So to the second of three

South Sudan was HOT and when I arrived in Nairobi from Juba, the capital of South Sudan, it was pouring with rain and rather COOL. It seemed to take longer to get to the guest house from the airport than it did to fly from Juba! It was a welcome relief to meet Alan Sully, the Programme Manager, and his wife Davina to share in a very large dish of Ethiopian food. We then relaxed around a wood fire at their home. A pleasant end to a long day.



First thing in the morning at the MAF Office was to join them for a time of praise, Bible teaching and prayer. It was a most uplifting experience with harmonious singing, a challenging talk and fervent prayer.



Next a visit to Wilson airport to meet Jane Wambui. Jane has been with MAF for a number of years after completing her pilot training in Kenya.



My first proper job was a development engineer in the electrical laboratory of the Ford Motor Company. So for me it was a fascinating to spend some time talking ‘techy’ stuff with Hannu Heinonen who is the chief avionics engineer. He is an absolute whizz on all things electronic such as radar, satellite positioning systems, and radios along with all the other specialist instrumentation on board modern aircraft used by MAF. He has also built some complex testing equipment.



One aspect of living in Nairobi is the traffic jams. I used to think the M25 was bad. This is worse. And even though the distance from the 2 MAF compounds to Wilson Airport is under 10 km It can take up to an hour in heavy traffic. Taking children to school or after a hard day’s work flying, working in the hangar or office it is a drain on energy and patience keeping safe in Nairobi where the rules of the road are loosely adhered to.



And finally it is always a joy to spend time with families. Sensing the call of God in their lives to use their skills to bring physical and spiritual hope to those in remote areas. Adrian and Lindsay Rose have been in the programme for a number of years. Adrian has a lot experience of the Cessna Caravan will soon begin flying the bigger PC12.



Steve and Katie Machell have only been in Nairobi a few weeks with their children. Steve is currently obtaining all the licenses he needs to fly in the Kenya programme. I know they would appreciate our prayers as they settle into the programme, accommodation and new schools for the children.

So first off – South Sudan.

So first off – South Sudan. The newest country in our world. First impressions on nearing Juba (see photo below) is relatively barren land with a sparse population. It is also HOT! Normally around 40 degrees centigrade or 105 degrees Fahrenheit.



First evening had a meal with the Juba team of international staff. Going round the table from left. Laura volunteered to be a short term base administrator. Gero an experienced MAF Pilot. Brian (that’s Laura’s husband) normal does IT with MAF US and its continuing his IT work remotely (the wonders of modern technology!). Cory – He is from the US and is volunteering for a few months seeking the Lord’s direction. Adrian – arrived the same day as me and is doing a 2 month stint helping with the operations. Adrian and his wife have been with MAF for many years but he is helping throughout the year on short term work.. And lastly Mike who is a pilot.



The MAF office at Juba made out of 2 porta-cabins. The Juba base is undergoing significant developments in the coming year.



Got up very early in the morning – that’s me! To help with loading a Cessna Caravan. Mike told me that he had recently taken Baroness Cox on a flight recently as she is currently on visit to assess the current situation.



Now I am back in Nairobi. Please pray for the staff in South Sudan as there is considerable tension between the Government of the Sudan in the north and South Sudan over the oil fields on the border. I understand that fighting has taken place.

East Timor

East Timor (or Timor Leste as it is known within the country) is hot and humid, but very beautiful. Formerly a Portuguese colony, later invaded by Indonesia, it is the world’s second youngest country - 10 years old in May. There is a noticeable UN presence, to support this young nation in building government and infrastructure. The UN will withdraw at the end of this year.

The capital, Dili, is located on the northern edge of the country, looking out over calm blue waters that seem to merge with the sky in the absence of any visible horizon. The various islands in the distance seem to just hover in the blue. The city is small and cleaner than many places I’ve been to. Most buildings are one storey high. Amongst the crowds passing along the roadside are individuals carrying a pole over their shoulder, an assortment of produce to sell hanging from either end of the pole, like freshly caught fish strung up with reeds. Elsewhere are market stalls lining the road, with neatly arranged piles of brightly coloured strange shaped vegetables or exotic fruits - purples, reds, greens.

