“When I get a request from overseas, I try to make that the highest priority so they can keep on going,” said Darryl Cedergren, who handles MAF’s payroll, insurance programs, and cash management from MAF’s headquarters.

Darryl and his wife, Debbie, began their journey with MAF 28 years ago as a pilot/mechanic family in Venezuela, where they served for eight years. Back then, MAF served New Tribes (now Ethos360) and other missionaries that were bringing the gospel to the indigenous people.

While using his technical skills to operate a small aircraft in the jungle, Darryl enjoyed caring for others. Whether that meant bringing a two-liter bottle of Coke or a box of Frosted Flakes to a remote missionary, avoiding flying through clouds so passengers would have a smooth ride, or even handling the finances there.

Today he applies the same care for MAF staff around the world.

“I want to serve our staff so they don’t have to think about the issues of money,” said Darryl. “There are so many other pressures they have to deal with. It’s one less thing they have to worry about.” As for her husband’s current role, Debbie says, “God has gifted Darryl with a keen awareness for financial details such as budgeting, saving, planning, and projecting future outcomes. I feel that over the years God has prepared him for this.”

Debbie continues to follow God’s call on her life and serves as an educational coach for children who struggle with learning. She’s also still very involved in communicating with their donors, writing letters, and visiting supporting churches.

Just as Darryl helped missions move forward in Venezuela so that people would come to know the Lord, now he works behind the scenes to make sure MAF can continue to reach isolated people around the world with critical help and the hope of the gospel.

“It’s like engine oil,” Darryl explains. “I’m not providing the main power, but without the engine oil—without money—your engine’s going to seize.”

While Darryl’s role is behind the scenes, it’s a vitally important one that ensures payroll for MAF staff, manages 14 insurance programs, and makes sure the field programs have sufficient cash flow.

When an MAF pre-fielder arrived at their assignment in Haiti, he located a car to purchase. He’d already raised the money for it, but now he needed to get the cash there to purchase it. Many of the countries in which MAF serves are cash economies, by the way. Darryl wired the money to the seller, and now that MAF missionary has a family car to use in Haiti.

That’s just one example. And Darryl adds, “If payroll does not go through, I’ll have 328 people rightfully upset with me all around the world.”

Due to rising costs, MAF missionaries have had to increase their monthly support goals this year by $600. As a result, the Cedergrens are looking for prayer and financial partners to join their team.

“It will be encouraging to have new families and churches come alongside us and be a part of the greater ministry of reaching others for Christ through MAF,” said Debbie.

“I believe the Lord is calling me to be here. I evaluate that every three to five years,” explained Darryl. “And here we are, coming up on 28 years with MAF. We’re moving the gospel forward, by God’s grace, and that’s why partnering with us is important.”

Would you like to play a crucial role in reaching isolated people through the Cedergrens’ ministry? Visit maf.org/cedergren to learn more or join their team today.

A shorter version of this story appeared in the Winter 2021 edition of FlightWatch. Read the full issue here:

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Joe Adams, a pilot/mechanic in Lesotho, describes his technical evaluation as he was joining MAF in 2018 and tells how God used his instructor pilot, Tim Imbrock, to help him work through a difficult situation.

The airplane rolled to a stop on the 1600-foot dirt airstrip in Idaho and the engine was shut down. Many things had gone right on this training flight, but many things had not. The pilot under training—an instructor himself—was his own worst critic. He knew that after more than a week of flying with some of the best bush instructors in the world, he was only slowly progressing in learning MAF procedures in the Cessna Turbo 206. This training allows MAF pilots to safely operate in isolated, mountainous areas around the world.

As the two sat in a moment of silent reflection, discouragement washed over the pilot. His eyes filled with tears. He turned to his instructor and choked out: “If I can’t get through this training, I know that it’s God’s will and that’s the best for me, but it will be so hard.”

The instructor heard the desperation in the pilot’s voice. He had been a pilot with MAF for more than three decades and had faced his own setbacks. He knew what to do. Instead of sharing expertise on aerodynamics, airstrips, and aircraft, he addressed the root of the problem. He shared about a time when he cried out to God and told how God came through with unmistakable deliverance and strength.

He led the pilot in prayer and asked for ability, peace, and the power of the Spirit of God to enable him to accomplish the work to which he had been called. As they prayed, the burden and the discouragement lifted. No more problems to be hidden or overcome in his own strength. God calls, God equips, and God empowers His people to do that to which they’ve been called.

They returned to the training, and joy and confidence replaced trepidation and doubt. In the following days, prayers from the instructor and many others continued—and continued to be answered. There were still tough moments, but the pilot was empowered to successfully meet the standard. He realized that in flying, like in all of life, nothing can be accomplished in our own strength, but only through the power of the Spirit of God. He can say with the Psalmist:

“Blessed be the Lord!
For He has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.”

Psalm 28:6

Story appeared in the May 2020 FlightWatch, a special 75th anniversary issue:

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Did you know that 2020 marks MAF’s 75th anniversary? This year we’re going to be looking back, at God’s faithfulness, and looking forward in anticipation of how he’ll use this ministry in the years to come.

David Holsten, MAF’s President and CEO, sums it up nicely in this video. We hope you’ll be blessed by his message, and let it remind you of your part in this ministry. After all, none if it would be possible without the partnership of people like you. We are so grateful.

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At MAF, we know that we can’t do what we do without you. So whether you supported through time, through prayer, or through your finances, thank you for a wonderful 2019! #iflyMAF

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Brent Halvorsen may have tuned out when an MAF recruiter spoke to his class at Liberty University in Virginia seven years ago, but God made sure Brent heard at least one word: Idaho.

