In January our first helicopter pilot arrived here in the Philippines to set up shop on Luzon and to get the helicopter program started. It was also last month that we learned that the SIL flight program on Luzon, which has been covering for us until we get a helicopter program started, will be leaving the country even earlier than we thought. March 12 is their last day of flying for us.
This means that if we can’t have a flight program by that time there will be several missionaries who will be unable to continue working in their current capacity in their tribes. They rely heavily on the airplane for transportation and emergency flights. Without the option of a flight in and out of their tribe it would be unwise for them to attempt to continue working there. This concerns us a great deal and we would like to ask for your prayers in a couple of specific areas as we work hard at meeting this deadline.
We have a pilot but we don’t have a helicopter. Actually, we do have a helicopter but don’t have the funds to ship it here, or to set up the flight program. In fact, our helicopter is in a crate, paperwork finished, inspections complete, new Philippine registration number proudly on the tail boom (thanks to Kevin Brennan), and a broker chomping at the bit to import it. We are ready to send it but we lack the finances to send it.
Brian is leaving for Luzon tomorrow morning for a very busy week. We have an airplane there which we can sell and put the funds toward the helicopter program. The airplane needs an annual inspection and a few minor repairs along with fixing one problem that has us scratching our heads. We have been hard at work troubleshooting this problem and would appreciate your prayers as we roll up our sleeves and try to fix it once and for all. We think we know what the problem is but can’t be certain until we try to fix it. There is one other possible cause of our problem that we can think of, but it would require a complete teardown of the engine, so we are hoping our first solution fixes it!
Even after the airplane sells we will still need around $50,000 for the helicopter program. Pray that God provides for that so that we can get it here and continue to support the church planters in the Luzon region. Thanks so much for your prayers regarding these things.