Wings For Africa

The Alliance national church in Gabon has broken ground on the PK 27 project that will be home to many social care programs run by our Gabonese colleagues.  It will also feature a landing airstrip and hangar.  Now, along with the US-based facilitator of the project, E4 Project, we are brainstorming what kind of educational opportunities might flow out of the aviation program to equip nationals.  We invite you on this journey!  Here is more info, via video...

If you are having issues loading the video below, please go to this website: https://vimeo.com/169423859

Wings for Africa from Stephen Straw on Vimeo.

Bongolo Hospital Needs

Year after year, dedicated supporters of medical missions at Bongolo Hospital make and collect items to be sent, via shipping container, to Gabon.  I have actually been in Gabon, when these containers are being processed at the port, unloaded, and put into use.  Be rest assured that ALL ITEMS are used to bless those that come seeking health and hope in a very remote part of Africa.  Our Gabon team of international workers are so blessed to have this teamwork.

Thank you for considering joining in the provision of the current needs at Bongolo.  The next shipment will depart Cleveland, Ohio (ARK Transport), September 1st, so it's a good idea to get the word out now.  Details are below.

Here are some urgently needed items at this time:

  
A.  Centrum (or similar with all the trace minerals) multivitamins 
-  Needed for Adults and, especially, for children (not "gumball" shaped; but the chewable ones).
-  Note:  "Equipping the Saints" (www.etsusa.org) sells "Vine Vites for Kids"- 1000 chewable tablets @ $18.95/bottle (must buy a case of 12 bottles). 

B.  Benadryl tablets (not capsules)
-  Generic is OK

C.  Artificial Tears 
-  like Systane or Generic 

D.  Covers for Delivery & Operating Room Tables
-  See instructions below**

E. Sterilization Wraps

-  See instructions below*

F.  Vision Glasses
-  new reading glasses & glass cases
-  used eye glass frames & used glass cases (either you or they will remove the present glass) 
-  disposable pen lights for eye clinic
-  Note: there are ideas on making glass cases on the internet
-  Small toys or stickers for kids who come to the eye clinic.

G.  Medical Supplies
-  Interosseus needles
-  Chest Tubes- sizes 10-16 and adult 30-40
-  Chest tube draining systems

H.  Medical Apparel
-  long white lab coats
-  new or slightly used scrubs sizes small to medium (right now there are enough of the larger)

-  children’s patient gowns (see patterns on Internet:  LINK 1 ;  LINK 2
-  reusable underpads (34" x 36")
-  Note:  see websites like www.allegromedical.com

I.  Inexpensive “sippy cups”

J. hand towels new or slightly used (no white ones please)

*NOTE:  If you think you have useful items that are not listed, please call Coleen Lofgren (218-245-2706).

HOW TO PREP YOUR BOX:

1.  PACKAGE SIZE LIMITS:  The packages should be no larger than a total of 72 inches (length + height + width) unless you have special permission.  Please limit different types of items to 3-4 per box and put each type of item in it’s own plastic bag for easier sorting at the hospital.

          

 2.  E-MAIL NOTIFICATION:  Please e-mail Gabon’s shipment coordinator, Linda Chae at linda.chae@att.net and a copy to me, Coleen Lofgren coliemark@gmail.com with the following information: 1.  Church and address; 2. Contact’s name, phone number and e-mail address; 3. Total number of boxes sent.  
          
3.  LABEL EACH BOX!!!  Please label each box by letter and numbers, for example, if your church is in Plain View, Iowa and you’re sending 2 boxes, you might choose PVIO#1, PVIO#2.  Please include the two letter state abbreviation in your label as there are a lot of churches with similar names.
          
4.  BOX LIST:  Each box/container should have a list of contents.  All contents should be categorized in one of the following categories:  PERSONAL EFFECT; MEDICATIONS;  MEDICAL EQUIPMENT; or FOOD.

