FlightWatch - 2016, Volume 4

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from the

PRESIDENT’S DESK

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Dear friend, What do you think God sees when He looks at you?

– Ephesians 2:10

If we are truly honest, the answer is often “not much.” We are forgetful, fallible, sinful, impatient, and—we feel—not much use to anyone, let alone the Creator of the universe.

But that is not how God sees us. Scripture tells us we are more than conquerors; coheirs with Christ; His children; His handiwork; a royal priesthood; a new creation. My friend, the Apostle Paul says we will “shine like the stars.”

This edition of FlightWatch will give you a glimpse of what you—a child of God—are making possible around the world through MAF. Your support plays a vital role in helping people living in the most remote corners of the world experience the love of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

So I pray you will be encouraged through the pages that follow as you discover the big things God is accomplishing because of you. You are shining the light of His Gospel into the darkest places on earth.

Thank you for coming alongside us through your prayers and support. May you always remember that you are God’s handiwork, and He wants to do great things through you.

For His glory,

a publication of Mission Aviation Fellowship The stories within FlightWatch are highlights of MAF’s ministry. Some days our missionaries get to see and experience the amazing things our Lord is doing. Other days are spent quietly and diligently serving the Lord through routine flights, maintenance work, and simply living among others in foreign countries. We believe that God works through all areas of service and at times blesses us with extraordinary glimpses of His work.

Managing Editor: Production Manager: Art Director: Graphic Designer: Writers/Resourcing:

Tracey Werre Micki Blair Colby Dees Clayton Borah Chris Burgess Jennifer Wolf

Every gift you send, every prayer you offer for MAF, helps change lives through aviation and technology.

We enjoy hearing from you!

Please send comments and questions to MAF-US@maf.org.

MAF PO Box 47 Nampa, ID 83653-0047 208-498-0800 1-800-FLYS-MAF (359-7623) maf.org MAF maintains the highest standards of financial accountability and public disclosure to donors, the government, and the world at large. MAF is a member of ... Accord™ (formerly AERDO) • CSC Christian Service Charities • ECFA Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability • IAMA International Association of Missionary Aviation • Missio Nexus.

All Scripture references, unless otherwise noted, are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

On the Cover: Village of Mamit, Papua, Indonesia.

Photo by Mark and Kelly Hewes.

John C. Boyd President and CEO

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MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT DOUG AND KARIN ALLRICH

Photo courtesy of the Allrich family

Doug and Karin Allrich have seen a lot of changes in the country of Indonesia during their 26 years there with MAF. And while the airplanes and passengers have changed, one thing that remains the same is how they feel blessed to be able to make a difference in the lives of those they serve—particularly the remote tribal groups of Papua.

“But what hasn’t changed are the needs of the people who are largely hidden behind insurmountable mountain and jungle barriers,” explains Doug. “They rely on safe and consistent MAF air transport in order to move from one place to another, obtain goods, receive medical care, and conduct ministry.”

Doug has been an instructor pilot since 1991 and shares his expertise with the newer pilots to help them develop their skills. “I especially enjoy working with the guys in advanced check-out situations,” said Doug, “where skill and judgement combine more strongly together to ensure safety and margin in our operations.”

While she’s always enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom and homemaker, Karin has also used her nursing background in different medical roles through the years.

A highlight for her was assisting the wives of Bible school students in delivering their babies. “Now my days include fielding medical-related phone calls, texts, and emails from missionaries throughout the province and occasionally from other parts of the country,” said Karin.

The Allrich family began their MAF journey in West Kalimantan on the island of Borneo where they lived for 12 years, raising two children and serving in a more traditional mission setting. In 2002 the family transferred to the Papua program. Now empty nesters, Doug and Karin serve at the Wamena base.

While Doug’s early days with MAF were spent flying mainly Western expat missionaries, today things are different. The majority of his flights are for the local, Indonesian church, its leaders, and their communities.

