By: Chris Burgess.

Fred lives in Arizona and is a former Marine aviator who served multiple tours in Vietnam. He greatly supports the work of MAF and other Christian organizations. I had the pleasure of talking with Fred, and he shared why he chose to support MAF through charitable gift annuities (CGAs).

We are so thankful for Fred and the many people like him who are reaching isolated people with Christ’s love through MAF. MAF’s work would not be possible without the support of people like Fred.

MAF: Why do you support MAF?

Fred: I have two sons who, years ago, were both Journeyman missionaries with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. One served in the Philippines and the other in Botswana and Zimbabwe. Both sons used MAF regularly. Whenever I visited them, I had the chance to observe MAF’s work. I am an aviator and have a love for aviation, so MAF really stood out to me. Later, when I was able to give, I wanted to support MAF because they were doing the Lord’s work around the world.

MAF: Why do you give through a CGA and not just cash donations?

Fred: When I started giving, I did not have a lot of money, but I wanted to support several organizations—12 at the time—just giving a little money to each. I thought, ‘This is okay, but I am not giving a lot.’ I prayed through the best way that I could steward my money and felt that if I cut down to a few organizations, it would make more of a difference. So I went from 12 to 4—MAF was one of them.

Someone at MAF mentioned a charitable gift annuity and that I could receive fixed payments for my gift, so I looked into that. I ended up setting up a CGA, and I give the money I receive from it back to MAF for another annuity at the end of each year. I consider myself a “pipe” or a “conduit.” I get the money from the annuity on one side and enjoy looking at it as it goes out the other side to MAF.

I’ve done this for 11 years, so over time my giving through CGAs has grown into a good sum through the miracle of compounding interest.

MAF: What would you tell others who are considering a CGA?

Fred: It is so satisfying to collect the money on one side and then give it on the other. I have loved supporting MAF and the other three organizations and watching my giving grow each year. Next year, because of the interest, I hope to be able to give $100,000 to MAF in exchange for another charitable gift annuity.

I love how MAF works and love being able to support this ministry in this way.

Are you considering a charitable gift annuity? It not only provides you with stable payments for the rest of your life, it contributes to MAF’s work of sharing the love of Jesus with isolated people around the world. Visit maf.org/cga to request your free, no-obligation illustration showing you the increased benefits you can receive from a charitable gift annuity.

And now, if you make your gift by June 30, the gift annuity rates will be an estimated 0.3% to 0.5% higher than they will be beginning July 1.

The post Donor Spotlight: A Conversation with Fred appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

When the missionaries arrived they were astonished by what they found. The local people believed in impulsive spirits who ruled over every aspect of their daily lives. They lived in fear. Any omen could be disastrous.

The locals initially thought the missionaries were gods and prepared animal sacrifices.

“Friends, why are you doing this?” the missionaries declared. “We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

This account is from Acts 14 when Paul and Barnabas entered the city of Lystra in ancient Galatia. The people of Lystra were living in fear under the goddess Agdistis and thought Paul and Barnabas were Zeus and Hermes sent to rescue them.

FROM ANCIENT GALATIA TO MODERN PAPUA

While this situation seems strange to modern readers, accounts like these are not unheard of in the places MAF serves—places where the message of the gospel is just breaking through.

“This describes many people living in Papua, Indonesia,” said David Holsten, MAF’s president and CEO, who spent 17 years in Indonesia. “The people are living in bondage to fear, war, anxiety, and superstition. They have no hope.”

The bondage they are living under is not simply metaphorical. The real-life implications of such spiritual oppression are often brutal.

“We would starve with our fields full of crops,” recounted one Indonesian pastor. “If we walked to a field and a bird flew across our path in a certain direction, we wouldn’t go because we believed
it was a sign that something bad was going to happen. We would starve to death with food in sight.”

In some tribes, the accounts are even more disturbing. Missionaries in Papua tell of mothers giving birth to twins—a very bad omen in many parts of the world. After birth, the mothers would literally stomp one of the children to death to avoid a curse.

