JAN-MAR 2022
JAN-MAR 2022 Flying for Life 1
God knows where we are This issue of Flying for Life is full of reminders that, in every corner of the world, faith transcends life’s trials and tribulations The shepherds were in the fields when the angels announced the birth of Jesus. It was the dead of night, but God knew exactly where they were. And they went to worship the newly-born Messiah — a transforming encounter that made history. It reminds me that, however humble our position and whatever our situation, God knows where to find us. He meets us exactly where we are and calls us to play a part in His life-changing plans. Moving people around the world has been extremely difficult this past year. Families have been stuck trying to get home, and programmes left without crucial staff due to ongoing travel restrictions. But God has kept His hand on the MAF family, and we praise Him for safety, protection and provision. I pray you too have felt His presence this past year. Throughout 2021, we‘ve continued to face many challenges, but we have the comfort and hope that God is always at work and He will find us — even in the most unlikely places. May you know His peace and blessing this Christmastime.
Our winter front cover illustrates MAF’s work in South Sudan — 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 Ann: ‘It is so good to hear of all the work that the MAF team has been enabled to do in this difficult time. God is good. You are all constantly in my prayers as you seek to show His love to all the people you are helping in many different ways. God bless all of you, and keep you under the shadow of His wing.’ Please send your comments to editor@maf-uk.org
Ruth Whitaker Chief Executive, MAF UK 2 Flying for Life JAN-MAR 2022
Richard Chambers Editor, Flying for Life www.maf-uk.org
See pages 12-13 of the Prayer Diary and pray for Chad.
‘The demand is so high!’ Story Katie Machell
Photos Phil Henderson and Katie Machell
Last summer, the MAF Chad team were delighted to fly Bibles to south-eastern Chad’s remote Dar Sila region
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hanks to the request of a we’re going to go through several local missionary, ten boxes hundred Bibles over the next year.’ containing newly translated The Bibles made their way into Chadian Arabic Bibles were loaded excited people’s hands almost as soon onto MAF’s Cessna Grand Caravan. as they were unloaded from our plane. ‘I realised as soon as I started talking They are big and heavy and, as the to people about these special Bibles missionary points out, ‘Bibles just don’t that I should have ordered a lot more,’ make it out to our remote area without he says. somebody being able to support us. ‘The demand is so high!’ ‘We’re very thankful that MAF can do ‘We have between 10 and 15 that, because we don’t have enough churches in capacity on such the region,’ he a long journey to We’ve already had continues, ‘and carry the amount there are quite several people exclaim of Bibles that are a few believers needed in our how beautiful they who use their region. are. It’s not just beauty Chadian Arabic ‘We’ve already in the physical sense. New Testament had several on a regular They find it wonderful people exclaim basis. how beautiful that they can now use ‘They preach they are. It’s the Old Testament as from it, teach not just beauty well as the New. from it, and in the physical share the Good sense. They find News through it. Many of them would it wonderful that they can now use the like to have the entire Bible, because Old Testament as well as the New. This then they can more easily share from — as far as I’m aware — has never been the Old Testament as well. available in Chadian Arabic before. ‘What I will try to do is supply a small ‘I’m really excited about this, number to every pastor and missionary and to see the blessing that God is in Dar Sila, so that they can give them pouring out on people in Dar Sila. It’s to seekers, and people who are able to wonderful that MAF is able to support read the truth for themselves. I think us in this way.’
