Emergency Medevac Fund
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For our church planting missionaries working in places where roads don’t exist – or are practically impassable – medevacs are essential to save lives. Many of our missionaries are nationals or indigenous believers who can’t begin to afford flight. Yet their lives, as well as the lives of the people they serve, are valuable.
Ethnos360 Aviation is determined to be prepared to help whenever a medevac need arises. You can serve the body of Christ by helping fund emergency flights. Just click on the GIVE NOW button above.
But you might wonder if medical work is really a part of church planting. And is aviation actually necessary for medical emergencies?
Scroll through Lynn Castelijn’s riveting account of recent events in the Banwaon tribe of the Philippines. But read with caution. It might make you a believer!
It’s true. Most days our lives have a semblance of routine.
- Translation.
- Supervising the high school building.
- Emails.
- School.
- “Porch” people.
It’s also true our primary ministry here is spiritual.
- Teaching God’s Word.
- Discipleship.
- Encouraging the believers.
- Translating the Bible into the Banwaon language.
Sometimes, though, routine is flung out the window. And we follow the example of Jesus by showing His love and compassion in practical ways. The last few months we have had more medical emergencies than normal. When the local hospital is a long, difficult motorbike ride away down a rough logging road... And when that road has deteriorated so much due to weeks of heavy rain that even the motorbikes need to be loaded onto makeshift bamboo sleds and pulled through the worst of the bog by carabao...
That’s when we hear an insistent “Ayoo!” on the porch. An urgent request is made.
“Someone is critically ill. Please … can the mission helicopter come!”
At a village 14 kilometres away, Akik, a young dad, was cutting down a tree with his machete. Although skilled at chopping trees, this time things went wrong. The tree fell on Akik. His arm and chest were badly injured. The helicopter landed right in Akik’s village and evacuated him to a hospital on the coast.
Sadly, Akik’s arm was amputated. But his life was spared. Only weeks later he returned to his village and is adjusting to this “new normal” of life with only one arm.
Only a week later there was another urgent “Ayoo!”
One of the Banwaon Bible teachers, Ambasul, was weak and unable to hold down even liquids. He was carried on a stretcher from his village two kilometres away. Tears prickled as I saw Ambasul, barely conscious, clutching his book of Banwaon Bible portions to take with him.
He was in hospital for a week, but thankfully is now well and home again. Not long after, we were once again sitting at the computer sending an SOS Skype message to the pilot.
Brian … Bailey? Are you by? We have another medical emergency!”
A man from a nearby area of unbelievers was caught up in a vicious machete attack and was bleeding badly. Could the helicopter come as soon as possible?
We are thankful to have a great relationship with the local rescue unit in the lowlands town. It’s rather an exciting day when they have a helicopter land on the local basketball court. We’re thankful the Banwaon people are treated well and taken straight to hospital. Believe me, this hasn’t always been the case.
I was in Manila taking son Stevie to a camp in February when my husband, Albert, emailed me about another emergency. A man from the neighboring Tala-andig tribe was carried eight kilometres to the village we live in. I can’t even begin to imagine his pain and discomfort being carried over steep mountain trails in this condition. He was flown to a public hospital, but sadly the infection in his leg spread and even the hospital wasn’t able to help him. He was sent home, back across the mountains, to his village, to die.
There is a beautiful side to this story.
This man and his village, despite the Tala-andig believers’ constant invitation, had long resisted listening to teaching from the Bible. The man’s relatives performed all sorts of sacrifices to the spirits to try and heal him before carrying him to our village in desperation.
When he was sent home from the hospital, the Tala-andig believers poured out love and care on him and his family. His heart softened, and he agreed to listen to the gospel.
Just before he died he trusted the Lord Jesus. We mourn his loss. But we rejoice that his life has been saved for eternity – All through experiencing the love of God as the believers cared for him and faithfully, clearly shared the gospel with him.
There are two things I want to mention here …
Firstly, we are enormously grateful for our mission helicopter … also for our pilot and team who throw their schedules out the window too and leap into action as soon as the emergency call comes through … and for donors who help off-set the expense of these medical flights so the cost to the missionary and tribal person is minimal.
Secondly, we love seeing how God is growing the Banwaon believers even through things like medical emergencies.
Last year we thought Amay Kisi was going to die. His kidneys were failing, and he was told his only hope was to be permanently on a dialysis machine. Financially and realistically, this simply wasn’t an option. I put out an SOS prayer request on Facebook for Amay Kisi.
Six months later the doctors are amazed he’s not only still alive, he’s getting well! Amay Kisi knows many people were praying for him. He and his family hardly had any money, but they prayed and stood in awe as God ... ... provided doctors who waived their fees; ...government officials donated to his case; ...the carpenters working on the high school here in the village all donated a day’s wages to help; ... ... a friend in Australia was touched by Amay Kisi’s situation and donated the proceeds of her garage sale to him.
Read the letter in which Amay Kisi expresses his gratitude to God and to his family in Christ around the world who have showed the love of Jesus in such beautiful, practical ways.
Amay Kisi closes his eyes in worship to God as he sings a tribal chant in a church service last year.