Flying For Life - September 2017

Flying for Life SEPTEMBER 2017

The magazine

of MAF New Zealand

STEPPING THROUGH

Open Doors

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Rune & Maria Karlsson –leaving a 30 year legacy

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From Doing to Enabling

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Stepping Through Open Doors

“They’ve given us an open door.

It’s our choice whether we step through it”.

Story by Chad Tilley, Myanmar Country Director

MAF has always been committed to going where we are needed most—and not staying in places when the need diminishes.

There has been tremendous need to build an airstrip to reduce extreme isolation in parts of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). Hundreds of women a year die during childbirth as a result of isolation and lack of medical services or hospitals.

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Photos by LuAnne Cadd

“There are many factors to starting a MAF programme that are beyond our control, but a recent historic event really opened my eyes that MAF is on the right track in Myanmar”.

The past year has been challenging at times. Many people have asked: Is MAF up and running yet? Why is it taking so long?

I had just returned home to Bangladesh following eight days in Myanmar’s northern Chin State. Late in the afternoon, my phone began to explode with messages from Deeram (the MAF Myanmar Office Administrator) and Dr. Sasa from Health and Hope.

The Vice President of Myanmar, along with a large team of top government ministers, would be coming to Sasa’s mountain village of Lailenpi in five days (the first presidential visit ever for the community) to make a decision on approving an airstrip that MAF had assessed one year earlier. They wanted me to be there.

Because it takes four to five days to reach Lailenpi from Bangladesh, I had less than three hours to make a decision.

I threw all the same clothes back into my backpack and left the next morning on a flight to Yangon. Four gruelling days later I arrived by mountain road at Lailenpi.

I was greeted sincerely by the Vice President of Myanmar who said, “We need this kind of activity. We need this support. Thank you and we want to work in cooperation with MAF”.

The Vice President and roughly 40 plus government staff came by helicopter, while 18 support vehicles made the long drive filled with more people. All the key ministers that run the government were there: the Ministers of Transport and Communications, Home Affairs, Construction, Education, Health, the Deputy Minister of Border Affairs, and the Chief Minister of Chin State, plus the Director of Aerodrome Standards and Safety Division under Civil Aviation who I had unsuccessfully tried to get a meeting with for a year and a half!

The VIPs made the long procession through 2000 people up to a platform (top photo on right). I was the only expat in the crowd, standing at the end of the long red carpet. Civil Aviation gave a briefing on the proposal for the airfield to the Vice President and cabinet ministers. I was then called up as they talked about MAF and Health and Hope, asking about Twin Otters and Caravans and what kind of planes would be able to land at the airstrip (photos on right).

The Vice President then held a cabinet meeting on the spot!

They all agreed it should be built. He turned to Dr. Sasa and said, “It is approved to build the runway.” Dr. Sasa made the announcement to the waiting crowd­—who erupted in cheers. Chad said, “Looking back on the key moments that MAF has had in Myanmar leading up to this, we can clearly see that God has orchestrated this. There’s no way we could have controlled this ourselves”. www.maf.org.nz

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My 30 years with MAF have been fantastic.

I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

Rune Karlsson

Leaving a legacy that will impact generations to come.

Story and photos LuAnne Cadd

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wedish pilot Rune Karlsson and his wife Maria are retiring after 30 years with MAF.

The Shout from God They were called to the mission field with a loud, crystal-clear shout from God that could not be ignored.

It wasn’t a call to just any mission doing any work.

God said to go with Mission Aviation Fellowship. It was hard to say no.

The Swedish couple married at age 18. Rune started a sawmill business. They purchased a house and renovated it—and they bought a sofa—an expensive, leather Chesterfield sofa from England that they loved.

One evening, Rune was at a campground with 30 other young people singing and giving testimonies for God. At the end of the programme, a missionary woman Rune had never met made her way through the crowd to stand directly in front of him. Poking her finger into his chest she said, “You are going to be a missionary pilot,” Rune remembers. She continued, saying she had been flying with MAF for many years, “and that’s what you’re going to do.”

