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This week we swapped boats for planes as we heard from the wonderful Ruth and Nathan from the Christian charity Mission Aviation Fellowship.
Also known as MAF, they use aviation and technology in order to reach the world’s most remote communities. The charity provides transport for life changing resources and medical relief in partnership with over 2000 aid organisations.
The reason they do this?
Many villages in Africa (e.g. Liberia, Tanzania, Chad) are very dangerous to reach due to armed bandits and the lack of proper roads. Or communities can become trapped due to natural disasters blocking their roads. These challenges are an everyday reality for people living there and mean they are cut off from the rest of the world.
In this pandemic we have had a small taste of what it is to live in isolation, but we have still had the luxuries of the internet and phones. Yet this life of imprisonment is something some people experience every day and not out of choice. So MAF provides them with a lifeline of connection.
MAF aims to bring hope, help and healing to isolated communities in developing regions of the world. One of the speakers, Ruth, felt particularly connected to the charity as she comes from a developing area of Africa in which their work dominates.
Hope is the belief that there is something more and in Jesus there is always hope and love. MAF strives to connect with other communities, providing them with the resources they need physically but also spiritually in the form of the gospel. As Ruth said, the technology and aviation aspect of the charity are just tools, seeking people whom they can serve and give hope to is what their focus is on.
The charity has been working for 75 years to overcome physical barriers by plane to reach people whilst also sharing God’s gospel and love with them. Every 4 minutes one of their planes takes off or lands somewhere in the world, making their impact vast.
So what can we do to help?
Prayer, people and pounds is what they’re looking for and specifically in that order. Whilst money is important Ruth says that their planes are held in the sky by prayer and petition alone.
Nathan also explained how important people are to the work of MAF too, a recent study reckoned that mission interest in the millennial generation of the church is down around 40%. If charities like MAF are to continue successfully, then they need people with certain skill sets to get involved. This is not just pilots: logistics, support and admin roles are vital too.
One thing that Ruth said that particularly stuck with me is that we are dangerous people: armed by the King of Kings, and prayer is our weapon.
These are just some of the things we can use the power of prayer to lift up to God:
- The families working for MAF who are stranded in different countries due to lockdown.
- Hope to return their planes safely to Myanmar.
- For their pilots and staff currently flying Covid vaccinations to the vulnerable in Mozambique.
- That they continue to expand their reach and bring hope to the hopeless.
And one very simple thing to do RIGHT NOW is to sign up to MAF’s mailing list to see more of their world.
4 times a year they send out a magazine that transports you to a different place they impact. It contains prayer points, testimonies and is a great way to connect with the charity.
It is definitely worth a read so if you do anything today after seeing this post, then sign up to mailing list through the link below!
I pray with joy, thankful for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Philippians 1: 4-5
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