maf news march - may 2009

8/3/2019 MAF News March - May 2009

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The magazine of Mission Aviation Fellowship

NOW GOD SPEAKS pages8-9 TEACHING NEW SKILLSpage10

Improving lives

inCambodiapages 12-13

March - May 2009


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What is MAF?

Mission Aviation Fellowship

Castle Hill Avenue, Folkestone, Kent UK CT20 2TN

Telephone: 0845 850 9505

Email: [email protected]

Registered Charity Number, England and Wales: 1064598

Scottish Ofce

Challenge House, 29 Canal Street, Glasgow G4 0ADTelephone: 0845 850 9505

Email: [email protected]

Registered Charity Number, Scotland: SC039107

Website: www.ma-uk.org

Chie Executive, MAF UK: Ruth Whitaker

MAF News team

Editor: Andy Prescott

Research: Stephanie Gidney, Shaun Oliver

Writers: Stephanie Gidney, David Hall, Liz Jennings,

Emily Kanyi, David Longley

Photographers: CARE Cambodia, Geo Craword,

n Duncan, Richard Hanson, James Koang, John Miller,

Peter Sealy-Fisher, Layton Thompson

Design: Positiv Design

Purchasing: Mark Stanton

Art Direction: Richard Bellamy

Printed by John Blackburn LtdBible reerences are taken rom the New International Version

unless otherwise stated

MAF UK March May 2009 mzrm9

MAF News March May 2009

Mission Aviation Fellowship is a Christianorganisation whose mission is to y lightrat in developing countries so that peopleemote areas can receive the help they need.ce 1946, our planes have been speeding theead o the Good News o the Lord Jesusist by word and deed, in places o deepest

man need. Isolated places where ying isa luxury, but a lieline.Every three minutes, an MAF plane isng o or landing somewhere in the world.se ights enable crucial work by manyelopment and aid agencies, missions, localrches and other national groups. Medicale, adequate ood, clean water and Christianpe are reaching countless thousands o men,men and children.Normally, passengers contribute a highly-sidised are towards the true cost. Theance that makes ights possible comes ass rom people concerned that others should

e a better lie spiritually and physically.In the UK, MAF is a registered charityded by voluntary gits which help fnanceFs operational work and support services.Please use the enclosed response orm andelope or your donation to this ministry.MAFs work is vital. Lives depend on it.

March May 2009 MAF News 3

Chie ExecutivesCOMMENT

Juliana

Sister PiretteQueuing in hopeWorking late into the night,

acing both power cuts and

machinery ailures, South

Arican eye doctors brought

dramatic changes to many

lives in Mozambique

the operating schedule by phone while, inhope, Juliana went home to change intoher best clothes.

Happily, an operating slot was conrmed,so Juliana got into the car with her grand-daughter. Most blind people in Mozambiqueare cared or by a small child.

That very night, the team carried outthe operation on Julianas eyes.

The ollowing morning, she awoke todiscover that yes already she could see!

Her granddaughter shared her elation,excited as much or hersel as or Juliana.

The girl would now be able to g o to school,rather than have to stay at home as hergrandmothers carer.

Essential aircratMarco Koeman, MAF Training Captainand pilot in South Arica, had fown the eyeteam rom Johannesburg, across theMozambican border and then up to VilaUlongwe in the north-west.

The team was particularly excited to betaking a Fako machine, the latest technologyor cataract operations. This delicate appara-tus allows a new lens to be inserted into apatients eye by means o a tiny incision.

It simply would not have survived thatjourney by road intact, so our aircrat wasessential to the mission and to Julianasrestored sight.

During its 6-day visit, the team saw 840patients and perormed 50 cataract opera-

Juliana waited bythe roadside withher amily or a

car that she would notbe able to see.

That car was drivenby eye specialist DrMathijs Labuschagne.

Juliana and her amilyervently hoped thathe would be able to

help her. For aged 65 with mature bilateralcataracts, she was virtually blind in both oher eyes, able only to distinguish light romdarkness.

At her small village on the Domue toChia road, a car passing through is not acommonplace event, and news o its cominghad spread.

Morning joyWhen Julianas amily waved the car down,Dr Mathijs and Sister Pirette Rossouw weremost eager to help her. The doctor checked

tions. The queues or clinics stretched onlong into the night, and the doctors romthe project supported by the DutchReormed Mission League worked ashard and late as they could.

Spiritual motivationThey were overjoyed to see healingor many o the patients, like thesmall boy who arrived on the thday o their visit. He had a splinterin the cornea o his eye, and he

was very upset and terribly araid.

But Dr Johan Eloremoved the splinterquickly with a smalloperation, and so then the

young boys eye couldbegin to heal.

Beore the team let, theygave instructions to allpatients about caring ortheir eyes and preventinginections.

