MAF Youth magazine #19

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air- born There are probably few situations that could be crazier than a baby being born on a plane but that’s exactly what happened while MAF Pilot Dennis Bergstrazer was mid-flight in Papua!

Deep in the mountains Ilaga is a small farming town that can be found in the mountain valley of central Papua and is home to members of the Dani tribe.

Being nearly 2,300 metres above sea level, it’s extremely remote and notoriously hard to find.

It doesn’t take much to realise the problems someone from Ilaga can run into with it being so isolated. Thankfully, however, the town has an airstrip on which MAF can land a plane — serving the community with whatever it needs.

Top // An old photo of a MAF pilot flying with Illaga in view below Middle // Baby Dennis just after he was born with Arida and Sister Yunita Bottom // Arida and company about to head for Timika hospital by car

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2½-MINUTE READ PHOTOS MARK + KELLY HEWES AND DENNIS BERGSTRAZER

It was already too late!

Back in May this year, Dennis Bergstrazer received a call asking if MAF could help a lady called Arida. She was in labour and needed to reach hospital urgently in the nearby town of Timika, on the coast.

Arida was helped on to the plane along with her partner Kerinus, their nurse, Sister Yunita, and a small number of other passengers.

With everyone on board, the flight was soon underway.

No-one could be sure how long the labour would last, so a sense of urgency hung over the flight. However, it was already too late!

Safe delivery ‘We got going and, about halfway back to Timika, I turned around and, sure enough, she was giving birth right and there. Fortunately, there was a nurse and she had everything that she needed,’ recalls Dennis.

The other passengers must have had the shock of their lives when Arida courageously gave birth. Amazingly, Sister Yunita delivered Arida and Kerinus’ little boy safely in mid-air.

As if nothing happened After Dennis landed the plane in Timika, the newly extended family and nurse jumped into a waiting car that carried them to the hospital where the staff would have been surprised to learn that all the hard work had already been done!

Even more mind-boggling was the fact that Arida left the plane unassisted, as if nothing had happened. You wouldn’t have known she’d just given birth!

Dennis MAF Wonda ‘It wasn’t long after that, that I heard they’d named the baby after me and MAF,’ said Dennis, ‘which is a real honour.’ Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time a baby’s been named after an MAF pilot.

Arida and Kerinus named their boy ‘Dennis MAF Wonda’.

So, the plane that had taken off from Ilaga with six passengers, landed in Timika with seven! As nerve-racking as the situation must have been, it’s for reasons like this that MAF serves in Papua — offering safe passage to those in urgent need.

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SOUT H S U DA N

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W H E N M A F Y O U T H M E T //

Jackson Mataya Jackson is an incredible guy who’s been through unimaginable difficulties in his life.

This interview below took place in Uganda with former MAF Global Communications Officers Mark and Kelly Hewes, Jackson Mataya, and his good friend, MAF Uganda Communications Officer Jill Vine.

Jackson had just sat his latest medical exams in Arua [3]. Home at that time was the Morobi refugee camp [2], where he was living among fellow South Sudanese orphans.

The interview occurred while Jackson was visiting Jill in the capital Kampala [4] – a trip that saw him take his first ever flight with MAF!

Jackson and his story Jackson: Hi, I’m Jackson Mataya. I was born in Kajo Keji [1] in South Sudan. My parents were killed during the war. I was about two years old when I contracted polio, [a crippling and potentially deadly infectious disease]. I became disabled and I was left with my grandparents. They became old and there was nobody to help at home, so, as I grew older, I had to do everything for

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3-MINUTE READ PHOTOS MARK + KELLY HEWES AND CLARE WISE DE WET

the family.

When I was 15, I was brought to an orphanage. I had nothing to walk with, so they gave me a wheelchair, but it got broken. Then Jill came to the orphanage and, with the help of MAF, they took the wheelchair frame to Kampala, repaired it, and brought it to me at my school.

