2a)

Hi Family,

I know that this is a difficult time for many who are receiving this update.  New Jersey has been battling hard through this Coronavirus pandemic and my heart goes out to you all.  I am grateful to know that many of the friends that I have spoken with are filled with a great peace and their trust resting in the Lord.  I am also blessed to see the creative ways that churches and individuals are reaching out to those in need and finding ways to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Before the virus introduced itself, Harvest had received communication from a hospital in Honduras that was in need of medical supplies.  We had been working with them to accomplish that flight.  Then the Coronavirus came.  Now, the need was urgent but with the world in crisis, we weren’t sure how things were going to work out.  Eric and Brian worked many hours trying to coordinate all of the details.  We started receiving large boxes packed with medical supplies, some of which were going to help protect the medical staff from contracting the virus.  God was gracious and allowed us to partner with Agape Flights in Venice, FL who had 400 lbs of cargo to send to Honduras as well.  Because of their much larger aircraft, they were able to also include a stop in Belize to support our missionaries there.

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The day of the flight was a long day for many of us at Harvest.  Much time was spent consolidating packages, weighing them and preparing labels.  I also corresponded with the missionaries to coordinate the details of their shipment.  While it was a long day for us, it was an  even longer day for the pilots at Agape.  They had flown trips all day to deliver supplies to various locations.  By the time they got to their home airport that night, they would have made 7 stops! We were their last stop. We would load the plane at 8pm that night before they would head back to Venice.  The flight would then to depart from Venice the following Tuesday.  We are SO grateful for their sacrificial hearts which touch the lives of many!  It was truly one of the best moments for me at Harvest thus far.  My heart and passion is to help people. The cargo would leave our hangar and be a blessing to those serving on the front lines. Undoubtedly, these packages will be a source of
encouragement to those who receive it and that brings joy to my soul. Because of our partnership with Agape, we were able to accomplish a delivery of 2,100 lbs of cargo! Praise God!

Click here to read Agape’s Facebook post

The last few weeks, I have been working from home.  For me that has involved creating a database for all of our missionaries.  Because God has blessed Harvest with its first full time staff this past year-and-a-half, there is time to devote to this kind of necessary work.  Once that is complete, I look forward to contacting each missionary to receive their updated information and get to know them a little better.  I am enjoying the change of pace and this time to dedicate to tasks that would likely be set aside if I were at the hangar.

I mentioned in my last blog that I was planning a trip from May 26-June 10th.  That trip will likely be postponed.  I am looking at rescheduling my trip to September sometime.  I will keep a close eye on New Jersey as my heart is still there.  I look forward to seeing you all when the time is right.  I am here for prayer if you need some extra support during this time.

Click here to view Harvest Aviation’s latest newsletter: https://spark.adobe.com/page/1QvrGRPbulBoN/

Stay safe and thank you for your care,

In Him,

Liz 🙂

So, while God is always good, life isn’t always easy. I guess you could say it hasn’t been all roses. Of course not, it’s winter and that describes well the season of life I am just coming out of.

The Chieftain is our mission airplane.  Since I arrived in September it felt like an ongoing saga to get the airplane flying again.  The repairs just kept coming.

I spent nearly every week day working on it and sometimes even on Saturdays. I spent many hours on my own.  It was difficult but I learned so much and gained more confidence in my mechanical abilities.

Apart from that, life away from the hangar was also challenging.  The house that I moved into back in September had a considerable amount of mold in it. I spent months trying to research, treat and clean the problem areas.  My uncle who owns a construction business and has experience dealing with mold came to visit and give me his advice knowing that there was going to be some extensive repairs needed.  After that trip, compiling all the data I had, I decided to move on from that house.  Several friends opened up their homes to me while I tried to find a place of my own.  I am so thankful for the generosity of others.  On February 28th, a group of good friends helped me move into my new place; a 2 bedroom/ 2 bathroom apartment located in our little downtown.  I really like it.

So, the airplane has been finished now.  It is ready to fly but due to Covid-19, flights have been temporarily suspended.  The irony.  I feel like I am on the mend.  With the plane repairs completed and an apartment of my own, I feel like I can take a deep breath and settle in.  I am hoping to begin my instrument rating within the next 2-3 weeks.   There is a gentleman who is a member of Harvest who is allowing staff to use his personal plane for free!  We just have to pay the fuel cost.  I am trying to find a healthy balance; trying to juggle work, training and personal life.  I am just grateful to be in a position mentally to even consider training again.  Praise be to God!

