MFI's "Missionary Spotlight":
showing the people who are sharing the
Gospel in the West Indies
June/July Spotlight - Mission Aviation
Fellowship (MAF)
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has been serving in Haiti
since 1986. They currently operate one Cessna 207 and two Cessna 206’s.
Another Cessna 207 is currently at MAF headquarters in Nampa, Idaho, being
prepared for service in Haiti. They are also investigating the possibility
of using a Cessna 208 for larger groups. In Haiti, MAF is based at the
Port-au-Prince airport. They currently have a staff of 4 pilot/mechanics
there, 1 pilot/mechanic who is on furlough and a program manager. MAF also has a volunteer pilot who serves periodically through the year.
MAF provides flights to many rural areas, including Hinche and Pignon
(northwest of Hinche), Haiti. MAF has made friends with many of the
frequent flyers and are building relationships with them.
MAF flies cargo and small packages, particularly to Pignon, Hinche and
LaGonave. Those packages often contain needed money, parts, medicines,
legal documents and so forth to help mission work continue. Just like MFI, MAF flies all kinds of things.
They’ve transported propane refrigerators,
generators, photocopiers, X-ray machines, wheelchairs, chickens, mangos,
seedlings, all sorts of food supplies, medicines, bicycles, and critically ill
patients on stretchers.
A big chunk of MAF's flying is for mission work teams. The work teams travel in to
Port-au-Prince from various points in the US via New York, Fort Lauderdale, and
Miami on American Airlines, Spirit Air, or Air France on Monday through
Saturday. The staff at MAF are often able to transport the missionaries out to rural areas on the
same day. Similarly, they pick them up and get them back to Port-au-Prince
for their connecting flight home. This multiplies the effectiveness of
these mission outreaches.
Over the years, MAF has reached out to more remote village areas
in Haiti by clearing land for new airstrips (above left). This allows them
to better serve the Haitian people who don't have the means to travel to the
larger cities for help. The above right photo was taken at the dedication
of a new hangar at one of the larger airstrips.
The staff in Haiti would not be complete without the many
Haitian nationals who assist the MAF staff with such crucial tasks as: accounting and office work, fueling, loading and cleaning the aircraft,
maintenance, computer, ticketing and guarding the planes.
Aircraft maintenance is an important piece of keeping MAF's
ministry going. MFI's partnership with MAF allows parts to be shipped into
Haiti quickly. Most of the maintenance is done at their main hangar in
Port au Prince, but just as with MFI, MAF pilots are also trained mechanics who
must be able to repair their aircraft out in the field.
A Testimony from Michael Broyles - MAF Pilot
I am new here, but MFI has already been a lifesaver for us.
When I first arrived we were in Pignon for language study. The
truck we were using broke down due to a power steering pressure line
failure. Normally that would be about a 20 minute fix, but here
life is a different story. If the part could have been found in
Port au Prince, it would have been very pricey and have taken days to
get. I found the part online for less than $20 US at Advance
Auto. Now only if we had one of those nearby!
Then I had a thought! I knew MFI was coming down the next
day to Pignon, but I also knew there had been no prior order and the
earliest we could get it would be the next week. The truck was
our means of getting supplies (food), how we got water, to church,
pretty much everything. Anyways, I called an MFI pilot – Kenny
– and asked for a favor. At almost 9pm in the evening, he was
willing to leave his family and what he was doing, go to Advance Auto
and buy the part, and then take it to another pilot’s house since he
was not flying the next morning. The following day, Ray
hand-carried the part to me and within the hour I had the truck up
and running again. On a separate occasion in Port-au-Prince, we
had a similar situation with the MAF vehicle we have been driving –
the radiator needed to be replaced. MFI was the quickest
solution once again.
Above: Michael & Kaydence working on the car
Why it's easier to get the parts from the US & MFI!!
MFI was also a tremendous blessing, because when we first moved to
Haiti, we were able to come into the country with most of our
belongings. (pictures: above left - our belongings loaded in
the truck, above center - on our initial flight into Haiti, along
with our “junk”, above right - in our new house). To be able to
fly to Haiti, with our stuff, and go through customs all together was
just amazing. We didn’t have anything held in customs and were
able to drive everything for our new home in Port-au-Prince to the
house that day. With a two-year old, that is a huge blessing.
It really helped us to transition quickly & get our house set up
without having to make several trips to pick up our belongings.
Another blessing was that Karen's parents were also able to fly
down on MFI a few weeks later, and helped us get everything unpacked,
as well as making our house our home. It was wonderful to be
able to spend Christmas & New Years with them here. Karen's mom
returned to Haiti the last week of January, on an MFI flight to do a
missions trip to Cape Haitien.
Since then, MFI continues to be a blessing because our family &
ministry partners have been able to send us care packages, and we
know that they are well-cared for by the staff at MFI. We can
trust them with important documents that must be sent out. It’s
such a relief to know that there is a Godly mission that we can
depend on to help equip us & meet our needs. We are thankful
that God has allowed us to serve alongside our brothers & sisters at
MFI, to reach the lost in Haiti. They absolutely help our
family to be able to live here and be able to minister to those
around us.
Under His Wings,
Michael, Karen, & Kaydence Broyles
The ministry of MAF continues to reach out to more and more people in
the country of Haiti and its churches. From mission outreach
teams, to cargo and supplies, to air ambulance service, MAF is in the
air for the people of Haiti.
Mission Aviation Fellowship has spent over 20 years serving the Lord in Haiti.
To learn more about this ministry, friends and supporters are encouraged to
write to them at the following mail and e-mail addresses, or visit the
MAF website:
Mission Aviation Fellowship
Unit 2119 - MAF
3170 Airmans Drive
Ft. Pierce, FL 34946
E-mail: maf-haiti@maf.org
There are many ways in which the Lord can use His people to share
the love of Christ. MFI's "Missionary Spotlight" shows how
different people and different missions organizations have answered His call,
and through the ministry of MFI, have gone forth to share the Gospel in the West
Indies.
January/February Spotlight - Baptist Haiti Mission
December
Spotlight - Pastor Saint-Ange Monestime,
His Harvest Fields
November Spotlight - Paul and Belle Romeus,
Grace Missions International - Haiti
September/October Spotlight - MMS Aviation,
"Preparing People and Planes for Worldwide Mission Service"
July/August
Spotlight - Mike and Myriam Lawson,
School of Agriculture, UCNH
June Spotlight - Jules and Laurie Casseus,
North Haiti Christian University (UCNH)
