Memories and Maps

I watch the Russian Antanov cargo plane take off from the long runway and immediately bank into a sharp left-hand climbing turn. As it continues to circle upwards right over the center of the airfield, it begins dropping blinding magnesium flares out of each wingtip, a counter-measure to ward off the success of a shoulder-mounted Stinger missile launched from rebel fighter hiding in the nearby tall grass. The sight was both exhilarating and sobering to me, knowing that a similar plane had been brought down this way just weeks before in this same part of Africa.

That was twenty-five years ago.

Today, I landed at that very same airport here in Lubango, Angola after a forty-hour marathon trip from my home in Spokane, WA. The sight of the Soviet-era MiG fighters hiding in their bunkers next to the runway brought back lots of memories of my first visit here back in 1988. It was smack in the middle of the civil war that devastated this former Portuguese colony for over thirty years. And, it was the very time that MAF-Canada had asked me to help them begin a brand new flight program with a Cessna Caravan aircraft that was designed to support several mission hospitals. During all these intervening years, this program has been faithfully serving the people, hospitals and churches of Angola.

So, I count it a real privilege to be invited back here again to once again help MAF-Canada conduct an assessment of their flight program.  This time, I’m accompanied by Dave Wunsch, VP of Operations for MAF-USA who will also be lending his hand in this review. Together, we truly hope to be used by God as an encouragement to the team of expat and national staff who make this MAF program a reality. In addition, I’m looking forward to interviewing as many key national ministry leaders as possible to learn just how God is moving them to reach this country for Christ. Hopefully, any final advice and counsel that might result from our visit will help enhance the level of collaboration and partnership between MAF and the Angolan church.

As I’m handed a glass of water to quench my thirst after my long trip, another surprising ghost from the past materializes. Gary Goertzen, current MAF program manager spreads out a map of the country with all sorts of hand markings on it. I take a closer look and realize the markings are my own! This was the very same map I used years ago to catalog key mission information all across the country! No other document exists anywhere quite like this one! I learn from Gary that it is still being used today for strategic planning purposes.

Hopefully, before I depart seven days from now, I’ll be able to leave the MAF team another valuable document like this one that will serve them in creating an even more effective aviation ministry for this huge country.