MAF SA Newsletter Vol.6 No.2 2023

MISSION AVIATION FELLOWSHIP

WE FLY WHERE ROADS END DREAMING BIG

If you would like to donate to our flights please reference “V6N2 + your name”.

MAF is an international Christian organisation whose mission is to fly light aircraft, and to use other technologies to bring help, hope and healing to people in some of the world’s poorest communities. Every five minutes an MAF plane is taking off or landing somewhere in the world to assist missions, churches, aid and development agencies, and other local groups to transform lives and share the love of God.

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

Our team is struck by the swift approach of midyear, where time seems to hasten with numerous moving parts. As we continue to strive towards our greater vision, preparing for the MAFSA AGM presents a valuable opportunity to pause and reflect on the achievements and impact of the first half of the year. I am eager to share with you the meaningful developments that await us on our journey forward.

Now, in June 2023, we have walked over the threshold of a new chapter—one that aligns with the global shift in missions. The world of missions has expanded beyond its traditional boundaries, and MAFSA is heralding this change, recognising our role in raising up Africans who are passionate about spreading the Gospel and serving the Lord in foreign lands. We firmly believe that we are precisely where we are meant to be.

As expressed in January 2023, our vision encompasses creating a MAF Africa hub right here in South Africa, where we can equip and empower African candidates to fulfil their calling. The transformation has already begun, and our focus now turns to people—the catalysts for changing the face of missions worldwide.

MAF South Africa can contribute in a profound way to the global mission landscape. Through comprehensive training, mentoring, and access to pre-technical assessments, we aim to set all our candidates up for success, ensuring their time on the mission field is impactful and life-changing. We envision a future where our efforts empower a diverse array of missionaries, including Africans, to spread the love of Christ to the ends of the earth. Dreaming big, we wholeheartedly ask the Lord to bolster our faith as we begin this mission unitedly.

As we embark on this new chapter, I am filled with excitement and anticipation for what the Lord is about to accomplish through us. The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, I invite you, our valued MAFSA family, to be part of this endeavour, partnering with us in prayer, financial support, and advocacy as we strive to send workers into the fields, ready for harvesting.

Together, let us bridge the gap, empowering and nurturing individuals to become missionaries who will shape the future of missions globally. With your generous contributions and God’s guidance, we will witness remarkable transformations and continue to be a beacon of hope for those in need.

Thank you for your unwavering support and dedication to expanding the Kingdom, and bringing Help, Hope, and Healing to the isolated. It is through your partnership that we can bring about meaningful change in the lives of countless individuals. Let us embrace this new chapter with unwavering faith, hope, and anticipation, knowing that God is at work within and through MAF South Africa.

Story by Mandy Glass

REACHING OUT TO KAPOETA

Stories out of South Sudan, from missionaries Filip and Magdalena.

CHURCH PLANTING

Kapoeta is a relatively recent ministry location for the Sudan Pentecostal Church and while the medical team were busy at the hospital, Missionaries Filip and Magdalena had a list of things they wanted to achieve at the church compound.

‘SBC decided to create a base in Kapoeta a few years ago because there are a lot of unreached people groups in the area. With the help of the partner in Sweden, they negotiated to get this land to build the compound, so that they could start the church and develop the area through the church,’ Filip explains.

The first buildings went up in 2018-19 just before covid temporarily put development on hold.

Filip and Magdalena arrived in South Sudan in

September 2021. In February, they made their first trip to Kapoeta hear from the church community how they wanted to develop their church. The church building, currently without a roof, is the centre piece of a vision for outreach. ‘We’re building a multipurpose building, that can be used for lots of different activities as well as for church on Sundays, of course,’ Filip says. ‘SPC’s aim is to build the kingdom of God -but with the gospel, we also need to bring development, train people and raise awareness about a lot of different things. As they develop the facilities, they need to secure the compound – a huge but necessary project as Filip explains. ‘To enclose the 500m2 compound we’ll need, 2000 meters – that’s two whole kilometers of fence, 900 fence posts and 110 rolls of fencing,’ Filip laughs, seemingly undaunted by

Photos by Daniel Steen

the scale of the task. The significant cost has been generously met by friends back in Sweden along with the cost of a welding machine.

MERCY OF GOD

The ladies in the church, had already started reaching out to the local community when Filip and Magdalena met them in February. The couple are keen to help develop their work.

‘Mercy of God Women’s Group are amazing,’ Magdalene says. ‘When we met them for the first time, The they told us they had started going to the hospital to pray for people. The patients would ask the ladies for things like food and soap. The ladies told us how they’d wanted to help, but didn’t have any money to give these things, so they started growing things they could sell to buy soap. They started doing agriculture as a way of raising money for their mission at the hospital.’

Magdalena explains more about the need for training amongst these remarkable ladies who will be the first to benefit from the training.

‘Agriculture is not really a part of the local culture at all. The people here are pastoralists (goat and cattle herders), but some of the ladies came to Kapoeta from outside.’

Filip expands on the preparation and plans they have made. ‘We have set aside a 100-meter square

plot on the church compound for agricultural training and have about 35 women signed up for the first training which will be delivered by trainers from ACROSS, a South Sudanese Christian NGO. ACROSS have this method successfully in Lotimor and are happy that we’re going to do it in Kapoeta too.’

Better agriculture practices will help improve crop yields, diet and standard of living for local people - as well as supporting the church’s mission. Cash generated from selling surplus crops can be used for medical and school fees or reinvested as Magdalena explains. ‘The training is not just about agriculture, it’s also about business. When they start harvesting, they can create like saving groups to give each other loans to expand and invest.’