On top o that, theyexplained very simply theirmotivation or coming anddoing this work the loveo Jesus, our Saviour.

They made it clear that theyhoped not only had physicaleyes been opened, but that spir-itual eyes would also open tosee Jesus or who He really is.

The Word o God istimely to each andevery one o us.

Whatever stage we areat along lies path, we

know that hope is ever beore us, urgingus onward.

Psalm 119:114 says, You are myreuge and my shield; your word is myonly source o hope. It is very excitingthereore to read o the provision o the

Word o God to a group o people whohave not previously had the Bible in theirown language the Djambarrpuyulanguage o the ar north o Australia.

What a privilege or MAF to haveplayed a part in supporting that transla-tion project, enabling the Word o God tobe placed in the hands o the people!

In the uncertain world in which welive, it is our aith in Jesus Christ thatoers us assurance, knowing in Christ

we have a hope-lled uture. It is thishope that we take to those in isolatedplaces. Cataract operations enable blindpeople to see, the delivery o medicineshelp those who are sick, ood and waterreach hungry and thirsty people, hopecomes to those who have no hope.

Thank you or your support whichenables us to share the unconditional loveand unending hope o God to so manypeople in so many ways across the devel-oping world. Together and as individuals,

we are making a dierence through aithand hope in Jesus Christ.


3/9

NEWSIN BRIEF

malia suppliedhile pirates from Somalia have beenominent in the world news, thetions deep sufferings from troublesd riots continue. But our flights

om Nairobi in Kenya have enabledorld Vision workers to providealthcare and nutritional help to,000 people around Waajid.

ousand orphansorthern Uganda has been especiallyubled for the past 20 years. While

e situation is easing, many scarsmain. A flight to Gulu took a groupho are part of a worldwide teamrking with Kampala Pentecostal

hurch on the construction of a large

phanage designed to provide a homer 1,000 orphans.

nreached peoplesion Valley Church has a vision!cated in Antananarivo, capital ofadagascar, it is pioneering ministry

mong largely unreached people alonge Mangoky River. These people livedaily fear of the dahalo cattleeves who steal, rape and pillage. Weve now made 13 trips there forsion Valley teams. With less thanlf the local people able to read, liter-y is high on the agenda and everyance is taken to explain the Gospel.

uthern helpere has been an enormous demandr seats in our amphibious Caravancraft that now flies twice-weeklyross southern Bangladesh. This is aick and cost-effective way for reliefd medical staff to reach the peopleey are serving in rural areas, manywhom are still recovering from thevastation caused by cycloneSidr.

areul deliveryds, drip stands, medical cupboardsd other such much-needed supplies.ese constituted the ton of freightat Achim Appel flew from Ugandathe hospital at remote Yambio inuthern Sudan. Overland, the tripuld have taken many days on roughads, probably damaging the vitaluipment.

appy ightne of our staff families in Sumatra,donesia, made contact with a womanho had given birth to a baby with aeft lip. The family c ould not affordoperation. But through partnershipth Operation Blessing, we flew themily to hospital where a surgeonerated on the baby. The father wasated, Thanks so much for the planep so that I could get my child tonda Aceh for help.

Vacancies overseasWe are encouraged tohave such committedsta serving over-seas, like Bert andKate Tayler, who areboth working inTanzania alongsideother organisations.

And just now, we arealso blessed by thearrival o AdrianRose, who is serving

as a pilot in Kenya.MAF is about reaching those who are

located in the most remote parts o theworld, oering help, healing and hope.To maintain this ministry, our planesneed to be in the air, ully unctioning,delivering a service o airline reliabilityto our partner organisations and others

who fy with us. So we are always look-ing or experienced proessionals toensure this happens.

We have vacancies or qualied peoplein the ollowing positions:

Avionics engineersline-experienced engineers, preerablyholding British or other European licence

Chief engineersICAO-based aviation experience withmanagement or supervisory experience

Aircraft maintenance engineersICAO-based aviation maintenancelicence

Minimum entry pilotsICAO-based commercial pilots licence

with 500 hours (300 hours as pilot-in-command)

Experienced pilotsICAO-based commercial pilots with1,000 hours (500 hours as p ilot-in-command).

Each o these positions is at an MAFbase in one or more o the ollowingcountries: Australia, Bangladesh, Chad,Papua New Guinea, Sudan and Tanzania.

We are particularly looking or peoplewho already have relevant qualicationsand experience to oer, or are already

working towards our minimum require-

ments. I you, or others you know, havethe experience andskills that we areseeking, please do getin touch!

