News for Prayer Issue 483
5 September 2013
Gospel partners Our partnership with Wycliffe Bible Translators enables their personnel to bring the Good News of Jesus to many areas and tribes throughout Papua New Guinea (PNG). With over 800 different languages, PNG is one of the most linguistically diverse nations on the planet. Translators seeking to make the Bible available to every people group face a huge challenge. From the country’s dense tropical jungles to high mountain ranges, they work in very hostile terrain and endure days of arduous overland travel along practically non-existent paths and roads. One of Wycliffe’s teams is based in Arop, near Aitape, an area devastated by the earthquake and tsunami of 1998. Staff there live among the Sissano people to understand their culture and help them bring God’s Word to life. Wycliffe translators rely on MAF to fly in people, food, essential supplies and building materials to the nearby airstrip at Tadji so their outreach projects and programmes can continue. Give thanks for our ability to serve all the Bible translators, missionaries and Christian workers in the country, and for the 12,500 flights, 37,000 passengers and 2.5 million kilos of cargo flown to 230 destinations in PNG during 2012.
Welcome sight
MAF South Africa, which serves the community of Ha-Makuya in Venda, Limpopo, recently made the first of their Flying Eye Clinic flights there. There is only one nurse at the Ha-Makuya clinic, so those requiring more advanced care face an 54 miles journey along very poor roads to reach the nearest hospital. Thanks to an MAF flight, optometrist Jonathan Brand and ophthalmologist Professor Polla Roux screened 87 people in Ha-Makuya, including children from Gondeni Crèche. Many had their eyes tested for the first time. Twenty-one people with minor sight problems received glasses, enabling some to read fine print for the first time in years. The team also diagnosed 23 cataracts, 5 cases of cornea scarring and 11 cases of glaucoma. Uphold those whose eyesight can only be saved through surgery. Also pray for MAF personnel as they continue these flights and seek to help many more people in this area.
Frequent flier Church of the Nazarene strategist Harmon Schmelzenbach says, ‘It would be an unusual month for us not to use MAF in PNG. During certain times, while conducting our annual District Assembly, we use MAF frequently. ‘MAF is used by both Nazarene missionaries and
national leaders alike. There are remote areas such as Dusin/Middle Ramu where the only way in is by MAF plane. We have missionaries spending a week there every five or six weeks, which involves MAF providing weekly outward and return flights. ‘Without MAF, it’s a four-day walk through tropical jungles and high mountain ranges to reach the first road connecting this place to the outside world. Fortunately, thanks in large part to MAF’s help, our work is expanding rapidly throughout these hard-to-reach areas.’ Pray for God’s continued blessing on the work of Nazarene missionaries, who are planting churches, providing community healthcare and teaching theology in PNG.
Safe landing As the pain in Nirisoa’s back intensified, her need for immediate medical assistance heightened, making it necessary for us to make a special flight to Marolambo, Madagascar, to take her to hospital. By the time the aircraft landed, Nirisoa’s condition had deteriorated to the extent that she had become paralysed. Members of her family and the local community carried her onto the plane, which immediately took off. Praise God for our ability to upgrade the eroding airstrip in Marolambo. This vitial work enabled us to land safely and get Nirisoa the treatment she so urgently needed.
Chicken run Marsabit Children’s Home, established two decades ago in northern Kenya, is a source of hope to children who face a bleak future. Some were abandoned by parents who could no longer afford to look after them. Others were orphaned because of the continuing AIDS crisis afflicting East Africa. The 35 children at Marsabit Children’s Home range from infants to teenagers – all of whom are provided with a safe environment and the opportunity to continue their studies in nearby schools. Pastor John Arero, who leads the six staff overseeing the orphanage, says feeding 35 mouths is an endless financial challenge – as is finding money for the children’s school fees. But thanks to MAF personnel who recently flew in a chicken coop, computer and some colouring books, the orphanage now has a source of revenue. The new coop, funded by MAF staff and the local community, is capable of holding 100 chickens. The foundations are particularly deep to keep rogue mongooses out and the cedar wood frame minimises damage from termites. Now that the chickens and coop have been delivered by our aircraft, the excited orphans are looking forward to caring for their pet chickens and having eggs to sell and eat!
Prayer points • ARNHEM LAND There have been a number of break-ins at Gove Airport recently. Pray for the protection of MAF planes and facilities there. • Praise God for the new airstrip recently opened at Gawa. The small community will greatly benefit from having an airstrip for us to fly from. • DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC) Uphold eastern DRC personnel struggling with illnesses. • LIBERIA Although the papers to register MAF’s operation have been signed, pray for the offical processes to be completed swiftly • MONGOLIA Uphold our team who serve various medical and church organisations. We recently flew a woman with a dislocated hip to Ulaanbaatar for surgery. • PAPUA Praise God our team in Wamena have transported copies of
the Hupla Bible. Pray His Word touches people’s hearts and minds. • PNG Pray for peace in Mount Hagen following protests over the decision to declare national elections void. The protests caused the temporary closure of the airport. Pray for on going protection. • SOUTH SUDAN Pray for people in Pibor where tension is high due to cattle raiding and inter tribal conflict. Flights into the area have been limited to nearby Gumruk, a poor quality airstrip subject to flooding. • TANZANIA Give thanks for our regular medical and evangelistic safaris, and pray for the physical and spiritual wellbeing of the many mothers, children and pregnant women helped recently in Kilimatinde. • UGANDA Pray for Congolese Christian leader Rev David Kasali. We flew him from Beni in North Kivu, DRC, to Uganda to receive medical care.
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