For the last few weeks Brian and the other NTMA guys here have been working hard to get one of our Cessna 185s, “405”, ready for service in a new flight program in the Southern Philippines. As I write this, 405 is enroute to its new home where it will once again carry New Tribes Missionaries to and from their tribal works. It has not flown in a missionary capacity since 2003 so this is an exciting day for us. Many pilot/mechanic teams have had a hand in getting the plane ready for this flight, and it was great to join that effort.
The Philippine flight program is in a startup phase and this is the first of many steps to rebuilding flight service to the tribes in the Philippines. It is very rewarding to see these “benchmarks” along the way that are measurable progress of the work we have been about. The plane is going to arrive in a few hours and will be put into service almost right away for missionaries. We will be moving in just under a week to join 405. Our main task will be to help with many of the administrative tasks necessary for starting and running the flight program. Hopefully early next year Brian will begin the process of getting his Philippine pilot’s license, get “checked-out” at our tribal airstrips and begin flying for the missionaries too.
We are also working at importing a helicopter, securing another flight center in the Northern Philippine region where the helicopter will serve. We also need to streamlining much of our inventory and record keeping as our program grows. Pray for us in these very busy days of juggling so many tasks. We are the busiest we have been in a long time and the most unsettled too. It is hard to work in an organized way out of the chaos and we would covet your prayers as we try to keep our heads through these exciting and difficult times. We know the impact that these efforts will have on tribal church planting is far reaching and that makes it worth it all.