Rune wanted to be a pilot when he was a boy, and as a teenager found the stories of a Swedish missionary pilot who died flying in Africa particularly fascinating, 4

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but those thoughts had long since moved to the back of his mind. Now this stranger had her finger on his chest telling him he was to be a missionary pilot. Even 30 years later, Rune knows without a doubt that God spoke to him directly that night.

Selling the Sofa When Rune informed Maria that they were to be missionaries, she was upset.

“I told God, ‘If you don’t speak to me, I’m not going.

I can’t go on his call. You need to call me too.’ I was very upset at God that He spoke to Rune first and not to me.” Maria bursts into laughter at the memory.

They owned a house with a view of a lake where she planned to raise their children. If this was God’s plan, why couldn’t He have told them before they renovated the house and bought that expensive sofa? “I said to God, I will not sell the house before you speak to me.”

Soon after, Maria attended a one-month Bible School programme in Stockholm where a well-known preacher whom she had never met prophesied directly to her, using her name.

She remembers clearly what he said. “Maria, you will go out and serve me in different countries and share the Gospel like Luke 4 to set the people free in the name of Jesus, and share the joy of the Lord to the people, and your husband will fly. I have mentioned

you by name so you know that what I say is for you.

Your name is Maria and your husband’s name is Rune.” “She was completely convinced,” Rune says.

“Completely.”

They sold everything: the house, the business and, reluctantly, their beautiful leather sofa. With the money, they went to America for Rune to get his multi-engine commercial IFR, and completed it debt-free.

30 Years From this extraordinary beginning, the Karlsson’s life serving with MAF took them to Papua New Guinea from 1988 to 1993, the best and most challenging flying in the world, according to Rune who always flew the maximum hours allowed and loved the work.

In 1994, Rune and the family moved to Bangladesh along with a Swedish engineer to open the new programme and remained until 2001, when they moved back to Sweden for their eldest daughter’s schooling.

Rune continued flying with MAF as a relief pilot as well as disaster relief in Aceh, Indonesia following the December 2004 devastating tsunami. Of this time he said, “Everything was wiped out. We lived in tents. The airport manager’s house was mostly destroyed—no walls, only the roof. There were seven to eight pilots plus people who coordinated. We had only rice and fish. No shower, just a bucket outside a well. We flew from the time the sun came up to when it went down.

I landed in open sea, up and down the coast all day.

In the evening we shared and talked under the stars in darkness near the sea. It was a very simple life but still my best time in MAF. The people were so thankful.

They would say, ‘You’re Christian. We’re Muslim, and you’re coming to help us. Why?’”

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uring the years in Sweden, Maria continued to work with Muslims, then, after much prayer, she felt God saying it was time to return to Bangladesh. For the last two years, Maria has worked with Bangladeshi pastor Subrota Biswas to open a small school in one of Dhaka’s slums, a tremendously meaningful experience for her.

The school, called Millgate New Hope Center, is for children age 5-6 and meets daily from 8:30am to 12:30pm in a tiny corrugated iron building with about 33 children.

In the afternoons there is a literacy class for women. Maria takes the local bus to the slum, which often takes a couple hours, and usually walks the 12 km home. People she passes in the slum know her well (photo below).

In 2014 until their recent retirement they went back to work in Bangladesh.

You too can leave a legacy, just like Rune and Maria Legacies left in Wills are a very important part of keeping MAF flying. By remembering MAF in your Will, you too can provide a “lifeline beyond your lifetime” to those who really need it. Large or small, each gift is valuable and will be used to help transform as many lives as possible. The first step should always be to see your Solicitor or a Trustee Corporation who will advise on how best to prepare your Will. Fees for the service when charged are usually quite low. You will need to include the full name of MAF: “Mission Aviation Fellowship of NZ, Inc.” and our Charity Number: CC36076. Your Will is personal and we respect your privacy so if you do choose to tell us, we will keep your decision confidential.

