Up to the Minute:
January, 2007 - present
Up to
the Minute: July - December, 2006
Up to
the Minute: January - June, 2006
Up to the Minute:
July - December, 2005
Up to
the Minute: January - June, 2005
Up to the Minute: January - June, 2004
Holidays 2004 at MFI
We give thanks to all who support
MFI throughout the year
The staff and board members at Missionary
Flights International would like to send a special Christmas greeting to
each of you. These candid photos of the MFI staff will give you an
"Up to the Minute" view of our day-to-day activities. Thank you
for your prayers and financial support during 2004. May the Lord
bless you abundantly in the coming year.
Sam Bullers: Pilot Sam Bullers has been serving with MFI for nearly
30 years. Sam continues to fly the DC-3 as well as serve as a load
master for the flights to Haiti. Sam checks the cargo computer to
update his load planning for a flight to Haiti.
Larry Campbell and Roger Sands: Chief of Maintenance Larry Campbell
and Assistant Chief of Maintenance Roger Sands examine some newly found corrosion on
the DC-3. Larry is the most senior staff member at MFI and Roger
is one of the newest staff members. Both men are dedicated to
providing a safe and thorough maintenance program for MFI's fleet of
aircraft.
Ric Hallquist: Eric (Ric) Hallquist has been flying the DC-3 at MFI
for over 20 years. The weather is always an important factor on
our 800 mile over-water flights. Ric is checking with the FAA
Flight Service station in Miami to get the latest conditions.
Kenny Gumpel: Kenny is checking the computer weather that is on
display at Galaxy Aviation. The little briefing room is an active
place at 6 AM in the morning before the flights head to Haiti and the
Dominican Republic.
Wes and Ray at the "wheel": Wes Norton and Ray Oostdyk are looking
over the wheels that have been removed from the DC-3 for inspection.
Wes and Ray are both pilots for MFI, but on non-flying days, they put
their A&P (Aircraft and Powerplant) licenses to work as mechanics.
Kenny at the "Wheel": Kenny Gumpel makes sure that there is plenty of
grease on the large wheel bearings before reinstalling them on the DC-3.
Ray, Wes, and Kenny on the "Gator": Our
aircraft are located on the parking ramp which is about 1/4 mile from
the MFI maintenance office. Recently a family donated a John Deer
Gator to MFI to help us transport parts and pull equipment up to the
aircraft. As you can see, it makes an excellent "Taxi" when lunch
time comes around.
Brent Killian: Brent Killian is one of the MFI DC-3 pilots. At
the beginning of the flight day, he is talking with the Miami Flight
Service checking the weather and the status of his flight plan.
The flight day for the MFI pilots begins at 6 AM every Tuesday and
Thursday and ends well after dark.
Dick Snook: Even if he is not flying, President Dick Snook often
arrives to work early to greet the missionary passengers and help the
ground crew get the DC-3's in the air for Haiti or the Dominican
Republic. Baggage and last minute cargo must be loaded on the
plane, along with any refrigerated items that have been stored in the
warehouse freezer and refrigerators overnight.
Harold Martin: Harold Martin is also an MFI pilot, but like all of
the pilots, he must wear more than one "hat." As administrative
assistant, Harold oversees the outbound and inbound cargo that MFI
handles for the missionaries we serve. Since the "9/11" incident,
homeland security requires MFI to notify US Customs and Immigration
before the shipments take to the air. Harold must also notify
Immigration concerning our passenger information as well.
Stan Curtis: Stan Curtis is assisting the warehouse crew
by weighing in cargo for the flight. Stan is the work team
coordinator for MFI. He gathers up Bibles and mission supplies,
and arranges for the shipments to Haiti. Once the supplies are in
the country of Haiti, Stan leads a work team in distributing the
supplies to the various missions.
Thomas, Ian, and Scott: Missionary Maintenance Services based in
Coshocton, Ohio often travels to S. Florida to assist MFI with some big
projects. Here Thomas, Ian, and Scott are building up a new
engine to be installed on one of the MFI DC-3's. Thanks guys for
your help.
