Lesotho (MNN) – Flying through the windy and remote mountain areas of Lesotho, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is partnering with the Ministry of Health and the Lesotho Flying Doctor Service to meet medical needs.
Dave LePoidevin usually flies in Mozambique but is now flying a busy schedule in Lesotho, where the usual team of five pilots is down to one.
Lesotho is a small mountainous landlocked country located in South Africa.
Lesotho’s landscape is mountainous and is now in windy season. Photo by Tatenda Mapigoti on Unsplash.
Recently, LePoidevin responded to a medivac or “code one” emergency. “I get in the airplane, take off, go to this remote little airstrip carved into the side of the mountain, and this is the windy season, so you get tossed around and it’s slightly traumatizing to passengers sometimes,” LePoidevin says.
Arriving there, he picked up the patient and delivered them to a nearby hospital before he got another call. “Hey, we have another code one emergency at Bobete.”
In Bobete, LePoidevin picked up four pregnant women with delivery complications, all from the same small village. After bouncing around in the wind and arriving at a bigger hospital nearby, LePoidevin received another call.
Called to another code-one emergency on the other side of the country, he refueled and brought the final patient to another hospital.
Most of the MAF passengers in this area are nurses and doctors who go to village clinics out in remote mountains. But LePoidevin also flies people who do Lesotho Mountain Discipleship, including Mdadi Safiri.
LePoidevin recently transported Mdadi Safari to a Mercy Air helicopter that flew to a very remote mountain village.
This specific village sees a lot of theft and violence. While in the village, Mdadi Safiri was asked, “If we killed you, how long would it take for them to find out that you’re missing?”
While the majority of people in Lesotho are Christians, people in the mountain areas and villages tend to be animists. The farther into the mountains, the fewer people seem to know about Jesus. However, people in the village will sit down and listen to Mdadi Safiri.
LePoidevin says there’s a receptiveness to the gospel in Lesotho.
“I think they’re fairly eager to hear about the gospel and Jesus and Bible stories and what God is like. I don’t think they feel they’ve heard it all before,” LePoidevin says. “I think they’re eager that someone would care to come and tell them about Jesus. I think they’re fairly responsive.”
Please pray for adequate staff to meet the flight needs.
“We’re always very grateful if you would pray for us, for the safety of our pilots and passengers, and that people would be responsive to the Lesotho Mountain Discipleship teams that go out,” LePoidevin says.
Pray that pilots will have good aircraft to work with as MAF continues to repair and fix planes and considers upgrading to more modern aircraft. Pray that people would surrender to Jesus and find joy living for Him.
Photo provided by Mission Aviation Fellowship