BUILDING UP THE BODY OF CHRIST

To ensure that agriculture is successful, Filip and Magdalena are tackling the all-important issue of water. At the top of their task list, is sinking a new borehole to supplement the existing handpump and borehole which doesn’t give much water. Even with these two water sources, they anticipate needing extra, and will meet this by erecting a water tower where rainwater from the compound’s roofs can be harvested and stored.

Additionally, Filip says he plans to adopt a method for agriculture, good for drought areas (taught by ACROSS), where you fill a deep hole with compost or absorbent material that will retain the rainfall to water crops. Water is also key future plans to make the compound a launchpad for mission activities reaching into the surrounding area. ‘In the future we may start a clinic in the compound, we’ll need water for showering and food and would like to share some water with the community too.’

KEEPING THE CHURCH CONNECTED

The MAF plane serves Kapoeta twice a week with a regular service which enables churches like SPC to support projects without giving too much thought to safety as they travel around. MAF provides an everyday service to meet everyday needs - enabling Filip and Magdalena to stay connected and resource their growing ministry with things like the generator, new motorbike and toolkit that will help them work more efficiently and grow organically over time.

by armed bandits who drive livestock into the path of oncoming traffic, forcing them to stop. Bandits rarely steal the vehicle. Most cannot drive. But they often kill the local driver, who if he can recognise the thieves. A tragedy is played out for handful of cash and a couple of mobile phones. ‘The scenery in some places is magnificent,’ shares Magdalena Waern, giving an account of her recent overland trip from Juba to Kapoeta With husband Filip Lidstrom. She was struck by the colours as she passed through rural villages with their traditional tukul homes. ‘It was really, really green which contrasts with the red, red roads you’re driving on. The mountains on the horizon are like deep blue because of the early morning light, with the tops of mountains shrouded in white clouds.

‘It’s so beautiful. And the same time, you’re thinking, there could be someone hiding on these hills about to shoot us. As we drove, I was trying

THE RISKY ROAD TO KAPOETA

A main road connects the Kapoeta with the Torit and the capital Juba. On a good day, it takes just seven hours although the journey is not without its risks.

Kapoeta in Eastern Equatoria is a crossroads. A place where development and gospel resources arrive by road from nearby Kenya on the way to Juba or carried into the countryside via a network of winding tracks. These are some of the most insecure roads in the country. Missionaries and church leaders ministering in the town, do so, despite the very real risks.

Vehicles travelling on the main road from Juba, drive fast and in convoy, to reduce the risk posed

not to think so much about it,’ she says. The risk became a reality last year when engineer friend, was shot by bandits whilst travelling on the road. He escaped because he kept on driving all the way to the hospital in Kapoeta where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the leg. Bandits aren’t the only challenge facing road travellers, who don’t always have a good alternative. On this occasion Filip and Magdalena needed their car. The rain that makes the landscape so lush and beautiful washes away the murram surface, causing potholes that can be hard to avoid. In an area where it’s best to keep moving, breaking down, can lead to more than inconvenience and delay.

‘It is 3 hours to Torit and then four hours to Kapoeta if you go fast. We were trying to go as fast as we could because of the risk of robberies,’ Filip explained. The South Sudanese colleagues

who accompanied them on their road trip didn’t think it advisable for the couple to drive back alone. ‘The leadership wouldn’t let us travel back by car. On the way back we flew with MAF and someone brought the car back a few days later with another convoy,’ Filip explains.

A few months later a motorbike purchased in Juba, was loaded onto another MAF flight, along with a generator and a tool kit to help them with the next phase of building their church. Two wheels will help them get around Kapoeta – but from now on they will fly from Juba by plane.

CARING FOR KAPOETA

training school’ shares Magdalena, a trained psychologist and long-term missionary, serving with Pentecostal Church of Sudan.

Magdalena explains how, on their first visit Kapoeta a few years ago, the team visited the hospital where they discovered that the training school, which offers a 3-year training course for aspiring nurses and midwives, didn’t have any teachers or tutors. The team set to work sharing their professional knowledge with the students. They have made two further visits since, and even continued during covid by videoing their teaching in a studio in Sweden. The videos are a good tool because you don’t have to be physically there and they can be re-used’ Magdalena said.

Paramedic Daniel Steen, nurse Marie Hubsch, Midwives Helen Lindberg, and Carin Boij and Roland Boij a gynaecologist and obstetrician, travelled from Nairobi to Lokkichogio where the plane from MAF South Sudan carried them on their final leg.

The team of medical professionals from the Pentecost Church Jönköping took time-off from their day jobs in Sweden to join the two-week outreach led by Missionaries Filip Lidstrom and Magdalena Waern who shared an account of the outreach.

‘The visiting medical mission team came to tutor and train the students at Kapoeta State Hospital’s

The team were glad to be back, meeting in person again. ‘On this visit, the team were kept busy teaching seminars every day. The teaching was both theoretical and practical. The team brought training equipment including dolls and models for simulating births, for measuring cervix expansion and resuscitation dolls to practice infant CPR.’ The students benefited from the skills and expertise of a variety of specialisms including gynaecology, emergency medicine and public health. They learn from practical demonstrations, drama and group work sessions during which they are encouraged to discuss what they are learning in the classroom.

