Things a pilot does when he lives remotely
Ryan’s day job is flying his plane, but being a bush pilot, living in Telefomin, with very little daily support, means he has to do so much much to support MAF in this remote community. Having a road from the mine town of Tabubil has not connected us with our colleagues at the HQ in Mt Hagen yet…
Ryan is a Trainer!
After months of waiting for the paperwork Ryan was finally able to start being a training pilot!
Remote Cafe
Starbucks, Bak in PNG. ;-) Ryan enjoyed a cup of coffee in Bak, with his fellow pilot, Capt. Mathias, whilst he waited for the weather to pass.
Highs and Lows
Recently Ryan had a REALLY low start to his day, but it ended on a massive HIGH! God was using a rubbish situation to remind us that we are right where he wants us to be…
First Visit to Munduku
We visited Munduku, in East Sepik Province, for the first time. Ryan had to get a self-check to land and Shiv was gifted a hand-made grass hat. But the biggest impact on Shiv was the peace and quiet of this tiny, isolated community…
Visit to the Dentist at Kompiam
Ryan chipped a tooth and needed to visit a Dentist, which is much more challenging when you live in a bush community in a developing country.
Thankfully Dr Camy, at Kompiam Hospital in Enga Province, was able to help him…
Supervisor Pilot Training
We spent 2 weeks at MAF’s HQ in Mt Hagen where Ryan completed the Supervisor Pilot (SP) course which will be really useful when we get new neighbours! Being an SP means Ryan can check junior PNG pilots into new airstrips and pass on his knowledge and experience of flying in one of the most challenging countries in the world for almost a decade!
Adjusting the Cone Markers on Telefomin Airstrip
In order to help our local community in Telefomin, after the grass was cut on the airstrip, we spent a few hours re-positioning all the cone markers so they were in line and serving their correct function. A lovely morning’s activity for the 3 of us on Ryan’s day off. Watch the video…
Enjoying a walk…
Such a beautiful sight of all the cobwebs covered in dew, as the sun rose shining on them. I couldn’t help but stop and marvel at the beauty of creation all around our home in Telefomin, PNG.
Church Building Materials Charter
In PNG, one of our most important jobs is flying to support the local Church! Watch Ryan take a load of roofing iron from our MAF base in Tabubil to Selbang, a remote community in West Sepik Province where they are building a new Church.
Getting Ready to Leave Mt Hagen
We spent a week in Mt Hagen, getting ready for the final leg of our journey home to Telefomin…
What is a Missionary?
Shiv shared at Ruislip Baptist Church - a link to the talk on YouTube is in this blog post…
The latest Cole Communique
Our June Newsletter has been delivered into inboxes…
The link to read it and watch the videos is in this blog.
Yakona - The Joy in the Airplane’s First Landing
We both had the privilege of taking part in a first landing at Yakona airstrip. The community have been building this airstrip for over 30 years and finally they saw the plane come in and bring God’s Word to this remote community!
Challenges & Blessings
We’ve had several break-ins with items stolen recently, the security situation for us in Telefomin is being reviewed by our bosses. Despite these challenges, we still love living here and were recently blessed by some of our friends.
Eliptamin Women’s Conference
The Women’s Conference in Eliptamin at the end of June was a wonderful experience. I praised God with bush women from 14 language groups and, with help from some friends, gave out education, encouragement and “Days for Girls” Sanitary kits to 100 young women.
A Pilots’ Start to the Day
It’s 5.45am on a flying day, before he even has breakfast Ryan has logged on to check the weather forecast for the day ahead. Koda is also trying to make the most of Ryan being at home wanting snuggles and to play. But Ryan only has a few minutes to spare whilst he gets ready to fly through some of the most challenging terrain in the world…
Easter Weekend
We had a fun and busy long Easter weekend with visitors, a picnic, Easter Egg Hunt, meals with friends and a visit to one of the local villages. Lots of fun but it ended with saying goodbye, as things so often do in our life in PNG…
Click on the picture, left, to watch a video of our friend, Nurse Rhema, one of the local health care workers who MAF supports and we fly out of Telefomin.