MAF pilots prepare an Indonesian man stricken by malaria for an emergency medical flight.

In Democratic Republic of the Congo, MAF works closely with Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières – MSF) to help deliver medical treatment in outbreak areas. MAF also helps distribute bed nets treated with insecticide to those living in the remote mountains of Mozambique. Even MAF missionaries aren’t immune to the ever-present malaria problem.

Outside of Africa, the number of malaria-related deaths is much lower²—but it cannot be ignored.

MAF’s program in Papua, Indonesia, experienced the ill-effects of malaria firsthand with a medical evacuation flight. Pilots Nathan Fagerlie and Tim Smith dropped off a delivery in Kiwi before being asked to take back a man stricken with malaria. Running a high fever, the man began acting crazy and needed to be strapped to the floor of their Kodiak airplane. They flew to Sentani to get the man some much-needed medical attention that would save his life.

On World Malaria Day, let’s not forget how many lives still hang in the balance of whether or not they can receive quick treatment for malaria—and how important MAF’s role is in enabling vaccinations  and other supplies to reach isolated areas in desperate need of aid.

¹ Christopher JL Murray, Lisa C Rosenfeld, Stephen S Lim, Kathryn G Andrews, Kyle J Foreman, Diana Haring, Nancy Fullman, Mohsen Naghavi, Rafael Lozano, Alan D Lopez. “Global malaria mortality between 1980 and 2010: a systematic analysis”. The Lancet, Volume 379, Issue 9814, Pages 413 – 431, 4 February 2012 doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60034-8

² Ibid.

The following is an account MAF helicopter pilot John Miller recorded after an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale in Irian Jaya (today known as West Papua) on January 19, 1981 spawned landslides that covered entire villages and left people stranded and without food, water, and shelter.

Several weeks ago we were jolted out of bed in the middle of the night as a violent earthquake ripped through the mountains. As I drifted back to sleep, I wondered if this earthquake would result in any additional flying for me. Little did I realize that at the epicenter in the Solo Valley 50 miles away hundreds of people were being buried alive as huge landslides swept away their houses.

Since there was no mission station in the devastated valley, it took a few days for word to come over the trail. Missionary Art Clark in the neighboring Seng Valley called over the radio, “John, how soon can you get down here with the helicopter? We’re getting some incredible stories about whole villages being destroyed and need to check it out.”

MAF Irian manager John Karetji, government officials, and missionary Art Clark discuss resettlement with the refugees from the earthquake in 1981.

“Where’s Sohonat?” exclaimed Art. The whole village was gone with hardly a trace! In some places, half of a village would be gone. The remaining buildings had simply collapsed, often trapping people inside. We made a quick pass down the valley floor looking for casualties or any sign of the missing villages, but everything was buried under millions of tons of rocks and dirt.

As we hovered over one village looking for any sign of life, a feeble old woman struggled out of a hut and tried to run away. We quickly landed and Art ran after her and brought her back to the helicopter. Later we heard her story. Most of the people from the village were dead. The rest had waited until daylight, and they then climbed up the mountainside into the high forests, leaving the old woman and her daughter behind. The daughter stayed two days until the food was gone, and then she left, telling her mother, “You’re old and will die anyway, so I’m leaving.”

Across the valley a few huts remained where the village of Unuklaha once stood. We spotted smoke rising from a hut and went to investigate. Another old woman had been left behind, but she was too frightened to get into the helicopter. We left her some food. Returning each day to drop food, we wondered what to do since her hut was between two large landslide areas with the river below and a 3,000-foot sheer rock wall behind her, completely cutting her off. Finally we located some refugees from her village high up in the forest at the 8,000-foot level. We dropped some food and a message to clear the forest for a helipad, and told them about the old woman trapped below. The next day there was no smoke from her hut. She was gone. Our hearts sank. We flew up to the new clearing in the high forest and landed. Imagine our surprise to find her there grinning at us! Art gave her a big hug. Some men had come for her and somehow they had scaled that 3,000-foot cliff and brought her to the clearing. We flew her and her friends to safety.

Each day we returned to locate refugees and fly them by the dozen to safe areas where they would get food and shelter.

Over the next several weeks, Jim Harris and I evacuated hundreds of refugees and flew many tons of supplies.

The young man stands in the shade of the wing of the MAF airplane. The airport ramp is hot and dusty. He waits in a new safari hat and quick-dry adventure wear for the flight to Uganda and then on home to Europe.

Nearby, the hulk of a Russian cargo plane deteriorates in the equatorial heat; the blades of its propellers curled from a ground strike that ended its usefulness years ago. The airport terminal’s faded paint announces you are in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo, home of a large UN peace keeping force. Tribal conflict and suffering have long characterized the region.