For more detailsabout vacancies orhow we recruit andsupport our overseassta, please visit

www.ma-uk.org orcontact:

Heather GardnerRecruitment Co-ordinatorMission Aviation FellowshipCastle Hill AvenueFOLKESTONECT20 2TN

Email: [email protected]: 0845 850 9505


With their frst year in Arica

behind them, Bert and Kate

Tayler both ft into key jobs

Tailor-made

March May 2009 MAF News 5

Kate was introduced to MAF when ariend rom university joined us oroverseas service in 1999. Spending

a year in Tanzania hersel, Kate met upagain with Anne Sibthorpe who, with herhusband Ben, was based there with MAF.

When later Kate married Bert Tayler, thecouple continued together as part o Annesand Bens support team.

Their involvement deepened when, asthey were thinking about overseas servicethemselves, Bert and Kate looked up thevacancies pages on the MAF website.

It seemed to us more than coincidencethat the very rst time we looked at thosepages, we saw two positions that couldhave been tailor-made or us! they recall.

Managing growthKate had been working as an auditor or

AXA Assistance while studying or an MAin International Relations, Global Securityand Development. Bert was a teacher atSouth Brent Primary School which is neartheir home town o Plymouth, where theyboth worshipped at Emmanuel Church,Mannamead.

Now, Kates role is Partnership andDevelopment Manager or our Tanzaniaoperation, and Bert is Deputy Principal atCanon Andrea Mwaka School in Dodoma.

Her specic tasks see Kate visiting ourpartner organisations to discuss possiblenew destinations and routes to fy, andarranging visits rom schools and groups o

volunteers. She also writes a weekly news-letter and seeks to increase MAFs prole

within Tanzania, so expanding the numbero those who benet rom our services.

When school parties visited the MAFbase, they were amazed to discover thateven girls can become pilots!

I like the interaction with other p eople,and learning more o the work our planesare supporting, Kate explains.

Medical careSince arriving in Dodoma in September2007, Kate has travelled with airbornemedical saaris and met isolated people

who are at last receiving basic medical carethat would not be available without ouraircrat.

Visiting a bush saari with a g roup oDutch businessmen, she recounts, I wasamazed to see the clinic held in a straw-rooed hut and how the businessmenresponded.

Berts service in the local diocesan schoolmeans an early start or prayers with thesta at 7.30am. The children attend schoolbetween 7.45am and 2pm. His role asDeputy Principal means that, in addition to

teaching, Bert has many duties in the day-to-day running o the school.

Meeting peopleA semi-proessional cyclist in France ortwo years, Bert is using his experience inthe saddle. A member o the local cyclingclub, he has started running weekly time-trials and has been appointed the clubsocial coach. Dodoma Cycling Club haseven made it to the pages o the Times

Educational Supplement!Kate encourages Berts participation. It

has been a antastic way o meeting peopleoutside the Christian enclave, she pointsout enthusiastically.

I there are rustrations in their newenvironment, they are with settling into achurch. It is very dicult to eel involved

when culturally and linguistically we are soar apart rom the Swahili congregation,Kate comments. Sometimes they join theEnglish congregation in the cathedral.

The couple acknowledges missing theiramily and riends in the UK, having a bath,long summer evenings and privacy andanonymity. Living on a compound is a littlelike lie in a goldsh bowl, which Kateadmits hasnt come as a surprise but itisnt as bad as I thought it would be.

Ater a break in the UK or the birth otheir rst child, Bert and Kate are lookingorward to returning to Tanzania with babyHenry later in the year.

Rachel PhippsPersonnel Manager

Heather Gardner


4/9

NEWSIN BRIEF

swered prayerOctober last year, our prayers wereswered as we based a pilot withindan. Pilot Stefan Hageneier and hisfe Christine are now living in Jubathe south. While we have servede area with frequent flights fromnya and Uganda in recent years,s is the first time we have had aot based there since 1983. Stefansesence will enable better use to beade of the aircraft during their timesouthern Sudan.

oma crisisthe world became aware of theense suffering around Goma in east-

n Democratic Republic of Congo,r planes remained in action there.team we flew in support of one ofr long-term partner organisationshieved ten days of really fruitfulnistry. They carried out medicalrk, distributed life-saving mosquitots and conducted much-needed

auma management training for 500stors. Other flights have servedorwegian Church Aid, which focuses

care for orphans, widows and rapectims.

ying tractore managed to get a tractor and itscessories into a Twin Otter aircraftPapua New Guinea and Michael

uncalfe flew them to Malamanda.ey were for New Tribes Mission

hich works there in Bible transla-n, church planting and discipleship

aining. The tractor will make a hugeference to the missionaries in main-ning the airstrip and developingmmunity building projects.

ndness curede flew Dr Sture Nyholm of Christiannd Mission and other eye workersNzara in southern Sudan. The team

rformed 143 eye operations andtributed 173 pairs of spectacles.veral people who were previouslynd in both eyes can now see. Their

y is real, and we rejoice togetherth them, marvels Dr Nyholm.

ditional cargoere was something extra was onard the aircraft flying to Kouno andIlli during a medical safari in Chad.

was the Gospel of Matthew justanslated into the Ndam language!lliam and Vicky Cray of AIMternational had worked hard on thenslation the second Bible book in

dam following Genesis. Pray that theord will come alive to those whoad and those who hear.