Linda Snook: Linda Snook is at her desk paying the MFI bills and
checking over the donations that are given to MFI each month to keep the
staff paid and the MFI operation going.
Carolyn Wade: Carolyn Wade is the friendly voice that is first heard
at MFI when the phone calls come in. Besides being the MFI
receptionist, Carolyn also keeps the accounts updated for all of the
missions we serve and coordinates the purchasing activities for
missions.
Judy Sands: Judy Sands works with all of the passengers that fly to
the mission field with MFI. Whether it is a single missionary
family or a team of 20 people, Judy must keep them all organized and
ready to board the airplane to Haiti or Dominican Republic on flight
day.
Joe Karabensh: Joe Karabensh is the Vice President at MFI, as well as
one of the DC-3 pilots. When he's not flying, he's on the phone much of the day answering the many questions that come
to MFI each day. Can MFI haul pets, can MFI transport my 2000
pound generator, or can MFI move my family back to the United States
with our 5000 pounds? The questions and challenges never end at
MFI, and Joe becomes the "answer man" to all who call.
Phil Smith: Phil Smith is the MFI warehouse manager. Phil works
diligently checking in the cargo in preparation for the flights to
Haiti. At Christmas time, the wall of inbound cargo gets so high
around Phil's computer station that it often hides him. Every
pound that is flown to the mission field must pass through Phil's hands.
Pat Smith: Pat Smith works in the MFI office. With all of the
paperwork required for each flight, it takes every office worker to get
the job done. Pat is that special helper that is able and willing
to pick up any job from anybody and get it done.
Volunteers: MFI is very grateful to all of the volunteers that help
us every day. They help sort mail, identify packages, and load and
repair the aircraft. Neil, Frank, and Adrian are sorting mail for the
700 missionaries we serve.
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November 12, 2004
MFI Returns To Cayes, Haiti
Over 20 years ago, Haiti closed a small "cow pasture" airport that
was located about 120 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince. The
closing of the Cayes airport was probably a good idea due to safety
reasons, but certainly the mission community was disappointed when the
MFI DC-3's could no longer land with mission cargo and work teams.
Since that time, the Cayes missionaries have had to make the 4 to 6 hour
drive to Port-au-Prince to meet MFI and pick up their mail and cargo.
Even though normally Haiti does not upgrade or improve their airport
system, they have completely renovated the Cayes airport. It is
now a fully fenced, hard surface airport with a spacious ramp for
parking and a modern terminal building. Although MFI is not
allowed to fly directly into Cayes from the United States, the airport
is now open for domestic flights. After we land in Port-au-Prince
and clear into the country, we continue our flight on to Cayes.
The first MFI missionary passengers flown to Cayes in over 20 years were
the David Bustin family. Since they live only a short distance
from the Cayes airport, they were nearly home once the DC-3 landed.
Thank you for your prayers and gifts. Would you like to be a
part of the MFI support team? Check out our "On
Line" giving opportunities. Remember that all gifts, including
year-end gifts, are tax deductible.
The photos below show more about MFI flying the Bustin family to
Cayes. Click on any of the thumbnail photos to see
them full-size.
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After leaving the Cayes "cow pasture" airport over 20 years ago, MFI returned to the newly renovated modern airport last week.
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The grass strip has been replaced with a smooth fully paved runway and terminal area.
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After clearing customs in Port-au-Prince, MFI was able to fly on to Cayes with the Bustin family and all of their cargo.
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Young Haitian children were excited to see MFI's DC-3 arrive in Cayes. The new fencing surrounds the airport facility.
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The Bustin family was happy to be back home in Cayes, and thankful MFI was able to fly them there. Praise the Lord!
