Flying for Life (Oct-Dec 2023)

MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) is a Christian organisation reaching men, women and children in over 25 countries. Operating more than 115 aircraft, MAF’s pilots overcome terrain that has become inaccessible due to derelict roads, natural disaster, or violent conflict. MAF aircraft fly into more than 1,000 destinations — transporting food and water, health professionals and medical supplies, and emergency workers and Christian missionaries where they are needed most. Each flight brings practical help, spiritual hope and physical healing to thousands of isolated people in remote communities for whom flying is a lifeline not a luxury. MAF is flying for life.

indigenous people do not appear in our publications.

The magnificent response was truly overwhelming. To quote Grace’s dad, ‘Thank you, MAF. May God increase the days of people behind this great work, which has helped my daughter.’

Wherever you see this symbol, it indicates a flight where MAF responded to a problem caused by the climate crisis, or transported a partner who supports creation care.

You are the future

I continue to be inspired by the variety of people and projects touched by our MAF family.

While it’s the aircraft and staff in our overseas programmes who physically deliver help, hope and healing in abundance, you are the foundation on which their work is built.

As autumn approaches, it’s our privilege to share with you what is achieved in far-flung climes by your prayers and gifts. In this issue of Flying for Life, your commitment and generosity can be seen in a golden harvest of good news. Children now sleep safely and enjoy excellent education. Three endangered species of marsupial are being saved from extinction. People running for their lives in their thousands have found sanctuary.

This issue also demonstrates how deeply His love has been felt in Tanzania for 60 years, thanks to your support. Meanwhile, our Papua New Guinea programme is entering a period of exciting expansion that is the result of a great deal of prayer and planning.

You have my sincerest thanks for all the joy you are bringing to men, women and children around the world, and for inspiring us to serve them.

Donovan Palmer Chief Executive, MAF UK

Ovadia Dominic

‘We cannot do it without you!’

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is home to the world’s third largest tropical rainforest. By helping its people to live sustainably, Tenkile Conservation Alliance (TCA) is protecting rare species from extinction

In the Torricelli mountain range of West Sepik Province, three threatened species of tree kangaroo — Grizzled, Tenkile and Weimang — coexist.

Australian conservationists Jim and Jean Thomas founded TCA to save these extraordinary marsupials from extinction. Their base at Lumi, managed by local staff and international volunteers, is the epicentre for conservation.

Traditionally, those living in the rainforest eat tree kangaroos. Today, TCA works with 50 villages to maintain and improve designated hunting zones — a project involving around 13,000 people.

‘We’ve used the valuable service of MAF for more than 20 years,’ says Jim. ‘MAF has transported valuable cargo for us including live rabbits and chickens, which provide alternative protein sources to rainforest communities. We cannot

‘We thank MAF for the long service they've provided to us,’ says TCA Project Manager Caleb Bulu (below right), who documents every species of bird and mammal he encounters as he patrols the rainforest.

‘We have to conserve our biodiversity for the future of our generations. In return, there are livelihood projects such as fish and rice farming that benefit the people.

MAF has transported valuable cargo for us, including live rabbits and chickens, which provide alternative protein sources to rainforest communities. We cannot do it without you!

TCA Project Officer Irene Sobin (bottom right) is a frequent MAF flyer. She uses our planes to reach the remote areas where agriculture, training, health and hygiene projects have been painstakingly established.

Referring to the robberies and accidents that can occur on PNG’s dilapidated roads, Irene says, ‘Travelling with MAF is easy — it takes a short time and avoids other problems.’

On planet Earth, when it comes to the survival of humans and animals, it’s not a case of ‘us’ and ‘them’. MAF is proud of its commitment to serve all of God's creation.

‘MAF has given us a lot of service in times of emergency, and also brings the post to remote areas of this country.’

Work, rest and play

In March this year, MAF Pilot Christiaan Haak flew a team from Denmark to see the impact of an MAF project that’s helping Maasai children in Kenya to sleep safely and succeed in class

With the help of young MAF supporters, dormitories were built recently at the Maasai Academy in Enairebuk in south-western Kenya’s remote Loita Hills.