After majoring in aviation maintenance and biblical studies, Brent moved across the country to Boise, Idaho, to help plant a church. Brent started looking for work and remembered MAF was in Idaho—just 15 minutes away! He volunteered at MAF headquarters for a few months before landing a maintenance job at the Boise Airport.

He gained valuable experience while God moved him towards a new plan. In the fall of 2017, Brent envisioned a crazy “dream job” and proposed it to one of the MAF mobilizers:

“Could you use someone stationed out of Boise who spends time internationally doing maintenance projects several months out of the year?”

The job didn’t exist, but it turns out the candidate committee had been praying for somebody to do exactly that!

“We’ve been praying for you for years to come do this,” Brent describes their response. “We just didn’t know it was you. And you didn’t know it was you … until we all got together.”

Brent is now an MAF pre-fielder—which means he is focused on building his ministry partnership team. As he speaks at churches or meets with individuals, Brent testifies to God’s good plan—a ten-year journey that he only became privy to just over a year ago.

“God’s been working this whole time and I just found out!” laughs Brent. 

There are still a lot of unknowns. Some of the questions he gets are hard to answer: How long will you be gone? How often will you travel? To which Brent replies, “I don’t know yet.”

MAF has not had a position quite like this before, so Brent will be blazing a new path. And his help is greatly needed right now as MAF tries to fill maintenance positions at its field programs. 

Brent tells people to pray about joining his team. He knows it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to do the convincing. And after all, God’s the One who’s brought him this far. Brent’s doing his part and trusting God to make it happen.

Would you like to touch multiple MAF programs through Brent’s ministry, and help bring the love of Christ to isolated people? To join Brent’s team, visit maf.org/Halvorsen.

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I’ve heard these words many times. God has asked my family to do many hard things and through each situation someone says that phrase. Joining MAF and preparing for our first term overseas has been no exception to this scenario.

The truth is, years ago I would have been the one saying that. I thought “Never could I ever…”

• Be a foster parent
• Adopt a special needs child
• Bury my child
• Sell all my possessions
• Parent three teenagers

I didn’t think I could make it through any of those things. When I found myself facing those situations, I didn’t walk into any of them full of confidence and pride knowing that everything would work out just as I envisioned. Rather, with each one—whether I was feeling scared, inadequate, or overcome with grief—I claimed the promise found in Hebrews 13:20-21:

“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,  equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

God is so gracious. He will never call you or me to something and then just leave us there. He stays right by our side, comforting, teaching, and equipping us one day at a time. I’ve found that it’s important for me to stay in His word and surround myself with people and resources to stay healthy and growing. I need to do my part and He is ALWAYS faithful to do His.

Now my family is getting ready to add two more things to that list:

• Leave all our friends and family
• Move overseas in full-time missions

Is it a little scary? Yes!

Is it exciting? Yes!

Is God preparing us and guiding us to this? Absolutely!

There are many things in life that I’ve been tempted to say “never could I ever” to. I’m so thankful that I haven’t let fear rule, which would have kept me from the tremendous blessings God had (and still has) in store.

I challenge you, and myself, to never say never again. Instead, let’s say, “Your will, Lord, and in Your power.”

I can’t wait to see what He has planned next!

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Jenn Wolf teams up with Nathan Jones to co-host this episode. Nathan goes into the hangar at MAF headquarters in Nampa, Idaho, to talk to some of the seasoned maintenance specialists, and Jenn recaps highlights from her interview with one of the newest members to join the team. Jenn and Nathan learn that many of the specialists were first assigned in one of MAF’s field programs around the world. However, their work here in Nampa has had a much larger global impact.

Maintenance specialists mentioned in this episode: Roger Clark, Brent Halvorsen, Larry Whiting.

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We kick off our first episode of the season with David Holsten, President and CEO of Mission Aviation Fellowship. David talks about what he’s looking forward to in 2019, where the term “flight follow” actually comes from, and what to expect in Season Two.

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“Who am I to be asked to step into this role?”

That question ran through David Holsten’s mind when the MAF Board of Directors formally asked him to consider becoming MAF’s next President and CEO. Thoughts of the incredible legacy of this 73-year-old organization and the countless transformed lives washed over David in that moment.

“That was very, very humbling,” said David. “To see how God has used MAF in modern missions and then to be asked to step into that history and feel the mantle of leadership is a very weighty thing.”

David and his wife, Natalie, along with their four children, have served with MAF in Indonesia for the past 18 years. David has held a variety of roles, including pilot, program manager, and regional director of MAF’s largest region. However, one role David has particularly relished is story-teller.

David and Natalie both come from families of storytellers. David’s father was a pastor and rancher in Colorado and his brothers are pastors, authors, and communicators. David’s late mother is the one he credits as being the family’s best storyteller. His mother’s childhood was a difficult one—yet she constantly told her children how God had brought her through it.

“She would tell that story to us all the time, and God’s faithfulness and His goodness and His salvation were illustrated to us through stories,” said David.

“It just became this natural thing and, without even realizing it, I found myself doing the same thing with MAF. If you just open your eyes, the goodness of God—His faithfulness, His salvation, and the Gospel—are woven through everything MAF does.”

While David, Natalie, and their children are excited about the next chapter of their lives, they are mourning leaving behind their life in Indonesia, their home, their friends, and even their dog who won’t be able to make the transition with them. David will also miss the opportunity of having a front row seat to MAF’s operations, as a pilot, but his seat at MAF’s headquarters will give him a whole new view.

“Loving the story of MAF, to be able to see that playing out on a global level is such an incredible blessing,” said David. “It just turns up the volume of what I appreciate about MAF already.

“MAF has such a rich heritage,” said David, “it’s very humbling and a privilege to be able to lead this organization into its next chapter.”

Please pray for David, Natalie, and their family as they make this transition.

This story originally appeared in the summer 2018 issue of FlightWatch. You can read the entire issue here:

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