By Jennifer Wolf

At the Nate Saint House in Shell, Ecuador, I was trying not to panic as I texted my co-worker, Lem: “I can’t find that cloth purse that has my wallet and passport in it!”

I knew I had it with me when we stopped for lunch on the drive from Quito. Did I leave it in the restroom at the restaurant? Maybe I had hung it on the door.

“What if I left it at the restaurant?” I texted again. The restaurant was two hours away.

“That could be a problem,” he messaged back from the other guest house—the original MAF hangar that had been converted into a family home.

We would only be in Ecuador for a week, to do interviews with key partners and staff so we could share about the impact the MAF team is having here. Would it even be possible to replace a passport in that amount of time?

It was stressful enough traveling internationally, not being able to communicate in the local language, relying on others for help, and now, losing my passport!

I looked everywhere in my apartment. Where could it be? I sent a message to the gal whose father had driven us to Shell, thinking maybe I left it in his car.

But I must have had it when we arrived at the MAF property around 5 p.m., because I had my phone with me now, and I had been keeping that in the purse too.

What am I doing, thinking I can travel across the world like this? I’m not cut out for this, my panicked thoughts swirled.

The enemy was wielding an ugly sword trying to cut me down.

I was already feeling muddleheaded after a full day of travel the day before, arriving in Quito just past midnight. Then, a four-plus hour car ride to Shell, starting at 10 that morning. I was running on five hours of sleep.

Even my excitement over discovering that I would be staying at the Nate Saint house had started to wane just a bit. The constant traffic on the main two-lane road through town droned on just outside my windows. I realized my idea of a small, quaint base with a quiet street running through it was a bit outdated—like 75 years outdated! The MAF team had recently celebrated that milestone anniversary.

I blame all the vintage MAF photos I’ve seen, and the current snapshots that can’t show the whole picture.

But I was here and excited, for the most part. Surely, I would feel better after a good night’s rest. But what about this passport issue? It was 9 o’clock in the evening at this point. I felt the panic rising, so I did the most logical thing …

“Father God, this is really bad. I cannot find my passport! I’ve looked everywhere and I just don’t know where it is. Please help me! In Jesus’ name.”

Nothing fancy, just desperate.

A split second later, He put this thought in my head—front porch.

I raced down the stairs with the old, frayed carpet, past the radio room and the original kitchen—where five wives had received the worst news—unlocked and threw open the front door.

There, resting on an emerald-green bench on the front porch, was my colorful purse with my wallet and passport inside.

It made sense now. Lem and I had sat there while he connected my phone to the MAF internet before we had each gone to our lodgings. I had pulled my phone out of the purse and set it next to me.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jesus! You’re so good to me, my quieted heart sang.

Bugs danced around the streetlights and cars and trucks buzzed by the chain-link fence out front as I turned and ran back inside, bolting the front door behind me.

Lighter now, I jogged back up the steps to the apartment.

An old window with stick-on words and an image of a bird hung on the wall across from the kitchen. It held new meaning to me now in this place that holds so much history. It read:

His eye is on the sparrow
and I know He loves me.

I knew there was a Bible verse related to this but couldn’t remember where it was. So I Googled and found it:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? 
And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 
But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31, ESV).

At the same time, some videos popped up, and I learned there was a hymn. I played different versions until I found one or two favorites, and then I listened to them over and over again.

God has His eye on me. He had His eye on my passport. He cares about the minute details that matter to me—and you.

He’s always with me, always sees me, always loves me … even when I’m far from home.

The post <strong>Of Sparrows and Lost Things</strong> appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Limpho (pronounced Dim po) is a baby girl who was born with a severe cleft lip. It was so extreme that it reached vertically up her right cheek, up to her eye. Her operation would not be a simple one—neither was getting the South African doctors to agree on where to start—Limpho’s lip or eye. Their indecision delayed the process and caused Hlalefang, the mother, to worry about her child even more. She wanted what was best for her daughter, so she could have a chance at a normal life.

The little Cessna 206 was glad she was able to help with some of those doctor visits, by taking Hlalefang and Limpho from their isolated mountain village of Bobete in the Thaba Tseka district of Lesotho to the capital of Maseru. And from there, the pair traveled the rest of the way by ambulance.

Finally, on April 8, 7P-CMH rejoiced to see mother and daughter approaching on the tarmac at Maseru. Ten months old now, Limpho’s face was bandaged and swollen, so CMH knew she had received the long-awaited life-changing surgery. The little airplane rejoiced that she was able to return mother and daughter home, where Limpho could continue to heal.

Every week, 7P-CMH travels into Lesotho’s mountains to retrieve patients and bring them to the capital city for further treatment, oftentimes saving a life—or in Limpho’s case, changing a life.

You can adopt this airplane through a one-time or monthly recurring gift. By partnering with MAF and 7P-CMH you will help change lives, like Limpho’s, and bring hope to Lesotho’s mountain communities.

