Your generosity provided a way for more people to know about Jesus

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year! I am so grateful we made it through 2024. Not only did we have more than what we needed to continue serving and flying for missionaries in dangerous and difficult areas, all of us could celebrate Christmas knowing a few more brothers and sisters had crossed the divide from fear to faith, and from darkness to light.

Allow me to share the story:

The rainy Friday morning arrived with the crash of thunder and the darkness of a blackout.

Every branch was bending or shuddering outside the windows of the cozy loft apartment that was home for a week. Hurricane Helene spun herself onto the low country of North Carolina that morning, but I was yet unaware of its devastation. I was staying with JAARS, the missionary aviation partner who hosted this annual conference. The conference ended the day before. Just in time.

A few days later, I drove to Charlotte, North Carolina to catch my flight back to Nairobi, Kenya. As I drove through the JAARS campus I admired the mounting efforts of their team as they started their response to the crisis. The team converted some of the aircraft hangars into small warehouses. Aircraft were fueled and loaded with donations from the community. The helicopter was already up in the mountains, surveying where help was most needed.

“You guys seem busy” I mentioned as an instructor pilot rushed past to get out on the apron.

“Oh, yeah! We are! You want a job” He quipped. My flight was leaving in a few hours. For a split second I was torn. Deep down I knew the best thing I could do was stay out of their way. As I looked around, I saw stacks of food and water bottles in crates all around the hangar. I was proud of our friends going into the mountains, willingly putting aside their schedule and plans to willingly be a much-needed extension of the Body of Jesus.

The car glided over smooth, very much intact, roads to the airport. Traffic and life moved as it normally would for Monday morning, completely unaffected by the devastation nearby. . It was a completely different world to the mudslides and flooding up in the Appalachian Mountains.

23 hours and 7,000 miles later, I landed in Kenya. A year ago, torrential rain had wreaked havoc in our own region here. Communities found themselves cut-off from the outside world. Much like the response in North Carolina, the body of Christ (the Church) had the opportunity to share His love.

December 2023 was our Helene. Technically, we don’t get hurricanes here, but every 7 years we have a visit by El Niño. The weather brought hillsides down, displaced communities and destroyed homes. It even flooded the desert. Highways that were undercut by the deluge eventually broke up and washed away.

A nomadic community of around 7,000 people, endured a month without any food supply. The missionaries who lived there were currently on Home Assignment. They asked AIM AIR to be a bridge. We weren’t equipped to be long-term relief, but together we could deliver food provided by churches until more help arrived.

Through the faithful support of many churches and individuals, we had financing to fly 5 tons of food into those communities. However, the same rain that destroyed the roads, and cutoff supplies, also flooded the runways. We hoped to airdrop the food. We had the equipment, and we had been trained by JAARS.

“I would love to say yes,” said the director of the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority. “But the liability is too great.”

A discouraging answer. But God’s plan was only beginning.

The Lord provided a break in the rain. Miraculously, for nine days, the sun stayed out. We sent a pilot in the Cessna 206 airplane to examine an airstrip the community cleared. The community, even though they were hungry, had slashed bushes, rolled away rocks, and filled in holes. The runway was in great shape.

We were soon flying in food to two different airstrips.

We wanted air drops, but God wanted us to meet the people.

The pilots personally handed the food out to the community. The chiefs gave the pilots a “Thank you to all the people of Jesus.”  The people could not believe that the people of Jesus from all over the world had organized this help – for them!

The pilots were the stand-ins for each of you – the Body of Jesus – who had served.

“In Matthew, Jesus says you have eaten food, but will be hungry again. Yet, I have food to offer you. If you take it, you will never hunger again,” explained Joe. He went on to present Jesus to the gathered crowd. Through Him, we can all have eternal life!

The missionaries returned a few months later, in time for a celebration. There. on a stage in front of thousands, the chiefs, who do not follow the Way of Jesus, said: “We want to thank you, and  AIM AIR, but we also want to thank the people of Jesus.”

Since then, there has been an openness rarely seen in that community. The Kingdom of Darkness opposes these movements of the Good News and hates any hearts are set free in Jesus.

Sure enough, a terrorist group began to make personal threats against the missionaries.

The missionaries asked  “If we need to evacuate, will AIM AIR be ready to come get us?”

We answered an emphatic “Yes!”

We can say this confidently. That’s the type of team we have. People who, like  the JAARS volunteers, see their work as an extension of the Church. We can also respond confidently because of you. You stand with us. Sometimes the best way to serve is simply by being available.

Your generosity and prayers for our ministry made that possible.

This morning I received an encouraging update.

“God has led us to risk and persevere under specific threats – and He is blessing with more new believers (20ish) than we have seen for years. The new believers themselves are reaching out and bringing in more!”

Thank you for standing with us, both in the times of drought, times of flood, and times of insecurity. Because of you, the Good News is transforming lives, even in the most difficult and dangerous places in Africa.

That is the reason AIM AIR flies. You are the reason AIM AIR is able to keep flying in 2025.

This year, the community’s thirst for the Good News has sparked an unprecedented spiritual revival, with over twenty new believers eager to understand and embrace the teachings of Jesus, transforming their lives from darkness to light.

The path of light is not without shadows. We’ve had to remain vigilant due to threats against our friends, keeping a pilot and plane ready for emergency evacuations. Even in this tension, the message of hope persists. As we reflect on the flight to Egypt by the Holy Family, we see parallels in our own journey – a journey of faith amidst fear. This Christmas, let’s remember the enduring power of the Light of the World, which darkness cannot overcome, as we pray for our new siblings in faith living in a world teetering between night and dawn.