With a pilot for a father, I grew up around airplanes. However, they never really grabbed my attention. I never stared at them with much awe as they rose from the ground and disappeared into the deep blue sky. It was a way to get around, to move from point A to point B. I didn’t even like model airplanes.
Yet as someone whose attention is fully arrested when I see a tool for the Gospel, my perspective on a certain object changes. I’ll never forget the first time I realized I could go into a chat room online and talk about the Gospel with people who were searching for answers. That same “ah-ha” moment for me happened when I first experienced how effective airplanes are at taking the Good News of Jesus into isolated and remote areas.
On Saturday, April 28, at our headquarters in Nampa, Idaho, MAF will dedicate a Cessna Caravan for the program in Haiti in a special ceremony. And after my recent visit to the program, I realize just what an impact that plane is going to make in Haiti.
With a litany of projects that could never be finished by missionaries alone in a lifetime, work teams coming from all over the United States and other countries around the world routinely descend on Haiti to lend a helping hand. Once these teams arrive in Port-au-Prince, there’s not a minute to waste in getting to a remote location. Missionaries only host these teams for a short period of time, so they want to ensure they maximize their time in Haiti.
Without MAF, that time would be diminished greatly, perhaps by as much as two days. Bouncing along the rough dirt roads that splinter throughout Haiti consumes hours of time, perhaps even a full day going and a full day coming. But not if mission teams fly—and the Caravan enables MAF to transport entire teams in an efficient and cost effective manner that saves hours of time.
I know this Caravan is going to get a full workout on the field—and the people it will be carrying are going to present the Gospel in a powerful way. It will be an effective tool and just might be the catalyst that results in a greater impact for the Kingdom.
Watch a video and read the MAF Haiti Outlook Report to learn more about Mission Aviation Fellowship being the catalyst for change in Haiti.
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