FlightWatch - 2021, Volume 2

SPRING 2021 MAF.ORG

SEARCHING FOR NEW DISCIPLES

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 how you are making it possible for the gospel to transform the lives of isolated people around the world.

“And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”—Matthew 4:19 (ESV)

Your prayers, your gifts, and your time, are key to MAF’s ministry.

Thank you for sharing the love of Jesus at the ends of the earth!

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 Justen Stryker, Designer Chris Burgess and Jennifer Wolf, Writers/Resourcing

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

What comes to mind when you think of fishing? For many of us, fishing evokes imagery of baiting a hook, casting a line, and sitting on a bank watching a bobber for the slightest ripple.

So, when we read of Jesus telling His disciples He will make them fishers of men, I think we are missing the full weight of what He is saying. For the disciples, fishing probably wasn’t a solitary activity—it was more likely a group effort in which heavy nets, holding their catch, were hauled into the boat.

As followers of Christ, we must understand that Jesus’ command to go throughout the world making new disciples is not a command that only applies to a few—it is a mandate for all!

The stories you will read on the following pages highlight what that looks like for MAF staff. Historically, the pilot’s job was to fly the missionary. But many times, our staff find opportunities to be the missionary. Frequently, we collaborate with others, such as in the story about planting a church in Lesotho. Other times, we make disciples in a more individual manner as we go about our daily lives.

I love pilot Jon Cadd’s quote: “I am here to be a witness—to be an incarnational presence. To do that, I need to be around non-Christians.”

Here at MAF, we envision Jesus’ calling to be fishers of men to look less like one person with a fishing pole, and more like a multitude hauling in a net together.

Thank you for pulling on the net with us!

Serving together,

208-498-0800 1-800-FLYS-MAF (359-7623) Cover Photo: A Lesotho Flying Pastors team hikes to an isolated village in the mountains of Lesotho, Africa.

Photo by Lemuel Malabuyo.

David Holsten President and CEO

2020 HIGHLIGHTS

Last year was filled with challenges, but thanks to the support of people like you, Christ’s love continued to reach isolated people in 2020. Your prayers and gifts made it possible for MAF to deliver life-saving cargo, transport teachers, doctors, missionaries, and sick and injured people, and so much more!

Thank you for supporting MAF’s work around the world!

4,964,061 pounds of cargo delivered

35,366 people transported

13,992

flights completed

461

airstrips/water landing sites used to reach isolated people

39,314

days of wasted travel time redeemed for productive ministry

386

organizations served

68

Bible translation projects supported

Photo by Mark and Kelly Hewes 3

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A DOOR O PE N S W I D E HOW YOUR SUPPORT IS MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR THE LIGHT OF CHRIST TO SHINE IN A REMOTE VALLEY

BY JENNIFER WOLF

Photo by Joe Adams.

Just before 7 a.m. at his home in Maseru, Lesotho, Matthew Monson pops the hood on his car and sprays the engine with Quick Start so it will turn over. His wife and three young children are barely stirring as he backs out into the street and waits for the iron gate topped with barbed wire to close behind him. Matthew, an MAF pilot and country director, drives to the MAF hangar to start what will likely be a busy day serving the isolated people and communities of this tiny African kingdom.

Later that morning, MAF chaplain Sefiri Seepheephe walks into the hangar. Skylights in the tin roof illuminate the area as local Basotho teammates maintain four Cessna 206s. Sefiri is hugging a manila envelope. It contains something that he, Matthew, and the rest of the team have been waiting on for a very long time.

REACHING KUEBUNYANE Several years ago, Matthew and Sefiri visited Kuebunyane, one of the places MAF serves in the mountains. There, they shared a message from God’s Word with the community, and the village chief liked what he heard. He pointed to a spot next to the airstrip and told them that’s where he wanted them to build a church.

“Our people need this message that you’re bringing,” said the chief. “We have so many issues. We have so much fighting. This Word that you’re bringing is a word of peace and of God, and that’s what we want.”

Matthew Monson and Sefiri Seepheephe explain the complex history of the Kuebunyane church plant. Photo by Lemuel Malabuyo.

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“We have so many issues.

We have so much fighting.

This Word that you’re bringing is a word of peace and of God, and that’s what we want.”

Sefiri and villagers from Kuebunyane survey the plot of land for the church building. Photo by Bryan Eygabroad.

The people no longer have to ask, “When is it coming?!” This church will open the door for the light of Christ to transform this valley. Photo by Bryan Eygabroad.

