Flight Briefing Vol. 3 - Missionary Flights International
Transcription
Flight Briefing Vol. 3 - Missionary Flights International
February 2015 Fall 2015 Flightbriefing 3170 Airmans Dr., Ft. Pierce, FL 34946 772.462.2395 www.missionaryflights.org [email protected] “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap...” Ezekiel 22:30a Preparing to Serve in Cuba photo: Rooftop Missions Cuba. We often have wondered what it would be like to serve missionaries and the Church there. But Cuba has been closed to traditional missionary service for 50 years, and we would need a third DC-3 to expand while supporting our present commitments. Service to Cuba seemed well beyond our reach. In 1965, when the Communist Party began ruling in Cuba, the Church experienced persecution. Pastors were falsely accused and severely beaten, and church property often was confiscated. Today, laws are not always enforced, but Christians know the laws could be, so they remain vigilant. Now the U.S. - Cuba relationship is thawing. Cuban and American embassies re-opened this summer. Some financial and travel restrictions have been lifted. And we have been receiving requests from missions and churches who want our support in Cuba. Can you believe it? Concurrently, God has been providing us the tools we need to reach out to Cuba. First, we are strategically located, less than a two-hour flight from Cuba. In 2011, we got a great price on a second hangar that could accommodate the refurbishment of a third DC-3. God blessed us with an incredible deal for a turbine DC-3 fuselage in South Africa that will save us close to $1 million (including upgrades and flying it back here). In 2014 and 2015 God sent us the additional mechanics, pilots, and administrative staff to support this expansion. Already God has brought in close to half of the funds to get this plane into service. When God is in a plan, when it’s His plan, we labor faithfully and trust Him. God assures the outcome. “Man devises his way but God will direct our steps.” (Prov. 16:9) Cuban pastors praying. (photo: Edutech) A Work in Progress - Third Turbine DC-3 The need for a third airplane became readily apparent during Hurricane Joaquin relief to the lower Bahamas. An unexpected maintenance issue grounded one plane and thus disrupted service to Haiti and the Dominican Republic as well as relief efforts. The sooner this new airplane is in active service, the sooner these types of delays will be a thing of the past. In the previous Flight Briefing, MFI announced the donation of a turbine DC-3 plane, currently located in South Africa. MFI’s Director of Maintenance, Ian Hengst, visited South Africa to inspect the plane and confirm its condition. A generous gift from Samaritan’s Purse allowed MFI to pay off the lien on the plane. This airplane is pictured below in its current condition no engines and with the wings on the floor. Experienced DC-3 mechanics in South Africa are making the minor repairs now. The engines and other needed parts have been shipped and will be installed by the end of this year. The current timeline has the airplane in MFI’s hangar in Fort Pierce by March of 2016. To meet this timeline, MFI needs your help. We need $350,000 to bring this plane home. That money would pay 2 Turbine engines prior to shipping to South Africa. for the labor and parts to make the plane airworthy. Also included is money for radios, navigation equipment, and $40,000 for the fuel needed to fly the plane to Florida from South Africa. A third DC-3 will allow us to serve new countries. It has been a long-term process: finding the plane, obtaining the funds, purchasing parts, and connecting with the new partners whom we will serve. There still is a lot of work ahead. We hope you will stand with us for the long-haul. Photo: Arnold Balledux at HLA/FALA Jan 07, 2010 www.abcdlist.nl/photo/dc3/5yrds.html Standing in the Gap for Missions in the Caribbean Hurricane Joaquin Relief for the Bahamas Hurricane Joaquin struck the southern Bahamas with the force of a strong Category 4 on October 1 - with the most damage occuring on Long Island, Crooked Island, and San Salvador. Some estimates have 90% of the homes on those islands being flooded, in addition to wind damage. MFI’s mission is to partner with Bible-centered missions by providing reliable transportation and logistical services - specifically to those located in the Caribbean. Randy Crowe, the Director of Island Outreach, Inc., contacted MFI about relief supplies collected by the people of the greater Abaco, Bahamas area, asking if MFI could help transport those supplies. The pilots and staff of MFI did all they could to assist in moving the needed supplies from Abaco to the affected areas. Randy organized the distribution of the collected supplies by partnering with local pastors of the communities hit the hardest. The best way to coordinate the distribution of relief supplies is to use a local church or mission. This ensures the supplies make it to the affected people. While there is still much to do, according to Randy, “MFI has made a big difference in getting the process started.” In all, MFI flew ten flights to the southern Bahamas with over 60,000 pounds of relief supplies. Florida Women Sew for Haitian Families The ladies of Spanish Lakes Country Club Village Quilters took a break from quilts to sew beautiful dresses for a mission in Haiti. Parkview Baptist Church of Fort Pierce joined in by donating fabric and a special sewing machine to help with the making of shorts, diapers, and baby blankets. Over 100 garments were lovingly sewn and flown to Haiti on the MFI plane to the Haiti Home of Hope mission in Pignon, Haiti. The mission gave some of the clothes to the children in their orphanage. The majority of the clothes were passed out to the community through a special weekly ministry to families of children without mothers. These families are given food, milk, and this time - hand-sewn clothes from Florida. The little girls clearly were thrilled to receive their brand new dresses. www.missionaryflights.org 3 Is the door opening for MFI to serve in Cuba? FROM THE PRESIDENT Missionary Flights International (MFI) has had several milestones in its history, and you have been there to witness many of them. it appears that the Lord has been guiding our steps the last several years to respond to this once-in-a-generation opportunity to come alongside the Cuban Church. I believe we are on the threshold of another significant milestone for MFI. The normalizing of diplomatic relations with Cuba could open the door for ministry partnership with the Cuban Church. Believers in Cuba are requesting that MFI fly through this door that God appears to be opening. We still thank God for the privilege of being one of the first on-the-ground responders to the Haiti earthquake in 2010. We trust Him to allow us to respond to Cuba’s opening door. In God’s providence MFI will be a strong thread running through the cord He is weaving to link the U.S. Church with the Church in Cuba. Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. We hope to send an “advance team” to Cuba in the coming months to meet with Church and Mission leaders to assess the best way we can come alongside the Cuban Church. Please partner with us financially as we begin to walk through this opening door. Let’s reach this next major milestone together! Our service to evangelical missions has more than doubled in the past six years, and we are stretched to meet the need with only two turbine DC-3s. So to respond to requests from Cuba, not to mention inquiries from Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, we desperately need a third DC-3. God is generously providing for this project to add a third plane which is one way we know He has blessed this initiative. To me, and to the staff and board of MFI, Medical Flight Thank You I would like to thank you for perhaps saving my life. I was diagnosed with multiple melanoma cancer the very night I got to Melbourne, FL. My calcium level was high enough that my time was limited. How can I thank you not only for bringing me out, but for jumping through all the hoops AND PLEASANTLY, too, to get me to the States. I pray God will bless you, and I will do my best to pass the blessings forwards. THANK YOU. - Norma Alexander, missionary to Haiti for 32 years Upcoming Events You can find more details about the below events at www.missionaryflights.org/events. Reservations are required for the Feed My Starving Children event. You can reserve your spot starting December 1 at www.missionaryflights.org. Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack Event When: January 9, 2016 , 9am - 4pm Where: MFI Hangar in Ft. Pierce, FL MFI Family Day When: March 5, 2016, 10am - 4pm Where: MFI Hangar in Ft. Pierce, FL West Palm Beach Banquet When: March 18, 2016, 6pm - 9pm Where: Airport Hilton, West Palm Beach, FL