Monday, January 25, 2016

God's Gift of 24 Minutes

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Hudson Taylor

"God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on him."

My Little Patient

My patient for this day had been climbing in a "Whitey Tree" to feed his sweet tooth and had lost his hand hold.  In the process of falling, he lacerated himself pretty badly.  By the time that I arrived, it had been nearly 24 hours later, and he really needed quite a few stitches to patch him back together.  The medical tape that they used to hold the skin together wasn't working too well. I asked the parents if they wanted to go to the local field hospital, or directly to Georgetown, and they opted to go straight to town, which I didn't object.  We called ahead on the radio and had an ambulance waiting when we arrived.  Believe it or not, I arrived nearly a whole half hour ahead of sunset.  You can see the sun just starting to slip below the horizon as I put Zero Four Tango to bed.  

Prayer & Praise

PRAISE: There are some more GAMAS airplanes in the works.  I spend quite a bit of time making arrangements for all of them.  God is truly opening so many doors, and so fast, that it's difficult to keep up with all the developments.

PRAISE: We just talked with another family in Australia who is interested in coming to work with GAMAS.  Pray for wisdom as they take this step of faith.

REQUEST: Please continue to lift up the Anderson family in your prayers.  Todd got an X-ray Needle Biopsy a few days ago, and is soon going to be taking cancer treatments.

REQUEST: Also continue to pray for Godly new pilots who are willing to come on board and join our growing team.  Airplanes can't fly themselves.  We're especially praying for some flight instructors who can help with our new Mission Aviation Pilot Program (MAPP).

If you know of anyone who would be interested in this, please forward them this newsletter, or give them my contact information - Thank you.

God's Gift of 24 Minutes
 
My silver van bounced wildly over the potholes in the hospital parking lot as I pounded the steering wheel in frustration. 
 
“Lord, I need your help!!!  I need your Holy Spirit to give me peace, and I need it right now!!!”
 
No sooner had the words left my mouth then I felt a cool sense of peace wash over my troubled soul.  As I approached the wrought iron gate and turned left to go toward Georgetown, the fog of confusion that had been clouding my mind all morning, dissipated, and I was able to think clearly.  I took a deep breath.
 
I had been having a very slow start to my day.  One thing after another had conspired against me, and before I new it, the clock read 10am, and I hadn’t really launched into my work-day. 
 
The phone rang.  I mindlessly picked it up and parroted my standard line.  “Hello this is flight base.”
 
“Hello?  Hello?  Hello?  Is this Captain Ash?
 
“Yes it is” I responded.
 
“This is the nurse from Kamarang Hospital, and we just got a radio call from Arau Village.  They have a patient that needs to be transported to the hospital.”
 
My mind snapped to full attention.  “Oh no!”, I groaned to myself.  “I’m not even remotely ready for a medevac.  I’m supposed to fly tomorrow, not today!”
 
“How old is the patient?”  I said as my brain instantly kicked into overdrive.
 
“Five years old.” Responded the Nurse
 
“What’s the problem?  Why do they need a medevac?”  I continued, hoping to find a reason to delay it a day.
 
“He fell out of a tree yesterday at 3 o’clock and has some deep lacerations.  The doctor here at the Kamarang hospital is asking if you can transport him?” 
 
“Ummm”.  My mind raced,  “Let me call you back”.
 
I quickly dialed the number for the air traffic controller in Timehri to see if there might be any aircraft in the area that could pop across to Arau and pick up the patient.   It was my best option.
 
But the controller dashed any hope that I had.  “No traffic in the area except Hotel Bravo (a Cessna 206) who is shuttling at Ekereku.”
 
“Hmmmm” I thought to myself.  “Even if I were to get ahold of Hotel Bravo, they would need company authorization, the patient would have to be transported over an hour to the airstrip, and this would only work with very close coordination between the health worker and the pilot.”  The commercial boys get really antsy when they have to sit on the ground.   For them, time is money!
 
So I hung up and called the nurse back, telling her that we would do the flight. 
 
By now it was 10:20am and I hadn’t even gotten a shower, or was dressed.  If we were going to successfully pull this off, we would have to immediately pull our load together, drive out to the airport, load the plane, fuel the plane, flight plan, and get in the air by 1pm. 
 
Fortunately Joy overheard my side of the phone call and silently started putting a lunch together for me.  Meanwhile I took world’s quickest showers, and started putting on my pilot uniform.  All the while my mind was struggling with my biggest hurdle:  What was my load going to look like?
 