MAIN The new Chadian Arabic Bible TOP Our Cessna 182 also ensured the Bibles reached eager Christian hands ABOVE Flight Booking Officer Denis Kouladoumbaye loads the precious cargo JAN-MAR 2022 Flying for Life 3
New year. New programme Photos Emil Kündig and MAF archive
A year after the Millennium Messenger ceased flying in Mongolia, MAF Programme Developer Emil Kündig recounts how the journey to its new home in Africa evoked memories of our first survey flight
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n Monday 5 July 2021, MAF Pilot Hansjöerg Schlatter and I embarked on a fourday journey to ferry the Cessna Grand Caravan from Switzerland to MAF Uganda’s Kajjansi hangar. The team there was waiting to carry out all the maintenance necessary for the Messenger’s future deployment in West Africa. We took off at 7am, heading to Heraklion in Crete for a refuelling stop before the ‘jump’ across the Mediterranean Sea into Egypt. A f t e r t w o h o u r s o v e r w at e r, we crossed the African coast and encountered a ‘sea’ of sand. Eventually, the terrain changed once more – a lush, green band stretching along the mighty River Nile. As our four-hour flight came to an end, the Red Sea came into view. Nearing our destination of Hurghada, I wondered whether this was the place where the Israelites crossed the parted waters!
Following the Nile At 5am the next morning, we took off with the rising sun. We followed the Nile again, refuelling in the Sudanese capital Khartoum at noon. As we headed for South Sudan, sand finally gave way to vast plains of vegetation. The MAF South Sudan ground crew was waiting for us at Juba Airport. We were one of seven aircraft waiting to land at the same time – such is the huge relief effort taking place in a country on the brink of famine. The final flight leg was a relatively short 2½-hour ‘hop’ to Kajjansi. In simple terms, we had followed the River Nile to the shores of Lake Victoria. 4 Flying for Life JAN-MAR 2022
Echoes of history In 1948, MAF founders Jack Hemmings and Stuart King travelled a similar route from Egypt to Kenya on MAF’s first survey flight in the Mildmay Pathfinder. Inevitably, many questions came to mind during our flight. Back then, most of the land Stuart and Jack crossed was British Overseas Territory. Had they required the same permissions as us to fly and land in Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda?
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Obviously, they’d not required the COVID-19 tests we’d brought with us from Switzerland, but had they needed the now mandatory vaccination certificates for diseases such as yellow fever? Did they have any ‘instrument approaches’ — a series of predetermined manoeuvres covering the flight path from approach to landing? This abridged passage from Stuart’s 1948 journal certainly captures what it was like to fly in an era when aircraft couldn’t rely on the GPS (Global Positioning System) available to us.
‘I sent out an SOS’ ‘Over Egypt, we’d navigated via the ribbon of the Nile, but now it wandered 200 miles to the west of our course. Some sections of our maps were labelled “uncharted”, so navigation was very much by eyeball and compass. ‘Below us were countless miles of flat desert. A sheet of sandpaper would have been as accurate as the charts I was holding! ‘We knew that if we got lost over
Please pray that the arrival of the Millennium Messenger this year will help establish MAF in West Africa — seeking new areas for the Gospel as did the Mildmay Pathfinder in 1948. Pray for God’s blessing as MAF seeks to expand its delivery of help, hope and healing wherever He leads us.
this vast desert we would be lost indeed. ‘Then Jack spotted the railway line General Kitchener had built in 1896 — a faint but important landmark to be followed religiously, across the northern deserts of Sudan to Khartoum en route to Juba. ‘Flying in South Sudan also involved long periods without any navigational certainty as we crossed a vast swampy area. Before reaching Juba, the Nile was meant to reappear from our right, but there was no sign of it. We flew on with nothing but marshland beneath us. ‘I sent out an SOS. There was no response. A second SOS achieved the same result — silence! We made a drastic 45-degree correction to the course and, as the sun edged toward the horizon in the west, I caught a glimpse of fading orange sunlight on water. ‘We were reunited with the Nile and reached Juba just as daylight departed.’
See page 15 for the latest news of Jack Hemmings, who is still flying at the age of 100!
