"Ice"-olation and Isolation!

Brrrr .... it's COLD here in London!!!! Marcel said the wind chill makes it feel like -40 degrees Celsius out--a figure which makes me ready to move overseas any day, please and thank you!

This cold has me reflecting on the importance of MAF and their ministry of reaching the isolated. I tried to imagine this morning what it would feel like to be isolated--something that wasn't too hard to imagine on a cold day like this, where I don't want to leave my home or start my car.

How encouraging would it be to see an MAF plane land in the isolated village where you and your family serve as missionaries, bringing encouragement from other Canadians and comforts of home? 
How exciting would it be to see family you haven't seen in years coming off of an MAF airplane? 
How relieving would it be to see food, water, and basic living supplies coming from the cargo hold when your community is in the middle of an awful famine or terrible drought? 
How thankful would you be if an MAF plane brought in supplies, food, and hope in the midst of a terrible natural disaster that has left you isolated and terrified? 
How crucial would it be to your son or daughter's health if they could get a life-saving flight to a "nearby" hospital (200 miles away) after a terrible accident?

These are just a few of the important reasons MAF exists. These are just a few of the ways MAF ministers to isolated people.

I'd like to end by re-posting a couple cool photos from the MAF-US blog that show some of the work MAF staff do every day to help the isolated. Some of these pics are pretty cool and worth a scroll!!

A medevac flight for a miner with a head injury in Mozambique. Photo by Jill Holmes.

A joyful reception of 1000 Zandi language bibles along the CAR/Congo border. Photo courtesy of John Cadd.

South Sudan flight for amputees getting prosthetic limbs. Photo courtesy of John Woodberry.

The village of Kiwi comes out to greet passengers arriving. Photo by David Holsten.

Reason to Pray

Prayer is truly divine--but I find it very difficult to pray sometimes. It's that paradigm switch from thinking of prayer as a last resort--a "Dear God, help me!"-- to thinking of prayer as a first resort. But one of the things I have definitely been learning since starting our ministry work with MAF is that prayer is our lifeline. It's our fuel. It's absolutely preposterous to try to drive the car of ministry without prayer, and totally life-giving when we take things first to God.

The MAF Ministry Partnership manual has this verse in it: "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." Psalm 127:1.

I love this verse. How true it is! Thinking back ... I can see the truth in this verse in so many areas of my life. And looking to the here and now, it is a great reminder that I need to be in constant communication with God during my work day. I need to lift up our ministry--the joys, the issues, the big and little obstacles, the donors, the friends, the prayer partners, the family. I need to lift up our needs, our wants, our dreams, our fears.

If you are reading this, I hope you will take some time to pray for us today, this week, this month, this year. It might seem like a small thing--maybe even trivial. But I will tell you the truth ... when I go out for a walk in the morning and pray, or when I'm struggling with doubt, or when I'm stressed about something that may or may not be important--I (we) need your prayers. I wait for them. I thirst for them. Like I said, they are life-giving ... and they really are felt. Thanks to everyone who has already been praying for us--and thank you if you are praying right now!! :)

Oh--and if you're wondering what to pray for, there's a list over here on the right. You can also pray for Marcel's sanity as he deals with such a crazy wife like me. :)

~Kelly