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October 28, 2004
MFI, The Hub of Relief Efforts to the West Indies
The normal destinations for MFI flights and the services we provide
to missions are generally Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the
Bahamas. Because the hurricanes this year were so widespread
throughout the Caribbean, MFI has become the hub of activity for
shipping to these damaged countries. On Tuesday, October 26th, an
MFI DC-3 transported almost 7,000 pounds of plastic roof tarps, provided
by Samaritan's Purse, to the
Cayman Islands. The Caymans are just south of Cuba, and since we
must fly over Cuba, a special permit was required to cross into their
airspace. The permit was granted and MFI delivered the supplies to
a church's waiting truck at the Grand Cayman airport. What a
blessing the supplies were to the families in the Cayman Islands.
The relief workers took our flight crew on a quick tour of the island to
view the damage. More supplies are expected, so more relief
flights will be scheduled to the Cayman Islands in the near future.
Normally, MFI transports relief supplies on our DC-3 aircraft, but
sometimes it is more practical to use ocean shipping containers.
Yesterday, 80,000 pounds of building supplies were loaded into two
shipping containers. The containers are being sent to
Grenada on behalf of
Samaritan's Purse to aid in their hurricane relief projects in this
devastated country. They will arrive in
Grenada next week.
Thank you for keeping up with MFI as we help the hurting people hit
by hurricanes this season. Please click on our special "On
Line" giving icon and help MFI to be a blessing to thousands of
souls today. With your prayers and financial help, MFI will
continue to be the hub of shipping to the people of the West Indies.
The photos below show more about MFI delivering roof tarps to
the Cayman Islands, as well as preparing two shipping containers of
building supplies for shipment to Grenada. Click on any of the thumbnail photos to see
them full-size.
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Last Friday, at MFI's warehouse, packaged roof tarps were moved by forklift to a waiting truck.
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On Monday, the 7,000 pounds of roof tarps were loaded onto MFI's N400MF, awaiting Tuesday's flight to the Cayman Islands.
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Here's the cockpit view of Grand Cayman's airport, minutes before MFI's first arrival there.
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Heavily damaged aircraft at Grand Cayman's airport frame N400MF after arrival.
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Staff & volunteers from First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman unload MFI's DC-3.
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MFI's pilots join the First Baptist Church staff & volunteers for a group photo after unloading is complete.
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Gutted FBC sanctuary - 160 mph winds & flood waters forced people to balcony. Walls had to be stripped bare, but ALL ceiling windows had survived!
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Destroyed vehicles are everywhere on Grand Cayman, on the sides of roads & washed up on piles of other rubble.
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In a 50+ unit condo development only this building was recognizable after the storm. Clean slab foundations are only sign of what was there before.
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Utility poles remain down 6 weeks later. Only 20% of Caymans has electricity, most land lines are still out, though the cell phone system is intact.
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This oceanside home now includes a tree across the pool area & in the living room, no windows, & sea corral & debri throughout the interior.
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Yesterday MFI's staff & volunteers finished loading two shipping containers with building supplies. They are being sent to hurricane-damaged Grenada.
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Metal roofing is critically needed for the rebuilding effort in Grenada.
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Thousands of pounds of lumber are delivered to MFI's warehouse for loading into the shipping containers.
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Large generators are also needed to assist the rebuilding effort in Granada.
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With 80,000 pounds of building supplies fully loaded, the two shipping containers will arrive in Grenada next week.
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October 15, 2004
The Relief Flights Continue
Even though the hurricanes have finally stopped attacking South
Florida and the Caribbean, the MFI relief flights continue. Many
local churches and individual families have dropped off hundreds of
pounds of supplies to be sent to Haiti. Hurricane Jeanne severely
ravaged the city of Gonaives with rushing flood waters nearly destroying
the city. Missionaries Rodney and Cathy Fitzsimmons live in
Gonaives, so MFI has been directing the supplies to their ministry.
They have already delivered several truck loads of supplies to the
families in their area. Besides the food items dropped off and
flown in on the MFI DC-3s, we have sent cash to the Fitzsimmons to be
used to purchase beans and rice locally and deliver them to the starving
people. The needs are nearly beyond belief.