“We’ve always been keenly aware that in the many opportunities God has given us to touch the lives of people around us through aviation, medicine, and relationships, it is entirely due to the faithful and continued support we enjoy through our partners in ministry back home,” explains Doug.

“These dear people are just as much a part of our ministry as we are,” adds Karin.

The Allriches are looking to add more people to their ministry team. If you’d like to join them in serving the people of Papua, visit maf.org/Allrich.

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More than a “Pilot’s Wife” With your support, MAF women are making a big difference

By Jennifer Wolf

As a writer for FlightWatch, I have the incredible privilege of hearing what God is doing through MAF around the world. And I’ve discovered that dozens of ministries are being played out every day by the women of MAF. There are female pilots with MAF. In fact MAF’s very first pilot was a lady named Betty Greene. But for this article, I wanted to focus on the wives of MAF pilots and mechanics—the often unsung heroes. No matter what season of life they’re in––with or without kids, empty nesters––these women are sharing Christ’s love in a variety of ways.

When Peanuts Were the Key to Ministry Early in their 30-year ministry in Africa with MAF, Sue* and her husband, Raymond*, an MAF pilot, were based at a remote mission station at Semendua, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Zaire).

Because they had so many children (seven) of their

own, women in the village were always coming to Sue with malnourished babies. One day, a close Congolese friend, Luta, brought her a tiny baby who was in bad shape. Sue unwrapped layer after layer and was shocked to find a four-month-old at just over six pounds, her arms no wider than Sue’s pinky! She figured out how to make peanut milk for the baby, then taught her friend how to as well. That started a fruitful ministry that helped many other children through the years.

MAF wives, like Sue, use their talents to meet the many needs around them—whether physical or spiritual. Their kindness often creates a deeper connection with the people they’ve come to serve.

From First Aid to Friendship At the MAF Rumah Singgah hospital house in Kalimantan, Indonesia, MAF wives visit and pray with families flown by MAF. Even their kids join in as

well—playing with other children who are staying there.

“Coming as the pilot’s wife creates a much closer link than just the airplane,” said Rebecca Hopkins.

“It provides a way for all of us to be involved with the ministry.”

Some MAF wives use nursing and midwifery to show compassion and help people heal. They field calls from missionaries in remote villages seeking medical advice, help teammates or neighbors with health issues, and make hospital visits.

Living next to the airstrip at the Nabire base in Papua, Mindy Hartin, a registered nurse, often meets the airplane when it arrives, to make an assessment of the patient onboard. She then lets the patient and family know what details to give the doctor. She told one patient to mention the stick that was still inside him after he had fallen and been impaled by a branch.

“It’s cool to be a part of that. You just feel more connected with the people,” said Mindy. “And they see you as a family.”

“Besides wanting to impact our community, I’m praying for creative ways to bring Indonesian children who need God’s love into our home frequently,” said Kathy.

Others do things that are a little more out of the box, like Jill Holmes in Mozambique. A fourthdegree black belt, she teaches Taekwondo classes to women, children, and teenage boys.

Liz Schandorff connects shortterm mission teams with local Christian groups in Haiti, and helps them establish ongoing partnerships. She organizes groups to build furniture, garden, paint facilities, do art projects, and minister to orphans and their caregivers.

“These all seem like little things,” said Liz, “but you put them all together and it really becomes a legacy of

station. Luta heard she was coming and rounded up 80 or so children to meet her—some of hundreds who were alive and thriving because of Luta’s “nutrition center,” which Sue helped her start.

“Sometimes what we do just seems really ordinary to us. We don’t realize what the impact is in the future,” said Sue. “We have a hard time seeing the big picture.”

I hope and pray that the women of MAF will know how valuable they are in the big picture of MAF’s ministry. Whether they’re cooking dinner for their family, doing another load of laundry, making sure someone feels welcomed at an MAF guest house, flight following, or writing a report for their team, they’re doing so unto the Lord.