‘As well as teaching the medical students, some team members pitched in to help with regular hospital work, while others in the team did community health training for church members. They taught about what makes us sick, how bacteria, viruses and parasites enter the body and how we can avoid becoming sick by keeping good hygiene,’ Magdalena explains. At the end of the fortnight the team jumped back on the MAF planes happy with all that had been achieved. ‘It was incredibly fun to see how things have improved at the hospital since 2020 when

we were last there,’ Paramedic Daniel Steen reflects. ‘The school has evolved a lot. There is hope and a future for the people of South Sudan even though the road is long.’

‘The MAF flights where very good, we got to fly with a Caravan. The Cessna planes are small. It is bumpy in the air. Despite this we all felt safe and had complete trust in the pilots and staff. Before 2020 we always got to Lotimor and Kapoeta by road. To fly with MAF is safe and saves a lot of time and means we can plan to carry a lot of stuff we need, which is good.’

FLYING HOPE TO THE NORTHERN CAPE

MAFSA’s local initiative Flying for Life carries out monthly outreaches that bring medical breakthrough and share the love of Jesus to the forgotten rural communities of South Africa.

In May of 2023, MAFSA’s on-the-ground local initiative Flying for Life together with partner organisation Mercy Air, flew a group of professional volunteers to tackle the extensive waiting list at a rural clinic. Our mission set out to serve the long-suffering people of the Northern Cape who received the gift of sight.

Our target was to operate on 35 patients over the three-day initiative. At the end of our outreach flight, thanks to the strength of collaboration, the team successfully operated on 75 patients.

Professional volunteer Dr Jonathan Pons shares testimonials from some of the patients:

Suffering from severe eye pain, Mrs Abrahams had visited the clinics without any improvement. She spent her last money seeing a GP and still no improvement. We diagnosed a Herpes Corneal Ulcer, potentially sight threatening. The pharmacy

did not have the necessary anti-viral treatment, and she was sent to the High Street pharmacy with a script. The price of the treatment there was completely unaffordable, and she returned in tears and without hope. Fortunately, we had a spare treatment, which we gladly gave her. She was overjoyed and said that now she knew that God loved and cared for her.

Dawn had been blind for two years due to a cataract and was on a waiting list in Springbok. With Caring for Sight assistance, she was brought to Upington for surgery. She was overjoyed for now at last she had the opportunity to see again. She was looking forward to surgery! We only knew of her because on arrival in the theatre waiting area, where she had to wait for two hours, she burst into song! Her sweet songs, thanking Jesus for loving her and providing for her, drifted into the theatre and kept our spirits up during the long day of surgery!

Photos: The team in action, and two grateful patients during their pre-op consultation.

NEVER A DULL DAY IN SOUTH AFRICA

The lights suddenly went off with a boom! Loadshedding had caught the surgical team unawares, and Dr Pons was at a critical point in the surgery with instruments inside Nicho’s eye. The room went dark, all the equipment was dead, and the microscope was off. The surgeon could see nothing. The name “Eskom” came up, but not in a luminous manner. The dim emergency light came on, then the interminable wait for the generator to start. Will there be enough diesel in the tank this time? Finally, some lights brightened, and some equipment bleated plaintively. Oh dear, did the power surge destroy the delicate computerised instrument? Nicho, however, kept perfectly still, and any anxiety he felt, he kept from us. Five minutes later, the last machine had rebooted itself and we could continue. He had waited years for this operation, and not even Eskom would prevent him from seeing again!

REVEAL DAY

It’s 7 am and the morning after surgery. All 25 of yesterday’s patients have patches on their operated eyes and are impatiently waiting for these to be removed, so that they might find out whether they would see or not. Dr Carita is like a reality show host as she gets each patient ready for the “reveal”. She takes special care of and delights in the bilateral blind, or “double blind” since the unoperated eye also cannot see. The expectation is electric. Lining up the patient with her husband, she asks the old lady: “Waneer laas het jy jou man gesien? Will jy hom nou sien?”

As the patch is removed, the screams of joy and recognition echo in the hospital passages. Exuberant embraces follow and pointing, seeing what her hands and clothes look like in great surprise.

And then suddenly her tears flow. Huge sobs of relief at the banishment of blindness and perhaps the years of life stolen by an easily curable malady.

Thank you for being part of the miracle of restoring Northern Cape lives. We look forward to seeing how this story continues as our work and partnerships grow to bring hope to marginalised communities across South Africa.

FLYING PASTORS

Pastor Karel van Vollenhoven joined us on our eye-doctor flight to the Northern Cape, to evangelise to the patients and local staff. Below is his account of the outreach.

“Fellow pastor Etienne and I counted it a huge privilege to fly to Springbok and Calvinia to take the Good News and Bibles to people who desperately need Jesus. Both the patients and personnel we prayed for were touched by God. In Springbok, we ministered to in-patients in the hospital. One man committed His life to Christ. We prayed for a group of nurses who were moved by the Holy Spirit. We also prayed for the doctors in Casualty who work under a lot of pressure and feel overwhelmed by their circumstances. In Calvinia, we started off by ministering to outpatients (the majority were moms with babies and kids) who came from surrounding towns. We ministered to the children and sang Gospel songs with them. Some of them gave us very warm hugs, probably lacking a father figure in

their lives. Three moms committed their lives to Jesus and were moved by God’s love. In-patients were ministered to, nurses and staff, too. Many of the staff have personal struggles at home and it was good for them to offload and be reassured and encouraged.

We want to thank everyone who made it possible for us to reach out to Springbok and Calvinia. The Kingdom of God extended in people’s hearts, eyes were opened and the thirsty were satisfied.”

