Flown the Nest

Flown the nest is a phrase usually leveled at a teenager who have 'finally' left home.

We'll, our 51 year old left home last week when John and Holger flew our Beech 18 out of the farm for the last time, and on to its new home in Namibia.

We haven't delved back in the log books far enough to work out exactly how many hours it flew over the 18 years it was with us, or equated that to how many times round the world it has flown. It would be difficult to count the number of passengers who flew in it, and nigh impossible to know how many people have been affected by the ministries of those passengers.

It might have just been a plane, a collection of mechanical parts (some of which we have got to know very well!), but as a tool in Gods work it has been invaluable.

We will miss flying it - although we won't miss operating it, but we will certainly miss its growl on take off and it's sheer presence in the hanger. We will retain the memories of the places it has taken us of course but for now though, we look to the future and what God has in line as its replacement.

Mercy Air team

Harderwyk

Last week we flew a team from Harderwyk Church in the US, up to Chimoio in Moz, and as there were eight passengers, we did the flight jointly with ZUMAT, who used their recently acquired Piper Seneca.

We camped at the SAM Ministries mission site where Mercy Air are also building a remote base.

There were many things to do. The ladies spent a few days painting an orphanage whilst the boys put a roof on one of the Mercy Air buildings...

...as well as on a clinic, which had been built two years ago but had been waiting since then for its roof.

Even as they were working, people came to inquire when the clinic would be open - the need is so great there.

The team visited one of the local SAM workers who looks after the cattle and sheep for the mission. His name is Domingo and he lives a very simple life with his family and wife of 30 years, a few kilometers walk away.

He shared some maize he had grown and explained that when his stomach was empty he considered that he was poor, but when his stomach was full, he was rich.

As we left, he gave us a bunch of bananas and carried them back across the river for us.

SAM Ministries had built a school a few years back and still provide food for the students. We visited and helped out a little one lunch time.

They seemed pretty chuffed to see us.

At the mission, each morning starts at 06:30 with breakfast, and then devotions at 07:00.

In the evening the generator goes off at 21:00 which coincides nicely with the need to go to bed.
As it was hot and sweaty 24 hrs a day, and often rained heavily at night, some opted to sleep in a mosquito net tent in an open kitchen.

Lots of interesting creepy crawlies to keep us on our toes. This guy pitched up one evening whilst we were eating. He is a little smaller than your hand.

The team had bought some 'Talking Bibles' in Portugese - basically an MP3 player with the Bible on it. They presented some of these to a Pastor who regularly travels many 100 km at a time visiting churches that have been planted in the Zambezi region.
Before leaving on the Sunday we went to a local church. Some of the kids were fascinated by our presence finding any little hole in the wall to look through.

For the flight home we had a spare seat and were able to bring Bero back to South Africa where he had been offered free surgery. Bero had been badly burned as a child and had very restricted use of his arms and hands. Here we are getting out of the plane back at Mercy Air.

We take another team up to the same place at the end of March.

Thanks

Mercy Air team

A Mission within a Mission

Next week we take a US team up to Chimoio, Moz, where they will work at an orphanage and help with the construction of the Mercy Air/SAM ministries base. We will be camping for the week!


There is a Mozambican guy named Bero who works up there, who was badly burned as a child during the war. The burn damage is great but with corrective surgery he can be set free physically like never before. A surgeon in SA has agreed to do the surgery for free, and this is scheduled for three days after we return from Moz.


As we are taking two aircraft and the team are leaving quite a bit of stuff up there, we have room on the return flight for him. This will save him about three days travel, a whole bunch of inconvenience, and money. He will also be able to stay with us at Mercy Air for part of his recovery period.

You can read some more about Bero's story on Lynn Lagore's blog at:
http://lynnlagore.blogspot.com/2009/11/wow-factor.html

Mercy Air team

Morning Cobra Anyone?

We opened the office door the other morning to catch a glimpse of a medium sized snake slithering along the floor and under a desk. We didn't know exactly what kind it was, but we knew a man who would and so gave him a ring.

He arrived 30 mins later armed with a stick, a cardboard box and a lot of knowledge of how to handle these things.

We rediscovered it in amongst some files and it didn't take him long to coax it out. Turns out it was a Snouted Cobra and quite a bad boy if you get bitten by one. He said he knew of one person who had died 20 mins after having been bitten by one.

