A lot of blood

524 kg of blood. That's a lot. That's the amount of life saving blood that MAF flew into the Karamoja region of northern Uganda in 2009.  Taking it from the capital city, Kampala to hospitals at Matany, Kaabong and Kotido.

The roads are dangerous in more ways than one.  They are in a shocking condition. It can take two days to drive from Kampala to the Karamoja region.  But insecurity is the major problem. Just a few weeks ago two vehicles on this road were ambushed. The driver of one of the vehicles was shot but able to drive to safety.  Three people in the other vehicle were killed and the car was looted.

The MAF plane overcomes these huge obstacles and consistently delivers life saving blood supplies to those in desperate need in the Karamoja region of Uganda.

Haiti disaster response

Tuesday 12 January 2010 started like any other ordinary day in Haiti. By the end of it, tens of thousands of people had died and millions were left without homes. Totally devastated.

A month on and Haiti is out of the news, but the rebuilding of the nation is only just beginning. It will take a very long time.
Do you know what a huge difference a plane can make following disasters like this?

Check out this video of an MAF plane landing on the island of La Gonave, Haiti, before the earthquake struck.

Vital flights

The island of La Gonave receives its food supplies weekly from the capital city Port au Prince. However, because of the chaos there after the quake, no food was getting through, leaving thousands hungry. We were able to deliver vital food supplies to the island.

MAF has four planes flying throughout Haiti, taking relief to outlying towns that have been totally cut off and helping evacuate international workers. Without the planes, many of these places would be impossible to reach.

Serving others

The MAF hangar in Port au Prince has been a hub of activity, helping other agencies with storage and distribution of food, water and medical supplies. We were also able to set up a satellite communication system to help the relief efforts of more organisations. One agency, Instedd, used this system to receive text messages from people in need, and from aid workers on the streets so that they could co-ordinate relief teams and search and rescue efforts.

Long-term help

MAF has been working in Haiti since 1986. When all the disaster response teams leave Haiti and go back home, MAF will still be there as committed as ever to see this nation rebuilt and restored.
Will you stand with us in prayer for Haiti? Click here for prayer points

Beans, beans…

Since she was just two years old, Anna had been totally deaf in her right ear.  Living on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya there were no nearby doctors who were able to help. MAF recently flew a medical team there. In five days, the team treated over 1000 patients, including Anna.

Seven year old Anna was almost the last patient on the first day and the member of the team who saw her could tell that something was wrong and sent her away to try using ear drops for a couple days.

When she came back they removed 2 black seeds from her ear but her hearing was still not right. So they sent her away with more ear drops. She returned again on the last day that the team were there. They tried to flush the ear several times again, but it didn’t seem to be working. They were about to give up, but decided to give it one last try.

This time, as they flushed it, a small piece of brown material began to come out. To their amazement it was half a bean!

They removed the bean and Anna could hear properly for the first time in five years! She was absolutely delighted and left praising God for the medical team and the plane that brought them.

Giving hope in Mongolia

Get out your hats, gloves, scarves, thermal underpants we’re going to Mongolia. How much do you know about this former communist country in Asia? Mongolia is cold. In the winter, temperatures drop as low as -40°C. Freezing. Mongolia is massive. It is bigger than Spain, France and Germany combined. There are enormous mountains and the vast Gobi desert. Mongolia has very few roads. Travelling around Mongolia is incredibly difficult.

In Mongolia, the main religions are Buddhism and Shamanism. A lot of people have no religion. Most Mongolians have never heard of Jesus Christ. Despite this, the church in Mongolia is growing amazingly. In 1989, there were four known believers. Today, there are over 40,000.

Most of the Christians are based around the capital city Ulaanbaatar (try saying that with a mouth full of marshmallows!). Ulaanbaatar Baptist Church (UBC) has a fantastic vision to plant churches in every province in Mongolia. But because of the lack of roads, the harsh climate, the gigantic mountains reaching people is almost impossible.

Operating under the name Blue Sky Aviation, MAF is partnering UBC and other churches and mission groups as they reach people across this vast nation.

MAF planes make a huge difference. Pastor Boldbaatar from UBC shares, ‘We learnt about Blue Sky. We are so thankful to God that He opened the door for us to reach different places and in such a short time.’

