In the 2010 Haitian earthquake, a group of guys from the citrus industry realized that they had a unique opportunity to partner with the relief efforts by donating citrus cartons to be used for packing donated relief supplies. As Missionary Flights responded to the disaster of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, Jeff Schorner, Owner of Al’s Family Farms and member of a local church, knew that the need for these lime boxes would once again arise.

“My son, Matt, and I went up to Egan Packing in Fellsmere, FL. Greg Nelson was kind enough to agree for these cartons to be used. They checked with Wonderful Fruit, they said no problem,” said Schorner. “Within the month or so of relief efforts, we’ve been able to deliver over 7,000 boxes, but I had no idea the impact that they were making.”

Over 600,000 pounds of relief supplies were donated for the Bahamas, most of which were repackaged in the lime boxes. Once stacked to a certain height, pallets were set aside until they could be loaded onto planes or shipping containers.

Sam Baguma, a missionary with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) in Africa, provided logistical expertise during the disaster relief effort. He had an opportunity to travel to Freeport, Grand Bahama, and saw the unique efficiency of the lime boxes.

Baguma explained, “The beauty of these boxes is that they have a top and an inside that can be completely separated. What the Salvation Army does is spread it all out and then put the bottom on one side and then the top on the other. Once a number of boxes are laid out, they start to fill each portion with goods that will take care of a family.”

1 Peter 4:10 reminds us to “use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” You have been given a unique situation by God. We want to encourage you to consider how the Lord may be calling you to use your talent, time, treasure, or lime boxes to stand in the gap for Him today.

Missionary Flights was heartbroken to learn that on the morning of February 15, 2023, our beloved Port-au-Prince (PAP) Mailroom leader, Jean Charles, passed away due to injuries sustained from a motorcycle accident.

Jean Charles, born on October 4, 1982, did anything that he could do to further the kingdom of heaven. He was filled with integrity and trustworthiness, and he constantly gave God glory in all things.

Jean Charles is survived by his wife and young son. He also leaves behind hundreds of lives touched through SOSAEC Ministries, which provided summer camps, outreach to families and widows, and met the needs of those left homeless in the wake of disasters.

Extra hands are always appreciated, and the Rapid Response team from Missionary Maintenance Services (MMS Aviation) in Coshocton, Ohio, was scheduled to arrive at the perfect time. At the exact moment that one of Missionary Flights DC-3 aircraft was scheduled to undergo maintenance, Hurricane Dorian had created mass destruction in the Bahamas. Because of the immediate need that arose, each MFI pilot mechanic was put onto a flight rotation for disaster relief and made less available to perform maintenance on aircraft.

MMS Aviation provides hands-on training for missionary pilots and mechanics through a 30 month apprenticeship program. They prepare people and planes for mission service. According to their website, the MMS Apprenticeship program is “an intense, thirty month, full-time aviation maintenance ministry,” and “requires a logical thought process, a steady personality, spiritual maturity, established life skills, and mechanical interest and aptitude.” These apprentices will gain or have already gained FAA certification with expertise in areas such as assembly, rigging, turbine engine maintenance, avionics installation, structural repair/modifications, and engine overhaul.

 The MMS Aviation team assisted available MFI mechanics. They performed two hot section inspections which involved the examination of important engine parts to ensure that they are able to generate acceptable power for efficient and safe performance. Additionally, they performed 100 inspections on two engines, removed and installed an engine, removed paint from landing gear components, and assisted with routine maintenance on 500MF, MFI’s other DC-3 aircraft.

Chris Jutte, an Aircraft Maintenance Supervisor for MMS Aviation, led the group as they served at MFI. He also returned a week after the group left to assist with the installation of a repaired engine.

“Training the younger generation to become followers of Christ and training them to become aviation mechanics is a challenge in this modern age,” said Jutte, “but with help from other mission agencies this is being accomplished.”

 “The gentlemen had a very good experience seeing how a flight operation works in a production setting,” commented Jutte as he reflected on the overall experience. “The men were able to work on systems on the aircraft that they have not seen before. Some of the men were able to go on a flight to the Bahamas.  Thanks for the opportunity for us to serve each other in very different ways.”

Missionary Flights is in need of Aviation Maintenance Specialists. Pilot and Mechanic staff positions are MFI are support-based, and will require candidates to develop a personal financial support team before beginning service. If you are interested in exploring the Lord’s call on your life to missionary aviation, contact us today and ask about internship opportunities.

The evening of March 19, 2020, was met with an announcement from the Haitian government that all airport operations were closed. From that moment the calls began to come into the Missionary Flights (MFI) office from missionaries and travelers seeking to evacuate. Those passengers that were scheduled to fly into Haiti were cancelled.

Early the next morning, MFI staff finalized preparation for both of the DC-3 planes. It was determined that a second plane would be needed to provide evacuation for non-Haitian citizens. While one plane flew cargo down to Port-au-Prince and a plan to fly evacuated missionaries home, the other plane flew down empty with seats in order to extract missionaries from Cap-Haitien and Pignon.