Samaritan's Purse-Canada contacted MFI and asked our purchasing
department to buy enough supplies to fill 700 bags of toiletry supplies.
We purchased various items, in bulk, and sent them to the Baptist Haiti
Mission in Haiti to be bagged and distributed to the hurting families
living in Gonaives. The items included dish soap, laundry
detergent, tooth brushes, tooth paste, hand towels and wash cloths,
matches, candles, and other necessary items to help maintain personal
hygiene of the displaced families. Many homes were totally
destroyed and people are living on the streets. Would you like to
help? Just go to our "On
Line" giving and designate "Hurricane Relief Fund" for your
gift. You will receive a tax deductible receipt for your donation.
MFI, the missions we serve and our friends in Haiti will be very
grateful. Thank you for your help and your prayers.
Check out the pictures below to see the large shipment of relief
supplies MFI delivered yesterday to Haiti, as well as a large donation
MFI received today. Click on any of the thumbnail photos to see
them full-size.
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Basic essentials like laundry detergent, dish soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, & toothpaste are desperately needed in flood-ravaged Gonaives, Haiti.
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Loading these relief supplies on two of MFI's DC-3's took several hours.
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One of the planes is almost fully loaded with relief supplies bound for Haiti.
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A large truck and a cargo van were fully loaded with relief supplies and other cargo. The Thursday flights will deliver all the cargo to Haiti.
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The coastal city of Gonaives is still flooded in the inland areas. The main road going through & alongside the mountains remains submerged Thursday.
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Thousands of pounds of relief supplies arrive in Port-au-Prince. Trucks will then deliver this critically needed cargo to Gonaives.
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A forklift takes one of the loads over to an awaiting truck.
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MFI's N400MF arrived in Port-au-Prince shortly after the Turbine DC-3 landed. N400MF was fully loaded with relief supplies and other cargo.
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With the unloading of the Turbine complete, crews move on to N400MF.
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MFI crew and Haitian airport staff begin unloading over 6,000 pounds of relief supplies.
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N400MF returned to Palm Beach after unloading in Port-au-Prince, while the Turbine flew on to Cap-Haitien. Shown here is the rebuilt terminal.
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Rice & other essentials are unloaded in Cap-Haitien. The Gonaives flooding cut off deliveries of food & fuel to Cap. Gas, if available, is $10/gallon.
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The precious cargo is loaded up & taken to waiting missionary trucks.
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A short-term missions group, as well as other returning missionaries, await their return flight under the shade of the Turbine's wing.
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With Cap-Haitien's airport being as "cozy" as it is, occasionally missionaries need to help turn the plane around before departure. Many hands make...
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The day after MFI's 2 relief flights finds the MFI warehouse FULLY loaded with donated food and supplies bound for Haiti. Praise the Lord!
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[
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September 30, 2004
HOME AGAIN! (Same song, second
verse)
On Monday, September 27th, the MFI aircraft and staff returned from
our refuge in Marathon, Florida. Hurricane Jeanne had visited West
Palm Beach while we were gone and gave us another "blow". Jeanne
caused more damage to our homes and to our grounded cargo airplane.
Frances had damaged three of the MFI staff homes, then Jeanne added a
fourth house to the list. Keep in mind that Frances was our first
visitor over Labor Day, then three weeks later, Hurricane Jeanne
"strolled through" South Florida. Boy, what a mess. The
storm beat up on our grounded airplane even more, tearing the rudder
completely off of the aircraft. We still have not found the rudder
and it is 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide. There are more trees down
in our area and more power outages. Many businesses in our area
have been severely wounded again. Grocery stores are running on
generators with limited amounts of cold food. In America it is
rather shocking to see bare shelves in the meat and milk department.
Hurricanes have a tendency to "upset the fruit baskets" of our lives.
