Survey And Aid Trip

Last month, I had an opportunity to travel to La Mosquitia, which is the eastern portion of Honduras where Missionary Air Group’s work is focused.

The trip’s primary goal was to distribute some relief supplies that had been brought into the area by another mission agency. Secondly (and more pertinent to me), the missionaries from Guatemala agreed to introduce me to some of the airstrips in the area.

Our best-laid plans are often thwarted, as was the case on this trip. We found that we did not have enough fuel available in the area. There are a number of reasons, but they all boil down to this one fact: moving people and things around in La Mosquitia is always difficult.

Additionally, there were the planning and organizing uncertainties of working on an international project. The ambiguity and fuel shortage combined to prevent some of the relief distribution from happening. There were some good things that came of the trip, however.

Relief Supplies

We were able to move about half of the food relief that was staged. This food represents the ongoing aid following Hurricanes Eta an Iota that struck in November.

Airplane Evaluation

We examined another mission’s airplane that is currently out of use. We are trying to work with several other mission organizations to get this airplane flying again. Having a neighboring mission also with a flying airplane would be a huge benefit to our program in terms of safety, efficiency, and capacity.

Introduction to the Area

I got to fly over a significant portion of La Mosquitia, which will be our home area shortly. For obvious reasons, a pilot needs to be familiar with the are in which he flies, so this was a big help for me.

Arrival in Rus Rus

Most notably, I got to pay a visit to the houses where our team will be living in a few months. We were not there long, but it was enough to do some evaluation so we can prepare for our move.

Relationships

Also important was the relationships that were built. We didn’t meet everyone we wanted to, but we made some good progress.

Conclusion

When our plans must change, we do it with joy to know that God is directing our steps. (Please remind me of this statement the next time something doesn’t go according to plan.) I think I probably benefited more from this trip than anyone else did, and I’m grateful for the partnership of Eri and Ludin and the rest of the team at AGAPE.