MAF Flight Hagen to Goroka. New Guinea

By on May 22, 2010 in Mobi Blog

Flying right now. Altitude 8900ft above sea level but prob only 2500ft above the ground. GA8 Airvan.

Will this update from the air????

30 minute flight instead of 5 hours hard driving.

Sending blog post from WordPress iPhone app, over Digicel mobile network.

Screen shot 2010 05 22 at 3.01.57 PM MAF Flight Hagen to Goroka. New Guinea

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New Aussie Aircraft for Papua New Guinea mission

By on May 11, 2010 in MAF
TCH 11 05 2010 PAGE 2 01 pg 2 1105 plane.IMG t325 New Aussie Aircraft for Papua New Guinea mission

MAF Pilot Clint Smith with the GA8 Turbo Airvan in Toowoomba

Toowoomba’s airfield received a special stopover from an aircraft on a mission yesterday.  A newly developed turbo charged airvan or GA8, designed and manufactured in Gippsland, Victoria, was on its way to Papua New Guinea to take on the world’s most difficult flying conditions.

The plane was built for Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) to carry out medical and missionary work in developing PNG.  MAF pilot chief Clint Smith said PNG was a country of difficult terrain with few sound roads.

“PNG is a struggling, developing nation hindered by isolating terrain and there are places where there are no roads or where the roads can only be used for a few months each year,” Mr Smith said.

“Some of the airstrips are shocking and weather patterns can be really, really unpredictable.”

The $775,000 plane will take pride of place in MAF’s PNG fleet alongside 15 other aircraft.  The big difference with this latest edition is the addition of a turbo-charger that will allow the plane to soar to greater heights faster.  Mr Smith said a United States military assessment of flying conditions worldwide found the standards required to fly safely in PNG are the highest in the world.

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Dr Temple Grandin: TED Talk 2010

By on May 10, 2010 in Learning

I just watched this TED talk from Temple Grandin. Dr Grandin was diagnosed with autism as a child and in this talk explains not only how her mind works but highlights the need to guide learners in different ways – not to assume all children follow the same path, but that their differences are to be valued and steered.

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MAF Pilots Walk, not Fly

By on May 5, 2010 in MAF

MAF pilots Dave Forney and Paul College, both based in Kalimantan, Indonesia, have written about there experiences and adventures doing some jungle trekking between villages that they would usually fly between.  Their experiences really affirm the difficulty that isolated people have when travelling in countries like this, which are identical in parts of Papua New Guinea.

From Dave’s blog:

“You might be intersted to know that even now, a month after initially leaving on the trip, I’m still dealing with weird infections breaking out 3 300x225 MAF Pilots Walk, not Flyhere and there on my body, as well as a continually painful and swollen knee. The shin no longer seems to be infected, but is lumpy and still quite painful. This all underscores the difficulty of travel the “old-fashioned” way out here in the wilds of Borneo, and the reason why MAF serves the national church at the ends of the earth. It is indeed a very valid ministry, and one that I’m honored and humbled to be a part of!”

read more on Dave’s blog

During World War Two there were plenty of amazing stories from this part of the world.  I read “The Airmen and the Headhunters” which tells the events following a US bomber crew escaping Japanese troops with the help of the local Dayak people, an awesome story which would make a great movie one day. 

There is a TV documentary on PBS which can be viewed here:

http://to.pbs.org/2ToXFi

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Son of Hamas: Mosab Hassan Yousef

By on May 4, 2010 in Faith

Son of Hamas: Mosab Hassan YousefIt’s not very often that I finish a book in under a day, unless it’s in the New Testament, and even then there are a couple which take some time.  But this weeks Monday holiday + rain + family occupied + work staying in the office, all added up to the perfect time to at least start a book I’d picked up in the US.  I didn’t expect to finish it the same day.

Son of Hamas is the story, so far, of Mosab Hassan Yousef, the eldest son of Sheik Hassan Yousef one of the founders and leaders of Hamas.  Hamas is a Palestinian Islamic resistance movement in the West Bank and Gaza, and listed by the USA, EU and others as a terrorist organisation.

Mosab grew up in Ramallah, about 10km north of Jerusalem and at a young age began to fight back against the Israeli authorities.  As a child he saw his father arrested and jailed for months at a time and he himself was eventually arrested by the Israelis, eventually reaching a point where he agreed to spy on Hamas for Shin Bet (Israeli Internal security service).  His involvement with the Hamas leadership made him a valuable asset to Shin Bet and over the ten years he was working for them he prevented many attacks and assassinations by Hamas. During this time he was impacted by the teachings of Jesus Christ and eventually accepted the truth that Jesus is Lord and his saviour.

The book is a great testimony, helped me to understand some of what has been happening in the Middle East and motivated me to learn more about Islamic beliefs and Middle Eastern history.

The Book is available from The Book Depository for around AUD$15.00

Son of Hamas Facebook page

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