AfterMAF | Issue 1 | June 2023

The Story Board by Ex-MAFers for Ex-MAFers

ISSUE 1 | JUNE 2023 RICK

Featuring contributions from:

FROM THE EDITOR

Andrew Pound Relationship Manager MAF NZ Office Staff / 2 Years

I would like this story board to feature time on the field and time after the field. I would like it to feature both aviation, mission and every-day life. I would like the perspective of both women and men and hopefully even an article by one of your children! I am keen on some interaction. How about a Letter to the Editor! Your own take on someone’s contribution. Your own experience in a similar tight spot. I would like a mixture of sizeable pieces of writing, some short pieces, and even just a photo with a caption or description of its significance.

As I think about you all, here are some of my musings:

• Your experiences have run the gamut from the heart-warming, to the heart-rending.

• You have pitted your wits against all manner of odds and prevailed.

• You have watched the power of God and witnessed answer to prayer.

• You have seen the transformation of lives and whole communities.

A very warm welcome to the first edition of AfterMAF! I hope you will enjoy these windows on the lives of a handful of people who have been in service with MAF. Some of them you will know personally and some of the places mentioned, you may have visited yourselves. For this first edition I approached several people for a contribution, and I thank them very much for taking the time to provide me with copy. Now that you can see what AfterMAF looks like, and since this is a story board by ex MAFers for ex MAFers I would now like to invite contributions from any of you for future issues.

• You are a skilled, courageous, humble, resilient lot.

• You have returned to NZ in various states of well-being.

• You have since carved out new lives, new ministries, new ventures.

• You remain treasure troves of memories and insight.

• You have inspired younger people to grasp the baton.

May the Lord bless you all in your post MAF ministries, ventures, exploits and adventures!

Andrew Pound

AfterMAF Issue 1, June 2023

Editor: Andrew Pound

Design: Zoe Davies

Circulation: Mandy Christie

Recipients: Previous kiwi international staff, other international staff who have made NZ home and previous Board members.

Contribute to our next issue:

We invite contributions from all recipients to be sent to Andrew Pound at apound@maf.org.nz

Please provide: Name, Countries of Service, Year of Start & Finish, Roles filled, a Title for your contribution, a photo of you (and your spouse).

MAF LIFE FROM A WIFE’S POINT OF VIEW

Mt Hagen 1993–95, 2008-14

Here is what I enjoyed about serving with MAF in Mt Hagen:

The camaraderie of being part of the team bringing hope and help to isolated communities.

Helping by being available to try to answer health queries for International Staff and sometimes accompanying them to Kudjip Hospital.

Taking blood pressure measurements for National Staff and teaching ‘Health’ at a National Staff Orientation programme.

Hospitality / potlucks / compound morning or afternoon tea get-togethers, hosting pilots on overnight stays in Hagen.

Helping to orientate new expat staff.

Early morning group walks around the neighbourhood accompanied by a friend’s trusty Alsatian.

Annual MAF Staff Conferences.

Assisting a couple of Vets doing operations!

Shopping at the huge, wonderful, colourful outdoor veggie market.

The excitement of visitors from overseas such as family and work teams.

Cross cultural friendships.

This image cries out for a number of inspired captions. Reply to this email with your Dastardly Dog Deed caption to be published in our next issue of AfterMAF!

Jenny Wilkinson

Jenny Wilkinson preparing to dance exuberantly.

Induction Training

RELIVING THE DREAM

David Wilkinson MAF PNG

1993-1994 / Training

Officer: Building and Vehicles

2008 -2013 / Property and Vehicle Maintenance

In 2017 I was 67 and still working as a construction project manager so I started to think about reducing my hours of work and refocusing on building a life after working.

It looked like I needed to take up a hobby, or something. I only have a little garden. It’s so small I know all the weeds by name. Now that I know them so well, I can’t bring myself to pull them out. I can’t sit I in a chair on my deck with a blanket over my knees and watch the world go by; so I thought, “I must build something to keep mobile, I need to be learning things to keep the mind active, I need an enduring interest and perhaps - I need to recreate a favourite memory.”