We are grateful that the Lord is faithful to us even in times of
trouble. The Bible reminds us that "He is our Rock and our
Salvation". Houses and lands may blow away, but our God is eternal
and will be our safe haven forever. We are grateful that we have
three flyable DC-3's, a Cessna 310, and a Cessna 206 to help our
brothers in Haiti and the Bahamas.
Pray for MFI as we return to helping the hurting people in Haiti and
the Bahamas. Our warehouse is already bulging from the incoming
relief supplies that are arriving hourly. Pray we can keep up with
the demands of those in need. Two DC-3s are headed for Haiti
today,
Thursday, September 30th, and one is flying to the Bahamas on Friday. Would you like to be a part of our hurricane relief
effort? Go to our "On
Line" giving and send a gift today to help those hit by Hurricane
Frances and her sister hurricane, "mean" Jeanne.
The photos below show more about MFI evacuating a second time to
Marathon to avoid Hurricane Jeanne, taking stock of hurricane damage,
and returning to Haiti today with relief supplies. Click on any of the thumbnail photos to see
them full-size.
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Hurricane Jeanne headed for the West Palm Beach area, so MFI flew their aircraft to Marathon. The Turbine N200MF sits between N300MF & N400MF.
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MFI's grounded N2401, which was damaged by Hurricane Frances, suffered further damage from Hurricane Jeanne. The rudder was torn completely off.
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N2401 also suffered extensive wing damage.
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Several aircraft that did not fly out to safety were destroyed by the force of Hurricane Jeanne's winds.
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The Bomb Squadron Restaurant, located at the Palm Beach International Airport, suffered heavy damage to both of their display aircraft.
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Only three days after returning home, MFI flew 2 flights to Haiti, transporting 7 passengers and over 10,000 pounds of relief supplies.
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Passengers are welcomed aboard one of MFI's first flights after Hurricane Jeanne.
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MFI's N300MF takes to the air on Thursday morning, bound for Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
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[
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September 24, 2004
"NOT AGAIN"...
This is the headline, in very bold letters
that appeared in the Palm Beach Post newspaper today, September 24th.
That is exactly the feeling of everyone in our area. We are just
digging out from Hurricane Frances and now Hurricane Jeanne is heading
our way. MFI is preparing our aircraft and our families to fly to
Marathon Island in the Florida Keys to avoid Jeanne.
Since we returned from Marathon the first time three weeks ago, MFI has
been extremely busy hauling supplies. We completed 7 DC-3 loads to
the Bahamas transporting 45,000 pounds of roofing supplies and food.
Besides all of the relief supplies we flew to the Bahamas, we also
transported 20 stranded dogs and five cats for the Bahamas Humane
Society. On one of the empty return flights, we flew the animals
from Freeport to Palm Beach so they could be adopted into good homes
here.
Besides the Bahamas flights, MFI sent 7
DC-3 loads to Haiti plus a 20 foot shipping container with 20,000 pounds
of food and supplies. Our mission community reports over 1000
people killed in Haiti due to Hurricane Jeanne. Now Jeanne is
heading our way. The entire area MFI services in the West Indies
is in serious condition. People, animals, and property are all
suffering from the recent devastation.
Please pray for Florida, the Bahamas, and Haiti. We are all
getting "hurricane weary." Many of our staff homes still have blue
tarps on their roofs from the last storm...now we are going to be hit
again. Pray that the Lord will protect our homes from further
damage. Also, please pray for our finances. Our reserve
funds are nearly used up trying to meet the demands of the hurting.
Any giving will be GREATLY appreciated. If you or your church
would like to help, just send any donations to: MFI, P.O. Box 15665, West Palm Beach, FL
33416. You can also donate "On
Line". Thank you for your prayers and your gifts.
The photos below show more about how MFI
has been helping people in the Bahamas recover from Hurricane Frances. Click on any of the thumbnail photos to see
them full-size.
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Roofing supplies are essential to rebuilding in the Bahamas after Hurricane Frances.
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Thousands of pounds of food were also sent to the Bahamas.
