SPRING 2018
FLYING FOR LIFE
THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF
MAF AUSTRALIA 04 EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE: TRUSTING GOD 10 A STORY OF GRACE: EMMA GRACE 12 TWICE THE JOY, TWICE THE SMILE
FROM THE GM O
ne of the words that gets used a lot in not-for-profit and ministry organisations is the word “impact”. Australians want to know what kind of impact they can have when considering partnering with an organisation. It’s a very important question indeed. 2018 has been an extraordinary year - one of the biggest in MAF Australia’s history. Your partnership with us has resulted in a very significant impact all across the world. We are pleased to show you this snapshot of the ‘bigpicture’ effectiveness your support has made this year. Thank you! In addition to this ‘big-picture’ impact, it’s encouraging to remember that a significant cumulative impact is also being made each and every day in the quiet, daily interactions that take place on the field. The words of comfort that a pilot offers a woman in labour as he buckles her in. The short, routine flights for school teachers and health workers that allow education and health services to be offered. The prayers with Bible translators and missionaries as we transport them to far-flung areas to carry out their calling. The faithful, fastidious work of the engineers as they perform regular maintenance - ensuring the flights continue to take place. The little, precious conversations that happen as we live in community with the people we serve.
These little moments are hard to measure - and perhaps even harder to get excited about. But this is where the lasting impact is often made. Hour on hour. Day on day. Year on year.
YOUR INCREDIBLE IMPACT IN 2018
PNG Relief
Care packages
HF Radio
You funded over $50,000 of relief flights.
$4,350 towards medevac care packages in Timor-Leste.
A whole new suite of HF radios for the team in PNG.
I’m reminded of Paul’s exhortation to the Colossians: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Col 3:17) Together, as we continue to be faithful in these small moments, we can entrust the big picture - and the impact that we are able to make - to God.
Bible Box
Power Unit
Building upgrades
Over $4,500 towards the Bible Box ministry in PNG.
A new hangar ground power unit for Arnhem Land - fully funded.
Facility offices and customer meeting room in South Sudan.
As a supporter of MAF, this is the kind of impact you are enabling. Be encouraged. Be inspired. We are incredibly thankful for your partnership. Our 2019 calendar is out now. It’s another good snapshot of the impact you are making across the world. If you haven’t yet received yours please get in touch with us on 1800 650 169. Have a wonderful Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Solar Panels
Computer training
Aircraft sponsored
You funded over $120,000 toward the solar panels in PNG.
Over $28,000 toward CPNG Pastor Computer Training.
Over $60,000 toward VH-MQO in Timor-Leste.
In His Service,
Ian McDougall General Manager, MAF Australia
Indonesia Relief
Flight bags
Communications
Over $85,000 raised and counting. Thank you!
New Electronic Flight Bags funded for the team in Timor-Leste.
New VHF Radio Communications System for PNG. Spring 2018 / FLYING FOR LIFE / 3
Trusting God in the Midst of Tragedy 17 October 2018
O
EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE TRUSTING IN GOD
n Friday in the late afternoon, Maryam and her husband Laurens said goodbye to some guests and planned to attend an evening church service. Laurens decided to take a short nap while Maryam went to the small store next door in a two-story building that shared a wall with their single story residence. As she returned to their house, the ground began to shake. Standing in the entry she shouted frantically to her husband, “Come out! It’s an earthquake! Come out!” but there was no response.
A glimmer of hope
Neighbours ran from buildings and yelled to her as they saw her still standing inside, but she didn’t want to leave her husband alone. As she called to him again, the roof began to crumble and suddenly the floor dropped almost five meters as if the ground beneath the building had simply disappeared. Maryam fell with the abrupt drop as the concrete roof and walls came down around her, but not on her. “God, help me!” she cried, and finally started to climb out. She was now below street level, surrounded by falling, twisted debris.
