MAF News March - May 2008

8/3/2019 MAF News March - May 2008

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The magazine of Mission Aviation Fellowship

Overcomingblindness in

Sudanpages 8-9

March - May 2008

FIGHTING FOR VIOLApage4 MARINE EXPERTS TAKE TO THE SKYpage12


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Canadian Debbie has overcome a serieso traumatic events to serve as ouronly current emale pilot in Papua

New Guinea (PNG).Dreaming o ying a Boeing 747 with

KLM, she began a Bachelor o Arts coursein British Columbia, concentrating on avia-tion. Debbie went on a university link tripto the MAF centre in Caliornia. She thenmade her own way back to Canada, whileellow students ew in fve light aircrat.

Two o the planes were lost in snowyweather, killing fve riends as well as herinstructor.

Grie-stricken, I didnt trust God anymore, conesses Debbie.

She moved rom job to job or 11 years.It was brutal. During that time, sixmore o

What is MAF?

Mission Aviation Fellowship

Castle Hill Avenue, Folkestone, Kent UK CT20 2TN

Telephone: 0845 850 9505

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.ma-uk.org

Registered Charity Number 1064598

Scottish Ofce

Challenge House, 29 Canal Street, Glasgow G4 0AD

Telephone: 0845 850 9505

Email: [email protected]

Chie Executive, MAF UK: Ruth Whitaker

MAF News team

Editor: Andy Prescott

Research: Kate Allen

Writers: Kate Allen, David Hall

Photographers:

Alan Duncan, Richard Hanson, David Randel,

Layton Thompson, Z Photo Agency

Design: Adamart

Purchasing: Mark Stanton

Art Direction: Richard Bellamy

Printed by John Blackburn Ltd

Bible reerences are taken rom the New International Versionunless otherwise stated

MAF UK March May 2008 mzr9

MAF News March May 2008

Mission Aviation Fellowship is a Christianorganisation whose mission is to y lightrat in developing countries so that peopleemote areas can receive the help they need.ce 1946, our planes have been speeding theead o the Good News o the Lord Jesusist by word and deed, in places o deepest

man need. Isolated places where ying isa luxury, but a lieline.Every three minutes, an MAF plane isng o or landing somewhere in the world.se ights enable crucial work by manyelopment and aid agencies, missions, localrches and other national groups. Medicale, adequate ood, clean water and Christianpe are reaching countless thousands o men,men and children.Normally, passengers contribute a highly-sidised are towards the true cost. Theance that makes ights possible comes ass rom people concerned that others should

e a better lie spiritually and physically.In the UK, MAF is a registered charityded by voluntary gits which help fnanceFs operational work and support services.Please use the enclosed response orm andelope or your donation to this ministry.MAFs work is vital. Lives depend on it.

March May 2008 MAF News 3

my riends all pilots died. I hated aviationat that point and thought I needed to quit.

AppointmentWhile at university, Debbie had married Ed

Laninga. As she struggled to maintain heraith, Ed, who also knew the six who died,drited away rom God.

But the couple recommitted themselvesto their marriage, and moved to Edmonton.Ed got a good job in sales management andreight handling, while Debbie secured aying job that was based 300 miles a way inLethbridge. For 18 months, they saw eachother only at weekends.

However, Ed recommitted his lie toGod, who then opened up a job or him inLethbridge. Later, they applied to join MAF,and were accepted or service.

Debbie is one o 11 pilots appointed aterour worldwide appeal ollowing the tragicdeaths o 3 PNG pilots within 14 months.

In September 2006, the couple arrivedin PNG. And or Ed, its a reversal o thetraditional scenario o male pilot with wie

Only the Lord at work can

account or Debbie Laninga

becoming a pilot in one o

MAFs remotest operations

Tough pathwayat home. In addition to cooking and clean-ing, he doubles as aircrat trafc ofcer,ambulance driver or garden maintenance

worker when needed.

CommitmentSome 95% o MAF landings are in remoteregions. And because o Debbie, many girlpupils at schools want to become pilots.

Her saddest memory is ying a boy agedaround ten with badly swollen legs rom arural airstrip to hospital. He was a toughlittle guy, no crying even though he was inpain. Next morning, we got a phone call tosay that he didnt make it. I was ver y down-hearted.