Stone by stone, the walls of the Kuebunyane church are a sign of hope for the people who live here. Photo by Joe Adams.

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There was still the issue of the paperwork and the final lease, but God was keeping the dream alive.

A melting pot of Christianity, ancestor worship, witchcraft, and cultural traditions resides in the hearts of the people living in these remote mountains. Because MAF is here, the people have an opportunity to hear the gospel.

A couple years went by and the young man returned to Kuebunyane to take his rightful place as chief. He phoned Sefiri and thanked him for saving his life.

“[Kuebunyane’s] the isolated of the isolated,” said Matthew. “A full day of driving from Maseru would position you on the opposite side of a river valley. It would require a two-thousand-foot descent on foot, passage across a river, and the grueling ascent to arrive there.”

A DREAM REALIZED Sefiri walks over to Matthew in the hangar and hands him the manilla envelope. It’s been three years since the paperwork was submitted for the land in Kuebunyane—six years since Matthew’s first visit there. And now he holds the official lease in his hands.

In contrast, the MAF airplane reaches Kuebunyane in 27 minutes.

Matthew, Sefiri, and some local pastors visited several times in 2015. Plans were made for one of those pastors to lead the new church once it was built, but that pastor passed away unexpectedly from health complications. And, come to find out, the chief with whom Matthew and Sefiri had a relationship was not the actual chief—he was a stand-in for another who was not yet old enough.

“From the moment I arrived in Lesotho, this has been a story that God has opened my eyes to— Kuebunyane. That’s where God has drawn my heart,” said Matthew. “And if you would ever ask me, ‘Where do you want to see the gospel go?’

Kuebunyane, that was number one.”

Construction started in December 2020, and Matthew and Sefiri have been interviewing and training two potential pastoral couples to lead the church. It’s been a slow process due to the surge of COVID-19 throughout the country.

Yet they press on because supporting this church plant in Kuebunyane aligns perfectly with the team’s goal of making disciples and supporting existing believers.

Things appeared to be falling apart, and Matthew thought the opportunity was gone.

A LONG COMMITMENT While the progress on the church seemed to be at a standstill, MAF kept flying Sefiri to Kuebunyane so he could continue to minister to the new believers there. He also spent time getting to know the up-and-coming chief.

“I’ve seen God endure at this location,” said Matthew. “It’s been a battle. But at this point, we’re just about to open the door and let God’s light shine into this valley.

Sefiri grew up in these mountains and he knew this young man’s life was in danger from a possible assassination attempt until he officially became the chief. Sefiri urged him to leave the village.

“God’s going to do a big thing.”

In the meantime, Matthew received a call from one of his supporters in America who wanted to fundraise for the church building project.

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COUNT THE ELEPHANTS CONSERVATION FLIGHTS PROVIDE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES

BY CHRIS BURGESS

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MAF pilot Jon Cadd has flown 300 feet over jungles in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) more times than he can count. His passengers—park officials, game wardens, and conservationists—keenly spot and count elephants, buffalo, hippos, rhinos and even mongooses and pythons.

These are some of Jon’s favorite flights because they’re not just a chance to see wildlife. Flights like these provide unique opportunities for MAF pilots.

MAF pilot Jon Cadd. Photo by LuAnne Cadd.

“We probably have the most ‘Kingdom conversations’ with people that sit with us in the airplane that are going into the jungles of the Congo,” said Jonathan de Jongh, an MAF pilot in the DRC. “Many of us pilots have experienced impactful conversations in the cockpit with different organizations that initially seem to have nothing to do with MAF’s ministry.”

opportunity to tell them why he was in Africa—not to make money as a bush pilot, but to share the love of Jesus.

Opportunities to share the gospel are not the only reason MAF partners with conservation efforts.

Stewarding creation is an important aspect of MAF’s ministry and a biblical mandate for followers of Christ.

A large part of MAF’s early vision was to “fly the missionary.” And while that remains a key focus, many MAF pilots understand their roles encompass more than that.

“God gave us the responsibility to take care of the earth. I want to take on that responsibility,” said Jon.

“I’m not just a taxi driver,” said MAF pilot Jon Cadd. “I am here to be a witness—to be an incarnational presence. To do that, I need to be around non-Christians.”

MAF’s wildlife survey flights play a key role in helping game wardens and park officials monitor and protect animals. By counting elephants or other animals in certain areas of the reserves, they are able to calculate the larger populations and track trends.

The bird’s-eye view MAF provides allows game wardens and park rangers to better protect these animals against illegal poaching and destructive mining.