Such superstitions, tribal warfare, and revenge killings are still a way of life in places the gospel has not been introduced.

OVERCOMING BARRIERS

Places like Papua—while undoubtedly not known by the early church—are what Jesus was talking about when he commanded his followers to go to the ends of the earth. But many of those places are hard to reach.

The island of New Guinea (where Papua is located) boasts a mountain range of over 16,000 feet— higher by far than any mountain in the lower 48 states. In contrast, the lowlands are covered by thick jungles and swamps teeming with malaria and dengue fever. Little to no infrastructure exists, making travel extremely difficult.

MAF airplanes are often the only bridge between communities in the vast interior of the island and the outside world. Medical care, educational opportunities, food, and supplies for community development arrive to these remote villages on MAF airplanes.

And these small airplanes are the means by which missionaries and local evangelists can reach these isolated people with the message of the gospel. “The gospel that Jesus brings is a message of freedom,” said David.

MAF has partnered with missionaries in Mokndoma and, in recent years, helped the community open an airstrip. The people of this village have heartily accepted the freedom Jesus brings and it shows in tangible ways. It shows in the way husbands respect and honor their wives. It shows in the carefree play of the children. It shows when an injured villager uses a Band-Aid rather than cutting herself to rid the “bad blood.”

If you were to climb up on a ridge near the village of Mokndoma, you would find yourself looking across a steep valley to see another village on the opposite side. The people of this village—only a three-minute flight away—have not yet accepted the message of hope. Life there is very different than life in Mokndoma.

It is a situation not unfamiliar to the early apostles in Galatia, Judea, and Samaria, and it is not unfamiliar to missionaries serving in isolated places around the world today. Your support of MAF makes it possible for that to change.

Paul’s message to the Galatians—the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ—stills rings out: “So you are no longer a slave, but a child of God … It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”

Story ran in the November 2019 issue of FlightWatch. Read the entire issue here:

The post No Longer Slaves appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

There is a village high in the mountains of Papua, Indonesia, called “Apahapsili.”

The name has several different meanings to the Yali people who live there, but today it most closely means “the place where we are uncovered by God.” Because of the gospel, the Yali who were hidden behind the mountain were found by God.

But “Apahapsili” didn’t always mean this.

Not long ago the word meant something very, very different.

Everything Changed
The Yali people group—numbering around 100,000—lived entirely cut off from the outside world for generations. But life was far from idyllic for the Yali.

“We didn’t know anything about the outside world,” said Unus Walilo, an older Yali man and pastor of the local church (GKII). “We didn’t know there were people beyond the mountains. We lived in the stone age—killing each other, eating our enemies. We didn’t know any life different than that.”

Back then the village’s name was understood to mean “the place where we take the skin from our enemies and eat them.”

On September 10, 1965, after MAF pilots had discovered the Yali people while doing survey flights, the first outsiders arrived in Apahapsili.

“I still remember the day, when the missionary with local pastors arrived here,” said Unus. “It made a big impact.”

This first contact began a decades-long process of learning the language and the culture of the Yali and launching a joint effort with them to translate the Bible into their language. This process would not be fully completed until 2018.

The Word Comes to the Yali
Siegfried Zoellner and Friedrich Tometten, German missionaries from the United Evangelical Mission, have worked very closely with Yali translators. The initial focus of the translators was the New Testament, which was completed and printed in 1988. A few years later they began work on the Old Testament. An abridged version of the Old Testament was completed in 1998—but the Yali wanted more.

“When I came back to the village in 2006,” said Friedrich, “the Yali told us they wanted to complete the Old Testament. I asked what was missing and they said, ‘the genealogies.’ This was strange for me, but I learned a lot from them about the meaning of all these lists and various parts of the Bible.

“They said the Old Testament is their story—it is the story of their own lives.”

The process of translating the Bible into any language is lengthy, but for the Yali it was particularly challenging. One Yali word can have about 1,000 forms. This process required collaboration between the German translators who were fluent in biblical Greek and Hebrew and a team of Yali translators who were the experts in their own language.

