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Dear Friends.

Life is very full and busy here in Papua New Guinea. The work (like most) is never ending, and the challenges often appear insurmountable. Thankfully, we have a very big God who sees the potential for good in everything and everyone and who walks with us each day, helping us through the tough stuff. We simply couldn’t do it without his grace and empowering.

Since we last wrote, we have had a wonderful two weeks holiday in Cairns (North of Australia) in early February. This was probably the most restful and refreshing holiday we have had ever had as a family. Narelle’s parents (Kath and Kev) flew up from Melbourne to be with us for a little of that time, a fabulous treat. We thank God for this time away. We came home to PNG full of energy and ready to get back into the work God has given us.

As already mentioned, our MAF program life seems almost ridiculously hectic of late. Partly this is due to the fact that it has been holiday time, and many families go away for well-deserved breaks, but it means less people around to carry the load. Fortunately, everyone is back home now and things are getting back to normal.

We have also been operating without a Program Manager, our manager had to resign due to illness in December. Since then, we have had our leadership from our Cairns office commuting up here a couple of weeks of each month to fill the role.
Please pray for our leadership as they are looking for a new person to take on the role of Program Manager for the PNG MAF program.

Another reason it has been so crazy, is that we have had a run of unexpected maintenance work needing done on several aircraft, so our engineering teams are working long hours to get planes back into the air. They work as quickly as they can, but it is important that they don’t rush jobs, and keep our aircraft safe. When maintenance problems develop, planes are stuck on the ground, program schedules get backlogged (our pilots are flying on Saturday to compensate), passengers get cranky and sick people who should be moved to be where there they can get medical treatment can die. There is an awful lot of pressure on everyone.
Worldwide, M.A.F is in desperate need of more engineers. We can only fly if we have people on the ground willing to work to keep our planes in good shape. Please pray that God would prompt the hearts of qualified engineers into overseas mission work. Pray that our team would cope with the extra pressure that we are experiencing at the moment.

Please also pray for our M.A.F families who were evacuated out of Chad (in Northern Africa) a few weeks ago due to rebel attacks on the city of N’djamena. Thank God they got out safely, but please pray for our local staff that could not leave the country and for peace in Chad.

Some personal news. After much prayer and discussion, we have decided that when we finish our contract term in PNG in July (08), we will be resigning from MAF and returning home to Australia to live. This has been a hard decision to make, as we have enjoyed our time with MAF immensely. However, we feel strongly that it is time to go home. After 12 years away, it is going to be a huge adjustment, but we are excited as we step out into a new way of life.
Please pray for us as we seek Gods direction regarding work, and where we should live when we go back. Please also pray that in our remaining 5 months here in PNG, we would keep focused on the job at hand, and finish well. Please also pray for our little girls that they will cope with leaving good friends, and starting over again.

Please continue to pray for safety in the air as our pilots fly, and for wisdom and energy for those supporting us on the ground, and our leadership as they run whole operation.
With love and thanks,
Sandy, Narelle, Rachel and Megan Wilson
PNG, Mt Hagen,
Papua New Guinea

Chad Evacuation

This is the press release that MAF UK issued following the evecuation of MAF staff from NDjamena, Chad last week. Please pray for peace in Chad.

4 February 2008
Mission Aviation Fellowship evacuates from Chad
Following evacuation from Chad to Cameroon on Friday, Mission Aviation Fellowship families are now preparing to return to their home countries.

On Saturday, rebel leaders advanced on Chad’s capital, N’Djaména causing thousands to flee. Following two days of heavy fighting, the government claims they have driven the rebels out. However, rebel spokesman Abderamane Koullamalah said rebel forces made a tactical withdrawal from the capital to meet up with reinforcements coming from the east with fresh ammunition and supplies. Rebel leaders also say they are giving civilians a chance to flee before launching another attack.

Aid agencies have reported many dead bodies on the streets and hundreds of people being treated in hospitals.

MAF’s team remained in safety in Cameroon over the weekend. But with Chad facing much instability, MAF’s Country Director Mike Riley wrote to say that families would be returning to their home countries.

Reporting on the last few days, pilot Mark Liprini shares, ‘Obtaining reliable information is extremely hard. Sources are often contradictory, and when things really hot up the cellphone network is switched off and often the landlines are cut as well. Driving on the streets becomes extremely dangerous.’