And I hope that like these women, you realize the impact you are having through MAF. Please know that your faithful support is having a ripple effect, allowing the love of Christ to spread out across the world.

love.”

Teaching, Tutoring, and Taekwondo Whether it’s reaching out to children in the neighborhood, working with missionary kids, tutoring someone in English, or sharing a certain skillset, MAF women shine the light of Christ within their communities.

Some of the moms are involved with existing local kids’ clubs, or they organize their own like Kathy Maynard has done. She hosts several neighbor children in her home two mornings a week for a playgroup, which usually involves a Bible story.

Photo of Kathy Maynard

by Mark and Kelly Hewes

Not So Ordinary Years later, after her family had transferred to another base, Sue returned to visit her old mission

*For safety/security reasons, names have been changed to conceal the couple’s identity.

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TECH CORNER PROPERLY PACKING A PROPELLER

Photo by Paul O’Brien

We’ve all been there. Traveling to a new city or country, you find the perfect souvenir to commemorate the trip—a big figurine, a large piece of art, or an ornamental rug.

Disappointment sets in the night before your flight home upon discovering that your new treasure won’t quite fit in your luggage.

Baggage size isn’t just an issue for tourists with bulky memorabilia; it can be an issue for MAF staff when shipping large aviation parts back and forth across the world.

One such part is a propeller. These parts are quite efficient for pulling a KODIAK or Caravan over remote jungles, but packing a propeller into a shipping box is another matter.

This task is so difficult that it requires a special training of its own at MAF headquarters. Doug Heidebrink provides this training for MAF mechanics so they can learn how to properly assemble and disassemble propellers.

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“This is necessary because the box we would have to build to ship an already assembled propeller overseas would be quite large. In some cases it would not even be possible due to the size of the aircraft it’s being shipped in,” said Doug.

While you might have to begrudgingly leave your souvenir at the hotel, it is essential for MAF to get parts like a propeller to the places we serve because isolated people are counting on the help MAF aircraft bring. And not only do the propellers need to reach their destinations, they must also be in good working order.

“This training is required before our mechanics can assemble or disassemble each make and model of our propellers. It is imperative that the propeller is assembled and installed correctly,” said Doug, “or the results could be disastrous.”

Photo by Becky Fagerlie

Lights glimmered across the village of Mamit—cutting tiny holes in the darkness blanketing the lush landscape.

The Dales also noticed something happening in the community.

This scene would not be noteworthy in most of the world, where city lights often shine so brightly they blot out the stars. But in Mamit, tucked away in the remote mountains of Papua, the only thing more incredible than the very presence of these lights hanging in thatched huts is the impact they are having on the villagers.

While the Bible School made it possible for students and pastors to be trained in God’s Word, the Dales were seeing that, over the years, many of the second and third generations were turning away from the faith.

A DARK PAST

LET THERE BE LIGHT

The first missionaries arrived to this region in the early 1960s. They found a tribe mired in spiritual darkness and warfare. Revenge killings were rampant. Women at work in their gardens, even children at play, were fair game for these people who were brutally slaughtering one another.

Lightbulbs are notoriously unreliable in Indonesia. They break easily, are difficult to transport, and at 40 watts can eat up a limited power supply. But LED lights are a different story. They are more reliable than incandescent bulbs, and at 5 watts per bulb the number of lights in Mamit could grow from 75 to 600.

“Bringing the Gospel made it safe to walk through enemy territory because the people repented and stopped warring.

They started listening to the Gospel,” said Esther Dale, a missionary with World Team who has served in the Mamit area with her husband, Wesley, for decades.

The Dales continued the work of the earlier missionaries— teaching at the local Maranatha Bible School which has grown to 254 students—equipping the tribe to grow in their faith, and finding ways to meet physical needs.

A LAMP UNTO MY FEET

MAF played a key role in opening doors for spiritual and physical growth in this region.

