Dan has been enjoying his duties as AIM AIR Chief Pilot and has been able to get out flying some, too. Last week he flew to South Sudan moving missionaries and cargo among the Laarim and Lopit people groups, two tribes living in close proximity of each other. This proximity has led to fighting between these tribes for resources to raise their cattle. Both of these people groups have a small number of missionaries working amongst them. A few books of the Bible have been translated in each language and a small number of churches have been planted, for which we rejoice. So much work remains though, as the number of missionaries and national believers remains very small. Please pray that more workers for the harvest will be brought to them and that the peoples’ hearts will be softened toward the Gospel message.
After spending the night with the missionaries living amongst the Laarim tribe, Dan flew out a young missionary family of six who were starting their journey back to America for a much needed break. The children’s ages reminded him of our family when we first arrived in Kenya. It was a blessing for him to spend the day with these precious servants of the Lord.
to begin reaching the Laarim people living in this beautiful area of South Sudan.
When we have capacity at AIM AIR with an airplane not being used for ministry purposes, we provide backup support flying medevac flights for a local air ambulance company in Nairobi, which helps offset some of our aircraft expenses. On a recent medevac flight, I flew with a doctor and a nurse to a Muslim community that lies on the border of Kenya and Ethiopia. We were supposed to return to Nairobi with the patient, but when the ground ambulance arrived at the airstrip, it was clear the patient was not doing well. The medical team worked hard trying to stabilize the patient on the stretcher next to the aircraft prior to embarking on our two hour flight back to Nairobi. Unfortunately, during the process, he went into cardiac arrest and despite the valiant efforts of the medical providers, he did not recover. While they were performing CPR on him, I just kept praying that Jesus would meet this man right where he was. The thought of him starting eternity without the Lord was overwhelming. I prayed and prayed for his soul. It was the first time I have ever been present when someone’s soul departs from their body, heading for eternity. It was a hard day, but I was thankful to be there interceding on behalf of this Muslim man.
With the borders reopened, it is now possible for people to return to their homeland. On one recent flight into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dan flew a sister in the Lord who had passed away in Kenya several months previously, back to her home country for burial. While on the final approach to the Congolese airport, the friend escorting the body on the flight broke into a beautiful song and continued singing throughout the landing and taxiing. After praying together in the aircraft, Dan opened the doors and they were met by throngs of mourners (as shown in the photo below) who had come to receive her casket for burial. It was a special moment in the family of God!
On a side note, during all the excitement of the people receiving the casket and unloading the airplane, Dan’s personal luggage was inadvertently carried away with the reception party and he failed to notice its absence. After returning to Nairobi from the 1400 nautical mile round trip journey, he finally realized his bag was missing. Amazingly, just 5 days later he was back again on the long journey flying to the same location and upon arrival, his long lost bag was there waiting for him! Praise God!!!
The reason for the return just 5 days later was to transport a young missionary family from Nairobi back to their home in the Congo. After a really long day of flying, the kids piled out of the airplane and jumped onto their bicycles that they had brought along on the flight. They were very excited to be getting back to their home in the Congo!
The Halvorson Family in Africa 