FlightWatch - 2017, Volume 4

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from the

PRESIDENT’S DESK

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us.”

– Ephesians 1:7a (NIV) Forgiveness is perhaps the most amazing aspect of the good news of Jesus Christ. Because of our sins, we were enslaved by the powers of darkness— essentially enemies of our Lord. Yet through Jesus we have been reconciled with God. Our sins have been forgiven—Grace has won!

MAF’s rich legacy is laced with forgiveness as well. After Nate Saint and his missionary companions were killed by members of the Waodani, their families displayed unbelievable grace and courage by forgiving those who killed them and continued sharing the message of God’s forgiveness with the tribe. Because of this, generations of Waodani now know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Around the world today, MAF staff are witnessing incredible stories of reconciliation through Christ’s love. In the following pages, I hope you will discover the real impact you are having in the lives of isolated people through your partnership with MAF. I am thrilled by what you are making possible— abounding grace flowing into the hearts of isolated people around the world.

For His Glory,

John C. Boyd President and CEO

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.

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

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

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: A Muslim prayer gathering in Papua.

Photo credit: MAF

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MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT DENNIS AND ROSE BERGSTRAZER

Photo by Paul O’Brien

Dennis and Rose Bergstrazer have been with MAF for 32 years—the last 14 of which have been at the MAF base in Timika, Papua, Indonesia. Currently, they are the only MAF family there—and the only missionaries in town!

“When we first opened the base [in 2003], we were also the only Westerners, so we truly stood out.

This made it easy to make friends and establish relationships,” said Rose.

“There are now a few Westerners who rotate in for a few weeks at a time, but we are still the only ones who speak Indonesian, so we still stand out.”

Dennis flies a Cessna Caravan to 19 village airstrips to support an area that includes 490 churches with over 130,000 total members.

“Churches as well as local people from interior villages not only need to stay connected with Timika, but it is from Timika that they rely on MAF as a lifeline for food, clothing,

and building supplies,” said Dennis.

“Our MAF aircraft is often filled with building supplies to build new churches interior.”

Dennis’ passengers regularly include some of the 1,400 Papuan employees of a nearby mining company who need to travel to and from the mine and their villages—not to mention the medical emergency and general healthcare flights he makes to support the Timika region.

While Dennis maneuvers through the clouds, Rose manages “Rose’s Bed & Breakfast”—a guest house so named by the many missionaries who pass through there. She also invests in the lives of four Indonesian staff families, and enjoys fellowship with some of the wives at the mine. At Christmas, one of her favorite activities is going to the local hospital with the MAF Timika team to sing carols and give gifts to the patients.

The Bergstrazers are grateful for their team of ministry partners, most of whom have been with the couple from the beginning of their time with MAF. In fact, three supporting families have invested their time and money to visit them on the field, which is a huge encouragement to the couple.

“We wish all of our supporters had the opportunity to come for a visit to see firsthand the work they are supporting,” said Dennis.

Ministry partners make the work of MAF field staff possible.

Because of their vital support, isolated people around the world can experience the love of Jesus.

The Bergstrazers are hoping to grow their team of ministry partners. If you’d like the blessing of being involved in their work in Papua, visit maf.org/bergstrazer to learn more.

1-800-FLYS-MAF

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An element of MAF’s work—one that is often overshadowed by stories of medical evacuations, Bible translation flight support, disaster relief efforts, and many other exciting

A Ministry of

ministries—is the way MAF helps spread the peace of Christ simply by being there and diligently serving.

In many places, MAF is either the only Christian presence or among just a few ex-pat believers or a fledgling local church. As MAF field staff stroll through noisy markets, sit on crowded buses, and go about their daily lives, they might be the only followers of Jesus the people they pass ever encounter.

At times, MAF airplanes are called upon to serve as a bridge to peace …

TENSIONS FLARE Indonesia is spread out over nearly 20,000 islands that span an area roughly the size of the continental U.S. The country is a complex mixture of religions—many areas are predominately Muslim, others are heavily influenced by Buddhism and animism, while some places have a Christian majority. MAF works in various provinces within the country that include some or all of the above.

This faith blend inevitably leads to

tensions—tensions that occasionally spill over into destruction and violence. Which gives MAF a unique opportunity to share Christ’s love in the midst of discord.

In 2015, in a region that is 98 percent Muslim, angry members of a community burned down a church. Tensions rose—resulting in armed protests and violence—and government officials needed to reach the area to calm the situation.

The state officials relied on MAF to get them there, despite MAF being an openly Christian organization. The help that MAF staff provided in the wake of a terrible tsunami a decade

earlier has allowed MAF to be seen as a trusted group—even by Islamic government officials. Flying these officials, as well as MAF’s presence in the community, is helping to bridge relationships between members of the two faiths in the region.