But mostly, such ights lead to medicalsuccess. Lots o the patients are women

with difculties with childbirth, or childrenwith burns or open wounds. One girl oabout two ell on to her mothers cookingknie. It went into her abdomen and herintestines were coming out. She made it.

Now working with our Flight TrainingUnit instructing PNG nationals how to y,

Chie ExecutivesCOMMENT

How is it that, aspeople, we can be sosimilar in our basicneeds and yet sodierent in our

interests and cultural expectations?In November, I visited Papua New

Guinea (PNG) and saw or mysel aculture very dierent to the UK.

Incredibly, there are 820 languagesspoken today. The terrain may well havecontributed to this its so difcult totravel around, and many small communi-ties are isolated. I was astonished at thelack o inrastructure There really areno roads! I heard mysel saying.

As well as steep mountains, parts arecovered in swamps and there is densejungle. MAF services are really vital.

We have been providing transport andemergency help in PNG since 1951.

One morning, I accompanied pilotRichard Ebel, picking up participantsrom a training conerence and returningthem to their villages. We made six stopsbeore noon. At every place, local peoplerushed towards us when we landed. Theycame to see what provisions were aboardand who was arriving.

Our aircrat y to places that are totallyinaccessible by any means except air. And

we need to y resh ood or our teammembers who are unable to grow or buyany variety near their own homes.

But they need spiritual nourishment,too. That same aternoon, I ew on to ahighland area where I met a lady who had

walked or seven hours to go to a ladiesconerence. Even when the only way wasto walk through mud tracks and a river,she was determined to go. I wont orgether in a hurry!

I hope you enjoy reading in these pagesabout some o our sta who have beencalled to serve in other cultures.

Debbie enthuses: I am very excited withthe prospect o being able to mentor,teach, disciple and really get to know someo the people I am here to serve.

Unless God calls me away, Ill be hereuntil Im old and grey, she smiles.

Ed and Debbie


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Being born into amily conict was tragicenough or Viola. But she also beganlie with hydrocephalus. This disease

uses uid to accumulate and compressese brain, resulting in extreme swelling oe head.Such a medical condition is challengingthe best environments. Living in remotejo Keji, southern Sudan, it meant her lieng in the balance.Abandoned by her husband and suering

the hands o her amily, Violas motherse was burdened by her own situation

d she struggled to care or her daughter.Debilitated hersel by a lack o ood,se could barely carry or breasteed Viola.e tried collecting frewood in an attemptearn some money to eed her daughter.t her rail body and Violas increasingight made the task impossible.The directors rom St Bartholomewsphanage in Kajo Keji oten visited Rose,unselling and praying with her.

ight recognisedcal hospitals advised that Viola neededatment in Uganda. Sadly, Rose did notve the resources to make this happen.But then Candace Glenn, an American

edical student rom Florida, arrived at Strtholomews as part o a mission trip inth Sudan and Uganda. She writes, Theedical needs in northern Uganda anduthern Sudan are overwhelming, butere was one particular case that, as adical student, I was extremely struck by.Candace met Rose and Viola and waseply touched by their extreme plight.

She continues, Although conditions inSudan are discouraging, I was not willing togive up hope or this child whom I came tolove as I sat with Viola and her weepingmother and watched them both struggleor some comort in each others arms.

Undoubtedly, without medical attentionViola would die.

Problems resolvedOn returning to the USA, Candace busilyresearched, emailed and called people inthe hope o gaining assistance or Viola. Shecame into contact with Dr Charles Howard,Director o CURE Childrens Hospital inMbale, Uganda.

Fighting for Violaeakened and emaciated,

me was really critical or

e 18-month-old girl

Ater discussion and without having yetseen Viola, Dr Howard agreed that his team

would perorm the essential surgery.This let one fnal problem or Candace.

Viola lives in Sudan and CUREs hospitalis hundreds o miles away in Uganda. Being

weakened by her condition, long difcultroad travel simply wasnt an option.