TOP LEFT Emil Kündig LEFT Jack Hemmings and Stuart King TOP RIGHT The Mildmay Pathfinder RIGHT The Millennium Messenger on the latest flight of its journey to Guinea OCT-DEC JAN-MAR 2022 2021 Flying for Life 5
Do not fear Story Joy Suarkia
Photos LuAnne Cadd
Based in Rumginae with the Evangelical Church of PNG Health Centre, Dr Rosie Crowter has been serving in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for nearly a quarter of a century
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rriving in 1997, the British doctor’s goal was to provide holistic healthcare to the isolated people of the rural Western Province. However, as Rosie attempted to teach people about TB and malaria, she became aware that it was a losing battle. Everyone she met believed that sickness was caused by sanguma — sorcery. Rosie realised that ‘health’ is primarily a spiritual issue and — if spirituality wasn’t addressed first — it would be very difficult to provide help for the remote communities she’d been called to serve. ‘The only way to teach them there was no need to fear magic,’ says Rosie, ‘was to introduce God and the Gospel into their lives. ‘As it says in Hebrews 4:12, “For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”’ Rosie created a ‘Do Not Fear’ workshop specifically for women 6 Flying for Life JAN-MAR 2022
which enables them to know the power of God through His Word. ‘My objective,’ Rosie explains, ‘is to see people — especially leaders — grounded in the Gospel and changed into the likeness of Christ. God’s Church must mature and grow and become the body He intended it to be.’ In recent years, Rosie has purchased both printed and audio Bibles from MAF Technologies PNG, which she and her team give to those who attend the workshop. Many are eager to hear about Jesus and read His Word, and several primary schools have recently requested Bibles as well. However, because most of the adults in remote communities are illiterate, the audio Bible is crucial to their spiritual development. For MAF Technologies PNG, it’s a real privilege to provide the tools and equipment that Rosie needs to share the Gospel with isolated people. We thank God for the love of Christ she continues to demonstrate through her commitment to men, women and children in PNG’s Western Province.
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MAIN Women’s Ministry Trainer Jennifer Wode leads a ‘Do Not Fear’ session TOP Jennifer translates for Dr Crowter MIDDLE Rumingae Rural Hospital was established in the 1960s by missionaries BOTTOM ‘The Word of God is alive’
Off to a flying start! Photos Peter Fryatt, Joanna Smith and Matthew Veale
In March 2020, we announced the launch of the MAF UK Engineering Training Scheme (ETS). MAF Engineering Training Manager Peter Fryatt (pictured above) provides an update on its progress
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lot has happened since the launch of the ETS. Throughout the pandemic, our operations around the world have had to adapt to meet both government restrictions and the changing needs of our partners. However, one thing that hasn’t changed is the global demand for aircraft maintenance engineers. According to aircraft manufacturer Boeing, air travel is set to return to pre-2020 levels within three years and the lack of skilled maintenance personnel continues to be a concern for the industry. For licensed engineers who’ve made it through the early retirements, furloughs and reductions in hours, the financial draw of the commercial airline and business aviation sectors will mean an even greater engineering need for humanitarian aviation organisations like MAF. Thankfully, as restrictions to travel and in-person training have started to ease, the ETS is well under way and off to a flying start! The ETS exists to address MAF’s current and future engineering needs by establishing key partnerships with training organisations based in the UK. In January 2021, Nathanael Smith (pictured right with his wife Joanna) started his approved basic course with Air Service Training in Perth, Scotland. At the age of 15, he was given the opportunity to take the controls of a mission aircraft — which was a dream come true. ‘Since then,’ Nathanael recalls, ‘I’ve always wanted to get into mission aviation.’ Nathanael will complete his studies next year and move on to two years of practical training. Matthew Veale (pictured far right) joined the ETS in October at the same time as he began his degree course at the University of South Wales.
Approved by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, this degree course is another key partnership with MAF. It will enable a reduction in training time for Matthew — and MAF — en route to him gaining a maintenance licence. If you’d like to apply to the ETS or partner with us to provide experience for trainees in an aircraft maintenance environment, we’d love to hear from you!