Our team slept at the hangar on Thursday night as the most reliable reports indicated that the rebels were very close to N’Djamena and planning an attack. On Friday, the situation appeared to calm and the families returned to their homes on the MAF compound.

Mark continues, ‘Suddenly it flared up again. And violently. One of the Chadian staff rushed to the compound and urgently informed Mike that we had to evacuate immediately!

‘The families grabbed a few items and the bags that were already prepacked, piled into their cars and made their way through the streets of N’Djaména back to the hangar. The four-mile drive bypassing the presidential palace seemed to take forever. Heavily-armed soldiers were everywhere, blockades were going up and things were unbelievably scary.’

Within an hour, our team was airborne for Garoua, Cameroon. By Saturday morning, it became clear that it would be too dangerous to return. N’Djaména airport was closed to civilian flights and there was intense fighting around the airport and in many parts of the city.

MAF staff will return home, leaving behind in Chad all they possess except the clothes they are wearing and a few small items in their bags.

Mark concludes, ‘Yet despite all this, the Lord’s presence and comfort has kept the team in good spirits and a sense of calm has been present. There is already talk by some of the team members that they want to return to Chad to complete the work God has called them to.’

Home Again

After a fantastic two week holiday break in Cairns, we are back home tonight in Mt Hagen. We are happy to be home and feeling wonderfully refreshed and rested, and glad to hear that things have calmed down considerably since last weeks violence in town. Thanks for the prayers!

Trouble at home in Hagen

While we have been enjoying a relaxing holiday here in Cairns, life back in Hagen has been very stressful this week. Below is a article I took from one of the local papers. Please pray for peace in Hagen.

Schools located within Mt Hagen remained closed yesterday as parents kept their children at home as tension was still high despite heavy police presence and normalcy beginning to return.
All business houses in the city opened their doors for normal businesses yesterday after shutting their doors on Monday.
Highlands police divisional commander Simon Kauba said yesterday police reinforcements from Simbu arrived on Monday and were now patrolling and monitoring the city.
Mr Kauba said that two mobile squad sections from Port Moresby and Lae would arrive sometimes this week and boost the police manpower in the city.
He said that the fighting had stopped but tension was still high.
He said he was trying to bring the leaders of the two warring groups to the peace table.
Mr Kauba said that so far six people are confirmed dead as a result of the clash between the locals and the city settlers who are predominantly from Enga.
Some local residents are blaming the police for failing to manage the situation when the clash erupted last Sunday over a drunken brawl at a party in a local hotel.
However, Mr Kauba said that the killings had already taken place in the morning.
He said that when police arrived they were outnumbered by two of the biggest tribes in Mt Hagen – the Jikas and Moges.
Mr Kauba said police manpower were stretched to the limit because when they were controlling people and traffic on one side of the city, fighting was raging on the other.
Meanwhile, Lord Mayor Lucas Mek has described his city as a “cowboy town” because there is no law and order.
Mek told The National yesterday that his city needs 1,000 strong policemen to maintain law and order everyday.
Meanwhile, 40% of the work force in Mt Hagen General Hospital are not at work because of the clash.
Hospital authorities closed some of the their operations due to a depleted workforce, who stayed away from work because of fears of their safety and damages to their residences in the settlements.
Acting director of medical services Dr Guboro Urae told The National that the hospital authorities only allowed the emergency section to operate.
He said that the hospital was also running out of medical supplies like oxygen for patients because the oxygen supplier, BOC Gas had closed down due to the clash.
Police in Eastern Highlands, meanwhile, have been instructed be on alert to contain any spillover effects of the violent crisis in Mt Hagen.
Provincial Police Commander Supt Teddy Tei yesterdays issued instructions to his officers in both outstations and Goroka town to maintain close surveillance on residents and businesses in the province.
He also urged highway hatrols along the Highlands Highway to be alert for possible harassment and hold-ups of the travelling public, especially those affected in the ethnic violence.
He brushed aside unconfirmed reports that two Eastern Highlanders were injured in the ethnic clash in Mt Hagen last weekend.
“I warn people not to speculate and spread rumors likely to cause panic to disrupt peace and unity among the community.
“I do not want people to drag the problem to Eastern Highlands province," Supt Tei said.
He warned that police would come down hard on anyone found to be spreading rumours.
All the provincial police commanders from the Highlands region will be meeting in Mt Hagen today with Police Commissioner Gari Baki and Internal Security Minister Sani Rambi to discuss the situation in Mt Hagen city.

....and more

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