     
5.  PAYMENT FOR SEA FREIGHT:  Calculate the total cubic feet of all of your boxes/containers and multiply by $15.  Send this amount to:  C&MA Finance Dept., 8595 Explorer Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.  On the check memo write "Bongolo Hosp. Med Supp./Shipping acct. no. 09037-4340."

GET ITEMS TO SHIPPING CONTAINER:
NOTE:  SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 DEADLINE!!!

1.  SEND YOUR BOX:
        WHERE TO SEND:  Send the boxes to : ARK Transportation c/o Gabon Shipment Bongolo Hospital, 17830 Englewood Drive, Middleburg Heights, OH 44130 by September 1st, 2016

          

OR...

2.  FIND A COLLECTION POINT:

-  State College, PA  ~  Contact person, Dick Straw, email:  drs9mjs@aol.com

-  Lewistown, PA  ~  Contact person, Judy Brown, email:  Judy.Brown310@comcast.net

MORE TO COLLECTION POINTS TO COME!

*NOTE:  We are currently looking for individuals or churches that would be willing to be a collection point and then be responsible for transport to ARK Transport, located near Cleveland, OH.  If you are so very kind as to do this, please contact Coleen Lofgren or myself (gabon.pilot@gmail.com).

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:

* STERILIZATION WRAPS:  
Finished sizes needed are: 12” x 12”, 24” x 24”, 36” x 36”. 48” x 48”.  You can make them out of gently used cotton and cotton/polyester material, sheets or old tablecloths (don’t use flannel- it is too loose a weave).  Preferred colors are blue, green or white solid (others accepted though).  To make them, cut the material 1/2” larger than the size wanted.  They are to be double thickness, with the seams on the inside.  After sewing the two pieces of material, turn it inside right, then sew a seam about 1/2” around the entire square and then an “X” from corner to corner.  this way, when they are washed, they will stay in place.  Questions?  Call Coleen at 218-245-2706.

** DELIVERY & O.R. TABLE SHEETS:
Use flat sheets twin or full size, any color, out of cotton or cotton/polyester. Fold sheet in half so it is 48” x 66” (twin) or 48”x 81” (full).  Sew or Zig-zag around the entire doubled sheet, including the folded side, close to the edge.   Then measure half way down (33” or 40.1”) and sew across the sheet.

OUR WHOLE TEAM THANKS YOU FOR YOUR TEAMWORK IN BLESSING THE PEOPLE OF CENTRAL AFRICA!!!

Gabon PK27 Project Ground Breaking!

On June 19th, the Alliance church of Gabon had the ground breaking ceremony of the PK27 Project just outside the capital city of Libreville!  This property will be the home of a social works campus that will include a hospital, children's home, widow's home, career training, primary and secondary education, airport and hangar facilities.  More than half the population of Gabon lives within 40 kilometers of this campus!  A huge industrial complex is in development stages only 2 kilometers away.

For those of you who have followed our journey, you will recall some early stories about this God-sized project in 2012 and 2013.  It seemed that it was WAY TOO BIG of a dream, but, we have seen some really awesome things on this journey.

This project is being led and executed by the Alliance national church in Gabon.  Half the finances will come from the churches in Gabon and the other half from partnerships.  If you are interested in getting behind this effort, I will be posting the information sometime soon.  For more information, please visit the webpage of the partnership coordinator, E4 Project:  CLICK HERE

These pictures come thanks to partners organized by E4 Project.  If you or your group are interested in partnerships or a vision trip to Gabon, please contact me (gabon.pilot@gmail.com) or E4 Project (info@e4project.org).

Quick July Update

A few news and notes from our world:

Meeting with Gabon C&MA Church
leaders.

> Praise the Lord for a unanimous decision of the delegates to the Gabon C&MA national council meetings to re-elect the entire national leadership last week.  Since our partnership in Gabon is driven by and with these leaders, it's nice when we have the same people in place.  More than that, however, this team of leaders in Gabon are Godly men and women that we really enjoy working with and being friends with.