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In March MAF’s Cessna Caravan 9Q-CMP had the wonderful privilege of flying for two New Testament dedications in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

9Q-CMP spent several days transporting church leaders and other guests to and from the villages of Todro and Isiro for the dedication ceremonies of the Bible being translated into the Logo and Mayogo languages.

The MAF East DRC program has supported the work of the Bible translators for many years—taking them into and out of these very remote places. Some of the MAF staff were able to attend the Logo celebration and said it was a true highlight, “for MAF… for God’s glory and Name!”

Now the Logo and Mayogo people will have God’s Word and the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their heart language. Think of the transformation that will happen in their lives because of this!

Did you know you can adopt 9Q-CMP through a one-time or monthly recurring gift? Your support of this airplane will help make flights like these possible and enable work that is making an eternal impact.

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“We are trying to reach the Koti people, and it is in their own language that they respond to the Gospel,” said the local translator working in Angoche, Mozambique.

Recently John Iseminger, of The Seed Company, was on MAF’s C9-AAL, a Cessna 206. The Seed Company is funding and managing the Bible translation program and John was traveling to Angoche to encourage the team, check on their progress, and make plans for the year ahead.

John has been working in Mozambique, overseeing the Koti translation work, for the last 20 years. While he doesn’t always get to fly with MAF, he appreciates it when he does. “It’s the best way to get around,” he explained. “It’s time efficient. It’s cost efficient.”

There was an unexpected benefit of MAF starting-up in the country shortly after John arrived there. He says trying to do a language survey and mapping out the area was difficult. “One of the questions that the mappers would ask us was, ‘Where’s the border? Where does this language group end and where does the other one start?’

“Well, all we had to do was get up in the air!” said John. “Flying has really helped to get perspective and see what people are living with and dealing with. You can’t see that stuff on the ground.”

John went on to say that the group should be done with the Koti-language New Testament in about two years.

While Bible translation is a long process, C9-AAL is happy to speed things along whenever she has the opportunity. By adopting this airplane you, too, can play a supporting role in flights like this and many others that bring hope to the people of Mozambique. All it takes is a one-time or monthly recurring gift to make C9-AAL part of your family.

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Lately, the MAF Cessna Caravan 9Q-CMO has sensed that her flights encompass the full cycle of life—from beginning to end. Two recent flights serve as examples of this.

MAF pilot Kevin Spann recently received his “checkout” in the Caravan, which means he can now fly the airplane solo and land at any number of airstrips throughout the vast country of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He says his checkout couldn’t have come at a better time.

Usually, flights are so long that a pilot will do one leg out and then one leg back per day. But on this particular day, Kevin fit in two complete flights—two polar opposites, as far as the reason for each flight.

The first one was to take the body of a recently deceased man, and his family, back to his home village. Several thousand people waited for the arrival of the airplane, ready to mourn for this man.

On the second flight, Kevin brought an MAF family out to the mission hospital in Vanga to get ready for the birth of their fourth child—the first MAF expat baby to be born in-country in 18 years. (It’s a girl, by the way!)

“It was an honor to pray with my passengers before takeoff on each trip, as they were going through a significant life event,” said Kevin.

Life is precious, and God has called MAF families and 9Q-CMO to serve people during many of life’s significant events—good or bad, happy or sad.

Would you like to help 9Q-CMO be there for Congolese people in their time of need? You can adopt this airplane with a one-time or monthly recurring gift and play a role in life events happening throughout the DRC.

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MAF KODIAK PK-MEA is very busy serving the people of Papua, Indonesia. Looking back at one of the MAF pilots’ flight logs shows a variety of ways she has served.

One day she was called for a medevac flight, to pick up a child in Nipsan village who had a piece of wood stuck in his eye. She flew to the village and whisked him away to get medical care. He has healed well after receiving medical treatment in Wamena.

In December she brought a Pioneers missionary couple back to the Nalca area where they had served for so many years before. They spent Christmas with the local churches there and encouraged the people in their Kingdom work.

PK-MEA also helped train one of the new MAF pilots so he could get “checked out” at the remote villages of Sumtamon, Paro, and Kenyam, which means the pilot can now fly by himself and safely land or takeoff at these three villages. The new pilot flew PK-MEA along with the chief pilot and together they tackled each day’s schedule, handling medical evacuations, church flights, or general community flights.

On another day the KODIAK took a load of building materials and food supplies to Soba. From there, she traveled to Obukain where she picked up a missionary family. Then there was a stop to pick up six adults and two babies at Welarek before the airplane continued on to Sentani.

Whew! As you can see, PK-MEA gets a lot done on any given day. From training pilots to helping people stay healthy to transporting missionaries, villagers, and basic necessities.

Did you know you can adopt this KODIAK with a one-time or monthly recurring gift? By doing so you’ll play an important role in sharing Christ’s love with the Papuan people through this airplane.

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Your adopted airplane, the Cessna 185 floatplane, PK-MCB or “Charlie Brown,” has not been doing anything particularly glamorous lately, but what he has been doing is necessary in order to be an effective and safe ministry tool. And while he may not have enjoyed it too much, a major inspection was in order.

Charlie Brown’s wings were opened up and ailerons were removed (the flaps on the rear of the wings). Special attention was paid to the cabin area, the fuselage. Even his tail area with its pulleys and cables got a checkup.

The control cables were replaced. These connect the pilot’s steering yoke to the actual control surfaces on the airplane. And a patch of corrosion was fixed. This involved cutting out a section of the “skin” of the airplane and patching it up with a brand new skin. The team changed out the engine starter and even gave Charlie Brown a brand new pilot’s seat!

While time consuming and detailed work, it’s crucial to keeping him in the best shape possible. So when the emergency call comes or a pastor wants to reach a village that needs to hear about Jesus, Charlie Brown will be ready to go.

Along with the all of this maintenance work, the floating hangar had to get ready for a major government inspection. The Palangkaraya hangar is in the process of being registered as a private MAF water base, or airport, for float planes. This will enable MAF to meet government regulations and allow flights from this base well into the future.

So whether it’s maintaining the airplanes, or ensuring that the hangar meets all the necessary requirements, your support is a huge help.Thank you for adopting and caring for Charlie Brown, so he can carry hope to the people of Central Kalimantan.

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If there is one thing that can be said about our life here in Nyankunde, it is that there is always something to be fixed. These past few months we have had to replace multiple parts of a turbine engine in a plane, split the tractor in half and replace the transmission case, rebuild two chain saws, put up more solar panels, swap two engines in our land cruisers, clean eight carburetors, rebuild a motorcycle engine, weld countless broken parts on everything that moves, and much more that I cannot remember.

If you are wondering at this point how I was trained for these things, the answer is that I wasn’t. Each day is a challenge and a new adventure. With a little bit of courage and a lot of tools, everything that breaks can eventually be fixed. Google and Youtube are your best friends when knowledge fails.

The truth is that every small thing that is fixed is another piece of the big story that God is weaving together here in Congo, for His glory. Even the chain saw will be used to process lumber from the forest in the village of Itendey to build new hospital wards bringing the blessing of healthcare.

Thank you to every one who gives and prays so that Dave and other pilot/mechanics and maintenance specialists can serve in this vital way. 

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MAF pilot Danny Hulls answered the emergency call from the remote village of Bobete, Lesotho, to transport a gunshot victim to the big hospital in Maseru. The flight manifest listed the man’s name as Tlohelang. But in fact, he gave one of five names depending on who was asking: one for his family, one for the hospital, one for the police, and so on. This man was no stranger to trouble.

His enemies had wanted revenge and fired at him as he tried to flee one of his many crimes, hitting him in the stomach and leaving him for dead … or so they thought. The man and his family, and many others in the mountains of Lesotho, appear to take this Old Testament law to heart:

…an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whatever anyone does to injure another person must be paid back in kind (Leviticus 24:20b, NLT).

While Tlohelang was being treated at the hospital, Sefiri, the MAF chaplain in Lesotho, visited him. A Basotho man himself who also grew up in the mountains, Sefiri understands the cycle of revenge that exists there.

Sefiri shared with the man about salvation and forgiveness and the idea of reconciliation. The man could not fathom forgiving those who had wronged him. It was a completely foreign concept to him, and many other Basotho people. He still wanted revenge. But Sefiri kept visiting and told him his own story of finding Christ and returning to his own mountain village to ask for forgiveness from his family.

Finally, a glimmer of light started to pierce the man’s heart.

“I want to build peace with everybody,” he told Sefiri, “but I don’t know how to start. I’m too far from that, and everybody is my enemy.”

“He thought he was too sinful, that nothing good could come of him,” explained Sefiri. “I told him, ‘As long as you’re still alive, it’s not too late!’ ”

Messengers of Peace

Tlohelang desires a different kind of life, one governed by peace. So he asked if Sefiri would come with him to his village to help him reconcile with the people he has wronged—as well as convince his family, who all want revenge, too!

Sefiri has a burden, an urgency even, to see this man’s life transformed by the power of Christ and to change the deadly pattern of revenge among the Basotho people. His heart aligns with the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians:

And God has given us the privilege of urging everyone to come into his favor and be reconciled to him (2 Cor. 5:18b, (TLB)

“People reject you, not knowing they need Christ. It’s something that we as Christians need to think about,” said Sefiri. “This man is willing to forgive. He’s willing to reconcile. He’s willing to take a step to make peace.”

At the time of this writing, it was still unknown whether this man was able to reconcile with his enemies. Because of you, MAF staff like Sefiri are able to introduce the radical concepts of Christ’s grace and forgiveness to the people of Lesotho.

Join us in praying for hearts mired in revenge to break free from the chains of darkness and find the light that leads to life (John 8:12, NLT).

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