MAF Tanzania

Celebrating the new airstrip

My time in Tanzania has also seen me become involved in another incredible missionary organisation; Mission Aviation Fellowship, which has been operating in Tanzania for 50 years now. My husband Kirstein Combrink has been working with MAF Tanzania as a missionary pilot since January 2012, and he is now based in Arusha. His work mostly involves medical and evangelistic safaris into communities that are hard to reach by road. MAF works with organisations such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania and the Haydom Lutheran Hospital. Doctors, medical supplies, national evangelists and missionaries are flown into various different bush strips that have been built through MAF partnering with communities. From the Arusha base he flies regularly to areas in North and South Masaailand, central Tanzania and the Haydom area, and occasionally he is onstandby to do medical evacuations. A particular landmark of 2013 has been the construction and opening of the Lerumo and Kitwai B airstrips in South Masaailand.

Co-Pilot

In early August 2013 I was able to accompany him on a safari to Songwe in the south of Tanzania. It was a fabulous experience to both see Kirstein at work and more of the stunning landscape of this country. Unfortunately there wasn't room for me to join in on the medical safaris in the Mbeya region. On the way there and back, we stopped off at the Dodoma base where I was able to meet many of his colleagues and see how the headquarters of this organisation operates. Now a lot of what he talks about has a context for me and I already feel a part of the MAF family!

Still smiling after 10 hours on a motorbike

In January 2014, I was able to travel with Kirstein to visit the new airstrip in Katahe in South Masaaini. We were greeted by the women of the village who sang and danced to celebrate only the second landing of the plane, and the first time the airstrip had been used for medical trips. From there we drove motorbikes to the even remoter area of Sayuni, and five hours later, we camped at a Masaai boma. 6000 people live in this area with one school, one church, one dispensary with no electricity for keeping vaccines, and no roads so transport is by foot or motorbike. We are praying that MAF may be able to help this community in the future.

The women of Katahe

July 2014 saw us return from our 'wedding summer' in Cape Town to a different MAF. The Dodoma base has closed after 50 years, there are only ten members of staff, and Arusha is now the main base for operations. Business has been as usual though, and I have been able to accompany Kirstein to see the remaining two areas he works in. Haydom Lutheran Hospital was established in the middle of the bush about 60 years ago by a Norwegian missionary doctor. It serves people from four different tribes whose lands are close to this area, and the hospital is one of the best equipped in the country http://www.haydom.com/.

Music in the bush

MAF has partnered with a Masaai evangelist Elisha Ole Moita for around 25 years. Coming from a village on the shores of Lake Natron, he set up a Bible school in Malambo, North Masaaini. Kirstein flies evangelists from Malambo and nearby Loliondo to preach in remote villages. In August 2014, we had the privilege of being hosted by his brother's family in his home village of Pinyin. We enjoyed a communion service in the shade, and I taught some music theory and keyboard skills (they have a keyboard and sound system from Kenya!). Pinyin is one of the most beautiful villages I have visited, and they have channels of water running past the houses from the lake. However, it is incredibly difficult to access, and the primary school has the worst performance of any school in the Arusha region.

Since the beginning of 2016, I have taken on the role of Communications Officer for the programme. This is great as I am able to feel more of a part of the team, and keep updated about what is happening. Take a look at the Facebook page, the MAF Tanzania website and Kirstein's blog at http://w4christ.blogspot.com/