> Sam, our youngest, will soon transition to college (and life) in San Diego.  Please pray for him.

> Please pray for the inter-church committee in GABON working to advance Bible translation in the nation.  They are making partnership decisions and setting plans.  Our aircraft has served these efforts already and are looking forward to more of this Kingdom-building work!

Pastor Jacob MOUELE, far right, Gabon C&MA Director
for Internatonal Partnerships

> Please pray for the national Gabonese church's "PK-27" project. A social works campus with a landing strip for our aircraft! They just had their cornerstone laying ceremony!

Pastor Victor NDOUKOU, national church President, at the June 19, 2016 Cornerstone laying ceremony.

Sam- Our Grad!!!

Our third kiddo has done it!  We're so proud of Sam!  2016 graduate of Rain Forest International School, Yaounde, Cameroon.

Here's Sam at the front entrance of the RFIS campus, Yaounde, Cameroon.

Our handsome young man!

The evening of his graduation held at the Catholic University in Yaounde.

The alumni soccer match, the day after graduation, with brother Joe (far left), and 3 or the 7 children from our friends, the Carlson's.

Sam's graduating class- all 13 of them.  The morning of graduation at the Senior Breakfast with their families.

Sam with his buddy, Nathan.  Sam and Nathan will be moving into an apartment together in San Diego (USA) and starting their college classes at a local community college.  Neither has an idea of what they would like to focus on in their studies, so this will be a good time to take some cheaper classes, have a job (Nathan's family has a company there), and ease into life in the US of A.

Please pray for these guys!  Keep in touch with Sam at his email:  epicthesam@gmail.com

We especially thank the ladies at State College Alliance Church (PA) who have sponsored Sam throughout his years in Africa with birthday wishes, Christmas gifts, and lots and lots of encouragement and prayers.  This has really blessed Sam... and his parents!

MAG Special Assignments

In my last blog, I detailed the work that lies ahead for me to get "back in the saddle" and ready for flight operations.  While I'm working at this task, our new aviation team, Missionary Air Group (MAG), has asked that Alace and I pitch in.  Here is an overview of what those roles will be at this small, but rapidly growing, organization:

Chief Pilot:
I've been asked to give oversight to all MAG flight operations- Gabon, Guatemala, Honduras, and the US!  This means policy setting, writing operations manuals, pilot flight checks, and lots of traveling.  At this time, MAG has at least one aircraft in each of the countries listed, and plans for more.  Wherever they have an aircraft, you'll typically find at least two pilots and their families.

The SIL Cameroon Aviation Team!

Team Care:
As you know, Alace is studying for her degree in counseling (Liberty Univ. online) and is now officially a Junior!  I like to tell people I'm married to a college Junior.  Anyways... MAG has asked Alace to put her people skills to work, serving their teams at each of their bases.  This will range from personal, one-on-one time, as well as workshops and team building for every age.  Steve will pitch in as needed- this is an area that we are really looking forward to develop.

Flight Training:
MAG has been asked to develop a mission pilot apprenticeship program- the first of its kind!  This is in response to a CRITICAL NEED of the industry- a shortage of missionary pilot/mechanics trained and ready to go to the field.  Many of the young people that catch the vision of serving in this field go for their training, but our saddles with working off a load of debt that comes along with it.  MAG's model will be a DEBT-FREE training, where private funds carry the trainees through to the end and then right on to the field.  This is an exciting program!  The first candidates arrive at MAG near the end of 2016.  MAG would like me to assist in a portion of this training when the candidates move through to the advanced stages.

This is an exciting chapter for Alace and I.  We see that the Lord has directed our journey to include experiences that lend themselves to these roles.  Additionally, these very roles are the ones that our maturing work in Gabon desperately need, or it will be soon struggling to continue.  Up to now, our Gabon work has not had a recruiting and training piece.  Without additional personnel ready to take up the work, all the years of preparation and launching of AMB will not be able to continue.