Thats when Candace remembered theMAF aircrat that had own in to collectmissionaries rom Kajo Keji. Immediately,she contacted Steve Forsyth, our CountryDirector in Uganda, whose response was, I

would love to help her.So pilot Gerrit Pap landed at Kajo Keji to

collect Viola ater taking a amily workingwith Wyclie Bible Translators to Kapoeta.While he was preparing the plane or hispassengers, Gerrit was a little dismayed

when he realised that Rose had no traveldocuments! All that she had was a medicaltranser paper and a letter asking or help.

It was decision time: take them or leavethem, Gerrit recalls. Having come this ar,he decided to try and take them, prayingor acceptance by the Ugandan authorities.

Papers requestedAnd that wasnt the only obstacle. As hehelped Rose and Viola aboard the Cessnaaircrat, there was a loud crack o thunder and a bolt o lightning shot through thesky. Gerrit had planned to y low so as toprevent altitude causing increased pressurein Violas head but, ater taking o, the

weather wouldnt permit him to y higherthan 500t anyway. Just as he consideredturning back, the clouds lightened and theight continued across the border to Arua.

On landing, an immigration ofcer and apoliceman met Rose, pointing out her lacko paperwork. Silently praying, Gerrit thenexplained that the only alternative was totake her back to Kajo Keji. Through Godsamazing grace, the immigration ofcer said,Oh no, we cannot let them return now thatthey have come this ar!


NEWSIN BRIEF

Blinding cataractsBrad Sinclair flew six eye doctors fromSuai to Dili, East Timor, following aweeks clinic. Suai is in a remote areaon the southern edge of the country,just a 30-minute flight from Dili, but a7-hour trip driving over rugged terrain ifthe bridges are passable. The teamtreated over 470 patients, performingmore than 80 operations, mainly forblinding cataracts.

New outreachFor a number of years, our MadagascarCountry Director and pilot JakobAdolf has prayed for the region southof Marolambo and Sahakevo. Now,

he has visited to talk to villagers andview a potential airstrip site. Jakobis gathering together Malagasy andmissionary doctors to plan how best toconcentrate their efforts to serve theisolated people of this rainforest area.

Healthy heartsPilot Juuso Koponen flew a team ofphysicians and nurses working withSamaritans Purse Childrens HeartProject to Dalanzadgad, Mongolia.This project identifies children whohave life-threatening heart disease incountries that lack technology andtraining to treat them. Such childrenare taken with a parent to the USA foran operation. Members of churchesthere provide a home, and care forthem until they are fit to return.

Mission tripBishop David Thangana and PastorJohn Kareithi from Glory OutreachAssembly flew to Marsabit, northernKenya, to visit their team and assessthe spiritual and physical needs of localpeople. There are many people stillunreached with the Gospel. During

their five-day stay, they ordained PastorHirbo and spent time with the localpeople. They also distributed mosquitonets to mothers and children.

Making peaceDave and Donna Jacobsson, who leadour eastern Democratic Republic ofCongo team, report, The most stra-tegic, high impact flying that wevebeen privileged to partner with hasbeen for various reconciliation effortsand movements. A flight to Beni tookspeakers to lead a biblical communitydevelopment seminar for those work-ing with Restoration Ministry teams.They gave training and equipped 40community leaders and prayer groupleaders from 9 villages. Their teachingfocused on biblical principles for holis-tic development.

With grateul thanks, Gerrit took oagain with his passengers now bound orKumi, the closest airstrip to Mbale. A wait-ing ambulance took Rose and Viola the fnal30-minute journey to the hospital. And asGerrit let, he prayed that Viola would do

well and be a blessing to her mother.

Persistence rewardedQuickly assessing Viola, the sta at CUREChildrens Hospital realised she was in verypoor condition, severely malnourished and

with a respiratory inection. Ater a bloodtransusion and continual eeding in orderto nourish her emaciated body, it was thenpossible to perorm the necessary surgery.Dr Mugamba successully operated on

Viola and she stayed in rehabilitation at thehospital to gain strength.

Returning to Kajo Keji aboard anotherMAF plane, Viola was taken to the hospitalthere to receive ollow-up treatment and a

weeks stay in the nutritional ward. Now,her progress is regularly monitored and shecontinues to improve.