To find out more about applying to the ETS, please visit www.maf-uk.org /engineer-training
JAN-MAR 2022 Flying for Life 7
Beyond isolation: South Sudan Story Paul Beck
Photos LuAnne Cadd
Flying for Life’s featured programme this winter is MAF South Sudan. Our aircraft have been serving its people since 1950, long before they gained independence from Sudan
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n 2020, news of an infectious pandemic sweeping the planet may well have received a
collective shrug in South Sudan. The people of this east African nation already endure some of the grimmest statistics relating to healthcare and life expectancy in the world, including the highest percentage of women dying during childbirth anywhere on earth. In a land where malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia are all significant killers, COVID-19 is just another addition to the list of challenges that makes life so fragile. Last century, the idea that the region’s abundant oil reserves would lead to improved healthcare, schooling and quality of life spurred separation from the rest of Sudan. The
bloody
struggle
for
independence — achieved in 2011 — took decades, leaving the new nation awash with weapons, a shattered infrastructure, an uneducated population, and in need of massive external aid.
A tragic exodus
God’s love
From such a bleak starting point, ethnic conflict over control of both the oil supply and key political positions has dominated much of South Sudan’s short existence — with all sides accused of committing human rights abuses. The violence has forced a third of the country’s inhabitants from their homes, with so many fleeing to neighbouring nations that those who remain can be estimated at only 11 million. Today, as many as 75% of those who have stayed inside the country lack sufficient food to meet their needs. Government control over the country’s territory is far from universal and, as armed bandits operate with impunity, those travelling overland in South Sudan put themselves at great personal risk. In recent years, dozens of aid workers have tragically paid the ultimate price along the nation’s dilapidated roads while trying to deliver aid.
MAF flights are therefore essential to groups such as Tearfund, which operates nutrition projects in Pieri, Motot and Yuai to support vulnerable babies, and Every Village, which has drilled 160 wells for the country’s remotest communities. ‘Without MAF, it would be very hard for us to serve here,’ explains Every Village worker Joseph Njuguna. Such practical expressions of God’s love to South Sudan’s beleaguered citizens are accompanied by the large number of mission agencies which rely on MAF to deliver the Gospel message. These include well-known international ministries such as Pioneers and Africa Inland Mission, along with a range of national church groups such as the Episcopal Church of South Sudan. Fruits Ministry, a South Sudanese NGO, uses MAF to reach Kapoeta, where the group’s workers plant churches and provide schooling for vulnerable children among the local Toposa tribe.
See pages 8-9 of the Prayer Diary and pray for South Sudan. 8 Flying for Life JAN-MAR 2022
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First MAF survey flight touches down in southern Sudan
First regular flight operations commence
Expulsion of missions and closure of MAF programme
Programme restarts after respite in civil war
MAF’s weekly shuttle Taken together, the impact made by the 200 groups which utilise MAF’s flights from South Sudan’s capital Juba is clear. ‘The road isn’t an option for us because it’s a three-day drive and runs a risk of ambush,’ reports Dr Jonathan Macleod, who serves at the hospital in Tonj run by Christian healthcare provider In Deed and Truth. ‘With MAF, when vital medicines run out, we can now restock within a week, compared to months before. The weekly shuttle has boosted our effectiveness, quality of life and sustainability as missionaries.’
While the celebrations in 2021 commemorating South Sudan’s tenth anniversary were muted — not only to contain COVID-19 but also reflecting the stark reality of there being little to celebrate — MAF Country Director Bastiaan de Waal is far more upbeat. Day after day, he witnesses how MAF’s presence in the country enables those boarding our flights to make life-changing differences to isolated communities. ‘Despite the immense challenges,’ Bastiaan declares, ‘MAF remains committed to helping this often forgotten nation — enabling our partners to reach isolated people with help and hope for the future.’
