As last year came to a close, it’s easy to focus on the hardships it brought to us. Uncertainty, stress, anxiety and fear affected millions of people around the globe. But those hurdles caused us to lean on each other; and to rely on family and community. Ultimately, it taught us to rely on God and to trust Him in the good times and the bad. Many of us have walked through 2020 and into 2021 with a deeper faith and relationship with Him, and for that, I’m incredibly thankful.

We saw His provision for MAF Canada throughout the past year and as we now look at ‘starting fresh’, it is important that we carefully evaluate what it is we want to return to. It’s a good time to reflect on what we want our new normal to be, and I would hope that the closeness in our walk with God is not lost. I pray that because of the trials we’ve been through, we would see people and needs through new eyes, and with compassion and empathy.

In reading through the stories we’ve shared in this issue, the theme of family really stands out to me. Within MAF around the globe, family is an important part of how we operate. Our missionaries, staff and supporters are grafted into one global family, all working together towards a united goal. Our field staff leave family behind, sacrificing the closeness of some bonds only to form relationships within teams and communities far from their comfort zones. These bonds create lasting impacts and legacies not only in the locations and communities where we serve, but in generations that will come after us. Our MAF family is impacting others for the Kingdom, and those impacts last a lifetime or more.

The children growing up within MAF inspire me when looking towards the future. The level of resilience and compassion that missionary kids carry with them consistently amazes me. We’re raising a generation who want to shine God’s light everywhere they go. They may go on to be aircraft mechanics or pilots, or serve in other capacities towards furthering God’s Kingdom. The qualities and skills they have will accompany them as they are salt and light wherever they go, both in Christian circles and to the secular world. Undoubtedly, they are our future leaders, teachers, and loving parents because they are thriving, bringing His hope and peace to everyone they meet because they have fostered it within themselves.

– Brad

As we pass the one-year mark since the beginning of the pandemic, Spring is arriving in our part of the world and it has brought with it new life. I can’t help but feel hopeful for what this year holds. We’ve encountered so many blessings throughout these challenges and have seen God’s hand at work. We have hope with vaccine distribution and the promise of things returning to a new normal in Canada, we’ve been encouraged by continued generosity from our donors, and our staff overseas have remained steadfast and continue to be; serving those near them with passion and commitment. God has placed us well to reach the isolated. When a MAF plane comes, like Spring, it brings hope.

The variety of ways in which MAF serves continues to inspire me. We show God’s love to so many, in a variety of ways, and that makes us unique. We deliver physical assistance and life-saving support by providing medical evacuations, food delivery, clinic supplies and staff and vaccine transport. But what we do surpasses more than just physical need. By transporting spiritual life-saving services, such as pastors, Bible translators, missionaries and serving some of the least of these – by reuniting families or building schools – it allows us to enable those who are acting as Jesus’ hands and feet in this world.

The vast scope of ways in which MAF serves sets us apart. We have technical staff working in aviation, operations and management. And we have teachers, community workers and mothers, creating legacies of impact in those they reach with education, sustainable skills and care. Working together, we are reaching His children, wherever we are.

Our partners on the ground and across the globe, give purpose to what we do and we are so blessed to be joined in work and ministry with them. We really do work together as part of the body of Christ, and you, here in Canada, are a part of that as well. With every flight we provide, with every medical evacuation or Bible delivered, the impact that it creates is possible because of you, and your kindness and generosity.

Throughout the pandemic, needs around the world didn’t change, and in many instances they grew. But we remained. You supported. We all persevered. And because of that lives were saved. Not only are we able to deliver vaccinations as an antidote for disease, we deliver hope, passion, and God’s love as an antidote for isolation.

– Brad

Our Mission:
Serving together to bring help, hope, and healing through aviation.

Our Vision:
To see isolated people changed by the love of Christ.

When you look at the history of Mission Aviation Fellowship, there are so many notable achievements and examples of God’s provision. With multiple accomplishments to celebrate, it could be easy to overlook the unity that exists throughout the MAF world – despite different country offices, operating locations, cultures and languages, we’ve remained unified, standing and working together, and God has blessed us. We’ve been blessed with the provision of resources; of starting with one aircraft, and growing to the largest fleet of small aircraft worldwide. God has provided a variety of leaders, each with the unique skills that were needed for that season. These leaders have been passionate people, all committed to ensuring that our mission is fulfilled.

The new MAF global mission and vision statements speak to the fact that we are serving together; pilots, engineers, support staff. Wives, husbands, national and international staff, and partners on the ground. We’re all working towards a common goal and serving together to bring help, hope and healing through aviation.
Healing can be delivered in a physical sense; taking the form of a medevac, clinic supplies, vaccines, or health staff. Healing can also be emotional and spiritual. When an MAF airplane arrives, people are given renewed hope for their futures. Their lives can be made better, and fuller, because of the life-changing services our aircraft enable.

We know that to teach someone well, you need to provide for physical needs first. You can’t teach a hungry child. That’s why we meet physical and spiritual needs side by side. We’ve seen this model work time after time, and I’m thrilled at the role MAF plays in seeing this happen. I continue to be proud of all of the capacities in which MAF staff serve worldwide.

As I think about MAF’s past and present, I’m excited for our future. We’ve taken a simple tool; an aircraft, and used it for God’s glory. The promise of electric flight is just one more tool we will have to reach the isolated.

I’m certain that regardless of the tools we use or the locations where we operate, MAF has always been, and always will be, people serving people. We always have, and always will serve together to bring help, hope and healing.

In Him,

Brad

When disasters strike, it can be hard to personally grasp the devastation that the people directly affected experience.

With homes gone, loved ones lost or missing, their lives are disrupted and often changed forever. As we read the news and hear the numbers from a distance, it can be hard to fully relate to what they are going through.

When Hurricane Dorian devastated islands in the Bahamas this September, I heard the news about this horrible storm and the destruction it had left in its wake. I was thankful that our Disaster Response Team had been deployed to help the relief efforts with logistics support and supply distribution.

A few days later, when a woman contacted us through our Facebook page, the impact of the hurricane suddenly became very tangible as I corresponded with her.

She lives in Canada, but her family in the Bahamas had been stranded by the storm. The last note she had received from her niece, who also has a baby to care for, told her that they were running out of food and water and, with a dying cell phone battery and unreliable signal, they needed to find a way to evacuate the area.

She shared screenshots of the texts from her niece with me. She shared photos of her relatives. Suddenly, the impact of this natural disaster had a very real human face. It became very personal.

I knew I needed to connect her with tangible help on the ground, so I got in touch with our team in the area. Minutes later Vaughan Woodward, MAF’s Hurricane Dorian Disaster Response Manager, responded. When I asked who I should put this woman in contact with, Vaughan’s reply was “Me.”

It really hit home that this is what our Disaster Response Team is there for. They deploy at a moment’s notice and rush into areas that most are trying to leave. They work to ensure that help reaches those that need it most, when the conditions are the most difficult.

This is why I love working at MAF – every day our staff are reaching out to those in desperate need around the world. Oftentimes we are the link that connects them to the necessities they need for life and hope that would otherwise be out of reach.

I can understand why the sound of the airplane means hope and life to the many isolated communities around the world that MAF serves. As you read this edition of Flying for Life, I hope that you will look at the faces of the people in the stories and photographs, and know that you are also a part of their story. Your generous support makes our work to bring them hope and help possible. Thank you!

PS: In her last update, this woman shared that her niece and baby were able to take a boat to Nassau, but her siblings were still missing and hadn’t been heard from in days. Please join me in praying for them, and all the other people still searching for their loved ones and trying to recover from this terrible disaster.

— Brad