News for Prayer 30 May 2013
Issue 476 A life-saving C-section performed by the MMS team
Removing their amulets Thanks to our partnership with HoverAid, MAF is transporting healthcare professionals to remote regions of Madagascar. Travelling by MAF plane, car and then foot, a Madagascar Medical Safari (MMS) team recently spent four intensive days in rural Beroroha. Despite the punishing heat, the team provided consultations and treatment for many villagers in the surrounding area. One anxious young woman had walked eight hours to reach the team. Having already lost two children, she was now worried about her sick baby. When she arrived, the MMS team cared and prayed for her baby. The lady was so moved that she took off the amulets indicating her earlier trust in witchdoctors, and decided to place her trust in God. Another mother, suffering from TB, gratefully accepted some clothes from the team. After hearing about God’s love and seeing it in action, she too removed the amulet that had symbolised her belief in traditional Madagascan religion. The team also performed a caesarean on a 15-year-old facing life-threatening complications during childbirth. After four non-stop days, the MMS team left Beroroha, having made a life-changing impact on many people’s lives – both physically and spiritually.
Giving thanks Our team in Arnhem Land gives thanks that the Bible is now available in one of the Numbulwar community’s local languages, where we have a base. Pray that, through reading God’s Word, many people’s hearts and minds will be transformed. Pray also that translation work in other languages will successfully provide people with the Scriptures in their mother tongue. Uphold MAF staff as they disciple believers and distribute Bibles and Christian resources. Pray too that the experiment of sending Scripture and prayers by text message will provide good feedback, and enable this mobile phone ministry to be replicated elsewhere. Finally, uphold Peter Higham and Campbell Smythe, who assist partners throughout Arnhem Land in the use of technology and digital resources.
Cyclone Mahasen MAF’s amphibious Cessna Caravan – the only floatplane in Bangladesh – is providing survey flights for relief and government organisations who are responding to the needs of those affected by cyclone Mahasen (NfP 475). Soon after the cyclone struck, we flew passengers working for UN OHCA, the World Food Programme, DFID, ECHO, Oxfam and Care. These organisations are part of the Joint Needs Assessment, which co-ordinates NGOs and donor agencies to determine the best way to respond to the disaster.
We also flew MP Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, head of the Ministry of Disaster, and his cabinet into the worst hit areas, providing them with their first opportunity to visit the area since the cyclone hit. They distributed relief goods, spent time assessing the damage and visited those affected. Afterwards, the Minister expressed his gratitude and said, ‘MAF is giving a good service to the country, and its service is very important, especially in times of disaster response.’ Continue to pray for those affected by the cyclone.
An extra passenger When the message came through that a new mother needed urgent medical attention, our team in Papua responded quickly. Pilot Dan DeSalvo was soon in the air, flying to the village of Samboko to collect the patient and take her to hospital. When Dan landed, he was told that the woman, who had given birth the day before, hadn’t yet passed the placenta – a dangerous complication that would require follow-up care. With time of the essence, Dan and his patient were soon airborne, heading for the town of Wamena. However, despite not being a doctor, Dan soon became aware of his passenger’s true condition – she was still pregnant with the baby’s twin. After what he describes as a highly unconventional flight, Dan landed in Wamena with one more passenger on board than when he had left Samboko!
‘She asked me for my name,’ laughed Dan, ‘because she wanted to name the second baby after the pilot!’ Give thanks that mother and both babies are doing well.
Flying the Archbishop ‘A huge challenge’, ‘really enjoyable’, ‘full of variety: no two days are the same.’ These phrases could easily describe the work of an MAF pilot, but came from the Most Reverend Justin Welby, firsttime passenger with MAF and 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. Archbishop Welby and his wife Caroline, together with his Secretary for Anglican Communion Affairs the Rev Canon Joanna Udal, and the Rt Rev Dr Eliud Wabukala, Archbishop of Kenya, flew with us to Dodoma, Tanzania, for the installation of the country’s new archbishop, the Rt Rev Jacobo Chimeledya. The Archbishop wasn’t aware of our work before this trip, and was interested to learn more. He was given a copy of Hope has Wings to discover more about MAF’s story. On arrival in Dodoma, the Archbishop’s party received a colourful, tuneful greeting courtesy of the outgoing Archbishop of Tanzania, complete with a long receiving line and a group of local dancers. Archbishop Welby described his experience of MAF as ‘an eye-opener. I had no idea of the scale or effectiveness of what you do. I am very struck by the extremely clear spirituality of it.’ Uphold the ministry of Archbishop Welby and the new Archbishop of Tanzania in your prayers.
Prayer points • BRAZIL Asas de Socorro, an MAF affiliate, gives thanks for their large hangar and workshop in Manaus. Praise God for the many churches and volunteers participating in MAF’s medical outreach clinics in Manaus. • CHAD Give thanks for Libby Kelly who returns as Interim Country Director. Pray for her as she continues to lead the team, and give thanks for Sam Baguma, currently serving as Finance Manager in Uganda, who takes over next year. • EAST TIMOR Pilot Mike Bottrell and his wife Jenni, the operation’s Development Manager, have signed a lease on a house and started working on repairs (NfP 473). Pray their belongings will be released through customs quickly so they can settle in. • MADAGASCAR Our team includes 4 expatriate families and 24
national staff, operating 2 aircraft. During the summer, two of the international families will be away, leaving more work for the others. Pray as the staff prioritise and handle this increased workload. • MONGOLIA Praise God that flying started again after the winter break (NfP 473). Pray for wisdom about which summer airstrips we should open this year. • Give thanks for a flight which enabled staff from Nurses Heart to Heart to conduct life-saving CPR training for the medical community in eastern Mongolia and give Bibles to believers and seekers. • UGANDA We flew over 1,200kg of vaccinations and medical equipment for Médecins Sans Frontières. Pray these vaccinations, which are distributed to remote villages, will save many lives.
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