'Humbled that God works through me'
“Have you ever gotten yourself into something you felt you were not qualified for?” asks Mike McGregor. “Welcome to my life here in Papua New Guinea.”
Mike, an NTM missionary pilot, says 2012 has been packed full of “some of the craziest situations I have ever found myself in.”
In the supporting of church planting in Papua New Guinea, Mike has travelled thousands of miles. And those miles have been full of hauling hundreds of passengers and thousands of pounds of supplies. He has also hand-pumped thousands of liters of fuel into the helicopter he flies and has “flown in some of the worst weather and terrain I have ever experienced in my life.”
Mike says he has sweated so much that his wife, Kelly, has learned to do the laundry without touching it. And yes, Mike shares that there have been times that it all felt like too much—times that he has felt like giving up. “Yet,” he adds, “at the end of each day, I find myself extremely humbled that God is willing to work through me. I am excited to start the whole thing over the next day—with a clean shirt.”
So far this year, Mike has transported bodies, disassembled and moved a house, resupplied missionaries in remote locations and evacuated people suffering from illness and injury. He has also helped to survey the jungles of Papua New Guinea for villages hidden from the outside world—places that are yet unreached by the Gospel.
“It is overwhelming to realize how much work there is left to do,” says Mike. “This country is full of physical needs, but more importantly, it has huge spiritual needs. I have had the privilege of spending many nights sleeping in a number of different tribal villages and seeing first-hand the changes in people’s lives who have decided to follow Christ.”
Mike shares that at one point, he had the privilege of taking a missionary back into a village where he had planted a church many years earlier. “The church,” Mike shares, “had continued to grow and mature after he left and it now sends out missionaries to neighboring villages to teach them about God’s love and sacrifice for them.”
Mike shares the need for more missionary pilots in Papua New Guinea. “We used to have eleven pilots to keep up with the church planting work here, but now we have dwindled down to four,” he shares. Then he adds, “It has been helpful to remember Gideon and the way that God chose to dwindle down his forces to more clearly show His power.”
Pray for Mike and Kelly McGregor and their family in their vital aviation ministry in Papua New Guinea. Pray for God to protect them, both as a family and as Mike flies many ministry miles over the jungles. Pray for God’s continued blessing on them and for their continued joy in serving Him. And pray that He will call more missionary pilots to assist in this important aviation ministry—a ministry that is so essential to sharing the Gospel in remote places.
Missionary aviation is very expensive for missionaries. Find out how you can help cut their costs.