Dear Reader,

Helicopters provide valuable and, at times, life-saving service to many Bible translators living in remote locations in Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. Glenn and Jewell Machlan rely on helicopter service to reach their village in the northern Philippines. A 45-minute flight saves the Machlan family a long bus ride followed by a hike of more than six hours. For the past couple of years, however, there has not been a resident helicopter pilot in the Philippines. So JAARS made it possible for Eric Peterson and me to go from Waxhaw, North Carolina, to meet this and other helicopter needs out of Bagabag Center. We take turns going for short terms. This FlightLines highlights one four-week period when we provided this service.

Dan Miller, 
JAARS Helicopter Operation Coordinator

Before long, men arrived carrying the most seriously injured man. When I finally got a good look, I realized it was Nelson's oldest son, Binder. Hit with shrapnel in his cheek, neck, chest, arms and legs, he was in shock. We began to pray that God would spare his life.

A helicopter flight was definitely needed, but how were we to contact Bagabag? First we tried some locally owned walkie-talkies to reach people in the provincial capital city of Tabuk who could in turn phone Bagabag. But we discovered that the radio base in Tabuk was not on the air. Then I saw the satellite phone left over from an ambassador's visit. I pulled it out, read the instructions, and then went outside to try to make a call. But after nearly an hour of trying and getting nowhere, I gave up on that idea.

We continued to pray for God to intervene in the situation. Around 2:00 P.M., with still no response from Tabuk or Bagabag, I thought I'd try the satellite phone one more time. This time I got through to Manila, but the secretary there couldn't hear me. Noticing that the signal was a bit weaker than earlier, I moved the phone over a little to avoid the eaves of a house. The signal grew stronger and I dialed again, this time reaching Bagabag. Within two hours, Binder, Nelson, and I were flown directly by helicopter to a hospital. Today, Binder is recovering, and is much improved. Praise God for His answer!

by Glen Machlan, Wycliffe Bible Translator

(Below) Glenn & Jewell Machlan; two of their children, Melody and Alyssa; Binder’s mother; and Eric Peterson (behind Melody Machlan).

We'd like to tell you about our friend, Eric Peterson. Looking at his picture, you would not see anything out of the ordinary. But if his picture was all you knew of him, you would miss the man behind the face. Eric is a skilled helicopter pilot.

My wife Sally and I are prayer partners with Glenn and Jewell Machlan, Bible translators for the Lower Tanudan Kalinga people in a place called Mangali. Unless you would like to hike for over six hours on steep trails, the only way into Mangali is by helicopter. Hiking is okay for adults, but not for a family with little ones and definitely not in the rainy season, which happens to be half of the year. So for the Machlan family, the helicopter and a pilot are essential for their work of Bible translation.

Something wonderful happened recently. Eric knew that the Machlans could not continue their important task without spending some time in Mangali. So, to make this possible, Eric made a trip to the Philippines. When he came, he expected to take the Machlans out to Mangali, do some helicopter maintenance at Bagabag while they stayed in Mangali, and then bring them back to Bagabag before he returned to the U.S. But things didn't quite turn out as planned!

The first unplanned trip was back to Mangali to retrieve a very sick young man. The next day we were saddened to learn he had died. Eric then had to transport the body back to the bereaved family in Mangali.

Next was the unexpected visit of high-ranking officials from two other Asian countries. They had heard good things about us and wanted to see our work first-hand. All of that involved three more shuttle trips to take nine people in and out of Mangali.

Finally, an accidental explosion required five injured men to be taken to medical care outside Mangali. [See the above story.] Again the helicopter was indispensable as Eric made three more trips. The first was to take the most serious case to a hospital near Bagabag. The next day he took another badly injured man to the same hospital, followed by a shuttle to transport the other three to a hospital in the provincial capital of Tabuk. He brought out Jewell Machlan and her children on the return trip.

Could Eric have guessed that the Lord had so many important reasons for him to leave home and come to Bagabag? No, but the Lord had it all planned.

by Leon Winter,
Webmaster-Archivist in Bagabag, Philippines

The unexpected trip made to Mangali by an ambassador of an Asian country and a high-ranking official of another Asian country has proved to be very fruitful. They were both so impressed with the work going on in Mangali that invitations to begin negotiations concerning work in these two countries have been issued.

Further, Glenn & Jewell Machlan, a fairly new language team in Mangali, have seen God at work in wonderful ways. As a result of all the support they gave in getting the sick boy and injured men medically evacuated, they now have a much closer relationship with those families and others. This has strengthened the Machlans’ testimony to a wider circle of people. Additionally, one of the patients accepted the Lord and enjoys hearing God’s Word in his own language!