FlightWatch - 2020, Volume 3

SUMMER 2020 MAF.ORG

1979-2020 Good and Faithful Service

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F L I G H T WATC H

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

None of the stories you are about to read would be possible without the support of people like you. It is our pleasure to show you how you are making it possible for the gospel to transform the lives of isolated people around the world.

“We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.”

Your prayers, your gifts, your time, are key to MAF’s ministry. Thank you for sharing the love of Jesus at the ends of the earth!

—Psalm 78:4

Dear friend, Every gift you send, every prayer you offer for MAF, helps change lives through aviation. We enjoy hearing from you! Please send comments and questions to maf-us@maf.org.

Tracey Werre, Director of Marketing Chris Burgess, Managing Editor Micki Blair, Production Manager, Alex Kildow, Designer Chris Burgess, Jeanelle Reider, and Jennifer Wolf, Writers/Resourcing

We were never told taking the gospel to the ends of the earth was going to be easy. In fact, Jesus promises the opposite.

MAF lost two wonderful people in recent months: Joyce Lin, a pilot/IT specialist in Papua, Indonesia, and Maurice Mvumbi, the administrator for MAF’s West DRC program. We mourn, alongside their families and teammates, for these two who were committed to sharing the love of Jesus Christ with isolated people.

But Jesus promises our mourning will turn to joy as one day every tear will be wiped from our eyes.

We believe the gospel transforms everything. That is why MAF flies. We fly to share the hope of Jesus with isolated people who may have never experienced it. We fly to bring change to people living in spiritual darkness.

MAF maintains the highest standards of financial accountability and public disclosure to donors and the U.S. government. MAF is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) as well as other organizations. A list of all organizations can be found at maf.org/about/ accountability.

Mission Aviation Fellowship PO Box 47, Nampa, ID 83653-0047 208-498-0800 1-800-FLYS-MAF (359-7623) Cover Photo: Joyce Lin is doused with water after her first solo flight in Papua, Indonesia—an MAF tradition.

Photo by Mark Hewes.

There is something deeply meaningful about being a part of a work that is committed to seeing this kind of transformation take place. Stories that span multiple generations stand as a testimony that transformation may take many years to be realized and that it can come at a great cost, but it does take place! For 75 years MAF has been committed to this journey of serving those who live and work in difficult and isolated areas. As we’ve been reminded recently, the path we follow may be accompanied by pain and grief, but at the end lies an eternal hope that compels us to press forward.

Serving together,

David Holsten President and CEO

TEARS OF HOPE REMEMBERING MAF PILOT JOYCE LIN

By Chris Burgess

The sick woman couldn’t sit in the airplane, so Joyce Lin helped her to the floor, tightened the straps to secure her, and began to pray. Tears welled and her voice cracked as she struggled through the prayer. But these were not tears of sadness—they were tears of hope.

in a 2019 newsletter. “But there were no guarantees I would actually be able to get to this point.”

Joyce earned her private pilot license while at MIT, but still needed an instrument rating, a commercial pilot license, and training to meet MAF’s standards. She was also dealing with significant back pain issues. But “the doors never closed, and every hurdle was cleared.”

This was a special moment for Joyce.

She took off from an airstrip, high in the mountains of Papua, Indonesia, and flew the woman to the larger city of Sentani to receive medical care. It was MAF’s first medical evacuation flight since the COVID-19 lockdown.

Living A Dream

She arrived in Sentani in the fall of 2019 as an MAF pilot and IT specialist, and quickly became part of the team. She flew essential supplies to isolated villages and helped complete a fiber-optic cabling project to support MAF’s IT work. And just as quickly, she left a lasting impact.

It was also Joyce’s first-ever medevac flight and it marked a momentous step in her journey.

A Long Obedience

In this far-flung corner of the world, Joyce Lin was living her dream.

After earning two degrees in engineering from MIT followed by a decade-long career as an officer in the U.S. Air Force and in private-sector cybersecurity, Joyce felt led to Christian ministry. She enrolled at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

While there, she discovered missionary aviation and traveled to Papua, Indonesia, for a summer internship with MAF.

“I’m privileged to be serving the many churches and missionaries in Papua who continue to reach out to isolated villages so people can be both physically and spiritually transformed,” Joyce said.

“Anyone who knew Joyce recognized she was extremely dedicated. That showed up most in her commitment to being used by God and sharing His love with others,” said Brock

“[Ten] years ago, I left Papua convinced I should pursue mission aviation,” Joyce said

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Larson, regional director of MAF Indonesia.

