By Jeanelle Reider

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COMMISSIONED

On July 15, 2022, something happened to transcend tragedy.

More than two years earlier, an MAF Kodiak aircraft, along with its pilot, Joyce Lin, had crashed into Lake Sentani in Papua, Indonesia. No one can know why God, in His loving and perfect plan, allowed such a catastrophe. For MAF and all who knew Joyce, the fatal accident remains a heartbreak and a mystery.

On July 15, PK-MJL—the Kodiak replacement aircraft affectionately nicknamed “Miss Joyce Lin”—was commissioned for service in Sentani. As MAF staff formed a prayerful circle around the Kodiak, they knew the event’s significance extended far beyond the airplane itself. It extended to them.

Joyce was clear-eyed in her purpose with MAF. She said, “While I will always be excited to fly planes and work on computers, I am most excited to share the love of Jesus Christ by helping to transform other people’s discouragement and mourning into dancing and joy.”

Through PK-MJL, her legacy of love will continue.

READY FOR SERVICE!

PK-MJL’s journey to Papua began with generous funding from MAF partners who shared Joyce’s vision and wanted to carry it further. Once purchased, the Kodiak spent two years at MAF’s headquarters in Nampa, Idaho, getting retrofitted for the field and waiting for import permissions. It was then ferried to Sentani where it cleared customs in record time! The airplane was then prepped with its new PK-MJL registration and some small modifications and stood ready to join the MAF Papua fleet.

FIRST FLIGHTS

PK-MJL’s first passenger flights, conducted on July 18 by MAF pilots Dave Ringenberg and Tom Bolser, carried MAF missionary kids (MKs). Linda Ringenberg, Dave’s wife, said, “We hope that being the first passengers in this plane will inspire them to live a life that’s sold out for God like Joyce did.”

The next day, PK-MJL flew its first mission flight. This flight, and the ones in the weeks that followed, represented a beautiful cross section of the many ways this tool will be used to carry on Joyce’s legacy.

PK-MJL brought a photographer and others to the village of Nalca for the purpose of chronicling the work of Dr. Atik and the Siloam Clinic.

MORE TO COME!

We’re excited to see how God will keep using PK-MJL to speak His love to the people of Papua. You’ll be hearing more as the story unfolds!

And each time you hear of new ways Joyce’s legacy lives on, we hope you know how grateful we are for compassionate partners like you whose prayers and generosity help make it all possible.

The post A Kodiak Named PK-MJL 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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Matt will lead MAF’s IT efforts in Africa, overseeing IT infrastructure, VSAT terminals, servers, cyber security, solar systems, laptops, and more.

“We had good careers, making good money,” said Matt. “I would have laughed if someone told me I would become a missionary.”

Right out of high school, Matt started working for a tech company and eventually worked his way into the U.S. Department of Defense as a private cloud administrator.

Beth joined the Navy after high school and served as a linguist, transitioning into the Department of Defense as an instructor. They met at Fort Meade in Maryland and married two years later.

With two daughters, the youngest only a year old, Beth accepted a position at the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, Austria. While stationed there, the family had the opportunity to travel and it was on a trip to Africa that Beth first felt God’s call to mission work.

But neither Matt nor Beth were ready yet. God still had work to do.

Several years later, after returning to the U.S., a friend happened to mention MAF, because he had flown on MAF airplanes as a missionary kid in New Guinea.

Beth encouraged Matt to look into MAF, which he eventually did. “I looked at their website and thought they were really cool, flying airplanes. But when I looked at their requirements for a pilot, I thought to myself that this is a whole different career.”

Matt said God kept putting it into his heart to look at the website again. Reluctantly, he did, and this time he saw a banner on the page: ‘Seeking IT Specialists.’

The next day, they called MAF, and in 2021 they officially joined the ministry.

During candidacy classes at MAF, the Wisches learned that IT staff had been praying for six years for the right person to manage the IT work in Africa.

Beth noted that it was six years earlier that God began to stir their hearts to serve people in Africa!

Today, the Wisches are thrilled to be on a new career path as MAF missionaries. They are now raising support to head to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they will be based.

Matt and Beth are looking for financial and prayer partners to join their team. Learn more about them at maf.org/wisch.

This story appeared in the Vol. 2 2022 edition of FlightWatch. Read the entire issue here:

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Now, more than 75 years after the start of MAF’s ministry, its aircraft have changed dramatically. But one thing that has not changed is MAF’s mission*—to share the love of Jesus Christ so that isolated people will be physically and spiritually transformed.