Rune and Maria in their early days with MAF

www.maf.org.nz

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MAFI’S NEW CEO From left to right: Micah (18), Dave’s wife Hilda, Dave and Sean (22).

MAF International Chairman John Quin announced on 18 April 2017 that Dave Fyock is to be appointed as the new CEO of MAF International.

Dave’s appointment followed a comprehensive three month search by the MAF International Board.

Dave has spent the last 25 years serving with MAF U.S. He joined in 1992 as a Pilot and Mechanic and served as Programme Manager in Albania, Latin America Regional Director and is currently Vice President of Operations based in Nampa, USA where he oversees Field Operations, Aviation Resources, Technical Resources, Safety and Quality and Special Projects. Dave`s wife Hilda currently works for MAF US as the Corporate Training Manager.

On the appointment, John Quin said: “We are delighted that Dave will be joining us. He has enormous experience and knowledge of MAF work in helping to reach the most isolated people in the world. This depth of understanding will be of great benefit to MAF International and we look forward to working with him.”

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Dave Fyock shared his thoughts about taking on the MAF International CEO role: “I am honoured to have been chosen to lead MAF International. I absolutely love the ministry of MAF. Our use of aviation and technology provides us with an incredible platform for ministry and uniquely positions us for gospel influence.

Our vision to see the most remote and most needy communities transformed, I believe, aligns fully with God’s heart. I believe there is a significant future for us and I am pleased to continue building on the solid foundation that has been laid by those who preceded me. I very much look forward to building strong relationships as we serve together.

Having served for 25 years in MAF US, I will greatly miss the many relationships that have been forged throughout my journey. I carry with me incredibly fond memories and the certainty that our paths will continue to cross through the coming years.”

Dave took over from Chris Lukkien who left MAF International at the end of April after 20 years service, to return to the Netherlands to take on the role of CEO of Christian charity ZOA.

Getting a brand new Cessna Caravan to PNG –as easy as 1,2,3!

PNG staff gather to dedicate P2-MAH

Story and photos by Jenny Beckwith

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Get it to Mareeba

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Modify it to fly for MAF

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Fly P2-MAH to PNG

Dylan Fast and his wife Val flew the epic nine day journey to Mareeba, clocking up 48 flight hours, stopping in Colorado, California, Honolulu, the Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands and Cairns. Their longest flight was from California to Honolulu, 14 hours and 20 minutes, the whole time sitting in a small cock-pit over an endless ocean with no option to get up and move around.

For the over water legs they wore their dry suits and had their life raft close at hand in case of emergency!

At Mareeba, N71367 was re-registered as P2-MAH and had modifications carried out to prepare it for service in Papua New Guinea, as well as some more MAF specific changes. Removal of the air-conditioning system and installations of a single-point refuelling system, aircraft tracking system, radar altimeter and a payload extender (enabling the aircraft to carry more weight), to name just a few.

After being issued a Certificate of Airworthiness (CofA) on 8 February by CASA PNG, it was ready to begin the last leg of its journey to PNG. Early on the morning of 6 March, the Mareeba staff gathered out on the apron to dedicate P2-MAH. The aircraft was then flown to PNG

by Kiwi William Nicol (MAFI’s Aviation Director) to begin service. On arrival it was again dedicated by all the staff at Mt. Hagan (photo top).

www.maf.org.nz

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From “Doing” to

“Enabling”

An important part of MAFI’s strategic plan is “moving from doing to enabling”.