The smooth, 30-minute flight from Nairobi to Enairebuk spared the eager visitors a 7-hour road trip across treacherous terrain.

Now there's a safe place for pupils to sleep during the week, vulnerable children no longer need to endure a tiring, three-mile trek across dark and dangerous fields to and from school each day.

Boarding at the Academy not only makes life safer but saves valuable time and energy too.

The school, run by MAF partner RedTribe, provides food, education and shelter for 270 children (bottom right) from low-income families at a time when drought has caused months of desperate food shortages.

On board the Enairebuk flight were MAF Denmark CEO Peter Hedelund and Christina Bay, MAF International’s Organisational Development Manager.

MAF Kenya Country Director Susan Kigen-Kolum, who also travelled on our plane, says, ‘It’s great to witness the impact MAF Kenya, MAF Denmark and RedTribe have brought to this Maasai community.

‘From building an airstrip to supporting children through school, we can only hope to find more opportunities to bring help, hope and healing to this community.’

Pelua Siloma — RedTribe’s Kenya Country Director — agrees, adding, ‘The biggest challenge preventing our children from attending school is a lack of food.

'[At the Maasai Academy] we have a garden, and farm different food that we also share with the community. I feel positive about our partnership with MAF, especially on education projects.’

‘Through RedTribe,’ concludes Academy Headteacher Carlos Kosgei, ‘children can receive sponsorship to study at the school.

'The dormitories built by MAF will also give them ample time to concentrate on their studies in the safety of the school grounds.’

KENYA

ETHIOPIA

TANZANIA Indian Ocean

Nairobi Enairebuk

‘She had not eaten in days’

Reports from Sudan of widespread rape and mass graves tell the horrific story of a potential genocide. For several months, MAF aircraft have been flying to the South Sudanese refugee entry point at Renk

For Dr Paul Gal Atem, the hardest thing was watching a young mother lose her infant child who was just 22 days old.

‘Just as we walked in, the baby passed away because she had no water in her body – her mother did not have enough milk to feed her. She had not eaten in days.’

Dr Paul (bottom, far right) is Managing Director of Concern

South Sudan. In June, when the ceasefire in Sudan ended, he flew with us to the South Sudanese town of Renk where the majority of people fleeing the conflict were desperately seeking sanctuary.

The ‘lucky’ ones spent two gruelling days on ancient, potholed roads to reach Renk.

Packed into trucks like cattle, in temperatures similar to a ‘hot’ summer’s day in the UK, you can imagine how they felt when they finally crossed the border.

They need us

‘Our organisation does a lot of work with women, children and people with disabilities,’ Dr Paul continues. ‘We went to Renk (above) because we heard about those in dire need of support.’

A tragic irony is that the majority of people entering the transit centre in Renk at that time were South Sudanese nationals.

Many had moved to Sudan a few years before to make new lives for themselves, only to be sent back ‘home’ in the hail of gunfire that began just after Easter in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

‘They’re only waiting there [Renk] while we respond,’ Dr Paul explains. ‘They need the government and the NGOs to help them reach their places of origin. We need to get them out of Renk.

‘Where transportation by land is not possible,’ he continues, ‘we want to make sure that these people are taken to their places of origin by air.’

‘Everything is just barren’

Dr Paul met with government and humanitarian agencies to make sure refugees are given the urgent support they need. His message to them could hardly be simpler.

‘I’m passionate that we respond very quickly. People are in an appalling situation, and we need to respond to their need as human beings first and foremost. We are all interlinked regardless of where we’re from.’

In the transit camp, Paul’s team witnessed desperate conditions.

‘The majority of the refugees are women and children. And what touched me a lot is the fact that these women are staying in a very dry, open place where there are few trees and no latrines or basic services.

‘We found [some] in dire need of support with no basic shelter. We gave them some plastic sheets to cover themselves from rain, and some food items.

‘Everything is just barren.’