“Joyce embodied so much of what we love to see in MAF staff,” said David Holsten, president and CEO of MAF. “She was a dedicated teammate and well-loved by those she served.”

Joyce played a vital role in supporting missionaries, local believers, and communities deep in this rugged landscape.

As COVID-19 forced Papua into lockdown, Joyce and her MAF teammates continued to serve. She was thankful in this unprecedented challenge.

“It may sound strange, but these trying times have enhanced my feeling of purpose here in Papua,” Joyce said in an email update on May 6.

1-800-FLYS-MAF

Above: Joyce Lin, doing what she loved and serving the Lord as an MAF pilot and IT specialist. Here she is after her first solo flight in Papua, Indonesia. Photo by Mark Hewes Below: Joyce Lin left a lasting impact on her teammates and the people she came to serve. Here, she greets a young girl in the remote village of Papua, Indonesia. Photo by Putri Kitnas Inesia.

“GOD... HAS REPEATEDLY TURNED ‘MOURNING INTO DANCING ...’”

We Don’t Mourn as Those Who Have No Hope

On May 12, 2020, at 6:27 a.m., Joyce took off from Sentani in an MAF Kodiak—a plane she had dreamed of flying since learning about mission aviation. Her cabin was filled with school supplies and COVID-19 rapid test kits, which she was delivering to a remote village.

In that moment, soaring through the beautiful Papuan sky, Joyce was doing exactly what God had called her to.

From a seminary campus on the other side of the world where she first discovered her calling, to countless training flights in Idaho, to visits with churches across the country, to hours spent in prayer, and finally to arriving in Sentani—God walked with her each step of her journey.

Hope Worth Sharing

Joyce saw the impact the gospel had made in Papua and she became a key part of the work there.

“Just two days before she went to be with the Lord, she shared how she was living her dream,” said Brock. “Her years of effort following God’s calling were being rewarded and rewarding others daily. Joyce was a light reflecting Jesus, and she will be deeply missed.”

Joyce’s road to MAF was filled with challenges. But Joyce saw past hardships to the hope beyond.

“I am most grateful to personally know God, who has never forsaken me in my lowest times (as there have been many) and has repeatedly turned “mourning into dancing” (Psalm 30:11) in ways I could not have brought about on my own,” Joyce said. “While I will always be excited to fly planes and work on computers, I am most excited to share the love of Jesus Christ by helping to transform other people’s deep discouragement and mourning into dancing and joy.”

As we mourn for Joyce, our tears, though tinged with sadness, are the same tears Joyce wept over the sick woman in her airplane— tears of hope.

Two minutes into her flight, Joyce sent out a distress call.

Something was drastically wrong, and the plane could not return to the runway.

Later, a search and rescue team recovered her body from Lake Sentani.

But Joyce wasn’t there.

She was where she had always been—in the arms of her Savior.

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Above: Using her extensive training from MIT, Joyce Lin served her teammates as an IT specialist.

Photo by Mark Hewes

MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT TIFFANY BRAME

Tiffany Brame has a thing for languages. She’s taught herself several and is currently learning Indonesian as she prepares to serve with MAF as a maintenance specialist in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Reading the biographies of Nate Saint and Betty Greene in junior high inspired Tiffany to use her own skills for God’s glory. She loved the idea of flying and wanted to be a missionary pilot.

Tiffany spent a year getting her A&P certificate right after high school. Then, she landed a maintenance job at the University of Dubuque, working full-time for five-and-ahalf years as an aircraft mechanic while taking flight lessons before or after work.

“Knowing that Betty Greene was their first pilot made me realize that women have always been part of the culture here at MAF.” She progressed to become a certified flight instructor, but over time realized more of a pull towards maintenance. And she continued to feel called to be a missionary overseas.

“I saw MAF as a way to use the skills I’ve already had a lot of experience using and thought maintenance would be the best fit for me there,” said Tiffany.

The fact that Tiffany “speaks pilot” gives her a leg-up when it comes to fixing airplanes.

“When pilots would come in with this or that problem or scenario, sometimes the other mechanics would have no idea what they were talking about,” she explained.

But Tiffany knew what questions to ask.

“I just understand what pilots need and look for and what they’re likely to notice,” added Tiffany. “I think it’s really beneficial and makes me a better mechanic.”

In the past, Tiffany has had to deal with pushback as a female mechanic. That’s why she was excited when she considered MAF’s history and how it started.