Without the incredible vision, initiativeand persistence o an American medicalstudent, the willingness o a doctor inUganda, and our aircrat, little Viola wouldalmost certainly have died.

Praise the Lord that she now has achance in lie.

Viola with Rose

Medical student Candace (top) Pilot Gerrit

Flying Viola to Kumi



4/8

I have just been talking with two newmembers o sta during their trainingand preparation or their frst overseasassignment with MAF.

Alasdair and Cassandra Munro expectto join our team in Nairobi, Kenya,

where Alasdair will serve as an aircratmaintenance engineer.

Conversations such as these serve tore-emphasise or me how much supportall our overseas sta need i they are tocarry out their work eectively. Suchsupport is essential rom the earlieststages o considering the idea o work-ing with us, right through to activeservice abroad.

The experiences o Paul and EdithBrooks demonstrate how service withMAF can be both challenging and varied.They have really valued prayer and prac-tical support in their move to Mongolia.

O course, support can come in manyorms. We are always grateul or those

who pray, those who provide practicalhelp, and those who give fnancially.

MAF is always in need o technicalsta overseas, particularly pilots andengineers at this time. We have severalurgent vacancies to fll. In addition,there are a number o senior UK-basedopportunities just now.

Would you join usin praying that suchexperienced people

will come orward?We have a number

o Enquirers Days

planned during 2008or those seriouslyconsidering overseasservice. For dates othese, and or detailso current vacancies,please contact:

Heather FaulknerRecruitment AssistantMission Aviation FellowshipCastle Hill AvenueFOLKESTONECT20 2TN

Email: [email protected]: 0845 850 9505

Rachel ThompsonPersonnel Manager

From the verystart

Several times, I have asked a questionand been given an answer, only to be givena dierent answer on another occasion.Something gets lost in the translation,explains Paul.

Reaching the countrysideOn Sunday mornings, the amily attends aMongolian-speaking church that provides a

translation into English. The Church isgrowing in Mongolia, reports Paul. It wasgreat or BSA to be involved with sevenchurches last year that wanted to reachpeople in the countryside.

Most o the missions are involved indevelopment work as well as their church

work that is the only way they can comeinto the country. Mongolian communitiessee missions helping them and ask, Why

you are helping? Then, they have thechance to speak about God.

As I look back, I can see how the Lordhas prepared me or this work, training methrough the eight years in Uganda, Paultestifes. Now I am drawing on His strengthas I tackle new areas o work. This is onechallenge I can only meet with His help.

Edith concludes, As long is God is withus, we are home no matter where we are.

New country new clothesnew wardrobe is just one

the eatures o change or

amily acing a whole new

hallenge

amily was in England, Paul recalls. All thetravelling and times apart were difcult.

And the couple was immediately struckby contrasts with Uganda. Edith observes,Here the sun is oten out shining brightjust like Uganda, but when you get outsideit is reezing. So it is rather deceiving.

Open space

Uganda is green all year, Paul continues.Mongolia is green or a ew months in thesummer. But otherwise, it is brown anddusty until the snow comes.

Within Uganda itsel, our longest ightwas under two hours. In Mongolia, thereare not many places we go to in under twohours. There are vast areas o desert, at asar as the eye can see and then mountainsin other areas. You do not need to travel arout o Ulaanbaatar to be in the middle oopen space with no one to be seen.

And in Uganda, there is a very largeChristian presence. You even notice it as

you go shopping. Here, there are moreBuddhist things.

Paul joined MAF in 1995, frst to servewith the fnance team in Folkestone. Threeyears later, he became Finance Manager inUganda, where he married Edith who was

Moving rom Uganda to Mongolia

demanded a radical change o

clothing or Paul and Edith Brooksd their two children.In Uganda, I needed little more than art, Paul points out. Only occasionally

d I wear a sweater. But here in Mongolia,need warm clothing. Even in town, the

mperature is likely to drop to 30C ine winter. It rarely dropped below 20C inmpala.Paul is now our Country Director or

ongolia, leading Blue Sky Aviation (BSA),ich is the organisation under which weerate there.Although he moved to Ulaanbaatar the

pital city o Mongolia in November06, the amily ollowed in August 2007.at was just two months ater Edith haden birth to their second child Gabriella,ister or John-Luke.I was in Mongolia three times while the

born in Kampala.Now, as well as leading the Mongolian

team, Paul works as Accountable Managerand Quality Manager, and he has enjoyedgetting a new computer server running.

