Stories:

Today the Air Calvary Cessna 207 plane arrived at Lebamba, the town where the Bongolo Hospital is located. It came into the country last week but it took several days to get all the paperwork completed before it could be flown down to Lebamba and the Hospital.  Many went to the airport to welcome pilot Steve Straw and his family after their two hour flight from Libreville.

From Pilot Steve Straw we learned that there were “About 200 supporters gathered at CXY Aviation in New Cumberland, PA on Saturday, October 24th to celebrate a milestone. Soon, the aircraft refurbishment phase will be giving way to the start of (the Air Ambulance) operations in Gabon! The event was a great time to see so many friends, give thanks to our great God, and then, to lay hands on our “fill-in” airplane and ask for the Lord’s continued direction on this remarkable journey we’re on.”

CLICK HERE to read Steve’s Blog about the event

CLICK HERE to see 35 captioned photos of the event

Cessna 207

Air Calvary and Pilot Steve Straw have ordered a Cessna 207 plane to begin an Air Ambulance Service in Gabon.  This plane  has 8 seats and plenty of luggage room. The storage compartment is just behind the engine and the cargo pod under the airplane.

From Steve Straw’s blog of July 11: “We hope to see the aircraft in action around the end of the fall, this year. We’ll be adding the avionics, new paint, and then making a decision whether to put the aircraft in a container for 6 weeks and then reassemble it in Africa, or to set it out for an 8 day voyage across the North Atlantic and then through Europe to Gabon.”

The avionics are added as well as the new paint. Take a look at this good looking plane!

From an August 1st letter written by Dave Thompson:

At 7:30 pm tonight I got a frantic call from one of our nurses with the alarming news that our hospital warehouse was on fire.

Becki called around the station for others to come while I raced to the hospital.  When I arrived, about 200 people (mostly the local youth group, which was meeting in the church next door) were screaming and running around, trying to get into the lock building to put it out.  I could see the glow of flames through the windows.  Since it was dark, I parked my car with the headlights on the door.

We may have lost 10 to 20 boxes of medicines and supplies and a refrigerator full of we’re not sure what.  The roof has a huge hole in it and there is extensive damage to the ceiling and rafters for about 1/3 of the building.  But we could have lost the entire building, with over $200,000 of medicines and supplies in storage!  We praise God that the youth group was there and that so many volunteers rushed to help.  And nobody was burned or hurt.

Laterite

Recently teams from South Shore and Faith visited to Bongolo and rocked the roads. Well actually they repaired the roads using laterite. Laterite  is a naturally occurring gravel formed by the dissolution of primary rock. Located approximately 3 meters below the surface, laterite needs to be uncovered then broke up with picks, a task that South Shore from Mass and Faith from Ohio, gladly accepted. These 2 teams put their heart and back in it and got the job done. In a matter of a few days all the roads on the mission were repaired what a great blessing to the mission staff. They are coming by the truck load and Jumping for Joy!

South Shore was the first official team for STMO (Short Term Mission Office) at Bongolo. A 22 person team could be viewed as a challenge to host, but working out the logistics for this team was well worth all the preparation. South Shore was a blessing not only to the mission but very specifically to the Kelly’s ( The STMO family at Bongolo). With a heart to serve they arrived willing to sleep wherever space could be found and the men were even willing to do all their showering outside to avoid an overload of the septic system.  One evening there was a time of praise and worship, God was glorified as praise emanated from Foyer and ascended to the throne of the “KING”. The evening concluded as this team of 22 servants gathered around the Kellys and lifted them up in prayer. A day after their departure the Faith team arrived and finished the road work that South Shore started.
Thanks South Shore and Faith.