“Knowing that Betty Greene was their first pilot made me realize that women have always been part of the culture here at MAF. And anybody who is willing can do this kind of work,” said Tiffany.

COVID-19 put a damper on Tiffany’s efforts to meet with churches and individuals to build her ministry partnership team, which could mean a later departure for Indonesia.

“That’s going to be hard for me, but at the same time, if there’s a delay, I trust God’s perfect timing.”

Would you like to help Tiffany get to the field faster so she can use her mechanical skills to help the love of Christ reach isolated people in Indonesia?

To join her team, visit maf.org/brame.

A Mutual Blessing

By Jeanelle Reider

“Lord, thank You for the opportunity to be involved with MAF in making a difference in the world. In Christ’s name, Amen.”

“Their special care for us during that hard season of our lives was truly a great blessing to our family, as is their continued prayer and financial support,” said Linda.

In one short prayer, Dr. Gary Coombs— missions pastor at Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California—summed up the symbiotic relationship between churches and MAF. From grand vision to ordinary task, we are in this together.

MAF could not do its work (nor would we want to) without local bodies of believers standing with the ministry in prayer, financial support, and encouragement.

And churches would find it challenging to directly impact the lives of isolated people if they did not partner with frontline organizations like MAF.

Chuck and Susan Weatherstone have partnered with Calvary Church of Santa Ana, California, since 1985. Calvary saw them through two evacuations and several violent conflicts as they served with MAF in various countries. Today, Calvary is helping raise up the next generation of MAF missionaries as the church supports the Weatherstones in their role as How people like mobilizers.

you are helping the gospel reach the “Through Calvary, we have ends of the earth experienced the love of the body of Christ,” said Susan.

Calvary Church has shown that same love to several generations of MAF missionaries, starting with Francis and George Boggs—one of MAF’s earliest pilots—back in 1956.

Local congregations would also miss out on the beauty of deep friendships with those who live and work among the world’s most isolated. And MAF staff would be all the poorer for it.

Besides staff support, both Calvary and Shadow Mountain have also contributed to several important MAF funds: Global Ministry, Haiti Disaster, Mali Well Projects, Mobilization, and a Kodiak airplane.

Dave and Linda Ringenberg had been supported by Shadow Mountain since joining MAF in 1997. When their five-yearold daughter, Hannah, became sick with a brain tumor in 2002, they returned home to care for her in the church’s missionary apartments. Throughout that excruciating time, up until her death, the church stood by their side.

What drives churches to partner with MAF, generation after generation? Dr. Coombs summed it up well: “How do we get the gospel out to the more remote places on this earth? We support MAF because we believe they have a key role in accomplishing the Great Commission.”

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TRUTH THAT LASTS

BY JENNIFER WOLF

ONE FAMILY’S FAITH LEADS TO LASTING TRANSFORMATION IN THE CONGO As the passengers stepped off the MAF airplane, a large crowd welcomed them with joyful singing and clapping. Then they walked along a dirt path to the village of Mbongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

It was 2017, and Dan Grings, a thirdgeneration missionary, had traveled here for the 100th anniversary of his grandfather’s arrival in what was then the Belgian Congo. This was one of the places where his grandfather had brought the gospel and planted a church, and where his grandmother had died in 1933.

Above: MAF airplanes have delivered help and hope to isolated villages in the DRC since 1961. Photo by Nick Frey.

MAF.ORG

IWUNGU MISSION STATION - 1964

After the country gained independence from Belgium in 1960, a rebel group began terrorizing villagers and missionaries.

Winifred Grings, Dan’s mother, knew from the horrific reports reaching them that the danger was drawing closer to their home at Iwungu.

Seven-year-old Dan Grings watched a small red and white MAF Cessna 185 buzz overhead. The pilot dropped a small object with a white bandage attached to it.

One of Grings’ siblings retrieved it and brought it to their mom, who read the message written on the bandage.

“Prepare immediately to evacuate….

Helicopter coming… Irene is dead…*” Irene was Winifred’s sister who lived at another mission station 35 miles away.

The Grings family was evacuated, but they would return. And MAF would continue to play a crucial part in their lives and ministries.

KARAWA TO GEMENA - 1966

The little airplane bumped along until it came to rest near two brothers standing by a dirt airstrip in the village of Karawa. The boys were leaving boarding school to visit their missionary parents. Normally, they traveled two hours by truck on a rugged road. But on this day, they were thrilled to be flying with Mission Aviation Fellowship, which had recently come to their area.

