We recently held our Second Annual EV-MAF Mixer, a night in which we celebrate the Mission Aviation Fellowship missionaries and their hard work that enables us to do what we do in South Sudan. To honor them this year, Kerry asked us to put together a presentation about how MAF has supported us in ministry or blessed us over this last year, and we knew that it would be tough.
Here was our speech (I’m sharing because seriously, they are awesome and deserve to be honored)…
“We could talk about the very first short-term mission trips to Nasir that Cass and I took in 2010 and 2011 that sparked the desire to live and serve as missionaries in South Sudan long-term and how MAF pilots were the ones to fly us to that remote village that is not reasonably accessible any other way.
We could talk about what a special day it was last October when MAF pilots, Simon and Dallas, moved us to our new home in Nasir, and of the relationships formed, the ministry started, and the way God transformed our lives. Or we could talk about the timing of Hansjörg flying us out of Nasir just days after the conflict erupted in Juba in December.
We could talk about the MAF shuttle playing an integral role in our relocation to Tonj and the radio ministry we are involved in there, a ministry that will impact hundreds of thousands of lives.
We could even talk about the Wednesday morning Bible study that Cass attends with many MAF wives and how it serves as a lifeline to her, a brand new mother in a foreign country.
But as we reflected on all that we could talk about, we knew that we had to share the way MAF families blessed our socks off during one of the toughest seasons of our lives. Most of you know that this little peanut, Clark, was born a full month early following an emergency c-section here in Kampala. The night Clark was born, he developed Respiratory Distress Syndrome and nearly died. He was admitted to the NICU and barely clung to life his first several days. I developed preeclampsia and had to stay in the hospital for a couple of extra days, but five days after Clark was born I was discharged and Blaise and I made our way home without our baby boy. I cannot express to you how absolutely alone and terrified we felt. Kerry and Neltia were back in the States for college visits and our families, too, were far and unreachable. It was just us, here in a foreign country with a very sick baby.
Immediately upon arriving home, we had emails and text messages from Emma and Sharol asking how they could help. Emma organized a meal delivery service, in which one MAF family delivered a home-cooked meal to our house every single evening for a week and a half. All we had to do was heat it up and eat. Our days were insanely long and emotionally taxing. We were getting up early in the mornings after being up every two hours all night so I could pump breast milk for Clark, we would then pack a bag and fight traffic across town to Nakasero Hospital, where we sat in the NICU with Clark all day long–some days we weren’t even able to hold him. At the end of the day, we would fight traffic back home, eat dinner, go to bed, and do it all over again the next day.
Those amazing, delicious meals that were at our house waiting for us each evening were like a great big hug from God. Because of you all, we didn’t have to spend the time grocery shopping or stress about cooking, so we could spend more time at the hospital with our son. We cannot thank you enough for your incredible outpouring of love and support on our family as we walked through those very hard days. You are incredible people and we are truly blessed to know you and serve the Kingdom of God alongside you.“
“We could talk about the very first short-term mission trips to Nasir that Cass and I took in 2010 and 2011 that sparked the desire to live and serve as missionaries in South Sudan long-term and how MAF pilots were the ones to fly us to that remote village that is not reasonably accessible any other way.
We could talk about what a special day it was last October when MAF pilots, Simon and Dallas, moved us to our new home in Nasir, and of the relationships formed, the ministry started, and the way God transformed our lives. Or we could talk about the timing of Hansjörg flying us out of Nasir just days after the conflict erupted in Juba in December.
We could talk about the MAF shuttle playing an integral role in our relocation to Tonj and the radio ministry we are involved in there, a ministry that will impact hundreds of thousands of lives.
We could even talk about the Wednesday morning Bible study that Cass attends with many MAF wives and how it serves as a lifeline to her, a brand new mother in a foreign country.
But as we reflected on all that we could talk about, we knew that we had to share the way MAF families blessed our socks off during one of the toughest seasons of our lives. Most of you know that this little peanut, Clark, was born a full month early following an emergency c-section here in Kampala. The night Clark was born, he developed Respiratory Distress Syndrome and nearly died. He was admitted to the NICU and barely clung to life his first several days. I developed preeclampsia and had to stay in the hospital for a couple of extra days, but five days after Clark was born I was discharged and Blaise and I made our way home without our baby boy. I cannot express to you how absolutely alone and terrified we felt. Kerry and Neltia were back in the States for college visits and our families, too, were far and unreachable. It was just us, here in a foreign country with a very sick baby.
Immediately upon arriving home, we had emails and text messages from Emma and Sharol asking how they could help. Emma organized a meal delivery service, in which one MAF family delivered a home-cooked meal to our house every single evening for a week and a half. All we had to do was heat it up and eat. Our days were insanely long and emotionally taxing. We were getting up early in the mornings after being up every two hours all night so I could pump breast milk for Clark, we would then pack a bag and fight traffic across town to Nakasero Hospital, where we sat in the NICU with Clark all day long–some days we weren’t even able to hold him. At the end of the day, we would fight traffic back home, eat dinner, go to bed, and do it all over again the next day.
Those amazing, delicious meals that were at our house waiting for us each evening were like a great big hug from God. Because of you all, we didn’t have to spend the time grocery shopping or stress about cooking, so we could spend more time at the hospital with our son. We cannot thank you enough for your incredible outpouring of love and support on our family as we walked through those very hard days. You are incredible people and we are truly blessed to know you and serve the Kingdom of God alongside you.“
We LOVE MAF and all that they do for the Kingdom…in the skies, on the ground, and totally behind the scenes.
Here are some pictures from the mixer…