We weren't quick enough to get a photo of it, but this is what they look like when they're outside - where they're supposed to be.

Anyway, he was taken away to be released somewhere less threatening, where he could continue his search for frogs and mice.

Mercy Air team

The smell of Jet A1 fills the air - again.

Good News.

Our helicopter flew at 10:30 local time today (see pics below).


This was the first time since last March when we took it apart for its 12 yearly 'C' Check. It now sports its new colours and some safety and performance upgrades.

Its first mission trip to Moz is this coming Friday!

Mercy Air team

Wings of love to people in need

Please click on the article below to find out about Mercy Air's plans to help provide an affordable aviation service to those who need it most.

Mercy Air team

Birthday on the go

Wow, what a hectic birthday.

Technically Mercy Air's pilot Paul spent the day at work but it was probably a work day he wouldn't have wanted to miss. He was up at death o clock to fly up to Botswana to pick up our friendly Spanish family. After a splash and dash for fuel in Francistown, they headed north to find the Smoke that Thunders.

It turned out to be just where the GPS said it would be, and ATC allowed us a sneak peak...

We landed, put the plane to bed, just beat an airliner full of people to the Immigration queue, and drove 20mins to the hotel...

A quick-ish lunch and then they all headed straight for the border so that we could leave the country... for Zambia, to have a look from that side...

An hour later they were back in Zim to see how different it looked from there...

You can get quite close - and quite wet!

Then it went dark, so they went back to the hotel for more food.

Up early again the next morning to fly all the way south again. About 1500 miles total round trip. We pick them up Monday again to take them to a school in Maputo which they helped set up, after which we will drop them in Jo'burg so they can get back to Spain in a big plane.

Mercy Air team

Another Long Day in the Saddle

We just got back from a 750 mile (1200 km) day, a lot of which was spent in clouds dodging thunderstorms. We got back to White River just before dark and just before it started hoofing it down with rain.


We went to Jo'burg International pick up a Spanish family and drop them off at a dirt strip near the Moz/Zim border. We will pick them up again on Friday and take them on up through Botswana to Zimbabwe.

On the way to Jo'burg we were able to help another mission family who work in N. Moz and who had been down in SA over Christmas to have a baby. This baby became one of our youngest ever passenger at just 6 weeks! This saved Anne and the kids a five day 4x4 drive back to N. Moz which her husband was having to do.

Always worth looking right, left, and right again at T junctions at Jhb.

Not too obvious in this next pic but at the dirt strip where we dropped them off, we had to chase away an Elephant before we could safely take off again.

Mercy Air team

Happy happy and all that!

It’s hard to believe that we are nearly at the end of 2009. Looking back this year started with a flurry of flights including medivacs, mission trips and shed loads of office work.

The year has ended with a week of remembering and celebrating 20 years of Mercy Air’s existence. It’s interesting that when you remember the things that God has done in the past His future plans somehow become more clear and exciting! Mercy Air has some exciting plans for next year with at least 12 funded mission trips and possibly a new aircraft.

Thank you again to those who pray for, and support us.

You really do make a difference. Merry Christmas.

Mercy Air team

Mercy Air no longer a teenager!

Wow, what a week that was.

Numerous times in the Bible the Israelite's were told to remember what God had done for them. If they couldn't remember they were to ask their fathers and the old people - but they weren't to forget. Looking back is more than just nostalgia. Cathy and I get as much encouragement from relating our testimony of how we got to where we are, as the people we tell it to.

As part of Mercy Air's 20th celebration we decided that we too should also look back, as much to share and understand our corporate identity with people, like us, who have joined Mercy Air comparatively recently.

We set aside a week and invited many of the people who were instrumental in Mercy Air's birth from Europe and the US as well as missions that have joined us in our work and people that have benefited from our ministry over the years.

Everybody got a chance to tell their story of how God led them to be involved with Mercy Air.

Some of the staff prepared audio visual presentations from old scanned photos to help us remember how each aircraft came our way, how the hospitality ministry started and how the farm came to be ours.

Some evenings we finished with a meal together outside which left plenty of time to catch up with each other and those visitors we hadn't seen for a while.

At the end of the week we had an open day ...

and offered flights to people from the local community as well as some of the Africans and their families that work on the farm with us.

We finished off with a short service in one of the hangers.

Thank you to everyone who helped make it such a memorable and very worthwhile week. Here's to 20 more years.

Mercy Air team