The last four months have been action packed and extremely busy with flying and other projects in Palawan. Sean and Pris got back the end of July and that helped alleviate some of the flying load. We spent a couple more weeks in August at our base in Palawan with Sean and Pris before heading back to Luzon. A week before our planned departure I had an unfortunate incident when landing the twin on our grass strip. Our airstrip there is about 1800ft long and while it works great for a Cessna it leaves little room for error for a light twin when the grass is wet. Because of this I was trying to land very near the beginning of the strip because it was early morning and I knew the grass was wet. I touched down about 5 feet short of where I should have and the right main gear hit a small berm and caused it to break folding backwards where it wedged in place in the wheel well and turned the tire sideways. By God's grace I managed to keep the airplane traveling straight down the runway until it stopped. The wing sustained some damage from the collapsed gear but praise God it was not worse. So now I am looking for parts to make repairs and since we cannot fly it for a few months we decided to go ahead and overhaul both engines which are past their recommended overhaul times anyway. Please pray for God to provide the needed parts and resources for the repairs and engine overhauls on our twin Comanche.
Helicopter Donation
Despite the challenges, God is still working in many unexpected ways. About a year ago a Bell 47 helicopter (needing overhaul and restoration) was donated for
mission work. A few months ago God moved on a young man who is a helicopter mechanic to take on this overhaul project full time. He has left a secure and good paying job to answer God's call to
missions and intends to follow this helicopter to the
mission field when it is flying. This Bell 47 overhaul project will be costing between $50,000 to $60,000 for new engine parts and rotor blades. It would be a big blessing to have this helicopter in the field. If you would like to support this project financially please designate your donation to “
PAMAS Bell 47 project.”
Exponential Growth
As this medical/aviation ministry expands, we are amazed at how God continues to provide for the growing needs. You may not be aware that your donations are supporting 11 missionary families and 11 single Bible worker/medical missionaries as well as the operation of two airplanes and one helicopter. (We also have one family and one single who have their own support.) Three strong church plants and a school are a direct result of your prayers and support, and more are close to being established. Dozens of young people have been (and several still are being) sponsored through medical missionary and evangelism trainings, and Adventist academies and colleges and have given their lives to full-time volunteer service. Thank you for making these things possible! God is truly blessing and we can hardly keep up!
The opportunities and requests from isolated areas continue to grow almost by the day. The helicopter flies on average 3-5 times a week and the Cessna flies about the same. Most of the flights are medical evacuations and the rest are for supplies and/or missionary support. Three new remote villages are opened now and are already hearing the Gospel as a direct result of the helicopter. A new missionary family has recently arrived to Palawan to serve in the mountain village of Karusuan. (See last newsletter).
As this exciting work continues to grow exponentially, we feel this quote becoming a reality:
“The wants of the cause will continually increase as we near the close of time.” Testimonies Vol 5:156
Though we have hardly had to slow down on any major work for any reason, there are times where our faith is stretched and we do alot more praying! We really do covet your continued prayers and financial support for this ministry.
God is Calling
There is a lot of talk, predictions and speculation on what this month of September holds. Some in the financial world are talking about another big stock market crash and others are warning of terrorist attacks or other world altering events. From our knowledge of the Bible we know that Christ's coming is even at the door, maybe much sooner than most think or believe. The world is about to receive a wake up call in whatever form God sees fit to allow but we should not be waiting earth shattering events to listen. God is calling now.
With so much going on in the world and in this ministry, we've been feeling the need for more prayer lately, so our Luzon team will be setting aside 3 days this week for prayer and fasting. We'd love to have you join us this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday! (See prayer needs below).
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