For MAFI programmes around the world this will mean focusing on two areas. w Being more intentional about developing both local and international part-

nerships. Working with others has always been at the heart of MAF’s ministry. The way that MAF was involved in setting up the Rural Airstrip Agency (RAA) in PNG and how we worked alongside the Nepalese helicopter company after the earthquake in Nepal are good examples of supporting and enabling local programmes. In both cases, rather than trying to do everything ourselves, we looked for opportunities to share our knowledge and expertise with others so that we were both more effective. w Recognising the need to train and enable more of our local staff to take on senior roles. Not only is this a positive development in itself, it also addresses the concerns of getting work permits and visas for expat or “international” staff.

“In PNG the potential for training national staff is huge!”

Uganda’s National Internship Programme

In April 2017 the MAF Flight Training Centre came to Mt Hagen for a three day assessment conducted by Roger and Lynn Edwards. This was the first time the Training Centre had run assessments in PNG. The goal was to identify local candidates with the potential for further training to fly for MAF.

A key aspect of the MAF Uganda training programme is the development of the National Internship Programme. This programme addresses the vision of MAF to help equip and develop local national staff—moving from “doing” to “enabling”.

Seven people applied and paid to go through the assessment. Some had no flying experience while others had either a Private Pilot Licence or Commercial Pilot Licence.

One of the challenges was managing candidate’s sometimes unrealistic expectations of their ability to be a pilot. It was surprising how many applicants didn’t seem to appreciate how much mental, intellectual, cultural, technical and non-technical aptitude is required to learn to fly. The first assessment was able to identify a candidate with the potential for further training.

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Training Captain Martin Zimmerman mentioned the satisfaction of seeing some of these pilots develop into strong assets for MAF, for example pilots that go on to become Country Directors.

MAF Uganda is currently training South Sudanese pilot, Dut Agwang (photo below). Training Captain Hansjoerg Schlatter commented, “It’s been amazing to see how Dut is doing. He has made good progress and is highly motivated”.

www.maf.org.nz

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SUPPORTING EDUCATION IN PNG Photo and story by Mandy Glass

Thanks to you MAF was able to fly urgently needed educational resources to the “lost generation” in a remote area of PNG recovering from 16 years of tribal conflict. MAF provides critical links for PNG communities to access education in a variety of ways; including carrying school supplies and national exams, transporting students during their holidays to and from school and flying construction supplies across mountains to build schools.

Getting Teachers to School

Getting Students to School

Glenda Giles, a teacher in Tekin, was needed in Vanimo to supervise the marking of the grade eight national exam, which is used for selection to grade nine in High Schools. The only way for Glenda to get to Vanimo was by MAF. Our Wewak based Airvan picked her up from Tekin, took her to Telefomin and then to Wewak, from where Glenda was able to continue with a commercial flight to Vanimo. On the same flight, she carried the school’s grade 10 exam papers with her, so that they could also be graded.

The number of students completing high school is rising, but the number of high schools close to their hometowns are few. The Min area, with Telefomin as its main centre, is desperately remote because there are almost no roads or other transportation infrastructures available by air. On one flight, Cessna Caravan pilot Mike Dupuis picked up high school students traveling back to the Regional High School in Telefomin to finish their last term of the year. These subsidised flights can save days and sometimes weeks of treacherous travel through miles of jungle.

Getting Learning Materials to School

Bringing Schools to Communities

In many remote places with no access to Wikipedia, Google or television many schools rely on books.

Limited funds are provided by the Department of Education, but schools still need to source teaching and learning equipment from other places—and find a way to get it where they are. Recently MAF made a huge difference simply by bringing a box full of books into Tekin. The students were so excited!

Flying materials to build additional classrooms for the Telefomin High School. Telefomin is a remote community centred around an airstrip. In just two days the MAF Caravan delivered more than 10 tonnes of building materials over a huge, steep group of mountains—a 14 minute flight. The materials included metal columns, beams, roofing sheets, plywood, nails and cement!

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.thanks! ..

Z N F A M t a s u From all of IN ALL OF THE BUSYNESS OF LIFE, we sometimes forget to say, “Thanks!” to all of you who keep MAF flying. None of our work would be possible without the prayers, efforts, help, volunteering and donations of people all across New Zealand.

