Monday, September 22, 2014

Chikungunya and the Cell Phone Thief

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  John Keith         Falconer

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light."

   Missionary          Summit

A week ago the Guyana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists held a missionary summit with some special visiting speakers from the United States and the Caribbean Union.  Whenever these events happen, it's always a challenge to get the bible workers out of the interior, and return them back home.  Pictured above are two bible workers that we flew out of Region #7, and below are two other bible workers returning back to Region #8.  

 New Hymnals for the Villages

This summer when I attended the Stateline Adventist Church, the Junior & Early Teen Sabbath School Class raised over $200 for some hymnals for the villages.  This last week I went down to the ABC and we were able to purchase 16 new hymnals with these funds.  In the interior, there is a severe shortage of hymnals.  

Stuck in a Rain      Shower

Supposedly it's still dry season, but that doesn't mean that we don't get thunderstorms, and rain showers.  Usually they hit at the most inopportune times, when you are getting in the airplane to take off (above).  But rain can cause some of the most beautiful pictures. Of course riding it out on the ground is much better than flying through it!  A week ago I rode a stormy updraft that carried me up over 3000 feet! 

Prayer & Praise

PRAISE: Things are starting to return to normal, and the airplane is flying great!  

REQUEST: Please pray for Todd and Cassie Anderson who are traveling to Collegedale to work on the Cessna 180, to prepare it for Guyana.

 

1 Horse Power    Tow Truck

When the old Mercedes refuses to run, who do you call?  The tow truck of course!!!  I couldn't help but take this picture as I drove by. 


  Chikungunya and the          Cell Phone Thief

 
Well we don’t have “Chikungunya” (yet), but it’s been spreading all over Georgetown like wildfire.  The Adventist hospital where we live has been receiving a steady stream of infected patients seeking treatment.  Day before yesterday when I stood up to preach at our little church, I asked the small congregation if anyone had gotten “Chikungunya” and to my surprise about five hands went up. 

For those of you who don’t know, “Chikungunya” is a mosquito borne virus which originated in Africa in the 50’s.  The name ‘Chikungunya’ is derived from a word in the Kimakonde language, meaning "to become contorted" and describes the stooped appearance of sufferers with joint pain.  The virus is of the same family of viruses as Dengue Fever, except it spreads far faster, and the symptoms are much worse.
We’re concerned about this because we always seem to have a cloud of mosquites that lives outside our front door.  They seem to like to live in our shoes.  Every time we go in and out of the door, the mosquitoes flit merrily inside.  Joy a couple days ago bought some mosquito coils to try and keep them away, but I’ve heard that it’s not good to smell the smoke from these coils since the smoke is carcinogenic and has been shown to cause cancer.  You can’t win!!!
 
Please pray that we would not contract this disease since this would really disrupt our mission.  Please claim in our behalf Psalms 91:3 “Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.” 
 
A week ago someone stole Joy’s cell phone from our kitchen counter.
 
It was Sabbath morning, and we had just finished breakfast and were getting ready to leave for church when a knock came at the door.  The tall young man (18 years old) poured out a semi-believable story of how he was going through some hard times at home, had slept outside because he had had an argument with is dad, and needed some food. 
 
I had mixed feelings about inviting him in, but I could tell he did seem to be in need.  After talking it over with Joy, we both decided to take the risk and invite him in.
 
Before I invited him in I looked around for any loose electronics that might pose a “temptation” to him.  Both my cell phone and Joy’s cell phone were sitting side by side on the kitchen counter, and I slipped mine in my pocket.  I toyed with the idea of hiding Joy’s phone, but because Joy’s iPhone was having a charging issue, I decided to leave it on the counter to see what he would do.
 
Since he was approximately my size, I picked out some fresh clothes for him to change into.  He took a shower and sat down to breakfast.   I don’t know if he had eaten breakfast already, or wasn’t used to our cereal, but he didn’t seem to be overly hungry. 
 
After breakfast he sat down in the living room while Joy cleaned up the kitchen.  I had to catch a quick shower to get ready, so I disappeared into the bedroom to get prepare for church.
 
When I emerged, the young man was gone, and so was Joy’s broken phone.  Joy said that he looked really nervous and had some sort of lame excuse why he had to leave right away. 
 
I’m glad we were able to help him out a little, but I’m also deeply saddened by this experience.  Please pray that God would somehow reach his heart before he makes a truly catastrophic, life altering choice.
 
Other than that, we’re doing pretty well, and the Lord is opening more doors.