Race for life

‘People told us that the journey to reach Renk was difficult,’ Paul recalls. ‘They were harassed as they were escaping from Khartoum. Some reported seeing girls and women being raped.’

In the rainy season, Renk’s makeshift transit camps flooded at the same time as a measles outbreak among children.

Healthcare and sanitation have been woefully inadequate from the start. Clean drinking water is now in very short supply.

MAF is delivering tonnes of food and medicine to refugees fortunate enough to get as far as the camps.

Among the tonnes of cargo we deliver is life-saving RUTF (readyto-use therapeutic food — main photo and right). One box alone will help more than 100 children to survive for 6 weeks.

‘We saw first-hand your mission of flying for life,’ says Tom Otieno, Country Director of Cordaid. ‘You are contributing to this response and that cannot be underestimated. You are doing so much. We are proud to be associated with MAF.’

Khartoum

Renk

Your gifts towards MAF flights help save lives. You are a light in the darkness of this world. God bless you.

– for all those who have fled violence in Sudan and are in urgent need of our help and support.

More than just a job: it’s a family

Operations Projects Manager Siobhain Cole is a natural planner, so a career in logistics means she is paid to organise. And, in trading the RAF for MAF, Siobhain has been welcomed into a whole new family

Growing up in military communities across England and Germany, Siobhain is well-accustomed to compound living.

Graduating with a computer science degree, she followed her father’s footsteps into the RAF. After six years there, she found herself found herself looking for something more.

‘I could have worked in London for a great salary,’ says Siobhan, ‘but I wanted to be in an organisation that is a force for good in the world. I had no idea I could combine aviation, logistics and my faith.’

In 2013, after her mum suggested MAF to her, Siobhain called us. Before she knew it, she’d completed cross-cultural training at All Nations College before being offered a job in Papua New Guinea (PNG) as Ground Ops Manager.

Single and in her early 30s, it was to become the adventure of a lifetime.

‘There’s such a wonderful community amongst my colleagues,’ she says. ‘They welcomed me with open arms. I wasn’t allowed to feel lonely.’

Having become part of the MAF PNG family, Siobhain had accepted ‘single life’ mere moments before her husband Ryan joined MAF as a pilot in 2016.

They married a year later and, today, working for MAF as a couple (above) is the icing on their cake.

‘Ryan arrived from Canada and I baked him an aircraft-shaped birthday cake!’ she laughs. ‘Then we navigated the tricky process of dating in a culture where men and women aren’t allowed to hold hands. We spent our first date with the front door and curtains wide open!’

‘There is so much variety in my day, but we always start our day by walking to the MAF base together at 06:45. Ryan prepares the aircraft, and I see if the internet is working!’

‘Being useful in a country with so much need is rewarding,’ Siobhain concludes. ‘I thought MAF would be just one of life’s many adventures. But now I’ve found my forever home.

‘Being part of this family is my passion.’

VISIT WWW.MAF-UK.ORG/JOBS OR SCAN THE QR CODE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WORKING OVERSEAS WITH MAF

LuAnne Cadd

Beyond isolation: Tanzania

Flying for Life’s featured programme this autumn is MAF Tanzania. The first of countless flights in this beautiful country took off 60 years ago, and 2 of our aircraft continue to serve its people today

Asovereign state since 1964, Tanzania was formed from the separate states Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

Tanzania is around four times larger than the UK, but approximately the same size in terms of population.

Bordered by 8 countries, around 70% of its population still lives in rural areas, surviving largely on what they can grow or farm.

Land that was once mostly savannah and bush is semidesert today. In spite of this terrible ecological decay — and the everpresent threat of poaching — an abundance of wildlife remains.

As is the case of many African countries, Tanzania’s financial potential is largely represented by mineral deposits such as gold, coal, nickel and uranium.

The Tanzanian government is working with foreign investors to establish multi-billion-pound projects within the next 12 months to exploit the country’s plentiful natural gas reserves.

