Summer 2024 - My Missionary On-Line

Summer 2024

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“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.” – Psalm 150:6

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from Yap, Micronesia. At the end of August, Amos will have been with PMA for 20 years. Heidi joined 3 years later and we have just been so fulfilled in this ministry. Raising our family in a small island community has been a privilege and we could not have wished for anything more.
We are thankful for you, our partners who have been with us from the very beginning and for the new ones that have joined along the way. As long as we have strength and health to continue, we plan to serve in the same capacity for many more years. God has clearly shown us that we are where He wants us to be, and that is a good feeling.

Theo, Tommy, Honora, Owen & Raina

AVIATION:

The air service that Pacific Mission Aviation provides in these islands continues to prove essential. The demand continues to grow and we seem to be flying every day (except weekends) to meet the needs for transportation, medical evacuation, and relief work. A few highlights stand out that I wish to share with you.

Medevac of Patient from Palau to Manila

In January, we got a call to Medevac another patient from Palau to Manila. We had a little more time to prepare, and with all the paperwork in place we did another successful medevac to Manila. This time since we left early in the morning, we were able to drop off the patient and return to Palau the same day.

The outer Islands of Yap have been going through a severe drought this year, and specifically Fais Island was completely out of fresh drinking water. PMA did a couple flights to carry drinking water out, but we also had solar-powered filtration units that we flew out there and installed to turn some dirty water into potable water.

Amos & Fais crew installing water filtration units

Filtration Units donated by donors from Germany

Our PMA staff on two separate occasions spent a day out there to set up the filtration units which ultimately produced drinking water for the community.

Flexibility is the key for our aviation program to be able to meet the needs of the people effectively. On several occasions, just prior to departure on a regularly planned flight to the outer islands, we’d get a call that a patient in the islands would need to be brought back to Yap on a stretcher. We then quickly load the stretcher and depart without delay and assemble the stretcher upon landing.

Patient who had shortness of breath breathing from the aircraft oxygen.

Another example just happened last week when I was already enroute and was notified of a patient at my destination. He was having shortness of breath and could not even walk. But we managed to get him into the aircraft seated at the back next to our King Air medical oxygen mask. I put his seat belt on and then put the oxygen mask on him to wear for the duration of the flight home. These flights can be so commonplace that we just take them in stride, but when I have a moment to think about how often we do them, it really sinks in that without the aircraft in this region, the islanders would be in a much harder position and several patients would not get the second chance at life.

MSI AUDIT

MSI meeting with our Yap Aviation Staff

As part of our commitment to safety, PMA requested an audit from an organization called Mission Safety International, which came out to Palau and Yap to inspect our facilities, our flight operations, and our overall personnel. It ended with a list of items that they recommended we correct, some suggestions on how to do things better, but also a commendation of things we are doing right. It was a good time and good counsel from like-minded mission aviators and we were grateful for their support.

TRAINING

Amos with Eric Walter, Chief Pilot of Bemidji Airways

Amos with Eric Walter, Chief Pilot of Bemidji Airways

At the end of February Amos travelled to the States for training. He first went to Charlotte, NC where he renewed his 6-month IFR currency in the simulator, then he flew to Chicago and drove to Minnesota to renew his Queen Air currency. (Since the King Air and Queen Air aircraft are different he has to take two separate exams.) In the past, the FAA would come out to Yap to give us our Queen Air check rides, but this year they were unable to come and required Amos to travel to the only place in the United States that has the same exact aircraft as PMA, located in Bemidji, Minnesota. It was a crazy trip and had freezing temperatures in February, but Amos was able to accomplish everything he set out to do.

HANGAR EXTENSION

PMA was awarded a grant from the Department of Interior to make an extension to our hangar in Yap. It has been a long time coming, but we finally erected some of the structure this past week. Our PMA crew are the ones assembling it and we even had our colleague Brock Welge come up from Palau to help us with welding together the new door which was shipped to us in 8 pieces. It is exciting to see it come together and we look forward to parking the planes with more space to move around them.

GRADUATION:

Heidi and Honora surrounding two graduates, Raina and Krista

Heidi’s homeschool year came to an end this last month and 4 of her students who were in 8th grade graduated. Our daughter Raina was one of them. Raina has applied and was selected as one of the 25 students that were accepted into the same school that Tommy is going to for High School. The Yap Catholic High School is the best high school on the island and it provides a rigorous education that prepares its students for college. We are very fortunate to have this option to send our older kids to. Heidi will continue to teach homeschool students 8th grade and younger.

SUMMER VBS

Heidi working with the youth to prepare crafts for the VBS this summer

As we roll into the summer months our church is preparing for VBS ministries here on Yap as well as one on the island of Fais and one on the Woleai atoll. This is usually a busy time for Heidi as she researches and writes the program for VBS and prepares for it with the leaders. The ministry is always a highlight for the children of the islands, as there are not many events for them outside of school where they can get together and do fun things. VBS is an event that is welcomed by the community here and focused on sharing the gospel with the kids.