Flying For Life (April -June 2022) by MAF UK

APR-JUN 2022

APR-JUN 2022 Flying for Life 1

Sharing His love with the world The spring issue of Flying for Life focuses on how Christ’s love is shared worldwide through the commitment of MAF staff, supporters and partners Several years ago, a copy of MAF News (now Flying for Life) fell through a young man’s letterbox and led to him joining MAF. That man was MAF Pilot Andrew Parker, and his uplifting story of faith and dedication launches our 2022 recruitment drive (page 6). A new twist on an MAF initiative for 2022, For the Sake of the World seeks to unite brothers and sisters through communities of mission focused prayer (page 11). We eagerly anticipate emails from many churches looking to support this international prayer network. You will also notice our green logo — above — which will accompany articles focusing on ‘creation care’, such as the solar panel installation in Papua New Guinea (page 10). There are also many stories of veteran supporters whose faithful commitment to MAF has taken a variety of guises — leaving a legacy, publishing a book, becoming a volunteer speaker, and skydiving! Finally, this month there is the opportunity for supporters to raise funds through the exciting new ‘pilgrimage’ that we call Time in Their Shoes (page 14). As ever, we ask for your prayers to ensure that God will move mightily through these new projects as He has done — for so many decades — through established methods, such as Flying for Life.

Our spring cover illustrates MAF’s work in Papua New Guinea — see page 10 for more news from that programme

Editor’s choice Each month, we receive dozens of wonderful comments from our supporters, for which we are deeply grateful. The following was sent in by Hazel: ‘Thank you so much for your work producing the best Prayer Diary ever (JUL-SEP 2021). Fuelled by love was beautiful, profound and very comforting. God bless you all — and all who contribute to MAF — with joy and peace.’ Please send your comments to editor@maf-uk.org

Ruth Whitaker Chief Executive, MAF UK 2 Flying for Life APR-JUN 2022

Richard Chambers Editor, Flying for Life www.maf-uk.org

Sharing the Word Story Jill Vine

Photos IBMGlobal and Jill Vine

The stated aim of IBMGlobal is ‘bringing the Gospel to cities, villages, jungles and seacoasts’. Two of its missionaries in Uganda are among the latest partners to be thankful for the MAF fleet

yndsay and James Ellis fled South Sudan a little over five years ago, when fighting broke out in the town of Kajo Keji.

Along with countless others, they headed south across the border to Uganda. Years later, they learnt that their house had been looted and burnt down by an armed mob. Since leaving South Sudan, they’ve been living in Moyo where they are working with pastors from Kajo Keji who are now living in one of Uganda’s many refugee settlements. The two missionaries have dedicated themselves to learning Ma’di — the local dialect — as a first step towards producing Gospel materials for the people in Moyo. Their vision is to establish a church in Moyo offering literacy courses, pastoral training and community development in addition to providing local people with the Word of God. Lyndsay and James are becoming ‘frequent flyers’ with MAF. ‘The roads are dangerous because they are terrible!’ says Lyndsay. However, there is another reason why she sings MAF’s praises. In October 2020, Lyndsay was suffering from a swollen liver as a result of a bad reaction to malaria medication. While a local doctor diagnosed indigestion, a phone call to the capital

Kampala resulted in a life-saving ‘second opinion’. The second doctor urged Lyndsay to travel immediately to Kampala — a flight MAF arranged at short notice. ‘We’re so thankful for being flown quickly from Moyo,’ says Lyndsay. ‘I couldn’t have handled a road journey of 300-plus miles.’ James shares about a woman called Beatrice who has been transformed by their ministry. ‘Her husband was killed in South Sudan’s civil war, but everything she learns from the Bible goes straight to her heart. Beatrice has three children who read the Word every day. One of the godliest women I’ve ever met, she’s a huge blessing to us because she speaks Ma’di and is helping us with the project. ‘We’ve built Beatrice a house and, when our nine-year-old son draws pictures of our family, he includes Beatrice and her children.’ MAIN Beatrice (left) and her children read the Word every day INSET Lyndsay is learning Ma’di from Beatrice’s family LEFT James and Lyndsay Ellis APR-JUN 2022 Flying for Life 3