When you step off the tarmac you have left the only pavement in this town of nearly one hundred thousand people. Skirting the ramp are a dozen humanitarian planes serving various NGO projects throughout northeast Congo.

The young man in safari wear came on contract to fly for one of the air groups. He had arrived the day before, surveyed the airport, driven in to town and decided to return home. This kind of change of heart is not unusual here.

Since the 1960s, MAF has supported the work of mission and humanitarian groups in this area in good times and bad. Evacuations and air ambulance flights saved hundreds, probably thousands of lives. Medicines, vaccinations and epidemic kits flown in to small grass airstrips have saved many thousands more.

Why do MAF pilots stay, when others leave? Is it because the missionary families view their service as more than a job? Is it because MAF staff are more thoroughly prepared to face the obstacles of living in developing countries? Or, is it because the pilots and families have a bigger picture in focus?

Whatever the reasons, it’s clear that––to the MAF people living and serving here––it isn’t about them, it’s about others. As they meet the people and see the needs, they respond with compassion. And they stay.

We were minutes away from landing when we received the radio call from the NGO (non-governmental organization) group we were to transport: NO interviews; NO cameras coming off the airplane; NO filming on the airstrip.

We’d come to the DRC to video and photograph the work being done by MAF in a troubled, war-torn region. The flight program in the eastern part of the country needs replacement planes. The Cessna Caravan flown by the MAF team here is #10 from the factory; it’s been serving Congo for 27 years! Requests by mission and humanitarian workers could keep two 10-passenger Caravans busy.

I had mounted a small camera to the wing tie down outside of the plane before take-off from Bunia. Veteran MAF pilot Jon Cadd flew low over national parks where we saw hundreds of buffalo and hippos. Groups of elephants swam near the shore of a large lake.

The “no photography” radio message surprised and disappointed me. I quickly stowed all my camera gear into a backpack and we landed on the grass airstrip surrounded by jungle.

A group from the NGO waited at the end of the strip to board the flight to another destination. From the perimeter of the airstrip, about 40 feet away, I could see soldiers peering from the bushes. I needed to remove the camera from the wing, because having a camera at the next destination was even dicier.

Congolese militia controlled this village, but several rebel groups were encamped only a few kilometers away. The NGO group working here often crossed from one line to the other to serve the people caught in the crossfire. Journalists with large cameras would only raise suspicions and endanger the NGO staff.

Jon pulled a small step ladder from the pod and handed it to me. “Go ahead and take it down,” he said.

I climbed the ladder and used a pocket tool to remove the camera from the wing mount. No one asked what I was doing and the military just stayed out of sight; only their heads poked above the tall grass.

Because the flight was full to the next destination, I waited in the village. Two hours later Jon returned with the Caravan loaded with stacks of cartons for the NGO. His load filled two four wheel drive trucks with provisions, which the group could not have received without the airplane––everything from motorcycle tires to medicines.

The partner agencies I have spoken to throughout this region have said again and again––”Without MAF, we couldn’t be here.” And if these frontline workers couldn’t provide their services, many more Congolese would suffer. Many more would die.

As we lifted off the strip and circled to gain altitude from the valley below, I watched the loaded trucks lumbering on the muddy roads. Soon, the people in this village and throughout the troubled valley would receive the help they needed.

Jon leaned back in his captain’s seat, looked across the savanna and sighed, “Isn’t Africa beautiful? Yup, another day at the office.”

For all the attention he received, King struggled under the weight of constant death threats toward him and his family. However, it never stopped him from doing whatever he felt needed to be done to break down the barriers created by racism in America. Ultimately, King wanted justice for all.

Consider this powerful quote from King:

On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life’s roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

We live in a world that needs dramatic transformation. And true compassion needs to envelope the idea that King put forth, one that seeks to help one another beyond simple benevolence:

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, ESV).

Let us endeavor to be the kind of Christians who reflect the heart of Christ. Let us remember to help those in immediate need and to not lose perspective of our role to daily participate with Christ in transforming the world around us.

Gary Thomas

Editor’s note: Guest blogger, Gary Thomas, shares some of his insights on this topic with this excerpt from his new book, “Every Body Matters: Strengthening Your Body to Strengthen Your Soul.”

We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
– Hebrews 6:11-12

Billions of dollars have been spent trying to corner the market on diet and weight loss, but most solutions ignore the spiritual issue behind our struggle.