They say it takes a village. It is our MAFSA team, MAFSA donors and supporters, and prayer partners, who establish the support that extends God’s Kingdom.

By His grace we are privileged to carry out these flights. Thank you for pioneering with us.

Pastors Karel & Etienne, praying with the patients & staff at a rural clinic in the Northern Cape.

“Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty.” Proverbs 25:25

JOIN THE MISSIONS FIELD

CRITICAL VACANCIES

LICENSED AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE ENGINEER (AVIONICS) MAREEBA

We operate mainly single engine turbine and single engine piston aircraft. This role is a critical vacancy for the Mareeba Support Base which we urgently need filled. Priority processing and consideration given to the right candidate.

AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE ENGINEER MAREEBA

We have a great opportunity for a Aircraft Engineer to join our Mareeba Maintenance Team to support operational MAF Programmes by maintaining a range of aircraft types within the MAF Fleet.

EXPERIENCED MISSION PILOTS VARIOUS LOCATIONS

We are looking for experienced mission pilots to serve in these countries and help us in our goal to reach isolated communities. Current vacancies are in Liberia, Guinea, South Sudan, Chad, Madagascar and Papua New Guinea.

MAF South Africa is a resourcing office for MAF International, and our primary role is recruiting effectively for vacancies across the MAF world. The distinctiveness of MAF as an organisation; spreading the Gospel, isolated and forgotten communities, and challenging working conditions, raises the reality of having to find Spirit-filled, technically competent, and highly skilled candidates for those positions.

To do this we have structured but flexible recruiting pipelines aimed at efficiently expediting the process that identifies, processes, and places those ideal candidates.

2022 saw our recruiting strategy expand to include neighbouring countries to South Africa. These included the revising of selection schedules and an earlier initiation of ministry partnering training and coaching for candidates. A new partnership was begun with a South African organisation for the missionary preparedness training of pre-field candidates, thus obviating the need for candidates to travel to the UK. 2023 continues with these developments and as endeavour to fine-tune systems befitting an African landscape.

MAF AFRICA MEET THE CANDIDATES

MAFSA has six candidates in the pipeline for MAF’s global missions field. Five of the six are the first of their kind to fulfil assessments in South Africa.

THE BEGINNINGS OF MAF AFRICA

In MAFSA’s 1Q Newsletter of 2023 we shared the story about our new wings, the beginning of a big dream for MAFSA!

In 2022, MAFSA Recruitment expanded its management scope from South Africa to subSaharan Africa. We now have five candidates (including one South African) in the pipeline who took part in MAF’s engineering technical assessment here in South Africa.

Originally, candidates would have to travel to various international programmes in order to fulfil this assessment, (see Gift Imposi’s story to follow) . These programme locations include Mareeba, Uganda, and the USA. For an African candidate, dealing with the currency difference, this endeavour was often far from simple, and it took longer than necessary as the individual and MAFSA raised the funds to send candidates elsewhere.

MAFSA’s goal is to set up a headquarters for MAF AFRICA that will serve to equip candidates across Africa. The following five of six candidates are the beginning of this venture.

The next step in the recruitment journey is MAF orientation and bible school, both of which are still conducted internationally. MAFSA is working on ministry partnership relations in order to establish training locally. These are exciting times, and as we are filled with anticipation, we are grateful to the Lord for opening up this vision and, through His grace, enabling us to execute it.

GIFT MPOSI

ZIMBABWE

MY STORY

The Mposi family is headed by myself, Gift, and I am an apprenticeshiptrained and licensed aircraft maintenance engineer. My journey with MAF started in November 2020. A close friend, who works for a United Nations-contracted aviation company operating in East and Central African countries, sent me the MAF link via Facebook. After reading what MAF stood for on their website — their purpose, vision, and beliefs — I fell in love with MAF! “Why can I not serve the Lord doing the work I was trained to do?”, I asked myself. I did not need an answer! After completing an online application, I was invited to write the MAF knowledge competency assessment. I can’t describe my happiness at passing it.

MY FAMILY

We are a Christian family who attend the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Abigail, my wife, takes care

THE INSPIRING STORIES FROM SOME OF OUR FIRST MAF AFRICA CANDIDATES.

Aircraft Maintenance Engineer

of the home and our three lovely daughters. She is into cake baking and sewing. She also does nonprofit work as church youth director, children’s ministry director, and pathfinder director. Currently she is the treasurer for the annual church camp committee. Jacqueline, our eldest daughter is pursuing a statistics degree with a local university in Harare. Nicole, our second daughter, is waiting for responses from overseas colleges where she has applied to study for a degree in marine biology. While waiting for the overseas opportunity, she has meanwhile enrolled with our local university where she will be studying for a degree in biological sciences. Ivy, our youngest daughter is in her third year of high school at a local girl’s school.

ASPIRATIONS AND GOALS

My selection journey continued with an initial discussion with MAF South Africa Recruiting where the numerous but very important processes ahead of me were described. I just felt excited about every challenge that I was going to face. I have my whole family and church colleagues behind me as I forge ahead. I later had a formal interview where I gained a greater understanding of what MAF stands for. I keep praising the Lord for the guidance and foresight I gained regarding the path ahead of me. This was followed by an interview with the MAF International team, which was really exciting despite the nervousness I felt initially. But I always tell myself that “God will never leave me alone”. The event went well. Abigail was always beside me for moral support, and she later had her chance to learn about MAF during her spousal interview. Following that was a further psychometric assessment, and that was soon followed by what I consider to be the mother of all assessments so far. The technical assessment done at the MAF Uganda facility. I appreciate the warm reception and hospitality I got from the MAF Uganda family and the assistance during the technical assessment. I am still on my selection journey and am currently on the ministry partnering training and coaching programme, where I am receiving guidance regarding my support should I be accepted into MAF service.