Missionary dollars are so precious, that we can’t afford to squander a single dollar or pound of useful load.  Even with medevac emergencies, we try our best to have a load of supplies ready at a moments notice to whisk away to our school in Paruima, or another established project.  We really try valiantly to maximize the use of our airplane going both directions. 
 
But this particular morning I only had half a load!  I had a suitcase, a sack of potatoes, some screws and hardware, and four empty bottles of propane for Paruima Mission Academy (which still needed to be filled).  That was it!  The truth of the matter was that I desperately needed to go grocery shopping for one of our missionary families in Kaikan Village which was running short on food, but I simply didn’t have time for that.
 
By the time I had gathered all my gear, packed my bag, jotted down my tentative load with weights on my knee board, and raced out the door, I knew I was in serious trouble.  I was backing the van out of its parking spot, when I glanced nervously at the clock up by my rear view mirror.  It was 11am on the dot.  My heart sank.  There was no, possible way I could do everything I needed to do, and get airborne by 1pm.  No way José!!! 
 
So I cried out to the Lord with my desperate need.  Much like Peter on the Sea of Galilee, as he was just about to go under.  And exactly like Peter, God answered immediately.  He gave me exactly what I needed at that very moment.  Inner peace.
 
As I sped off in my van, my mind worked quickly to come up with a plan of action. 
 
Clearly I couldn’t do much without withdrawing some money from the bank.  So that was my first stop.  Fortunately the traffic wasn’t so bad, and made it down to Scotia bank in a reasonable amount of time.  The drive through also happened to be open, so I didn’t even have to get out of the van.  Three withdrawals later and I was on my way.
 
The next stop wasn’t so easy to figure out.  Food and weight were my most pressing needs.  So I decided to hit the potato outlet, to buy another  50 pound sack of potatoes for the missionaries in Kaikan.  One problem.  I didn’t remember where exactly the place was located, so I ended up driving past it the first time, and having to loop back through traffic.  Second problem.  To my dismay, I couldn’t find a parking spot close by, so I had to park over half a block away and run for it.  It was so far in fact that the man carrying my potatoes for me, wondered where in the world I was going. 
 
With each stop I was slowly moving my way toward Ogle airport.  As I passed by the Guyana Conference Office, I was impressed to stop and pick up some devotional books for Alex Trapeznikov, our volunteer Russian carpenter, in Kaikan.  I was sorely tempted to keep driving, but how could I pass by when I was so close?  I shrugged.  “Hey!  I’m so late anyway, what’s a few more minutes?“ 
 
Now was the time to hit the grocery store for a few more staple items like flour and pasta.  I couldn’t get everything on the list, but at least I could get large and easy items.  I parked in front of Survival Supermarket, and crossed the street.  I hadn’t noticed when I drove up, but the place was shuttered up, and there was a security guard in front of the door.   I stopped short in surprise. “Why are you guys closed?”  The guard responded, “They’re checking the inventory today.  But you can go to our other branch in Vlissengen Road”  Sigh…  More minutes down the tube.
 
The biggest part of my load was my next stop.  Alex had weeks before asked for a couple sacks of cement to plaster the bottom part of the Administration building in our new bible school in Kaikan.  At 94 lbs each, I calculated that two bags would fill out my load just perfect.  I had to place each sack in a black garbage bag to keep the cement dust from coating the inside of my car, and airplane
 
The hardware store was just a few doors down from the gas station where I picked up my fuel.  Again I groaned.  There was a line of cars ahead of me, and I had no choice but to patiently wait my turn.  After what seemed like an eternity, the cars pulled forward and I made it up to the pump.  As the gas attendant filled my gas jugs, I had a little more time to think about my next stop.  All of a sudden I realized, to my dismay that I couldn’t fill our propane bottles at the Guyoil gas station, like I’d hoped.  They were specialized; carbon fiber, lightweight tanks, and only a few stores offered these.  So from the gas station, I had to backtrack three more blocks to a small Mom & Pop store that had these bottles. 
 
Again, nobody seemed to be in any particular hurry, and when I rolled up the owners were helping several other customers ahead of me.  I stood conspicuously close and waited for them to look my way.  When I finally caught the eye of the person inside (pilot uniforms are great for getting attention!), I quietly and calmly informed them that we wanted four composite style propane bottles.   The attendant disappeared into the back.  Before too long he came back wheeling a dolly and four bottles of propane precariously balanced on top.  I cringed as I imagined what might happen if he dropped one of those pressurized bottles on the cement.  We loaded all four bottles onto the back seat of the van, and I was off like a bullet. 
 
