mission trips - maf canada · opener. melvin remarked that this ... road, or a 15 minute flight in...
TRANSCRIPT
Mission Trips
Lo
ew
en-R
ud
ge
rs
Re
port
July 2018
Daniel
N
EW
S
FR
OM
D
AM
AR
IS
A
ND
D
AN
IE
L
Dear Friends, just last week I flew
a group from California partnering
with Missions of Hope. MoH runs
schools in the remote parts of
northern Kenya for some of the
most disadvantaged children in
Kenya. They are partnering with a
church in California to provide
medical, technical and most
importantly, prayer support for the
work they are doing. MAF was
asked to fly up to Lodwar, close to
lake Turkana, to pick up the group
visiting from the Californian
church and fly them to a small
community west of Marsabit called
Kargi. I flew up to Lodwar in the
late afternoon to join the team for
the early departure the next
morning. At dinner some of the
visitors at my table were
commenting on how remote
Lodwar was. But, they were in for
a treat, because by comparison,
Kargi is a few houses in the desert!
The next morning I flew the 1 hour
flight over the jade colored lake
Turkana from Lodwar to Kargi
with the first group. We overflew
some of the most wild and beautiful
country I have ever seen. En route I
chatted over the radio with Melvin
who was on his way from his home
base at Logologo to Lodwar to pick
up his group of five. All in all we
had 30 people to move and soon I
was heading back to Lodwar for
my second load of passengers. By
2pm I was back in Kargi with the
aircraft locked, chocked and ready
for the night. Melvin and I would
stay with the group till the next
morning to fly them back to
Nairobi. For many in the group this
was a huge culture shock. They
were in the middle of nowhere
having landed on what they
described as a piece of desert. Now
they were asked to get to work on a
number of projects that had been
lined up for them. There was a
playground to build, games to play
with the kids, medical checkups to
do, and only two days to get it all
done!
Melvin and I helped out a bit here
and there, and were also able to chat
with some of the group members.
For many this trip was a big eye-
opener. Melvin remarked that this
was the way that he had first been
exposed to serving cross culturally,
and said that this was going to leave
a bigger impression on the visitors
than it would on the hosts. I think
this is often the case. Some feel that
it is a big waste of money for
churches to invest so much into
transporting people around the
world when the money could be
better spent in other ways, but I
would argue that it is not that
simple. As I read through 1. Thess.
5 it reminds us that we are children
of the light through the sacrifice of
Jesus for us, and it continues to tell
us in verse 11: “Therefore
encourage one another and build
each other up…” I could see this
happening as the visitors worked
side-by-side with the hosts, and as
they talked and prayed together. It
was a blessing to see how,
regardless of our cultural and
socioeconomic backgrounds, Jesus
unites us as a family. In the evening
the group leader shared more
encouragement with the host
teachers, and they gave out gifts in
appreciation for their hard work.
Again I was struck by the value of
encouragement.
The next day the team was up early
to try and get all the projects done.
The group of medical staff had their
hands full with walk-in patients.
One of the patients was a young
mother with a very sick child. The
medical team was very concerned
that the child should get to a
hospital very soon. They did not
know if she would make it the next
few hours due to dehydration.
There was a discussion about how
best to get the mother and child to
Marsabit hospital. Initially the
aircraft was suggested by Melvin,
but the mother refused because she
was scared to fly. When I arrived a
few minutes later, I was filled in on
the decision. I went to the leaders
again and asked if they had
explained the gravity of the
situation. 2 hours by very rough
road, or a 15 minute flight in the
206. I said this was a life and death
decision for the mother and they
needed to make sure she understood
that. She changed her mind, and 30
minutes later an ambulance had
picked her and the child up at the
Marsabit airfield.
On our return flight in the afternoon
I was the only one still awake.
Cruising southward I looked down
as the dry desert changed to green
highlands. Behind me everyone was
bone tired from the trip. Soon they
would be in their hotel with hot
showers and internet, but I expect
they are changed people. They had
come to encourage their fellow
workers in Christ, but I am sure
many of them will reflect on what
they have learned, and some of
them will be motivated to act on
that knowledge.
For me as a pilot with MAF, I can
see the value in trips like these and I
feel it is a blessing to see how Jesus
is building His Church around the
world. To be able to support that
effort in a small way through
serving with MAF is a privilege.