We look forward to continuing on this journey with all of you.  Your support, in prayers and finances, are still critical for us to continue.  We would also love to hear from you regarding your current chapter of life and what we can do to share in the adventures.  Please reach out to us at gabon.pilot@gmail.com or acatherine72@yahoo.com.

Back In The Saddle

In my SIL office,
Yaounde, CAMEROON

Most recently, I've been benefitting from roles that have really stretched and strengthened my administrative and leadership abilities.  This included things like forming policies, leading teams, collaborating with other leaders, setting strategies, planning budgets, reviewing finances, coordinating recruiting, executing audits, serving our users, and more; all while serving my team by listening to their input and making sure they were taken care of.  I've really enjoyed this chapter of management development.  The team in Cameroon was so patient with me and really rallied around my leadership.

One thing that all this kept me from was duties as pilot.  So, now I'm looking to knock off some of the rust and get back in the saddle.  Here are some of the things that I'll be doing:

Keeping things straight!
Bongolo Airstrip windsock refurbishment,
circa December 2009.

Knock off the Rust:  
In some ways, once you've accumulated lots of flying hours (I'm almost at 10,000 hours), there is some truth to the adage about "it's just like riding a bike"- there are some things that just become part of your muscle memory.  However, since flying is done in a very unforgiving environment, you can't take anything for granted.  The veteran pilots have to be every bit as sharp as the new pilots.  So, to get my brain back in gear, I'm doing a lot of review on a wide variety of flying material.  A good resource that got me going was a flying refresher video that Sporty's Pilot Shop produced.  If you are interested, here is the link: CLICK HERE.  It covers topics such as certification, weather, airspace regulations, medical requirements, new technology, flight planning, and more.

Biennial Flight Review:  
I call this the "Filth" review ("BFR" still works!), because it's when you need to uncover all the bad habits that you've formed as a pilot- a pilot confessional of sorts.  The BFR is a pilot review, every 24 calendar months, mandated by the FAA in their regulations, FAR 91.56.   Another instructor spends time interviewing you and then observing a flight with you to make sure that you still have mastery of the information and the performance necessary to be a safe pilot.  Again, there are some great resources out there to explain these things and assist someone to get ready.  Here is one of them:  CLICK HERE if interested.

Instrument Proficiency Check:
The FAA also mandates that, unless you have been flying a lot in the clouds with a recent history of conducting landings in poor weather conditions, you have to stay sharp on your skills as an "instrument rated" pilot.  This means spending some time reviewing applicable procedures and operations in poor weather conditions with an examiner, perhaps some time in a flight simulator on the ground, and then some time up in the air with the examiner.  Again, the purpose is to show that, as pilot, you show mastery of the aircraft in a safe, effective manner.  One nice pilot has posted videos of his IPC evaluation on YouTube.  Watch it HERE.

2008 trip to Nigeria in a twin-engine, Beechcraft Baron.

Reinstatement of Flight Instructor Certificate: 
 Once upon a time, I was a certified flight instructor (CFI).  I got to the point where I was so busy doing other types of flying that I never thought that I'd be training others in the near future.  That was very true.  Now, that day has arrived!  As you know, I feel passionate about being able to invite others into aviation as a means to express God's love and compassion.  I'll need my CFI for that.  As a means to reinstate, I'll be adding on the "MEI" to my old CFI.  This is the Multi-Engine Instructor certificate.  Since I have my Multi-Engine rating as a pilot, I want to ready to instruct others at the highest level of training that I have.  Here is a video of a young pilot practicing his ability to teach his flight instructor how to do a take-off:  VIDEO.

Standardization:
As many of you know, AMB is now part of the Missionary Air Group family, based in Burlington, NC.  It really is a great fit- MAG's focus is to deliver health care to people in the margins of life... and they use the tool of aviation to accomplish this!  So, the MAG aviation procedures are based largely on the standardization received through training at MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) based in Nampa, Idaho.  So, for me to be an effective part of the MAG team, I'll need the same.  Here is a video overviewing some of that training:  CLICK HERE.  For me to assist in keeping the MAG team sharp (this includes myself!), I'll need to, not only take this training myself, but master the teaching of this training.