Missionaries Wanted

We have openings for missionary workers: 
  • Bible Workers to do training and evangelism.
  • Construction Workers for different projects around Guyana.
  • Media Worker to help run the video and print work.
  • Pilots and Mechanics to build up the aviation program.
Fill out an Gospel Ministry International Application today and indicate your interest in Guyana

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)

Vision for the Future

1.  Our most important task right now is to finish the mission pilot house in Bethany Village in preparation for the Anderson's return. 

2.  When Bethany is complete, we will turn our attention to Lethem, to  see about building up a flight base there.  Here in the near future we'll have two full time pilots and two full time airplanes flying.  
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Wednesday, September 10, 2014

God's Incredible Promises

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     David Livingstone

"If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all."

A Distant Medical Outreach

Some places are so remote that you can't even reach them by airplane. Arau Village is one of those locations.  When you fly into the airstrip you have to hike for over an hour to get to the village itself.  Just before I went on vacation I flew a medical team into Arau, and hiked in with them to the village.  While sitting on my bed I noticed that there was an interesting looking book on the bookshelf in my room.  Upon investigation, it turned out to be a book by Dr. Ben Carson entitled "Take the Risk".  Who would have thought that a book like this would make it to this little known corner of the world?!

Cement, Cement, and more Cement

Flying Cement is hard work since each sack weighs 94lbs.  On top of that, each sack needs to be put in another plastic bag so that the grey cement dust doesn't coat the inside of my airplane.  

As Joy and I were wrapping things up for our departure for vacation, one of my volunteer missionaries sprang a surprise on us and bought 20 sacks of cement for the Kaikan Bible School Project!  Fortunately David Gates was in town and together with the Cessna 340, we were able to get all the sacks transported out to Kaikan Village.  

The bible school is almost complete.  Please pray with us that God would place a Godly family over this school so the work can continue forward.

My Biggest, Nicest Passenger

In this line of work, you meet many different types of people, with as many types of personalities.  My all time favorite is a big gentleman (275lbs.) from "Vector Control".  Vector Control is part of the Ministry of Health, tasked with the hurclean challenge of controlling malaria in the interior.  Because they are doing such critically important work, we try our best to fit them into our flight plan, and help them move around the interior.  

Prayer & Praise

PRAISE: We have another airplane for the project!!! 

REQUEST: Please pray that the work would progress quickly, and that we would be able to start flying two airplanes full time by February 2015.

 

New Volunteers for Paruima

Twenty two years ago I attended a little academy in Singapore called "Far Eastern Academy".  My favorite teacher was the music teacher, and he had four blond little girls.  

Well, Alice (the second oldest girl) has grown up, gotten married and now is volunteering out in Paruima Village at our school.  What a privilege to be able to fly the family out to their new mission field.

Vision for the Future

1.  Our most important task right now is to finish the mission pilot house in Bethany Village.  We have about four months before the Andersons are planning to return, and we must complete this pilot house.  The good news is that it's approximately 70% complete, but it desperately needs a good well and for the interior to be completed.  I'm working to get materials gathered together, and by the end of the month one of our bible workers will be available to manage the construction.

2.  When Bethany is livable Joy and I will turn our attention to Lethem, to  see about building up a flight base there.  Here in the near future we'll have two full time pilots and two full time airplanes flying.  By basing up in the North (in Bethany) and the South (in Lethem), we can can effectively cover the entire country.


God's Stupendous Promises

 
Every sincere Christian that I know seems to have a short list of bible promises that they cling to when times get tough, or when they face an overwhelming situation.   

I’ll admit it….  I have my own favorites.
 
At the top of my list are two promises that I come back to, again and again. Philippians 4:19 “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory, by Christ Jesus.”  And Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it shall be given you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you.”
 
When I read these promises, it almost seems too good to be true.  Doesn’t it sound like God is offering us a massive blank check, inviting you and I to whip out a pen and to fill in the amount? 
 
Over the last six years that I’ve been flying in Guyana, I’ve seen again and again how God has fulfilled both of these promises my own life.

In six short years, the Lord has provided no less than five different airplanes for me to fly.  Now I have to admit that most of these airplanes were temporary aircraft, available for only a few short months.  But the truth of the matter is that God has always provided an airplane, precisely when we needed it most, so we could stay in the air.  And the last airplane, which we are currently flying, has been serving in Guyana for nearly three and a half years.  Isn’t God amazing?!
 
But our needs go far beyond airplanes.  In fact the biggest need that I’ve encountered in this line of work is the need for good missionary pilots.   
 
Yet even in this, God has been faithfully fulfilling his promise.