Hope not hate in South Sudan Story Claire Gilderson

Photos Jenny Davies and Jaap de With

Since 2018, MAF has facilitated Christ-centred peace and reconciliation workshops across South Sudan. Last year, hundreds of participants had the opportunity to confess and forgive civil war atrocities

outh Sudan’s civil war from 2013 to 2018 killed 400,000 people, triggering Africa’s largest refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Although a peace deal was signed in 2018 — and again in 2020 — violence blights the country. Fear and mistrust have plagued the South Sudanese for many years but church leaders such as the Bishop of Kajo Keji, the Rt Rev Emmanuel Murye Modi, continue to hope, pray and work towards a better future. Emmanuel was appointed bishop in January 2017 — three days before the war reached his town in the south. People fled. Today, many of Kajo Keji’s people are still languishing in the refugee camps of Uganda.

other activities to illustrate that reconciliation starts with God. At the workshop in Kajo Keji last June, Bishop Emmanuel closed with a tree planting ceremony. He hopes that the lemon trees will be a permanent reminder of the commitment that people have made during the workshop. He prays that the people of Kajo Keji will be just as determined to nurture peace as carefully as they will tend these trees. Both will take time to grow, but Bishop Emmanuel looks forward to the day when the whole community will come together to enjoy their fruit.

‘Remove our heart of hatred’ Bishop Emmanuel enthuses about MAF. ‘I thank God for our relationship. It’s so important to build peace, bring people together, and build confidence between people who mistrust each other, so that eventually they can live like brothers and sisters. ‘It’s difficult to live with your own brother who has done something wrong, so we are making peacebuilding a priority. We look forward to forgiveness and reconciliation. ‘We want to expand MAF’s programme to reach many more people. We must remove our heart of hatred and replace it with trust.’

Lemon trees of peace

‘Set back 50 years’

In 2021, MAF facilitated ten Biblebased workshops across South Sudan using drama and discussion among

L ast S e p t e mb e r, M A F to o k the workshop to Malakal in the north. Before the civil war, Malakal used to be the second largest city in South

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The Shilluk travel from an IDP (internally displaced people) camp and the Dinka come from town. Just bringing these tribes together is a significant step in itself. The workshop begins with a foot washing ceremony, reminiscent of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. Sudan. That changed in 2015, when war wreaked havoc. MAF Sudan’s Partnership and Development Manager Jaap de With describes the scene. ‘It’s unimaginable to see how a city has been set back 50 years. Before the crisis, there was electricity — now there’s just one generator. ‘There used to be a bus station where buses drove back and forth — now there are no buses or cars in sight. The few cars you do encounter belong to NGOs or the governor. All roads were demolished to make transport as difficult as possible.’ Healthcare and the local economy have been severely impacted.

Foot washing ceremony This particular workshop is for youth and youth leaders, with the aim that participants will share what they have learnt with their wider communities. More than 40 people arrive from three different tribes — Nuer, Shilluk and Dinka.

Sessions include the reason for our existence, sin and guilt, prejudices, loss, wounds, healing, confession, forgiveness and valuing others. Given the trauma participants have experienced, these sessions are very tough. For some, it’s the first time they’ve shared their personal horrors of war. One man expresses relief once he confesses to killing a young person. Within the safety of the workshop, he is able to ask for forgiveness. On the last day of the workshop, Kings’ Table takes place — a celebration of diversity with singing and dancing. ‘Now I know these people no longer look at just what they’ve lost,’ concludes Jaap de With, ‘but what they have overcome through Christ.’

MAIN MAF flies in support of Bible based workshops TOP Bishop Emmanuel Murye Modi prays for reconciliation LEFT Planting lemon trees to remind people of their commitment to peace

TOP Food is prepared for the celebration at the end of the Malakal workshop MIDDLE Jaap de With BOTTOM Kings’ Table — singing and dancing for peace APR-JUN 2022 Flying for Life 5

More than just a job: it’s empowering a team to fulfil God’s calling Story Jo Lamb

Photos Dave Forney

Country Director Ruth Jack shares how watching Live Aid at the age of 12 embedded a passion to help those in greatest need

uth Jack grew up in a castle in Dumbarton, near the banks of the River Clyde. But her childhood was far from regal — in fact, her parents were in full-time ministry and ran a Christian Centre from the castle, living by faith and the generosity of those who visited. Happy as she was to grow up in a Christan, Spirit-led community, Ruth had a growing desire for challenge and adventure. Then, one day, she witnessed scenes that would change her life forever and spark the determined compassion that still drives her today. ‘I remember watching Live Aid on television in 1985,’ she says. ‘Seeing poverty for the first time moved me so deeply. I just wanted to go straight there and help. Those images will never leave me.’