But he insists, I am still part o a teamtrying to serve the Lord by helping othermissions and churches through the use oaviation to spread the Word.

My most memorable day began at 1am!I had an emergency phone call asking or aight or a two-year-old girl who had beenseriously injured in a road trafc accident.

Much arranging was necessary in theearly hours, and then Paul helped to takeseats out o the Millennium Messengeraircrat to make room or the stretcher. Heaccompanied pilot Jan-Tore on the two-houright to Oyu Tolgoi. Sadly, the girl died theollowing day. But, as Paul remarks, Wegave her a chance she would not otherwisehave had.

Lost in translationThe amily lives in a ground oor apart-ment with a small play area outside verydierent rom the bungalow and gardenthey enjoyed in Uganda. And language is abarrier they ace daily.

MAF News March May 2008 March May 2008 MAF News 7

Heather FaulknerRecruitment Assistant


5/8

A winners smile

Curious villagers gather to watch as theplane glides to a stop on the bumpyand muddy airstrip in the remote area

Keew county, southern Sudan.Among the onlookers is sixty-year-oldaruai Matai. Nyaruai peers at the planewonder. It is her frst time to see ane. As the passengers disembark,aruai moves orward hesitantly to greet

em. Suddenly, her ace lights up incognition as she identifes one o thewcomers.Eh, eh, you have come! You have come!

e says excitedly as she shakes his handmly.Yes. We are back, says the newcomer

ancis Ole Sempele. Francis is Christianssion Aids (CMA) eye surgeon in south-

n Sudan.

otal darknessorking in partnership with Dark andht, CMA operates a Comprehensive Eyervices (CES) mobile unit in Upper Nileea, treating eye diseases and conductingchoma and cataract surgeries. Sinceril 2006, over 50,000 patients haveceived treatment and hundreds o cata-ct and trachoma surgeries have beendertaken.Through the mobile eye unit, CMA andrk and Light have restored sight tondreds o cataract and trachoma suer-s in southern Sudan. Nyaruai Matai ise o them.Until recently, Nyaruai was completelynd rom bilateral cataract. Her situationde her totally dependent on her daugh-or everything including mobility. She

uld not cook, etch water or tend herrden. For our years, Nyaruais days were

hree months on oot in a

ght against blindness

flled with total darkness and depressionuntil CMA came to her rescue.

Ater a tiring three-month journey onoot, passing through swamps and mosquito-inested orests, Nyaruai arrived at the CMAhealthcare unit in Keew where the CESteam was conducting cataract and trachomasurgeries. She was operated on her righteye, and to her great joy, she woke up theollowing morning and could see!

We are backIt wasyou who operated on my eye,Nyaruai tells Francis as she recalls thattime. I have come to have this other oneoperated on, she says.

Francis smiles at Nyaruai who is still hold-ing his hand. We are back, he says again.

Nyaruai smiles and looks back at theplane as it prepares to take o. Five monthsago, she had no idea what a plane lookedlike. Today, thanks to Dark and Light andCMA she can not only see the plane, butshe has gone rom being dependent toindependent.

What have you been up to since youregained your eyesight? I ask her.

Oh, many things! I can now cook, grind,etch water and Ive been preparing mygarden, she says with a smile.

Once her let eye is operated on,Nyaruai will have restored ull eyesight and

will become an even more eectivemember o society.

Reversing blindnessCataract is the leading cause o blindnessin southern Sudan with a prevalence o39.2% ollowed by trachoma 37.3%.

The CES mobile unit has become anicon o hope or many like Nyaruai.Rotating rom location to location in theUpper Nile area, the team continues topromote eyecare through training Sudanese


by Emily Kanyi NEWSIN BRIEF

Mission SudanPastor Nelly Wanjue Njiru felt calledto serve in southern Sudan. She relieson our flights to travel between Narusand Nairobi. Nelly has established achurch in Narus and has developeda ministry among the women, as sherealised they had nothing to do but sitaround and drink. Recognising theirnatural skills in beadwork, she encour-ages the women to become moreself-sufficient by making jewellerythat can bring them an income.