Wake up to nd the toilet keepstaking water in and overfowing

ater use. While xing the toilet,my guard knocks on the door. You have aguest at the gate! he announces. Its apastor who wants me to come to his newly-started church.

Immediately ater the teams morningdevotion, I talk with two pilots regardingnew airstrips in new areas.

We have just brought our Bobcat amini-excavator we use in airstrip develop-ment back rom Kilimatinde. It needs agood service. Starting it, theres a knockingnoise in the engine, so the auto workshophas to look at it beore we can download it

In an attempt to convey the

realities o MAF lie, each o

our Tanzanian team kept a

diary on a single day. Heres

what Airstrip Development

Manager Allan Conrad

wrote:

rom the trailer. Finally, we get the Bobcatdown and clean it beore giving it over tothe workshop or its service.

Theres a puncture on the trailer. I startto x it. When replacing the tyre, I discoverthat the electric connection is not working the wires have come loose. So I take theconnection o and then eventually replacethe tyre.

LunchtimeI check my emails. I write an invoice to achurch or microphones and wires I got orthem rom Denmark. I get a phone callrom South Arica, a message rom Canadaand a phone call rom Zanzibar. All veryinternational, but all to do with church

work or helping aids. Try to catch up withsome oce work.

Look at maps or new destinations orour aircrat. Plan trips to check up on

airstrips and talk to village people. Alsoplan to talk with leaders and missionsabout airstrip development possibilities

where they want to go in the more remoteregions.

Get ready or our Tuesday prayer meet-ing. I like these they make us eel like aamily o God.

Check emails beore closing or the day.To my big surprise, I get an email rom anelderly lady in our church in Denmark. Sheollows my work and prays or me everyday. What a privilege to know that some-body cares or you, someone you didntknow about! This is just how Jesus usespeople to keep you going with the work

you do or Him.I it were not or people like that, I

would not be here.

A day in my lie


God called HadleighThe morning cargo ight on 16 October 2008 took o

rom Elcho Island at Australias northern tip with supplies

or fve Aboriginal communities. Its frst destination was

Matamata. It never arrived

come because God has called them to behere, to serve us and with us. We are grate-ul or the sacrices each o them makes todo this. We especially give thanks or ourpilot Hadleigh.

One ater another, Aboriginals embracedStewart, weeping and expressing love orhim and thanks or Hadleigh. Stewartreceived a clear picture o the impact o hissons service a wonderul git or him.

Join us in giving thanks to God or the Bill Harding

Rev Djiniyini Gondarra

There was no mayday call.

Pilot Hadleigh Smith, 23 years oldand originally rom New Zealand, was

the sole person on board.We believe the GA8 Airvan went down

in one o two areas o water. Despite thebest eorts o MAF, the local community,

Australian Search and Rescue, a policevessel and divers, neither Hadleigh nor theaircrat has yet been ound.

Stewart Smith, Hadleighs ather and anaircrat engineer or 30 years, explains that

his son was an experienced pilot. He wasable to fy an aircrat beore he could drivea car. Flying was a real passion or him.

Ater high school, Hadleigh studiedapplied science (aviation), also graduatingrom the Bible College o Victoria.

He few with MAF or just six months,much o that time based on Elcho Island.Stewart went there to attend a memorialservice or his son and an inormal churchgathering. The outpouring o grie andappreciation was remarkable.

This testimony rom local indigenousUniting Church leaderRev Djiniyini Gondarrashows why we fy innorthern Australia:

MAF people are ourbrothers and sisters. Theyfy us and all the things

we need to live here. Weknow MAF people are nothere to make money. They

lie, witness and service o Hadleigh. Prayor his parents Stewart and May and theirother three children, and or his girlriend

Jess coming to terms with such sudden loss.Refecting on last Octobers events, our

Asia Pacic Director Bill Harding quotesrom 2 Corinthians. We do not want you tobe uninormed, brothers, about the hard-

ships we suered in theprovince o Asia. We wereunder great pressure, arbeyond our ability toendure...

But on Godwe haveset our hope that he willcontinue to deliver us, as

you help us by yourprayers.


5/9

involved.Phil Zamagias nick-

named Flying Bible man acknowledged MAF orbeing part o making thishappen.

A ormer MAF pilot,Phil now works or TheBible Society in Australia

which oversaw the projectwith the Northern Regional Council oCongress, responsible or indigenous minis-try throughout the Northern Synod o theUniting Church in Australia.