“Everyone looks forward to MAF flights coming in,” said Esther. “The alternative is not very palatable. If we wanted to go without MAF, we would have to trek up and down mountains for hours and carry everything that we want to bring in. So they’re our lifeline!”

MAF helped Wesley by delivering the supplies to refurbish a small hydroelectric system. This system uses water from a local stream to provide electricity to the entire village. But the amount of power produced is very limited, about 3,000 watts—or 75, 40-watt bulbs for the entire village.

And then something clicked.

Rather than haul hundreds of light bulbs over steep mountain trails, the Dales asked MAF to fly the lightbulbs and other supplies into Mamit.

But what impact does light have on this village? Quite a big one.

Families are staying up past dark and reading Bibles that are illuminated by the LED lights in their huts. No longer bound by darkness, they are able to greatly extend the amount of time they spend studying Scripture.

“Moms and dads are turning on their lights at night and they’re studying God’s Word, and they are passing that truth on to their kids,” said David Holsten, MAF regional director of Indonesia. “The parents can ask children now to tell them about specific Bible stories, and the children are able to repeat them!”

The physical illumination of the village is bringing a deeper spiritual transformation. Because of your support, MAF and our partners are able to shine the light of Jesus Christ in some of the darkest corners of the world.

“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:5 1-800-FLYS-MAF

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NEWS BRIEFS

Photo courtesy of the Browns

JOIN US IN PRAYER ...

BAPTISM AT THE HANGAR

In Papua, Mike and Christy Brown, their children, and a group from New Heights Church (Vancouver, Washington) spent a weekend with missionaries in the village of Mokndoma [FlightWatch Vol. 1 2015].

As they listened to the village leaders share their testimonies, a woman in the crowd spoke up. The Browns couldn’t understand what she was saying but knew something incredible was taking place, as the missionaries faces lit up with joy.

They had just witnessed a new believer’s decision to follow Christ! “God is still at work in this place,” said Christy. Praise God for the work He is doing in Papua.

A local church in Palangkaraya, Kalimantan, didn’t have a good place to baptize Victor, a new believer. So they asked MAF if they could do it at the floating hangar. Because the river is low and the mud along the riverbank is exposed, our Indonesian staff rigged up an ingenious platform to the hoist used to get our airplanes in and out of the water. Pastor Yoto and Victor were then lowered into the water. “God is wonderful, and life in Him is the absolute best!” said Isaac Rogers who shared this report and took this picture, with the Cessna 185 “Charlie Brown” looking on.

FIGHTING YELLOW FEVER

A yellow-fever outbreak in Africa earlier this year caused deaths in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). MAF’s West DRC program supported the World Health Organization (WHO) and flew medical teams from the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine. The initial flight in August carried 1,450 pounds of bottled water to a medical lab on the DRC/Angola border— making safe drinking water available to medical workers. Vaccination campaigns have been largely successful in combating the disease.

For the missionary kids who are attending boarding school for the first time or have returned to the states for college, that the Lord will help them adjust and guide their steps.

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For the MAF pre-field missionaries who are traveling around the country to find ministry partners who will support their ministries. Ask the Lord to arrange “divine appointments.”

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That MAF staff who are struggling with health issues will find answers, relief, and healing.

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That construction at MAF headquarters will go smoothly and safely.

Photo by Isaac Rogers

GOD AT WORK

Photo by Kevin Spann

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Photo by Paul O’Brien

BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

In early September MAF broke ground on a project that will nearly double the size of its headquarters in Nampa, Idaho. The project will add five duplex buildings, a community center, a playground, a maintenance building, a shower/laundry building for the volunteer RV park, and hotelstyle housing and common areas. “The campus expansion is all about building community and caring for our staff, so as they prepare to go overseas, or they return from difficult places, they can rest, recharge, and connect,” said John Boyd, MAF president and CEO.

“AND WHATEVER YOU ASK IN PRAYER, YOU WILL RECEIVE, IF YOU HAVE FAITH.” - MATTHEW 21:22