The aftermath
Maryam can’t remember how she managed to climb out through the crumbing building and shaking ground, but she does recall a city electric post and a dangling power line that she reached for, knowing there could be high voltage. For a split second she thought, “If I’m going to die, no problem,” then grabbed the cable to pull herself out. The line was dead. A friend’s hand reached for her and pulled her the rest of the way.
“After seeing the place, I couldn’t believe how Maryam is still alive.”
Maryam and Laurens are Alfa Kawengian’s mother and father-in-law, his wife Jenny’s parents. Alfa is the Assistant Flight Ops Manager in Yayasan MAF Indonesia’s Papua program and he joined MAF’s Disaster Response team in Palu after the massive earthquake and tsunami on 28 September that devastated the city on Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island.
On September 28, 2018, a deadly earthquake and tsunami hit the coast of Indonesia. The earthquake left a devastating path of loss and destruction in its wake, with scores killed and many more in need of medical and humanitarian aid. MAF have been in the air and on the ground providing relief to the remote communities affected with medical supplies, food and hope. Thank you for your ongoing prayer and generosity in this time of need. Workers searching through debris for survivors Spring 2018 / FLYING FOR LIFE / 5
Left: The devastating aftermath of the earthquake with cars, homes and buildings collapsed in a pile of wreckage. shacks along the edge of Kulawi’s town centre using material recovered from the rubble – pieces of wood and sections of tin roof. They don’t know what they will do in the future. They can’t think that far ahead. Right now, it’s just about food in their mouths and a cover for their heads. Doctors, food & medication Two days after the first visit, two Indonesian doctors, a husband and wife along with their daughter, showed up at the Helivida hangar where Yayasan MAF Indonesia is sharing an office asking for a flight to Kulawi to assess the medical needs and bring a small bit of medicine. A local Palu church also wanted to help by offering food. MAF in partnership with Helivida provided the flights to bring the doctors one day, and 413 kilos of food and medicine the next.
Above: Indonesian survivors searching for other survivors trapped under wreckage Alfa worked as ground operations for flights to help victims of the earthquake, but he and MAF’s Evrin Pratama found the time to meet up with Alfa’s family at the site of their home one week after the earthquake. The area where Maryam and Laurens lived happened to be in one of the hardest hit areas of the city with block after block of devastation. The military had set up checkpoints, only allowing family members into the area. Excavators worked on digging up the dead. The smell and flies confirmed that no one in the rubble could still be alive. The body of Maryam’s beloved husband was still buried under concrete. Although the pile of rubble made the buildings barely recognizable, the family had caught sight of a bit of blanket that had covered the bed where Laurens slept that day. “After seeing the place, I couldn’t believe how Maryam is still alive,” Alfa said. For Evrin, the most heartbreaking story came from Maryam’s brother who returned to the site four hours after the earthquake to hear people crying for help and he could do nothing. “They were inside the collapsed buildings,” Evrin says. “On the third day he said he still heard some people crying and asking for help. Finally they didn’t hear anymore.” Spring 2018 / FLYING FOR LIFE / 6
Cut Off Saturday 6 October
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he community of Kulawi, tucked in the mountains south of Palu in Indonesia, did not make international news when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck on 28 September. It was not in the path of the tsunami that followed. Houses weren’t sucked into mud like in Palu. But homes and buildings around Kulawi did crumble in random fashion – lightly in one village, entirely in another. And until some major excavation takes place, the area is left isolated between multiple landslides that have cut off access in or out except by foot or air.
Someone points to a pile of white and green concrete. “That was the school,” he says. Yayasan MAF Indonesia (MAF Indonesia) and partner Helivida suspected that villages further inland from the coast had suffered damage. Flying the Helivida helicopter south from Palu, the wide flat valley narrows and the road climbs and hugs the mountain curves. The team observed landslide after landslide completely blocking the road in numerous places. When the aircraft landed in the Kulawi town center, MAF’s Disaster Response Manager, Rick Emenaker, along with John Gorenflo and pilot Matthias Geiger, spoke to community leaders who explained that their food supply would last only one week.