This New Testament was printed byIndonesian Bible Society, which specialisesin producing books or tropical climates. Itincludes many illustrations to help lessliterate people, with a cover in traditionalYolu colours.

World o needA powerul picture is painted by MAFs AsiaPacic Director Bill Harding:

In one o Australias remotest regions,aircrat are essential to enable education,


Now God speaks

Kevin Rudd

M

any thousand years ago, Aboriginalpeople o Arnhem Land, northern

Australia, were creating the mostectacular rock paintings.But last June, the 3,500 Djambarrpuyu

eakers o the Yolu people celebrated aerent achievement in their culture. Thew Testament translated into their own

nguage.Everywhere, people were singing praise

ngs, dancing, waving colourul banners,aying and easting.

new era dawns in estival

r an isolated people group

healthcare and basic communications. Butour sta also have a unique opportunity orChristian infuence amid deep spiritualneed. The indigenous people living here aregenerally considered to be among the hard-est cultures to reach in the entire world.

Barriers to aith in Arnhem Land aregreater than anywhere I have worked andthat includes both Somalia and Papua NewGuinea.

For the last 17 years, Margaret Millerhas braved the tropical, energy-sappinghumidity to help the translation work onElcho Island. Four years ago, her work wasthreatened because, as a non-indigenousteam member, she was not eligible orgovernment unding.

Only an MAF initiative saved the day,delivering regular supplies o bananas romour base in Gove so that Margaret couldsell them to supplement her nances.

The bananas have truly been my liesupport, she arms. I would like to thankMAF or all you do.

Some o the nine-strong translationteam eight o whom are indigenous have been involved since the very start.Dianne Buchanan, one o the original trans-lators, died in 1993.

Way to growthPilot and MAF Base Manager David Pett,serving in Arnhem Land, writes: The NewTestament is the most signicant literary

work in the Djambarrpuyu language.It is hoped that it will have a similar

positive infuence on the wider communityas did the rst English Bible on the peopleo England.

And that spiritual outcome is a majormotivation behind our service or isolated

Aboriginal people.Dr Marilyn McLellan, a Darwin-based

translation educator, maintains that or anindigenous church or people group to g rowspiritually, they must have the Scriptures intheir own language.

At last, God speaks Djambarrpuyu!

MAF aircrat (one piloted by HadleighSmith) few more than 100 people toGaliwinku on Elcho Island to be part othe 1,200-strong crowd. The Saturdayaternoon dedication service markedthe climax o 32 years o painstaking

translation work.On Sunday, the service started at

9.30am and lasted until 4pm. And themarathon continued during the next

week with more services and Bibleteaching.

Word o GodElated translator Maratja Dhamarradjiexclaimed, It is an awesome thing or the

Word o God to be in the heart language othe people, because it is a liberating, trans-orming thing. It is like the Creator Godcoming to our people.

Indeed, the actual title on the book isGod-Waarrwu Walamirr Dhruk TheCreator Gods Living Word.

In the Yolu culture, the supernaturalworld is accepted and spirituality isembraced, Maratja adds. Gods Wordpeels o the insignicant so that Christ

can be revealed.At the Sunday service, 30 MAF stamembers led worship songs and IanMcBride, leader o our Arnhem Land team,declared: It is our dream that the Word oGod will dwell richly in your hearts and, todo that, you must not put it on a shel.

Work o carePrime Minister Kevin Rudd sent a

message that included this:The publication o a transla-

tion o the Bible has oten beena transorming moment orcommunities. This makes itpossible or them to hear

and understand the Biblein the language they use

every day. The proc-ess o translation

involves an enor-mous amount ocareul, detailedwork. I

congratulateall those


6/9

AsStuart Fitch pedalled across the

nishing line in the 59-mile cyclerace around Johannesburg, it

owed the benets o cycling the 9 milesost days to and rom his work in Southrica.Finishing in a time o 3 hours 42 minutes,024th out o 25,000 starters Stuart

mments, It was great. I am denitelying to do it again.And it was a complete contrast to hise as Training Base Manager. He spendss time in the air than previously as anAF pilot in Kenya and with the RAF.

t Stuarts crucial new task is increasinge skills o pilots already serving withAF or just joining us.From the centre he is establishing at

hannesburgs Lanseria Internationalport, he is responsible or checking andining pilots on all aircrat types withinAFs Arica Region.We run courses or pilots transerringm one aircrat type to another, such asm the Cessna 206 to the Caravan, andexperienced pilots who have beenected to act as either checking pilots orining captains. We also train pilots on

ght fying, and on fying into short roughstrips.Ruth, Stuarts wie, juggles her timetween caring or seven-year-old Danield our-year-old Anna and voluntary work.rmerly a GP in Newark, Ruth now servesa hospice caring or people who havencer or AIDS.Spiritual care is part o our everydayrk. Its a wonderul place, she enthuses.eel I have ound my niche in medicine.Their move rom Kenya two years agos, however, meant greater consciousnessout security.It makes parenting more challenging,

plains Ruth. The children need to knowat to do i someone tries to snatch themr turns up in their classroom with a gun.t we dont want them living in ear.Outdoor lie appeals to each member o

e amily and the shops sell anything they

want. That is useul, as they have manyguests, including pilots visiting the countryor training.

