Yesterday I flew with a colleague, I needed him for renewing my flying license, and we combined this with an emergency. Oh don’t worry we performed all the maneuvers on the empty flying legs. We also had a lot of time to catch up. The main thing we laughed about was the flying missionary thing.
He was once about to depart on an emergency case but asked to download his sick patient by some missionaries who had missed a flight and to fly them instead. He’d have time to do the initial flight later that day anyway! No shame huh? of course the old saying goes that if you don't ask you'll never get anything.
There was that private pilot in Kenya who offered some of his time and aircraft to fly for a humanitarian group. All went well till the day there was an excess of cargo. He had to make a choice and left the bibles behind for the medicines and blankets, logically more useful for the people in the remote bush or camps. Well he got criticized for that wrong choice! The pilot had the feeling people could die providing they carried a bible so he put an end to that cooperation.
In Tanzania some flying missionaries are busy in some of the same airstrips where we (Flying Medical Service) also operate, we in a more useful manner I'd say. When local Masai people were asked what they thought about those visits, the only thing they remember, and are not keen on, is to not have sex outside marriage. Well no enthusiasm there and no surprise: men get married at around 35 years-old and I doubt they'd masturbate till then (oh yes I nearly forgot that's forbidden too). Then Masai men have many wives and when male guests are invited at home, they get a wife for the night (the wife has the right to refuse though). Haha good luck to change anything in those social habits.
There was that missionary pilot who wanted to switch and fly for us, he thought medical work was seriously overlooked if not ignored in his group. Too bad he couldn’t have his sponsors to follow him. Since we don’t do bible distribution and marketing, they were horrified to “waste” their money on medical work, not on evangelical tours. Vade retro Satanas!
Now I wonder how much flak I’m gonna get for this moody post, though I gave no names.
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