Their pilot, Gordon Fairley, had been part of the elaborate effort to rescue over 100 missionaries two years earlier.

As the airplane landed after a 20-minute flight to Gemena, one of the boys, 10-yearold Dan Carlson, thought he might want to be a missionary pilot when he grew up.

Above R to L: Dan and Christine Grings with their two youngest children, Timothy and Anna. Photo courtesy of the Grings Family. Below: Everything is A-okay in the cockpit with Dan Carlson in the DRC. Photo by Mark and Kelly Hewes.

YASA AND KINSHASA – 1980 TO PRESENT

An MAF Cessna Caravan soared over the vast terrain of the DRC. In the distance, dark clouds were building. The pilot, Dan Carlson, pointed out two storms on the radar to his passenger in the co-pilot seat, Dan Grings.

“We’re going to try to go between them,” Carlson said.

Carlson was flying the Grings family to Yasa, their former mission station. As they bounced around, Grings looked over at Carlson.

“He was cool, calm, and collected, as always—with a little bit of sweat on his brow.”

They touched down on the airstrip and the Grings family unloaded a moped and 9

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several bikes. They rode the rest of the way to Longa, to visit and encourage believers they had worked with for 13 years, who had been through the civil war of 1997.

That was one of many flights with MAF. “While Christine and I were raising our family, I could not count how many times we used MAF,” said Grings. “MAF helped us get out many times, what with evacuations and troubles in the country and medical emergencies, and even for the birth of our first daughter.”

And then there was the flight to Mbongo for the 100th anniversary of the gospel reaching that village.

MBONGO 2017

Grings finished leading chapel and stepped outside. He wondered why there were

no other churches or sects here, leading to syncretism—blending the gospel with animist beliefs—which plagued many Congolese villages. Grings approached an elderly man and asked why that was.

“Your grandfather taught us about Mbombianda, the Creator, and his Son, Jesus Christ,” said the man. “We have the Bible, we have Jesus. We don’t need any other religion.”

“It was neat to get back and see the truth of the gospel, knowing the power it has to change hearts, and to see what God is doing with His church and His people,” said Grings.

Speaking of MAF’s faithful supporters, Grings says, “They’re part of this, even though they can’t see all the lives it touches in Congo and has touched over the years.” *An excerpt of the note as seen in the book, We Two Alone, by Ruth Hege.

NEWS AND PRAYER

Maurice Mvumbi, administrator for MAF’s West DRC program, unexpectedly passed away Monday, May 11, in Kinshasa, following a brief illness. First joining MAF in 1999, Maurice has been a cherished friend and colleague to all who knew him.

“Talking with Maurice was always a gift,” said Stephen Hale, MAF’s program director in western DRC.

“He was a living library of MAF history in DRC. He shared a strong conviction for the work we are engaged with in the Congo. To that end, he worked tirelessly on behalf of MAF in maintaining some of our critical government connections, guiding us in legal matters, and providing leadership on our team.

All of this while bringing his love for Christ and the church to the forefront of his activities. His joy and passion for the Lord were always evident. He had a smile, voice, and personality that lit up any room he entered.”

Maurice is survived by his wife, Fideline, and four grown children.

Please be in prayer for his family in these difficult times, and for the MAF team in Kinshasa, as they grieve.

Prayer Requests Continue to lift up Joyce Lin’s family and friends as they grieve.

Pray for the family of Maurice Mvumbi.

Pray for the newest MAF missionaries who are building their ministry partnership teams.

Lift up MAF missionaries who have delayed furloughs due to COVID-19 or are still trying to return to overseas bases.

Leave a legacy that reaches isolated people.

An estate plan—including a will or living trust—gives you the peace and satisfaction of knowing your loved ones will be taken care of after you are gone.

A charitable gift in your estate plan can also make a significant difference in the lives of isolated people around the world through the ministry of MAF.

Ask us for help to ensure your plans leave a lasting legacy. We have tools and ideas to make it easy, simple, and rewarding.

For more information visit mafplannedgiving.org or call 1-800-261-7280.

You keep MAF airplanes flying!

This spring, people like you raised the entire airplane maintenance budget for the year!

Your gifts, and a $1 for $1 match from two generous donors, cover the cost of several key maintenance projects planned for this year—not to mention the tires, inner tubes, spark plugs, igniters, brake pads, brake linings, alternators, drill bits, and all the nuts, bolts, and washers that hold an MAF airplane together!

Thank you!

Your support makes it possible for Christ’s love to be shared with people living at the ends of the earth!