Christian Aviation Ministries

Dear praying friends,

We received word today that someone broke into the UIMA hangar in Chihuahua early this morning and stole one of our Cessna 206 aircraft. We are thankful that even though the guard was overpowered and tied up, no one was hurt. Being the enterprising folks they were, the thieves took advantage of the space in the airplane by filling it with a number of tools including our gas welding tanks. All the pertinent officials in Mexico and the U.S. have been notified and we are taking precautions to secure the other airplane and remaining tools. We would appreciate your prayers as we continue to work through this situation.

Official Release from UIM:

I am writing to let you all know that one of our 206s, N6303U, was stolen out of our hangar in Chihuahua yesterday morning around 6:30 am. The thieves accosted the lady that lives on the airstrip as she came out of her house, forced her to give them her key to the walk in hangar door and then tied her up. They then opened the hangar doors which were padlocked, got into the locked airplane, removed a cable prop lock, and throttle lock all without keys. They also helped themselves to a number of tools and equipment that were easily portable including our oxy acetylene bottles.

N50901, our 206 that was at AirVenture 2009 was also in the hangar, and quite frankly we are praising the Lord that they took just one airplane. Unfortunately it is not the way we wanted to end the year for the Airmap program.

Still trusting Him…

UIM Aviation

Dear Praying Friends,

1.    This Christmas,  many tribal believers will be rejoicing that Jesus was born on this earth to take them from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God.

If you could meet those believers, they would thank you for your prayers that have played a vital part in bringing God’s message to them.

Earlier this year, one of our mechanics, Eric Zimmerman, was in a tribe, accompanied by a group from his sending church in Alaska.  When the tribal people heard that this church sent Eric and his family to Papua New Guinea, and that Eric was a mechanic helping to keep the planes flying, they clapped and cheered!.

Later, the missionary related to Eric what the people were thinking:  “Without mechanics and pilots and other support workers, and without their supporting churches, the missionary families in [the tribe] would have to leave.  They saw the big picture of Body function and were blown away by it!”

“In fact . . .  one of the Bible teachers said when he stood up during the service, ‘We’ve heard about the greater body of Christ, but where is it?  We don’t see it! Now we can see that there are others who are our brothers and sisters in Christ.’”

By your prayers, you are in that same “unseen” group of people that allow Eric and all of NTMA to reach into those tribal areas with aviation service.

On behalf of the tribal people, we thank you so much for helping make sure they too can celebrate the Birth of Christ.

2.    If you would like to be better informed in your prayers for tribal people, you can get more field news at http://usa.ntm.org/field-news

Thank you for praying!
Jeff & Wonita Werley, for NTM Aviation

Dear Praying Friends,

1.    Joel Davis, NTMA Philippines, found out why his flight was delayed one day due to a broken spring in the flap handle:

When he finally finished the repairs and made the flight, landing at the tribal airstrip, a man came out and said, “Yep, you would have hit it.  We watched while you were landing and you would have dragged your wheels through the corn if you had landed on Tuesday.”

It turns out that a man had planted corn on the airstrip, and it had grown 8 feet tall.  If Joel had landed on the scheduled day, the corn may have been “a factor in a safe approach and landing,” writes Joel.

“I still don’t know what would have happened if I had gone, but I do know it was important enough for God to cause my flap handle to fail to keep me from going that day.”

Pray that all our pilots will be sensitive to every direction that God gives them.

2.    John (pilot/mechanic) & Maria VanWormer are ecstatic that United Indian Missions (to whom they are on loan) has been allowed to start using many airstrips again in Mexico.  For a while, UIM had been severely hampered in flying because certain airstrips were declared off limits.  But for some unknown reason, the government reversed the decision.  Praise God that tribal areas will again have flight service.

3.    Charlie Patton (pilot/mechanic, Brazil) met last Friday with leaders from Asas de Socorro, the mission with whom NTMA will partner in Brazil.  Pray that a good work agreement will result, as well as good rapport and understanding.

4.    If you would like to be better informed in your prayers for tribal people, you can get more field news at http://usa.ntm.org/field-news

Thank you for praying!
Jeff & Wonita Werley, for NTM Aviation

Dear Praying Friends,

Give praise to God!  The long-awaited helicopter engine has finally arrived at its destination in Indonesia after months of delay.

Told that it would arrive August 2, pilot Steffan Pyle asked the mechanics to arrive August 8.  It was “against [his] better judgment,” humanly speaking.  But God was directing, nonetheless.  Steffan writes:

“They showed up on August 8th, and we still had no engine!  They went ahead and started removing the old engine from the helicopter on August 9th, and our new engine showed up that day!!  So, no time was lost as the engine showed up just in time for us to begin with its installation.”

