PRAYER AT WORK

MAF is grateful for your partnership in this Great Commission work. Your support throughout 2022 made possible thousands of flights to serve isolated people. And your prayers covered our staff and this ministry. Thank you! Read on to see how God answered.

FlightWatch, November 2021

Remember our foreign staff who are receiving training in the U.S.

Answer: In August of 2022, MAF staff Mantlibi Mafa of Lesotho, Juan Antonio Rivera of Mexico, and Zacharie François of Haiti, completed their training at the School of Missionary Aviation Technology (SMAT). MAF president and CEO David Holsten gave the commencement speech at SMAT’s graduation ceremony.

FlightWatch, May 2022

Would you join us in prayer for Haiti? Pray for the protection of our staff, the ministry of MAF, and the growth of the Haitian church.

Answer: In October, amidst considerable unrest, MAF staff spouses and children were evacuated out of Haiti, while pilots, mechanics, and other support staff are working on a rotation basis, keeping flight operations going, and taking periodic breaks to be with their families.

FlightWatch, January 2022

Pray that the MAF documentary, Ends of the Earth, will be widely viewed and have an impact on those who watch it.

Answer: A 10-year-old girl saw the movie and was inspired to become a missionary when she grows up. She shared this with her fourth grade class during Career Day.

MAF Prayer Connection, May 21, 2022

Pray for the transportation of a container from the USA to Mozambique. This shipment contains needed equipment for the base and household items for a newly arrived MAF family. Due to many unforeseen delays, it might arrive outside of the six-month window for importing personal goods duty free.

Answer: The container arrived on July 27 and with essentially no damage. An exoneration on the duty for the personal effects of the Koher and Brumley families was granted, even though it was almost two months past the window. The Mozambique program now has a flight simulator set up, a generator for the housing facility, and an extra container in which to store items.

FlightWatch, May 2022

Pray for the Lord’s healing touch on patients who have been flown by MAF recently, and that He will touch their hearts as well.

Answer: “It’s always a joy to fly one of our medevac patients back home. Today we flew Pak Yusuf and his wife home to Mahak Baru after they stayed at our hospital house for nearly a month. We picked him up in Mahak Baru on June 22 after an accident that left two of his co-workers dead and Pak Yusuf badly injured. And very grateful that Pak Bob was also on the flight today, as he had faithfully served Pak Yusuf and his wife as pastor and friend the whole time they were at our hospital house.”—

MAF pilot Jeremy Toews, Kalimantan, Indonesia

MAF Prayer Connection, July 28, 2002

MAF Liberia is moving their flight operations and maintenance facility to an MAF-US FAA Part 135 certification. Please pray that the transition will go smoothly and without major disruptions to their flight operations.

Answer: The collaboration with MAF-US and MAF-International in Liberia is proceeding close to schedule. Two pilots from the Liberia program and two aircraft will be added to the U.S. operating certificate. The pilots have almost completed the necessary requirements, and the first aircraft will soon be ferried to Liberia, with plans in place for the second aircraft to follow in the spring.

MAF Prayer Connection, June 16, 2022

Pray for general discipleship training that will be held June 18-19 in Lebakeng, Lesotho. Pray for the new outreach that will be established as a result of this training.

Answer: The three-day discipleship training was held in Lebakeng, with 29 people attending. Ntate Metsing Moholane, director of Scripture Union, was the training facilitator, and was transported to and from Lebakeng by MAF. Some of the trainees participated in a follow-up outreach and experienced evangelism for the first time. The program’s organizers praise God for both current and future impact of the training.

MAF Prayer Connection, May 27, 2022

Lift up Chad and Jamie Dimon, a pilot/mechanic family serving in Lesotho, Africa. Pray for the Dimons to adjust to Lesotho culture well. Pray particularly for God’s gracious solution to the loud music from a bar near their home that disturbs their sleep until 4 a.m.

Answer: After months of trying to mitigate the noise, it became obvious that moving was the best option. The Dimons reported, “Finding a house to rent in Maseru is not easy. Thankfully the Lord provided a home, so we packed and moved on July 16. Almost as if to bid us farewell, the club gave us one last really loud night before our move. What a blessing it was the next evening to go to bed and not hear a thing! We praise the Lord that we are now away from the noise pollution so that Chad can get the rest he needs to fly safely.”