The Beginnings (1945 – 1965)

Fabric-covered airplanes like the Piper Cruiser, Piper Pacer, and the Stinson Voyager helped start the earliest programs, in Mexico and Central and South America. These light aircraft served remote jungle outposts where western missionary families were bringing the gospel to remote tribes. MAF pilot Nate Saint was passionate about reaching one tribe in particular—one that was feared as a “tribe of killers.” In 1948, he wrote to his parents that he expected the airplane would play a part in reaching them with the gospel.

His prediction proved true. In January 1956, Saint landed a bright yellow Piper Family Cruiser on a sandbar nicknamed Palm Beach, along the Curaray River. Initially, he and four other missionaries had friendly interactions with members of the feared Waorani. But then, days later, the world learned of the five men’s martyrdom at the hands of the tribe.

Far from slowing down the dream of those early WWII pilots, this incident catapulted the idea of missionary aviation across the globe. As a result, young Christians caught the vision of using airplanes to reach the lost—and MAF grew rapidly.

The Growing Years (1965 – 1990)

As MAF moved from fabric-covered to aluminum aircraft, small Cessna aircraft became the workhorses of the day.

In Indonesia, Cessna 185s and 206s served western missionaries and local evangelists in hard-to-reach areas, and the gospel continued to spread. These new birds nearly doubled the range and load of those earlier aircraft and opened more doors for physical healing, education, community development, and disaster relief to reach isolated people.

A second-generation MAF pilot, Dick Parrott, son of MAF founder/former president Grady Parrott, recalls opening the West Kalimantan, Indonesia, program in 1969 with a brand new C185, PK-MCB, that came to be known as “Charlie Brown.” As the sole pilot/mechanic on the program at the time, Dick was responsible for fixing and flying the airplane.

Of course, other pilots and airplanes followed, and the program expanded to East Kalimantan (now North Kalimantan) and, later, Central Kalimantan. Those small Cessnas brought physical healing to isolated people through a partnership with a Baptist mission hospital, and they enabled the training of 100,000 Dyak Christians through a theological education program. MAF also served a C&MA Bible school there.

A few years ago, when Dick learned that Charlie Brown was going to be removed from service, he was surprised.

“I was amazed that it was still in operation,” said Dick. “You know, MAF does a great job keeping their equipment operational.”

Over in Papua, Indonesia, MAF was continuing to serve western missionaries who were working on Bible translations. Along with the small Cessna airplanes, MAF introduced another aircraft to its fleet in 1976, the helicopter. This new tool helped missionaries survey still-unreached areas and allowed them to live remotely until an airstrip could be built.

Recent Years (1990s – 2020)

In more recent years, MAF introduced larger, more complex turbine-engine aircraft to its fleet—Cessna Caravans, Quest Kodiaks, and a PC-12. These brought another big jump in range and load capabilities, plus advanced technology that increased safety and efficiency. And, they use jet fuel, verses aviation gasoline (Avgas), which is more readily available overseas.

In March 2016, an MAF Caravan landed at the Todro airstrip in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It carried MAF staff, SIL missionaries and local dignitaries who had come to celebrate the completion of the Logoti-language New Testament—a project that moved forward with MAF’s help through years of war and insecurity.

MAF’s service spans multiple decades when it comes to bringing the gospel to a remote people group, serving missionaries working on a translation, delivering completed Bibles, and supporting local churches.

These decades of service typically represent multiple aircraft as well—the right aircraft for the job.

But no matter the airplane make, model, or size, each one serves a kingdom purpose—to reach isolated people with the love of Jesus Christ. And each one is meticulously maintained thanks to the support of people like you who have stood with us through the years; people who still believe that the airplane can play a part in introducing people to the gospel.

*When this story was written, we were still using our old vision and mission statements. In 2021 we rephrased them slightly, though the intent is the same.  You can see them here. 

The post Changing Airplanes, Unchanging Mission appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

By Jennifer Wolf

“The pilot went full throttle and we were rolling down the runway. My heart started beating fast and I wanted to be up front doing that, experiencing that over and over again,” said Rickson Poki, describing the first time he flew on a commercial aircraft, when he was a preschooler.

Rickson, or “Ricky,” as most people call him, comes from Papua New Guinea (PNG) and is one of several foreign staff members who have spent time at MAF’s headquarters in Nampa, Idaho, to further their flight or maintenance training.

