A new appreciation of MAF ... my flight to Chinhama

September has been VERY busy for Marcel, and more relaxed for me, as school is on pause. Of course, I'm making up for it chasing Ethan around the compound as he tests his new sense of independence.

This less busy time means I also had the opportunity last week to go on a MAF flight. I was super nervous and super excited for this opportunity--nervous because I don't have a strong stomach for flights in small airplanes, and excited because, hey, how many people get to fly to rural Angola in a small plane on a Friday morning!?

We flew in one of the Cessna 182s (a four-seater airplane) to Chinhama, a small village with an airstrip, about 10-12 hours drive from Lubango, or a two-hour flight. Chinhama is probably one of our most frequented sites, ars it is the closest airstrip to Cavango medical clinic, a clinic serviced by our friend, American doctor, Tim Kubacki. We frequently fly medical supplies and patients for the clinic because of the long drive over poor roads to get there!

I thoroughly enjoyed the flight there, as conditions were clear, and there was hardly any turbulence (therefore, a happy stomach!). We delivered a patient and his wife back to their home after a month stay at the hospital in Lubango. He was flown in for prostate surgery, and was happy to be reporting home healthy and well!

When we arrived in Chinhama, just as I expected, there was quite the crowd of people waiting for the plane. Kids watching from a good distance, police, family, and curious onlookers. We dropped off Mariana and Rafael, and picked up two more travellers--a blind man and his wife for surgery in Lubango. Later that day, pilot Marijn would do one more flight out to Chinhama to deliver medical supplies and pick up another patient and his companion.

After the flights, I must say, I came to a new appreciation of the whole MAF experience. Before I left, Marcel jokingly said, "The plane SHOULD be safe to fly." *Gulp!* Of course, I trusted him, but it helped me realize the gravity of his job, as well as Marijn's--he is in charge of keeping lives in the air multiple times a week! That's no small feat--no wonder my husband takes his job so seriously!

Not only that, but I was amazed by all the people involved in making these "flights for life" happen--from the nurses and Dr. Tim out at Cavango, who refer the patients, to the drivers that take them to and from the airstrips and airports, to the program manager who organizes flight details, to the mechanic who inspects the plane before it can leave, to the pilot who not only flies the plane but also represents the heart, soul, and face of MAF to the patients and the villages, and finally, to the doctors that perform life-changing, life-altering, God-honouring surgeries! WOW! And the crazy thing is ... the patients aren't VIPs or celebrities, or anything of the like--they are literally "the least of these"--mostly rural, simple country folk, in need of an encounter with the earthly and heavenly Doctor.

So, let me end by saying a few words that stick out to me after the flight. The first word--professional. I'm proud to say that the whole experience was incredibly professional, and I had full trust in the incredible abilities of the pilots and the mechanics. Second-- life-changing. I talked about the surgeries, the opportunity to access health services that otherwise would be all but impossible. But I haven't talked yet about the fact that some of these people have never been in a car--much less an airplane! Can you even imagine how life-changing that is to fly, through the air, in a small four-seater airplane to a big city that you know very little about? WOW!

Finally, prayer. Yes, these wings soar on prayer.  Not only that, but in these last few weeks, we have felt a pretty heavy spiritual darkness on us, that we know is connected to the fact that we have now been here almost one year, and are past the honeymoon stage of life here. Suddenly, it is hitting us that we still have yet to master the language and figure out certain cultural things, that we have lots of work to do, that people here need a whole lot of love and a whole lot of help, and that we long to have deeper friendships, deeper discussions, and a deeper rooted life here--but as of yet ... don't. Pray for us. Pray for the MAF program.

Loading up the plane for this family to return home. Looks like that did a *little*
shopping at the praca ... and by a little, we mean a lot.

The passengers, Mariana and Rafael, and of course, Marijn photobombing!

Don't know what he's filling in, but it sure looked important!

There's the runway! First time for me landing on a dirt airstrip!
Hint: there's a hole about 3/4 of the way up the strip, make sure you avoid it!

The kids weren't scared to laugh and joke about us, but they were too scared to get
much closer!