“We didn’t only want to hear the word of the Lord in other languages, we needed to hear and read it in our mother tongue,” said Unus. “It is really a privilege to have the Bible in our own language.”

“Speaking on behalf of the other Yali women, we really love to read the Bible in our language. It nurtures us,” said Antje Faluk, the youngest female member of the translation team. “Some of the women have memorized entire chapters and know many of the Psalms by heart.”

The Yali were eager for the Bible to be completed. This work transformed the entire people group in so many ways. This once-violent group now looks to educate their children not in warfare but in reading and writing. They band together not to fight their enemies but to raise funds to construct a church building.

For the Yali, the story of the Bible is “our story; it is the story of God looking for us; it is His love seeking us.”

A Lifeline for the Yali
MAF played a key role in this entire process—from locating the Yali to supporting the missionaries working there, to delivering Bibles and supporting the entire community in so many ways.

“MAF is a lifeline for people living interior in isolated places like Apahapsili,” said Jeremiah Hartin, an MAF pilot in Papua. “We carry in not only Bibles, but also food, supplies like roofing material or medicine. We provide transportation for people as well. As a pilot, it feels very satisfying to know that I am playing a small part, but it is a significant link in the chain of what God is doing.”

MAF’s role is recognized both by the missionaries and the Yali themselves.

“All that we are doing here could not happen without the support of MAF,” said Paulina Wandik, another female Yali translator.

A New Beginning
When an MAF team recently landed in Apahapsili, they were greeted with an elaborate ceremony of dancing and singing. This ceremony explained the history of the Yali. They tell how they were found by God, laid down their arrows and spears, and took up His Word.

The community that once devoured its enemies now lives in peace—with each other and with their Creator. And their story is far from over.

As Yali evangelists chat with Friedrich and the MAF team about how life in Apahapsili has changed, a young boy walks up and sits at their feet. The older Yali people look on him with pride and affection.

“We are looking to the future,” says Paulina. “We hope our children get the best education possible. They will learn more than we have ever learned. Maybe they will be able to go to school in Indonesia, Germany, or even America.”

Someday in a faraway classroom, a student might say to his instructor, “I come from a place called Apahapsili. Let me tell you what that means.”

Story appeared in the spring 2019 issue of FlightWatch.

The post The Place We Are Found appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Sometimes change happens gradually. Bible translations take years. Breaking the stronghold of spiritual oppression can take generations.

But there are times when transformation can be seen immediately.

Such is the case when an MAF airplane is finally able to touch down on a new airstrip.

One day a village is totally cut off from the outside world—the next, medical care, education, Bibles, and the hope of the Gospel are within reach.

Around the world, MAF works with partners and isolated people to open and maintain airstrips so that transformation can happen in remote places.

Here are just a few of the many new airstrips being completed.

Itende, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

When the Folmers, a Dutch couple, both doctors, along with their children, moved from Nyankunde to the village of Itende to serve at a mission hospital, they needed a way for MAF to reach them—to receive supplies, medevac flights, and an evacuation option for the family in case of tribal fighting.

Itende’s existing airstrip contained buried mines from wars that had ravaged the region. The only thing to be done was to build a new airstrip.

The MAF team in eastern DRC arranged to get a new airstrip cut out of the forest. After much work the airstrip is nearing completion and soon MAF airplanes will be able to reach Itende and support the lifesaving work the Folmers are doing there.

Kwegono, Papua

Construction began on the Kwegono airstrip high in the mountains of Papua seven years ago.

“They had to basically flatten a ridge,” said Daniel Perez, an MAF pilot. “Which makes for spectacular views but tricky winds blow across it later on in the day.”

This airstrip is a 20-minute flight from the town of Wamena, crossing some of the most rugged terrain on the island with jagged peaks topping 14,000 feet.

“There has been significant persecution of the church in this area and we have been in conversation with one of the local church denominations who have expressed a great desire for ministry here,” said Daniel. “We are excited to be partnering with them to encourage these persecuted people.”

Daniel and Kees Janse, the MAF chief pilot in Papua, made the first landing at Kwegono, officially opening the airstrip in March of this year.