Whether it happens at an overseas flight program or here in the U.S., MAF is deeply committed to building the capacity and talent of local teammates in the developing countries where we serve.

“There is a big need and MAF leadership sees a lot of potential in the national staff around the world,” said MAF flight instructor Erick Paradizo, who is working with foreign pilots like Ricky.

These are pilots who joined MAF overseas in some other capacity—administration, maintenance, or another role—and haven’t flown for a few years. That was true of Ricky, who served for three years as an executive assistant to the MAF PNG country director. Part of Erick’s role is to give pilots like Ricky more experience, increase their flight hours to meet MAF’s requirement, teach MAF’s standards, and prepare them to serve on the field.

Foreign staff come to MAF headquarters to further their training, but it’s much more than that. There’s quite a bit of mentoring involved.

“I think it is important to help provide the wisdom and guidance that they need,” Erick added. “So before every lesson, we spend time in prayer. We make our Lord and Savior the first thing of the day and we glorify and praise Him for the good things He has done.”

Ricky went through ground classes with Erick before he began flying with him.

“When we started, Erick got to know me—what I found easy or what helped me learn. So just going through ground class, we’ve actually bonded really well. I see him as an instructor but I also see him as a friend, a big brother, a mentor.”

Following the Call

“Throughout school, I just felt that calling, deep down inside,” Ricky said as he finished the story of where his desire to be a pilot came from. “That passion still is there. I can’t explain it sometimes.”

After graduating from flight school in the Philippines, Ricky discovered YouTube videos showing MAF in action.

“As I was looking at MAF, it nailed two things that I really wanted because I have a heart to serve people. That’s just in me,” Ricky said. “And flying is something I love. And I thought, if I could serve my people in the way MAF does and end up flying at the same time, that would be like killing two birds with one stone.”

While Ricky continues his flight training with Erick, he’ll be working toward passing MAF’s Technical Evaluation and then Standardization. When he passes, God willing, he’ll likely serve at an MAF-US program until he builds up enough flight hours to qualify to serve in PNG (which has a higher hour requirement).

“My ultimate goal at this stage is surrendering to the Lord and to see what he has in store for me,” Ricky said. “If it is to fly, I would like to be an encouragement to my people and to children who want to do this and serve God in this capacity.”

“For me, the purpose is to follow the calling that the Lord has for me. He’s called me to fly. It’s going to be that way.”

Empowered to Serve

Knowing that the pilots he has trained are now serving with MAF back in their own countries, or in other countries, Erick feels he’s been part of their journey to the mission field.

“It feels like I’m going with them, wherever they’re going,” Erick said. “And I just love seeing them serving the Lord in different parts of the world.”

Since October 2020 Erick has trained one pilot each from Ecuador, the Netherlands, Indonesia, and now, PNG.

“In the places that we serve, you see people with the heart of Christ who really want to glorify the Lord and use their skills and talents in their own country, to help their own people,” Erick said. “It’s important for us here at MAF to empower the nationals and give them the tools they need to accomplish the mission of bringing help, hope and healing to isolated people.”

A Look at Foreign Staff Studying in the U.S.

Some foreign staff don’t have the ability to obtain certification or licenses in their own country, either because the cost is prohibitive or it’s just not offered there. One solution is to bring them to a school in the U.S. This year four of MAF’s national staff members are pursing pilot or mechanic training.

Zacharie François
After obtaining his Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certificate from the School of Missionary Aviation Technology (SMAT) in 2018/2019, Zacharie François has returned this fall to start his flight training. He is the first foreign student admitted to the flight program. And, he’s the first certified Haitian maintenance specialist on the MAF Haiti program. Prior to that he served in an apprentice role. You can read an earlier story about Zacharie’s dream to be an MAF pilot at maf.org/zach.

Waren Lelewa
Waren Lelewa and his family arrived in Waynesboro, VA, in early August. Waren is continuing his studies towards a U.S. A&P certificate at Blue Ridge Community College. He has completed three semesters worth of theory online, and now needs to complete his practical labs and Basic Electricity. Waren is an apprentice mechanic with MAF Papua (Indonesia). He’s served with MAF since December 2014, starting in the warehouse, becoming head of the warehouse, and then moving into the hangar for the last 4.5 years.