Having landed at about 7am (and only managing an hours sleep while overnight in Darwin airport) the schedule for our time in Timor Leste is packed - we begin interviews with partners at 8:30am. There are numerous NGOs working here, and those who fly with MAF include World Vision, Oxfam, Pradet, and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS).

Friday I flew down to Oecusse, a part of the country which is cut off due to it being surrounded by Indonesia in Western Timor. Options to access Oecusse include: a 12 hour boat trip; a long overland drive that requires a lot of paperwork to cross the Indonesian borders; or by air with MAF (or the UN until they pull out of the country). The MAF flight to bring in a RACS plastic surgery team from Adelaide enabled the team to practically immediately hold the pre-operation clinic to review the cases planned for the week ahead, despite them only having arrived in Dili early that morning. 26 operations were planned, mostly cleft palette in children and two women, but there were a couple of limb deformities for surgery too.

In Oecusse I also met with representatives from Caritas. They took me out to the village of Aos Ero where they had been working on a number of projects with the people, including food sustainability and a microfinance. The villagers had been informed of our visit in advance and were all gathered to greet us and present us with gifts – woven scarves – on our arrival. Their warm and generous welcome was humbling, their poverty clearly evident along with their excitement and smiles over our visit. While the majority of their subsistence crops had already been harvested their maize grew high and close to their palm-roofed huts. Underneath the maize they were growing pumpkins as ground cover and food (including the leaves), some of which they sell at the market in town. There was a real sense of pride over what they had been able to achieve with their microfinance programme, the village having a small cooperative bank from which members have been able to take loans to buy a cow, or for assistance with children’s school fees, or to purchase medicines. It is what I love the most about these research trips – meeting people who ultimately benefit from what MAF does; who have so little but who are so welcoming to strangers. But I was also told that our visit meant a lot to the villagers too – that there are people from far away who care about them.

And so I come to the end of another overseas trip. It has been interesting to visit three separate programmes back-to-back, and as a result see such striking differences between the people and the work that MAF does in each. During my trip I’ve been reading Max Meyers’ book ‘Eyes Turned Skywards’ – a great and thought provoking read – to learn a little more about the work of MAF in this region over the past decades. I work for a Christian mission organisation which is motivated by God’s love to help meet the needs of people in isolated places, most often in a very practical way by providing access. It’s an organisation where hi-tech (aviation) meets poverty and basic human need. The role I have seems very small in the grand scheme of things, and staring out of the plane window enroute to Darwin this morning I was considering this – the privilege of meeting so many isolated people, and those that serve them, and wondering why God had given me task. But Max’s book reminds me of the importance of telling the story – the many stories – to inspire others who cannot visit the places but who ultimately fund the work of MAF, many of whom are inspired to help unseen strangers because of the Gospel – the greatest story of good news. God has a plan, and a love for people that cannot be quenched. I am thankful that I have just a small part to play in telling stories too and sharing God’s love with others.

Elcho Island

Yesterday I flew out to Elcho Island. The population on Elcho is about 2,300 and is made up of about 17 different clans, though only 3 of these have homelands on the actual island (i.e. they originate from there). So the small town around the airstrip is called a ‘community’ rather than a homeland. Here, as elsewhere across Arnhem Land, the people are hunter gatherers – obtaining much of their diet from their surrounding environment. But I wouldn’t have guessed this as their homes are not of a traditional design, and look both permanent and quite a good size until you learn that large extended families live in them altogether. I was informed that only one man had a ‘green thumb’ in the community, unusual in that he had a garden where he was growing fruit and vegetables for his family.

I visited one of our partners, CSIS (Co-ordinating Support for Indigenous Scriptures), which comes under the overarching umbrella of the United Church of Australia. Having completed translation of the New Testament in one of the aboriginal languages, the CSIS team is now using it as the source document for translation work into a number of the other indigenous languages in Arnhem Land. But what do you do with the translated work (quite a sizeable book) in a place where a high percentage of the population are illiterate? Recognising the problem, CSIS also has a team – Mary and Sandra - working on ways to share and teach their people, with illustrated and digital resources (many people have mobile phones – a tool for reaching them).