Surgical supportChad Tilley flew a team of Germandoctors and nurses to Friendshipsfloating hospital moored at Gaibandha,Bangladesh. They spent two weeksworking from early morning till night,cramped in a small surgery room.Chad also flew a French medical teamwhich performed 50 orthopaedicoperations and cleaned and dressedmany open wounds and infections injust five days.

Mongolian outreachA senior education official in north-western Mongolia accepted Jesus ashis Saviour while attending a seminarat Ulaanbaatar Baptist Church. Herequested a team to visit his areaand hold a seminar on creation andworld history for people, including150 teachers. So pilot Juuso Koponenflew a team from Ulaanbaatar BaptistChurch to Ulaangom and Khovd foroutreach.

Peace processA survivor of the Rwandan genocide,Immaculee Ilbagiza flew with pilotLaura Westley to Pader, northernUganda. Working for the UnitedNations, Immaculee was visitingUganda with a team from a Christianfilm company to help document the

Lords Resistance Armys tour of thenorth in seeking forgiveness as part ofthe peace process. Laura shares, Wealways pray before we fly, and this wasa very special time for both of us.

Monthly visitGero Gringmuth flew a team on themonthly Kilimatinde Safari, Tanzania,visiting Chidudu, Mpapa and Mahakawhere they gave vaccinations, exam-ined pregnant women, and providedhealth advice. In Chidudu, more than300 children received immunisationsto protect them against easily-prevent-able diseases. An evangelistic teamfrom Dodoma taught Bible stories tochildren, baptised two people, andprepared a seminar for an evangelistto stay and run for people in Mahaka.


nationals in the work and also in how toperorm cataract and trachoma surgery.

CMA and Dark and Light are committedto continue with the fght towards alleviatingpreventable blindness in southern Sudan.

A winners smile is reproduced withpermission from Christian Mission Aid.

Dark and Light Blind Care is aChristian foundation for helping visuallyimpaired people in Africa and Asia. It isbased in The Netherlands.

MAF aircraft based in Kenya provide theair transport for CMAs work in Keew. It isour privilege to serve this wide-ranging

ministry.


6/8

We were thereon the spotou heard it on the news. Disasters around

he world. Thank God we could do something

0 MAF News March May 2008 March May 2008 MAF News 11

Nicaragua

an MAF come and help? The cry camemNicaragua, where hurricaneFelixuck erociously.Gusts up to 160 miles an hour battered

e northern coast in S eptember last year.me 150,000 people were aected, withkilled, 110 missing, and 10,000 homes

maged 8,000 o them being totallystroyed.Even livestock were blown away by thend. People were roped together or saety.Medication, clean water, ood, blackstic, candles and torches were urgentlyeded, but road bridges were smashedd coastal areas completely isolated.And with our planes no longer based incaragua, we pulled out all the stops to

WORLD NEWS

co-ordinate an air bridge in response despite continuing eects rom 50 daystorrential rain.

A partnership o MAF, the Council oProtestant Churches o Nicaragua, OperationBlessing and Mission Flights International(MFI) swung into action. An MAF aircratew to Nicaragua rom Mexico, while MFIsent its turbine-powered DC3.

At the temporary base the coastalairport o Puerto Cabezas MAF ofcialshelped handle precious relie goods. Thenthe planes began to deliver blankets, cloth-ing, beans, rice, corn, our, plastic sheetingand medical supplies with ree uel that

was provided by the military.Altogether, 31 ights carried over 25

tons o urgent supplies or many grateulvictims o hurricaneFelix.

Uganda

Continuous rain, which lashed the northand east oUganda in September, washedaway bridges and cut huge gaps in roads,leaving air transport as the only way intothe heart o the disaster.

In just one week, our 4 aircrat made 17ights to speed help to the hal-millionpeople aected oten battling to beat the

weather as they crossed the worst-hit o 17Arican countries aected by devastatingoods.