On safari with MAF

Although Tanzania is probably the African country most closely

associated with the Swahili word ‘safari’, to the staff of MAF Tanzania the word doesn’t conjure up the spectacle of seeing elephants, lions and zebras in the wild.

Instead, MAF staff view safaris as regular monthly flights that take our partners to dozens of remote towns and villages.

There they provide vaccinations for children (above), health checks for pregnant women, projects that are transforming attitudes towards disability, and vital support for evangelists who continue their decades-long mission to bring the Gospel to remote communities.

More than 60% of Tanzania’s population is less than 25 years old

Three quarters of the country’s workforce is employed in agriculture

Malaria is the leading cause of death in children under five

5,000 conversions recorded

MAF’s first flight into Tanzania from Kenya

MAF flies Billy Graham to Moshi, Tanzania —

Independence from the UK MAF registered to operate officially in Tanzania with a temporary base at Dodoma

First MAF flight to take off and land in Tanzania

Survey of Tanzania. MAF aircraft and pilot relocated from Kenya to Dodoma

Svend Løbner

Jarkko Korhonen

MAF Pilot Peter Griffin’s (right) first solo operational flight was a typical safari seeking to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of people in the far-flung areas of Dabia and Mahaka.

Your commitment. Your love

Peter’s passengers included a team of English trainee doctors and Tanzanian nurses eager to give crucial medical help through temporary clinics.

The team provided pregnant women with folic acid supplements crucial to their babies’ development, monitored their weight, and administered antimalarial drugs to protect them and their unborn children from this killer disease.

Children received the four-inone IPV vaccine which protects against diptheria, tetanus, whooping cough and polio, as well as other immunisations against measles and TB.

Your commitment to Tanzania through loving prayers and generous donations ensures the continuation of joyous visits like these, when 300 patients can be examined and where necessary given proper medical treatment.

Joining the doctors and nurses on board the MAF aircraft was a team of three evangelists and a pastor from a church in the capital Dodoma, who’d come to share the Gospel.

So, while some people received the urgent physical treatment that is routinely denied them, others received the spiritual support that would be incredibly limited without the love of the MAF family.

Peter Griffin sees first hand the tremendous hope that our flights give to men, women and children in these extremely isolated communities. Hope that help will come to them whenever it’s needed.

'MAF’s impact is twofold in these isolated communities,’ he says. ‘Flying evangelists and church leaders to minister to the spiritual needs of the people as well as medical teams to bring care to children, mothers and pregnant women.’

God’s amazing provision

Country Director Stewart Ayling recalls a time when faith in the future of MAF Tanzania was severely tested.

‘When COVID arrived in Tanzania, the country’s tourist industry suffered terribly. As a consequence, local aviation companies lost staff and the situation for pilots in general was dire.

MAF flies into 30 airstrips across the country using two Cessna 206 aircraft

MAF carried 1,002 passengers and flew over 38,000 miles in 2022

‘MAF Tanzania found itself in the process of transitioning new staff into our programme just as the government ceased the provision of work permits for people wanting to enter the country.

‘However, God’s provision was amazing. While we were without a permanent pilot for many months, a number of former MAF Tanzania pilots agreed to fly for us for up to two months at a time.

‘In this way, we ensured that the fleet continued to fly for people even more isolated than usual following the pandemic.

‘After a year maintaining services in this way, our prayers were answered when the Lord provided two permanent pilots for our programme!'

Praise God for 60 years of a fleet that He guided through a worldwide storm when so many other airlines remained on the ground.

MAF programme officially launched in Dodoma

MAF’s aircraft hangar built in Dodoma

MAF begins safari flights to reach the nothern Maasai tribes

Following a thorough evaluation, MAF’s services relocate to Arusha and Mbeya to better serve those with the greatest needs

New airstrip opened at Matongo

MAF Tanzania celebrates 60 years flying ’Beyond isolation’

Päivi Griffin

‘Jesus is winning’

An MAF flight carrying evangelists to a remote north-eastern airstrip was cause for special celebration when it resulted in Kiyapi — a ‘traditional’ healer — receiving salvation!

