The following is a report from the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference about the delivery of an airplane whose purchase was supported by the conference…
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You’re probably familiar with the mission called “Wings of the Morning.” Our church has supported this mission for years even going back to the days in the old church when Wings of the Morning was led by the Enrights. Wings of the Morning uses aircraft to connect villages in the Congo with the outside world. They fly in medical supplies, basic necessities, and evacuate people for medical treatment. In other words, they share the love of God and help to build His kingdom in remote areas of Africa.
Some years ago they realized that their airplane was no longer able to do the job for them. They got to the point where they needed something newer and better. So with the help of Steve and Gail Quigg they began a fund raising campaign. Steve and Gail have spoken here several times. They’re pilots who support other aviation missionaries around the world. And they have also introduced us to Gaston Nmtambo. Gaston is from the Congo, and he is now the main pilot for Wings of the Morning. Gaston is a Congo United Methodist pilot who trained in the US.
Anyway, I want to rewind back two years to the to the 2011 Annual Conference. During that conference a program was made to raise funds for the plane. I forget how it all worked; I remember something about paper airplanes being thrown around. But at one point the offering plates came out, everyone put in their usual $5 bill, was content that we just did a good thing, and was ready to move on to the next item on the agenda … which happened to be lunch.
Well, it may not be a good idea to interrupt a room full of Methodists from eating, but before we could adjourn, a retired pastor got up on the stage and challenged us to do better. He pledged a large sum of money and said that he would add to his pledge if someone would match it.
Right after that, all sorts of people were lining up at the microphones to make pledges. Some were pledging their own money. I remember someone saying that he would cancel a vacation and pledge the money he had saved for it. Others were stepping out and committing their church for certain amounts.
We were sitting in front of Pastor Larry and I remember him leaning forward and asking us “how much should our church pledge? Do you think we could do $1000?” We were all thinking, “that’s a lot of money. How could we raise that much money? Maybe we should check with the missions committee first. We should call someone and ask.”
But the next thing I knew, Pastor Larry was at the microphone saying, “Pitman United Methodist Church pledges $3000”. I don’t know how the amount got tripled, but our church was certainly stepping out in faith. After about ½ hour of all of these pledges, we finally adjourned for lunch. I remember sitting at the table wondering, “what just happened?”
Well, we did meet and even exceed that pledge. People in our church stepped out in faith and made it happen. I can still remember all of the paper airplanes flying around our sanctuary and the enthusiasm during Vacation Bible School that year. Then our 2012 Vacation Bible School raised an additional $1,200 for this same ministry!
Annual Conference 2013
Now let’s come back to this year’s conference. To last Friday. Two years later, almost to the day and hour, we were all gathered for lunch. Bishop Schol got on the stage, said he had a special presentation to make, and then he grabbed a wireless mic and went outside.
Bishop Schol Directs new Plane
The front of the room where we were was all glass. The windows looked out onto the beach and the ocean beyond. As Bishop Schol described what was about to happen, a plane came into view and flew as close to the water as it could so that we could all see it from our seats in the convention center.
The plane that so many had hoped for and worked for was a reality. The people of our conference stepped out in faith and God delivered. It was really an emotional moment to see how this project worked out in our midst.
Not long from now, Gaston will fly this plane to the Congo. And I can only imagine that someday soon, others will be watching that same plane. But this time it won’t be a bunch of well-fed Methodists sitting in an air conditioned room. Instead it will be someone in desperate need, standing by some small grass airstrip in the middle of nowhere waiting for help that will save the life of a loved one.
Gaston flies the new aircraft past the Wildwood Convention Center.
It was really cool to see that airplane last Friday. Remembering of all of the things that happened and thinking of all of the people around the world who stepped out in faith to get that airplane was awesome. But I know that there’s going to be more to this story as time goes on. As supplies are delivered and people are evacuated, lives will not only be saved, but lives will also be changed. People will come to know the love and grace of Jesus Christ. And this will happen because we stepped out in faith and God took the little we could offer and used it to His glory.