With the help of very generous supporters, we'll be able to accomplish this in the coming weeks and months.  Thank you for standing strong with us and sharing this journey!!!

Straw Family Update!

So, "what are the CRAZY STRAWs doing this summer?!?"  I'm glad you asked...

SAM

Sam is wrapping up his high school career this week!  We are so very proud of this young man!  Despite a life-threatening bout of malaria several weeks ago (Read More), he has really enjoyed his school year- participating in sports as well as being the student council vice-president.  (ps. Sam would like all his adoring fans to know that he HAS registered his graduation wish-list on Amazon.com- CLICK HERE)

Sam's Plans:  With no clear direction on a field of study or career, Sam has wisely decided to take
some community college courses, get a job, and re-enter life in the US with a fellow RFIS graduate, Nathan.  Nathan's parents have some properties in San Diego, where they can live cheaply.

MEGAN



Megan wrapped up her Sophomore year at Nyack College, still working toward a degree in social work.  She was also working as a nanny to help make ends meat.




Plans:  This summer, Megan is working with our home church, York Alliance (PA), in their children's ministry, as well as looking for some part-time work.




JOE

Joe & his girlfriend, Laura (also a Guinea intern!)

As many of you know, Joe is finishing his Junior year at Moody Bible Institute (Chicago).  Actually, he has already done 1/2 of his senior year so that he has time for a 6 month internship in Guinea, West Africa.  At Moody, he is studying Theology and has a great job in the computer services office.  He's learning a lot and honing his skills with photography and videography.

Plans:  Joe's internship with Envision (C&MA), will be working with missionaries who run a youth center in the capital city of Conakry called La Zone.  They do English classes and other events to draw students into an environment where not only get great education, but see and hear about the Gospel.  Joe will use his tech skills to develop promotional and educational tools for the center.  He is seeking people to help fund this trip, so please consider this opportunity to partner with him.  Here is his latest update:

ALACE

Some of Alace's ladies in Cameroon.

Alace has really enjoyed CONNECTING this year.  If you know her, you know this is her specialty!  People... relationships... going deep.

She took a break from her college studies (counseling major, Liberty U) for a couple modules since we were traveling quite a bit.  We enjoyed the conference in Thailand, and then our visit to Gabon to check in with the work we oversee there.

Plans:  Alace will be back into the books as her modules will restart later in the summer.  We'll be reconnecting with some friends in the US, get Sam settled into San Diego life, and then spend time in North Carolina (Burlington) as Steve does some aviation training and she becomes the team care person for Missionary Air Group (MAG)!  She is really excited about this new assignment!  More to come on that.

STEVE

Steve has really enjoyed the challenge of being the aviation manager for SIL (JAARS) in Yaounde this year.  It took some getting used to a larger team and fleet of aircraft.  This was on top of his work as program manager for the Gabon work, where pilot Rob is on site, keeping operations moving along.

Plans:  Since Steve has been mainly in administrative roles recently, it is time to get recurrent so that he's ready for the cockpit again.  There will be a time of training in the US for a few months as well as time spent in a standardization course to prep him for his new role with MAG as chief pilot.  He'll give oversight to an even bigger team of pilots and aircraft fleet.  More on that to come, as well.

God-sized dreams are still a big part of what we're being called to.  Along with the national Alliance church in Gabon, a dream is starting to become a reality.  At the end of this blog, you can watch a video describing some of this ambitious project.

In short, for June and July, will be mainly in PA visiting family, friends, and enjoying connecting with our home church, York Alliance.  In August we'll start looking at the MAG program in NC, pilot training and member care, as well as getting Sam to San Diego for college.

Wings for Africa from Stephen Straw on Vimeo.