Will I get the chance to be in a MAF programme? A catchphrase on one of MAF’s planes really caught my attention: “Flying for Life“. I get touched whenever I come across news items about people who are vulnerable and displaced because of wars and natural disasters. In considering lives saved through maintenance of the MAF aircraft that fly to the remotest places, and supporting these in every way possible, MAF’s purpose and vision resonates well with my passion for saving lives and souls through Christ. The sky is not the limit!

MY SPIRITUAL LIFE

I have been a born-again Christian since high school, where I was invited to scripture readings. Even though young, I first learnt about the Bible at the readings and started to believe that Jesus had died for me, and I accepted Him. It took some time before I felt the need to be baptised, but I was all the while aware He was there all the time and He died for me personally. I began to experience spiritual growth, and strength in my beliefs, wanting to grow into a better person. I want to gain mission experience and work on different aircraft, and to grow in my spiritual life as well as in my career. I see life in the field as an exciting challenge in getting supplies to those in need. I have experienced similar work before while flying aid missions in the military and so I will feel at home in MAF, serving God.

MY WORK AND CAREER

I have served in two air forces as well as with a number of approved aircraft maintenance organisations, I have worked in multicultural teams and service providers. In South Africa, I spent six months with Safair, as well as the South African Air Force, where I maintained and serviced the PC7 aircraft, carried out flight line operations, as well as doing general hangar maintenance. During my exposure to war, I prayed strongly against the violence and for peace. Afterwards, I wished to serve in a peaceful environment and found MAF. I liked the Christian work done by MAF and decided to do all I could to join and serve.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Zimbabwe’s Midlands Province in a City called Gweru.

How young were you when you first had a desire to work with aircraft?

I was just finishing primary school and beginning high school. I was 13 years old. It is the time I started giving serious thought about the different types of military aircraft that I had seen almost every weekday flying just outside our suburbs. The City of Gweru houses one of Zimbabwe’s Air Force bases. The experience of visiting the nearby Air Force Base on a year-end school tour had a significant bearing on my choice of career. We had a chance to see different types of military aircraft taking off and landing at close quarters, and I always recall that experience vividly up to today.

My first wish was to fly, especially the jet aircraft that I often saw flying gracefully past in formation or individually. But as time went on I was fascinated by the thought of how the aircraft actually flew and how they were made and maintained. Then I decided to be an aircraft mechanic rather than an operator.

When, later on, the Air Force of Zimbabwe put up an advertisement in one of the local newspapers for the recruitment of pilots and engineers, my mind was already made up. Many years later I cannot think of any other substitute for my current job.

What have you found most inspiring in your journey with MAF thus far?

Working on aircraft whose roles are to rescue, transport the sick, transport food and medical supplies to the most inaccessible places. My experience in military aviation has helped me appreciate the serviceability of these platforms. I am inspired by the awesome work by MAF, their role in saving lives and most importantly souls. The catch phrase ’Flying for Life’ keeps me inspired to continue with my work.

What have you found most challenging in your journey with MAF thus far?

The Covid 19 pandemic ranks as the most challenging for me so far. A lot of people lost their jobs with some organisations or companies folding due to low or no business owing to the reduction in tourist inflows in most countries. I was also a victim of the Covid 19 induced retrenchments at one of the companies I had just joined. But God is always looking out for us. Within no time l was contracted to a neighbouring company. Although travel restrictions have now been relaxed things have never gone back to full throttle operations.

Are there any prayer requests you have that you would like to share?

Yes, I really need prayer for good health to all. The lord’s work needs healthy personnel for it to be efficient. Thank you.

EIRENE MUMBER

Aircraft Maintenance Engineer

ZAMBIA

MY STORY

I am 31-year-old Zambian citizen, born into a family of four where I am the second-born daughter. My parents are Eunice (deceased) and Davies Mumba. My siblings are Charles, Davies, and Faith. My youth has been interesting, I was groomed for ministry, and a career in aviation. And my parents taught us to be sensitive to and embrace cultural diversity. Growing up we learned skills for everyday life such as gardening, cooking, hair plaiting, and computer application. My aspirations and goals are to serve God with the abilities He has given me, i.e. in my career, and with my gifts (spiritual and physical).

MY FAMILY

My family is a Christian family. We are fully involved in missions, evangelism outreaches, community development activities that benefit widows, orphans and specially abled. I have a young son.

MY SPIRITUAL LIFE

I am a Christian, a Pentecostal believer, and I was baptised in May 2007. After baptism I enrolled in foundation school in my home church – the Apostolic Church in Zambia. After graduation I joined the main praise team until I relocated to my current town of residence 10 years ago. Here I continued to worship with the new team I joined after relocating. I was a cell leader in my college days for the local church and a worship team member.

MY WORK AND CAREER

2014 January I joined Proflight Zambia as an apprentice (technician) and in December 2014 I was employed permanently. Since 2016 I have worked as production control planner.

In 2017 I enrolled for a professional course at the University of Zambia to study monitoring and evaluation for which I received a certificate.

In 2019 I was sponsored by Proflight Zambia to study principles in maintenance planning at Cranfield aviation school and I was awarded a certificate.