Thousands of MAF supporters will know the name Elisha Moita (bottom right). He’s been spreading the Gospel in Tanzania for many decades and he loves flying with MAF.

‘Evangelists arrive within a short time,’ says Elisha, ‘and are still energetic to preach the Good News.’

It’s quite likely that he’s the most frequent flyer in our entire history.

As Head of Malambo Bible College, Elisha was among the evangelists arriving on that flight to the isolated village for a three-day mission to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

‘The Maasai believe that the charms of traditional healers can protect them from life’s adversaries and heal the sick,’ Elisha explains. ‘Many people visited Kiyapi for consultations and he received regular payment for his services.’

But, after Elisha visited Kiyapi (below right) in his home and taught him about God’s Word, the traditional healer made the wonderful decision to shun his trade, surrender his life to Christ and come to faith. What a miracle!

‘I am ready to come to Jesus, receive Him as the Saviour of my life, and leave my old ways,’ were the joyful words used by Kiyapi.

Word spread quickly that Kiyapi is now a Christian. Friends, family and the community as a whole were amazed by this amazing transformation.

Elisha expressed his deep joy with these glorious words, ‘Jesus is winning. It doesn’t matter how bad you are — anyone can receive salvation and the love of Jesus Christ.’

With every flight to the village, Elisha will teach Kiyapi more about God and strengthen him spiritually before setting a date for his baptism.

Kiyapi has already made his first appearance in church where everybody sang in praise at his miraculous transformation.

I am ready to come to Jesus, receive Him as the Saviour of my life, and leave my old ways

ZAMBIA

Dodoma

MAF Young Fundraiser

We envisage a future where God’s love will radically change the lives of far more people than ever before. Harnessing the talent of MAF’s youngest supporters is absolutely crucial to our vision

New eras call for new ideas. And we think we’ve come up with something unique!

You may know that teenage MAF supporters receive their own quarterly magazine called MAF Youth. In the next issue we’ll be asking them to join us in creating one of our special appeals — like the one mentioned on page 2 of this magazine that was such a success.

Our special appeals raise around £1 million every year, enabling the MAF fleet to make thousands of flights to people in desperate need of the help, hope and healing our aircraft can provide.

(Flights that you read about on our website, our Facebook page, or — of course — in Flying for Life.)

The MAF Young Fundraiser competition will bring together different perspectives from teenage

members of the MAF family. Each entrant will receive the story and photos of a recent MAF flight and will be asked to turn them into their version of a fundraising appeal.

This could be by letter, email, podcast, video — or even animation. Our young people’s imagination is the only limit — that and the competition deadline of Sunday 8 October

The winner of the competition will then join our fundraising team to help them shape a special appeal for 2024 which will go to all our supporters who normally receive them. If you don’t already receive our special appeals and would like to, contact our Supporter Relations team by emailing supporter.relations@maf-uk.org or phoning 01303 852819

So, if you know someone aged 13-18 who wants to try their hand at fundraising, please direct them to www.maf-uk.org/youth where they can sign up for MAF Youth magazine and enter the competition to become our very first MAF Young Fundraiser!

Into the future!

Head of Fundraising Alison Chambers joined MAF as the pandemic put the world into lockdown. When she was finally able to visit a programme, she chose PNG — where MAF’s next major expansion has begun

t takes more than 30 hours to travel from the UK to PNG, so my first journey to an MAF programme was not undertaken lightly.

Having landed at Port Moresby International Airport, I was delighted to board another aircraft in order to reach our base at Mount Hagen. The alternative was a boat-and-car journey taking more than nine hours.

In a country where such basic problems exist, the needs remain

Country Director Todd Aebischer is in no doubt that MAF could be doing so much more to help meet them.

‘If we had the staff’

‘We are seeing an increase in our operational demand,’ Todd told me. 'This, coupled with the efficiency benefits following our recent fleet transition to Cessna Caravans, has meant that we could, in theory, fly

‘But we need the pilots, engineers and other vital staff. If we had all those staff, we would require homes for them and their families. Without the staff and the housing, the many needs in PNG will

As Head of Fundraising, therefore, my challenge is to find partners who will help us fund housing as well as those who will buy us aircraft.