A year and a half ago, the Lord brought another pilot family into our GAMAS Aviation Program.   The Anderson family, incidentally, is also from the state of Oregon, and Todd Anderson is a commercially rated pilot, and a licensed airplane mechanic.   
 
Since they’ve come to Guyana, we’ve been working slowly but surely toward getting Todd checked out to fly in Guyana’s jungle interior.  At one point it looked as if Todd would complete his new pilot checkout, but because of maintenance delays, and a scheduled furlough, the Anderson family has had to travel back to the States for a little vacation.
 
But perhaps the most exciting recent turn of events is that God has provided us yet another airplane for our project to use!  Unbelievable but true.  The sixth airplane in six years!   One of our other GMI aviation projects has graciously offered us the use of a Cessna 180 which has been sitting in storage.

There are come clear advantages to this plane. 
 
First of all the airplane has most of the “bush modifications” already installed, so this will save us significant amounts of time in preparing the plane for Guyana.  Secondly, the airplane comes with a newly overhauled engine.  This is huge since we fly long stretches of time over an unbroken jungle canopy.  We need a reliable engine.  Third, the plane comes with some upgraded fuel tanks, landing gear, and a new engine mount to make the airplane stronger and more rugged.
 
But there are some challenges that we face with this airplane as well.  After the airplane flew up to the States six years ago for an engine overhaul, it was partially disassembled, and stored in a hanger and a garage.  While we have all of the individual pieces, it’s going to take a couple mechanics 3 to 4 months of solid work to fix up this airplane so it’s airworthy.  The tail section needs some sheet metal work done, and the airplane desperately needs a new paint job before it flies down to Guyana. 
 
After discussing our plan of attack together with the Andersons, they have graciously chosen to delay their return to Guyana.  In a week or to they will relocate to Collegedale Tennessee where the airplane is currently located, so that Todd can oversee the reassembly of the plane.
 
By January, I hope to fly up to the States, and together, the Andersons and I will fly the airplane through the Caribbean back to Guyana.
 
With two full time pilots and two airplanes we can fly anywhere in Guyana in less than and hour and a half!
 
We’re praying that within three years we’ll have three full time pilots and three full time airplanes serving from three different locations throughout Guyana. 

Missionaries Wanted

We have openings for missionary workers: 
  • Bible Workers to do training and evangelism.
  • Construction Workers for different projects around Guyana.
  • Media Worker to help run the video and print work.
  • Pilots and Mechanics to build up the aviation program.
Fill out an Gospel Ministry International Application today and indicate your interest in Guyana

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 © 2014 Gospel Ministry International, All rights reserved.
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Our mailing address is:
Gospel Ministry International
121 Durban Backlands
Georgetown, No Region 0
Guyana

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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Fw: When the President Calls

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Bees in the Bonnet!

Several years ago I was doing a preflight when I noticed to my dismay that some wasps were hovering about the tail of my aircraft.   This went on for a couple weeks, making my preflights more than a little interesting.  But eventually they flew off in search of "greener pastures", and I quickly dismissed it from my mind.  Not long ago when I removed the rudder fairing this is what I saw!  I can only imagine what would happen in flight when they tried to exit the tail at 115 knots.  No wonder they moved on!!!

A Change of Heart

The heart of an airplane is the engine…  This is what carries you over 150 foot tall jungle trees, and returns us to Georgetown in time for supper.   In these pictures we're removing the old engine and putting on the new one.  It's amazing how much work goes into replacing an aircraft engine.  It took us nearly three weeks to get the old engine safely removed, and the new one hooked back up.  In Ezekiel 36:26, God has promised to remove the old heart from us and install a new one.  Fortunately for us, the new heart doesn't cost $26,200 and require three weeks of work!

Annual Inspection

The irony in mission aviation is that "down time", is rarely "down time".   Many times when the airplane isn't flying, these end up being some of our busiest times.   As we've been waiting for the engine to come, and for it to clear customs, we've been steadily working the airplane to repair the "squawks".   We've also been fortunate to have friendly help from time to time.  In the hanger next to where we work, there is a maintenance training school, and frequently their students come over and hang out with us.  While Todd Anderson is performing the critical maintenance work, these students are helping in other ways.  In the picture below we're reinstalling the wing flaps after they were freshly repainted.  I'm discussing the best way for them to get their fingers into the tight spaces, in between the flaps, in order to reconnect the bolts.   

Bicycling to Bible Studies

Praise God, our branch sabbath school outreach is growing!  We have about 10 active bible studies that we're involved with, and already two persons have been baptized and are actively participating in church.  This last Sunday the weather was fantastic, so Derek Lindie and I rode on bicycles to two bible studies in the poor neighbourhood of Sophia.   God is opening many doors of opportunity (almost too many!).  At every location we find scores of people interested in studying the bible, but ironically we're having more difficulty finding church members willing to go out and give the bible studies.   Please pray for our little evangelistic group that we would continue to move forward in faith, and that God would send out more workers into His harvest.  