Humanitarian work was not a formal career in the 1990s, so Ruth took a gap year in Guyana and got a taste for delivering practical aid. ‘My grandparents were missionaries,’ Ruth explains. ‘But I didn’t want to head solo into a jungle, I wanted to be part of a team delivering practical help to those in most need. So, I project-led the establishment of a home for street children. It was an incredible and empowering time.’ Returning to Scotland, Ruth studied English and Management at Aberdeen University with the hope of one day returning to frontline humanitarian work as a project leader. She met Duncan, a Civil Engineer and software specialist in 1994. The pair shared a sense of adventure and moved to Texas as part of a local church plant. Working in the oil industry, Ruth’s heart for Africa still beat deeply.

remember that I am neither a pilot, nor a man, nor a missionary, but I am using my gifts to lead, serve and help through the lifesaving work of MAF

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www.maf-uk.org www.maf-uk.org

Back in Scotland again, running a youth organisation with two growing daughters, Ruth’s desire to offer humanitarian assistance and psychological support gained her a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in International Development. While working for Tearfund in 2013, Ruth came across the MAF offices in the same building. ‘I’d always wanted to fly planes,’ she smiles. ‘I knew that to reach people in the greatest need, I’d need to fly. Then I found MAF — who do just that.’ From her first job as head of MAF Scotland in 2015, to leading MAF’s programme in Arnhem Land with Duncan for three years, God has forged a path to Uganda where Ruth will begin the role of Country Director this month. Combining her exceptional leadership skills and heart for good development practice, this new MAF job brings Ruth back to that vision from 1985 and will fulfil a childhood dream. Relishing the chance to help some of the 1.5 million refugees through MAF’s regular shuttle service to Uganda’s IDP camps, she is excited

to draw out the skills of MAF’s Uganda team so they can grow and flourish. ‘Moving to Uganda with MAF will be an exciting challenge,’ Ruth says. ‘Leading that team is a chance to be at the front end of MAF’s humanitarian work in Africa, but also to work strategically with other NGOs which I am really passionate about. MAF’s service is the backbone to critical relief and mission work. I want to make sure MAF continues to do a job which few aid agencies are willing to do — go the extra mile to alleviate poverty in the hardest-toreach places. That’s what it’s all about for me. I guess it’s what I’ve always wanted to do.’ Summing up why she feels MAF is an ideal fit for her unique background and skillset, Ruth concludes, ‘Ultimately, I’m looking forward to doing what I love: leading teams and drawing out God’s gifts in people. ‘For anyone wanting to go and do just that — remember that I am neither a pilot, nor a man, nor a missionary, but I am using my gifts to lead, serve and help through the lifesaving work of MAF.’

LEFT Ruth Jack TOP ‘The front end of MAF’s humanitarian work’ ABOVE Ruth in Uganda, where she becomes Country Director this month BELOW MAF Uganda national staff at an airstrip in Amudat, eastern Uganda

Working for MAF is more than just a job For all our latest vacancies, visit www.maf-uk.org/journey or phone 01303 852819

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Beyond isolation: Papua New Guinea Story Richard Chambers

Photos Annelie Edsmyr and Wilfrid Knigge

Flying for Life’s featured programme this spring is MAF Papua New Guinea (PNG). We began serving its people in 1951, only a year after establishing our first lifeline in South Sudan

apua New Guinea forms the eastern half of New Guinea — the second largest island in the

world. Dominating the country’s landscape is a spine of rugged mountains running from west to east known as the Highlands, which are covered in dense — and mostly impenetrable — jungle. Isolation is a fact of life in PNG. Immense physical barriers limit interaction with the outside world. Neighbouring villages a few miles apart are cut off from one another.