In 2020 I obtained my Zambia Civil Aviation Authority aircraft engineer’s license. In 2022 I was sponsored by Proflight Zambia to study bombardier CRJ100/200 and CEF4 Engines manufacturers course at Kenya Flight School and I was awarded a certificate. In 2023 I was sponsored by Proflight Zambia to study Jetstream 4100 and TPE Series manufactures course at Debela Training school (DTM) in South Africa and I was awarded a certificate.

How did you first hear about MAF?

Through a friend.

How young were you when you first had a desire to work with aircraft?

I was 9 years old.

Tell us a bit about your calling to join MAF?

To serve God through my skills. To reach out to the ends of the world with the gospel, through aviation.

What have you found most inspiring in your journey with MAF thus far?

The passion MAF has for the isolated, and vulnerable.

What have you found most challenging in your journey with MAF thus far?

Raising donors.

Tell us a bit about the latest milestone you have achieved in your MAF recruitment journey?

I’ve passed through all assessments successfully; through this process I have been able to meet different nationalities and cultures.

Are there any prayer requests you have that you would like to share?

Grace to fulfil God’s calling – which is to spread the gospel to all corners of the world through aviation. Thank you.

DANIEL CHILIPAMUSHI

Aircraft Maintenance Engineer

ZAMBIA

MY STORY

I was born in 1995 in Zambia from Zambian parents. My father is a retired engineer and now an associate pastor at Yeshua Adonai church in Lusaka, Zambia.

I have four siblings, two brothers and two sisters. My inspiration has always been my father who was working as a heavy-duty engineer. He would come home with his toolbox most times, I grew interested in wanting to become an engineer, too. On my eighth birthday my father took me to the airport and when I saw an aircraft up close, I made up my mind that I would be a licensed aircraft engineer one day.

Growing up in an African community, my childhood and youth were about interacting with family and neighbours, visiting my village during school holidays, playing sports in my leisure time, and mostly attending church programmes on the expected days.

MY FAMILY

My family is Christ-oriented, therefore everything we do and believe in is based on the Lord Jesus. We have daily family Bible studies, participate in church programmes like youth seminars and prison ministry. I also enjoy going on family picnics during holidays, where we go to places like Lake Kariba and have time to see the beautiful creation as well as time to pray as a family. Being raised in a Christian home and having Christian parents has always been the greatest privilege in my life because I was introduced to the Lord Jesus at very tender age. My dad is a pastor and always taught us the word of God. During my university days I then had a serious encounter with the Lord Jesus at a student fellowship, and from then I knew that the Lord wanted me to be a person that will work for Him at one point, but unfortunately, I didn’t know how. It was four years after that encounter when I realised that the Lord wanted me to use my career as a weapon to win souls. The privilege I had of getting to know the Lord Jesus through my parents isn’t a privilege that somebody staying in a remote place has. I believe God blessed me with that privilege, so that I can also be a blessing to the underprivileged who are thirsty to hear the gospel.

MY SPIRITUAL LIFE

I felt called to work as a missionary when I had a strong conviction that the Lord called me to use my professional life for His glory, because I realised that there are people out there who have not had the privilege of hearing the gospel because they stay in remote places. And it’s to those kinds of places where MAF flies with the purpose of spreading the gospel. I also knew that the aeroplanes used for this will need mechanics and engineers to keep them serviceable.

MY WORK AND CAREER

I started working when I was in my final year at the aviation school as a trainee engineer at Sky Trails in 2018. After graduating as an aircraft maintenance engineer in 2019, I started working for Mahogany Air in 2020 as a line maintenance engineer. I was responsible for servicing the aircraft, for on line , pre-flight and post-flight inspection on the Embraer 120 and Beechcraft 1900 aircraft till 2021.

How did you first hear about MAF?

I first heard about MAF because in Zambia we have flight missions which also does a similar work with MAF and it’s also a Christian organisation. After I completed my Tertiary education I went there just to visit their Hangar and found out about Mission Aviation. The missionaries there welcomed me told me about other mission aviation organisations, MAF was one of them.

What have you found most inspiring in your journey with MAF thus far?

What I have found most inspiring in my journey with MAF is that everything is done as the Lord leads; even the application process - it takes time to complete and teaches patience. As the Bible says that one of the fruits of the spirit is patience and even the people in MAF are all friendly and truly represent the discipleship of the Lord

Jesus.

What have you found most challenging in your journey with MAF thus far?

The only challenge is that sometimes it’s not easy to convince people especially to financially sponsor you as you prepare to go onto the missions field, so sometimes potential supporters will say ‘no’ but as Christians we ought to pray not to be discouraged, just as the Bible says that we shouldn’t be afraid or discouraged.

Are there any prayer requests you have that you would like to share?

My prayer request is that the Lord strengthen me and keep me and encourage me as I am about to go into His fields; and that I will be a blessing to someone out there.

“Faith is trusting God even when you don’t understand His plan.” unknown author

PRAY FOR OUR MISSIONARIES

BRAD & MICHELLE VENTER | PNG

The Mama Care Ministry has taken flight. Please pray for God to grow and foster the initiative according to His will. Michelle is currently seeking funding to purchase more bibles for the mothers.

For the latest update and story from Mama Care, click here

MARK & LORRAINE LIPRINI | TANZANIA

Please pray for Mark in the next month or two, as Peter Griffin, the other MAF pilot, will be taking a month’s well deserved leave. He will be away from home for 3-5 days for 3 weeks of the month.