Because our Caravans were unable toland at Kitgum, one group o workers optedto be taken to Gulu and fnish their journeyby road. But a bridge had washed away anda long, tiring diversion was necessary. Theymade the return journey in two parties,using our smaller Cessna 210s.

Planes delivered ood, clean water andpuriying tablets when ears o inectionand a growing risk o malaria ollowed.

Dr Taketo rom Japan, working with theComboni Sisters, scoured shops in Kampalato buy the 2,000kg o relie items deliveredin two ights rom Kajjansi to Morulem.Survival kits each including a mosquitonet were distributed to 1,100 amilies.The 24-minute ight would have taken 5days by road at that time had the journeybeen possible.

Democratic Republic of Congo

When an outbreak o deadly Ebola claimed200 lives in theDemocratic Republic ofCongo in September, our planes were veryquickly there.

Thousands ell victim to the killer virusthat has no known cure. Symptoms includesevere stomach pain and internal bleeding.

Well over hal those inected die.MAF planes erried medical experts and

over three tons o equipment to containthe eects. We also ew in a complete feldlaboratory. This enabled specialists to givean instant verifcation o Ebola rom a dropo blood saving the necessity o sendingthe samples away to laboratories in Atlantaor Gabon.

Aircrat also took personal protectionsuits, soap, bleach and other supplies to anisolated Presbyterian mission centre.

Whenever an aircrat landed, pilot andpassengers had to be careul not to shake

hands with hundreds o children and adultswho greeted them, or ear o catching andspreading the highly contagious virus.

Because the outbreak had occurred in aheavily orested area with isolated villagesconnected only by severely rutted dirtroads, our planes became vital transport.

Even as the epidemic waned, we begandiscussions with mission agencies that arekeen to establish acilities to help meet thespiritual needs o people whose lives hadbeen devastated. Bangladesh

Bangladesh was repeatedly ravaged last year.

AugustMost areas ood-aected. We y expertsrom agencies such as Baptist GlobalResponse to assess priority aid needs.

Diarrhoea and cholera prevalent.SeptemberFloods highest or 30 years.

Crops under water.

We make survey and relie ight to JamunaRiver district.

OctoberStorm. Many ships and 100 fshermen lostat sea. MAF ies or two days helping withthe search and rescue.

Our amphibious Caravan was essential orFriendships oating hospital in Gaibandha,

where wind picked up utility boat andhouseboat, slamming them back into waterand sinking them.

One fsherman and his wie saved by ropingthemselves together or seven hours.

Our aircrat delivers medical specialists andmaterials providing clean water.

NovemberThe big one.

Ater worst ooding comes cyclone Sidrdeadliest hitting the region in 10 years.

Death toll over 3,000.

500,000 houses destroyed.

Valuable crops, ready or harvest, across 2million acres o arm land wiped out.

MAF felds 250 phone calls in single day.

Survey ight to worst-hit areas or UNDPand UNICEF.

Only other civilian aircrat helping is acommercial helicopter.

Pilot Chad Tilley ies to Patharghata.Cyclone wave there reported up to 25thigh. It washed in, then suddenly back tosea, pulling with it thousands o people andhundreds o animals and homes.

MAF ying rom morning till evening.

Debris and allen trees make surace travelimpossible.

Chad Tilley introduces himsel to armymajor as pilot o MAF Seaplane. Majorresponds: No, Captain Chad. The people othis country call the aircrat Sea Angel.

Escalating predicamentBeating the weather Killer virus

After the hurricane


7/8

Marine experts take to the skyrst meeting at sea, now

couple fies high to serve

eople in need

March May 2008MAF News 13

ordinating ights, ensuring there is a pilotand aircrat available. She also has to checkon the destination airfeld, the route andthe availability o uel, and get paper workready or customs and immigration, as wellas issue tickets and ascertain the weights opassengers and cargo.

A deep ullmentOn the day o the ight, she welcomespassengers and then does ight-ollowingby HF radio. As she admits, With Andy asthe pilot, I have a vested interest!

The varied nature o his ying excitesAndy instrument approaches to inter-national airports, dodging thunderstormsand taking o rom a grass or dirt airstrip.