Here it is: The challenge we face plays directly into our sin nature, which is naturally disposed toward comfort and ease and naturally inclined against sacrifice or denial of any kind. To make matters worse, losing one pound doesn’t feel like it makes any difference at all, even though losing a pound can be difficult to do. The sacrifice-to-reward ratio is out of whack, particularly if you’re struggling alongside a person who doesn’t share your values.

Let’s say you spend an entire week denying yourself bread and dessert. You watch your calories, work out on the StairMaster, and take a thirty-minute walk at least five or six days. Seven days later, you weigh yourself and discover that you’ve lost one pound.

Do your pants fit any better? Probably not. Do you notice any more energy? Unlikely. And yet the struggle was real. Think of all the time you spent exercising, all the sweets you denied yourself—and you lost just one pound?
Let’s say you have a friend who is laughing at your efforts. The whole week, she has been eating her favorite comfort foods while you exercised, drinking sugary drinks while you sipped your water, consuming whatever she wanted off the menu. At the end of that week, she gained one pound.

Are her pants any tighter? No, they’re not. Does she feel much heavier? Not likely. And yet she enjoyed the week so much more!

This is the spiritual struggle toward physical fitness: The initial sacrifice seems so great compared to the minuscule immediate benefits, while the negative consequences seem relatively minor compared to the instant enjoyment of overeating and ignoring exercise.

If you have a short-term view, you’re going to give in. You need the spiritual strength and motivation to take it out a little further. If you continue in your sacrifice for ten weeks and lose ten pounds, and your friend continues in her excess and leisure for ten weeks and gains ten pounds, that’s a twenty-pound swing. Now, your clothes will fit a bit better, and hers will be tighter, and both of you will notice a difference in energy level and overall health.

If you were overweight and I could miraculously remove fifty pounds from you for one hour, you would feel the difference and be highly motivated to do whatever it would take to make this be your normal state. But the problem is that we don’t gain or lose weight that way. Losing one or two pounds doesn’t feel much different to you on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis; gaining three pounds back is hardly noticeable. This phenomenon encourages slow weight gain, even as it discourages steady weight loss. Because the negative impact doesn’t feel much worse and the positive impact doesn’t feel much better, we’re simply not motivated to get to the place where, long term, the difference can be tremendous.

That’s why we need spiritual strength and biblical motivation to persevere through the temptation and stay the course. If our pursuit is simply therapeutic, we’re facing almost impossible odds (unless we happen to be particularly vain). And that’s also why it helps to have encouraging people around us who are on the same pursuit.

Gary Thomas is the author of Every Body Matters: Strengthening Your Body to Strengthen Your Soul (Zondervan, 2011). He has written more than a dozen books and is a writer in residence and a member of the teaching team at Second Baptist Church in Houston, TX. You can learn more about Gary at www.garythomas.com.

MAF pilot, Ryan Cuthel, flies a World Vision team into Dadaab refugee camp to bring food and supplies.

• MAF Kenya flies relief aid to famine victims in the Horn of Africa. John Woodberry, MAF-US Disaster Response manager, was on location to survey the needs there.
• The secret to one family’s successful ministry in Ethiopia and the Kingdom legacy they left behind. (FlightWatch Spring 2011, page 3)
• MAF played a key role in fighting cholera and measles epidemics in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• In Papua, MAF makes it possible to reach the unreached.
• Training matters. That’s why back-country flying in Idaho is the key to preparing MAF pilots for tough conditions on the field.

1. The blog post with the most views and shares contains a humorous collection of tips from our pilots who often carry some unusual cargo.

Top 10 Aviation Tips

2. Sometimes the man on a horse who’s blocking the runway is there for a good reason.

The Horse that Wouldn’t Move

3. Staff writer Jason Chatraw gets to experience worst-case scenario flying on a training flight.

White Knuckle Flying

4. Here’s what happens when some of that unusual cargo gets loose mid-flight.

Croc in the Cockpit

5. When a crisis in another country means a quick departure for the Disaster Response manager, he’s all set to go.

What’s in a Disaster Response Go-Bag

6. When you have to adapt to another country, it can really seem like another world.

Opposite World

7. Here’s a trendy tie-in that relates to bringing the Good News to people in remote areas.

Winning as a Christian = Obedience

8. When famine is the cause of too much rain, MAF can help with that.

Food Flights

9. God’s timing is perfect, even when it comes to stopping the rain.

Hand of Providence

10. Often our missionaries have the hard task of saying final goodbyes when moving to another program.

Testimony of Tears

11. Here’s a shout-out to the guys who keep our planes in tip-top shape.

Unsung Heroes

Most likely to make you cry: Natalie Holsten & Rebecca Hopkins
Most likely to respond to your comment: Jim Manley & Rebecca Cannon
Most likely to submit a cool photo: Sean Cannon & Tripp Flythe

