Mission Support Network Newsletter, February 28, 2008 Written by Jack Sample and Trevor Robinson I am a bit ashamed that it has been nearly 9 months since I last wrote an update regarding Mission Support Aviation. Well, maybe there is something to that since in that length of time our baby has finally arrived! Yes, God has blessed us with an aircraft that is entirely debt free to our organization. Also he has blessed us with a surge in interest
by a number of friends and we are seeing the goal getting much closer. This portion is from Trevor Robinson: As I flew our hired aircraft back to Australia last year, I wondered how long it might take us to be able to restart our missionary project in the new location of Vanimo. I carried with me many vivid memories of God’s blessing and providence over the 6 months we had been piloting our model of mission support flying around Goroka. It was clear we needed an aircraft which could this time be registered in PNG to avoid the pitfalls which had overtaken us first time round. Before leaving PNG I had been agonizing with the Lord as to how we could get such a plane. I felt urged to ring someone whom I knew had a suitable aircraft but I was also aware he had already refused to sell it to someone else I knew. After praying about it, I rang Noel and told him about the missionary work we had been doing and asked if there was any possibility we could use his plane. To my delight and amazement, he agreed immediately to sell us the aircraft. Noel Goltz is a dedicated Christian who is interested in missions and offered to rebuild the aircraft and sell it to us for just the cost of the parts used. We agreed then and there on a price which I thought was more than reasonable. Let me back up a bit. This aircraft had belonged to the Seventh –day Adventist church since it was purchased brand new in the late 70s. It had spent all its life as a mission aircraft and I had flown many hours in it. Many people will tell you that this aircraft known affectionately to mission pilots as Charlie, is special. It has always been faster and more reliable than the rest of the fleet and is a beautifully balanced airframe to fly. It has flown countless errands of mercy over the years and it saddened many to see it leave mission work – as we thought then, for ever. Many commented that it was a real shame that this plane was leaving Adventist hands. But God had a plan in mind for it even then. It was in need of major work at the time and what better hands could God place Charlie in than the proprietor of one of the most respected aircraft workshops in Australia, none other than Noel Goltz. He spent 2 years restoring Charlie originally intending it for his own personal use and even registering it in his own initials. As the months went by, Noel’s experienced eye found a number of additional items of work needing doing that he did not know about when we agreed on a price. He conscientiously did the work needed and even included and re- crystalled a HF radio for us. I was fully expecting to have to pay more for the extra work, but Noel would have none of it. He kept the price the same in spite of the additional parts needed and having given two years of his professional services to the restoration of the aircraft. When we arrived to pick it up last Wednesday, he asked me if we would keep him on our mailing list so he can know what the aircraft is doing in PNG. We are very grateful to Noel for the huge effort he has put in to bring Charlie back to near new condition once more. We thank the Lord too for laying the burden of helping the remote villagers of PNG on his heart. Charlie is flying beautifully once more and has a new lease of life to go back to PNG and re enter mission service. There are some important modifications that are now needed to adapt Charlie to changed circumstances in PNG. We need Flint wing extension fuel tanks, to increase the fuel capacity. There are only about 4 airports that sell avgas in PNG now. It needs new main undercarriage legs and a number of other items. So we cannot take it back to PNG straight away. This week Milton Duffy who is one of our Deacons at Avondale Memorial Church donated a new fire extinguisher, a first aid kit and two life jackets for the aircraft and offered to install the extinguisher in his aircraft workshop and do the paper work to upgrade the aircraft for charter operations. He told me that God has really been blessing him and he wanted to do this work for the mission project free of charge. I want to thank Milton and Mark for their generosity and thank the Lord for once again opening the windows of blessing to help prepare Charlie for its return to service. I wish to thank too Paul Slade and Trevor Golightly for their untiring encouragement over the last few years and for providing the funds for the aircraft to come back into Adventist hands debt free. Paul was telling me that just before the transaction was to be made, God gave his business an unexpected extra job that paid the exact amount he had committed to the project. It is awesome to see God drawing wonderful people into this project and blessing them for their generosity. I pray He will continue to do so. When God has given us the money to do the modifications still
needed, another engineer who runs a busy workshop has been saving up holidays to do this work for us free of charge for his time. God
made something out of nothing in the beginning and as I look back at what we had this time last year and what He has brought into being
since, it is clear that God is still able to make something where there was nothing before. May God be praised. I hope many
more people are able to feel the joy of being able to be used by God through this project. That is my desire. The Picture on the right includes from left to right... Trevor Golightly, Noel Goltz, Trevor Robinson and Paul Slade. Updates on Trevor Robinson, Jack Sample and Silas Morgan: Silas in Vanimo is still optimistic regarding the timber business and how it will help finance the infrastructure there in Vanimo. He stays in touch with Trevor regularly. The wheels are turning very slowly but he is quite sure that he will soon see the results of his efforts. Trevor has been at home near Avondale and working as a nurse while waiting for the plane to become available. Jack has moved from Talmage Nebraska up to the Black Hills Health and Education Center in South Dakota where he is volunteering to market the center on the Internet. Be sure to visit our website to read the newsletter archives to refresh your memory on the long and challenging struggle to get Mission Aviation in the air. Learning to wait on the Lord and trust His timing is always a journey. Sincerely, Jack Sample, Trevor Robinson, Silas Morgan, Trevor Golightly and Paul Slade P.S. Our team is growing! Praise the Lord!! Glossary of terms and abbreviations: AAS - Adventist Aviation Services |