Mantlibi Mafa
As part of her automotive maintenance schooling in Lesotho, in southern Africa, Mantlibi Mafa acquired an internship with MAF in the capital city of Maseru. After she graduated, MAF Lesotho called her for odd jobs and then asked her to come on permanently as an apprentice aircraft mechanic in 2017. After a delay due to the pandemic, she’s started her classes this fall at SMAT to receive an A&P certificate. You can see an earlier video of Mantlibi at maf.org/mantlibi.

Juan Antonio Rivera
Growing up in a missionary family in the remote mountains of southern Mexico, Juan Antonio and his family collaborated with MAF. Eventually, his father became country director for Alas de Socorro Mexico (ADS), as MAF is known in Latin America. As a teenager, Juan Antonio started doing projects with ADS and today he and his wife, Amy, are in Michigan. Juan Antonio is attending SMAT and working towards an A&P certificate, which is a one-year program.

This story and sidebar appeared in the fall 2021 edition of FlightWatch. Read the full issue here:

The post Where Passion and Preparation Meet appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Story by Matthew and Carolyn Monson

The aircraft 7P-CMC has had a persistent fuel leak since we arrived in Lesotho seven years ago. Despite multiple attempts to fix the issue, the leak remained hidden. We knew that removing the wing was necessary to get to the root of the problem, but we never found the opportunity due to our heavy workload—until now.

As the government continues to struggle with finances in this COVID-19 environment, our flight hours are lower than normal. This season of lockdown has times of frustration and discouragement, as we long for what was and what is missing. Yet, in that struggle, God is near, and He is strengthening and growing us as we walk in faith. Without this slower season, we may have gone another seven years with this fuel problem in the wing. Instead, our maintenance team asked, “What new opportunities has God given us?” In this case it was the gift of time. We were able to address the deeper issues that take time to uncover—in the planes and in our own hearts.

In Isaiah 41 we see God renewing the strength of those who are walking and not fainting. As life has slowed down and we’ve reconnected as a family unit through these 12 months of lockdown, we’ve addressed hidden fears and anxieties and learned to navigate the many challenges of 2020 (and into 2021). Like a tiny rivet, “small” unaddressed issues in our hearts will fester until we deal with them. It has been a season of not fainting, as the Lord speaks truth into the broken places within. It’s fall now (in Lesotho) and we feel a new hope as we walk in our Lord’s strength alone.

At the time of this posting, the Monsons are making their way to the U.S. to begin their long-overdue furlough. Prayers for this are appreciated. 

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The sick woman was not well enough to sit in the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) airplane, so pilot Joyce Lin helped her to the floor, tightened the straps to secure her for the flight, and began to pray. Tears welled and her voice cracked as she struggled through the prayer. But these were not tears of sadness—they were tears of hope.

This was a special moment for Joyce.

Joyce took off from the Wamena airstrip, high in the mountains of Papua, Indonesia, and flew the woman to the larger city of Sentani to receive medical care. This was MAF’s first medical evacuation flight since the COVID-19 lockdown.

It was also Joyce’s first-ever medevac flight.

And it marked a momentous step in Joyce’s journey.

A Long Obedience

After earning two degrees in engineering from MIT followed by a decade-long career as an officer in the U.S. Air Force and in private-sector cybersecurity, Joyce felt led to Christian ministry, so she enrolled at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. While in seminary, she discovered missionary aviation and traveled to Papua, Indonesia, for a summer internship with MAF.

“[Ten] years ago, I left Papua convinced I should pursue mission aviation,” Joyce said in a 2019 newsletter. “But there were no guarantees I would actually be able to get to this point.”

Joyce had earned her private pilot license while at MIT, but still needed an instrument rating, a commercial pilot license, and months of training to meet MAF’s standards. She was dealing with back issues and unsure if she would be healthy enough to serve in Indonesia long-term. But “the doors never closed, and every hurdle was cleared.”

“I am thankful to every flight instructor, every friend, and every medical person who contributed in a myriad of ways to help me over those hurdles,” Joyce said. “I am thankful to God, who gave me a vision of what my future would look like and who was steadfastly faithful to keep me on the path that led me [to Papua].”

Living A Dream

She arrived at her new home at the MAF base in Sentani as an MAF pilot and IT specialist, and quickly became a key part of the team. She began by flying essential supplies to isolated villages and helping complete a years-long fiber cabling project to support MAF’s IT work in Papua. And just as quickly, her care for her teammates and the people she served left a lasting impact.