I am excited at the potential that Harvest has. I was praying yesterday, quite literally, that God would work a miracle.  I knew he heard me and while I did not know even what that meant exactly, I trusted that He knew exactly what I needed.  I knew that he might not answer my prayer the way I might want Him to but I could trust that if He didn’t that there was a reason.  Well, there I was talking with a co-worker when 2 gentleman walked in.  Their rudder pedal had broken during flight and they needed to borrow some tools. Of course (sarcasm), we just happened to have a salvageable rudder pedal that fit their aircraft (Can we say “God”?).  Come to find out, they were both aircraft mechanics.  They were retired and live just 30 mins away.  I threw out my best recruiting pitch which was nothing more than a plea for help and they were interested! By the time they left they had filled out volunteer waivers and made plans to come back Friday to meet more of the staff.  I cannot tell you how excited I was.  A true answer to prayer.  2 mechanics that “love” working on airplanes.  I told them they were a miracle. The one guy said, “I’ve been called a lot of things before but never a miracle.”  I laughed.  It is such a relief.  There is much to be done here at Harvest. There is great vision and opportunity for further ministry but we need the personnel to do it. Today, God answered our prayers and sent 2 men our way.  They will not be full-time but I believe they will be a great asset to the ministry here. Thank you to the Lord who provides!!!

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog.  I look forward to visiting NJ/PA May 26-June 1oth.  It will be great to see many friends and give personal reports to churches on how things have been going.

Stay safe everyone and I hope to see you soon!

Liz 🙂

Hi friends,

I am sure one word that frequently peppers many Christmas letters is the word “busy.”  This one would be no exception.  It is hard to keep things balanced when the needs are pressing all around.  I pray that we would all be able to say yes to the things God has for us and leave behind those things that may be meant for someone else to handle.

Recently I made a trip back to New Jersey so I could share my ministry with a few other groups as well as relocate my remaining items from New Jersey to Florida.  A permanent move.  During my visit, I was able to share my presentation at one church, another small group and was able to meet staff from another church that currently supports me.  Each meeting was a special blessing.  I am always thankful for opportunities to share what God is doing and how He is using ordinary people to accomplish great things for His name’s sake.  I was also able to celebrate my birthday with some great friends.  A sweet blessing.

My trip back to Florida was incredibly smooth.  I had no issues at all during my 16-hour journey and hardly hit any traffic.  Thanks be to God!  A true praise happened two days before I left on my trip.  Hertz called me.  I had reserved a moving van for the entirety of my trip.  I was somehow going to navigate driving an oversized van through the streets of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  The reservation was close to $650 for 12 days.  As God’s sovereignty would have it, Hertz called me 2 days before my trip and asked if I would mind driving a car from Florida and exchange it for a van before leaving New Jersey because they could not find a van locally! Well, isn’t God good? Had I made the reservation that way, it would have costed around $1400! Thank you Lord!!!

I have more news, on a more spectacular note.  For four years I have been challenged with inflammation in my spine and hips which has caused much discomfort.  Being on an especially strict diet was helping with the pain but even still I felt like the condition was worsening as time progressed.  Many people were praying for my health as I had a particularly rough summer. I saw a local chiropractor here in Florida and he recommended something free—ice. I also began doing stretches for my neck.  So, each morning and night I would do this routine of icing and stretching.  I realized over time that I was able to eat things that would have before been restricted and there were no flare-ups!! I was reluctantly confused.  How could this be? After all of these years, the remedy was was ice and neck stretches?  I know for a fact that God has heard the prayers of His people on my behalf and I am extremely grateful.  I do not know if this will be a permanent healing as there is still soreness at times but for now I can rejoice that my diet is much more open and the discomfort has subsided. PRAISE BE TO GOD, the giver of all good gifts!!! He has heard the prayers of His people and shown me favor. Thank you to all who have prayed!!! I am extremely grateful.

