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March 2020
Putting Passengers at Ease
On a recent flight, Courtney flew our Korean Bible translator friends, the Chois, to the Kombai tribal village. They have been working there for the past 10 years. Along with them were their leaders from their Korean Wycliffe organization. They allowed their leader to have the front seat of the plane, next to Courtney, to get the best view and enjoy the flight. They noticed he was a little bit unsettled but didn't know why. After the flight, he explained he was quite nervous about being in a small plane. He felt comfortable in jet planes but not in small planes, fearing they were more prone to accidents. After the flight was finished he had told our Bible translator friends he was impressed at the professional way Yajasi Aviation pilots performed. He noticed the work and communication that is required to take off from the city airport. He also appreciated the technology support that is in the cockpit with GPS, radar and digital runway charts. He had questions and Courtney answered them during the flight (see video below). Courtney put him at ease and the gentleman really enjoyed watching Courtney putting his effort to care for passengers and the safety of the flight.
One of the main reasons that this leadership team came to Papua was to assess whether they could continue sending more Bible translators here and whether those translators would have the care, support and transportation necessary to sustain a ministry in Papua. Praise God that was confirmed to be a solid yes. It's awesome to be part of a great team like Yajasi, providing transportation for Bible translation projects, church planting and community development needs.
A few months later, the same Korean Wycliffe leaders sent a small team of college students to Papua. They came for a vision trip to explore and see firsthand the work of Bible translation. Beth helped the Chois prepare some meals and breakfast items to ease their task of hosting the team. Courtney didn't do the flight for this particular team, but it was neat for them to connect the fact that the pilot and the pilot's wife are a part of helping accommodate their vision trip and support the Chois. As a side benefit, we were treated to tea and chocolates that were hand carried from Korea as a thank you.
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Here Is the Video of the flight described above.
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A Not-So-Unusual Request, by Beth
Along with aviation support, we are asked for help in other ways like cleaning, shopping and errands of all sorts. One of our good friends, Janet, who is a Bible translator had an unusual (but not-so-usual for living in Papua, Indonesia) request. Since she had to leave the country due to visa issues and be in Singapore to process a new one, she arranged for her translation helper from the Fawi village to meet the plane and pilot on a particular day. She handed me the flash drive just hours before she was leaving for Singapore. I brought her flash drive to the hangar to personally deliver to another pilot who was taking the flight in the days ahead. I passed on the instructions for the pilot to meet Janet's translation worker and the specifics on the drafted bible verses file he needed to retrieve. The pilot then passed the flash drive back to us and we emailed the information to Janet while she was delayed in Singapore. Sometimes it takes a long string of team work to advance the projects. Any help we can do to assist the translator is what we are here for.
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One of the many mountain peaks of Papua
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COVID-19!
Of course, the virus is here too. Public schools are closed for two weeks and they are working to strengthen the hospitals' resources. Our children's International school has closed for four weeks following the recommendation of the local government for all schools. The teachers have prepared homework for the duration of the school closure and will be doing some through the internet. We are so grateful for this school and the personal work and sacrifice we see these teachers make for missionary kids.
We are still flying to the interior and taking extra precautions screening passengers and cleaning the aircrafts' common surfaces for every flight. Our leadership team is evaluating any other steps we need to take and our contingency team will be giving us an update this Sunday.
Missionary doctors have helped provide guidance of care for the 200+ missionaries living here. Local hospitals are not equipped for ventilators. Just like in the states, we may possibly see a strain on the health care workers and transportation workers. As many Indonesians have HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis, chronic Malaria, and often, undiagnosed conditions, we may see a greater number of deaths here. Also a lot of the local people don't trust the medical system and wont go to a doctor when sick. Pray for Indonesia. Pray that God strengthen the church to reach others courageously and mercifully. Pray for many to discover Jesus Christ as their Savior.
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Food Dehydrator
Courtney recently built a new food dehydrator out of material from an old bunkbed, some lights and a computer fan. Beth prepares a lot of dehydrated food for translators during their stints in the village. This new dehydrator works faster and does a bigger batch than the small plastic store units you can buy.
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Prayer Items
- COVID 19 in Indonesia. Pray protection over souls. Pray that many more will come to Jesus.
- Pray for Yajasi Aviation as we face the pandemic and transportation needs. People often want deceased family members buried in their home village and Yajasi usually provides those flights.
- Pray God continue to work in our children's hearts. May they know God more each day. May they walk in truth. May they choose to live in a close relationship with Jesus.
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Thank you for all of your prayers and support that are enabling us to serve here!
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