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Pilot missionaries in Haiti okay, planes still a question

Mission Aviation Fellowship which does extensive ministry work in Haiti continues to wait for word of how the magnitude 7.0 quake will affect their operations, reports MNN.

MAF President John Boyd says, "All our MAF missionary staff live in Port-au-Prince where most of the devastation occurred. All of our expatriate staff are safe and unharmed, though they experienced a lot of damage to their homes."

However, because communication systems are down, "We don't, at this point, have a report from people on the ground as to what has happened to our hanger and our airplanes at the Port au Prince Airport," says Boyd.

He's asking you to pray that they will get that information soon for one very good reason: "We can't plan or activate our full response until we hear back from our team."

Boyd says the team is going through a lot right now. They are victims of a disaster. "Husbands are trying to take care of their wives and their children so that they can focus on the MAF ministry work in Haiti. We're waiting to mobilize more of our resources to get down to Haiti."

Boyd is also concerned about the MAF Haitian staff members. "Pray for our Haitian staff. We do not have confirmation yet if any of those dear folk have been injured or worse."

Boyd says, "We do know that roads have been badly damaged. You've seen the television news. The devastation has been horrific."

Once MAF is able to assess any damage to their people, planes and equipment, the ministry will be working with Missionary Flights International to provide disaster assistance. Boyd says, "MFI is the bridge, if you will, between the United States and Haiti. MFI flies their large DC-3 aircraft into the country, then MAF takes supplies to the remote regions of Haiti in smaller planes. "

Two MAF team members are in Florida today, en route to Haiti, to work out a plan to bring relief supplies and personnel into Haiti.

Boyd says it's not just about physical assistance. "With devastation as great as this, it opens doors of opportunity to witness to the voodooists and other nonbelievers in Haiti ... to reach out with medicine, food, and water, and then share the love of Christ when we have the opportunity."

One big need facing MAF and other organizations is funding. "This is going to be paramount as we move forward. We know already that there is a huge amount of work that's going to be needed as we uncover and assess the extent of the damage and determine what MAF can be doing to help these folks in Haiti."

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TAGS: Haiti Mission Aviation Fellowship earthquake MAF missionary staff Missionary Flights International disaster assistance

[01/15/2010]

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