From bleak to full strength
With the recent addition of a helicopter, the NTM Aviation team in the Philippines is back to full strength.
“When we arrived (three years ago) the situation was a bit bleak,” wrote Brian and Bailey Pruett. “There was only one functional airplane (one of three) and one active pilot, Ben Hart. Our chief pilot/program manager was leaving for home assignment shortly after we arrived so there wasn’t a lot happening except on Palawan where Ben was working.”
In March, a new helicopter carried missionaries to and from a tribe in the Northern Philippines.
That was also the month the missionary pilot Josh Dalton completed his check-flights and landings on the active airstrips on Palawan Island. He is now flying missionaries and supplies and equipment into and out of locations there.
In a few weeks another new missionary pilot will arrive for the Mindanao area, where the Pruetts have been flying. “I’ll be helping get him checked out so that he can run the program while we return to the USA for a nine-month visit,” Brian wrote.
The second helicopter pilot plans to complete language studies and join the helicopter program in the fall, and Ben Hart and his family plan to return from their home assignment in Canada.
“This gives us two pilot/mechanics in each region plus Garry, our chief pilot/manager, who oversees all three programs,” Brian wrote.
Please pray for safety for the NTM Aviation team in the Philippines: Garry and Cynthia Barkman; Ben and Suzy Hart; Josh and Candy Dalton; Joel and Missy Davis; Brian and Katherine Schaadt; Zach and Jane Keller; and Brian and Bailey Pruett.