Micaune, Mozambique

The trek into Micaune is rough. The only “road” is just open during the six-month dry season—but even then, making it to your destination is not guaranteed. Public transportation—a combination of boats, ferries, and 4×4 vehicles—is unreliable at best.

Bible translators expressed the need for a working airstrip there—which would open the doors for these missionaries and their families, both with young children, to move to this area knowing they could be evacuated in case of a medical emergency.

When MAF pilot Grady Nace accompanied one of the Bible translators to visit Micaune, he found that the only airstrip there was in poor shape.

“It was an old colonial airstrip that had been abandoned years before,” said Grady. “The regulo (local traditional leader) said he thinks it has been around 50 years since an airplane has landed there.”

The airstrip was overgrown with trees, bushes, and huge termite mounds, and had been rutted up by a large herd of cattle that grazed on it.

“We hired around 200 local people to clear the strip using only handheld tools—chopping down and digging out trees, excavating termite mounds,” said Grady. “All in all, the local people worked really hard and seemed to take ownership of the airstrip.”

This airstrip will allow MAF to support these missionaries and their Bible translation work that will be happening there, along with medical needs that might arise.

La Source, Haiti

Getting to the village of La Source (pronounced “La Suess”) was quite the journey from the capital city of Port-au-Prince before the airstrip was built—hours on the choppy seas, followed by hours on an ATV (or longer by a bigger vehicle.)

But that is about to change.

“We are so excited to report that First Baptist Church in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, partnered with the local people and have nearly completed construction on an airstrip in La Source,” said MAF pilot David Harms.

MAF will be able to deliver help in half an hour.

“The pastor we are working with said many in the community have not been able to visit a doctor for several years,” said Dave Simon, another MAF pilot in Haiti who surveyed the airstrip after traveling there via an ATV. “I am very hopeful for the potential of this airstrip.”

It’s not just MAF staff who are excited about reaching La Source—local pastors, World Vision, and the villagers themselves are so thankful for the new airstrip.

“As our pilot flew out to check the safety and conditions, lots of people came out and were jumping up and down with excitement,” said David Harms.

The team in Haiti is waiting for a few adjustments to be made on the airstrip and for final approval by the aviation authorities. They hope it will be operational by early 2019.

“I sense God’s heart for this community and am eager to watch Him work in ways only He can,” added Dave Simon.

Hope Arrives

These airstrips are just a handful of many around the world on which MAF airplanes touch down. They’re more than just a patch of grass or dirt carved out of a forest or mountainside. They become the doors of hope flung open as Christ’s love pours into these communities.

Without the support of people like you, these airstrips and MAF staff’s ability to land on them would not be possible. Your support of MAF is bringing immediate and lasting hope to isolated people around the world.

Update: We’re happy to report that the Itende airstrip is now open. La Source is also open now.

Story appeared in the Fall 2018 issue of FlightWatch:

The post Patches of Hope appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

4:20 a.m. – Wake to my fans turning off, which means our house batteries have crashed and power is out. Go downstairs and reconnect us to city power to turn fans and security lights back on. Head back upstairs and climb into bed.

5:30 a.m. – Get up, shower, make scrambled eggs, toast, and sliced mango for breakfast for my guests (two MAF marketing staff and one intern from Moody aviation).

6 a.m. – Wake my husband and kids.

6:40 a.m. – Drop off Jacob, 10, and Benjamin, 6, with a friend who is homeschooling them for two months (while I help out full-time at the hangar following Hurricane Matthew. Normally I homeschool them), carpool to the hangar with my husband, Tim, our guests, and one of our national staff who lives in our neighborhood.

7:30 a.m. – Arrive at the hangar and begin to deal with changes to the day’s flight schedule, which includes calls to and from HERO (an emergency medical services provider) to work out a medevac for a baby boy* born in the remote town of Dame Marie with a double cleft lip. Deal with cancellations, call passengers, and combine flights to make the schedule work.

8:42 a.m. – Open the scheduling email inbox: 43 new emails to respond to.