Jon remembers sitting around campfires in the Zimbabwean bush with game wardens and park rangers. The conversations inevitably would turn toward spiritual matters and Jon would have the

And sometimes MAF pilots get a glimpse of the impact they have through these flights. A few years after Jon sat around a campfire with two park officials in Zimbabwe, he had the chance to reconnect with them. They had accepted Christ as their savior.

“You don’t always know the impact you’re having,” said Jon. “Everyone has their piece in the equation.”

An MAF (Ambassador Aviation in Mozambique) medical flight to the Niassa Reserve in northern Mozambique.

Photo by Kent Embleton.

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NEWS

BASOTHO MECHANICS SOLO

MAF Lesotho recently completed inspection #8 on “Charlie” (7P-CMC), one of its turbo 206s.

What made this inspection unique is that it was completed by a team made up entirely of local Basotho mechanics. “This is the result of a program started in 2016 to grow our hangar helpers into licensed aircraft maintenance technicians! Pray for this new generation of torchbearers as they turn wrenches, find discrepancies, and fix defects, so Photo by Grant Strugnell. that MAF continues to safely bring light and hope to the mountains of Lesotho,” said MAF Lesotho pilot Jason Thiemann. Accomplishments like this are being duplicated in our programs around the world as MAF is committed to strengthening the skills and capacity of its local staff.

NEXT STEP FOR PAPUA HOPE SCHOOL GRADUATES

In January, Tegi, Maria, Gerpa, and Erik, four of the Papua Hope School (Sekolah Papua Harapan – SPH) graduates, arrived in Oregon to begin their college studies. Several other gap-year students arrived with them from the Papua Hope Language Institute (PHLI), a new prep school. Wally and Joan Wiley, long-time MAF staff members, were instrumental in the founding Tegi, Maria, Gerpa, and Erik. Photo by Jared Wiley. of both schools in Sentani, Papua, Indonesia.

The young adults were met by an MAF couple from Papua who are helping them transition to the U.S. Tegi and Erik both plan to transfer to Moody this summer to pursue aviation studies.

A WARM WELCOME IN THE DRC (CONGO)

MAF pilot Chad Dimon in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was able to fly a group of Congolese pastors who were doing evangelism, church planting, and training to strengthen the local church. When the group arrived in Niangara, the community welcomed them with lots of singing and a time of prayer. “It had been many years since an MAF airplane touched down here so they were very jubilant and joyful to have this airstrip open for service again!” said Chad.

Chad and some of the pastors receive a basket of food from local women. Photo courtesy of Chad Dimon.

In the last FlightWatch, we incorrectly stated that the Cessna Caravan that’s replacing 9S-EAU had arrived in Nyankunde, DRC. At the time of this writing, the airplane is still in Kinshasa, DRC, awaiting customs clearance.

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PRAYER REQUESTS - Lift up the SPH and PHLI graduates who are adjusting to living and studying in the U.S. May the Lord guide their steps and help them to thrive in their new environment.

- Lift up the Kuebunyane church plant and the selection of a pastoral couple to reside and serve there. Pray for the people’s hearts to be receptive to God’s Word.

- Pray for a remote people group that is hearing God’s Word for the first time thanks to a partner MAF serves in Papua, Indonesia. Hundreds have been attending teaching sessions, eager to learn about God.

- Pray for the new Cessna Caravan for eastern DRC, that it would be released from customs in Kinshasa and be able to be registered and operational soon.

MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT DAN AND STEPHANIE KRAMER Dan and Stephanie Kramer met in Haiti 20 years ago, and now they’re returning to serve the MAF team in the roles of base maintenance and guesthouse operations. Dan will handle facilities maintenance with the toolbox of skills he’s gained working in automotive maintenance, business, agriculture, and missions. Stephanie will use her strengths in hospitality and planning to serve people staying in the MAF guesthouse.

“We’ve always known, after we got married in 2000, that we were called to do missions work. We often looked at organizations and tried to make them work for either one of us. This was the first time that both of our giftings came together in a job that we could do,” said Stephanie Kramer.

Dan and Stephanie Kramer need prayer and financial partners! Learn how you can be a vital part of their team at maf.org/dkramer.

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“God hasn’t called us to go, but we will be part of God’s plan, here, by giving and sacrificing whatever we can.”

HANS AND MARCIE ELLIS INCLUDED MAF AS A BENEFICIARY IN THEIR REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST.

Find out how you can share Christ’s love with isolated people through your estate plan at maf.org/estateplan or by calling 1-800-261-7280.