MAF Youth Magazine #14 by MAF UK

// ION

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MEET JOEY

PRAYING FOR HEALING?

VOLUNTEER FLIES IN PNG

WHEN MAF Y O U T H M E T //

Joey REdhead Photos LuAnne Cadd

Joey served with MAF, working with radio equipment and technology to help isolated communities in Papua New Guinea (PNG), before becoming seriously ill. Having returned to the UK, he spent 15 months confined to his bedroom.

Growing up and family life My mum and dad were told they couldn’t have any children – so that made me and my sister pretty unlikely! I shouldn’t have been born, and I definitely shouldn’t have survived. There was so much prayer around those things, and my parents always felt God’s hand in that. I grew into this family that knew God. I went to school, went to college and to university, where I studied electronic engineering, but couldn’t really get a job. I eventually ended up working in a hospital, looking after radiotherapy equipment. I actually got to a comfortable place but that was when God began to rock the boat. God was saying that He wanted something else for me, so I spent a lot of time praying, ‘God, what do You want? What is it that I should be doing?’ I really enjoyed fixing machines, but I also enjoyed the personal side that wasn’t really there in my job and the idea of teaching people. I also wanted to help people know God. So, I prayed about this for a while. Then I was like, ‘right, great — I’ve got the job spec, now I need to find this job.’ It turns out that evangelism and electronics aren’t a natural combination! I eventually got to the point where I said, ‘God, if this job exists – which it doesn’t, because I’ve looked — You’re going to have to find it for me!’ A couple of weeks later, my mum phoned and said, ‘They’ve got this job opportunity at MAF, I think you should look into it.’

Main // Joey fitting an HF radio antenna in Guasa Cut-out // Joey and fellow MAF Technologies colleague, David Feka Right // Joey on board a flight with MAF Pilot Dave Rogers

How was your faith affected when the path you were so sure God wanted for you was shaken? I never once doubted God, I never doubted that He was there, that He was loving or that He cared for me, but I did have doubt — like “did I hear Him right?”. I was convinced that I was supposed to go to PNG, and I still am. However, I expected that I was going to be there for at least four years. My faith in that was really shaken. I think Christians sometimes say that it’s bad to doubt and to ask ‘why?’, but there’s nothing in the Bible that says that. The reason I was struggling to understand was because I was only able to see a tiny slice of time, history and geography, — while God could see the whole thing! Through asking questions and doubting my faith in what I thought I believed, I ended up understanding God more.

What was life like leaving PNG after becoming ill? It was all a bit surreal. When I got on the plane, I imagined I was only going to be home for two to four weeks before going back again. I then spent 15 months in a cocoon environment that wasn’t PNG but wasn’t really England either — it was my bedroom. I didn’t go out much, I couldn’t go shopping. I couldn’t do normal things. When you go somewhere like PNG, it’s very easy to see what seems different as being wrong. You end up fighting yourself and saying, ‘It’s not wrong, it’s just different.’ But then you come back to the UK and realise we do weird stuff too. A lot of what we see of God, we see through our own culture. The way someone from PNG sees God is very different. So, having a long period of time to process things was really helpful.

Tell us about the illness and how you were healed The doctors thought it might be something called functional neurological disorder, which isn’t very well understood. They’re not really sure how it happens or how it goes away. I didn’t really have any energy and I had these weird shakes. I had to walk

around with a walking stick and, at the turn of the year, things got a lot worse. One evening, Becky, my girlfriend, said to me, ‘I’ve prayed for you and with you a lot, but I haven’t prayed over you for healing. I feel like I’m supposed to pray over every part of your body.’ As she started praying for me, my whole body started to shake uncontrollably. But when Becky began praying for my upper arms, they stopped shaking, so she carried on. She prayed until, for the first time in 15 months, my whole body was completely still. Everything lifted over those next couple of days and I felt completely myself again!

What’s the biggest thing you learned as a result of your experience? The first thing is to trust God. Oddly, it’s in those times when we’re most desperate that it seems easiest to trust Him, because we find ourselves out of control. He is good and He is caring — that’s who God is and that’s whose hands we are in. Secondly, giving everything to God doesn’t just mean your money, possessions, house, car or job. It means really personal stuff like, your family, your relationships and your character. I always thought that I gave everything to God, but it became much more personal when I saw everything that I thought I was just draining away.

What do you think is next for you? For the immediate future, I’m building up my strength. Further ahead? That’s a big question mark at the moment. In terms of what I would like, I’m trying to give that to God. I still love the same things I loved doing before I went to PNG, but I know that, whatever I do, I’ll be serving Him.

Alexa, iT 's...

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A girl w ITHout feet Photos Joseph Gamara and Nelson Deng

A terrible incident Imanya was only six months old when her mother left their home to run some errands in Abalwa village, South Sudan. When her mother didn’t return, Imanya began to cry and to look for her. Inside a ‘tukol’, a typical South Sudanese hut built with clay walls and a thatched roof, there’s usually a fireplace used for cooking. Imanya, still searching for her missing mother, crawled into the fire and was stunned with agony as her feet started burning. Before anyone was able to do anything, her feet were so severely damaged that the hospital in Torit couldn’t do anything for her.