These small gifts cannot restore what they have lost, but for the people of Kulawi, it is not insignificant. As the helicopter was about to leave, one community leader placed his hand over his heart and said, “Thank you for coming. I am crying.” A village gone Less than 10 minutes by motorbike from Kulawi lies the rubble of a small village called Boladangko. Until 28 September, it was home to more than 500 people and 160 houses. Walking down the main street is a surreal scene of wreckage, a pile of concrete and wood here, a roof with no walls attached there. Someone points to a pile of white and green concrete. “That was the school,” he says.
Bottom: The devastating aftermath of the earthquake leaving survivors searching through the remains of their homes
Another man introduces himself as the leader of this village. “This is my office,” he says, pointing to a place where not a single brick is left attached to the foundation. He pauses and looks down at the ground for a moment, then points to another pile of rubble. “That is my house.” House after house, a store, a church, community centre, and more houses. All destroyed. Yusak Randa, a resident of Boladangko, recalls the moment of terror. “When everything started shaking, we ran for the door. No one could stand straight. Everyone fell over because the floor was shaking so badly. When we got out of the house, we saw that every single house had collapsed. We couldn’t even stand. We had to crawl. Our whole body was covered with wounds from bricks falling on us. We all ran to the school field but didn’t know what to do. Everyone was crying, asking for help. The kids were so afraid.” The community of Boladangko is now displaced. Some have set up tents along the river. Others are building Spring 2018 / FLYING FOR LIFE / 7
TSUNAMI RELIEF IN INDONESIA Thank you for your kind generosity in supporting the Sulawesi Disaster Response. Together we have been able to respond and provide relief, medicine, and most of all hope to the people of Sulawesi.
YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH MAF ENABLED THE WORK OF THE FOLLOWING ORGANISATIONS
149
237
44,782
669
53
HOURS FLOWN
NUMBER OF FLIGHTS
KG’S OF CARGO SUPPLIED
PASSENGERS TRANSPORTED
LOCATIONS ACCESSED
Ethos360 Indonesian Aid World Vision Operation Blessing International Christian Missionary Alliance Indonesia CRU Sulawesi Central Government Offices Swiss Humanitarian Aid Samaritan’s Purse
Drs. Henri and Ellen Food for the Hungry I.S.A.R. - International Search and Rescue Germany Numerous local Indonesian churches Numerous Indonesian NGOs Water Mission International BEE Relief Alpha Omega Medical Ministry
A STORY OF GRACE EMMA GRACE S
he has just started second grade in the remote Indonesian province of Papua. She is alive today only by the grace of God because, when Emma Grace was just two days old, she was left to die. Her teenage parents are part of the Moi tribe. Because of a false belief that persisted for generations, Emma Grace’s father assumed his wife had been unfaithful during his absence from their village (they have a tragically mistaken belief that a baby can not grow in its mother’s womb if the father is not present). So, he ordered his wife to kill Emma Grace as soon as she was born.
“When the missionaries heard what was happening, they raced to save the little girl’s life.”
Just in time
Many people around the world face a predictably heartbreaking ending — simply because of where they were born. Lack of access to education, health care, development opportunities and the Gospel of Jesus puts isolated people at a severe disadvantage.
Many people living in the most isolated places on earth have never heard the name of Jesus. In this mediasaturated century, this may be hard to believe, but it’s true. As a result, many people still hold false beliefs that do not reflect the heart of God. Which is why Emma Grace’s distraught mother found herself abandoning her daughter to the elements and reluctantly placing her in a net bag to hang outside the hut until she was dead. But, because MAF aircraft were supporting the work of two missionary couples in that village, God’s protection was with little Emma Grace. When the missionaries heard what was happening, they raced to save the little girl’s life. They were just in time.
But for thousands of people like Emma Grace, the ending can be transformed into one of hope and life.