Mistrust of people from a different tribe is endemic and the role of ‘warrior’ remains one of high status. The recent arrival of modern weapons, combined with this latent hostility between communities, often turns local skirmishes into very bloody encounters. Nevertheless, the combination of abundant natural resources and a relatively low population should provide a strong economic foundation 8 Flying for Life APR-JUN 2022

for the country’s 7.4 million people. Yet the wealth created through the extraction of gold, copper and hydrocarbons has yet to transform PNG communities, who continue to rely on support from MAF’s aircraft and partners.

Desperate, daily battles In the absence of solid Gospel teaching, superstitious beliefs prevail — despite the fact that the majority of people identified as Christian in the 2000 census. Fear of the spiritual world is rife and, in recent years, dozens of women have been killed after being labelled ‘witches’. Very few perpetrators of these acts have ever been convicted of their murder. However, in a country that also records one of the world’s highest rates of domestic violence, this is hardly a surprise. Agricultural output remains at subsistence level. The erratic rainfall and low returns on basic crops mean many families are exposed to the risks of a poor harvest. Consequently, inadequate nutrition means up to half of PNG’s under-fives suffer from stunted growth. This will have a lifelong impact on their lives. There is also a lack of clean water — enabling cholera, hepatitis and typhoid to proliferate. The country’s healthcare system is ranked by WHO among the worst on the planet.

www.maf-uk.org

See pages 4-5 of the Prayer Diary and pray for PNG

MAF operations begin

Operations expand throughout the Highlands and into the lowland and coastal regions

Airstrip completed and supply routes open to support mission at Oksapmin and Telefomin

PNG gains independence from Australia

Government declares national state of disaster during prolonged drought. Hundreds die and 1.2 million risk starvation

Critical shortage of skilled pilots and engineers threatens MAF’s ministry

Rural Airstrips Authority (RAA) begins work in partnership with MAF

Our biggest programme

Teaching a nation

MAF Papua New Guinea is our biggest programme — comprising 9 Cessna 208 aircraft, 35 international and 99 national staff. We fly more than 100 partners in the ongoing battle to meet desperate, daily physical and spiritual needs. Missionaries, relief staff, essential medicines and emergency supplies are delivered to many of the world’s most remote communities. Our Aerial Health Patrols strategic partnership delivers healthcare to men, women and children in the impoverished Western Province. This project is expanding to encompass the sole use of two MAF aircraft, while further collaborations with other healthcare providers are also being explored. When a team of medical experts were flown to Debepari, the plane also carried food for local people. The specialist clinic, that ran for several days was extremely popular, with at least 100 children being treated.

For more than a decade, MAF aircraft have flown educational resources and food to support students at Oksapmin Secondary School in the Tekin Valley. Founder and teacher Glenda Giles says, ‘When COVID-19 made it difficult for schools such as ours to source the food needed to stay open, MAF flew in rice and flour.’ MAF flights are also essential to individuals and missions seeking to fulfil the Great Commission — to ‘go and make disciples of all nations.’ ‘I am very impressed by the work MAF does for the people in Papua New Guinea,’ says Youth With A Mission’s Micha Lucht. ‘I can truly see God moving through the work of MAF, without whom it would have been impossible for us to go to remote areas to preach and teach God’s love for and to the people.’

MAIN MAF PNG is our biggest programme FAR LEFT Mountains dominate the landscape ABOVE The MAF base at Wewak

Drought and frost decimate sweet potato crop in Highland areas. MAF provides relief flights to distribute emergency food

Powerful earthquakes strike country’s Highlands causing widespread devastation. MAF flights prove essential

MAF moves closer to operating just one aircraft type, the Cessna 208 Caravan, improving reliability across the 10-strong fleet

MAF Papua New Guinea celebrates 70 years flying ‘Beyond isolation’

TOP LEFT Yalum airstrip reopened in 2021 after successful peace talks MIDDLE LEFT Cargo is unloaded at Mui airstrip, which serves 10,000 people BOTTOM LEFT Legendary teacher Glenda Giles on her retirement, last Christmas JAN-MAR APR-JUN 2022 Flying for Life 9

‘Let there be light’

Story Joy Suarkia

Photos Brian Baimako and Lukas Schadegg

Since 2014, MAF Technologies PNG has been installing 240-volt solar systems across Papua New Guinea (PNG). Kwaplalim Clinic’s solar panel installation last summer has been the difference between life and death

waplalim is a remote village in Morobe Province, Eastern Highlands, and its clinic is the only place for surrounding communities to access healthcare. Facilities include a delivery room, laboratory, operating theatre, vaccine fridge and oxygen concentrator. For remote clinics such as this, access to electricity is a challenge. Intermittent power causes serious health problems. Some vaccines spoil if they’re not chilled, essential equipment cannot work, vital telecommunications are sporadic, and blackouts hamper everything from routine operations to emergency procedures. Life-saving interventions are compromised by unreliable energy. Injuries from tribal disputes are common at Kwaplalim Clinic, and — without adequate treatment — can lead to death.