TOBIAS AND MORIAH MEYER | SOUTH SUDAN

Please pray for the resolution of challenges faced with the Cessna 182 airplanes in the South Sudan programme. 5X-MON, developed an oil leak and needed a new engine, which was delayed due to Covid. The second 182 was damaged during shipping, and there were issues with paperwork in Uganda.

GRANT & EMILY STRUGNELL | LESOTHO

Please pray for protection and spiritual growth amongst new believers in Lesotho. The Flying Pastors face challenges and request ongoing prayer for wisdom and protection.

MAF SERVES IN MULTIPLE COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD WITH THE VISION OF TAKING CHRIST’S LOVE INTO THE MOST REMOTE PLACES ON EARTH.

PRAY FOR OUR PROGRAMMES

We give thanks for the education flights in Arnhem Land that are flying students to school. A year 12 student is dreaming of becoming a pilot and was recently given the opportunity to have a Trial Introductory Flight with a MAF flight instructor.

Please pray for several vacancies at MAF and give thanks for the Recruitment team as they work hard to find people to fill the vacancies and conduct assessments in the selection process.

Thank God that MAF South Sudan was able to medevac a woman who had been caught in the crossfire while fleeing Khartoum. Pray for her recovery and for the South Sudan team as they respond to the crisis.

We give thanks for a recent flight that brought a Maxillofacial surgeon to treat 76 people over a threeday visit, on Atauro Island, who ordinarily don’t have access to dentist care.

Give thanks for flight permissions being granted in Guinea for another six months.

Please pray for good weather in Kenya as they experience their winter season when visibility is usually a challenge.

Please pray for runway surveys in Uganda and Madagascar in preparation for a report being written on how they can be upgraded.

Praise God for the work of several partners who are providing sustainable access to water in East Africa during the ongoing drought such as gravity fed water systems and agricultural irrigation.

GUINEA KENYA UGANDAEAST AFRICA

ARNHEM LAND CRUCIAL ROLES SOUTH SUDAN TIMOR-LESTE

We have several staff vacancies in our French speaking programmes – Chad, Guinea and Madagascar – please pray for Frenchspeaking candidates to come forward.

Please pray for the situation in Sudan, and for our Chad and South Sudan programmes as they assess needs, activate more flights, and acquire funding for the response team and aircraft fuel.

Please pray for MAF resourcing groups as we embark on a capital campaign to raise funding for our aircraft fleet.

Our programmes have recently been facing fuel difficulties in Chad and PNG. Pray that we have everything we need to live and work in these nations, particularly vital resources like fuel.

Please continue to pray for the team in Haiti as they are temporarily relocated to Nampa. Please pray for wisdom for those making decisions.

Please continue to pray for Ryan, Willem and Eric, as they wait for the legal proceedings to conclude in Mozambique. Please pray for the orphanage supplies to be released by authorities.

We give thanks for the work of Protocol Investment, a logistic company in PNG, who are sending medical supplies with MAF to isolated communities.

We pray for continued good relations with the national and local government officials in Papua.

HEARTS TO SERVECANADA TANZANIASURINAME

Please pray for more teachers to be recruited to provide education for MAF children in remote locations

Give thanks for the successful Marketing and Fundraising Summit held in Toronto. Please pray the Lord blesses the fruits of this labour as we strive to collaborate globally.

60th year programme anniversary. Praise God for 60 years of faithful service to the people of Tanzania.

We give thanks for a smooth move to a new hangar for the team in Suriname.

HAITIMOZAMBIQUE PNG PAPUA

PRAY FOR MAF SOUTH AFRICA

OUR PROGRAMME’S PRAYER REQUESTS & PRAISE POINTS

Praise the Lord for six new African engineer candidates that have been approved to join MAF. Please pray for them as they work on Ministry Partnership in their home countries, it can be a struggle coming from under privileged communities. However, they have heeded the Lord’s call and we know that the Lord is their ultimate provider.

Please pray as we look to grow the number of African candidates joining MAF. Pray that the Lord would help us to overcome the obstacles that come our way. Pray for wisdom and clarity as we move forward.

Fundraising in South Africa has become more and more challenging over the years. Please pray

that the Lord would open all the right doors for us to continue to build and grow our support base in order to bring help where it’s needed.

We are still waiting for the MOU from the Limpopo Department of Health, to continue our projects into rural communities in this province. Please pray for supernatural breakthrough in this area.

Please continue to pray for a steady stream of funding to help support our local flying projects.

MAFSA has been struggling with technology and software issues, please pray for support and breakthrough in this area. For all tech streams to come into alignment. Thank you.

Your prayers are powerful.

Story by Jenny Davies

CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE

On 19 June, MAF carried out a flight for Citizen’s Call bringing medical supplies to Renk and refugees back to Juba. One of the passengers required urgent medical attention after she was caught in the crossfire fleeing from the war in khanoum.

The woman being lifted carefully from the plane at Juba International Airport, is a refugee from the war in Sudan. She sustained a wound to the leg a few days ago when was caught in the crossfire fleeing from Khartoum. Despite her terrible injuries, she made the journey to the border town of Wounthou/Juda where she crossed into South Sudan at the border town of Renk accompanied by her small son. He stands timidly off to one side watching as the dispatch team manoeuvre her as gently as they can into the waiting ambulance. He climbs in beside her and they are taken to Juba Teach hospital where her injuries can be treated and they can be reunited with family members here in Juba.