Prayer & Praise

PRAISE: The airplane engine and engine mount are on the airplane!  

REQUEST: Please pray as we begin the break-in process on the new engine.  This is one of the most critical phases of an engine's life, and we ask that you would pray for a special hedge of protection about us as we fire up this new engine.

Never a Dull Moment in the Ash Family!


When the President Calls

Everyone knows that it's not "what you know", but "who you know" that makes the real difference. 
 
For over a year now, we've been faced with an ominous challenge:  Come up with $26,000 for a newly overhauled Continental O470-L32B airplane engine. 
 
The engine in our missionary Cessna 182 had been showing signs of age.  It was nearly 23 years since it was factory overhauled.  Although the FAA doesn't regulate when private aircraft owners are to replace their engines, this is about twice the age typically recommended.  On the other side of the coin, we've also been flying the airplane heavily since it's arrival in Guyana, and it's also gone over the allotted hours recommended by the manufacturer.  Up until our last flight, the engine was still producing excellent power, but little signs were beginning to show, and we realized that for safety sake, we needed to pull the plug.
 
The Lord answered many prayers, and through a partial donation, and a partial loan, we were able to order a new, factory-overhauled engine and have it shipped directly to Georgetown.
 
It was then that we faced our biggest challenge.  How do we import an airplane engine into Guyana without paying a huge amount of importation taxes?  Big dollar items like this would most certainly incur a 5% -10% duty fee, and a whopping 16% Value Added Tax.  Put together the taxes alone would be close to $6000 U.S. Dollars!
 
I had anticipated this, and my original plan was to request one of the government ministries to request a tax waiver in our behalf.   But the first government ministry that I approached didn't respond to my letters and phone calls, so I contacted another ministry, and started a letter writing campaign. 
 I also took a trip down to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to get some more answers.  After explaining my dilemma, the employees eventually directed me to the top floor, to the office of Mr. Low, who was one of the senior managers.  Mr. Low listened carefully to my story, but very nicely explained that the only tax that could be waived was the 5% duty.  The VAT was required by the Guyana constitution, and there was no way around it.  
 
I had heard through the grapevine that the president's office intervenes in certain cases that they consider worthy.  So I began praying in earnest, and requesting everyone that I knew who was influential to call and writing letters of petition to the presidential secretariat.   I never saw the correspondence, but the result was swift and breathtaking.
 
Almost exactly a week later I was driving in Georgetown when my cell phone rang.   I dug around in my pocket and finally fished it out on the last ring.  I noticed that it was a "blocked" number, which didn't strike me as strange, because our flight base has a blocked phone number.
 
The gentleman on the other end of the phone said, "Is this James Ash, the pilot with the 'Seven-days church?'"
 
"Uh… Yes, this is James"
 
"This is President Donald Ramotar, and I have received your request, and have approved it.  I just got off the phone with Mr. Sattaur the commissioner at the GRA, and if you call him right now, he'll help you to get through…"
"Thank you!!! Thank you so much!!"
 
I hung up the phone the phone in utter shock.  I remember thinking, "Am I dreaming, or did the president of Guyana just call me on the phone?!"  A few seconds later when the full impact hit home, I clenched my fist in victory and fairly shouted out  "YESSSS!!!" 
 Two weeks later I had the privilege of driving to Timehri International Airport with all my paperwork in hand, to get the engine released from customs. 
 At this very moment the new engine is installed on the airplane, and Todd Anderson (one of our GAMAS mechanics), and I are working feverishly to finish up the annual inspection so we can get back in the air to continue this life saving work. 
 
This experience was humbling for me, because it showed me how utterly helpless I was to solve this problem.  The Lord also gently reminded me that it's not "what we know", but "who we know" (Jesus) that will ultimately save us in His eternal kingdom.   

Wouldn't you agree?

Missionaries Wanted

We have openings for missionary workers: 
  • Bible Workers to do training and evangelism.
  • Construction Workers for different projects around Guyana.
  • Media Worker to help run the video and print work.
  • Pilots and Mechanics to build up the aviation program.
Fill out an Gospel Ministry International Application today and indicate your interest in Guyana

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 © 2014 Guyana Adventist Medical Aviation Service, All rights reserved.
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Our mailing address is:
Guyana Adventist Medical Aviation Service
121 Durban Backlands
Georgetown, . .
Guyana

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