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Wounds need stitches and rigorous care. At night, it’s not uncommon for health workers to treat patients, illuminated by light from mobile phones or torches. During staff shortages, a lone health worker has no choice but to hold a torch between their teeth to see what they are doing. Without light, the safety of patients and health workers is compromised. Previously, when the clinic has been engulfed by darkness, criminals have broken in. A lack of light plays to a perpetrator’s advantage — theft and even sexual harassment have taken place. However, a well-lit clinic provides greater security and leaves patients and health workers feeling less vulnerable. It was clear the clinic desperately needed a reliable power source.

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Last summer, MAF Technologies PNG completed Kwaplalim Clinic’s solar power installation in two weeks. ‘Villagers say this marks a new chapter,’ says MAF electrician Brian Baimako. ‘Lives are being saved. ‘New light not only brings physical change, it also brings spiritual and psychological change. This solar installation symbolises help, hope and healing to everyone in the community.’ Solar power has also made the lives of health workers much easier, and patients feel reassured and sleep more soundly, safe in the knowledge that the entire clinic won’t plunge into darkness or dysfunction. MAIN Kwaplalim BELOW MAF Technologies PNG staff bringing light to the clinic BOTTOM ‘This solar installation symbolises help, hope and healing’

Would you like to be part of something bigger — a chance to pray with our brothers and sisters in Christ for people across the globe? Story Heather Malloch Photos Jenny Davies and Alex Ludvicek

o r t h e S a ke o f t h e Wo r l d (FTSOTW) was born of a vision in 2018 to see a hurting world healed through the power of prayer and the love of Jesus. MAF has partnered with other likeminded Christian organisations to see brothers and sisters united in prayer. Hosting online digital prayer meetings, this new, year-long pilot initiative aims to connect communities in the UK and across MAF’s and the other partners’ programmes, to pray together for the sake of the world. At its heart is the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14, ‘If my people… will humble themselves and pray… I will heal their land.’ The main aim of FTSOTW is to see lives transformed by Jesus’s power through prayer. MAF and our partners will send stories from communities who have specific prayer requests through an app to you and your church prayer groups — so that you can offer prayers that are timely, informed and directed. The impact of these prayers will also be communicated. And, while we pray

for communities worldwide, they will be praying for our needs. This will build an interdependent relationship based on our mutual love of Jesus Christ, and the importance of prayer. Every couple of months, global digital prayer group meetings will allow time — whether you’re in England, Scotland, Papua New Guinea or somewhere in Africa — to come together and be united in the power of prayer. We are looking to set up ten FTSOTW prayer groups in churches and homes across Scotland and the north of England in 2022, and then extend the project the rest of the UK. If you live in the West Midlands or the north of Scotland — or anywhere in between — we’d love for you and your church to be involved. We are also hoping to have prayer groups in our programmes from around the world.

MAIN ‘If my people... will humble themselves and pray... I will heal their land’ RIGHT South Sudan Country Director Bastiaan de Waal (centre)

For more information on being part of FTSOTW, as an individual or as a church or small group, please visit our website forthesakeoftheworld.com or you can email us at info@forthesakeoftheworld.com

If you are not currently within the pilot area, and would like to be involved, please register your interest by emailing us at scottishoffice@maf-uk.org APR-JUN 2022 Flying for Life 11

Patsy the 80-year-old skydiver Story Jo Lamb

Photos Patricia Kettle

Former teacher and retired priest Patricia Kettle celebrated her 80th birthday by completing an indoor skydive for MAF!