Programme closes again due to government restrictions
Relief flights into Sudan from Kenya begin
New MAF base established in Juba
First pilot family in 25 years arrives
South Sudan becomes world’s newest nation
Cessna 182 aircraft joins the fleet
MAF extends its commitment to South Sudan, expanding its presence and facilities in the country
MAF South Sudan celebrates 72 years flying ‘Beyond isolation’
MAIN ‘The road isn’t an option’ TOP Dr Jonathon Macleod MIDDLE An MAF Caravan full of medical supplies BOTTOM LEFT South Sudan — the world’s youngest nation BOTTOM RIGHT We serve more than 400 partners JAN-MAR 2022 Flying for Life 9
More than an airline
Story and Photos Jenny Davies
A UN report states that, in South Sudan, an average of 39 babies die out of 1,000 births. In order to improve that sad statistic, MAF staff are providing a special service for the In Deed and Truth (IDAT) Hospital in Tonj
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n 2 0 1 5 , w e h a d 1 4, 0 0 0 outpatients,’ Dr Jonathan Macleod explains. ‘Over the next few years, we kept growing and growing, and we now have more than 50,000. ‘We ask each patient for a donation of 150 South Sudanese pounds — approximately 18p — to cover consultation, lab test, medication and any inpatient care. We want to charge more so we can make the hospital sustainable, but the poorest people would miss out.’ Meanwhile, in the inpatient ward, two fragile babies are kept alive by one oxygen concentrator. Across the world, where there are no ventilators or sources of oxygen, a concentrator is the last hope.
‘We’ve just had a month where so many kids arrived with pneumonia — one of the most common causes of infant death,’ says Nurse Rebekah Soper. ‘So for us to have oxygen is absolutely critical.’ More than 300 miles away – but less than an hour’s flight — MAF South Sudan’s Maintenance Manager James Mollenhauer is in the Juba compound, fixing the compressor unit of a broken oxygen concentrator.
‘This is my happy place!’ says the former electrician, ‘We have the people here at MAF with the engineering skills to serve our partners. ‘There are four of these machines,’ James continues. ‘One has a blocked diaphragm, another a blocked filter, and the other two have problems with their compressor units.’ Less than a week after it was sent to MAF, one of the oxygen concentrators will be flown back to IDAT. Dr Jonathan 10 Flying for Life JAN-MAR 2022
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will receive it at the airstrip, take it straight to the hospital and use it once more in the battle to save young lives. ‘Road transport to Juba is not an option for us,’ he admits, ‘due to the distance and high risk of a rebel ambush. The weekly MAF shuttle from Juba has massively improved the effectiveness of our ministry. ‘It’s been such a privilege to watch God growing IDAT,’ Dr Jonathan concludes, ‘to see Him healing so many mothers and children physically and spiritually. We are blessed to have amazing people working here!’
MAIN The hospital serves 50,000 people LEFT Pneumonia is a common cause of infant death MIDDLE James Mollenhauer in his ‘happy place’, repairing lifesaving machines RIGHT Your prayers and gifts will help more babies to survive
On both knees before God Story Paul Dunning
Photos Annelie Edsmyr and John Laing Photo Collection
MAF’s history charts the formation of many precious relationships. One strategic partnership, which stems from the very beginning of our journey, continues to bear remarkable fruit today
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n March 1945, Murray Kendon shared his vision for using aircraft and radio to speed ‘the holy task of spreading the Good News of salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’ The article inspired Stuart King and Jack Hemmings — who would join Murray to found MAF — and also a man by the name of John Laing. Born in 1879, he was a remarkable gentleman who’d transformed a small Carlisle construction business into a large multinational corporation. In doing so, he’d distributed much of his wealth to a variety of Christian causes. Knighted in 1959, he would speak of kneeling on one knee before the Queen, but kneeling on both knees before his God. John chaired the first meeting of MAF’s advisory council held at The Mildmay Movement’s office in Islington, where it was unanimously agreed to mount an exploratory air survey of Africa. And it was he who made a significant contribution to the £5,000 required to purchase the first plane, a twin-engined Miles Gemini — the Mildmay Pathfinder.
Since that momentous gift, MAF has received continuous support from Sir John, and subsequently from the charitable trusts formed by him and successive generations of his family. The J W Laing Trust, which is celebrating its centenary in 2022, recently made a gift towards the avionics upgrade of an MAF Cessna 208 aircraft in the Papua New Guinea fleet. The Maurice & Hilda Laing Charitable Trust has supported the building of essential housing for our aviation missionaries in South Sudan, and the Kirby Laing Foundation contributed towards the acquisition of MAF’s amphibious aircraft in Bangladesh. Neither Sir John nor the MAF founders could have imagined quite how their partnership would grow to enable such global reach. The positive impact on isolated people living in remote communities is incalculable. On 11 January 1978, Sir John Laing died at the age of 98, leaving a precious legacy which will last for decades. His love for God underscored a genuine care both for those who worked for him, the wider community and impoverished people worldwide.
MAIN Sir John outside Coventry Cathedral in 1962 TOP Housing under construction in South Sudan ABOVE The dedication of a Cessna 208 in Papua New Guinea JAN-MAR 2022 Flying for Life 11
Havoc in Haiti Story Claire Gilderson
Photos Eric Fagerland and Haiti Bible Mission
When a 7.2 magnitude earthquake devastated south-western Haiti last August, followed by Tropical Storm Grace, MAF and partners responded immediately to the latest tragedy to hit the country
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aiti’s earthquake left around 2,200 people dead and destroyed 52,000 homes, according to Haiti’s Civil Defence Agency. Relief efforts were hampered by Storm Grace, which wreaked havoc two days after the earthquake. Flash floods turned streets into rivers, causing landslides. Gang warfare also hindered aid reaching the region. Les Cayes bore the brunt of the damage with half of its buildings demolished, The Guardian reported. Aviation aid proved more critical than ever. Residents who were fortunate to have their homes still standing were reticent to sleep in them in case they collapsed in the aftershocks. In the midst of chaos, MAF took to the skies and medevacked survivors to hospital from Les Cayes to Port-auPrince — Haiti’s capital. Doctors and nurses were flown to Jérémie — another city badly affected, with its main road and bridge cut off. Blood products, PPE, painkillers and splints for the injured were all in very short supply. To meet some of this need in Jérémie, MAF transported more than
12 Flying for Life JAN-MAR 2022
350kg of medical supplies, courtesy of Christian charity Danita’s Children. In the weeks that followed, people from the surrounding countryside continued to make their way into Jérémie seeking medical help. O t he rs in Jé ré m ie su st ain e d new injuries from falling buildings. Many Haitian houses are built with poorly made cement and very heavy materials, causing catastrophic injuries when they collapsed. MAF Pilot Eric Fagerland, who had been evacuating survivors and delivering emergency relief, bore witness to the devastation. ‘Some of these folks were seriously injured nine days ago — broken backs, broken arms, head trauma and broken legs. But when you’re in the countryside without any shoes, with only mountain trails and your leg is broken, what do you do? It’s heart-wrenching. ‘I’m so glad we were able to help these people get medical care.’ Following a catalogue of disasters including last year’s presidential assassination, Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and the colossal earthquake of 2010, Haiti is all too familiar with the long road to recovery.
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MAIN Danita’s Children sent three doctors and five nurses to Jérémie, with nearly half a tonne of medical supplies ABOVE The bridge at Jérémie BELOW Catastrophic injuries were sustained by many
Please pray for Haiti to recover from the latest in its long line of natural disasters.
‘My grandad would be thrilled’ Story Jo Lamb
Photos Debbie Klynstra
Inspired by his late grandfather RAF radio engineer Leslie Draper — who helped assemble MAF’s first-ever Cessna aircraft — Mark Draper will soon be working with MAF
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n furlough last summer, the easyJet power plant engineer and father of three faced uncertainty as coronavirus devastated the airline industry. His wife Stephanie continued working at Dunstable Hospital while Mark home-schooled their three daughters Lexi, Evelyn and Raya. Mark had long dreamt of working for MAF, citing his grandfather Leslie as a great friend and motivator. Inspired by Leslie and moved by our tribute to the late Joyce Lin — an MAF pilot who died tragically in Papua in May 2020 — Mark approached MAF last summer. Then, having been welcomed into the MAF family — and on the verge of completing his Aircraft Maintenance Licence — he left easyJet on 27 August 2021. In 2022, the family will relocate to MAF Uganda’s Kajjansi headquarters, where Mark will take up the role of aviation engineer. ‘It’s slightly scary not knowing what it will be like,’ he admits. ‘Although it’s a leap of faith, it will be a massive adventure for us as a family.
