News for Prayer 16 May 2013
Issue 475
A taste of mission Pilot Kees Janse’s father served for many years as a missionary with Netherlands Reformed Church (NRC) in Papua. So Kees was an obvious choice to meet a group of visitors from NRC. NRC’s church planting initiative, which began in Papua in 1963, established the local Gereja Jemaat Reformasi Papua (GJRP) Church. The two denominations keep in touch, sending church members every couple of years to visit one another and maintain their special relationship. The timing of this group’s visit was change to ‘particularly significant, because they had come to celebrate 50 years of NRC’s mission to this eastern region of Indonesia. Kees explains that Jan, ‘one of the delegates on this visit had never been to Papua before. So I gave him the opportunity to join a flight to the remote village of Sumtamon, where GJRP churches have started as the fruit of the NRC mission work.’ Apart from gaining an insight into church planting in Papua, Jan’s 40-minute flight over rugged mountains gave a perfect introduction to the lifeline MAF provides to Papua’s isolated communities. Pray for the GJRP church plants, and MAF’s work reaching isolated people in Papua.
Flying the Archbishop The Archbishop of Canterbury is scheduled to fly with MAF tomorrow. The Most Reverend Justin Welby and the Rev Canon Joanna Udal will travel from Nairobi to Dodoma, Tanzania, to attend the inauguration of the new Archbishop of Tanzania, the Rt Rev Jacobo Chimeledya. Pray for a worthwhile trip, a successful event, and wisdom for the new Archbishop of Tanzania in his leadership role.
Life in Lesotho Our team of 11 families based in Maseru, Lesotho, praise God for the gifts given to begin building a new hangar, and ask us to pray that construction will begin soon. They also give thanks for a recent dinner attended by the Minister of Health, which celebrated 33 years of MAF service in Lesotho. Praise God that, since 1980, we have provided air transportation and radio communications for national churches, Christian missions, Lesotho Flying Doctor Service and NGOs. Thousands rely
on MAF to provide weekly flights to health clinics, perform emergency airlifts and carry missionaries to remote areas. Continue to uphold our work in this rugged and mountainous country, and pray for partners such as Africa Inland Mission, Apostolic Faith Mission, Partners In Health, Samaritan’s Purse, Southern Baptist Mission and William J Clinton Foundation.
Christianity in action Evert Schut spent a week with our team in Dodoma, seeing the impact we’re having by helping Christians ministering in a remote region of Tanzania. Evert describes it as a ‘privilege’ to fly to the village of Magambua with MAF. The flight with pilot Andrew Parker was ‘impressive’, and meeting two families in the village showed him the importance of MAF in Tanzania. ‘One couple, Daniel and Elisabeth Hunziker, serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators, have dedicated their life to giving the region’s 40,000 Sandawe speakers God’s Word in their own
language.’ The other family Evert met, Dr Jon Eager and his wife Melissa, have spent seven years offering vital healthcare to the villagers through a small clinic overseen by the Africa Inland Church Tanzania. Evert says, ‘It’s clear that, without the existence of MAF, they would never have been able to stay for such a long time.’ Our flights to Magambua also involve flying a team of doctors, nurses and pastors to Birise, where they provide acute medical care including well-child checks, antenatal visits for pregnant women, and one-to-one evangelism. The work has recently extended to involve a partnership with an eye doctor from a hospital south of Dodoma, who conducts eye clinics at Magambua medical centre. Evert concludes, ‘Staying at the MAF guesthouse opened my eyes to the work of incredible people. I witnessed a perfect mix of Christianity in action, practical awareness of local needs and perseverance in meeting the goals. Thank you for sharing the MAF world with me!’
Prayer points • ARNHEM LAND Pray the believers who attended a weeklong rally in Yirrkala will have the courage to share the Gospel message with their families. • BANGLADESH In the last 24 hours, cyclone Mahasen has hit the densely populated coastal region. MAF will conduct an aerial survey flight tomorrow to enable relief agency staff to assess the damage. Pray! • KALIMANTAN Give thanks for our new aircraft – a Kodiak and a Cessna 206 – and for improvements in obtaining work visas. Pray that outstanding visas will come through. • KENYA Praise God for wonderful co-operation between MAF and other missions in Lokichoggio. Pray the support and sharing of resources will continue as we all work to extend God’s Kingdom.
• MADAGASCAR Pray for wisdom as the team seeks new ways to help the local Church fulfil the Great Commission. • PAPUA NEW GUINEA Two young women with obstructed labours were recently airlifted to Kundiawa for treatment. Pray for complete recovery for them both. • TANZANIA For over 25 years, we have flown local Maasai to share the Gospel with their own people. Pray the Malambo Safari continues to enable many more Maasai to find Christ. • UGANDA Heavy rain has caused flooding, especially in Kasese district, affecting 400 families. Pray for protection from waterborne diseases like cholera. Pray too for work being done at Kajjansi airfield. Due to ongoing rain, the runway is very wet.
Cessna 182 tour 1 June – 20 July From 1 June to 20 July, you can see our new fuel-efficient Cessna 182 SMA aircraft as it visits various locations around the UK before starting its service in South Sudan. 1 June Croft Farm, Defford, Worcestershire, 15 June Popham Airfield, Hampshire, 29 June Cumbernauld Airfield, Cumbernauld, 6 July Sherburn Aero Club, Leeds, 13 July Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire, 20 July Andrewsfield Aviation, Essex. It’s a fantastic opportunity for you to see our latest, most cost-effective aircraft. For more details, visit www.maf-uk org/182tour or phone 0845 850 9505. MAF UK Castle Hill Avenue, Folkestone CT20 2TN T 0845 850 9505 E supporter.relations@maf-uk.org www.maf-uk.org/prayer
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