Along came Joseph

An even happier ending

One day in 2015, Joseph Gamara, a local man, walked past the house and heard Imanya being punished by her mother for being ‘in the way’ and ‘of no use’. Crying, she answered her mum, saying, ‘You are the cause of my trouble! If you had watched over me, I wouldn’t have been burnt!’ Joseph decided to get involved and, over the next couple of years, talked to Imanya’s mother about accepting her daughter as a child of God, created in His image, no matter what condition she was in. He then convinced her that Imanya should attend Airport View Primary School in Torit. He also invited Imanya to his home so she could start playing with other children for the first time in her life. Joseph is the founder of Airport View Primary School. Its countercultural vision is to introduce girls, orphans and people with disabilities to God’s Word while providing them with education. He says, ‘Just as Jesus was a teacher, we want to follow His example to teach people about God and life.’

As if he hadn’t done enough already, Joseph later contacted a prosthetic limbs clinic funded by the Red Cross in Juba, to see if anything could be done about to help Imanya walk. In May this year, MAF had the immense privilege of flying Joseph and Imanya to Juba to get her new prosthetic feet fitted. Now, at the age of six, Imanya has two new feet and is all smiles!

The bleak reality

In traditional South Sudanese culture, a girl is worth a lot because of the large dowry paid to her family when she gets married. Sadly, in that same culture, girls suffering from physical disabilities are deemed worthless. Imanya, now seen as a burden, was kept inside, scolded, beaten and told she was useless.

HOVER YOUR PHONE HERE! HEAD TO THE MAF YOUTH WALL ON PAGE 13 TO FIND OUT HOW Top left // Imanya Middle Left // Imanya sitting in the cockpit of a MAF plane Bottom Left // Imanya being pushed to school Cut-out // Joesph and Imanya

NINIA // PAPUA

PHOTO MARK & KELLY HEWES

Top-right // Nawi Mabo refuelling the plane Bottom-right // Nawi Mabo, Remo Reugg and Luke Newell Below // The medevac patient aboard the plane

After the airplane was refuelled, loaded and its weight and balance checked, we were airborne — just an hour after the call came in! The weather was perfect and the visibility good.

S U O R U T N E AN ADV AFTE RNOON Photos Remo Reugg &

The following account comes from Remo Reugg, a 21-year-old Swiss short-term volunteer working with MAF Technology Services — historically known as CRMF (Christian Radio Mission Fellowship) — in Papua New Guinea (PNG). MAF Technology Services in PNG uses modern technology to help remote and isolated people by connecting them with hospitals, communities and services they couldn’t otherwise reach. This story outlines an opportunity Remo had to experience the aviation side of MAF PNG and jump aboard for a day’s flying to some remote locations.

Nawi Mabo

A flying opportunity

On 3 February, MAF Pilot Luke Newell knocked on my door to ask, 'Would you like to go flying today?' Who could say ‘no’ to that? I had just enough time to grab a bottle of water, my camera and something for lunch, then set off for the airport. Luke had received a medical emergency flight (medevac) call from Sharlene Coker, MAF's Flight Operations Co-ordinator. Because there was space on the flight, Nawi Mabo, MAF's Ground Operations Training Co-ordinator, decided to join us and fly to his home province to do what he loves doing most — helping people in despair.

Kawito — medevac underway We landed in Kawito and again refuelled, ready for the return flight. As soon as we'd finished, Opepeyato was carried on to the aircraft on a bamboo mat. The patient, her husband Noka, and three women who also needed medical assistance, had arrived by boat from Balimo. When everyone was on board, Luke gave the safety briefing and off we flew.

Daru — no ambulance

Not your average afternoon

With no problems on the flight to Daru, we landed 30 minutes later. Unfortunately, there were no ambulances waiting to take Opepeyato to hospital. However, thanks to Nawi’s local connections, we found some people who agreed to take her to the hospital on the back of their pickup truck. Once we'd got Opepeyato into the truck, we flew back to Mount Hagen

As expected, the weather changed – with more clouds starting to build up. But Luke managed to get us home safely, a few minutes before a huge downpour started! It was a fantastic afternoon! I got to fly in an MAF aircraft and see PNG from a totally different perspective. More importantly, I got to witness MAF’s impact from a front row seat and see how we help people in difficult situations every day. REMO

Emergency call to save an unborn child The call for help from Kawito described how a woman was suffering from pregnancy complications. She was about to give birth and, because the baby was lying in the wrong position, the risk to its life and health was considerable.

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e t a D p u l f e s t i va This summer, we have met hundreds of teens at Big Church Day Out and Soul Survivor! They have attempted the following: flying out emergency supplies on our flight simulator in order to change the ending for hundreds of isolated people in need. Our Soul Survivor Snapchat daily photo challenges, the record for the most amount of blue tongues ever seen — we’ve had some fun!

Want MAF to fly into your youth group this autumn? We visit youth groups throughout the UK, offering a completely FREE and interactive session that brings the adventures of the mission field to life. Sounds good? Invite us along to your youth group. Snap us if interested!

HOW WOULD YOU ENCOURAGE SOMEONE WHO IS PRAYING FOR ANOTHER PERSON’S HEALING? JOEY REDHEAD

I think the biggest thing to remember is that God loves to meet with you. Prayer is just talking to God. He cares so much about us and longs to hear from us. When it comes to someone’s healing, you’re telling God that this friend or family member is really important to you. So, be honest with God. Tell Him you’re finding it hard to see your friend go through difficult times and pour out those emotions. God wants to hear it.

'I think the biggest thing to remember is that God loves to meet with you.' As you pour out your heart to God, I think that’s when He speaks to you. You won’t always get the answer you want or expect. Whenever you pray for someone to be healed, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to receive healing instantly. That’s hard to grasp, but it’s God who heals, and He does it in His own time. When you pray, you join a journey that helps you see more of what God sees when He looks at the situation. You’re able to get a glimpse of how He’s moving as you walk alongside your friend or family member – and that’s a beautiful thing.