By now I knew I was getting close to being ready to head for Ogle Airport, but I remembered that I hadn’t got my flour or pasta yet.  This was my last opportunity since there were no grocery outlets close to the airport.  So I drove around a few more blocks to a store I don’t frequently patronize, and dashed up to the entrance.  Both cashiers looked startled when I rushed in and blurted out “Do you have a 10 kilogram sack of flour?!”.  A few seconds later, my request finally registered, and one of them calmly walked down an isle, and showed me where it was located.  I snatched a sack and seven packs of pasta since it was close by.  Miraculously, the store was empty, and a few minutes later I was on my way to Ogle Airport. 
 
Every flight out of Ogle Airport requires a paper copy of your flight plan.  This isn’t hard to do, but takes about 7-8 minutes.   After coming through the front gate you drive straight up to the terminal building, find a temporary parking spot.   It’s simple.  You breeze straight through security, saying hello to the surprised security guards, and dash up two flights of stairs to the control tower to fill out the appropriate form.  That done, you hurriedly retrace your steps, being careful not to stumble and fall down the steps, or knock anyone over in your haste.
 
Last stop: Wings Aviation Hangar.  Up to this point I hadn’t even been following the clock.  What’s the point?!  It would just make more frustrated, making me less efficient.  But now I needed to know how much time I had left.  The clock read 12:35pm
 
“Hmmm…” I thought to myself.  “Not bad!  It will be very tight to get airborne by 1pm.  I don’t think I can do it, but even if I’m a couple minutes late, I think I still have enough time to do everything and make it back to Ogle.  Praise God!”
 
By now I was in complete “cruise control” mode.  I knew exactly how to load, and fuel the plane since I had done it countless times before. 
 
When I took to the sky, the tower informed me that my “off time” was 1:14pm.  I didn’t think much of it at the time.  I quickly jotted it down on my kneeboard, and hurriedly worked out my flight plan estimates. 
 
But by the end of the day as I was descending out of altitude with my little patient and his family on board, I was reflecting over the events leading up to the flight. 
 
I was puzzled…  How in the world could I do everything that I did in 2 hours and 14 minutes and get in the air?  It really didn’t make sense.  It was such a conundrum that I jotted down all the stops that I made, and scribbled ridiculously conservative times next to them.  Even with this I still had 24 minutes that were unaccounted for.  
 
Honestly, I don’t know what happened… Maybe I didn’t see the clock correctly.  Or maybe the Lord pushed my “fast forward” button when the world continued on as normal.  Or maybe He just gave me another 24 minutes as a freebie, kind of like Joshua.  I can’t say for sure.  But I’m very thankful that he heard my prayer and came to my rescue.
 
Psalms 34:15 “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ear is open to their cry.”

Would you like to use your flying skills to serve God? Email James -[ashjam7@yahoo.com]

Join the Team

If you would like to help the missionary work go forward, you can send a tax deductible donation to:  Gospel Ministry International, PO Box 506, Collegedale Tennessee 37315.  Kindly write on a separate note that it is for Guyana Aviation Evangelism project (GAVE)
Copyright © 2016 Gospel Ministry International, All rights reserved.
You got on my list because you were on my other list
Our mailing address is:
Gospel Ministry International
121 Durban Backlands
Georgetown, No Region 0
Guyana

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Sunday, January 17, 2016

Hit by the Dreaded "C"

Read more reports at: www.guyanaaviationevangelism.org
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John Piper

"God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshipers for Himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He has an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of His name among the nations. Therefore, let us bring our affections into line with His, and, for the sake of His name, let us renounce the quest for worldly comforts and join His global purpose."

Like a Taco Bell Chalupa...

It's always a trick figuring out how to fit odd ball items in my airplane, like zinc sheets.  In this picture, believe it or not, I have over 600 lbs of flat zinc for the roof of the aircraft hangar.  I decided to go with 7 foot long and 32 inch wide sheets, so it would fit easier in the airplane.  Even we had to pull off the pilot side door and feed the metal sheets over the wing strut.  What was also tricky was removing these sheets at Paruima since none of us had leather gloves.  Corrugated Zinc sheets can be as sharp as a razor blade, and slice up a hand so easily.  So we very gingerly removed them from the plane!
 

"We're out of Medicine!"

Not long ago I got a satellite phone call from Arau village.  They were desperate.  They were wondering when was my next flight to the Upper Mazaruni was because they were completely out of medicine at the health post.

A few days later I was able to shuttled across 10 boxes of medicine weighing somewhere close to 200 lbs. 


Unfortunately when I arrived the health worker hadn't arrived at the Arau airstrip since it's over an hours hike from the village.  I was in a major time crunch, so I had to neatly stack the boxes under the tree, and take off.

