October 8, 2021

Local Nonprofit Featured in Documentary Coming to Treasure Valley Theaters on October 18 and 21

NAMPA, Idaho – Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), a global nonprofit Christian organization based in Nampa, is the subject of an inspirational documentary titled, ENDS OF THE EARTH. The movie will be released in 700 theaters nationwide and will be shown in local theaters on October 18 and 21.

The film shares true stories about the lengths MAF pilots and others go to in serving the most isolated people around the world. The documentary, which explores faith, the passion to help others, and how hope emerges from tragedy, was written to challenge and inspire audiences to consider serving the deepest needs of others, whether it is around the globe or right next door.

ENDS OF THE EARTH will be shown locally at the Village Cinema 15 and Cinemark Majestic Cinemas 18, in Meridian, and the Regal Boise Stadium 22. The film will also be released to churches throughout Idaho on the same day as the theatrical release.

Watch the trailer for ENDS OF THE EARTH here

“We believe that every follower of Christ should have a passion for missions,” said Mission Aviation Fellowship President and CEO David Holsten. “Some will be called to go, others will be called to use their gifts to support, and all are called to pray that people will accept the life-changing salvation that comes through Jesus Christ.”

Chris Burgess, MAF’s creative director, is hoping the movie will inspire people to reach out to others. “Maybe that will mean that some people do go overseas and they give their lives to actual missions work. Maybe that means they’ll be involved in some way here supporting that work, or maybe that means that they will cross the street and show the love of Christ to a neighbor.”

The movie includes inspirational messages from Dr. Mark Jobe, president of Moody Bible Institute, and David Platt, church leader and author of Radical.

MAF’s key partners in making and distributing this movie include Fathom Events, Collide Media Group and Change Media.

Mission Aviation Fellowship (www.maf.org) was founded in 1945 by WWII pilots who had a vision for using aviation to spread the gospel. Since that time, MAF has grown to a global family of organizations serving in 37 countries across Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Indonesia, and Latin America, supporting the work of missionaries, Bible translators, and relief and humanitarian agencies around the world. MAF’s U.S. headquarters is in Nampa, Idaho.

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For artwork/photos related to ENDS OF THE EARTH visit the Fathom Events press site.

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On March 22 and March 23, MAF pilot Grant Strugnell flew a Cessna 206 with LFDS nurses and vaccines to Labekeng and Kuebunyane clinics to vaccinate clinic and community health care workers. Approximately 140 workers were vaccinated in Labekeng and 60 in Kuebunyane with the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been used exclusively in Lesotho.

Due to limited supply of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Lesotho government has prioritized vaccinations for frontline health care workers and clinic staff as they work to acquire additional vaccines for the entire population.

MAF pilot Grant Strugnell said they are very pleased to be participating in the vaccination effort.

“MAF is very grateful for the initiative shown by the government, and our close partner, the Lesotho Flying Doctors Service. They have done a great job in working out the logistics, and MAF has been very pleased to be able to assist with the transport to a few of the harder to reach clinics,” said Strugnell.

With decades of experience safely transporting vaccines, medical supplies, and medical personnel in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, MAF is ideally positioned to assist in “last-mile delivery” of COVID-19 vaccines. During disease outbreaks, including the most recent Ebola epidemic in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, MAF uses cold-chain protocols to assure that vaccines are kept at proper temperatures.

In February, MAF delivered vaccines to remote areas of Kalimantan, Indonesia. The organization expects to be involved in additional COVID-19 vaccine flights as vaccination programs roll out in the remote areas where MAF works.

MAF has been serving in Lesotho since 1978 and is supported by five missionary staff families and 13 local staff. MAF uses four Cessna TU206G airplanes that are based in Maseru.

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Indonesian Search and Rescue divers later confirmed that Joyce did not survive the accident. The MAF staff in Papua and Jakarta are working with authorities on the investigation of the accident.

Joyce is survived by her parents and two sisters. Prayers for her family in this time of sudden loss are appreciated, as well as prayers for the MAF Papua team that worked by her side.

Joyce loved working for MAF in Indonesia, where she served as a pilot and field IT support specialist. Though she was there just two years—one in Central Java for language school and another in Sentani—her impact was significant. Joyce repeatedly shared how joy-filled she was in the weeks before she went to join the Lord.

The final sentence of Joyce’s MAF biography reads, “While Joyce will always be excited to fly planes and work on computers, she is most excited to share the love of Jesus Christ by helping to transform other people’s deep discouragement and mourning into dancing and joy.”

Joyce was a light reflecting Jesus, and she will be deeply missed.

Information about Joyce and her journey to MAF can be found here: https://www.maf.org/lin

A tribute to Joyce and her ministry and life is being developed and will be online in the very near future. Information on her memorial services will be forthcoming.

The post MAF Family Grieving for Pilot Lost in Accident appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

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Did you know that 2020 marks MAF’s 75th anniversary? This year we’re going to be looking back, at God’s faithfulness, and looking forward in anticipation of how he’ll use this ministry in the years to come.

David Holsten, MAF’s President and CEO, sums it up nicely in this video. We hope you’ll be blessed by his message, and let it remind you of your part in this ministry. After all, none if it would be possible without the partnership of people like you. We are so grateful.

The post Celebrating 75 Years! appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

At MAF, we know that we can’t do what we do without you. So whether you supported through time, through prayer, or through your finances, thank you for a wonderful 2019! #iflyMAF

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BUNIA, Democratic Republic of the Congo – Violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has caused thousands of displaced people to flood the city of Bunia, where two makeshift refugee camps have sprung up.

According to Jon Cadd, program manager with Christian organization Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) in eastern DRC, the camps lack enough food and shelter for all the refugees. A small group of local Christians is attempting to feed the hungry, and MAF has provided rice, beans, maize meal, and cooking oil, but it’s just a drop in the bucket.

“There are over 100,000 IDPs (internally displaced people) in Bunia now,” said Cadd. “The big humanitarian organizations are still assessing the situation and organizing things to come, so there is still no food coming into the camp other than what the Bunia Christians are giving out. Today there were two bags of rice at the storage tent when we got there. We were able to purchase a 300-liter cooking pot at the market along with 30 more bags of rice to keep them going.”

Shelter for the displaced Congolese people is also in short supply. MAF reports refugees are constructing tent frames by tying together stalks of thick grass, but the camps have run out of tarps for the makeshift shelters, leaving thousands of people exposed to the rainy-season weather.

The crisis is expected to grow as people in eastern DRC are forced to flee their homes and villages. The MAF team heard of 41 civilians killed along the Lake Albert shoreline north of Tchomia. Many people are trying to flee by boat to Uganda, but this week one of the overloaded boats capsized and 10 people drowned.

Cadd said some of the refugees who reach Bunia are injured but medical care is not available. “There is a tent where the wounded are being placed but no medical work is going on and it’s hot beyond reason and feels very unhealthy. We saw people with machete wounds to the head, including a one-year-old who was cut across the face … and a little eight- or nine- year-old girl cut across the back of her neck.”

These injured families had not eaten in four days, so the MAF team decided to do a little extra for them.

“We got 10 tarps, five local cooking stoves called babulas, some pots, plates and cups, as well as food, and were able to give it to them personally so they didn’t have to wait in the long lines. When you can’t help everyone it feels like the little we are doing is useless in the scheme of things. But as it rained in the evening, we knew that at least 10 more families were not out in the rain and had food to eat,” said Cadd.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world, and is frequently troubled by violence. According to The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), in January 2018 more than 4.5 million people were displaced inside the country. Lack of roads and infrastructure, as well as political uncertainty, contribute to the insecurity.

Mission Aviation Fellowship www.maf.org is a global agency that has been operating in the DRC since 1961. Serving with seven aircraft from bases in Nyankunde, Bunia, Lubumbashi, and Kinshasa, MAF supports the work of medical teams, mission groups, development agencies and others seeking to share the gospel and improve conditions in isolated parts of the DRC. Worldwide, MAF serves in 37 countries with more than 125 airplanes.

If you would like to donate towards this crisis please give here: http://www.maf.org/edrc-refugee-crisis

The post Refugee Crisis Escalates In Eastern DRC appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

A resurgence of violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has caused thousands of displaced people to flood the city of Bunia, where a makeshift refugee camp has sprung up.

According to Jon Cadd, East DRC program manager with Mission Aviation Fellowship, “There are now 44,397 people registered at the camp with more coming all the time. There are so many people they are starting another camp outside of town to the north.”

In addition, many refugees are staying with family and friends in Bunia and nearby. The mother of one MAF staff member has 32 relatives staying in her small house. Cadd said that a local Congolese Christian volunteer group is trying to help with food
and clothing for the refugees, but they are unable to meet the needs. Cooking pots and food preparation items are scarce. The camp has also run out of the tarps that people use to construct makeshift tents.

MAF’s Disaster Response department has allocated funds to provide food for the refugee camp. On Wednesday, March 7, MAF conducted three flights for people wanting to leave the area, and returned to Bunia with rice, maize meal, beans, and oil. In Bunia
they purchased 1,200 plates and 1,150 cups. MAF is partnering with the Christian volunteer group mentioned above—operated by Rev. Bingi—to distribute the food and supplies.

“They were down to their last bag of rice and last six bags of maize meal,” said Cadd. “It felt like we were able to really make a difference in these peoples’ lives. But it is still a drop in the bucket for the 45,000 people there and the rest that are
with family and friends.”

Please join MAF as we pray for the people affected by this crisis. Pray that this rounds of violence in EDR will cease. Pray for solutions to the issues underlying the crisis.

The post Refugee Crisis In Eastern DRC appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

MOUNT HAGEN, Papua New Guinea – March 7, 2018 – Shortly after midnight on March 7, 2018, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Papua New Guinea, just 19 miles southwest of the epicenter of last week’s 7.5 quake.

Mission Aviation Fellowship continues to provide radio communication as well as airplane transportation to remote areas that have been devastated by the disaster. MAF has been delivering food, water, tarps (for shelter), and other necessary supplies,
as well as conducting medical evacuations. MAF staff in PNG report …

• Approximately 1,400 people are camped at the Dodomona airstrip with another 100 expected to arrive in the next day or so.
• Extreme caution needs to be taken near the riverbanks due to the risk of mudslides and flooding.
• Two community houses in Dodomona, which could host 150 people each, collapsed. Thankfully no one was injured.
• In the Dodomona/Fuma area, the river is full of mud. Thousands of logs are holding it back, but if the logs give way then the village of Fuma may be at risk.
• More houses are reported to have fallen down in Muluma and Bosavi, with more landslides. Many people are coming to Muluma from the villages, so it is becoming a camp for people looking for food and water.

Thank you for praying for healing in Papua New Guinea.

The post MAF disaster relief work continues following second major earthquake in PNG appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

MOUNT HAGEN, Papua New Guinea – Feb. 27, 2018 — Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has mobilized its disaster response team to provide assistance following a devastating earthquake in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Monday morning, Feb. 26, the southern highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG) experienced a 7.5 earthquake that caused many landslides and damaged roads, structures, power lines and communication systems. The ground continues to shake from powerful aftershocks.

Mission Aviation Fellowship and its associated ministry, Christian Radio Missionary Fellowship (CRMF), have been serving the people of PNG since the early 1950s from bases at Mt. Hagen, Goroka, Kawito, Kiunga (Rumginae), Madang, Tari, Wewak, and Telefomin/Tabubil. MAF operates flight services to remote and isolated communities, while CRMF provides radio communication, computing, solar lighting, digital audio bibles and other technology services.

Following the quake, MAF has received many requests for medical evacuation flights. MAF has also been doing fly-overs to check on remote communities, and on Tuesday, Feb. 28, carried PNG disaster officials on an extensive aerial survey.

While telephones are not working in many places, the CRMF’s radio network is still up and running and people can use it to call for medical assistance. The MAF/CRMF team is also passing along information about problems such as damaged air strips, road closures, and damage to clinics, schools and other important buildings.

MAF’s 150 staff in PNG are safe. Some MAF facilities and houses experienced minor damage, such as broken dishes and damage to water systems.

Mission Aviation Fellowship is a global family of organizations that uses aviation and technology to share the gospel and make life better for people in remote parts of the Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region. In times of crisis, MAF’s disaster response team can mobilize quickly so that aid gets to those in need. Most recently, MAF has responded to Hurricanes Irma and Maria in the Caribbean, Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, and earthquakes that devastated Nepal in 2015.

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