Flight simulator arrives at MAF

USA (MNN) ― Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has acquired a new high-tech flight simulator, providing another tool to help prepare its pilots for the challenging conditions they face when flying in remote parts of the world.

With funds raised by the MAF Ministry Advocates -- a volunteer group -- supplemented by a matching grant, MAF purchased the RedBird SD flight training device for approximately $60,000.

This new piece of equipment is a fully enclosed Advanced Aviation Training Device that is certified by the FAA. With visuals that wrap around the device and realistic flight controls, pilots have an opportunity to experience a simulated flight with conditions similar to the environments in which they will fly.

"This new RedBird enables us to do a lot of training that we couldn't do before," said Paul Bergen, MAF's aviation training manager. "We can experience the overseas environment-we can see the exact terrain. We can fly in the mountains and over rivers and give pilots an experience similar to what they're going to see when they arrive on the field."

By training at Idaho's backcountry airstrips, MAF is able to duplicate the mountainous terrain of various countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Matching the atmospheric conditions of those places isn't so easy. With the new flight simulator, an instructor can introduce weather and other variables such as causing a plane to malfunction with low oil or instrument failures, or simulate engine failure. Bergen says it will be especially useful for training pilots to fly in instrument-only situations, where visibility is limited.

"It gives us a much more realistic experience than we had before," Bergen said. Mission Aviation Fellowship (www.maf.org) is a family of organizations with a singular mission: to share the love of Jesus through aviation and technology so that isolated people may be physically and spiritually transformed. Serving in 32 countries with more than 140 planes, recent MAF work has supported famine relief efforts in Kenya, combatted measles and cholera outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and provided aid to victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Wycliffe Associates deals with planes, Bibles, and twins

Papua (WAS/MNN) -- "Missions in the last half of the 20th century have succeeded," says president and CEO ofWycliffe Associates, Bruce Smith.

The declaration isn't a surprise, considering what they've been seeing around the world as more and more obscure languages are having Scripture translations completed. He notes that "in these kinds of frontier areas, Christianity has been embraced. They've responded to the Gospel, and they've seen the power at work in their own communities. That appetite is only increasing."

With the celebration of progress made in the Great Commission, there are also growing pains. Wycliffe Associates has felt those, too. As the ministry reported earlier this year, "We need to transition from a gasoline-based aircraft fleet to one that uses jet fuel. The airplanes are larger, they're higher horsepower, and they take up more space, so we've been working on expanding the aviation support facility in Papua."

Papua, which occupies the western half of the island of New Guinea north of Australia, is home to a diverse indigenous population, with hundreds of separate communities speaking their own languages and observing their own traditions.
In building a bigger facility for the new fleet, there's a question of why aviation is needed at all. For one thing, Smith says, "The people that are doing Bible translations--missionaries that are working in the remote locations--are completely dependent upon aviation support in order to have access to those villages and communities that they're serving."

The biggest factor is time. The isolation is so significant that until recently, some groups were unaware of the existence of neighboring groups only a few miles away. "They can't build roads that can survive the weather there and the terrain. Just trekking across the terrain takes weeks and months to make small progress, whereas in an airplane, it can be converted into minutes of travel."
 
Smith explains that lost time is a poor use of resources. What's the urgency? "Indonesia still has about 500 languages without one verse of Scripture. It's a very high priority, strategically, for Bible translation in the coming years. Papua province has about 20% of that -- about 100 languages just in that province."

Among the challenges of conquering the terrain is the local traditions that run counter to biblical teachings. For example, in some areas remote tribes believe that evil spirits cause the birth of twins, and often the smaller child is killed or thrown away. Such beliefs are not limited to Papua.

Smith, who is also a former missionary pilot, recalls, "Years ago, I met [a] pair of newborn twins in a remote village in south Suriname who for the first time in the history of the village were allowed to live."

Recently in Papua, one woman took an extraordinary step to save the life of a twin girl who was about to be put to death. The petite, four-foot-tall housekeeper named Yeremina rushed to the side of the infant and saved her, going against her own culture and community. She is now raising the little girl as her own, ignoring family and friends who warned her that she could not afford a child.

When a missionary asked why she did what she did, Yeremina replied, "This is what a Christian does."

"That may not sound strange to you and me," says Smith. "Of course, saving the life of a baby is what a Christian does. But in a secluded mountain valley deep in Papua where villagers still worship evil spirits, that is pretty incredible. Thanks to God's Word, people like Yeremina are not only accepting Jesus Christ, but following Him. They are learning what it takes to be Christlike."