My dear wife bought me some bits to get started.

Here’s is a picture of me on finals doing an ILS approach to Wellington RWY34.

The learning started slowly but the more that was learnt the better the questions became and learning accelerated.

I landed on the idea of flight simulation. To recreate the cockpit of my favourite aircraft.

This was P2-MFA, that, back in 1993, I flew under instruction from Mt Hagen to Goroka and back, logging those flights as “Introduction to twins.”

The simulator was rebuilt nine times as it evolved to reflect the new level of understanding.

It seemed like I was finding a path through the bush in the dark. Except that where I had been was lit up. The path to where I wanted to be was dark and I often struck a dead end and had to go back and rebuild to open up new possibilities.

Then I acquired the central control console from P@-MFA. This triggered the tenth rebuild, but this time I knew exactly where I was going and how to get there.

Sparkplugs!

Some inspiration sparkplugs for your contribution to AfterMAF!

Your child’s take on correspondence, expat school or home school.

Cunning Cuisine. Nifty work in the kitchen.

Triumph or Tragedy.

Letter to the Editor.

Wild Weather.

Tower of Babel. United Nations with one purpose, and umpteen accents.

Flight following. Radio static. Mike Alpha Foxtrot.

Breast feeding. Toddlers. Teens. Empty nest.

Making it dual control added complications to the build but I was determined to make this simulated aviation experience one that could be shared with my grandchildren and my friends. So, if you would like to “fly” MAF’s old Baron do call in if you are ever down Napier way. Call me on 022 365 6062. There’s nothing I enjoy more than sharing the thrill of aviation.

David Wilkinson

A tight spot. A near miss. A close shave.

Lingo Laughs. Putting your foot in your mouth. Early attempts at Tok Pisin, Arabic or other local language.

Childbirth on the field.

Animal Antics

Wrangling God’s lesser, slimy creation.

An enormously fulfilling project.

A grand misadventure.

A case of Number 8 Wire and Kiwi Ingenuity.

A unique flight.

Medical Misadventures.

ANIMAL ANTICS: GOVERNMENT FUNDED BBQ

The ECP Church (Evangelical Church of PNG/APCM) ran a cattle project in Suki in PNG’s Western Province. This provided a good quality meat for the Mission and locals in that province as well as the Southern Highlands.

It was determined that the herd of Brahman cattle would benefit from introducing some new bloodlines to improve the stock. NZAid funded the purchase of five bull calves plus air transport to Suki.

The calves were sourced from a herd upstream of Kawito, and they assured me that they would be only a few months old. I quoted for two flights to take them in the aircraft to Suki, a 30-minute flight out to the NW. Easy as.

A holding pen was constructed at Kawito, near the riverbank and airstrip, to be held in while flights were scheduled.

A few months went by.

The day came, and they’re on the way at last! But weeks later, were still not there.

Hmmmm.

Eventually they arrived by barge. But… calves! They’re at least a one-year-old. Two flights? Nah. More like one at a time!!

When the first bull arrived in Suki a large crowd of spectators had gathered with lots of noise and excitement. Somehow it ended up with the bull alternately chasing the kids through the village then the kids chasing the bull around the airstrip. Eventually the bull collapsed exhausted, and the community was treated with a feast that night.

Rick & Lauryn

Velvin

PNG / 1979 – 1992

NZ / 2002 – 2008

PNG / 2009 – 2019

The second bull – everyone stayed away! He was put into a paddock beside the airstrip and disappeared through a hole in the fence sometime during the following night.

Number 3. He was put into a more secure paddock with other cattle and unfortunately this included an old bull who didn’t appreciate the newcomer. He was also roasted.

OK for the next we’ll send him by canoe out to an island in the middle of the lagoon, it’s a good safe place with plenty of grass. Can’t run away. The bull was placed in the canoe still with its feet tied together as a restraint along with the mums, kids, sago, drums of fuel and lots of bags. Long poles were used to move the canoe through the grass and weeds by the shoreline into the clear water. Unfortunately, when the outboard motor was started, the sudden noise caused the bull to let out an enormous bellow. The canoe’s passengers’ reactions caused a little instability as they dived overboard, resulting in the canoe capsizing and the bull, unable to swim was later also feasted on.

