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MAF—The Lifeline to Missionaries at Owena

”MAF is our main lifeline connection and continues to service the community through medevacs, bringing in medical supplies, taking out coffee, etc.” These are the words of Judy Young, a missionary, after her fourth return to Papua New Guinea to serve the people of Owena through a new missionary training school. Owena is a village situated around a steep airstrip on a mountain range in the Eastern Highlands of PNG with no road access. The people often walk between one and one and a half days ...

A Small Act of Kindness

Six year-old David came to see the MAF plane in Hamilton last year and he loved it. He was excited about the Christmas Jerrycan cards too. He liked how MAF helps people in other countries with the supplies they need. Over the summer David decided he wanted to raise some money for MAF. He used a refreshments stand he had built with some spare wood lying around and sold lemonade made with lemons from their tree. He added some pocket money he had been saving each month to total $57 and sent it to M...

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The Flying for Life magazine is out!

We are excited to send you our next edition of Flying for Life magazine. Hear of the continued vision of MAF NZ from Mark Fox and how MAF internationally is continuing to navigate COVID-19. Read about MAF New Zealand’s hangar purchase and development and be challenged by our latest candidate’s journey to MAF. And, as always, there is much, much more. Hard copies of the magazine are available. If you would like to receive one, contact our office at: info@maf.org.nz...

Wearing Many Hats!

Often commercial pilots become jaded by the repetitive flying they do and begin to hanker after more challenging flying. Working for MAF often means learning to handle a variety of roles and developing the ability to “wear many hats”. It’s seldom boring! Since starting out in Tanzania as a pilot in 2005, Martin Zimmerman has worn a number of different MAF hats, including ground ops training, Flight Training (Crew Training Manager) and Chief Pilot. In 2014 he and his family moved to Uganda,...

Flying for Peace

We all know that sin and pride results in a world marked by division and “isms”; racism, consumerism, ethnocentrism, elitism, agnosticism, atheism, and many other “isms” that separate—and finally end in conflict. The Bible is quite clear about the root cause of conflict; “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel�...

Supporting Bible Translation and Literacy in Liberia

MAF partners Aaron and Amy Speitelsbach have served with mission organisation Ethnos360 since 2007, first studying French in France, then moving to Abidjan, Ivory Coast for one year, before relocating to a village close the Liberian border for two years and finally settling across the border in Liberia in 2011. They are working among the Glarro, a people group numbering about 4000-5000, who live mainly on the border between Ivory Coast and Liberia. “We are doing church planting work,” Aaron ...

Jonny & Glenys Watson

Jonny and Glenys Watson, along with their children, Katie, Alana, Danielle and Lucy are from Hamilton, New Zealand, and have been with MAF since 2017. Glenys is a Pilot and deputy Flight Ops Manager in the Papua New Guinea programme flying the Cessna 208 Caravan. She finds joy in flying into bush strips in the mountainous and challenging terrain in PNG, combining her love of flying and her Christian faith in a practical way to provide hope to isolated communities.Jonny, using his experience...

Jonathan & Michele Pound

Jono and Michele met in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and were married in 2010. They have four children, Abby (12), Daniel (11), and twins—Joseph and Benjamin (9) - all home schooled by Michele (the one thing that has remained the same since leaving NZ!).Prior to having children Michele worked as an outdoor activity instructor in the UK, trained and worked as a chef, and flew in the RNZAF as a Navigator. Jono joined the Air Force as an Avionics Technician and after six years remustered to pi...

A Bold New Vision

Great news! We have made the first step towards purchasing a hangar at Tauranga airport, which will be developed into the Kendon-Strong MAF Centre! In response to the urgent global need, the Kendon-Strong MAF Centre will allow us to meet the changing landscape of recruiting and developing missionary pilots, engineers, ground staff, managers and leaders. It will be a “hub” of MAF activity—prayer, fundraising for the work overseas, recruitment, equipping of new staff, training and connec...

The Humble Hero

Greeting Trevor Strong is like meeting a long lost friend. His warmth and graciousness are the first things I notice as I shake hands with one of the men who, in the midst of the horrors of WWII, dreamed that aircraft could be used for a better purpose than war. Trevor Strong is also a true gentleman, and the first thing this soon-to-be- centennial does when I meet him in his rest home on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand is to offer me his chair. He asks me about myself and my work, and ...

High Impact Flights!

Tod Aebischer, Country Director in PNG, recently flew from the “remote—to the really remote” to see first-hand the difference even one MAF flight can make on a community. Despite the heat and humidity of the lowlands, being soaked with sweat and the buzz of mosquitoes, Todd reported, “I can tell you...I was surprised and pleased beyond my expectations. This is truly “high impact flying!!” On his two-day trip Todd saw how, in partnership with others, vaccination programmes, airstr...

Together We Learn

My name is Harriëtte Knigge and at the beginning of March, I flew to Moropote, in a remote part of PNG, with a friend Caroline Wälde, to give a trauma healing course. In typical Moropote tradition, Caroline and I were greeted with sing-sing and a beautiful welcome letter. The trauma healing course we brought to Moropote explained what wounds of the heart and grief are, as well as how we can help others. We also discussed what God says about all this, what we can learn from the Bible and what f...

