Whirlwind Start

Well, it's been an interesting few weeks. Even though I started raising support in January, February 18th was the official kickoff for my fundraising campaign. My first fundraising event took place on the 18th when I gave a radio interview about MAF on 93.3 FM in Stettler, Alberta. Although they only aired a 30 second clip during the news it was still good publicity. In the following weeks they re-aired it using different clips from the interview. Then on the 20th and 21st I helped to staff the MAF booth at Missions Fest in Edmonton. It was a good time of meeting new people and seeing old friends. I was able to make a few good contacts there. I even met some people who have previous history with MAF and Papua New Guinea. After Missions Fest, I was able to do my first official speaking gig in a church. On Sunday the 22nd I went to the Evangelical Free Church in Coronation to speak about my journey with MAF and the calling that God has place upon my life. Even though it is a small congregation, it was still a good opportunity to share about the work that MAF is doing.

MAF Display at West Kelowna Emmanuel Assembly

In fundraising, as in aviation, I have learned to be very flexible in terms of scheduling. This was useful in the last week of February. I was planning to do a fundraising trip out to Kelowna, BC to visit some friends out there. But I wasn't planning on going until the end of March. Then some opportunities opened up in the first week of March and I ended up driving out to Kelowna on February 26th. I was able to set up a MAF display during the Sunday services at the West Kelowna Emmanuel Assembly Church on March 1st. Then on March 5th I was allowed to give a MAF presentation to the senior's Bible Study group at the same church. I was able to speak about MAF and I also gave a part of my personal testimony. The following day I spoke about MAF in a more personal setting when I was able to be part of a dessert evening. It was a good time of connecting with people on a more direct level. While I was in Kelowna I learned that our local newspaper ran an article about my ministry with MAF. I had contacted them several weeks before to see if they were interested in doing an article. I had sent them some notes and a few pictures and figured that they might do a small article in the middle of the paper. But then they surprised me by running it as the main article on the front page.

After I got back from Kelowna on Sunday, March 8th I had a good opportunity to share at my home church and update them on everything that has been going on with the MAF fundraising. I know that I am incredibly blessed to have such an amazing church that is willing to stand beside me as I move forward in this ministry. I am so thankful for their amazing support.

Coming up in the near future I will be speaking about MAF at several different events. On March 12th I will be giving a small presentation at the monthly meeting of the Iron Creek Flying Club at the Killam-Sedgewick airport. Then on April 12th I will be travelling to Athabasca to speak at the Athabasca Missionary Church. The following Sunday will be the main event of my entire fundraising campaign. On Sunday, April 19th we will be hosting a MAF fundraiser dinner at our local Recreation Center. We will be having a BBQ potluck dinner followed by a live auction to raise funds for MAF's ministry. It should be a great evening of community fellowship and advancement of God's kingdom.  

With all of the financial support I am now at 23% of the total support goal. That means I still need $4000 in monthly support and $15000 in one-time support. Please support this ministry. Whether it's $25, $50, $100, or $500, any amount of monthly support that you can give is greatly needed. Not just for me, but for the people of PNG and so I can serve them. Please give to this work. But keep in mind, I don't just need monthly support while I am in PNG. It is needed now. Because I can't get over there until 100% of the support is donated. And I also need prayer support, because that is a huge part of this as well. If you are able to commit to keeping me in your prayers for the 4 years that I am in PNG that would be awesome. You can donate to this ministry online, by phone, or by mail. Please designate your donation to go towards Ryan Cole. If donating by phone, call toll free 1-877-351-9344. If donating by mail, please make your cheque payable to Mission Aviation Fellowship of Canada. If donating online you can follow this link: https://mafc.org/missionarypages/cole/index.html#donate

If you are unable to give financially but still want to be a part of this, then please feel free to sign up for my MAF newsletters by sending me a message at ryancole277@yahoo.ca

If you know of other people who would be interested in hearing about this work with MAF, then please spread the word. Because the more people that know about this, the better.

Thanks for reading this and thank you so much for your support,

-Ryan

To donate by mail, send your cheques to:
MAF Canada
264 Woodlawn Road W.
Guelph, Ontario
N1H 1B6

For USA donors online:
https://maf.org/donate?fid=NxJL1Lk3Lhk%3D&fdesc=xFqs0FDMQGRCrYqqrUs7fg%3D%3D#.VL8qZdLF-Sr

More Info:
www.mafc.org
http://maf-papuanewguinea.org/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/281213732064928/