Steffan hopes to begin test flights on the 11th as he gets the helicopter back into service.  Once it is in operation, Steffan will begin clearing the backlog of flights accumulated in the months of waiting for the engine.

“Thank you so much for your prayers as we went through this ‘engine journey’ together!!!”  writes Steffan.

Jeff & Wonita Werley, for NTM Aviation

Dear Praying Friends,

1.    Aircraft mechanic Andy O’Dwyer is working  on putting together information to give to the Indonesian government regarding the maintenance of aircraft that use jet fuel instead of aviation gasoline.  NTM Aviation has two such aircraft—a Cessna 182 and a Kodiak—awaiting export to Indonesian as soon as paperwork can be completed.  Pray for the required government permissions to import the aircraft, and begin praying for all the permissions to operate and maintain the aircraft once they arrive.

2.    A Cessna 206 is currently in the NTMA hangar in McNeal undergoing maintenance to ready it for Brazil, with hopes that the importation process can begin next summer.

Aircraft mechanic Joel Rich is getting a taste of how valuable the flight service will be.  In a few weeks, he will be accompanying his dad on a trip of several days, traveling by river and hiking jungle trails, to the tribe where his parents have worked for years, deep in the jungles of western Brazil.   Having regular flight service will definitely enhance this missionary teams’ ability to serve the tribe with continuity.

Praise the Lord with us that funds are on hand for the importation of the Cessna 206 to Brazil, and praise Him again that folks have stepped up to subsidize some flight costs so that our Brazilian tribal workers will also be more able to afford flight service.

3.    If you are in a position to provide flight subsidies for our missionaries, especially nationals with fewer resources.

4.     If you would like to be better informed in your prayers, you can get more field news at

As always, we are grateful for your prayers and thankful to God who chooses to work as you pray.

Jeff & Wonita Werley, for NTM Aviation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WAXHAW, N.C. — September 22, 2011 — A Pilatus PC-6 <http://www.jaars.org/whatwedo/aviation/aircraft/pilatus-pc-6>  crashed today in Indonesia; pilot Paul Westlund <http://www.jaars.org/stories/day-life-mission-pilot>  and the two Indonesian passengers died in the accident. The plane—flown by our partner YAJASI <http://www.jaars.org/whatwedo/aviation/locations/indonesia> —was traveling in a remote, mountainous area. The cause is still unknown, and an investigation is pending.
Paul had flown in Indonesia for nearly 25 years; he’s survived by his wife and two children. Please pray along with us for the families, YAJASI, and everyone else involved.

Dear Praying Friends,

1.    Because avgas is becoming increasingly expensive and difficult to obtain, NTMA in Papua New Guinea was thankful for the delivery of 60 drums of avgas last week.  Though this will only cover flying for the next month and a half, rejoice with us and pray for more fuel to be delivered.

2.    Though Ron & Tami James (NTMA PNG) are currently in the USA, their thoughts are still on the tribal people of PNG.  They remind us to pray for the Siar people who just a few days ago heard the culmination of the Creation to Christ teaching.  Many believed, and their new life in Christ has just begun! Here’s just one testimony:

“This is IT.  This is the only truth and only Jesus’ work for me is the truth that can save me.  This talk is SO good, there is no other talk that is bigger than this.  We are believing this truth and we will never leave it for anything else!”

3.    Charlie Patton (pilot/mechanic) recently had the opportunity to ride along on a week’s worth of supply flights with a pilot from another mission.  These flights only happen about twice a year, so the missionaries get quite low on provisions.  Praise God for this opportunity for Charlie to get into the mission aviation circle in Brazil as he works toward getting NTMA’s aviation service off the ground.  Once it is in place, these tribal missionaries, a number of whom are Brazilian nationals, will be able to have more frequent flights.

4.    Steffan Pyle had a busy day recently, flying the helicopter in Indonesia:

One day I flew just under 5 hours, made 24 take-off and landings, and transported 51 people to their destinations.  I felt like a yoyo going up and down.  But the true joy of it all was that most of these people I flew were leaders from the Wana tribe that had gathered to study God’s Word and strategize on how to reach more people with the gospel.