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Roofing materials await final shipment to where they are most needed.
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MFI personnel get ready to unload more food from one of our DC-3's.
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Food deliveries are a welcome sight to the people of the Bahamas. They have been hit hard this hurricane season.
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MFI also transported 20 dogs and 5 cats from the Bahamas to West Palm Beach, for later adoption here.
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[
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September 10, 2004
MFI survived Hurricane Frances, but
we are damaged! See photos below!
On Friday, September 3rd, MFI flew 4 of our planes out of West Palm
Beach to Marathon, an island in the Florida Keys, to escape Hurricane
Frances. All of the airplanes and our families made it safely to
Marathon. We tied down the aircraft and then headed to our hotel.
The accommodations were very nice, but our thoughts and prayers were for
those we left behind in West Palm Beach and for our houses and offices
there. The storm hit the coast of Florida about midnight on
Saturday night.
On Monday, September 6th, we departed Marathon and returned to West
Palm Beach. As soon as we landed at PBIA, all of the MFI pilots
and their families headed to their homes to assess the damage.
Before we left the airport, however, we discovered that one of our
DC-3’s, which was not flyable due to engine problems, was severely
damaged. The mighty DC-3 tail wheel had snapped off during the
storm, allowing the tail of the aircraft to slam the ground and send the
aircraft into a sideways lurch. The left wing impacted two of our
shop trucks that we had parked in front of the plane to break the wind
flow over the wings. Due to the cost of repairs we suspect it is a
total loss. The lost aircraft was N2401, which you can see on "The
MFI Fleet" page on
this website.
Several of our families received severe roof damage. The MFI
pilots and mechanics that did not have as much damage helped those who
did. Two of the homes are now covered with blue tarps to keep out
future rain, which would cause more damage to the homes. Those two
roofs will have to be completely replaced. Most of Palm Beach
County still does not have power, almost a week after the hurricane hit
. Generators are keeping essential equipment like refrigerators
and microwaves going so the homes can be lived in while waiting for
power to be restored.
Besides the loss of the DC-3, we also sustained other damage at the
airport. We lease a small office for the mechanics, which is
located inside a large hangar. The roof blew off of the big hangar
and the rain soaked our little office, ruining nearly everything inside.
Fortunately, we had taken all of our aircraft log books and maintenance
records with us to Marathon, so they survived. The mechanics are
doing some heavy duty clean up at the airport, besides getting the
aircraft ready to fly again.
Our office and warehouse came through Frances the best. There
was just some light water damage to the roof in our office. The
electricity came back on in the office on Wednesday morning, so we
scrambled around and quickly loaded two DC-3's for Haiti. MFI had
not delivered mail or cargo to our 700 affiliated missionaries for 10
days. We flew to Haiti on Thursday the 9th. The mission
community was very happy to see our mail planes arrive.
Our friends in the Bahamas are hurting as much as we are, but because
of our own clean up, we have not been able to respond like we want to.
While the planes were in Haiti on Thursday, we planned to locate
supplies and funds to begin our relief flights to Marsh Harbour in the
Abaco Islands of the Bahamas. Before we could begin our flights to
the Bahamas, though, the local weather news began to inform us about
Hurricane Ivan and its projected path to hit Florida. Ivan is much
more powerful than Frances, and if it comes here, we will receive even
more damage. Ivan's path is not completely certain, but it is
predicted to hit South Florida some where. So, rather than begin
collecting supplies for the Bahamas, we are now getting ready to "bug
out" again. Today, Friday, September 10th, we will prepare the
airplanes for the flights out. Until we get a better prediction on
Ivan's path, we do not know where we are going, but we plan to be "all
dressed up and ready to go". If the storm hits our side of
Florida, we may go to Pensacola to protect the planes. If it goes
up the West coast of Florida, we may go to central Bahamas to stay there
until the storm passes. The final decision will be made as soon as
we have a more positive prediction of the path of Ivan.