We flew based off of a NOTAM: “In accordance with government instructions regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) and due to state of emergency, all scheduled and non-scheduled flights to Cap-Haitian Int’l airport are suspended. Cargo, Domestic flights, Emergency, Search and Rescue, Humanitarian, Medevac, and Government Flights are excluded.” 

From that point, the following dialogue took place on our satellite phone aboard 500MF:

10:10 a.m. - Call comes in from Kevin Stratton. Roger Sands has been given word that the government is not allowing passengers on 200MF in Port-au-Prince. There is a chance that we can still pick up our passengers for 500MF from Cap-Haitien and Pignon.

10:16 am - Joe (Captain of 500MF) calls back Kevin to see if the Port-au-Prince passengers can get to Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF). Kevin shares that it is possible that MFI “will not be allowed to land” in Haiti. Roger continues to talk with government.

10:20 a.m. - Joe turns to Phil (First Office of 500MF) and prays, “Father we just pray right now that you will give us a safe flight. We know that there are a lot of people stranded. Help the declaration be what people will follow and that as a humanitarian flight we will be allowed to land. We ask you to help those in leadership to be gracious and flexible and to allow these flights to happen.”

10:23 am - Phil and Joe discuss fuel on the plane and what the potential of forcing a return home could mean. Maybe land in Exuma? Maybe land at Miami? Joe wants to go to the Bahamas.

11:20 am - Kevin calls: Still don’t know much more. U.S. services in Haiti is surprised we are flying. Ray may have just landed. Roger heard from immigration, they are expecting us. Right thing to do is continue on. With hopes that Cap-Haitien will be better than Port-au-Prince. May be just fine. Passengers going over to General Aviation is not an option at this point. Talking to David. Worst case, put on fuel and come back home. Joe, “we will try to check with immigration before we fly to Pignon.” Head of immigration in Cap-Haitien doesn’t seem to be very helpful.

Phil: “Well, if immigration is expecting us…But if we can’t get ahold of immigration then what does that mean.”

Both pilots think that Ray (Captain of 200MF) will be able to get to Pignon.

Joe: “If we find out that we can not clear people out through Cap-Haitien. We need to avoid going to Pignon and tell Ray the same.”

11:26 am - Joe exclaims, “They haven’t turned us around yet!”

12:19 pm - Spoke with tower in Port-au-Prince. No issues stated with Cap-Haitien as destination. Will see what happens at landing. Scheduled to land at 12:42 pm.

12:45 pm - We land in Cap-Haitien. Joe is greeted by a medical emergency vehicle. Everyone at the airport is wearing gloves and masks. Joe is escorted inside where his temperature is taken. Joe is told there is a problem flying passengers, but he could call and make a request. After explaining on the phone that we are evacuating our humanitarian workers, Joe gets called back in 5 minutes with approval from OFNAC (Haiti’s ATC) and told him to just inform immigration.

1:36 pm - Wheels up in Cap-Haitien toward first pickup in Pignon.

1:39 pm - Kevin calls phone: We are told we will pick up 19 people total. 12 people and an additional 7 members of the DeRuischer family. We are told to leave DeRuischer’s in Cap-Haitien and 200MF will bring them home. Ray will bypass going to Pignon to save on time. Ray is getting passengers in Port-au-Prince through General Aviation.

Minutes later those plans changed. As MFI landed in Pignon, the missionaries were overjoyed to see us. 19 people total were ready to board the plane. However, we had just received word that we were not allowed to fly them out of Haiti. No passengers allowed out of Haiti.

“As the door opened, I heard Micah with Many Hands for Haiti yell my name,” shared JJ, flight attendant on 500MF. She shared that she could not wait to get back to Fort Pierce where her dad would be waiting to pick her up. She had spoken with her father earlier in the week and he had decided to drive down from Iowa to provide a ride for Micah and her friend Liz who was also flying out.

Collin and Carla Wilson, missionaries with Haitian American Friendship Foundation, had originally made the decision to stay in Haiti. After sharing with them our concern for being able to fly in cargo, and the notice came in from Haiti to suspend commercial flights, they made the choice to book a flight home. We began to load their bags onto the plane.

The DeRuischer family was glad to be getting their family back to the United States. They and their five children were excited to be going to Florida to spend a little time on vacation before returning home. We shared that there wouldn’t be much to do, considering the shutdown of so many theme parks. But they were looking forward to the added safety of being back home near family.

But these meetings became nothing more than a short visit. Clearance to return back to the States with two planes and a total of 47 passengers had quickly changed. Joe received word that the Immigration Office was denying departure for these passengers.

Furthermore, all agencies that could potentially give clearance began to give MFI the run around. Back in the States, the MFI office tried frantically to get in contact with somebody who could make a decision. Meanwhile, Joe worked with missions on the ground in Pignon to try to get clearance.

Negative.