When I was brought to the orphanage, I was able to finish primary school and also secondary school — I finished well! I then went home for two years before joining the medical school in Kajo Keji.

A gunman attacked the medical school and two of our students were killed*.

Soon after, those of us who survived were brought to Arua in Uganda.

Jill met me in 2013, then we had no contact for years. But, in 2017, she met me and then I was happy to see her and she…

Jill [interrupting]: I didn’t meet you, I had to find you! I found you! We didn’t just bump into each other!

Jackson [laughs]: Jill found me in our school in Arua and she organised it so I could visit her in Kampala.

What challenges did you face growing up having polio?

Why do you want to become a doctor?

Jill: When I met you, you were having to go to school without a wheelchair. Two and a half miles there and 2½ miles back, right?

Jackson: Most of my people really need help with healthcare. I want to offer a health service to treat folks and save their lives from all kinds of sicknesses. It’s painful seeing my people die of sicknesses that can be easily treated.

I have polio and that is a sickness that can be treated — although I didn’t have treatment. When I’ve finished studying, there’ll be no child that will have that same illness because I’ll be able to treat them and make them well.

Jackson: Yeah. When I joined my secondary school, it was really far. When I reached the school, after the lesson I’d have to come back. Sometimes, if I needed some learning material, I’d have to go back again.

You’ve gone through many difficulties in your life, how are you still so positive and happy?

What are your hopes for your studies and your future?

Jackson: I’d like to specialise in blood transfusion after finishing my studies, and also start a family. So, I’m praying those possibilities will be there for me.

After finishing my PhD, I don’t know how long I’ll have to stay in Morobi refugee camp. If South Sudan is not in a state of war, I will be working there. I pray that peace returns so I can go back and work there.

If there’s money, I’ll open a clinic on my own and manage it. I’ll employ people at the clinic to help the people in South Sudan.

Jackson: What made me be able to be strong was giving my life to Christ.

Everything became very simple after that.

Since I joined my school there have been real difficulties, but now they’re not keeping me down. Instead, they are giving me strength to do the things I need to do.

*These students were killed only a metre away from where Jackson lay

Main // Jackson and his wheelchair Left // Jackson, Jill and her husband and Greg beside MAF plane Above // Jackson onboard his first ever flight with MAF

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COUNTRY UGANDA CAPITAL KAMPALA POPULATION 40,853,749* MAF PROGRAMME EST 1987

*July 2018 statistic taken from the CIA World Factbook

Dave Waterman (Engineer) and Daniel Gransmaa (Engineering Intern) working on a flat tire, as pilot Ping watches at the airstrip in Uganda PHOTO DAVE FORNEY

FLYING FOR

C h r i s T mas S PHOTOS MATTIAS GLAS

Last Christmas (restrain pilots yourselves…) two MAF a took to the skies to visit unities number of bush comm in Papua New Guinea to irit. spread a little festive sp ing Mathias and Satish, donn iles, Santa hats and broad sm t with jumped into the cockpi Bible the hope of delivering kids in story picture books to s. The the surrounding village sin, books, written in Tok Pi hias’ were discovered by Mat wife Mandy.

The pilots caused an e excitable stir among th communities they visited ed and, although they wish ents they could’ve given pres went to everyone, the books — the down an absolute treat the kids were literally pulling s! books out of their hand

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PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! Frame your prayers this Christmas!

At Christmas, when things get a bit busy, praying can sometimes slip our minds. But we’d love you to pray for the people you’ve read about in this magazine as the festivities begin.

To help you remember, why not cut out their pictures (right), put them in a frame, and display them somewhere that catches your eye?

You can also use this idea for any prayers you are praying yourself!

Pray that God blesses Jackson’s ambition to become a fully qualified doctor and start a clinic in South Sudan.

He’s hoping to go to university to study for his PhD — ask that God will open the right door for him!