Ruth has also started a playgroup at herhome, so she meets other mothers. She hashad one-to-one Bible studies with one othe women.

It has been hard or us to move romour involvement in ront-line mission

work in Kenya, Stuart admits.But the couple knows that the skills

Stuart imparts to others are enhancingMAFs opportunities to make criticalcontributions or many in need across thecontinent.

0 MAF News March May 2009 March May 2009 MAF News 11

raining pilots and helping

ying people thats the

hallenge acing an MAF

ouple

Teaching new skills

As a member o the Christian Care or

Cambodia group, most o our fightsare in support o development and

literacy work.I met Montha (Tha) in the capital city

Phnom Penh, where he is serving as ourOperations Manager. He was 26 years oldin 1975, studying to become a pilot. Hisplans were thwarted when the KhmerRouge arrived and he was ordered to leave.

Assigned to a youth gang, he walked 180

miles to Battambang. For 3 years, armedguards orced him to labour in rice eldsand cut wood rom 5am till 8pm, with onlya brie ood break.

Every day, people died. Tha came closeto death. His parents, grandparents andsiblings all died rom starvation.

As an outsider, I cannot comprehendwhat Tha and millions o others endured inthe 1970s, ollowed by Vietnamese occupa-tion in the 1980s. And visiting the killingelds, Tha calmly spoke o his experiences,sharing how people are still angry towardscommunism.

With such a history, I wasnt sure whatto expect. In the development and literacy

work, I witnessed hope where poverty isevident. But what spoke to me most washow God was at work prior to and duringrecent decades o confict.

In Mondolkiri province in the 1950s,Bunong people requested that missionariescome to them, having heard about Jesusrom Vietnamese Christians. But they wereso remote no missionaries came.

During the Vietnam War, their province

cut in two by the Ho-Chi-Minh trail wasbombed. The people fed into Vietnam.There they heard the ull Gospel, with 150returning as Christians. They planted theprovinces rst indigenous church in 1986.Only in 2001 did missionaries come.

I was inspired too by Danal o YWAM.In 1989, unable to leave Cambodia, he

went to reugee camps along the borderwith Thailand. His grandather, already atone camp, invited Danal to a camp church.Danal attended Bible study, becoming aChristian. He was one o the many whobecame Christians in the camps.

Despite generations o trauma, Gods

love and light have been winning the heartso Cambodian people or some time.

But the expression and spread o theGospel has been hindered by hazardousinrastructure. Most roads are dirt, easilyand rapidly carved up bytrucks during the rainyseason. Ground transportcan be slow, dangerousand sometimes totallyimpossible.

MAF is there, overcom-ing barriers, playing a partin continuing work thatGod has already begun.

Visiting the killing feldsby Stephanie GidneyAter decades o conict

eased, MAF began ying

in Cambodia in 1995

F L Y I N G I N CAMBODIA

Danal

Stephanie with Tha


7/9


Taking o rom warm, humid PhnomPenh, the aircrat fies above houseson stilts and rice paddy elds. Then

bber plantations replace the paddies.ound 40 minutes into the fight comesest and then thick jungle.This is the route to Cambodias north-

st, where most ministries we partner areund. Among them is CARE Internationald its Highland Community Educationogramme (HCEP).Begun six years ago, the programme hasee core elements: establishing bilingual

hools, teacher training and communitywnership. HCEP initiated work with sixmote villages that previously didnt havey schools three villages each amongmpuen and Krueng people.Bilingual schools are established, inich both the vernacular and the national

nguage Khmer are used to teach reading

and writing. However, at the start o HCEP, asno one in the villages was literate in eitherlanguage, the rst step was training teachers.

Producing booksWith co-operation rom community leaders,CARE selected potential teachers and then

trained them. Now, communities selectpotential teachers themselves rom withintheir villages.

A group o village elders orms a boardresponsible or a school, so that there iscommunity ownership. These groups thenbuild the schools themselves, with CAREproviding the materials.

On top o that, there is a ourth elementin HCEP curriculum development. Owingto the bilingual nature o the work, the

national curriculum is notsuitable. So a curriculumor bilingual teaching hashad to be developed. This

was a complicated task,that included the ongoingdevelopment and produc-tion o books or use inthe schools.

