You helped prepare a plane for service in Peru
Craig Gahagen’s flight from JAARS in Waxhaw, North Carolina, to Pucallpa, Peru, was fraught with challenges. Craig, SAMAIR Peru’s program manager, was flying the Cessna 206 that JAARS had recently refurbished for service in Peru.
During his flight to Florida with JAARS pilot Chuck Daly, Chuck oriented Craig to all the aircraft’s new equipment that Craig hadn’t used before.
Ken, a ferry pilot who flies frequently to South America, was going to fly from Florida to South America with Craig. Three days before the two planned to leave, Ken called Craig and said: “I’m on my way to the emergency room.”
Thankfully, Craig’s friend with the aviation mission organization King’s Wings Flights assigned one of his pilots, Mike, to fly to Peru with Craig.
When they learned they couldn’t land in Guyana on the way, they decided to spend the next two nights in Grenada.
They hit another snag when they arrived in Grenada: Mike wasn’t vaccinated, a requirement for entry into the country. “But by the grace of God and the help of two women there who worked as fixed-base operators,” Craig explained, “we received permission to stay and spend two nights in Grenada.”
Despite challenges over eight days and 30-plus hours of flight, including a stop in Brazil, Craig and the Cessna 206 finally arrived at its new home of Pucallpa!
This refurbished plane will serve the Achuar people who live in the Amazon rainforest. Last year, several mission organizations teamed up with the Achuar to begin an Old Testament Bible translation. Craig and other pilots will use the 206 to take Bible translators and other language workers to the town located two hours from Pucallpa where the translation work occurs.
One important thing Craig learned from this journey is how people can collaborate generously to work together for the glory of God.
Opportunity $1,984,100*
You can collaborate generously with JAARS to reach the ends of the world with the gospel by giving to Aviation Solutions. Thank you!
*All fundraising goals are based on the latest numbers available and are subject to change as we deploy current projects and commit to new ones for our partners around the world.