Recently MAF flew a team from UBC to a place way up in the mountains in western Mongolia. Without the plane, it would have been a long, dangerous drive passing over several mountains. It would have taken between four days and a week. Maybe even longer. The plane journey was under four hours.

The team from UBC shared the message of Jesus and 80 people committed their lives to Christ for the first time. One new believer told his story, ‘I did lots of sins in my life. Now I believe God forgave me, crucified on the cross, shed His blood for me.’ The church in Mongolia is growing. People are coming to know Jesus. Praise God! It is a total privilege for MAF to be serving in this way, overcoming barriers, helping to reach isolated people. In fact, it’s the reason MAF exists.

Planes full of porridge in Kenya

It hasn’t rained for a long time in the north of Kenya. This means there’s not much food growing and water is running out.

This used to be a river

Apparently it’s the worst drought since 2000 and people are struggling to survive. Nearly four million people are now desperately in need of food.
They are hoping for some rain soon. If it doesn’t come, Kenya is heading for a disaster.
Vast numbers of seriously hungry and thirsty people have been crying out for help.

So often God uses MAF flights as the answer to people’s prayers. We can’t make it rain, but we can pack planes full of food and deliver it right to the most needy people.

MAF has been busy, working with partners, doing just this over the last few weeks. Packing planes with an enriched, high-energy porridge mix, suitable for malnourished people, and delivering them throughout northern Kenya.

It’s only a drop in the ocean, but lives are being saved. Please take a moment to pray for the situation, that those most affected will be helped and that the rains will come soon.

A week in the life of an MAF pilot

Above & Beyond caught up with MAF pilot Steve Richards to find out what an average week is like working for MAF in Papua…

Tuesday:

Some crazy storms meant the week’s flight schedule had to be adapted. Steve brought Wednesday’s planned flight forward to deliver a load of church building materials.

When Steve landed, a man bounded up to him begging him to help a lady in great pain. Steve responded quickly and flew her out to be treated at hospital. The man beamed, ‘Praise God you came today so this lady could get to the hospital.’

Wednesday:

Steve told us, ‘Yesterday’s original plan of flying two pastors for a translation seminar took place today. The two men agreed that God was in control, and praised Him for allowing us to help the woman the previous day.’

Thursday:
Steve flew to a place called Timika to collect two other pastors who were heading home after a church conference. He also picked up a man and his family, who had just finished Bible school. This guy had graduated the week before and was now returning to his home to serve in the local church. Steve said, ‘It was again a joy to be able to serve this family. I could see the sorrow of having to say goodbye to great friends, but they were ready to go forward and serve where they felt called to serve.’
Following this flight and a quick 10-minute turn around, Steve was off again, flying the director of a Christian kindergarten in to oversee the end–of-year ceremony for 19 kids who were finishing the programme. In this remote community, education is an extreme luxury.
From there, a medical emergency took Steve to a place called Pagamba. A three-year-old boy had broken his arm when he fell from the house (houses are raised off the ground). Steve collected him and his father to take them to hospital.
Friday:
More bad weather and another medical emergency flight from Pagamba. A man had fallen from a high scaffold. He had broken his back and was found in a ravine. The family carried him overnight to Pagamba to be brought to hospital. Steve comments, ‘I have seen those trails and I can’t imagine running over them at night without a flashlight, but to do it carrying a stretcher is even more amazing.’
Wow, at the end of a busy week, Steve concludes: ‘I guess you can say it was really an amazing week! It was good we could fit in all the church and mission requests with one plane, and fly several emergency cases as well. Despite the weather and several medical emergencies, we were able to fly every flight we had planned at the beginning of the week.’

Flying planes, following Jesus

When Jesus arrived on planet earth, He announced that part of the reason He came was to ‘proclaim freedom for the prisoners.’ (Luke 4:18) On another occasion, He summed up what He’d been up to like this, ‘The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.’ (Matthew 11:5)

[Freedom for the prisoners - Young prisoners in Kenya making a decision to follow Christ]

MAF is a mission organisation that flies small planes to reach isolated people. To be involved in mission means to follow the example of Jesus. MAF is partnering others who preach Good News to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners, to help the blind to see and the lame to walk in some of the most remote communities in the world.