Issue 54
Playground “in the desert”
2
for them to see the place without all the
sadness and crying of the funeral. When I
asked Joshua what he wanted to take to the
grave he said “We can take something
Samara loved—like a light!” So we took a
candle in a yellow glass from our house, he
placed it on the grave himself and it is now
there to be lit by anyone who comes to visit
her resting place.
So we don’t really know how we’re doing.
We’re taking one day at a time, some with
tears, and others with laughter, and are
trusting God to lead us on step by step.
Thank you for your continued prayers for us.
We know that our journey would be a lot
harder without them and we are so grateful
for the way you are standing with us and
carrying us in prayer.
Gratefully,
Praise for Mission Teams
bringing encouragement!
Praise for upcoming Home
Assignment, prayer for the
travels ahead, and the
preparations before we leave
Prayer for our presentations to
have an impact on those who
attend
Prayer for times of rest and
healing
Praise for our children, and
prayer for continued comfort
for all our hearts.
It’s been 4 months
now since Samara
went home to be
with Jesus, and
many have asked
how we are doing.
It’s a very difficult
question to answer.
We are functioning.
The children go to
school, Daniel goes
to work, I do the
usual… but the
usual has become
different. It’s not our “normal” routine
anymore. Our day is not structured by
Samara’s mealtimes, medication times and
irregular sleep-patterns anymore; my week
isn’t filled with therapy appointments and
swimming lessons that I used to take the
other two along to see Samara enjoying the
water; we don’t spend most evenings and
weekends pushing the kids on the swings
anymore; I don’t have to check that her pre-
made meals are still sufficient in the freezer;
we don’t have special Samara-time in the
evenings after the other two have gone to
bed—our evenings are quiet now and we
miss her giggles and playfulness at night.
Yes, our life has become simpler, but all
these things we don’t do anymore just make
us miss her more.
We are so grateful for Joshua and Aliza who
make us laugh and smile even while we’re
hurting. And we’re very happy that Joshua
talks a lot about Samara and about heaven—
he asks questions and remembers things
about his sister regularly, so we feel like we
can help him process the loss and pain as
well. Aliza had a phase of throwing terrible
tantrums, which I guess was her way of
processing all the crazy emotions around and
within her that she couldn’t understand. But
thankfully, she has calmed down again and is
her cheerful old self now.
We have driven to Samara’s grave a few
times (it’s over an hour’s drive away) and
took the kids along once. I think it was good
MAFC 264 Woodlawn Rd. W. Guelph, ON, N1H 1B6 Tel: 877-351-9344 │Email: [email protected]
Grieving...
Prayer Corner Our time in Canada!
We’re almost ready to go!! Only two more
weeks till we leave Nairobi and head on a 16h
flight from Addis to Toronto!! Prayers appreci-
ated :-) Our Home Assignment will be close to
4 months this year of which we will spend 8
weeks in Canada followed by 6 weeks in Ger-
many. We won’t have as many speaking en-
gagements this time cause we’ll be trying to
focus more on family time and also having
times of rest during our travels. So if you are
keen to see us, please jot down the dates of our
presentations and connect with us there! For all
of you living in and around Winnipeg, our
most important date to note is Sep 1st. We’ll
have another “Friends Gathering” as the past
dessert evenings have been so much fun and a
joy for us to see you all and have a bit of ex-
tended time to catch up with many of you! This
time it’ll be on a Saturday afternoon from 3-
6pm at North Kildonan Mennonite Church.
(1131 Roch St, Winnipeg, MB R2G). We are
really looking forward to seeing lots of you there!
L-R’s Schedule:
Aug 3rd: Arrival in Winnipeg
Aug 13th-20th: Visiting family in Hague, SK
Aug 19th: Presentation at Hague Mennonite Church at 10am Service
Aug 21-Sep 18th: Winnipeg
Aug 26th: Presentation at Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach at 10am Service
Sep 1st: Presentation at North Kildonan Men-nonite Church, “Friends Gathering” 3-6pm
Sep 18th-25th: Visiting family in Seattle, WA
Sep 30th-Oct 4th: MAFC-Headquarters in Guelph, ON
Oct 5th-Nov 15th: HA in Germany