My fellow MAF passenger on the trip, Head of HR David Leek, is tasked with recruiting the highest quality staff across a range of flying and groundbased professions.

75% OF THE RURAL POPULATION HAS NO ACCESS TO RELIABLE OVERLAND TRANSPORTATION

Isolation kills

On my first MAF flight out of Mount Hagen, any signs of habitation quickly disappeared and were replaced with sharp mountain ridges and steep valleys covered in thick bush and jungle.

It was mesmerising. The trees seemed as dense as walls, cut through only by wide, fast-flowing rivers which twist and turn across the country.

Most of PNG’s diverse people groups live in rural areas, and 75% of them have no access to reliable overland transportation.

The mortality rate among pregnant women is 20 times greater than that of the UK. A child born in a rural community is twice as likely to die before its fifth birthday as one living in an urban area.

The stark reality is that isolation kills people. It’s that simple.

MAF UK has been very busy fundraising for our Future Footprint project. The project is designed to improve MAF’s infrastructure in PNG, including those new homes which Todd so desperately needs.

Based on the Kagamuga compound (below) close to MAF’s main base and hangar, the plan is to build 6 brand new two-bedroom houses and a multifunctional facility with 12 motel style units.

These will house visiting trainee pilots, offer conference accommodation, a prayer space and other meeting rooms.

There are no roads or rivers nearby. The only way in or out of Mougulu is on foot or by air. Further development just won’t happen without the planes. Nothing will happen without the planes.

Thank you

You have played a big part in this exciting development. And, thanks to the generous, prayerful support of MAF family members, we are on our way to meeting the financial target for the Future Footprint project.

Construction has already begun! These are such exciting times for MAF PNG as the programme repositions itself to serve more remote communities over the coming decades.

Director of Strickland Bosavi Foundation Sally Lloyd established Nomad Mougulu High School in the Western Highlands — ‘the only school for miles around,’ she emphasises.

‘There are no roads or rivers nearby. The only way in or out of Mougulu is on foot or by air. Further development just won’t happen without the planes. Nothing will happen without the planes.’

Seeing at first hand just how much MAF is needed in PNG — and the plans we have to ensure we can reach more isolated people than ever — was humbling and inspiring in equal measure.

Your prayers and gifts really are making a major difference in this beautiful country, and I thank you for remaining at the heart of this transformational journey.

Joyful welcome as churches celebrate with visitors

Evangelists from New Apostolic Church Canada were deeply touched by the warm reception they received from the church they support in Chad

Achurch with more than 500 active congregations in Chad (top right) has flown with MAF to share the Gospel in remote communities.

New Apostolic Church Canada is making a huge impact on the African nation by planting churches and spreading the Word with an apostolic enthusiasm which reflects the work of the early Church.

These teams don’t just deliver spiritual growth when they fly into communities with MAF, they also leave infrastructure that blesses the whole village.

‘The aim of the team that comes is to build and develop church facilities for these groups,’ says MAF Chad Flight Operations Manager Becki Dillingham. ‘Last year, they built 20 churches and, this year, they’re hoping to exceed that!

‘When they build a church, they

also build bathroom facilities and a well so that it’s not just providing a building for worship — it’s also providing something to the community.’

When Becki flew the church team to a community in southern Chad, a huge number of people gathered around the runway to give the visitors a joyful welcome.

At their next destination, the warm reception consisted of music and celebration (bottom right). Arnaud Martig, who led the team, was deeply touched to learn that worshippers had travelled long distances, choirs had rehearsed for hours and children had memorised a lengthy welcome message.

‘It is difficult to describe my reception,' Arnaud says, 'because of the feelings and excitement that is aired by our members and especially the children.'

The MAF Advent Adventure is back this Christmas!

