MAF Tour Director Alyssa Busse shows visitors to Mission Aviation Fellowship in Nampa the frame of Nate Saint’s plane. In the 1950s, Saint lost his life in Ecuador while attempting to the reach the native people with the good news of Christ. (Photo provided by MAF)
By Natalie Holsten
Tours at the headquarters of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) in Nampa start with a history lesson.
Just inside the entrance stands the rusted frame of the Piper Family Cruiser flown by MAF pilot Nate Saint in the jungles of Ecuador in the 1950s. Visitors learn how Saint, along with four other missionaries, lost their lives in 1956 when trying to take the good news of Jesus to the Waorani people, a people group steeped in animistic beliefs.
Alyssa Busse, who directs tours for MAF, says when people see Saint’s plane, reactions range from wide-eyed stares of students studying giants of the faith, to a single emotional moment from a young woman who held Nate Saint’s story as a significant part of why she pursued mission aviation.
“I have met some who don’t know the story, but also those who were alive when the news reached the U.S. and remember hearing about it,” Busse said. “Either way, this tends to evoke awe in our visitors.”
Service spanning 80 years
MAF celebrates 80 years of service this year. The organization was founded in 1945 by World War II pilots who dreamed of using aviation to help support missionaries around the world in reaching isolated people with the gospel.
One of MAF’s founders, Betty Greene, was also its first pilot, and flew the inaugural flight in 1946, carrying two Wycliffe missionaries to Mexico in a red Waco biplane.
Today, with a fleet of 42 single-engine aircraft, MAF supports the work of close to 300 church, mission, and non-profit organizations working in hard-to-reach parts of Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Eurasia.
To get a sense of the impact MAF planes and staff have around the world, visitors can step into the rotunda at the center of the ministry’s main office building. On one side is the vision: To see isolated people changed by the love of Christ. Opposite is the mission statement: Serving together to bring help, hope, and healing through aviation.
“The heart of MAF’s ministry has not changed in 80 years,” said David Holsten, MAF’s president and CEO. “At its core is sharing the love of Jesus Christ so others can be physically and spiritually transformed.”
A video monitor in the rotunda scrolls through recent images from countries like Lesotho, Ecuador, and Indonesia, showing how MAF continues to make a difference today. A photo flashes of a smiling child with a bandaged head. MAF flew him from his village in Papua, Indonesia, to a hospital where he received lifesaving surgery.
The photo changes to a group of Bible teachers in front of an MAF plane in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They plan to teach at a remote Bible school for several weeks before MAF picks them up.
Another photo shows a group of missionaries in Mozambique left stranded after a cyclone damaged roads and wiped-out bridges. MAF safely transported them all, making a tangible difference in the lives of those living in hard-to-reach places.
Supporting from the Treasure Valley
MAF has around 600 staff members worldwide, with a third of those working at MAF headquarters in Nampa supporting the overseas programs. Located on 22 acres next to the Nampa airport, the campus includes administrative offices, short-term apartments for missionaries who come through for training, and an RV park to accommodate MAF’s many volunteers.
The campus also includes aircraft maintenance hangars, which, according to Busse, are a highlight of tours.
“There’s a mezzanine overlooking one of the hangar floors that offers a great view of several planes from above,” she said. “This is where the whole mission is made real for many people — they’re seeing the tools of our ministry, smelling the aroma of maintenance work, and hearing equipment being used by expert hands.”
MAF’s fleet includes Cessna 206s, Cessna Caravans, an amphibious Cessna Caravan, a Pilatus PC-12, and several Kodiak aircraft, manufactured in Sandpoint, Idaho. Airplanes are purchased with funds from donors and prepared for service at MAF’s hangars in Nampa.
Preparations might include avionics upgrades, installation of a cargo pod on the belly of the plane, and the addition of mud flaps in anticipation of serving on unimproved airstrips. Once an airplane is prepared, staff surround the plane for a prayer of dedication, asking the Lord’s blessing on the airplane and all those who will fly in it.
Ferry pilots fly the plane to its place of service where it’s put to work transporting medical teams and supplies, delivering disaster relief, and flying teachers, Bible translators, evangelists, and ministry teams.
“Our planes are tools, not jewels,” said Chad Irwin, MAF’s director of operations in Nampa. “While we work hard to keep them in the best shape possible, we also recognize that they are tools to be used for God’s kingdom work. So, getting them dirty, sweaty, and even bloody at times is a big part of reaching isolated people with His love, and that makes these machines important to us.”
MAF relocated to Idaho in 2006 from Redlands, Calif. The lower cost of living and Idaho’s landscape were major draws. Idaho’s backcountry serves as the perfect training ground for MAF pilots. Learning how to maneuver in tight mountain valleys and landing on dirt and grass airstrips prepares them for the type of flying they’ll be doing in rugged, remote areas of the world.
Training at the Nampa facility is enhanced by two turbine aircraft flight simulators installed in 2023. With safety a high priority, the simulators allow MAF pilots to practice real world scenarios and emergencies that can’t be done in actual aircraft due to the danger involved in allowing an aircraft to spin or stall or have an engine failure.
In addition to the training pilots and mechanics receive at MAF, all staff heading overseas — including IT and finance workers, teachers, and spouses — take classes in stress management, cross-cultural living, spiritual warfare, and security practices.
Into the future
Looking ahead, MAF leadership anticipates a need for mission aviation for many years to come.
“MAF operates in many parts of the world with governments that haven’t been able to effectively improve infrastructure,” Holsten said. “In many places, MAF is the only way for people living in hard-to-reach areas to get supplies or help quickly.”
Holsten said MAF leadership is always on the lookout for new ministry opportunities and remains open to how the Lord might lead the organization to serve in new places, including the country of Nigeria.
“There is a mission hospital in Nigeria that would like us to serve there, and we have had some visits with the civil aviation authority in the country,” he shared. “They are very interested in having us start a commercial service there. It is a long process but it looks like we will be adding Nigeria as one of the countries where we serve in the future.”
Powered by prayer
Tours at MAF end where they started, back at Nate Saint’s plane. It’s not unusual for Busse to hear visitors make comments like, “I didn’t know MAF went to all these places,” or “MAF serves in more ways than I knew about.”
As visitors prepare to leave, Busse often prays with them, and asks them to remember to pray for the ministry of MAF, for the partners and people served, for the safety of the pilots, mechanics, and their families living in far-flung corners of the globe.
“MAF is operating in risky parts of the world meeting the most dire needs of the isolated and downtrodden,” Busse said. “To have the public share the burden of prayer with us is the strongest impact anyone can have.”
To learn more about MAF, visit maf.org. To schedule a tour, visit maf.org/tours.
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