We want to live our lives supporting other people. MAF’s humanitarian air service is a perfect way of combining my aviation skills with making a positive difference in people’s lives.’ Back in 1956, MAF’s first Cessna 180 aircraft came from the US to Heathrow in a crate! Leslie was one of 20 volunteers to help Stuart King assemble the plane, piece by piece. The following year, Betty Greene — the world’s first female mission pilot — was in the cockpit of the MAF aircraft on its first flight to Malakal, Sudan. On board that day were Stuart and Phyllis King, with their children Rebecca and John. Like the Drapers today, the Kings were about to start an adventure of a lifetime. ‘My grandad would be thrilled I’m working for MAF,’ says Mark. ‘Kind, humble and inspiring — he’s the reason I’m so into aeroplanes and a lot of what I am today is due to him. ‘He became an MAF supporter from that first encounter with Stuart King when they built MAF’s first Cessna 180. Grandad spoke about MAF to everyone he knew.’
We want to live our lives supporting other people
MAIN The Cessna 180 assembled, piece by piece, from a crate! INSET Steph and Mark Draper with Evelyn, Lexi and Raya ABOVE Betty Greene JAN-MAR 2022 Flying for Life 13
MAF School Partnerships needs YOU! If you’re a retired teacher, a Sunday School teacher, or just enjoy working with primary aged children, we need your help. We’ve had a huge response from schools across the UK wanting to partner with us, but we don’t have enough volunteers to reach all the schools that would like our fantastic resources. MAF can provide all the material and training you need to ensure you feel confident delivering short assemblies to any local schools near you. If you have any of the following skills, please contact Manda Wilson of MAF Youth: • Previous teacher experience or experience in church with 5-11-year-olds • Confident speaking in front of children • Confident leading an assembly • Happy to use PowerPoint presentations and the notes provided • Able to attend 1 short training session (online or in-person) • Available for 3-5 assemblies a year (daytime, usually mornings) • Available for occasional school community events (optional). MAF has the opportunity to reach out to thousands of children, school staff and communities across the UK, showing them the amazing difference MAF makes around the world. Please help us to bring the life-saving adventures of MAF to them!
To register your interest, please contact manda.wilson@maf-uk.org
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
14 Flying for Life JAN-MAR 2022
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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 JAN-MAR 2022 ffnf It costs us no more than 75p to produce and send you this magazine and prayer diary.
A serene feeling On reaching the incredible milestone of 100 years, Jack Hemmings — one of MAF’s founding fathers — celebrated with an aerobatics display!
A note from the Editor
On 10 August, at White Waltham Airfield in Maidenhead, Jack took to the skies in a Slingsby T67 Firefly accompanied by flight instructor Nigel Rhind. As the Daily Mirror reported last summer, ‘Former Squadron Leader Jack Hemmings, who spent four years in India as an RAF pilot, took the controls of the two-seater plane over the skies of Britain. ‘The flight was a treat organised by his wife Kate, who knew about her husband’s dream to pilot an aerobatic plane again. ‘Speaking to the Mirror from the West London Aero Club after the flight, Mr Hemmings said: “To be up there detached from the ground is a serene feeling. It was an excellent and suitable gift. At my age, it’s difficult to find something to give a person.”’ (Flying for Life readers will know, of course, that Jack was the pilot on that first survey flight, mentioned on pages 4 and 11 of this issue.)
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. JAN-MAR 2022 Flying for Life 15
Thank you! Your prayers and gifts continue to be the starting point for the stories of help, hope and healing inside the pages of Flying for Life. As one year ends and another begins, the MAF fleet is steadily returning to the level of flying that has seen God’s love touch the lives of countless isolated people. Your commitment to them is at the heart of our mission.
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