By Maddison Souza, an MAF missionary serving with Alas de Socorro del Ecuador (ADSE – an MAF affiliate) in Shell, Ecuador.
Something that we really struggled with when we first moved to Ecuador was feeling like we didn’t belong. We were the new people and the only foreigners on our team here at ADSE, and we […]
Decades of service left a lasting impact for one MAF pilot and the people he flew
By Gene Jordan
Gene Jordan, MAF’s public relations ambassador. Photo by Lem Malabuyo.
My parents went to Ecuador as missionaries in 1951. As a kid I heard about the “MAF airplane, flown by Uncle Nate, in the jungle.” When I […]
Early morning, barely light, a high, electronic, belly-dancer tune woke us. Audible first only to street dogs, then faintly for humans, it soon became distinct. Slowly it grew until the too-cheerful-for-morning ditty echoed up the streets that approached our central Asian hotel. When it dominated all other sound, I abandoned our warm bed to peer […]
Holding my new, squirmy, squeaky granddaughter reminded me of two flights.
The first flight raced against desolation. A teenage girl, struggling to deliver her first child, lay beneath a tree. Her young husband paced the mud alongside. His eyes darted down to her. Up to the sky. Back to her. The village airstrip, their one connection […]
Flight Follow | Season 1: Episode 3
Gene Jordan, wife Lynn, and Ecuador. Gene grew up in Ecuador, flew for MAF in Ecuador, and now his children (with grandchildren) serve in Ecuador. Gene recalls his first flights with MAF, pet monkeys, Ecuadorian rain, and how it feels going back to the same airstrips and villages and […]
When I arrived in Ecuador, I quickly learned jungle flying was serious business. Take no maneuver for granted. Attend to every detail. Reject all distractions. Clearly, dire consequence lurked in the shadows, straining to pounce.
That life-and-death-decision environment fostered a single-minded attitude. During the typical 15 minutes at any strip, my inner worrier said I had […]