As you might expect, running from storms and returning to damaged
property is an expensive adventure. Please pray that Ivan will
just go out to sea somewhere and not bother Florida. Also, pray
for the MFI finances. Last weekend cost MFI $5000 to move the aircraft
and house our staff for three days. If we go to Pensacola this
weekend, it will cost twice that amount. Please pray that the Lord
will supply the necessary funds to keep MFI up and running during and
after the hurricanes. If you or your church would like to help,
just send any donations to: MFI, P.O. Box 15665, West Palm Beach, FL
33416. You can also donate "On
Line".
We will try to keep the MFI website updated, but that is difficult to
do when we are on the move running from storms. A special thanks
to all who have written to us. Please keep writing. Your
notes are a great encouragement to the MFI staff during this trying
time. Thanks again for your prayers.
The photos below show more about how MFI fared during
Hurricane Frances. Click on any of the thumbnail photos to see
them full-size.
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MFI staff and their families boarded up their homes before the arrival of Hurricane Frances.
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MFI vehicles were secured inside the warehouse area of our main office. MFI's computer systems were bagged & stored inside the MFI 15-passenger van.
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The home of an MFI staff member suffered significant roof damage, with tarps needed to prevent interior damage.
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Fencing was no match for the strong winds of Hurricane Frances.
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Many roof shingles were ripped off by the high winds of Hurricane Frances.
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Large trees were knocked down throughout the Palm Beach area.
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MFI's N2401 plane was badly damaged by Frances. Here is the collapsed tail wheel of the plane.
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MFI tried to protect N2401 by parking all of the maintenance vehicles around the aircraft, attempting to shield it from some of the hurricane's wind.
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Hurricane Frances pushed N2401 around, even knocking it against one of the vehicles, damaging one of the wings.
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The interior of the Galaxy Aviation hanger had large sections of the metal roofing torn away. MFI's maintenance office is next door to the hanger.
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Looking back toward Palm Beach International Airport's main flight tower, roofing material from Galaxy Aviation's hanger is everywhere.
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MFI kept their maintenance carts inside Galaxy's hanger, next to the maintenance office. Water is everywhere, even days after the storm ended.
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MFI's maintenance office was damaged by the hurricane, as water came through the ceiling.
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Ceiling material came down in the office, and the carpet was flooded.
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MFI's main office came through Hurricane Frances the best, but many downed trees, power lines, & street lights were common all over Palm Beach County.
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[
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September 2, 2004
Missionary Flights International is preparing to vacate the West Palm
Beach airport due to the oncoming Hurricane Frances that is bearing down
on the Florida coastline. If the center of the storm hits West
Palm Beach, the estimated winds may reach 140 mph. Landfall is
expected on early Saturday morning, September 4th. MFI staff has
been working for two days busily preparing the warehouse and aircraft.
On Thursday most of the staff were given the day off to prepare their
own homes for the hurricane, and as of 8:00 p.m. all houses were ready.
Window panels are all installed and houses are secured as best they can
be. The next step in our adventure is to meet at the airport at
6:00 a.m. on Friday to evacuate aircraft and all personnel and their
families to Marathon Island, in the Florida Keys Peninsula.
Currently the Marathon Island area does not have a hurricane warning in
effect. MFI has made prior arrangements with the Marathon airport
to secure 3 of our 4 DC-3 aircraft and our Cessna 310. We have
reserved 15 hotel rooms to house our 50 people for at least 2 nights.
Please pray for MFI's safety as we depart the area. Please pray
also for our church families we are leaving behind, who are unable to
fly out with us due to the aircraft already being fully loaded.
Pray that MFI will be able to return to WPB airport on Sunday afternoon,
since we know our aircraft will be urgently needed to provide hurricane
support for our friends in the Bahamas. Please prayerfully
consider supporting MFI at this time, as this "adventure" will be a
significant financial burden for us. For your convenience, you can
make an "On
Line" donation directly to MFI. A further update will be
posted early next week, as soon as possible.
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