I also visited Lake Evella, another outpost where two MAF families are based. Here I met pilot Daniel Roth’s adopted mother Lucy (actually, she’s just one of his mothers). Daniel has been based there for 6 years and what was lovely to see was the genuine concern and care Lucy had for her adopted son and his family.

Having flown back into Gove, this evening I attended the children’s outreach in Yirkala, facilitated by the MAF ministry team. From experience they have learnt that none of the children arrive until darkness has fallen, so we didn’t rush dinner. Having set things up under a spot light on a grassy area, and with music playing, about 50-60 children appeared and had a load of fun – playing games, tug-of-war, action songs, Bible story and teaching, and a supper of sausages (possibly the only protein they’ll eat in the week), bread and bananas. It was the first time I’ve seen children here really enjoying themselves. I sat talking with Eunice who had brought her grand children along to participate – for her it was really important that they hear about Jesus, and she shared how she and other women in the community gather each week to pray together for their people.

During my time here in Arnhem Land I’ve discovered the term ‘Fourth World’, used in relation to minority populations or sub-cultures existing within a first world country but with a standard of living of a third world population. It is a term that is helping me to realise that in such circumstances, where you find a strong sub-culture existing where another dominant culture has control, there are some unique challenges. There doesn’t appear to be any common ground between the two. For example, for the aborigines attendance at funerals (which can last for days if not weeks) and ceremonies is much more important than work responsibilities. So if there is a funeral within the extended family, an employee will be absent from work for its duration. Then consider how strong, in western society, the work ethic is. You can imagine the potential difficulties that arise when the two meet. It’s been fascinating!

Tomorrow I head off to East Timor. Hopefully there’ll be easy access to internet to share a little of what I see there.

Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia

I am now in Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. First impressions: it’s HOT, HOT, HOT and HUMID, and therefore a physically demanding place for MAF pilots to work. Thankfully the MAF houses and offices have air conditioning. The land is pretty much flat – flat, red and covered in thin bush land with spindly trees. A complete contrast to PNG.

The programme in Arnhem Land is presently MAF’s biggest, but it’s quite different to other programmes. Part of this relates to the partnership with Laynha Air – an aboriginal company that owns seven small aircraft to service the Yolŋu homelands (settlements) - MAF pilots fly their planes. There is one MAF plane based at Gove (the programme’s base) and additional MAF planes located at outposts throughout Arnhem Land.

Friday afternoon I flew with a team to Baniyala – a homeland on the edge of the sea, about a 35 minute flight from Gove along the coast. The first thing that strikes me is how small the homeland settlements are – there seem to be only a handful of homes, and Baniyala is one of the bigger ones. As we flew I saw a number of airstrips below. Unlike other programmes, the airstrips don’t service a widely dispersed population – just the small community in the immediate area.

Another noticeable difference is that no crowd gathers to meet the plane upon arrival – no excited children come running – in fact no one at all met us when we landed.

Our visit to Baniyala was to hold an outreach event in the evening, following meetings last year at Christmas and Easter. With two aboriginal Christians from Yirkala (near Gove) the MAF staff provides support with travel, equipment and one pilot speaks for a short while from the front of the meeting. Perhaps more importantly, staff have developed close relationships with the aboriginal Christian leaders seeking to reach their own people with the Gospel, investing time outside their duty hours in Bible study and discipleship. In many places, since earlier missionaries were all expelled in the 1970s, the practice of Christianity has included much of the traditional beliefs so many still live in fear of sorcery and witchcraft. Helping to ensure clarity over what is Biblical teaching and what is not is an important part of what the team does here, and recognition of this side of the role has increased the job satisfaction that many of the staff now have – many pilots joined MAF with the specific desire to be ‘missionary pilots’, and sometimes struggle with the absence of overtly sharing the Gospel in their day to day jobs.