9:31 a.m. – Get back to the scheduling inbox after multiple interruptions (fielding calls for flight requests on the scheduling phone, working out details with the medevac situation, discussing future pilot needs for our disaster response efforts); down to 42 emails now. Slightly disheartened that in almost an hour, I’ve only answered one email.

11:06 a.m. – Take a phone call about a potential second medevec situation from Les Cayes to Port-au-Prince (PAP) for a man with kidney failure*.

11:32 a.m. – Eat leftover spaghetti for lunch at my desk while I tackle the pile of scheduling emails.

3 p.m. – After a fairly quiet and productive afternoon, I’m ready to go home but wait for Tim, who is trying to close out our October finances (he does finance and other administrative tasks for the program).

4:10 p.m. – October finances finished, scheduling inbox down to seven emails (yay!), pack up my laptop, lock up the hangar, and head home with our guests.

4:35 p.m. – Pick up my kids, who are tired and sweaty from a full day of school and playing with friends.

4:55 p.m. – Arrive home to a set table and the wonderful aroma of beef stew, prepared by my house helper, Chrismene.

5:08 p.m. – Mid-dinner, answer a call on the scheduling phone (we answer at all hours in case of emergency) from Elena at MEDAIR. We have done a lot of flying post-hurricane for MEDAIR and she wanted to call and thank me for MAF’s help before she flew back to Switzerland the next day, and to let me know that her replacement would be arriving in a few days to continue MEDAIR’s work here.

5:52 p.m. – Answer a knock at my gate from Wilson, a neighborhood boy we help with school needs. He needs a new pair of pants for school. I tell him to come back the next day and I’ll have the funds ready for him.

6:05 p.m. – Guests and kids play board games while I call two pilots who have been sick this week to find out if they will make it to work the next day. Send out the next day’s flight schedule.

6:30 p.m. – Sneak upstairs for a quick shower and read a chapter of my Bible (2 Timothy 2, part of my reading plan this year, reading through the NT).

7 p.m. – Read a few stories to my boys and snuggle with them.

8:10 p.m. – Read a chapter of my current book (John Ortberg’s Soul Keeping) and realize I can’t keep my eyes open any longer. Turn the light off and relish the feeling of knowing I can be proud of a good day’s work!

*The medevac for the baby did happen that afternoon (no update yet); the other medevac did not, for some reason. Liz wasn’t sure why.

The post A Good Day’s Work appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

So, I am glad that MAF places a focus on filling the souls of our entire families to let us know that we are loved and cared for.

But this cannot be done without a lot of help to make sure that our team can really just take time and enjoy the conference. This year we had a former MAF program manager and his wife come and speak to us and lead our worship. We had three amazing ladies, who were nothing less than inspiring, come and take care of our little kids; a former MK (missionary kid) who did an amazing job of pouring into our MK teens; and a local women’s ministry that cooked our lunches and snacks.

Some of these jobs may not seem glamorous, but it is a huge encouragement to us here on the field when people are willing to come from near and far to serve. They love on our kids, cook for the wives (who are tired of cooking everything from scratch!), and speak to us all in a way that recharges our batteries. They remind us that even though we don’t always see it, God is doing a good work and will in His proper time bring about a great harvest indeed.

So if you have always wanted to come visit a program and are interested in encouraging MAF missionaries, then believe me when I say, “We need you!” And we would love to have you.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities with MAF, visit maf.org/serve/volunteer.

The post Volunteers Encourage appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Disabilities in Haiti are strongly stigmatized; parents with a disabled child often feel that they have been cursed. To get rid of the curse, they get rid of the child. Others love their children dearly but can barely afford to feed them, much less pay for regular medical care, physical therapy, and other expenses related to having a child with special needs. As a mother, this breaks my heart.

On our last day, we sat with the orphanage’s house moms and thanked them for blessing us with their inspirational, tireless love for the residents. They thanked us for blessing them with our work, and then we prayed together. As we all bowed our heads, there was this transcendent moment as we came together in prayer—God is the God of those of us who have, and who have not; He is the same regardless of our skin color, nationality, or occupation, and we can all serve Him, regardless of the circumstances of our lives. Praise the Lord!

