Namon, seriously injured

Indonesia

The emergency call came in on a Saturday. A boy had fallen over a rock and suffered some injuries. We immediately started the helicopter, and headed for the little village of Debula. After flying for 35 minutes, we landed in the middle of the village.

The extent of Namon’s head injuries were much more serious than the radio message had led me to believe. His head was deeply cracked, his right thigh was broken, and he kept drifting in and out of consciousness. Apparently he had fallen down a 300 m (approx 985 feet) cliff. As we carried him to the helicopter I prayed to God for help in this tragic situation.

Ready for transport to the hospital

We flew him to the hospital in Wamena, although in human terms there was not much hope. My wife visited him in hospital every day. On the first day he was still unconscious; on the second day he was delirious, and on the third day… no hope. If he should survive, he would suffer from permanent brain damage. We prayed and hoped that God’s mighty hand would perform a miracle.

One week later

What a joy it was when Jolanda came home a couple of days later with the news that Namon was responding! It took another 3 months for him to recover. His broken femur (thigh bone) did not get treated right away due to the lack of qualified personnel. It had to be re-broken so that it could correctly grow together again.  

Recently I had to fly to a neighboring village. Suddenly I saw a familiar face. It was Namon! With a big smile on his face he came up to me and showed me the huge scar on his leg.

I pray that this boy’s life will be a mighty witness of God’s power to heal and to save!  

Erwin Schärz, Pilot.

Straps in the rotor head

On the rotor head of the 2 blade Bell helicopter there are so called “T-T-Straps.” These rotor head connecting elements have a calendar life time, i.e. after 24 months they have to be replaced, no matter how long the machine has flown.

Position of the “Jesus-Nut”

One of our two Long-Ranger’s straps were due just after I had arrived in Wamena. First the rotor is removed from the helicopter. Then the rotor blades are separated from the rotor head. The next step involves dismantling, cleaning, and inspecting the rotor head. Once this has been completed, the straps can be replaced. The helicopter mechanic then aligns the rotor head and the rotor blades.

The “Jesus-Nut” with the gear teeth for safety

Finally, the whole rotor is statically balanced. Once the static balancing has been carried out successfully, the rotor is re-mounted on the helicopter. The nut (bolt), which holds the whole rotor to the rotor mast (helicopter) is interestingly, called the “Jesus-Nut” … just one single nut with a diameter of approx. 60mm.

The whole workflow has to then be re-inspected by a mechanic; this is regulations. Then it is the Pilot’s turn. The Pilot starts the helicopter so that the mechanic can check if the rotor blades are aligned. If that is the case, the mechanic measures the vibration and the alignment of the rotor blades, first in a hover and later in a cruise flight.

Daniel Sigrist, mechanic.

Family Pearson

Madagascar

The village of Tsiandro lies in “a red zone”, an area notorious for violent cattle thieves called dahalos. We landed in Tsiandro because we were under the impression that this was an unreached village, but to our surprise we found there were already 3 churches. We were ready to move on in search of an unreached village, but we found there was a big dispute and division amongst the people, which led us to stay.

The American Pastor, Steve, has such an amazing gift at preaching the Gospel. He involves the people by asking them questions, and inviting them to ask him questions, and through this he shares the Gospel in a very comprehensive way.

We stayed overnight at a Military compound. Some soldiers were already saved, but felt they were not saved because they had killed “dahalos” while on duty, and they were battling with feelings of guilt. Steve took the time to speak with them and encourage them. He left them with peace in their hearts and confidence that they were saved.

After we returned to our base, Steve preached at a baptism. One very old man who was being baptized was wearing an amulet (charm worn around the neck for protection.) Steve told him that he cannot serve two Gods. Later he returned without the amulet, having decided to completely follow Jesus. Steve’s clear message also helped some of our workers to make a clear decision for Jesus Christ.

Hearty greetings from Craig Pearson,

Helimission employee at the office in Madagascar.