Yutheara, a Kreung,

and Sam Ocun, who is aTampuean, have both

worked with CARE orve years and they areresponsible or producingthe bilingual books. The

whole nine-stage process

is managed careully, witheach and every step beingchecked by International

Cooperation Cambodia and approved bythe Ministry o Education. And practicalchecks are also made with communitiesand children in a real context, such as atthe market.

Reecting cultureEvery book produced has both vernacular(Kreung or Tampuen) and Khmer parallelpassages, and includes a dictionary sortedby categories. All the words that are usedare collected rom the communities, andcare is taken to refect the culture o eachpeople group.

The text is simple and covers topicssuch as harvesting rice, making a basket,personal hygiene, and caring or domesticanimals and amily. Traditional stories also

eature, using plasticine characters in orderto create scenes o people and dragons.

HCEP eectively involves cultural andlanguage maintenance. It seeks to enableappropriate cultural transormation in therapidly changing social environment. Thisinvolves equipping and empowering people

to adjust and cope with external develop-ment that is impacting these communitiesin a big way.

One example concerns gender-relatedroles. Traditionally, trap-making is a boystask but, in the classes, girls too are taughthow to make traps. Likewise, the eeding odomestic animals is traditionally a girlsresponsibility, but both boys and girls arenow taught how to look ater them.

Preventing cheatingCARE consults with the communities as to

what each wants its children to learn. Onevery practical request was or maths sothat children are not cheated at the market.The teachers cover language or barteringas well. Also, teaching Khmer is importantto enable children to handle situationsoutside their own communities.

Frequently, teachers use the DoTalk

Record approach. Together, teachers andstudents will do an activity, such as makingan animal trap. They will then talk about ittogether, ater which theyrecordthe activ-ity in class through writing and drawing.

Oten the DoTalkRecord session isconducted in a village, where photos are

taken o the activity and used to illustrate abook that is then created on the subject.

Chanra, 20 years old and rom a Kreungvillage, is one o 24 trainee community

teachers currently learn-ing his proession. Otherparticipants come romKreung, Tampuen, Kavetand Pnong people groups.Studying and speaking inKhmer, their trainingtakes six months, whichincludes practice withintheir villages.

Empowering peopleI am happy to be training as a communityteacher, Chanra shares. I will then returnto my village Ta Ang II to teach. I hope that,through educating the children, the village

will be helped. Villagers are happy that the

children go to school to learn.Already, CARE has trained a total o 79

community teachers now working in thevillages. And 803 children aged 5 to 10 arebeing taught within HCEP.

Literacy is empowering people in anenvironment where things are changing

rapidly and isolation rom the outside is nolonger possible. Communities want moreknowledge, and they recognise literacy iskey to acquiring it.

Our fights requently carry HCEP stabetween Phnom Penh and Banlung. Ron

Watt o CARE arms: MAF services aregreat! The benet is that we have moretime to do the work.

AFs new GA8 Airvan is

elping improve traditional

ommunities acing change

om without

Sam Ocun

Yutheara

Chanra

F L Y I N G I N CAMBODIA

Ron Watt

CARE teacher trainingCARE in Cambodia


8/9

vital work o MAF.Sounds exciting, doesnt it? But I need

you to help spread the word. To tell youthleaders and young people you know about

Above & Beyond.And I would love to hear rom anyone

(you dont have to be young!) interested injoining ourAbove & BeyondVolunteerteam. You will be playing an essential partin discipling young people, introducingMAF to a new generation.

Its my prayer that young people all overthe UK will be captivated by the heart oGod and the work o MAF, getting on boardas passionate pray-ers, antastic undraisersand prospective pilots, engineers andproject managers to advance the Kingdomo God throughout the nations.

Arent you now excited, too? Find outmore! Check www.aboveandbeyonduk.org.Or email me at [email protected] phone 0845 850 9505.

Lifeline beyondyour lifetimeChallenge in chilly paradise

Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Rev, Dr, Christian name and surname

Address

Postcode

I enclose my gift of for use where most needed

MYRESPONSE

PLEASE USE BLOCK CAPITALS

Registeredcharityin EnglandandWales(1064598)andinScotland(SC039107)

I want to help bring Godscompassion to needy people

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Please send me the new free DVD Lifelinebeyond your lifetime


Ready to goAbove &Beyond? by Mark Styants

Each day, MAF goesabove and beyond,fying across physi-cal barriers to reachisolated people,bringing help andhope to transormlives.

AndAbove &Beyondis also ournew youth andstudent programmeI am developing as

MAF Youth Manager.We are committed to enabling young

people to go above and beyond in theirdiscipleship, growing in commitment toGods mission or the remotest people.