The post Be a Blessing appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

After the customary greetings, out flowed a torrent of Creole, about half of which I understood. As my Creole is intermediate at best, I kindly asked the woman to slow down and repeat herself. This time I understood: the little one was sick, and it was a request for money to go to the hospital.

My response was hesitant. Wasn’t I paying for Wilson’s education to free up some money for the family, so they could handle things like this themselves? I don’t want to encourage them to show up at the foreigner’s gate each time something goes wrong. But feeling the little girl’s forehead, I could tell that she was indeed feverish, and my mother’s heart went out to her.

This type of situation is very common among the missionary community. When is giving helpful? And when does it hurt, encouraging dependency? Occasionally, the answer is easy (the day a few months earlier where another mother I knew had shown up with her daughter, who had just been run over by a motorcycle and sported multiple wounds? Money passed hands quickly that day). But easy answers are rare. With each decision, I must weigh my knowledge of the people involved, their resources, the history of asking and giving, the severity of the situation, etc. And then, I must take a minute to pray: “God, what would you have me do in this situation?”

God, give us the wisdom to know your will in the little things, as well as the big!

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Learn how your support helped our missionary families share the love of Jesus Christ with people in need in 2014: www.maf.org/2014impact

The post To Give or Not to Give appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

I can definitely understand this point of view. Some (okay, most!) days, life on the mission field has zero glamour and is just plain. hard. work. And sometimes I question my ability to do what I do, too! Does that construction generator really have to run right outside my gate all day for weeks on end? How are rats finding their way back into my kitchen again? Will I ever have a night where I’m not woken up by roosters, goats, dogs, or gunshots? It’s all too easy to become frustrated and give in to my complaining spirit!

And yet, as time has passed, I have realized that I wouldn’t trade these difficulties for the world (with perhaps the exception of tarantulas in my yard… they could go!). It is these very hardships that are shaping my character into that of Christ.

Power out again? I can be grateful that we have a generator. Water truck doesn’t show up until after bedtime again? A chance to practice being gracious. Yet another rap rap rap on my gate, with yet another request for money? I can grow my spirit of generosity. Not enough power to run the water pump, leaving me with a sad little trickle of a shower? A call to prayer for those who don’t have running water. Feeling homesick and missing my family? The Father gently reminds me that my real home is in heaven.

Each time I’m faced with a challenge, I have a choice. Will I choose to complain, or grow?

The post Lessons on Character appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

I can tell you where to find the best playground in California, the best milkshake in Idaho, and the prettiest back roads in Colorado. I can entertain and educate my kids all over the country… for free (Let’s just go ahead and have a moment of silence for whoever created the Junior Ranger program in our National Parks, shall we?). I know how to pack a car to its gills without everything falling out when you open the back hatch and how to squeeze a few educational moments into a 10-minute stop at a gas station. I am officially a road-tripping, homeschooling mama.

Some days it drives me crazy (I may or may not have recently offered my four-year-old a piece of candy to be quiet instead of helping him resolve his backseat conflict with his older brother… ahem!) but mostly I love it. It’s one of the hidden perks of being a missionary: every few years we get paid to travel around the country to visit with people we love and share with them the things we are passionate about.

Our current road trip spans eight states and one Canadian province, and I am taking full advantage of the range of our travel as I home-educate my children. Of course, there is the grunt work of workbooks in the car, but we also get to do cool things like tour Moody Aviation in Spokane, WA, where many of MAF’s pilots are trained. We’re currently reading up on Redwood trees, the ocean, and the desert, in anticipation of traveling through Northern, Central and Southern California. We will take field trips to zoos and aquariums and possibly even Legoland (how to make this educational… aha… it’s engineering!).

It’s a crazy lifestyle and sometimes my brain has trouble keeping up (which state am I starting the day in, and in which state will I end the day?), but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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The Schandorff family is currently on furlough here in the States, and their nomadic lifestyle is typical of missionaries who are taking a break from field ministry to visit with their supporters, family, and friends.

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