he momentous event took place at the iFLY centre, Milton Keynes, just before Christmas

been a supporter ever since. ‘MAF does such wonderful work — helping with medical needs, education 2021. supplies and now coronavirus Patricia — Patsy to her friends — vaccines. I’ve been praying every day was joined by members of her family, for MAF’s pilots and staff around the including sister Vicki, niece Esther and world for as long as I can remember.’ husband Balogun, all of whom also Patsy successfully completed not completed a skydive on the day. one but two indoor skydives, which Together they raised more than lasted for about 90 seconds each — £4,000 for MAF. longer than the The skydive average freefall ticket was a gift experienced All of the money from the family by an outdoor raised will help who hoped skydiver. communities the experience Looking back would match up on the day, living in isolation to the birthday Patsy says, ‘It felt — helping people event three so wonderful receive some of the years before, to have that where Patsy essentials they need experience. I’ve took the wheels always been to survive of a Ferrari and a envious of the Lamborghini. birds, and these Remembering her laps of the skydives were the closest I will ever iconic Dunsfield Aerodrome in 2018 get to being a bird. It was just fantastic! — the test track used by the BBC’s ‘I’m very touched by all of the Top Gear team — Pasty says, ‘I know support and so grateful to everyone 110mph isn’t very fast really, but I put who has got behind me and given so my foot down as hard as I could. It was very generously. It has been such fun wonderful!’ looking at my JustGiving page and Growing up with a keen interest in seeing the donations going up. aircraft during an era ‘when women ‘All of the money raised will help didn’t race cars, let alone fly planes’, communities living in isolation — Patsy discovered MAF while at teacher helping people receive some of the training college in the 1960s. She has essentials they need to survive.’

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Want to fundraise for MAF? just visit our webiste www.maf-uk.org/fundraise

MAIN Patsy Kettle — indoor skydiver! INSET ‘The closest I will ever get to being a bird’ ABOVE Former teacher turned spectacular fundraiser, Patsy is ‘so grateful’ for everyone’s generosity

Defying gravity Photos John Preece

As funds raised from the sale of his book Defying Gravity for 60 years passed the £1,000 mark, MAF veteran John Preece spoke to Flying for Life about his remarkable book

ome people grow up with a firm idea of the career they want to follow. Others, like me, somehow fall on their feet, almost by accident. After World War II, there was a period when young men were required to do National Service. I signed on for the RAF — at that time, the most attractive choice for this teenager! In December 1954, I left home and reported to RAF Hornchurch in Essex for pilot aptitude and medical tests. In 1956, I received my ‘Wings’ and spent the next ten years flying Hawker Hunters during the ‘hottest’ part of the Cold War period. I also spent time as a flying instructor and was one of the few RAF pilots to fly Spitfires and Hurricanes in the film Battle of Britain. By this time, I was married to Audrey and we had two small boys — Roger and Clive. When posted to Kuantan

on the Malaysian coast, we met some lively Christians who shared their faith with us. This led to Audrey and I both committing our lives to Jesus. In 1987, when I turned 50, Audrey and I started our MAF service in Kenya with me initially flying the twinengined Beech 99 Airliner. Within six months, I took on the role of Programme Manager and Audrey began to run the guesthouse on the MAF compound. In 1995, we returned to the UK and I worked as the then MAF Europe’s Director of Flying Operations — at a time when the Cessna Caravan was coming into service, and we were able to replace a number of other types with this versatile machine. I finally retired from MAF at the end of 1999, since when I’ve been teaching people how to fly at Cambridge Aero Club.

If this has whetted your appetite to read the full story, please email jmpreece@ntlworld.com for a copy of Defying Gravity for 60 years. Copies are priced at £10 plus postage, and John will happily sign your copy if asked.

TOP John Preece BOTTOM John and younger son Clive (right) at Wilson Airport, Nairobi, in 1991 JAN-MAR APR-JUN 2022 Flying for Life 13

Let’s walk so they don’t have to! As you know, MAF planes exist because road travel just isn’t an option for the people we serve. Armed bandits, wild animals, raging heat, mud roads and sheer, physical distance stand between people simply trying to get from A to B. So, in March 2022, we are launching Time in Their Shoes — a fundraiser which reflects the desperate need of isolated men, women and children worldwide for the MAF fleet. ‘What, not another sponsored walk?’ I hear you say. No, Time in Their Shoes is a sacrificial act which brings you closer to the people you support by walking similar distances to them, supporting the flights they need at the same time. Embrace Time in Their Shoes — a modern pilgrimage that will go a very long way.