The last went into a more secure paddock with no other bulls in sight and the herd improvement plan was implemented and the feral cattle as well as several communities also benefited.

MAF only got a good story.

FRIDGE ON FIRE!

It was 1981, in the Western Province of PNG where at 2am, my initial reaction to the loud knocking on the door, and people calling out for the pilot, was a feeling of dread.

What is happening?

While standing outside in the dark on the front steps, swatting mosquitoes, I pieced together the story from a group of Balimo men, all urgently talking at the same time, and it was bad news.

At the Mission hospital the previous evening, the kerosene fridge was noticed to be not working properly, and the medications stored in it needed to be kept below a certain temperature. While pulling out the tank at the bottom of the fridge to check and reset the burner wick, vapours in the tank ignited, sending flames of burning fuel onto Dr John’s hands, arms, chest and neck. With no phones, no roads and no radio link until the next day these men had paddled several hours from Balimo up the Aramia River to Kawito to raise the alarm.

Could I fly him to Port Moresby ASAP? With no runway lights at Kawito or Balimo I’d need to wait until daylight.

Avgas!

We all came inside as the mosquitoes were winning. Lauryn made coffee, food was cooked, and the story retold in more detail. Sleep was impossible. We pulled the Cessna 206 out of the hangar, filled it with fuel, rearranged the seats, conducted the preflight checks and waited for sunrise. When it was light enough to see the white runway markers in the predawn light we took off. There was a 10–15-minute window before the morning fog would start to form, just enough time for the four-minute flight to Balimo before fog closed it.

While the patient was stabilised and secured in the aircraft, I had time to consider the three-hour flight. The weather the previous few days had not been very pleasant at all for passengers. We needed smooth air at lower altitudes, no diversions due to cloud or rain, and light or tailwinds to reduce the flight time.

And conditions were exactly that. the flight uneventful. Perfect.

The following day’s weather reverted to low cloud, drizzle and gusty southeasterlies. The Mission hospital supplied medication not available in Moresby. Dr John’s transfer to Australia was expedited and led to a good recovery. Prayers answered. God’s provisions celebrated. Thankful that MAF’s role contributed to others’ efforts in a time of need.

Rick Velvin

Some avgas to launch your AfterMAF contribution into the air!

Great Expectations. Raw Realities. What ‘mish-kids’ wind up doing.

Reverse Culture Shock. Re-entry. Detours with eternal consequences.

Meditations and Insights

Bikes. Books. Toys. Trolleys.

Scripture that sums it all up.

Curious Cargo.

New horizons back home: Microlights, counselling, Mainly Music.

Eldership. Mentoring. Bass guitar.

Rivets. Grease Guns. Spanners in the works.

Pet iguana, chameleon and tarantula

Provincial staff meet-ups and mayhem.

Jalopies. Fender benders. Pot holes

Village Revival. Answered Prayer. Conversion.

Whisks. Woks. Widgets.

FLYING HIGH

PETER & SHERYL SCANLAN

MAF Line Pilot. Senior Twin Otter pilot (single pilot IFR ops).

1989-1990 / Arnhem Land

1991-1995 / PNG Bases ; Mt Hagen, Wewak, Telefomin, Lae

1995-2000 / Air Niugini

Present airline ; ANA (All Nippon Airways) // Air Japan branch. Most senior B787 First Officer in the company. We fly the B787-8, 9 and 10.

WORKING THE WEATHER

Weather considerations enroute play a major part in maintaining safety and a comfortable on-time operation for our customers.

Other important factors are good teamwork, communication skills, workload management, crew coordination and crew discipline.

Our crew enjoy working together to achieve a safe, efficient and enjoyable experience.

The policies and concepts in airline flying or Mission flying are very similar with the biggest focus on safety.

Vietnam, Tan Son Nhat International Airport for Ho Chi Minh. A very odd occasion when we had to wait 15 minutes while the aircraft was being moved to a different gate.

Mt Fuji poking up through the cloud. The office!