Last but certainly not least!  More good things! About four years ago, I believe, a former flight instructor in New Jersey introduced me to Hannah, another female pilot looking to become a missionary pilot.  Last week Hannah volunteered one week of her time to come help us at Harvest.  It was a blessing to have her.  She has some mechanic experience so she was able to assist in the hangar while we finish up the last items to make the main airplane, the Chieftain, airworthy again.  It was surely nice to have another girl around!  We are praying for the Lord’s continued direction in her life as she seeks to gain more flight hours.

I surely hope and trust that you all have an especially blessed Christmas season!  Christ sacrificed so much to leave His throne in Heaven and come to earth as a helpless babe.  May we never forget His selfless love for us and point others to the Hope we have in Him!

Merriest Christmas to you and yours,

Liz 🙂

 

Hi friends,

It is such a pleasure to be here in Florida serving with Harvest.  I have uploaded quite a few pictures this month to help you get a glimpse of my new surroundings and the work we are doing at Harvest.

Here is the house where I am staying with another Harvest member, Jennifer.  I really like it.  I have had to fight off many bugs due to a bad seal on my air conditioning unit but that has been resolved so I am thankful. I have not seen too many “Palmetto bugs” (a.k.a. roaches) and for that I am extremely grateful!  Bug Story

Maintenance Work

Bahama Relief Efforts

Some Nature Pics

A HUGE praise and continued prayer request:  The Executive Director of Harvest, Eric, was in a horrible car accident which left his car totaled.  He broke his collarbone and L2 vertebrae.  His recovery time is estimated to be 6-8 weeks.  Harvest has planned a week-long trip over Thanksgiving to Belize where he was going to lead a teaching ministry to assist with the discipleship of local pastors there.  We are still praying that he would be able to accompany us on the trip as this ministry is close to his heart.

There is much to do at Harvest.  As soon as the new engine installation is complete we are looking forward to delivering supplies to the Bahamas.  There are many humanitarian efforts assisting in the relief work there.  We were told that the government there is frustrated with the churches in the area because while the government is trying to limit the help and resources for their own gain, the churches know exactly who to help and where the supplies are needed most. God is providing for His people despite the seemingly corrupt government there.

Thank you all for your continued prayers on behalf of the ministry here.  On a personal note, I am currently at 83% funding for the year which leaves me under budget each month by $507.75.  In addition, I have incurred some start-up and medical costs which still have yet to be met.  You can click here to get a breakdown of those costs. If there would be a way you could help, would you please consider helping with one of these costs or a monthly donation?  Every little bit helps!

Donations can be made online at continuetogive.com/lizperr or you can email me at lizperr@gmail.com to receive additional information on how to send a check.  If you cannot give at this time, will you pray that these financial needs will be met in a timely manner.  Thank you.

When I first arrived at Harvest, and since last Friday if I am going to be honest, I have felt a lot of pressure.  The laborers surely are few. Would you pray that the Lord will bring more mechanics to Harvest?  Without mechanics, the work can not happen.  In addition to that, it seemed wherever I looked, whether at work or at home there was much to do.  I think not having my belongings here with me has also added a level of stress.  This week I have been able to breathe and am hoping to get away this weekend to relax for a little bit.  I leave in a few weeks to go back to New Jersey briefly to transport my items to Florida.  I am looking forward to that.

Well, that just about sums it up.  Thank you again for taking the time to read this.  Don’t be afraid to leave a comment.  It is an encouragement to know that people are reading…and praying!

God bless you all!

Liz 🙂

 

DMV Costs (Vehicle registration, transfer of drivers license and title) $400

Additional blood work $340.80

Dental Deep Cleaning ($500 per quadrant) $2000

Home water treatment (initial cost $135 plus $60 per month)

Dryer and dishwasher (hoping to get both free in time)

Mold Remediation and renovation of two rooms in home (unsure of price)

 

 

 

I have never seen so many bugs of all different shapes and sizes. I often feel like they are crawling on me…sometimes they are and sometimes it is just my imagination.  I was driving just the other day (this actually happened twice) and I felt something on my leg, I swatted it and it felt big.  I literally said out loud. “I don’t like bugs!”  Haha.  A few seconds later this creature jumped on my other leg and when I swatted at it, and freaked out, I noticed it was wet.  I looked down and it was a frog! Ugh, cute but they are everywhere and while I had heard that you have to keep your windows closed to keep the lizards out I hadn’t heard about the frogs! Well, now I know.