NAMPA, Idaho — Some four years after MAF’s first KODIAK airplane landed in Indonesia, the ministry is moving forward in faith to purchase two additional KODIAKS—one for service in Papua, Indonesia, and one, a floatplane, to be based at Palangkaraya, in Kalimantan.
“The Lord has provided MAF with an exciting chance to purchase two KODIAKs at substantially less than the current market price,” said John Boyd, MAF president and CEO. “We had not budgeted for this expense in 2013, but when such a God-given opportunity presents itself, we have to say ‘YES’ and ‘Thank you, Lord!'”
These two KODIAKs are part of a long-term strategic initiative to upgrade the aging MAF fleet. The two floatplanes currently serving in Palangkaraya, for example—small Cessna 185s—are 51 and 44 years old. Like many MAF airplanes, they burn aviation gasoline (avgas), which has become expensive and difficult to obtain—the ministry sometimes pays $15 per gallon or more for fuel.
The KODIAK can carry more cargo and passengers than a Cessna 206 while using the same remote landing sites, making it an excellent aircraft for the mountain and river areas of Indonesia. Photos by Dave Forney, MAF.
The KODIAK burns jet fuel, which is much less costly and more readily available than avgas. This remarkable aircraft was designed specifically to meet the challenges of missionary aviation. It can travel longer distances than a Cessna 185 or 206 and carry more cargo while using the same challenging landing sites. And these two KODIAKs are desperately needed in Indonesia.
“Wednesday afternoon we got a call for a double medical evacuation flight from Long Nawang,” said MAF pilot Dave Forney. “A truck went over the edge of the mountain road and rolled about 75 feet to the bottom of the ravine. They were fortunate to be alive.”
Two badly injured men and their family members boarded the Kalimantan program’s KODIAK—the patients on blankets, strapped to the floor. A little over an hour later they were receiving life-saving treatment in the city of Tarakan.
“This would have been impossible with the Cessna 206,” said Forney, “because the 206 isn’t capable of carrying that much weight from Long Nawang, or that many people. But the KODIAK can handle it.”
Airplanes are costly. MAF must now raise some $3.5 million to pay for the KODIAKs and their journeys to Indonesia. Over the next few months MAF will be taking the KODIAK on the road so that friends of the ministry will have a chance to see this remarkable aircraft for themselves. Please be in prayer about how you might be part of this Kingdom-building project.
“Scripture says that with faith as small as a mustard seed, nothing is impossible—even mountains will move,” said Boyd. “We are relying on the Lord, working through His people, to move this mountain!”
To learn how you can help send these two KODIAKs to Indonesia, visit www.maf.org/kodiak.