To find out more go online at www.maf-uk.org/timeintheirshoes or call Marc on 01303 851952

This is Mission Aviation Fellowship

MAF UK Castle House, Castle Hill Avenue, Folkestone Kent CT20 2TQ

Mission Aviation Fellowship is a Christian organisation operating 26 programmes in developing countries to reach the world’s forgotten people — those living out of sight, out of mind and out of hope. With land access denied by inaccessible terrain — due to natural disaster, war or economic crisis — thousands of communities are completely isolated. Operating 123 light aircraft, MAF’s pilots fly into more than 1,400 remote destinations. Whether landing in deserts or jungles, on lakes, rivers, tracks or roads, MAF planes transport essential medical care, food, water, relief teams and church workers to those in desperate need. Each flight carries practical help, spiritual hope and physical healing to thousands of men, women and children for whom flying is not a luxury but a lifeline. MAF is flying for life.

29 Canal Street, Glasgow G4 0AD

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FREEPOST ADM4164, PORTRUSH BT56 8ZY Dept AA1818, PO Box 4214, FREEPOST Dublin 2 T 01303 852819 E supporter.relations@maf-uk.org W www.maf-uk.org Registered charity in England and Wales (1064598) and in Scotland (SC039107) ® Registered trademark 3026860, 3026908, 3026915

Flying for Life Editor: Richard Chambers Email: editor@maf-uk.org Copy Editor: Gary Clayton Designer: Ben Dyer Printer: Fretwell Print and Design Ltd Printed on sustainable paper produced from a managed forest © MAF UK APR-JUN 2022 ffng It costs us no more than 75p to produce and send you this magazine and prayer diary.

My inspirational Mum Peter Empson – an apology In the special November letter we sent to many readers, there was a photo captioned ‘Elisha and MAF Pilot Peter Empson.’ The photo actually depicted MAF Pilot Egbert Hoekstra. We sincerely apologise to Peter (pictured above) and those highly knowledgeable supporters who noticed our mistake. We also take this opportunity to thank him for his continued work for us through his role as an MAF speaker.

New Bible study from MAF Scotland Among the resources focusing on MAF’s role in helping to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals is a new Bible study — He Saw That It Was Good. For more details, please email scottishoffice@maf-uk.org and see if you, or your church, would like to try something new in 2022.

In the words of her daughter Ann, long-term MAF supporter Evelyn Snelson was famous for loving ‘her family, her neighbours and her country — Scotland’ Born in the small Aberdeenshire fishing village of Gardenstown, Evelyn Snelson (Mum) became a Christian in childhood. Mum taught in Scottish schools for several years before moving to Zambia in 1958 as a missionary teacher, where she met her husband Peter (Dad). They returned to the UK in 1967 with me and my two brothers, Nicholas and Andrew. After they retired, Mum and Dad spent two years in Aswan, Egypt, as VSO volunteers, where Mum learnt to speak Arabic. Our parents were always interested in supporting students, people visiting from other countries and missionary workers, to name a few. Both Mum and Dad remained very generally interested in people all their lives. Famous within her family for buying all of her grandchildren MAF recipe books for Christmas, Mum was also a regular correspondent with former MAF Pilot Danny Gill. His latest photo was always pinned up on the wall! Mum was a compassionate, inspirational woman with a very wry sense of humour. She was always inviting people to eat with us — cups of tea and homemade shortbread were on offer to all. She loved playing the piano, doing crosswords and she spent a lifetime volunteering for things. Mum was one of three women who set up Isabel Hospice in Welwyn Garden City, named after their friend Isabel Last. Mum passed away in July 2019, having lived briefly in a Brighton care home, near me. We miss her very much, of course, but I’m grateful she was not subjected to the lockdown and is now in heavenly peace. We’d like to wish MAF well in all its future endeavours.

Evelyn left a gift in her Will to MAF. To find out more about legacies, please phone Miriam Wheeler on 01303 852819 or email miriam.wheeler@maf-uk.org APR-JUN 2022 Flying for Life 15

A note from the Editor Coronavirus regulations vary across the world. MAF is committed to safety and adheres to local regulations wherever it serves. The images and people you see in every issue of Flying for Life conform to the rules of the countries in which they were taken — including this beautiful photo from Tanzania.