Many people have asked us about Mission Aviation Fellowship or MAF (http://www.maf.org/about.) Recently my husband and I returned from a trip to the headquarters of MAF located in Nampa, Idaho. Many may not know, but Terry and I have felt God's call to join with them and use the skills God has given us to minister in another country.
Have any of you watched the movie, "End of the Spear?" In this movie, 5 missionaries give their lives while reaching out to the Waoronis tribe in Ecuador. To read more about the history of Nate Saint (one of the missionaries who gave their lives) and their story, here is a link: http://www.maf.org/nate_saint
Q. How did it come about that we made this decision?
A. Good question! Last summer, in July, my husband took our two boys, Kalin and Nate, to the airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. While there, they came upon the MAF booth. As they were talking with the men there, my husband was told that they were in great need of aircraft maintenance specialists. It came as a surprise to Terry to hear this as he had always assumed they could only use pilot/mechanics. My boys were given the book, "Jungle Pilot." Terry enjoyed his trip with the boys and came home with some brochures and information.
Q. What happened next?
A. (1) We checked with the leadership of our church and asked them what they thought of this organization. We prayed.
(2) We were then contacted by the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) recruiters for our area. We arranged a date to meet and on a beautiful day in October, John and Shari Lemmon joined us for an evening of dinner. They shared their experiences in Ecuador. We asked questions. They answered. They left us with some video's and a MAF calendar. We had a nice evening with them.
(3) Later, we were sent our applications. It took us awhile to fill out the application. It was thorough. It took us the longest to write out our biography. There were details of work history, education history, church history, family history, our testimony, references, etc. It took us longer than it should have. But finally, on a day in March of 2011, we had completed our application and sent it in. We were elated to have gotten it finished.
(4) We needed 5 people to fill out references for each of us. A pastor, parent, employer and one female friend and one male friend. Those took awhile to get completed and sent in.
(5) We had to have physical exams done for the whole family. A thorough exam including complete physical, CBC, urine analysis, chest X-ray, EKG (for the one in our family 40 and over), blood type. The children's chart information could not get transferred to their new doctor in a timely fashion, so those have yet to be done.
Q. What did you do while at the Mission Aviation Fellowship Headquarters?
A. We enjoyed a tour of the headquarters. Terry had a technical evaluation to complete. This included written, oral and practical exams. We also had to meet with psychologist, Dr. Todd Bennett in Boise, Idaho. We completed a 567 question test one morning and then a family meeting with him in the afternoon one day. We volunteered for a 5 year celebration banquet on another day. The candidate committee met with us twice to discuss our files, ask questions and get to know us better. In our free time, we enjoyed a certain christian bookstore and cafe called "The Red Letter." We walked part of the "Green Belt" of Boise, Idaho. We found a Mongolian BBQ restaurant that we all enjoyed. We took walks. We hung out with others in various stages of their missionary journey.
Q. What is the next step in your journey?
A. The next step of this process is Candidacy. Until then, we will continue studying Old Testament Survey, work on our home and continue to organize and get rid of stuff. Candidacy occurs in January and July. We are invited for this in 2012. Candidacy includes: A thorough look at MAF, world missions and cross-cultural living. Evaluation continues through interviews with the candidate committee. Final acceptance and field assignment begins during this time. Candidacy is two weeks and Deputation Seminar is two weeks. The Deputation Seminar that follows Candidacy provides training for the support-raising process. See link for "Steps into MAF" here: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:J2JxWT3tb5gJ:cdn.maf.org/assets/tx9PxO5Ttq_uNR931HkX7g/Steps-into-MAF.pdf+candidacy&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShUG6zBdI0frZGrcmdnNpfXRyQH84eL-C0Peg-TTG4E1ThTuEMGE68uIn-MA-i2QkK7Lh7elsLjtS_l0hxQLBwCO8e2K6zdBHecO_gdlS0MNeEpUJ-F_gvtc2ZwwGJW8fsp-90k&sig=AHIEtbTIO8Duno-1dmWa9HrrujLJNKoSLw
Q. Will you have to sell your home?
A. We do not have to sell our home as long as we have a rental management company to manage our property. Terry and I have not decided what we will do as of yet.
Q. How do your children feel about your decision to join MAF?
A. Our oldest is excited. Our younger two children have some reservations. They said they will miss their friends. We have included them in this process and shared what we are doing with each step.
Q. Where might you be sent as missionaries?
A. There are several bases where we might be assigned. The main bases are situated in either Africa or in Indonesia.
We are excited about this journey. When we look back on our lives, we see how God has prepared us for such a time as this. We do not know which country we will be sent to, but we do know, wherever it may be, God is already preparing the hearts of these precious people and the team, for our arrival.
Our family would like to thank those who have helped us in this process, those of our church family who have met with us, supported us, filled out reference forms, taken care of our kitty while we were gone and have prayed. Also to Terry's employer for being flexible.
Please continue to pray for us. We thank all of you for your love and friendship!
Terry, Deborah, Kalin, Nate and Katie Chupp
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