Each morning, Joyce would make the “long” commute from her home to her office—which entailed walking out her front door, crossing the street, and opening the doors to the MAF offices at the Sentani airport. She would settle into her desk and get to work. For Joyce, these daily rhythms carried a weight that transcended the work itself. Her desk was not just a desk.

“This is my desk, where I do IT work,” Joyce said. “It is also the place where God has been working on my sanctification, one day at a time.”

In this far-flung corner of the world, Joyce Lin was living her dream.

“I’m privileged to be serving the many churches and missionaries in Papua who continue to reach out to isolated villages so that people can be both physically and spiritually transformed,” Joyce said.

“Anyone who knew Joyce recognized that she was extremely dedicated. That showed up most in her commitment to being used by God and sharing His love with others, especially those less fortunate. She was extremely generous, giving of herself and her treasures selflessly,” said Brock Larson, regional director of MAF Indonesia and Joyce’s teammate.

“Joyce embodied so much of what we love to see in MAF staff,” said David Holsten, president and CEO of MAF. “She was invested in the local culture, but she maintained a deep connection to her family, friends, and supporters around the world. She was professional in her IT work and in her flying. She was a dedicated teammate and well-loved by those she served.”

Joyce played a vital role in supporting the work of the missionaries, local believers, and communities deep in this rugged landscape. As COVID-19 forced Papua into lockdown, Joyce and her MAF teammates continued to find ways to serve. Joyce found reasons to be thankful even in this unprecedented challenge.

“It may sound strange, but these trying times have enhanced my feeling of purpose here in Papua,” Joyce said in an email update on May 6.  “With every flight I see first-hand how MAF is connecting isolated villages with vital supplies and medical care. This can’t be taken for granted in normal times, but especially now with all of the travel restrictions, the people remind us how thankful they are every time an airplane is able to land in their village.”

“We Don’t Mourn as Those Who Have No Hope”

On May 12, 2020 at 6:27 a.m., Joyce took off from Sentani in an MAF Kodiak—a plane she had dreamed of flying since learning about mission aviation. Her cabin was filled with school supplies and COVID-19 rapid test kits, which she was delivering to a remote village.

In that moment, soaring through the beautiful Papuan sky, Joyce was doing exactly what God had called her to.

From a seminary campus on the other side of the world where she first discovered her calling, to countless training flights in Idaho, to visits with churches across the country, to hours spent in prayer, and finally to arriving in Sentani—God walked with her each step of her journey.

Two minutes into her flight, Joyce sent out a distress call.

Later, a search and rescue team recovered her body from Lake Sentani.

But Joyce wasn’t there.

She was where she had always been—in the arms of her Savior.

Hope Worth Sharing

Joyce saw the impact the gospel had made in Papua. The transformation happening in isolated communities scattered across this vast island was evident to her.

“The presence of God has given [the Papuan] people hope, a real hope that I share.”

And she carried that hope with her whether she was touching down on a remote airstrip or settling into her IT desk.

“Just two days before she went to be with the Lord, she shared how she was living her dream,” said Brock. “Her years of effort following God’s calling were being rewarded and rewarding others daily. Joyce was a light reflecting Jesus, and she will be deeply missed.”

Joyce’s road to MAF was a long one and it was filled with challenges. But Joyce was always able to see past hardships to the hope that lay beyond them.

“I am most grateful to personally know God, who has never forsaken me in my lowest times (as there have been many) and has repeatedly turned “mourning into dancing” (Ps 30:11) in ways I could not have brought about on my own,” Joyce said. “While I will always be excited to fly planes and work on computers, I am most excited to share the love of Jesus Christ by helping to transform other people’s deep discouragement and mourning into dancing and joy.”

As we mourn for Joyce, our tears, though tinged with sadness, are the same tears Joyce wept over the sick woman in her airplane—tears of hope.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Joyce Lin Memorial Fund, which will enable MAF to train Indonesian national staff in more technically advanced skills like maintaining and flying aircraft. The family will be informed of any donations made to the memorial fund. Cards and messages of condolence can be sent to the family via Derwood Bible Church, Attn: Lin Family, 16011 Chieftain Avenue, Derwood, MD 20855 or emailed to office@derwoodbiblechurch.org.

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Allan Bagge was flying his airplane in northern Idaho in 1987 when he tragically crashed—he did not survive.

Lois, Allan’s wife, was determined to honor her husband and bring closure to his death.

“My mom wanted to fund an MAF airplane,” Ronn Bagge explained recently to a room full of donors, staff, and mission partners at a recent event at MAF headquarters. “MAF was very responsive and gracious to my mom as they met with her and understood what she wanted to do.”