Pray that Mathew (you’ll meet him later in this mag) in Arnhem Land, Australia, will be able to provide for his family and will realise his identity as a child of God who is deeply loved.

Please pray for all MAF overseas staff this Christmas, whether they’re with their families in their home countries or serving overseas in various MAF programmes. Pray that, wherever they are based during the holidays, they’ll know God’s peace and rest.

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Survival in the bush

3-MINUTE READ PHOTOS HELLEN WAYAMBO, LUANNE CADD AND DIVYAN AHIMAZ

Arnhem Land?

Where on earth is that?

Arnhem Land is a fascinating part of the world that sits in the north-eastern corner of Australia’s Northern Territory. It’s a section of the country that’s dedicated to protecting the Aboriginal culture of the Yolŋu*, Australia’s original inhabitants.

Identity crisis Mathew’s story is an extreme example of how hopeless someone can feel living under these pressures. Mathew travelled about 124 miles to Yirrkala with his wife and their five-year-old son, but soon ran into trouble, which left him unable to return home.

*The 'ŋ' symbol creates the same sound as when you put an 'n' and a 'g' next to each other.'

Arnhem Land is nearly one-third the size of the UK and mostly covered by trees, shrubs and other natural vegetation — famously known as ‘the bush’.

Many Yolŋu communities live in Arnhem Land, with a great number of them separated by stretches of bush and other land-based barriers. This makes it difficult to get around on foot or by car, so the Yolŋu don’t usually travel far, unless they’re in a large group.

Unfortunately, because the Yolŋu live such an isolated existence, the need to travel is strong. Because of modern pressures, earning a living that’s enough to support a family generally forces them to travel further afield over tough terrain.

Anyone can relate to the feeling you get when you find yourself stranded somewhere unfamiliar. For Mathew and other Yolŋu, your identity is tied up with your homeland community. Missing home desperately, he ended up scraping by in Yirrkala for six very long months.

Mathew felt as if he was losing his identity and, after spending half a year totally dependent on his relatives, he fell into a deep depression.

Main // A desert airstrip in Arnhem Land Left // Francis Wayambo with Mathew and his family (censored) Top // The Wayambo family Above // Francis Wayambos

Believed to see him alive

Saved from ending it all Francis Wayambo, a Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, works for MAF. He moved with his family from Papua New Guinea to Yirrkala two years ago.

The Wayambo family, who are well-loved among the Yolŋu community, have formed some incredible relationships with the people there.

One Sunday morning, as Francis was getting ready to go to church, his daughter came running to him. She had seen a young man walking into the bush carrying a rope.

Aware of the recent increase in local suicides, Francis ran after him. He found the man in the nick of time and stopped him from hanging himself from a tree.

It was Mathew, who had reached an alltime low.

Francis hugged him and took him out for lunch. After praying with him, Francis felt God was urging him to take Mathew back to his original home.

This would mean having to drive for six gruelling hours on a dusty gravel track. Also, in Yolŋu culture, a promised action has to be carried out immediately so, if Francis was to make good his promise and commit to helping, he’d have to make the trip that day!

So Francis, his wife Hellen and Mathew’s uncle hopped in the car to drive Mathew, his wife and son home again. His relatives, who’d heard about his attempt at taking his life, were relieved to have him back safely.

Pure compassion Feeling isolated and disconnected can take a heavy toll on people, so we thank God for Francis and his daughter, who spotted Mathew before it was too late.

Later, reflecting on the whole experience, Francis said, ‘It doesn’t matter that I’ve left my country to come serve and work here with the Yolŋu. Without love for my Yolŋu brothers and sisters, all this amounts to nothing. We are called to show love to one another, just as God sent His beloved son to die on the cross.’

How amazing it is to know that we have such a compassionate man working for MAF and among the Yolŋu community.

If you feel like you want to chat to someone about some of the issues raised in this article, contact the ‘Shout’ support line by texting ‘SHOUT’ to 85258 any time, day or night.

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