Almost There: "I'll be home for ..."

You know the feeling of being so close to home – but just not quite there – and things don’t seem to be adding up to get there anytime soon. German missionary Sasch Schwendich, a church planter in the Buru people group of Asia-Pacific, found himself in that situation a few months ago.

As he does every year, Sasch needed to take his yearly “pilgrimage” to the USA to maintain his green card – normally a two-and-a-half-week trip. That’s plenty of time to be away from his wife and kids and the Buru people. But this year would take longer than usual. On top of the travel restrictions due to the pandemic, the airstrip in the village where Sasch serves is closed due to an ugly ownership dispute. Even if all went as planned, he figured the whole trip would take five weeks.

Without the Ethnos360 Aviation Kodiak airplane to pick him up deep in the heart of the island, Sasch had to take a rigorous land trip to the coast. Then he caught a ferry ride to a neighboring island with commercial flight service. From there, he flew to the capital and caught his international flight, doing required health tests along the way.

Sasch’s time in the USA went well, and he started his return trip. Restrictions proved to be tight, but he made it to the capital, where he quarantined for a week. After catching a flight back to the neighboring island, he planned two days for buying supplies and groceries, after which he would catch the overnight ferry to the island where he works. On the second day of shopping, he stopped by the harbor and found out the ferry had not run for several days because of the weather. In fact, no one could say for sure when it would run again. Oh, no! What about the fresh and cold items he had just bought? So close, and yet so far away from home!

Then he heard a bit of news. The Kodiak was supposed to arrive at the commercial airport that day. Could it be true? The Kodiak didn’t often come that far. But maybe it could fly him to an airstrip on the coast of his island. Would he be able to get a spur-of-the-moment flight – even without having the required prior paperwork?

It was worth a try. Everything would have to fall into place, he realized. “Would [airport] officials cooperate and allow us to make a change to the flight plan on such short notice? And would I be ready in time? I still had errands to run, a COVID test to get and packing to finish.”

Sasch whittled down his errand list to the most essential items, enlisted a friend to drive him to the airport, packed the car and headed out, hoping he could get the required COVID test at the airport. But when they arrived, security had already shut down for the day. God led them to just the right person. “Thankfully, they let us through, eventually, despite the lack of information on account of the flight being so spontaneous,” recounted Sasch.

Pilots Nomad Nelman and Jared Kresge gladly boarded Sasch and flew him to the coast of his island. The next day, for the first time in a week, the weather let up enough for Sasch to drive to his village in a rented 4WD pickup, fording the swollen rivers as he went. Finally, he was home!

What a relief to Sasch – and to so many others who could tell similar stories – when they see God use an airplane to make the impossible happen! When a trip is so daunting or unlikely – and then to have a Kodiak at the ready – the feeling of relief is overwhelming.

But even with great equipment and affordable flight, closed airstrips complicate and prevent air service. As Carol, Jared’s wife wrote, “As much as the pilots want to help, the conflict at the village airstrip is making things unworkable. Pray for a resolution – that the man who says he owns everything will back down, to the benefit of all the villagers. Pray for his heart to be transformed.” Ministry is flourishing among the Buru people, with house meetings led by Sasch and others equipping believers to grow and reach out to others. But “Satan is active and doing all he can to hinder the spread of the gospel,” Carol added.

You who donate to Missionary Flight Sponsorship are doing a tremendous part to make flights possible. But, as Carol asks, “pray for every situation where our pilots, mechanics, and administrators face intense challenges as they strive to continue providing safe and affordable flight service to our missionaries in a rapidly changing global atmosphere.” Thank you!

P.S. We hope you can be home for Christmas too! Have a blessed time celebrating our Savior.