Above: Emma Grace at her school, Sekolah Lentera Harapan (Lantern of Hope School) , learning with palm cards. What a testimony! This was several years ago but today, Emma Grace is thriving happily and she and her family have become strong believers in Christ. In fact, Emma Grace is now part of the very first class in a brand new school. The materials used to construct the building, and the vital teachers from Jakarta to run the school, amongst other things, were flown in by MAF. Sekolah Lentera Harapan (Lantern of Hope School) is making it possible for the next generation of Moi to have the opportunities that an education brings. Emma Grace is excited about school and her relationship with the Lord. She was inspired to make up the words and tune to a song about her salvation. Search Emma Grace’s song on Youtube to listen.
Emma Grace Spring 2018 / FLYING FOR LIFE / 10
Left: Emma Grace participating in her school classes happy and healthy.
This mission to change the predictable ending of those living in isolated communities has been at the heart of MAF since the very beginning. This was the mission that MAF International sought to share earlier this year through the global ‘Change the Ending’ campaign. This campaign was the first time all MAF teams around the world pulled together in a collective global push to share the vision and purpose of Mission Aviation Fellowship. The campaign not only was formed to introduce the needs of isolated people, but also to find a new audience to hear their stories. With a concerted push, over 250,000 people were reached with the mission of MAF.
Spring 2018 / FLYING FOR LIFE / 11
Jonathan writes: “It only took a few minutes, as the first people we stopped to talk to recognized them and sent us to a small shop down the road, where we were able to find them behind the counter! The boys are named Forino and Farino, and are healthy and well. They were confused at first about who this foreigner was visiting them, but once I showed them photos from 2013 they were all smiles and welcoming. I took more photos, and printed them copies that I was able to deliver to them the next day, when I next visited Suai for another medevac. The boys presented me with a Tais scarf each to say thanks. “ And many more
2013
Today
As a supporter of MAF, your partnership is transforming thousands of lives. We may not always have the chance to see this effect as clearly as here in the lives of Elizita and her boys, but we continue to strive ahead, committed to the call of bringing hope to isolated communities.
2013
TWICE THE JOY TWICE THE SMILE Five years after a medevac was performed from Suai, Timor-Leste, the pilot and the young passengers re-unite.
F
ew of us will know the panic faced by Elizita on that January day in 2013.
them back to the capital for treatment. This whole process took less than 90 minutes.
After months of joyful anticipation of the day she would meet her new twin boys, she now instead faced a day that seemed to be rapidly moving towards not just loosing her babies, but her own life as well.
A few days later, Jonathan had the pleasure of being able to visit Elizita in hospital and meet the newborn boys prior to their discharge.
Elizita was exhibiting signs of pre-eclampsia, a lifethreatening development. In order to save their lives, a speedy delivery of the babies was needed. But they were lying transverse and oblique in Elizita’s womb and not in position for birth. Coming from the town of Suai, where there were insufficient medical facilities available for the emergency treatment Elizita required, she faced a nine-hour journey on poor-quality roads to reach Dili, Timor-Leste’s capital. This was simply not an option. Responding to the emergency call, Pilot Jonathan Lowe departed Dili, collected Elizita from Suai and brought Spring 2018 / FLYING FOR LIFE / 12
Five years on Since that time, the team in Timor-Leste have performed around 1100 medevacs. As you can imagine, it’s very difficult to keep track of all the patients that they have served during that time. However, there was something about this particular medevac that stayed with Jonathan. And so, in October of this year, whilst waiting at Suai for a passenger, he made an effort to track down the family. Armed with the photo of the family from 2013, Jonathan arranged for a motorcycle to pick him up and take him to see if he could find them.