To begin with, we are introducing aninspiring e-newsletter specically or youngpeople, students and youth workers. Youcan sign up to receive it on our Above &

Beyondwebsite.Also, we are producing discipleship

resources to engage young people withissues such as mission, compassion andjustice, as well as introducing them to the

ast summer, pilot Laura

estley spent time ying in

ongolia. She writes:

e very word Mongolia sounds as thoughs somewhere to look up in your atlas!At rst, regular pilot Juuso Koponen andew together. Erdenebulgan is a happyley village, cuddled up against an icyer gurgling through tree-clad mountains.tched by fuy goats and motorbikes, we

nded on a lush green eld.Ater our passengers had let or a daysit, our lunch was steamed minced meatdough.

osest airfeldxt, we hopped into a van or the hills.

uide Damjin showed us a small turbine-ed dam generating electricity (during

e summer the river reezes in winter!).is reduces the need to chop down treesrewood, so reducing both erosion and

orestation.There are no known Christians here.

yone or a challenge in chilly paradise?Ater 3 weeks came my rst all-by-ysel fight into the outer bits o whatey used to call Outer Mongolia.Id been promised blue skies and hotather. Hmmm! Ninety minutes into the

ght, it was cloud and rain. The plane waspidly icing over. I had to get out quick.ck to Ulaanbaatar still the closesteld. With heavy heart, I told the ninessionaries they would not reach Khovd.

inging defancey two, and American missionaries boundUlaangom. With severe icing conditionsecast, we never even let the ground.Airborne day three, and into the Gobisert. We few past parched plains, m ajes-mountain ranges, lunar landscapes anded-up rivers. You fy and fy and theressolutely nothing. Suddenly, in an act o

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total deance, you see a little round whitegerclinging to a mountainside or huddledalongside a riverbed.

Finally on the outh day, we made it to

Ulaangom, the International School Projectteam dashing o or their leadership course(two days late!).

Four Mongolian trainers joined them.Although not allowed to teach the Bibledirectly, all training is biblically based.

Camel trainOne hundred delegates assumed that theirtraining would endorse being in charge.They were amazed at the servant leaderconcept. The citys welare ocer was evenserving others tea!

Christianity here is perceived as beingautocratic and domineering. But these dele-gates have seen Christianity in action.

Our work done, we drove to Ovs Lakeand vast open plains. You stand so small andunimportant amid this huge expanse. Butthen you remember that the One whocreated all this sees you standing in that

very spot and knows your name!A nomadic amily was on the move 20

camels and 8 people, withgers packed onthe camels, and a little baby tucked into a

side-saddle.Countless lives

We encountered Buddhist shrines and pileso rocks part o Ovoo religion. Peoplethrow a rock on the pile, walk around and

wish or sae travel. Most lives here areshepherds without The Shepherd.

Next day, we few ar west to Khovd.Two Mongolian ladies manage a leadership-mentoring project there. Fiteen leadershave come to know the Lord as Saviour inthe last ew years.

I remember well when UK Christianswere asked to pray or and und an aircrator MAF in Mongolia. Some 12,000 peopleresponded enthusiastically, enabling the

Millennium Messengerto go into action.Now I can tell you that countless lives

have been reached and touched by thisaircrat and the people we fy in it.

Let some o our Supporters take you on ajourney with MAF and also meet some othe members o our sta team.

This brand new 6-minute lm eaturesinspirational interviews and action-packedootage o MAFs essential ministry aroundthe world.

You will meet people whose lives havebeen transormed through the way ourplanes enable the right help at the rightmoment.

A glimpse o the beginnings highlightsthe persistence o the ministry by Godsgrace up to today.

While much has changed especially intechnology since the rst MAF fight in1946, our vision and purpose remain thesame. Around the world, the needs havenot changed much either. In act, they aregreater than ever beore. There is still so

much to be done in the years ahead.You will also learn o the very special

contribution that legacies are making toreaching thousands o people in the Nameo our Lord Jesus however isolated theymay be.

When you invest in MAFs uture, youare helping to make change possible orgenerations to come. You are helping toensure that people in remote areas willreceive medical care, gain an educationand hear the Good News.

Contact us right away, and your reeDVD will be on its way to you. In order torequest your copy, use the coupon on thispage, phone 0845 850 9505 or [email protected]

Legacies that we received in the nalquarter o 2008 totalled 343,893 or

which we express our thankulness to God.


9/9

Life-saving deliveriesSix-year-old Chamring is alive. Thanks in part toMAFs ights to Darjo, Sudan, or Christian Mission

Aid (CMA), bringing essential supplies and sta.

The CMA team discovered Chamring on the brink o

death, alone and starving ater watching his own

mother die. At frst he reused milk and would

slither on the oor helplessly, as i willing to die, reports Elizabeth

Rukenya o the CMA team. As the team ed him milk, eggs and porridge,

Chamring grew stronger. Even malaria and bilharzia

ailed to halt his recovery. Today, Chamring is a vibrant,

healthy boy. I am fne! he smiles.

maf news march - may 2009

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