We may not see the eects upon acommunity immediately, but knowing thatGod is working and seeing the dierencesin the mission teams when they returnmakes it worthwhile, enthuses Caroline.

They have noticed that, in Carolineswords: Churches here are rarely movedby the same things which would move achurch in the UK. Photographs o starving

Arican children barely cause a secondglance possibly because they are on theirdoorstep.

Flying into neighbouring countries, theyhave noticed varying standards o air tra-fc control and the scarcity o navigationalaids outside South Arican airspace.

But the variety o mission work thatthey are able to help, including both Bible

translation and church-planting teams, onlyincreases the couples enthusiasm or thechallenges MAF aces daily.

Andy has own mission teams to Zambia,Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana andMalawi.

Once, he had to deliver a driveshat ora Land Cruiser to Zambia because the origi-nal one had snapped on rough bush terrain.

And as they rise to such occasions, withnot only Carolines skill at overcoming

planning obstacles but also Andys ability inthe air, they are excited to be where God

wants them.As Andy puts it: Take two rough sailors

away rom the seven seas; take away thesecurity o well-paid secular employment;give them a complete career change itcan only be done with Gods help. Now we

want to be where God wants us to be anddoing what God wants us to do.

It cant get any better than that.

An oil tanker ploughed through icywaters o Canada. On board, Andy

Gillies met Caroline. Neither oem dreamt that, years later, they wouldworking or a Christian mission.When they met, Andy, a qualifed ships

ptain, was Chie Ofcer on the tankerd Caroline was a marine engineer. So itsen more surprising that they are nowrking or an aviation organisation!The couple then moved to the Middlest where, thanks to some riends, theycame Christians and were baptised in a

imming pool.Giving their lives to God was only theginning. They wanted to do ull-timeristian work, and so were led to South

rica where both earned a pilots licencene dream come true.

rewarding momentt three days ater reaching the country,

ey visited an airshow in Durban and metAF representatives. Chatting to themout necessary requirements to y or

MAF, we were told that wed need 1,000

ying hours and I had just 36 minutes inmy logbook at that time! chuckles Andy.Caroline elt wed be involved. But I wasntso sure.

Four years and many ying hours later,Andy is now an MAF pilot ying CessnaCaravans, and Caroline is our OperationsManager while also looking ater qualityassurance at the Lanseria base just outside

Johannesburg.Already, they have been

deeply impacted by the

truly desperate need or MAFs services.

When I landed in northern Mozambique todeliver water-puriying powder to mission-aries battling a cholera outbreak, one othem told me: You dont know how manylives you have helped save by bringingthis, Andy recalls.

It brought a huge lump to my throat.

A problem solvedCaroline was able to juggle both cargo andpassengers in a truly remarkable way whenthey were helping a mission team to reachZimbabwe.

They were going to hold a Bible campor orphans. But we couldnt get uel inZimbabwe, and the plane couldnt carryboth the team and sufcient uel or theround trip, she explains.

The plan was to y them to Botswanaand then drive over land into Zimbabwe.Unortunately, the extra luggage includ-

ing books and teaching aids didntarrive on time.

Andy sent the team on byroad, and I was able to getthe clearances or extraights into Zimbabwe. SoAndy delivered all the

luggage by air. Withoutpassengers, he couldtake enough uel. Theight clearanceswould usually take

three days but Iwas able to do it in

six hours. And theBible camp was a greatsuccess.

Both tackle theirjobs with enthusiasm.

Andy carries out theadvance work or hisights, calculating the

weights and balances,the ight plans andthe navigation logs, aswell as preparing the

aircrat.And Caroline is

responsible or co-


8/8

Blind and moreAt just two years old, Manik had such a severe inection thatdoctors removed both his eyes. But even ater that traumatic

experience, he aced severe health issues. By ve years old,

the blind youngster had developed an enormous growth on the

side o his ace. Manik lives with his sherman ather on an

island in Jamuna River in one o Bangladeshs poorest areas.

Our amphibious aircrat few our volunteer French doctors to

Friendships foating hospital moored on the River. During their

stay, Maniks ather brought the boy there, and the surgeons

perormed plastic surgery to rebuild Maniks ace.

Documents

MAF News March - May 2008