Stories from the South: Amazing Opportunity

Two weeks ago I had the immense privilege of flying with Andrew- and even joining him on his overnight stopover.

Andrew was booked, along with 2 other MAF pilots, to fly a large team of volunteer, short-term workers. The volunteers had been working alongside vulnerable mothers and children in a community near Soroti. To read first-hand of the amazing projects of "Beauty For Ashes" and of how it all began, click on the link below:

https://www.beautyforashesuganda.org/about_us

The team had travelled from the USA. Before returning home, they had booked a short overnight break at Murchison National Park. Because time was short, they arranged to save many hours of road travel by flying with MAF from Soroti to Murchison on Friday morning.

Then, on Saturday, they would fly with MAF from Murchison direct to Entebbe Airport to join their international flights.

Very generously, the they offered to cover costs for the pilot's wives to come along to join the pilots on the flights and even their overnight stop at Murchison National Park. This act of kindness and generosity was such a huge blessing for us - and we are SO grateful!

It has been over two years since I last entered the cockpit of a MAF plane. More than two years since I last saw Andrew at work in his elevated "office"!

I was excited to join him! I felt unexpectedly emotional entering the MAF plane. It brought back memories of our many flights from Juba to Nairobi and in particular, our evacuation flight from Juba to Lokichoggio in northwest Kenya.

It was a rainy morning as Andrew prepared for the flight from MAF's Kajansi airfield to Soroti. I sat quietly (or at least, tried to!!) as he preflighted the plane. Andrew was the last of the three pilots to take off on this 3-plane job.

And then we were off! The houses and trees became smaller and smaller as we gained height and ascended towards the clouds.

There were ALOT of clouds that day! Andrew planned to fly lower level to avoid them, but entering into overcast weather was soon inevitable. As we entered the clouds, the ground faded from view. Hmmm... I was not so comfortable with what I could see out of the window now. Basically, there was nothing but fluffy whiteness underneath the wheel of our aeroplane!

I glanced at Andrew, but he seemed unconcerned. I checked the instrument panel in front of my seat and although I know nothing about flying, I was comforted to see that everything was still lit up and seemed to be working, even if the view out of the windscreen was an opaque nothingness!

Cool, calm and collected, my pilot husband expertly navigated the MAF plane through some pretty frightening weather. Rain battered the front of the plane, running in tiny rivulets over and down the windows. The clouds caused a few bumps and I wondered how on earth Andrew knew where to direct the plane when there was no point of reference from the invisible ground! Now I was definitely silent, stunned into quietness by my own fears! Andrew, however, was in constant radio contact with the other 2 pilots and it was cheering to listen in on my headset.

It was definitely reassuring to see how unphased Andrew was and how concentrated. It gave me a renewed appreciation of how tiring his job can be in this unpredictable environment.

Finally, there were glimpses of the earth below! Phew!

It was a longer-than-expected landing procedure at Soroti airfield. The rainy weather meant that the 3 MAF pilots came in to land relying on their instruments rather than what could be seen from the plane. Andrew was the third pilot to land and needed to hold for a while before he could position the plane for landing. Flying in a holding position uses up the fuel that is calculated for the actual journey and is another variable which creates extra consideration for the pilot.

Finally, we came in to Soroti and jumped out of the plane, happy to meet the team from "Beauty for Ashes"- and happy to be out of that nasty weather!

A short while later, we were cleared for take-off, with the large team split between the 3 MAF planes. It was FABULOUS to look out and see the views, as the weather cleared in the direction we were headed!

It was even more FANTASTIC to fly over Murchison Falls and see this natural wonder from above!

How amazing also to land at an airstrip in a national park and be in the midst of Murchison!
The team kindly included us in their safari drive later that afternoon. My day went from rain in Kampala to giraffe-spotting in Murchison, in just a few hours!

The safari vehicle which bumped us through the park:

We had a mini-adventure, as our vehicle ended up with a flat tyre just as we were driving back at dusk for our evening meal! Vehicles are not generally supposed to be driving after dark, but here we were, stranded in lion country, waiting on the gravel track while our wheel was replaced! Darkness falls quickly in Africa, so we felt a little vulnerable to predators or maybe a marauding elephant out for an evening stroll- but happily I am still here to tell the story!

The next day, it was back to the MAF planes as the team began their first leg of their long journey home. We climbed aboard a bus to drive through the park from the lodge to Murchison's airstrip.

The 3 MAF planes looked handsome in their line-up as their passengers prepared to embark:

Here comes the pilot of my plane, flanked by the flags of Uganda, the East African Union and the Civil Aviation Authority! (from left to right)

It was a smooth flight back to Entebbe airport. One of the American ladies from the team kindly took this photo for us on landing at Entebbe:

She was the lady I sat next to on the flight from Murchison. She shared with me some of her life-story; she was truly inspiring in her commitment to helping the vulnerable and in her dedication to teaching and serving children and young adults with special needs. As we discussed some of life's challenges, an overriding theme emerged: that of the kindness of God, even in difficulties and of His faithfulness. Her comment that God's presence is a gift to us each day comforted my soul- and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to speak with and learn from this amazing lady. I think our meeting was one of those "Divine appointments" that has given me a new focus in my recent struggle with health issues around my asthma.

After the passengers headed off toward International Departures, Andrew still needed to fly the MAF plane back to Kajansi airfield. I had this pilot all to myself for the ensuing 8-minute flight!