The scarf was given as a thank you gift
The twin boys enjoy a ride in Jonathan’s cockpit
That’s the power of a jerrycan! Isn’t it a joy to see these two boys thriving today? The medevac that saved their lives was fuelled by a little over 2 jerrycan’s worth of fuel. Each jerrycan holds 20 litres of fuel and keeps us in the air for about 20 minutes. We’ve calculated the cost of each jerrycan to be around $50. When you consider the lives that are saved as a result, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s money well spent! If you’d like to donate a jerrycan of fuel, head to maf.org.au/ donate and click on the big jerrycan!
Spring 2018 / FLYING FOR LIFE / 13
COMMUNITY NEWS
SERVE WITH US CURRENT VACANCIES
MAF AUSTRALIA 2019 CALENDAR IS NOW AVAILABLE!
ENGINEERS
R
Our MAF Australia 2019 calendar is now available. The pages are full with amazing snapshots of the beautiful landscapes, villages and people that MAF efforts impact on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. If you haven’t yet received yours please get in touch with us at 1800 650 169.
eaching isolated communities requires landing our planes on some of the most dangerous terrain imaginable. Our team of highly skilled maintenance engineers makes this possible, working tirelessly to keep our fleet of single engine turbine and single engine piston aircraft in the air. We currently have a variety of positions available
GIANT SLAYER 9th - 14th DECEMBER 2018
6 DAYS | 930KM | 16,700M ALT GAIN | 6 HC CLIMBS SPONSOR SOMEONE ON THE RIDE: MAF.ORG.AU/RIDEFORFUEL
for aircraft maintenance engineers in Arnhem Land and in remote communities around the world. If you are interested in combining your engineering skills with your passion for mission, this could be your opportunity! Email personnel@maf.org.au or call 1800 987 221 to speak to a member of our Recruitment Team.
•
Aircraft Engineer – Training Specialist – Bangladesh (critical)
•
Aircraft Maintenance Engineer – Arnhem Land (new/ critical)
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Building Maintenance Manager – Arnhem Land (critical)
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Chief Engineer – Arnhem Land (critical)
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Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers – Arnhem Land, PNG, Uganda
OPERATIONS •
Training Base Training Captain – Uganda (new)
•
Head of Finance – PNG (critical)
•
Maintenance Training Manager – Mareeba
OTHER
TRANSFORM LIVES WITH A GIFT IN YOUR WILL
•
Mission Experience Placement – PNG (new)
To see a complete list of vacancies, head to: maf.org.au/current-vacancies
If and when the time is right for you to include a gift to a charity in your Will, please remember MAF. After you have provided for your family, a gift to MAF in your Will, whatever size, will make a real difference to the remote and isolated people. For further information and resources, please contact Edgar Voigts (Relationship Manager) on 1800 650 169 or e-mail: edgar.voigts@maf.org.au Spring 2018 / FLYING FOR LIFE / 14
Flying for Life
(ISSN: 2202-0365) Design/Editor: Cadence Media (cadencemedia.com.au) Printer: BHB Printing Flying for Life is the official magazine of Mission Aviation Fellowship and CRMF in Australia. Articles may be printed with acknowledgment. Flying for Life is a member publication of the Australasian Religious Press Association. If you no longer wish to receive Flying for Life (MAF News), please advise us at: MAF Australia 1800 650 169 and your name and details will be removed from our distribution list. FRONT COVER: Courtesy LuAnne Cadd
MAF Australia ABN 26 134 583 887 PO Box 7187 Baulkham Hills NSW 2153 Contact: 1800 650 169 | 02 8014 6450 maf@maf.org.au | www.maf.org.au Privacy Statement MAF is committed to your privacy. We will only disclose your information in accordance with our Privacy Statement and/ or with your permission. Our Privacy Statement explains what information we collect from you and how we intend to use it. You can view our Privacy Statement at maf.org.au
Spring 2018 / FLYING FOR LIFE / 15
YOUR GIFT MAKES
A DIFFERENCE!
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This Christmas season, buy a gift that changes lives. Your gift through the MAF Christmas catalogue will help deliver practical or spiritual care to people living with the deepest human needs.
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