Achieving the Engineering Dream!

Have you ever thought of becoming an engineer for Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF)? Dan Perrett has just completed his apprenticeship in Engineering (Cert IV in Aero skills - Avionics) through Aviation Australia in Cairns. He achieved this after five years of dedication and hard work. After completing a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, Dan worked as an engineer for a few years before he decided to take a backpacking trip through PNG. As part of his trip he visited some friends who were work...

Strategically Placed for the Battle Against COVID-19

For the past 75 years, MAF’s goal has always been the same—to overcome the barriers that keep people isolated from the help they need. Today, that barrier is COVID-19. Our regular flights have become restricted by the pandemic. Yet MAF’s commitment to bring “hope and healing” remains the same. As we have done before during times of great need, MAF is responding—and we need your help.  When this pandemic hit, MAF was already in place and operating in 30 developing nations...

An Update From Mark Fox

As events unfold regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Mark Fox (MAF NZ CEO) shares up to date information about how the virus is impacting MAF’s ministry, both here in New Zealand and around the world. There’s no doubt that the pandemic has impacted MAF programmes but, as far as possible, MAF’s ministry carries on and continues to need your prayer and support.  ...

From the First Day Until Now

“From the First Day Until Now” is a video specially produced as part of MAF’s celebration of 75 years of “Flying for Life”. It shows how one man’s life was changed—and how his life then transformed his community and the generations to come! This one simple story is repeated many times over in the 30 countries where MAF works. The light of Jesus is shared and touches other lives. The sound of a MAF plane approaching is the sound of hope. As you watch this video you can be sure t...

Update - 24th March

As events unfold regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to be in touch with you on how this is impacting MAF’s ministry, both here in New Zealand and around the world. As far as possible our work carries on and continues to need your prayer and support!Our goal is to respond wisely and without fear, while following the current NZ government advice about how to keep the workplace safe. Although our 75th Celebration has been postponed until November 6-8, MAF’s ministry around the world car...

Partnerships Make All the Difference

One of MAF’s core values is Partnership—we value the strength and diversity that co-operation and collaboration bring and partner with those who share our beliefs and values. One such partnership is with Lentera Papua, a small, efficient non-profit organisation that focuses on the highlands of Papua, Indonesia. They train and disciple the young generation of Papua to become professionals in ministry, aviation, medical, education and social fields. Lentera was using their PAC750 aircraft...

One Teams Story

When faced with an “impossible” journey, what do you do? Not long ago Micha, a young German with a passion for Jesus, joined a team of six planning to share the gospel with people in the remote Highlands of PNG. After a time of prayer, the team felt that God was putting a particular area on their hearts—but then they found out it would be almost impossible to get there. That was, until they got in touch with MAF, who told them they could fly the team in! Micah said, “Once we arrived,...

Calling all Aviation Engineers

The amazing work of MAF's Aviation Engineers allows our planes to keep flying. Meet some of the engineers in the hangar and see how vitally important their work is! To find out more about current vacancies with MAF: https://careers-mafint.icims.com/...

New Amphibious Plane Arrives in Bangladesh!

Programme Manager Mark Blomberg writes: “The plane is here. It landed in Dhaka around 14:30. This marks the start of a new season for the MAF Bangladesh program and our ministry in this country”. The new Cessna Caravan C208 with Wipaire 8750 amphibious floats and the latest avionics equipment will replace our existing aircraft that has served in Bangladesh since 2005. The new arrival will enable MAF’s programme to better serve the people of Bangladesh for the next 15-20 years. Bangladesh i...

Nick & Ruth Hitchins

“Dreams do come true—just never in the way we could ever have imagined! My initial dream of a life of flying began as a teenager, and after a career spanning Business Admin, Operations Management, Film & Television Production and more recently as the CEO of an IT company, joining MAF in 2021 has brought all the threads together into the perfect package.  Working around the world and back again, including stints in Canada, Japan, UK & Australia, our journey has been an unfolding mir...

Andy & Sharon Campbell

Originally raised in Gisborne, Andy joined the RNZAF after leaving high school. Around the year 2000, he read personal accounts of the response to the Gospel of Papua New Guinean Highlanders —it left an impression on him. He recalls wondering if he might end up in PNG some day! In 2016, he obtained a job with Pacific Helicopters, a PNG commercial company. This was ideal preparation for his role as a Maintenance Controller with MAF, a role he took up in late 2020 - as the “middleman” b...

Jerrycans Of Jet Fuel

Over the years we have been amazed at God’s mercy and compassion for even the most marginalized and how, by working together, we have been able to bring God’s love to isolated people in places of deepest human need. Begun by two young pilots from New Zealand after the Second World War, Mission Aviation Fellowship now has 130 aircraft in over 30 nations and flies in some of the most challenging places on earth. In 2019 we flew teachers, pastors and resources to the aboriginal people living i...