A life saved because of the Gospel: that's what Wycliffe Associates is about. Their current needs are connected to seeing this mission furthered, which brings us back to the need for expanded facilities. Smith explains, "We're fortunate to have a partner that has put up almost $50,000 in matching funds. Our current focus is to be able to match that so that we can finish the progress we have been working on for a couple of years now."

Wycliffe Associates involves people in accelerating the work of Bible translation through their time, talents, and treasure. Because millions of people around the world are still waiting to read the Scriptures in the language of their heart, Wycliffe Associates is working as quickly as they can to translate every verse of the Bible into every tongue to change every heart.
The organization partners with nationals, mother tongue translators, staff, volunteers, and supporters to direct and fund these efforts, as well as provide logistics, networking, and technical support.

Through a growing global network, Wycliffe Associates is striving to overcome local limitations of time and resources to achieve the goal of beginning the translation of God's Word in every remaining language that needs it by 2025. Click here for more information.

MAF Preparing for Famine Relief Flights

MAF is gearing up to help famine
 relief efforts in Africa. (MAF file
 photo by Marjan Companjen.)

Kenya (MNN) ― An airplane from the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) program in South Africa is flying to Kenya to reinforce the mission organization's response to the famine in the Horn of Africa.

In times of crisis, the Christian relief agency provides flight, communications, and logistics services. Over the past week, MAF has flown leaders from relief and mission organizations, as well as ambassadors from several countries, into the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya to assess the situation.

MAF is also experiencing increasing demand for flights into South Sudan following the country's independence earlier this month.

"MAF is in contact with a number of relief organizations working in the area," said John Woodberry, MAF manager of disaster response and security. "We are ramping-up our capacity to respond should the need for relief flights continue to grow."

With this additional plane, MAF will have seven aircraft in Kenya. To maximize flight capacity, MAF crews have been working into the night so that planes are ready to depart early each morning.

On Wednesday, the United Nations declared a famine in parts of southern Somalia. Across the region, 11 million people are facing a hunger crisis caused by several years of severe drought.

Mission Aviation Fellowship (www.maf.org) is a family of organizations with a singular mission: to share the love of Jesus through aviation and technology so that isolated people may be physically and spiritually transformed. Serving in 32 countries with more than 140 planes, MAF supports the efforts of some 1,500 Christian and relief organizations.

A significant part of this global network, MAF-US is headquartered in Nampa, Idaho. In addition to its aviation services, MAF-US also provides communication systems and learning technologies to share the Gospel and improve the quality of life in remote areas of Africa, Asia, Eurasia and Latin America.

Pilots, Mechanics and Teachers Needed, Says MAF

USA (MNN) ― According to some missiologists, seeing the Great Commission completed in our lifetime is possible. However, it will require many people to do the work. Without willing people to go to some of the most difficult places of the world to share Christ, the work won't get done.

Mission Aviation Fellowship is an integral part of helping complete the Great Commission and they, too, need people.

Manager of Recruiting for MAF-US, Ron Hilbrands, says, "Our greatest needs are in the aviation area. Presently we are looking for 15-20 pilot/mechanics every year to expand some of our existing programs or to just cover other areas where we might lose people here and there."

Mechanic specialists are especially needed as more technologically advanced aircraft are added to the MAF fleet. Turbine engines in the new KODIAK airplanes require that mechanics have specialized training to help repair and maintain those aircraft.

MAF staff serve around the world. Hilbrands describes the areas of need. "We have many opportunities for people to serve in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Mozambique, Kenya, and in the Sudan -- areas of huge need."

While pilots and mechanics help MAF accomplish its mission, teachers help keep the missionary families on the job. Hilbrands says, "We hold teachers in high regard on the mission field. If your kids are struggling academically, or if there are problems that you're having because of educational things, it can bring people home from the field."

MAF is recruiting certified teachers to help teach MAF children in one-room school settings up to large school settings.

MAF is recruiting personnel at missions' conferences and at the World's Greatest Aviation Celebration--AirVenture--in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, July 25-31. "There are a number of organizations that are involved in missionary aviation, and we work together in places like Oshkosh to provide a united front to give people an understanding of missionary aviation in general."

If you're interested in being a part of MAF or are uniquely qualified to meet some of their personnel needs, click here.