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In the attic, Mike found a diary and old map
With the story of how MAF began.
Mike decided, for his Christmas mission,
He had an exciting plan!
Each page was filled with pictures and tales,
One for each country in which MAF flies.
From the first of these nations until the last
He’d provide much-needed supplies.
Now, jump inside Mike’s MAF plane,
There’s so much to learn and see;
Though Christmas is fast approaching,
There’s still space for you and me!
Diary checked and journey logged,
Mike folded the old map away.
As his plane took flight, soaring high,
He wondered who he’d meet today!
Mike’s little plane touched safely down
In the jungles of Ecuador.
He stepped out of the cabin and looked around
It’s a great place to explore!
Up to the aircraft came a smiling man,
Jaime Saint was his name.
Many years before, his grandfather Nate,
Had visited this place in his plane.
Some violent men from the jungle
Had killed Nate and all his friends.
But their story’s inspired many folk since,
Because the warriors made amends.
‘There are snakes in this jungle,’ said Jaime,
‘They’ll harm you if they bite.
Is there anti-venom in your plane,
So our nurse can make things right?’
Mike had just the thing in his plane,
So Jaime smiled at the sight;
Happy the villagers would be okay
Whenever they got a snakebite.
Mike climbed back into the pilot’s seat
And began his important checks.
He turned to the next page of the diary
To see where he’d be flying to next.
Diary checked and journey logged,
Mike folded the old map away.
As his plane took flight, soaring high,
He wondered who he’d meet today!
Mike touched down at the next place on his map:
South Sudan – a dry, dusty place.
A family of six was waiting for him,
Each had a big smile on their face.
‘We’re here to help the Laarim people,
But we can’t buy fresh food, you see.
We must get our fruit and veg flown in,
If we want to have them for tea!’
‘No problem!’ said Mike, as he opened the hold,
‘You can have the fruit, cabbage and beans.’
‘Thank you, Mike!’ the mother said,
‘We’ll stay healthy by eating our greens!’
Mike climbed back into the pilot’s seat
And began his important checks.
He turned to the next page of the diary
To see where he’d be flying to next.
Diary checked and journey logged,
Mike folded the old map away.
As his plane took flight, soaring high,
He wondered who he’d meet today!
Landing in a place called Wanakipa,
Mike found himself surrounded
By friendly Papua New Guineans,
Looking astonished and astounded!
A lady called Harriëtte called up to him,
‘We were praying you had Bibles in your hold.
My friends want the Scriptures for themselves,
But my very last copy’s been sold.’
‘Let’s take a look,’ said Mike, looking around,
Before emerging with a crate.
It was full of Bibles in the Tok Pisin tongue.
‘Thanks,’ said Harriëtte, ‘Now that’s really great!’
‘Thanks!’ said the villagers crowding around.
‘Now we all can read of God’s love.
We hoped you’d be able to help us,
When we saw your plane flying above.’
Mike climbed back into the pilot’s seat
And began his important checks.
He turned to the next page of the diary
To see where he’d be flying to next.
The first MAF couple in Suriname - which used to be called 'Dutch Guiana' - were called Roy and Katie Parsons, and they arrived in 1963.
MAF’s main base is in the capital, Paramaribo, at an airfield called Zorg en Hoop. MAF flights provide vital help in times of emergency and enable doctors to provide medical care in areas where road travel is difficult and villages are hard to reach. They also carry pastors who can support the churches and share the Good News with Suriname’s people. Last year, MAF pilots transported 212 tonnes of cargo and flew 72 people to hospital in their ‘flying ambulance’.
Suriname is a small country on the north-eastern coast of South America, bordering French Guiana and Guyana.
12:17pm, 3rd March 2021
UTC -3
Suriname is the smallest country in South America. Its capital, Paramaribo, contains nearly half the country’s population, with some 241,000 people living there. The landscape is dominated by rolling hills and tropical forests, with plains and swamps along the coastline.
Temperatures in Suriname rarely drop below 28°C, so no matter what time you visit it’ll be boiling hot – bring your sun cream!
In 2019, MAF Suriname celebrated it's 55th anniversary and the team had a big party to celebrate!
MAF Suriname performed 72 medical evacuations in 2019. Photo by Erik Droogendijk.
Bananas grow really well in the tropical climate of Suriname. In 2018, Suriname produced 48,835 tonnes of bananas! Photo by Joop van Weele.
Pilot Joop van Weele flies doctors and medicines on this medical safari. Imagine if you could only see a doctor every few weeks, when they get flown in by MAF. Photo by Joop van Weele.
Suriname has a minor rainy season from December to February and a major rainy season from late April to mid-August.
As we approach Christmas, we wanted to share this lovely story of a child born not in a manger but in an MAF aircraft in October 2019!
One day, MAF Suriname Country Director and Chief Pilot Andy Bijkerk was finishing up some paperwork when he received a request for an emergency flight to Botopasi for a woman who has having trouble giving birth.
After grabbing the medical supplies and welcoming a nurse on board, Andy placed the young mother-to-be on a mattress inside the plane. He attached her seatbelt, while the proud father-to-be sat beside her. Leaving the bumpy airstrip behind, and beginning to climb towards the clouds, Andy heard the nurse quickly unbuckle his seatbelt to help the struggling mother.
Less than a minute after they’d left the runway, and only 200 feet off the ground, the baby was born! The big smile on the nurse’s face and an enthusiastic thumbs up let Andy know that all was well, and the baby was healthy.
When they landed at Zorg en Hoop Airport in the capital city of Paramaribo, they saw the ambulance waiting for them inside the aircraft hangar.
After congratulating the parents, Andy asked the radiant new mother if she had a name for her beautiful baby girl. ‘No,’ she replied, ‘would you like to name her?’ Andy was so pleased to receive this honour that he named the child Elisabeth, after his own daughter.
An aircraft hangar is the large buildings used to store aeroplanes when they are not being used, or when they are grounded for maintenance
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
Dear God, we thank You for the safe birth of a baby girl, Elisabeth, on board Andy’s plane. Please protect and guide her in all the days of her life. Amen.
Walk or cycle somewhere today that you would have driven to