HOPE FOLLOWS RETRIBUTION Sadly, acts of destruction and violence are perpetrated by adherents of both Islam and Christianity. In Papua, another region that MAF serves—one that is predominately Christian—there was an incident in which Christians lashed out at the

Muslims among them.

A Papuan church was holding a youth rally that coincided with the Idul Fitri—the Islamic holiday at the end of Ramadan. Prior to the rally, the church went to the local Muslim leaders and asked them to refrain from broadcasting the call to prayer over the mosque’s speakers. The very request built tension between the groups.

When the youth rally began, the call to prayer played over the speakers and a crowd of Christians, and some others from the community, went to confront the Muslims. The situation escalated

and a man was shot. The shooter fled into a row of buildings which had an Islamic prayer room attached to it and an angry mob formed and burned down the structure in their attempts to bring him to justice.

In an inverse parallel of the earlier instance of the church’s destruction at the hands of Muslims elsewhere, MAF was again called upon to play a part in resolving the situation.

“MAF was approached by the staff of a Jakarta-based Christian businessman who is building Christian schools throughout Papua, to fly a contingent of Jakarta-

based politicians into the village to negotiate a peace deal between the Christians and Muslims following the event,” said David Holsten, MAF regional director of Indonesia. “That group’s visit did indeed lead to a decrease of local tensions.”

BRIDGING THE GAP Western missionaries find themselves in an interesting position. While they can be perceived as outsiders, they are often in a position to be more trusted by different groups. This gives MAF staff, and other missionaries, the opportunity to bridge differences

in communities by portraying the peace and love of Christ.

“I would say that MAF is seen as being a trusted source of safe transportation for everyone who is living and working in Papua. We do not discriminate when it comes to passengers who are in need of help—like medical care or emergency flights. So, it is not unheard of for Christians and Muslims to be on the same flight together in one of our aircraft,” said David. “I think it shows us as a trusted party to both groups.”

Because of your partnership with MAF, field staff are able to not only support the work of many other organizations and churches through flight services but also facilitate peace and reconciliation between rival groups.

Your support means MAF can share Christ’s peace in the midst of turmoil.

by Chris Burgess

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”

– 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

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TECH CORNER ALPHABET SOUP Airplanes are complicated. And to the outsider, it can sound like pilots and maintenance specialists are speaking a different language when they talk about their craft.

For instance: “A KODIAK is a single-engine turboprop, STOL aircraft, with a Garmin G1000 display, a special high-lift wing, and a 750 horsepower engine.”

Those of you who are familiar with aviation probably think that was a no-brainer, while the rest of us are scratching our heads.

Here is another complex jumble of the fascinating (and confusing) acronyms—courtesy of Tim Dyk, supervisor of the avionics department at MAF headquarters. They describe the new systems that were added at headquarters to an MAF airplane that serves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): TAS—“Traffic Advisory System”— Actively interrogates other aircraft to determine where there may be conflicts in order to avoid collisions.

(This is extremely important coming

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into busy airports that do not have radar air traffic control, which is the case in some developing countries where MAF flight programs exist).

TAWS-B—“Terrain Awareness Warning System”— The topography of the entire world, as well as tall buildings and towers, is built into the memory of this device. By predicting where the aircraft will be if the current flight path is continued, it will warn the pilot before it gets too close to any terrain or tall structures.

ADS-B—“Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast”—A civil aviation requirement for small aircraft as well as airlines when flying in controlled airspace or other congested areas. This broadcasts and receives the positions and flight plans of all nearby aircraft in order to meet the requirements of minimal separation.

V2Track—(AFFS, Automatic Flight Following Service)—This uses GPS position and broadcasts aircraft flight data to the people who perform flight following by using either cell phone or Iridium satellite connections. It can also use Bluetooth wireless to connect

data from a cockpit iPad to SMS text or websites.

PFD/MFD—Primary Flight Display and Multi-function Display— These displays have the entire world in memory, including roads, rivers, airports, and air traffic control frequencies, along with all navigation aids. This state of the art technology replaces ALL of the old instruments in the panel! (The PFD/MFD has no moving parts, and eliminates the need for mechanical gyros and back-up sources of vacuum to run them!)

While much of this might be over the heads of those of us who are nonaviators—these technical upgrades make a real difference to MAF’s ministry.

“The airplane is truly a joy to fly and has been working nonstop since she returned to Congo after the avionics upgrade,” said Nick Frey, program manager at MAF’s West DRC program. “It is really reinforcing that MAF cares about its people, pilots, and passengers and that we’re willing to do the work to make sure the mission propels forward to Gods glory.”

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MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT DENNIS AND ROSE BERGSTRAZER

Photo by Paul O’Brien

Dennis and Rose Bergstrazer have been with MAF for 32 years—the last 14 of which have been at the MAF base in Timika, Papua, Indonesia. Currently, they are the only MAF family there—and the only missionaries in town!