Over the last two years we have been able to get behind MAF projects in some of the most remote and challenging places we fly. Together we flew educational resources to PNG (previous page) and supported projects like the ones below that provided critical “links in the chain”. As a result, thousands of lives have been changed and communities transformed!

MAF New Zealand was able to help fly severely disabled children in Mongolia to the capital city for urgent treatment. MAF partners with Reaching the Light to help children who have a wide variety of disabilities including cerebral palsy, speech and language delay, autism and Down’s syndrome.

Your donations and prayers helped bring peace to a situation in PNG where innocent people were being accused of Sanguma (translated as “sorcery” or “witchcraft”). MAF flew Nes and others to hold meetings that brought a Christian perspective to the situation and saved the lives of women and children.

Thanks to you MAF was able to fly visiting medical teams to the three floating hospital ships in Bangladesh which serve the poorest of the poor living along the river banks—and offer people who are otherwise completely devoid of access to basic healthcare the possibility of life-changing surgeries.

Two pilots and a small but dedicated staff serve MAF in Timor-Leste. In many cases MAF is the only option for medical evacuation (medevac) flights for Timorese people.

Your donations and prayers helped keep the life saving emergency medevacs flying in Timor-Leste going.

Together we helped people like Simon and his family in South Sudan who fled a devastating war. Many families were forced to flee from their homes, over 2 million forced to live in horrific conditions. Your prayers and gifts helped many during a particularly severe and overwhelming crisis.

www.maf.org.nz

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By Charlene Neale

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Art, Outreach & Dreaming in Arnhem Land

remer Island is a small peaceful island in the northeast corner of Arnhem Land. It takes just 10 minutes to fly there. Once there you’ll find around six small houses, an airstrip, a small boat and a car or two!

The island is inhabited by about 25 Rirratjingu, a clan of the Yolngu tribe. One elder from the clan had invited us—so a date was set to visit the island. MAF pilot Rhys Morrell, Fabio Zuglian (Pioneers) and Roger Latham (God’s Dreaming ministry) teamed up for the day’s outreach, not knowing what to expect. When they arrived it had been raining so the ladies were settled under the veranda, some weaving while others were gathering sticks. To break the ice Fabio joined in by attempting to weave. It’s not the norm for men to weave but it was certainly a way to connect with the ladies there.

The team took along a God’s Dreaming banner that was purchased by MAF. God’s Dreaming is a unique and effective tool for Indigenous Christians and others to reach their families and the nations with a creative expression of the Kingdom of God. The artistic nature of the project combines the Indigenous peoples’ natural connection to story and art with the message of redemption.

Lunchtime came so it was great that the team had brought along some sausages. As soon as the sausages came out all the men came out too! Among them was another leader of the clan, a man who had recently been in jail and a teenage boy.

The sun made an appearance so they rolled out the banner. Roger used it to tell the Bible story.

This isolated community in Arnhem Land heard about God’s forgiveness and love, and it was evident that the men were very interested. They were asked if they wanted a personal relationship with the Lord. When they said “Yes”, Roger led them in a prayer.

They had a real desire to put their lives back on track and this was just the beginning for them. Rhys, Fabio and Roger will continue to go back to encourage and support them.

The 20 metre God’s Dreaming banner tells the whole story of the Bible from creation. For those who can’t read or write, storytelling is a huge part of their communication.

To find out more about God’s Dreaming and related books, cards and resources, visit the website at: www.godsdreaming.org 12

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From Hamilton to PNG Everyone who joins MAF NZ goes through a transition as they prepare to give up much of what is familiar and go overseas. In order to address and prepare for the issues involved in making an effective transition to another culture, all full time MAF NZ staff attend a ten-day, live-in intensive course called Transition Training. Jonny and Glenys Watson and their four children attended the course in May. We asked about their experiences during Transition Training and what they learned as they prepare to leave a “normal” life in Hamilton to go to PNG with MAF. JONNY AND GLENYS: “One point Transition Training really emphasised was that in order to say “hello” well when we get to PNG, we need to say “goodbye” well to our friends, family and church here in New Zealand.

