J A A R S: FlightLines 2002 Issue 6

FlightLines

A Publication of the Aviation Department at JAARS, Inc.,
Issue 6; Year 2002

Dear Readers,

We took the time to show up and listen! This, I believe, was the most important thing we accomplished when Vic Hess, Glenn Smith and I traveled recently from Waxhaw, North Carolina, to two countries in Africa.

This trip was a first for JAARS. It was a transportation assessment. We looked at ways we could help missionaries by providing safer, more dependable transportation by water, land and air, including carrying emergency survival kits during travel. We brainstormed solutions to their problems. Some are already being implemented.

I hope you will be encouraged in reading this issue of FlightLines. There are things we can all do to lighten the load—and soften the ride—for those who labor to spread the gospel of Christ's kingdom.

Let's roll!

Dave Bothwell
Director of Aviation

Riding, Rocks & Reading

by Margaret Hill, SIL's Africa Area Scripture Use Coordinator

Alfred got up as the roosters started crowing, leaving the rest of his household still asleep. He knew he had a long way to go that day. All night his bike had been in the bedroom with him and his wife to keep it safe from thieves, and now he wheeled it out into the early morning freshness. He dug around for the pump to blow up the front tire that had a slow leak. The nearest spare inner tube was 100 miles away, so he was resigned to pumping his tire up at intervals all day.

Alfred was off to visit five villages over 30 miles away where there were several literacy classes. He balanced a box of books on the small carrier on the back of his bike and tied it on rather precariously with vines.

Besides about 60,000 adults, Ngbaka
children are also learning to read.

As he rode down the path, being careful to avoid enormous potholes, he enjoyed disturbing an occasional pig wallowing in mud in the middle of the road. After a couple of stops to pump up the front tire, he arrived four hours later at the first village. A warm welcome awaited him as he unloaded some of his books. Half the adults of the village were involved in literacy classes, and Alfred's visit was a real encouragement to them and the literacy teachers.

After a well-deserved meal, it was time to continue on. The road became very isolated with few villages to be seen. As he rode up and around some rocks, the bike creaked and groaned in an almost human way. Suddenly the front wheel fell into a hole containing a large rock. The bike flipped over and Alfred shot over the handlebars. It took him a few moments to recover and tend to his bleeding leg. When he turned to the bike, he was horrified by what he saw. The back axle had snapped in two making it impossible for him to ride. All he could do was attempt to wheel it back to the village he had just left. He knew the people in the next village were all waiting for him and would be very disappointed, but what else could he do? As he walked along, trying to lift the back wheel off the ground, he thought, The nearest spare parts for my bike are 100 miles away. It will be weeks before I can visit these literacy classes again, and I have a LONG walk home. If only I had a tougher bike for these bad roads and an easily available supply of spare parts.

This is a true, and typical, story.

There are 24 Ngbaka literacy supervisors, each one responsible for 30-50 villages. The whole language area is larger than Switzerland. These men need to be able to travel around and transport books over roads that defy description! There are about 60,000 enthusiastic adults learning to read in the Ngbaka area, and they rely on these men for books. The teachers teach without pay, and an occasional visit from a regional literacy supervisor, like Alfred, means a lot to them.

In spite of war and other problems, the Ngbaka people are resilient. Many have found strength and comfort through the Ngbaka Bible, and many have become Christians through the literacy classes.

Margaret Hill and Elaine Thomas, working with a team of Ngbaka translators, completed the whole Bible in 1996. Margaret, an international translation consultant, helped develop the reading program in the Ngbaka area and is currently the Scripture Use Coordinator for SIL's Africa Area.

On the Move in Africa

The Vision

The road to Londo was
overgrown with jungle.

by Vic Hess

Plans are going forward for JAARS to help the Ngbaka literacy project by supplying sturdy bicycles and reliable motorcycles. A training course, tools and spare parts will be included enabling the teachers and supervisors to operate and maintain this equipment. In addition, a project is planned to supply reading glasses for needy adult literacy students.

In a neighboring country JAARS funded the clearing and maintenance of a forest road to Londo, a Pygmy village. The road was made some 40 years ago for logging purposes but hasn’t been maintained. Over 140 Pygmies worked to clear the reclaimed road. A beginning literacy program is in progress among these people who need God’s Word in their language.

by David Bothwell

Problems like the one described are challenging language personnel not only in central Africa but also in other parts of the world. Access to remote people groups is never easy, yet they are the objects of God's kind intention that His Word and His Son be accessible to everyone!

JAARS would like to offer its transportation services in other locations around the world where Bible translation and Scripture use activities are planned or in progress. Currently these services include aviation, water-travel safety, equipment for emergency use during surface travel, and funding for road vehicles. Pray for our leaders as they offer help and step through doors of opportunity to speed the spread of God's Word. Personnel, equipment and funding are all needed-as well as responsiveness to the direction of the Lord for the future.

Want to help?

Donations for bicycles and motorcycles for the Ngbaka literacy project may be sent to Partnership Ministries at JAARS, Project No. FP-202, P.O. Box 248, Waxhaw, NC 28173.