Yes, we did just say ‘Christmas’ and yes, we know it’s only August!

We’d like to invite you once again to join our trio of friends — Mike, Alpha and Foxtrot — as they reflect on their year journeying around the world — sharing fascinating facts and great stories about MAF along the way.

Register online today, so you and your family can enjoy opening the virtual doors each day in December to find out about some of the different countries in which MAF operates and the special flights our friends have made.

Explore the website to see inspiring photos and videos, download fun Christmas activity sheets, complete a daily kindness challenge and — of course — enter the grand competition!

Sign up for daily email reminders starting on 30 November 2023, by scanning the QR code or visiting mafadvent.org now!

If you know of a school that may be interested in taking part, please tell your contact to email Manda Wilson at adventschools@maf-uk.org for more information on how they can get involved.

YOU are just what we need!

Across the UK, our team of volunteer speakers is thrilling audiences with incredible stories of how MAF is making a difference to isolated people around the world.

But, we’re struggling to meet the growing number of requests for speakers to illuminate church services and group meetings with the good news that our aircraft bring to remote communities.

We’re praying that God will provide more speakers – so perhaps that could be you! If you have even minimal experience of public speaking, we would love to hear from you.

As a vital member of the MAF family, the value you could add to our volunteer network is astronomical. Ideally, we ask our speakers to commit to a minimum of one meeting a month. We will provide you with excellent training and resources, and introduce you to other MAF volunteers in your area. Find out more today by emailing kevin.crook@maf-uk.org and we can arrange an informal chat about MAF’s new vision for the future. (We’ve also enclosed a flyer that you can put on your church noticeboard.)

The love you share through your prayers and gifts helps raise families.

For the stories we tell — thank you!

At a time when the demand for face-to-face inspiration is exceptionally high, Head of MAF in the Community Kevin Crook makes a personal plea for you to spread the word

We’ve recently partnered with Bequeathed and are really pleased to let you know we can now offer all our supporters the opportunity to write or update their Will for free!

Legacies are so important to our work, with one in five flights being made possible due to the generosity of our supporters who’ve included a gift for MAF in their Will.

With Bequeathed there is never any charge for a standard Will, which is suitable for most people’s needs and is quick and easy to do. Once you’ve completed the initial form online, an accredited legal advisor will check everything over with you to make sure all your intentions are clearly recorded.

And — once you’ve taken care of your family and friends — we’d be extremely grateful if you would consider supporting MAF with a gift in your Will. However, there’s no obligation whatsoever.

To find out more, please call Miriam Wheeler on 01303 852819 or visit our website www.maf-uk.org/bequeathed

An

extra, life-saving day

Chris Tanton explains why he’s decided to leave a heartfelt gift to MAF in his Will

‘The amount of money that I can leave to MAF isn’t going to buy a plane,’ says Chris. ‘But if it keeps a plane in the air for a few days or a few weeks, that would be wonderful because even one extra day in the air for an MAF plane could save someone’s life.’

Born in Ashford, Kent, to a Christian family, Chris became aware of MAF as a teenager.

With an aviation ‘fanatic’ for a father and MAF’s headquarters just 15 miles down the road, MAF was a natural fit for the young man.

As an adult, Chris went to Uganda on various mission trips and, during one visit, was able to go to the Kajjansi airfield and fly in an MAF plane.

‘It was a great opportunity to see MAF’s work in action,’ he recalls. ‘Today — having visited Africa several times — I’m aware of the logistical and transport difficulties involved, and of the massive difference that MAF’s planes make to people.

‘I also know the value of MAF’s work in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ and in serving those in need. Although my contribution to MAF isn’t huge, I would like some of my limited wealth to be used to further its work after I’m gone.’

We’re so grateful to everyone who has made the amazing decision to leave a gift to MAF in their Will. Did you know that one in five of our flights are only made possible because of this incredible generosity?

If you’d like to know about leaving MAF a gift in your Will, or would like to use our free Will writing scheme, please visit www.maf-uk.org/legacy or phone us on 01303 852819

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