It’s not about the plane

It’s really just a big hunk of metal.

As cool as the Quest Kodiak airplane is – and it really is a cool plane – it’s little more than a bunch of aluminum with an engine stuck on the end.

What’s really great about the Kodiak is the lives it will help save. And I’m not just talking about physical lives.

And that’s what made my trip to Idaho worthwhile.

New Tribes Mission took delivery of its first Kodiak – the 31^st off the Quest assembly line in Sandpoint. Then NTM pilots took it to the airstrip and aloft, on its way to NTM Aviation’s facility in southern Arizona. Eventually, the plane will head to Indonesia, where air service has been lacking for years for works in some remote villages.

Without flight service, it’s sometimes taken missionaries a week or more to get into or out of the villages. Getting supplies and equipment has been sporadic and spotty. And should an emergency arise, there has been no quick way out. All this has greatly hindered efforts to plant churches among those remote people groups.

So while no airplane will ever share the Gospel, the Kodiak will go a long way toward helping people do so. And you helped make that happen.

I wrote most of the materials used to present the Kodiak project to potential donors. I also helped with the script for FLIGHT, a video that demonstrates the need for the Kodiak and its value in church planting. Those materials helped raise funds not only for this plane, but for deposits on 13 more.

So as you hear in coming years about how Kodiaks are helping expand the reach of the Gospel – saving lives for eternity – remember that you helped make that happen by your involvement in our ministry. Thanks!