Lois gave a gift to MAF and by 1989, a Cessna U206G had been acquired and was being used in Venezuela.

This first gift was the beginning of the Bagge family’s relationship with MAF–the first generation of supporters from this family. Ronn picked up the baton next, and hopes his own sons and daughter will also catch the vision of partnering with MAF.

Rolland Trempert, MAF’s director of Aviation Safety/Quality, was surprised to hear Ronn speak at MAF. The Bagge family had donated the very plane he flew in Venezuela.

“I remember seeing the plaque on the glove box, with the name “Bagge” on it,” said Rolland. “It was a somewhat unusual name, so, memorable.”

Rolland did field training with four new pilots in that plane who each eventually were able to fly solo and go on to serve at the program.

“Since much of our ministry was direct missions support, we carried LOTS of cargo. The airplane could carry 100Kg more (25%) than the program’s C185s,” said Rolland. “It was a big improvement in the ability to meet the need.”

That airplane was used in Venezuela from 1989-2005 with a total of about 10,000 flight hours. When the program closed at the request of the government, the aircraft was used for recruiting purposes in the Midwest. Then it was sold to an ex-MAF staff member in the Portland/Vancouver area, who makes it available to future mission pilots so they can gain experience flying a C206 before they serve overseas.

God took one gift, born out of tragedy, and used it for good—to bring Christ’s love to isolated people, train pilots, and inspire giving across multiple generations of one family.

The post Giving Through Generations appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Here is another complex jumble of the fascinating (and confusing) acronyms—courtesy of Tim Dyk, supervisor of the avionics department at MAF headquarters. They describe the new systems that were added at headquarters to an MAF airplane that serves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):

TAS—“Traffic Advisory System”—Actively interrogates other aircraft to determine where there may be conflicts in order to avoid collisions. (This is extremely important coming in to busy airports that do not have radar air traffic control, which is the case in some developing countries where MAF flight programs exist).

TAWS-B—“Terrain Awareness Warning System”—The topography of the entire world, as well as tall buildings and towers, is built into the memory of this device. By predicting where the aircraft will be if the current flight path is continued, it will warn the pilot before it gets too close to any terrain or tall structures.

ADS-B—“Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast”—A civil aviation requirement for small aircraft as well as airlines when flying in controlled airspace or other congested areas. This broadcasts and receives the positions and flight plans of all nearby aircraft in order meet the requirements of minimal separation.

V2Track—(AFFS, Automatic Flight Following Service)—This uses GPS position and broadcasts aircraft flight data to the people who perform flight following by using either cell phone or Iridium satellite connections. It can also use Bluetooth wireless to connect data from a cockpit iPad to SMS text or websites.

PFD/MFD—Primary Flight Display and Multi-function Display—These displays have the entire world in memory, including roads, rivers, airports, and air traffic control frequencies, along with all navigation aids. This state of the art technology replaces ALL of the old instruments in the panel! (The PFD/MFD has no moving parts, and eliminates the need for mechanical gyros and back-up sources of vacuum to run them!)

While much of this might be over the heads of those of us who are non-aviators—these technical upgrades make a real difference to MAF’s ministry.

“The airplane is truly a joy to fly and has been working nonstop since she returned to Congo after the avionics upgrade,” said Nick Frey, program manager at MAF’s West DRC program. “It is really reinforcing that MAF cares about its people, pilots, and passengers and that we’re willing to do the work to make sure the mission propels forward to Gods glory.”

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Time after time I was amazed at the team’s level of thought that had gone into being prepared for some of the worst imaginable scenarios. We went through the various “go kits” that allow someone to get out the door quickly with the necessities for basic living and to organize a response as soon as feet hit the ground. I was able to receive some hands-on experience with the communications equipment available to keep a response moving forward when cellular towers and internet service is down. We examined past responses and how partnerships were formed, chaos was turned into order, and amazing things were accomplished. We also discussed what lessons were learned so that things could be improved upon for the next time. Always there was the caveat: just because something worked a certain way in one situation does not mean it will work that way in the next. Because of this, the Disaster Response team has gone far beyond the motto, “Always Be Prepared,” and stressed the importance of always being flexible. In day-to-day life, we like to have a Plan B, but in disaster response one must be okay with moving on to Plan C, Plan D, etc. I learned that it is not always about having the right answers, but being able to ask the right questions and change course as necessary.

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