The way Missions Interlink helped us think about how we could prepare to “expect the unexpected” was worth the ten days alone!

Having our church commission us, pray for us and send us out (photo centre below) was an important part of us “leaving well”. Having MAF staff come to the event was also very encouraging.

Since completing Transition Training we have a much greater desire to learn both the culture and language as quickly as possible once we get to PNG. We know it won’t be easy but have decided that we will push ourselves to keep learning, even when tired or frustrated.

As part of “saying goodbye” as a family, we went with Katie, Alana, Danielle and Lucy to Rotorua to go luging! We wanted to make a special family memory to take with us to PNG (photos below).

We are feeling ready to go…but there is a lot still to do! At this point in our journey, we are focused on packing, sorting out what to take and what’s worth storing.

The children’s programme that our three oldest children attended was excellent. It covered similar topics as the adults, but in a way that children could understand and assimilate. They made “passports” and went to “visit” many different cultures. Then they reflected on their own culture and how they are feeling about leaving home and moving to another country. They were encouraged to think about how there are good things about every culture, which are not “better” or “worse”, but just different. It was really well done. We tried to catch up every day with them about what they had learned and took time to discuss questions that had been raised. It was great that our kids could share with others going through the same thing.

Overall our family has a sense of anticipation which outweighs any concerns we have about leaving.

Transition Training did raise questions about the reality of personal security and how different things will be, especially after living in Hamilton where we still sometimes leave the front door open. We won’t be able to get away with that in PNG! Lastly, we built strong friendships with all those who participated. Sharing ideas, thoughts, experiences and concerns with each other was invaluable and helped us feel that we are not going through this alone”.

www.maf.org.nz

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Making a Difference...

On the Ground!

Brett Nel’s Role in Arnhem Land We all know that MAF flies planes.

But, as we like to say, “MAF is actually all about people—and aircraft are a tool that allows us to reach them”. In both PNG (with Godfrey Sim in his role as Church and Community Partnership Manager) and in Arnhem Land there was a recognised need to co-ordinate and integrate the flying that MAF does with the ministry opportunities on the ground. In both cases, the goal is lasting transformation.

Photo: Arne Puggaard

New Zealander Brett Nel and his family have served for over 10 years in Arnhem Land. In 2012, MAF in Arnhem Land established a new role responsible for implementing an integral ministry plan.

After five years of MAF flying duties, Brett felt led to take on this challenge and help develop MAF Arnhem Land’s wider ministry focus.

The new role, originally called “Ministry Development and Orientation Coordinator”, was established when a number of areas were identified that needed to be addressed.

First, there was a need for a stronger link between MAF and Yolngu Christians, churches and ministries. Second, it was recognised that MAF should more effectively network and co-ordinate with other mission-minded individuals and organisations who were bringing God’s Kingdom to Arnhem Land.

Third, there was a need to co-ordinate more closely with MAF Technology Services to produce resources and tools that met

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Yolngu needs. Finally, it was felt that this role would enable MAF to more effectively mentor Yolngu Christian leaders.

The ministry plan also supports MAF sponsored programmes such as Kids Clubs, staff outreach events, church short term teams visiting Arnhem Land and evangelistic events supported by MAF. Over the years Brett has seen MAF staff become both more actively involved in working with local communities and partnering with others to bring lasting transformation to the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land.

MAF NZ’s (amazing)

WOMEN PILOTS

IN 1946 AMERICAN BETTY GREEN was the first female pilot to fly with MAF. Today MAF New Zealand leads the way in the number of female pilots per capita serving overseas.

Throughout the MAF world there are currently 9 female pilots. Of these, three are from New Zealand—with the fourth, Glenys (below) going in September and a possible fifth currently applying!

