Botswana / Tanzania / Kenya
Working in cooperation with partner missions, Liebenzell fills various roles in these African countries. A mission pilot has been serving in Botswana since 1995. Another pilot was assigned to Tanzania in 1997. In 2003, a third pilot was sent to Kenya. They transport passengers and cargo, airlift critical patients and are a tremendous help for the mission work in remote, hard to reach areas.
Botswana has been remarkably stable both politically and
economically in a region of Africa known for upheaval. Although nearly
two-thirds of the country’s 1.5 million people claim to be Christians,
there is much mixing of tribal and animistic beliefs. Rural regions are
especially in need of spiritual care and community development.
Tanzania was formed in 1964 with the union of two former British colonies,
Tanganyika (on the mainland) and the island of Zanzibar. While the mainland
portion remains predominantly Christian, Zanzibar is overwhelmingly Muslim.
The government officially remains neutral with regard to religion but
tensions are unavoidable.
Kenya gained independence from Great Britain in 1963 and
remained fairly stable economically and politically for about a decade.
An economic downturn in the late 1970s revealed serious tensions in its
one-party system. As the two dominant peoples (the Luo and the Kikuyu)
struggle for political control, the country faces a difficult future.
Over 80% of the population claims to be Christian, but as few as one-eighth
of those attend church. Aside from the flying ministry, the children a
few missionary families serving in other areas of Africa attend a boarding
school here.
Recently, mission pilot Tim Schubert and his four passengers survived a crash landing in the Okavango Delta region of Botswana. The group sustained only minor cuts and bruises. A vulture collided with the small plane, breaking the wind shield. Tim was able to make an emergency landing at the edge of a swamp, tearing the landing gear and luggage compartment off the small plane before it came to rest upside down. All five were rescued by a helicopter from South Africa.
In Kenya, the Hageneier family recently moved to Lokichoggio, in the hot and dry northwestern region of Kenya, close to the Sudanese border. Most of Stephan Hageneier's flights are into the Sudan, so this move saves several hours' flying time each way.
In Tanzania, the airstrip in the Massai region is complete – finally long enough to accommodate all flights. Aside from supplies and medical needs, church leaders are excited about the prospect of bringing Bible teachers and evangelism teams into this remote area.
Prayer
Requests:
• That people will be drawn to Jesus
and learn of Him through the technical and medical work of our missionaries
• Protection of our missionary pilots
in during flights, and for their families while they are away.
• Completion of the airstrip at Monik.
• For a new evangelistic outreach among
the Massai people.
Ever wonder what it would be like to be a missionary pilot? At right is a look out the front window of a plane as it heads toward a typical airstrip in the African bush. Missionary pilots use airfields like this one, in Guinea, western Africa, to hone their skills before being assigned to regular transport flights.