Prayer & Praise

PRAISE: There are some more GAMAS airplanes in the works.  We're praying for a total of five, and the Lord is opening doors.  More later.

PRAISE: The Lord has helped us to find some new directors for Kimbia Mission Academy!

REQUEST: Please continue to lift up the Anderson family in your prayers.

REQUEST: Also continue to pray for new pilots who are willing to come on board and join our growing team.  We're especially praying for flight instructors who can help with our new Mission Aviation Piloting Program (MAPP).

If you know of anyone who would be interested in this, please forward them this newsletter, or give them my contact information - Thank you.

Hit by the Dreaded "C"
 
Two weeks ago on December 31 - New Years Eve,  I was winding down the year by doing what every missionary pilot has to do.  Catch up on a mountain of email correspondence. 
 
As I was scanning through my Yahoo inbox, I a new unopened email caught my eye.  It was from Todd Anderson our other GAMAS missionary pilot, and the title caused my heart to skip a beat.  The title simply read: “Stopping work on the 182”. 
 
“Oh No!!”  I thought to myself as I simultaneously clicked on the email.  “What’s going on?”
 
The email painted a very sobering picture.

Evidently Todd had been experiencing lower back pain off and on for the last 3-4 months.  He had confided to some doctor friends of his about the stabbing pain, and for a while they thought it might be kidney stones, or possibly the beginning of an appendicitis.   But when the pain disappeared, so did the fears.  That is, until it came roaring back with greater fury than ever.  Todd finally decided to bite the bullet and visit to a walk in clinic, to get it checked out.  The blood work didn’t show anything abnormal, but the CT Scan showed more than they wanted to see.  A large Sarcoma Cancer pinching Todd's intestines and surrounding his ureter, not allowing his kidney to drain, hence the intense pain.  

In one moment their entire world was turned upside down!  That was less than two weeks ago.
 
So what’s happening now?
 
The doctors say that because of the size of the tumor (10cm in diameter) and its close proximity of the cancer to the ureter and kidney, it is virtually inoperable.  They would have to do chemotherapy, and radiation to try and shrink it in size, and approximately half of these types of cancers don’t respond to chemotherapy!
 
So after much prayer, the Andersons have opted return to the Northwest to fight this cancer with natural medicine. 
 
Todd has stopped all work on our new Cessna 182 (N9113M), and three days ago flew commercially back to Washington State to meet with a Natural Path Doctor and immediately start treatment for his cancer. 
 
Cassie, being the true soldier that she is, has been calling non-stop, making appointments, ordering tickets, shopping for her family, caring for her husband, taking care of the kids, and trying to pack up their household belongings and wrap up loose ends at the GMI aircraft hangar.   Soon she’ll be back in Seattle reunited with her husband.
 
How is GAMAS Aviation responding?

We’ve let the Anderson family know that we fully support their decision to stop work and focus on the health of Todd.  This is the quickest way to get them back to Guyana.

While this is a major blow to our program, once again we're not going to succumb to discouragement.  We're going to keep pushing forward with our aviation program.

Which brings up another point.  We don’t want to see Todd’s year of hard work moulder away in the GMI hangar.  As a tribute to his hard work and dedication, we actively searching for other mechanics who can come and help finish up this airplane.  It’s so close to completion!!!  One last concerted push, and it will be ready!  If you know of any FAA licensed mechanics who would be willing to donate some time to this worthy project, please please inform them about this need and contact me right away.  Let's not lose momentum!
 
How can you help the Anderson Family?
 
  1. Please pray daily for Todd’s health.  He's experiencing intense pain.  From what little I know, these Sarcoma cancers are very fast growing, and each day brings new challenges to their family.  Especially pray for wisdom (James 1:5) and courage (Joshua 1:9) as the Anderson's face a multitude of very difficult daily decisions.
  2. If you would like to become financially involved to help them fight the good fight against this sickness, you can contact Cassie directly at her email Cas_Anderson@yahoo.com.  
  3. You can also read more daily updates at Cassie’s blog site  www.athomewithmillieandsam.com 
God bless...

Would you like to use your flying skills to serve God? Email James -[ashjam7@yahoo.com]

Join the Team

If you would like to help the missionary work go forward, you can send a tax deductible donation to:  Gospel Ministry International, PO Box 506, Collegedale Tennessee 37315.  Kindly write on a separate note that it is for Guyana Aviation Evangelism project (GAVE)
Copyright © 2016 Gospel Ministry International, All rights reserved.
You got on my list because you were on my other list
Our mailing address is:
Gospel Ministry International
121 Durban Backlands
Georgetown, No Region 0
Guyana

Add us to your address book
Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp