Mike Tachick’s Reflection

In March of 2024, nine of the MAF board traveled to the city of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for their first-ever board meetings held on an MAF program. Here, Mike Tachick, a business owner and private pilot, shares highlights from the trip.

As a pilot, I’m already a believer in aviation, so I don’t need to be convinced of MAF’s impact and benefits. But there is something special about experiencing an MAF field program and seeing its impact firsthand.

In my role as an MAF board member, I, together with the other board members, offer oversight and governance to make sure the ministry of MAF is effective. We as a board are responsible for making sure the ministry is on track and equipped, giving support and guidance to MAF leadership.

This usually happens at our semi-annual meetings at MAF’s headquarters located in Idaho. But it’s very hard to guide and lead if you haven’t seen the work for yourself, so last year the board decided to travel to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a program visit.

The trip took a lot of the theoretical out of the ministry for us as a board, and the practical aspects quickly came to light.

We arrived in Kinshasa in the evening, and as soon as we left the airport—which was large but quiet—we saw trash burning in the streets, so it looked and felt a little bit like a war zone.

The next day we were struck by the incredible congestion and atrocious traffic in the city. We thought how strange it is that MAF flies into remote airstrips to highly isolated groups of people, and yet the first thing we do is go into a city of 17 million people and we’re stuck in traffic!

Besides the traffic, we learned that power goes out every day and the water system is unreliable. MAF has built back-up systems to have continuity for ministry, not just at the hangar, but at staff homes, so they have connectivity for security, communications, and schooling for kids.

At the guest house where we stayed, we experienced the power going out pretty much every night, and we would have to reset our air conditioning each time. We got a little taste of what MAF staff experience, and that was good for us—good for us to be hot, good to be delayed, to see that traffic is hard or you can’t get everything you want—so we can better understand.

One day we went on an MAF flight, and what struck me flying from an airport on the edge of this major city was the bureaucracy involved. We were already in the country, yet we had to go through immigration for an in-country flight. I must have asked three times why we were doing this. The answer I got was: That’s just how it works here!

On our flight to the village of Vanga, I was taking in the landscape below us. I would look at the land—the rolling hills, the woods, and fields—and try to find the dirt roads and figure out which one might go to Vanga if you were to drive it. It looked like a long trip by road. I was later told it would take 12 hours, but our flight was only about 45 minutes. Aviation saves the day!

During our visit to the Vanga Evangelical Hospital, I was struck by how extensive it is, and how many disciplines it covers, considering they’re operating in tough conditions.

While we were there, we visited with a young man, Kevin, who had been in a motorcycle accident in Kinshasa. MAF flew him to Vanga to get better care than he would have gotten in the capital, which seems upside down and is a testament to the quality of care at the mission hospital.

Kevin, now restored to health, spoke of how MAF made a difference in his life. And before we left, he wanted to pray for us, which was really encouraging.

When we see the impact of medical flights, or helping other ministries to accomplish their purpose for the kingdom in a country like the DRC, it’s so powerful.

We interacted with national staff, who we rarely have the chance to meet with at MAF headquarters. It was fun to see all the areas of expertise they have as they serve in finance, IT, aircraft maintenance, or security. They face many of the same challenges our expat staff do, but perhaps without some of the backup systems for water or power or communications. Yet they still joyfully show up for work to do ministry.

We enjoyed a meal together with the staff in the hangar, and then we sang a song in Lingala, the local language. It was very raucous and fun.

This trip filled us up—from seeing the reality of life and ministry in Kinshasa, to meals with the expat and national staff, to the flight to Vanga—it was such a great experience for us as a board to have together. We agreed that we bonded as a group as we saw firsthand the impact of this beautiful organization that we love and serve.

It gave us perspective on how the ministry really works and helped align our expectations with reality. This trip will continue to guide us and aid our understanding as we make decisions that could impact MAF’s direction now and into the future.