MAF Prayer Connection, August 2, 2022

Please pray that MAF in Southeast Asia will have favor with government representatives and other implementation partners at an upcoming ceremony to review their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) progress report.

Answer: An encouraging meeting took place recently with a key government partner, who was extremely positive and made multiple references to the MOU ceremony and how pleased he was with the report of the work being accomplished and the partnership with MAF. He also expressed willingness to advocate on MAF’s behalf with high-ranking government officials.

FlightWatch, August 2022

Pray for God’s guidance and favor in South Central Asia as MAF seeks to reopen the program there.

Answer: September 2022 was the South Central Asia program’s second month of operations since their return. Favorable relationships with the new government enabled MAF to continue to serve and meet urgent needs. They provided critical support to NGO/humanitarian agencies serving in remote areas. Our pilots flew over 120 hours and carried 326 passengers and 6,626 kilograms of cargo.

One of our partners had this to say: “We’re so glad your planes and people are back! We heard they were coming. That will help others return … especially families.”

MAF Prayer Connection, August 29, 2022

Pray for a believer from Matsaile, Lesotho, who is eight months pregnant and is experiencing some serious health problems. Pray for her healing and a safe delivery. The medical team is puzzled over her illness.

Answer: MAF Lesotho staff report that Maseamoha gave birth to a healthy baby boy and is doing well, praising God for this wonderful outcome.

MAF Prayer Connection, August 30, 2022

Please pray for the MAF avionics team from Nampa headquarters as they travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to install needed avionics in MAF aircraft. May they make all their connections, untangle all their installation wiring, and ensure clear radio reception.

Answer: Avionics supervisor Bruce Harcey and mechanic Matthew Carter traveled to Kinshasa in August and were able to complete the biennial inspections and re-certification of the altimeters and transponders of all four airplanes there. They were also able to update software on the avionics equipment in the Cessna Caravans and made preparations for a major avionics upgrade on the Cessna 206. The trip was especially beneficial for Matthew, as he is training to be an avionics specialist and got needed hands-on field experience.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for stamina and wisdom for the pastoral couple who does outreach every morning at the clinic in Kuebunyane, Lesotho.

• Ask the Lord to smooth the way for the new MAF flight program in Guinea. In recent months they have experienced challenges with staffing and flight permissions. Pray for a full-time pilot family to serve in Guinea.

• Please continue to lift up the Haitian people who are struggling on so many fronts. Pray also for the MAF families who are separated, and for our staff and ministry partners that remain in the country. Ask God for His peace to fall on Haiti.

• The harvest is plentiful! Ask the Lord to raise up more MAF staff members to serve overseas and in the U.S.

Studying The Honeyguide

The Ambassador Aviation team (MAF in Mozambique) flew a group of researchers from Nampula to the Niassa Game Reserve. “They were studying the mutualism that exists between honeyguides (a species of bird) and honey hunters (the people the birds guide to the honey),” said MAF president and CEO David Holsten, who was visiting the program and flew with pilot Dave Holmes and the group. “Communities depend on the honey for calories and income. The researchers were grateful for the ability to fly into the park rather than taking a long and possibly dangerous trip overland.” —Photo courtesy of David Holsten.

The Bible Reaches More Hearts

In Indonesia, progress was made in the area of Bible translations. In Papua, the Una Bible was dedicated. This is the seventh complete Bible out of 250-plus languages in Papua. MAF flights have served the Una people in Langda, and the translation team, since the 1970s.

In Kalimantan, MAF staff flew to Malinau to celebrate with the Kartidaya translation team the dedication of the Gospel of Luke in five different languages: Punan, Lundayeh, Kenya Lepo’ke, Bulusu, and Agabag. It was a four-year journey to get to this point. “Even though we did not plant the seeds of this project, we did help ‘water’ and advance the process with transportation logistics and other needs,” said Tyler Schmidt, MAF Kalimantan program director. —Photo by Luke Sjoblom, YAJASI

Stuck At The Border

In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) recently, chief pilot David Petersen received a spontaneous request in the middle of his flight day. David said, “I was approached by some men from Genesis Waters. They said the airlines had canceled all their flights and wondered if MAF could help them as they were now stuck at the border after flying all the way from the USA. I took them 310 miles into the forest along with their 100 water filtration kits and 150 solar-powered audio Bibles in French and Lingala languages. They spent the next week going to many different villages using the gift of water filtration as an open door to present the spiritual water of the gospel.” —Photo by Ken Watkins