Lisa Curran: Chief Pilot in Arnhem Land. Lisa says; “No doubt about it, flying for MAF in any part of the world is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually demanding—and the work doesn’t change because you are a woman! Someone once said courage was feeling afraid but doing it anyway. I’ve had to “take courage” far more often than I would naturally like to when faced with inclement weather and a job that needs to get done. Whether male or female, dependence on God and “leaning your whole weight upon Him” is essential to the resilience, perseverance and tenacity required in remote and difficult parts of the world.

As Chief Pilot in a highly regulated industry the responsibility for Flight Standards and the operation is constant. In my tenure we have introduced many changes, including new types of aircraft and styles of operation. I really enjoy developing new pilots. For most of them our programme is their first flying job. With the skills they gain flying in Arnhem Land, many can move on to meet critical needs with MAF in other parts of the world”.

Glenys Watson: An experienced pilot (and wife and mother of four) is currently preparing to head to PNG.

Dallas Patten: Previously flew in Papua New Guinea but is now in South Sudan.

www.maf.org.nz

Mel Laird: Before joining MAF Mel was flying in Kaikoura. She is now flying in Arnhem Land, northern Australia.

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Meet Cameron–Volunteer Extraordinaire In his own words: “Moving to a remote town in the top end of the Northern Territory is not most eighteen year old’s idea of a fun couple of months. Nor is spending three weeks doing accounts in 30 degree heat. However, despite warnings of killer crocs and dangerous jellyfish, I moved to Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia to volunteer with MAF for the months of June and July. What I discovered is that it was not only much warmer than Wellington, but MAF are doing amazing work serving the indigenous (Yolngu) people of Arnhem Land through aviation.

It’s not until you arrive in Arnhem Land, and realise how remote it is, that you can get a sense of why planes are such a key part of life up there”. Willing to do just about anything to serve MAF, in this photo Cameron is happily sweeping the hangar floor. *For the full story of Cameron’s adventures in Arnhem Land go to our website: maf.org.nz

Goodbye to the Highams

Peter, Tiina and family have finished their time with MAF in Arnhem Land. Peter, who has been serving as the Technology Services and Communications Officer says, “We loved working with MAF and are only joining WEC because we believe God has another task for us to do as a family and He is leading us in a different direction.

Our Yolngu friends are coming to grips with the fact that we are leaving and there is a certain amount of sadness in the air. We plan at this stage to move to Senegal (West Africa). Our role there may be quite similar to what we have been doing here. Please pray that someone will take on my role of bringing technology to the Yolngu people”. Inset photo: Programme Manager Chris De’Ath prays for Peter and Tiina.

Introducing Isaac Foulkes, IT Specialist

Isaac has worked as a Lead System Engineer for the past two years supporting over 30 customers, both in their day-to-day IT needs and long term business requirements. Now Isaac feels that he has been called by God to serve and be involved in the vision of Mission Aviation Fellowship. He is working in Cairns helping MAF with their IT, computer networking, and file server needs.

MAF is an international Christian aviation organisation serving around 30 developing countries to reach people living in some of the world’s most isolated communities.

Operating more than 135 light aircraft, MAF flies into 2,500 remote destinations, transporting essential medical care, food and water supplies, relief teams and church workers enabling physical and spiritual care to reach countless thousands of people cut off due to formidable geographical barriers, natural disasters and political unrest. Flying for Life is the official magazine of Mission Aviation Fellowship NZ. Articles may be reprinted with acknowledgment.

MAF New Zealand PO Box 76502 Manukau City Auckland 2241

For our latest news or to donate visit: maf.org.nz or call us (toll free) 0800 87 85 88

Phone: 0800 87 85 88 Email: info@maf.org.nz Web: maf.org.nz Editor: Tim Houghton Layout and design: Tim Houghton Printing: Roe Printing