What do you do when your village is already flooded, and there is a cyclone headed your way? This picture (above) was taken in January, just two days before Cyclone Eloise dumped more water on Mozambique and Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland).
No-one slept the night of Cyclone Eloise. Roofs blew off, and rain poured into the simple homes. Families quickly gathered their few belongings and sought shelter with neighbors who still had a roof on their hut. As morning light came, the destruction and flooding around the village became painfully clear. “We need help from outside,” the people said to each other. “But who knows about our dire state of need?”
Our Heavenly Father knew! And He had people in place, ready to meet the need. Medical missionary Dr. Costa has a long term relationship with these people, but trying to contact anyone from the community was of no avail. The quickly-organized, Mercy Air flight revealed multiple washed away bridges and flooded sections of the dirt road. The helicopter landed in a field near the village. Speaking with the population, it became quickly clear that the biggest imminent need was food, as most of the food stock got wet from the torrential rains. On the same day Mercy Air arranged for food with the help of Dr. Costa’s team, and a first load of fortified maize meal was delivered. The people were overjoyed!
Mae Doroteia was looking after 16 people in need. Now she has reason to smile, “We are not forgotten- thank you for coming so quickly to help us!” Her husband added, “Now that we have food in our stomachs again, we can start to repair our homes and continue with life.”
Delivering food supplies to one of the region’s five accommodation centers
CYCLONE!
Two of Mercy Air’s helicopters have been rebuilt/modified here at MMS Aviation, and the third helicopter is here now waiting on needed personnel to arrive from Switzerland so that it can also receive its upgrades and be ready for field service.
Mercy Air uses aircraft to deliver church teams, medical help, educational supplies, relief aid, and agricultural programs in southern Africa. THANK YOU for your prayers and gifts to MMS Aviation; the Lord has allowed us all to play a part in reaching these precious people in their time of need. Continue to pray for Dr. Costa and the many other missionaries in southern Africa as they reach out with the love of Jesus and build His kingdom in Africa.
To God be the glory
Flyin' Bryan 
Hi Bryan and Maria, You write great blog posts. I just want to say that we here at JAARS are praying for you regularly and are so thankful that God has put you there at MMS to learn aviation maintenance alongside the very talented staff. God has something very special for you in the days ahead as you continue your apprenticeship and plans for flight training at MAG. I trust the new little Martin in the making is doing well and that you, Maria, are feeling well.
LikeLiked by 1 person