5.    As our flight programs provide service to more and more national missionaries such as those mentioned above in Brazil and Indonesia, we see a need to help them afford the flights.  Can you give so that these nationals can reach their own people?  If so, go to

http://usa.ntm.org/projects/missionary-flight-subsidy/

6.    If you would like to be better informed in your prayers for tribal people, you can get more field news at

http://usa.ntm.org/field-news

Thank you for trusting God with us to provide for His work in the lives of tribal people.

Jeff & Wonita Werley, for NTM Aviation

Dear Praying Friends,

Give praise to God!  The long-awaited helicopter engine has finally arrived at its destination in Indonesia after months of delay.

Told that it would arrive August 2, pilot Steffan Pyle asked the mechanics to arrive August 8.  It was “against [his] better judgment,” humanly speaking.  But God was directing, nonetheless.  Steffan writes:

“They showed up on August 8th, and we still had no engine!  They went ahead and started removing the old engine from the helicopter on August 9th, and our new engine showed up that day!!  So, no time was lost as the engine showed up just in time for us to begin with its installation.”

Steffan hopes to begin test flights on the 11th as he gets the helicopter back into service.  Once it is in operation, Steffan will begin clearing the backlog of flights accumulated in the months of waiting for the engine.

“Thank you so much for your prayers as we went through this ‘engine journey’ together!!!”  writes Steffan.

Jeff & Wonita Werley, for NTM Aviation

Dear Praying Friends,

1.    Nine years ago, he was the hangar boy.  Now, after aviation training in the USA and missions training in Indonesia, Nomad & Fanty Nelman are so happy to be a full-fledged part of the flight program on Pontianak.  Nomad still has to get his US license converted to Indonesia (he’ll take his test in Jakarta in June), but he is helping out on inspections, flights, and flight following.  Nomad & Fanty and their 4 children are presently living in a borrowed house and using borrowed motorcycles, so pray for provision for both of those needs.  Nelmans are very grateful for all the financial and prayer support that have brought them to this point.

2.    After a 36-hour drive, including two ferry boats and one long bridge, Joel Davis arrived to his first place of aviation ministry in the Philippines.  His wife Missy and their two small children arrived by commercial flight.  Pray as Joel gets up to speed in all aspects of the flight program.  Pray for Missy and their two children as they adjust to this new place of life and ministry.

3.    Robert & Martha Rutherdale have been in Brazil one year!  “We can safely say this has been the hardest year of our lives”  –heat, culture, sickness, homeschooling, language helpers not showing up, and paperwork.  They thank you all for praying for them to endure.  Please keep praying!! They now have a vehicle to get around town.  Robert is remodeling some old dorm rooms to make a more suitable apartment for them.  And of course, they are still studying language.  Pray for wisdom as the NTMA Brazil team works within the culture and with another aviation mission to best set up a flight program there.

4.    Zach & Jane Keller have been in the Philippines almost one year!  When they finish language study in a few months, they will join Brian & Katherine Schaadt in the helicopter program.

Thank you for being a part of these missionaries’ lives by praying.

Dear Praying Friends,

1.    In their words, the officials decided to “make a miracle happen” for Brian Schaadt.  They gave him his Philippine pilot’s license on the very day of his last test!  Brian had just finished his final paperwork in Manila and had driven 12 hours home to wait for his license.  As soon as he got home, he was notified of a new English proficiency test required for the license. So he boarded a night bus and traveled 12 hours back to Manila.  That’s when the “miracle” happened, and he returned home on the next night bus with license in hand.

Brian has since completed a two-week check out with chief pilot John Mark Estelle and is now flying the R44 to service tribal missionary teams.

2.    Tribal connection—The Akolet tribe heard the final lesson of the evangelistic teaching on April 7!  One new believer exclaimed,

“I had heard before that the sky turned dark when Jesus died, but I had no idea what any of that meant!  Now I understand: God was turning his back on Jesus because God can’t be with sin, and Jesus took all our sin on
himself!  Wow!  I understand that now!  Jesus is the only way, there’s no other way!”

3.    Praise God for the protection He gave to NTMA and other mission personnel when a tornado ripped through the Sun ‘N Fun air show on March 31.  Only one mission plane (a JAARS Helio Courier parked away from the mission aviation display) was damaged.  Praise God that no people were seriously hurt at the air show.

4.    Tim Hughes, McNeal, has traveled to Indonesia to help Steffan Pyle and Yuspiter Yambung with an engine change on the JetRanger.  Pray that the engine arrives in time and that the change goes smoothly.  Pray that Tim and his wife Kay will have an encouraging ministry with the NTMA family there.

Thank you for also being a part of the Body of Christ and helping by prayer.