 We’re the smallest of the villages in the area, and without MAF, no one else would care for us. As a servant of God ministering here, it would probably be impossible to be here without MAF.”
— Pastor Hendry, working in Data Dian, Kalimantan, Indonesia

We have 40,000 students in our schools, and in the last two years 15,000 have professed faith in Christ. It’s just amazing what God is doing. There’s no way we could exist there without the work of MAF and what it does for us.”
— Dr. Sam Vinton, Grace Ministries International, EDRC

I think I’ve had the chance to fly every plane in Papua.  But it’s not the flying; it’s what we do with those planes. There are guys who like to talk about this plane and that, but the real bottom line is, what are we doing with this plane? How are we ministering and serving?”
— Phil Nelson, MAF pilot in Papua, Indonesia

I’ve worked with MAF for about 13 years, and during that time I have grown personally.  My faith has grown. I’ve gotten a lot of new experience working with MAF.  When I joined MAF, I got direction in my life.”
— Yonatan Karel (an Indonesian MAF staff member in Kalimantan) Assistant to the Chief of Maintenance

The VSAT [provided by MAF] has been a big boost for the effective communication of Shalom University with the outside world.  It enables quality research via the Internet essential for a University in the center of Africa, where books are extremely expensive and hard to come by. The connection has been reliable and a blessing.”
— Ted Witmer, Director of Development, Shalom University of Bunia, EDRC

I think we could easily say that we depend on MAF for several mission-critical functions, and without them, we could not live here. And I haven’t even mentioned flying yet.”
— Kent Rasmussen, Linguist and Bible translator with Wycliffe in Bunia, EDRC

More than once we have stood beside the plane with hearts breaking, buckling our kids in to send them off to school. Always, the pilots have caught our eyes with a reassuring glance that said, ‘We’re praying for you. We’ll get them there as safely as possible. And we’ll look after them for you.’ Such comfort and encouragement as they passed on to us during these times cannot be overstated, and for that, too, we are grateful.”  Steve and Carolyn Crockett, New Tribes missionaries in Papua

Before the airstrip was completed, we had air drops from MAF. They supplied us with food … whatever we needed. The secret was MAF. It couldn’t have happened without them.”
— Former missionary to Ethiopia – Harvey Hoekstra, Talking Bibles

MAF is such a big support for us. Without MAF it would be impossible by road to go into the villages.”
— Daniel Kasereka, OEIL reconciliation ministry, EDRC

MAF has been a big help in bringing in consultants and teams of different sorts. It is much easier to throw people on a 50-minute flight versus an 8-hour car trip to come down here. This allows us to accomplish in a weekend what would otherwise take almost a week with travel time.”
— Phil & Elin Henderson, New Tribes missionaries, Mozambique

This is how much God loves Papua. In spite of all that your family has been through, you’re coming back as a new family to continue serving here. God must really love us!”
— A Papuan friend speaking to Beth Lynne upon her return from furlough as the new wife of MAF pilot Kevin Lynne.

Medevac flight for stroke patient, Kalimantan. Photo by Tripp Flythe.

Food delivery with the Kodiak, Kalimantan. Photo by Dave Forney.

Pilot Nathan Fagerlie delivers supplies and teachers for first-ever school in Pogamba village, Papua. Photo by Steve Richards.

Soccer teams lined up during Indonesia’s Independence Day celebration as MAF Caravan departs Pa’Upan, Kalimantan. Photo by Dave Forney.

Celebrating the Lani language Bible delivery in Papua. Photo by Nathan Fagerlie.

MAF Medevac Flight in Ecuador. Photo by Chad Irwin.

Fighting measles – vaccine deliveries in WDRC. Photo by Tim Chase.

MAF pilot Jon Cadd assists John Ngayo of OEIL upon arrival in Lubutu, DRC. Photo by LuAnne Cadd.

Fighting cholera in Bilobo, WDRC. Photo by Nate Birkemo.

Medevac of an 18-year-old girl with heart troubles in Kalimantan. Photo courtesy of Sean Cannon.

Chicks in flight with MAF pilot David Harms, Haiti. Photo by Will White.

Celebrating the arrival of the first Majang New Testament Talking Bible in February 2011 with the Hoekstra family, Ethiopia. Photo courtesy of Denny Hoekstra.

To learn more about the impact that the Hoekstra missionary family has had in Ethiopia, read the 2011 Spring addition of FlightWatch, page 3.