Out with the Old…In with the New

Our aviation department saw two miracles happen over the Christmas holiday.

The King Air finally sold!  (See photo on left.)  It had served Bible translation well since its arrival to PNG in April 2003.  Its main job was to fly between our center and the capital of Port Moresby or Cairns, Australia.  It also flew between 60-75 medical evacuation flights to Cairns.  But because it wasn’t designed for rugged bush airstrips, our organization decided it was time replace it with some new aircraft specifically designed for “jungle flying”.

That new aircraft is the Kodiak—manufactured by Quest Aircraft Company in Sandpoint, Idaho.  Our aviation department currently has three Kodiaks in its fleet—all of which are flying constantly.  A fourth was needed to meet all the demands of Bible translation here in PNG.  Unfortunately, the waiting list to purchase another Kodiak was long.  But in mid December, we got the unexpected chance to buy this Kodiak two years ahead of schedule.  (See photo below.)

Over 12 days, people gave hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Wycliffe Associates sent funds that they had already raised for a plane, and hundreds prayed about this impossible goal.

And God provided.  In a few weeks, this Kodiak will fly to JAARS in North Carolina to be outfitted for service here in Papua New Guinea!  We thank the Lord for providing us with an aircraft that has the potential to impact the hundreds of communities in Papua New Guinea who still don't have his Word in their own language.*

*Kodiak story adapted from https://www.jaars.org/updates/god-answered-our-prayers