The group gathered around Joe to pray. “Lord you are in control…Father let your will be done…”

A few more calls. More brick walls.

“We closed the doors to the plane on our missionaries,” recalled JJ, “it hurt to have to do that to my family in Christ.”

Many in the office felt the same. At the end of the day on Friday there were tears shed both on the ground in Haiti and from those who felt guilty in their comfort at home. But the story does not end there.

The Lord has called us to stand in the gap for affiliated missionaries in the Caribbean. We have been called as pilots, volunteers, and office staff to provide logistical support for those who transport the Gospel. Our hope is not found in what happens now, but on what the Lord has promised us in a future. That one day, every knee will bow and tongue confess that He is Lord. Therefore, we are prepared to make the most of each day regardless of the challenges that lay before us because we know that the Lord is in control.

While the seats aboard our plane remained empty on March 20, we are working to fill them for a flight soon. We know that the Lord calls on His people to turn to Him and pray. We encourage you to pray with us now:

• That we be granted the clearance to fly into Haiti and bring missionaries home.

• For the safety of all Haitians and missionaries living in Haiti during the Coronavirus and these uncertain times.

• For the medical professionals who are working to contain the Coronavirus and the decisions being made in each country.

We have limited the number of volunteers serving at MFI. Our staff has agreed that, in the absence of flights, other jobs may be performed that would otherwise have been done by our volunteers. This decision has been made to protect our volunteers and reduce the amount of traffic in and out of the MFI office. If you are interested in volunteering at MFI in the future please visit www.missionaryflights.org/volunteer.

During this time, we continue to stand in the gap in the following ways:

• Praying for our affiliated missionaries, volunteers, and churches.

• Performing routine and necessary maintenance of our aircraft outside of our otherwise busy flight schedule.

• Building the Missionary Flights Hospitality Park. The Hospitality Center is nearly complete and photos can be found at www.missionaryflights.org/the-hospitality-park

• Preparing to resume a normal schedule when the coronavirus threat has passed.

Please be patient and flexible as we continue to stand in the gap for our affiliated missionaries during this coronavirus situation.

First Relief Flight - January 13, 2010

Late that first night after we received the news of the earthquake, only two things were certain: Samaritan’s Purse wanted a survey team flown to Port-au-Prince the next day, and Wes Norton and I were scheduled for that flight. We had good reports from Port-au-Prince that the runway itself was intact. However, when we took off on Wednesday morning, we had very little information about air traffic control, fuel availability, runway lighting, the terminal building’s condition and lighting conditions. It was imperative that we arrive before sunset. We were cutting it close.

As we approached Haiti, the weather was good so we cancelled our instrument flight plan and proceeded on a visual flight to Port-au-Prince. As it turned out, this facilitated our arrival tremendously. Getting closer to Port-au-Prince, we could hear numerous aircraft on instrument flight plans being put into holding patterns at various points and altitudes by the overworked Haitian controller. Only one radio frequency was in operation and it was nearly overwhelmed with numbers aircraft looking for landing instructions. The controller, considering the difficult circumstances, did a decent job sorting out the aerial traffic jam and worked us in with little delay. We didn’t realize how difficult it was until we heard the controller asking aircraft to report when they had cleared the runway after landing. There was no operating control tower. Haitian civil aviation had done an admirable job to get the airport up and running considering the conditions.

We managed to touch down about ten minutes before sunset and typical of the tropics, it quickly became dark. The main terminal ramp was crowded with numbers aircraft but we managed to find a parking spot on the eastern half. Our first problem was to make contact with Baptist Haiti Mission (BHM) who had graciously volunteered trucks and a crew to provide transportation and handling for our load and passengers. I began to search the nearly half mile long ramp for the BHM people in the dim light amongst the throng of aircraft, relief supplies, and workers. To our pleasant surprise, the authorities had managed to get power to the airport. There was lighting in the building and on the runway.

All the airport buildings I could see where still standing, but most had sizable cracks in their walls. For this reason and for fear of aftershocks, most of all the work was conducted outside, which contributed to the crowded conditions on the ramp. Shortly into my search, I cam across a familiar face. Daniella, who works for Haitian civil aviation, was working. She looked exhausted and emotionally drained. I greeted her with a hug and asked about her family. She said they were all okay, but things were very difficult. She kindly took time to help me look for the BHM people.

After a fruitless search down the ramp and outside the terminal, I thanked Daniella and walked back to our airplane. In the meantime, the BHM people had found us and were there with Wes unloading the airplane.

In the midst of all this, the next surprise was the fuel man coming up and asking us if we wanted fuel. Because of the runway lights and fuel, we were able to fly home that night. This day was the beginning of many long days and nights for so many who became involved in the work.

God had worked out so many of the little details we could not control. Considering the scope of the need following the earthquake, it left one with a sense of overwhelming inadequacy. In the coming weeks we saw God supply and work in amazing ways as so many Christian organizations and individuals came together to help meet the needs.