Pilot Andy MacDonald flew the 6 hour round trip with the patient and 10 other refugees, on behalf of Citizen’s Call, a coalition of South Sudanese

individuals who are aiding South Sudanese refugees leaving Sudan. Hers is just one of many heart-breaking stories. Everyday, thousands of people are arriving at South Sudan’s borders

fleeing the conflict that erupted in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on 15 April. Many of these people have experienced or witnessed terrible things including rape. Many more people are still trapped in the

besieged capital, being targeted by airstrikes, without sufficient food, and water and unable to leave.

After their ordeal of escape, new arrivals in Renk, are faced with appalling condition in the camps set up to receive them. Inadequate food, shelter, healthcare, water, toilet and washing facilities mean there is real suffering in the camps. There are almost daily reports of children dying from preventable causes including hunger and dehydration. The UN have received just 10% of the USD $96 million they need to respond. The refugees fleeing this crisis feel forgotten by the outside world.

Hope for the isolated.

Story by Mandy Glass

WHEN THE PLANE DOESN’T COME

A heartbreaking plea for the urgent medevac of a sick little girl in the highlands of Papua New Guinea emphasised the importance of MAF planes being able to reach isolated communities.

Pastor Joe’s daughter Julie was unconscious and in need of medical care when a call was made to MAF PNG’s Mt Hagen based pilot Mathias Glass for help late on Saturday afternoon.

The caller asked: “Is MAF flying to Mt Aue? The daughter of our pastor is unconscious, and the parents are very worried about losing her.”

Mathias Glass told the caller that he’s checked out to land at the airstrip but that the airstrip was closed for MAF’s operation at present. He encouraged the caller to check with Flight Operations Manager Brad Venter to see if authorisation could be granted. Unfortunately, the overgrown and poorly maintained state of the rural airstrip meant a flight would be too unsafe.

“I had to make the hard decision at the time that a landing in Mt Aue was not acceptable,” Brad said.

A 3-DAYS TREK INSTEAD OF A 25-MINUTES FLIGHT

Without access to a MAF flight, the family set out on a long walk for treatment, but miraculously Julie’s condition improved during the arduous trek.

The airstrip at Mt Aue was in poor condition, with very little maintenance being done in many years. It is overgrown, the drains are hardly visible, and the clearway is not cut. Maintaining rural airstrips is difficult, particularly as the tropical environment and high rainfall result in the rapid growth of grass and soft soil that forms ruts when aircraft land on

Photos by Ruedi Meier

the surface. All the work has to be done by hand with access to only basic tools such as machetes and shovels.

Julie is the daughter of Pastor Joe and his wife Dora, who are pastoring the congregation of the Evangelical Brotherhood Church (EBC) at Mt Aue, and his friend and missionary Ruedi Meier described the miracle that happened when MAF was unable to reach the community.

A MIRACLE ON THE WAY

“There is a bush airstrip in Mt Aue, but it has been closed for several years because no one seems to take ownership of its upkeep. The access road from Kundiawa to the vicinity of Mt Aue was also not usable, so the family had no choice but to make the long walk to Tsigmil, the nearest health centre. The family had to spend three nights in the deep bush until they finally arrived in Tsigmil,” he said in his newsletter.

“Their eight-year-old daughter Julie had to be carried at the beginning because she could hardly breathe. During the three-day walk, however, God performed a miracle on Julie. She regained her strength and was able to carry herself over the mountains.”

When the missionary hosted the family the week after the desperate plea for a medevac, he said, “You could hardly tell Julie was sick. We were so thankful to God that Julie is alive. God is still doing miracles today!”

IMPACT ON OTHER SERVICES IF THERE’S NO MAF PLANE

When the MAF plane cannot come, it also affects other services for the community, such as health and education.

Ruedi explains this impact in his newsletter.

“There is a health post in Mt Aue, but because the airstrip is closed and the access road is impassable, there is hardly any medicine to help the patients, according to our pastors,” he wrote.

“Pastor Joe also told us that he might be forced to send all his school-age children from Mt Aue

to the Tsigmil region to stay with his relatives so that they could then go to school. (In 2022), the teachers at this primary school just taught the children from March to May. Then they went back to the town or their villages, so at the moment all the children of Mt Au cannot go to school.

“It is a huge stress for our pastor families in remote areas to do their ministry when at the same time their children are growing up far away from them so they can go to school.”

WILL THE AIRSTRIP EVER BE RE-OPENED?

Since MAF’s last survey of the airstrip in 2021, there are new techniques for assessing soil conditions and surface strength, which may change the results in Mt Aue and allow a landing with some safety mitigations.

“But the fact is, that it is still a poor airstrip with a history of bogging and no effort, commitment, or buy-in from the community in terms of improving it,” Brad said.

It’s the responsibility of the communities to look after their airstrips. MAF and the Rural Airstrip Agency (RAA) are there to help. RAA will give guidance and even supply men power and tools to communities to look after their airstrips. But it’s the community who has the last responsible and who will have to commit to doing the hard work it takes. For Mt Aue, this means a significant amount of work to improve the subsurface strength of the runway and its drainages.

According to Ruedi, there is some hope to improve the infrastructure for Mt Aue.

“The new governor of Chimbu Province has made it a priority to finish the road to Mt Aue. I have confidence in this man that he could do it. He was governor before and did a great job.” Despite his confidence, Ruedi states, that “we would like to see the airstrip open again.”

Photo: Pastor Joe with his wife Dora and daughter Julie one day after the almost threeday walk from Mt Au to Tsigmil. You simply can’t see the strain on them!

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