“When we first opened the base [in 2003], we were also the only Westerners, so we truly stood out.

This made it easy to make friends and establish relationships,” said Rose.

“There are now a few Westerners who rotate in for a few weeks at a time, but we are still the only ones who speak Indonesian, so we still stand out.”

Dennis flies a Cessna Caravan to 19 village airstrips to support an area that includes 490 churches with over 130,000 total members.

“Churches as well as local people from interior villages not only need to stay connected with Timika, but it is from Timika that they rely on MAF as a lifeline for food, clothing,

and building supplies,” said Dennis.

“Our MAF aircraft is often filled with building supplies to build new churches interior.”

Dennis’ passengers regularly include some of the 1,400 Papuan employees of a nearby mining company who need to travel to and from the mine and their villages—not to mention the medical emergency and general healthcare flights he makes to support the Timika region.

While Dennis maneuvers through the clouds, Rose manages “Rose’s Bed & Breakfast”—a guest house so named by the many missionaries who pass through there. She also invests in the lives of four Indonesian staff families, and enjoys fellowship with some of the wives at the mine. At Christmas, one of her favorite activities is going to the local hospital with the MAF Timika team to sing carols and give gifts to the patients.

The Bergstrazers are grateful for their team of ministry partners, most of whom have been with the couple from the beginning of their time with MAF. In fact, three supporting families have invested their time and money to visit them on the field, which is a huge encouragement to the couple.

“We wish all of our supporters had the opportunity to come for a visit to see firsthand the work they are supporting,” said Dennis.

Ministry partners make the work of MAF field staff possible.

Because of their vital support, isolated people around the world can experience the love of Jesus.

The Bergstrazers are hoping to grow their team of ministry partners. If you’d like the blessing of being involved in their work in Papua, visit maf.org/bergstrazer to learn more.

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NEWS BRIEFS

For the MAF executive leadership team and the Board of Directors, for God’s guidance and wisdom as they carry on the search for a new President/CEO and a VP of Operations.

A MILESTONE IN PAPUA

On May 15, the MAF Merauke team in Papua, Indonesia, celebrated a milestone. Their beloved Caravan PK-MAO reached 20,000 hours of flight time. This represents 27 years of service in Papua. One staff member had this banner made, which shows PK-MAO on wheels and as it is today, on floats. Just prior to reaching this mark, in February, the aircraft went through its 20,000-hour inspection, which meant extensively examining the entire airplane. It took seven weeks to complete! “Even though it is getting old, we are very fond of PK-MAO,” said Julie Bolser, wife of floatplane pilot Tom, shown here with three of his kids and the MAF Merauke team.

Photo by Julie Bolser.

JOIN US IN PRAYER ...

LEADERSHIP CHANGES

Dave Fyock, Vice President of Operations, has accepted a new position as CEO of MAFInternational, in the United Kingdom.

Dave and his wife, Hilda, Manager of Corporate Training, have been with MAF since 1992. They served in Albania and Costa Rica, and then transferred to headquarters to serve in various positions over the years. Dave assumes his new role in September.

Photo by Paul O’Brien.

Give thanks for three new MAF teachers starting this school year!

And please continue to ask the Lord to draw more teachers to the ministry, to fill current and future needs.

For MAF families who are returning to the field from furlough, for precious goodbyes, safe and smooth travel overseas, and ease of adjustment as they return to their bases.

For God to change hearts and bring an end to ongoing violence in the Kasai province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where nearly a million people have fled their homes amid violence between ethnic groups and militias.

FUTURE PLAY DATES SAFE ARRIVAL

On Saturday, April 22 at 3:45 p.m., MAF’s amphibious KODIAK, N113MF, arrived safely at the Sentani airport in Papua, Indonesia. MAF staff greeted Dylan and Valerie Fast, who had flown more than 80 hours over a two-week period to deliver the airplane. We Praise God for gracious donors who made this possible, and for its safe arrival in-country. Photo by Matt Harris.

Thanks to a generous donor, MAF missionary families with young children will have a new playground to look forward to on future visits to the MAF campus. In early June, a dozen or more volunteers and staff from MAF headquarters assembled a large play structure under the direction of Phil Falconer, with Kids Around the World. As the saying goes, “Many hands make light work.”

We trust this was the case and that volunteers were blessed just as MAF MKs (missionary kids) will be blessed as they enjoy the new playground.

“AND PRAY IN THE SPIRIT ON ALL OCCASIONS WITH ALL KINDS OF PRAYERS AND REQUESTS. WITH THIS IN MIND, BE ALERT AND ALWAYS KEEP ON PRAYING FOR ALL THE LORD’S PEOPLE.” - EPHESIANS 6:18