Participants:
Series Code: OTG
Program Code: OTG000004
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00:51 Today in the AWA mission field of Guyana our team has an early
00:55 start to the day. Jud and Karen Wickwire 00:58 received an early morning call that there was a local woman 01:01 who urgently needed to be transported to the hospital in 01:04 Georgetown. She is pregnant with twins and 01:06 is having complications with her delivery. 01:08 So the AWA team will transport her 01:11 to Georgetown today. However since the patient has 01:13 already in early stages of labor, she will be accompanied 01:17 by a nurse to assist, should anything happen during transport 01:20 The patient arrives in the local hospital van, which doubles as 01:23 an ambulance and transportation to and from 01:26 the Mabaruma airstrip. 01:28 However she waits in the van while Jud finishes 01:30 his pre flight inspection. 01:31 He must inspect the entire airplane and and make sure 01:34 it is functioning at optimal performance. 01:36 This is routine before every flight and especially important 01:40 since the aircraft is not kept in a hanger and is exposed 01:43 in the open Guyana elements. Once Jud finishes his inspection 01:47 the patient emerges from the ambulance. She moves slowly, 01:51 since she is in a great deal of pain. 01:52 However her face and composure remains stoic and solemn, 01:56 showing very little emotion. She walks slowly towards 02:00 the plane with the help of her nurse. 02:02 Now for the hard part, climbing into the plane. 02:05 Karen shows the mother to-be where she can step to hoist 02:09 herself into the plane. However, it's easier said than done. 02:13 The patient takes a few moments to gather herself 02:16 before she attempts. 02:25 She musters up enough strength to pull herself into the plane. 02:28 Once in, Karen and Jud carefully strap her in and try to make her 02:33 as comfortable as possible. She has a two hour flight ahead 02:36 of her, and for this patient, it's not going to be an easy one 02:40 Next the nurse climbs in the back seat next to the patient. 02:44 She will be beside her for the entire transportation process. 02:47 It's still early, 6 am, but even still, curious young village 02:52 children congregate around the plane. 02:56 We've got a maternity case, which is pretty common here. 03:01 Usually they like to send the high risk patients out for their 03:05 deliveries usually it's because they've had over a certain 03:08 number of children or past a certain age or they have high 03:11 blood pressure is one of the factors. So it's pretty common. 03:15 She would like to know the exact time we would reach? 03:22 Now that they reached the doctor in Georgetown, 03:24 and everyone is loaded in the plane, Pilot Jud can begin 03:27 begin the journey. However before they go anywhere, 03:31 Jud offers a word of prayer for their safe journey. 03:34 We ask that the baby will be safely delivered and back to 03:35 join the families in Jesus name, Amen. 03:37 Before every flight, there are many check lists and Jud is 03:41 always very thorough before he takes off into the skies. 03:44 The entire team's focus here is to save lives, so safety is 03:49 always a top priority for all the AWA pilots. Flying in the 03:54 remote bush country of Guyana can be even more challenging 03:57 then flying in North America, however Jud has been flying 04:01 here for 5 years now, and he is very skilled and knowledgeable 04:04 about how to safely navigate these skies. 04:07 As Jud takes off into the early morning ski, they pass over 04:12 Mabaruma, their home town. The remainder of the trip they 04:15 will be flying over rural jungle tree tops and canopy. 04:19 Yet another reason why Jud must be so thorough. 04:22 There is nowhere to make any emergency landings here. 04:25 Only jungle and river from here to Georgetown. 04:30 The patient's face begins to look anxious. No doubt she is 04:34 in pain and worried. Only women with birthing 04:37 complications get transported to Georgetown, 04:40 so the expectant mother already knows, 04:43 this isn't going to be an easy delivery. 04:46 Jud received a call about another woman that needs 04:49 to be taken to the hospital in Georgetown as well. 04:51 She lives in another village that is just slightly off course 04:55 In an effort to help as many people as possible and be 04:59 efficient with fuel funds, Jud deviates off course 05:03 and heads towards Baramita to pick up his second patient. 05:08 Jud informs his expectant passenger of the detour 05:12 and she graciously understands and agrees they should pick up 05:15 the additional passenger. She is aware of how difficult 05:18 it is to get out of the rural jungle to the capital city 05:21 and agrees to share her ride with the new patient. 05:24 Village members don't often have much of a choice for 05:27 transportation options. 05:28 Besides the flights that AWA offer for medical emergencies, 05:32 the only other option is to make a twenty-four hour boat trip 05:36 to and from their village. The boat is quite costly, 05:40 and offers no accommodations, making it nearly impossible for 05:43 sick villagers to travel on it. As soon as the plane is parked, 05:47 the new passenger is loaded. She doesn't need urgent 05:50 medical care so she is able to climb in the plane on her own. 05:53 Once she is buckled in, the yellow AWA plane is off 05:57 with no time to waste. The mother of twins is growing 06:00 more and more uncomfortable and anxious. 06:03 She shifts in her seat as waves of pain roll over her. 06:07 This isn't an easy trip for women in labor to make, 06:10 however today's patient doesn't make a single sound. 06:14 She quietly endures the pain and tries to distract herself 06:18 by peering out the window. Thankfully however, today the 06:22 skies are smooth and clear. 06:24 There is very little turbulence or winds. 06:26 In the past, the AWA team has had mothers give birth in the 06:31 plane while in transit to the hospital. 06:34 However due to the mother's complications, everyone hopes 06:37 and prays that this isn't going to be the case today. 06:41 Should that happen however, the nurse is ready 06:44 to assist the mother, while the pilot concentrates 06:47 on his mission, to safely get all passengers to Georgetown. 06:52 Soon enough, their tires touch down on the runway. Pilots and 06:56 patients all breathe a sigh of relief and a prayer of thanks. 07:01 They have safely reached their destination and they are still 07:04 on time to meet the ambulance that should be awaiting them. 07:07 However, it seems like their haste was in vain. 07:10 As they look around, there is no ambulance to be found anywhere. 07:15 Ambulance rides are arranged before they leave their home 07:18 in Mabaruma and they are given an estimated arrival time 07:22 The goal is to have an ambulance waiting for them at 07:25 airport when they arrive so they can quickly 07:27 hand over the patient. 07:29 This is especially important in flights like today 07:32 or other emergency cases where patients are in a great 07:35 deal of pain and don't have much time to waste. 07:39 Today however, it seems as if the ambulance is running behind. 07:42 The expectant mother is no longer able to hide her pain 07:46 and it is written all over her face. 07:48 She is hurting and very anxious for her ride to arrive. 07:54 Jud calls the hospital to see where the ambulance is 07:57 and possibly get an estimated arrival time. 08:00 This situation is very frustrating for all involved. 08:03 The Cessna 182 is parked on a busy airport 08:06 and cannot sit there very long. 08:09 Finally the word comes, that the ambulance has arrived. 08:12 It's now time to move the patient. She is having 08:15 great difficulty because her pain level has escalated. 08:18 She musters up enough strength to slowly dismount the plane. 08:23 Even in labor these Guyanese women show 08:26 great amounts of strength. This plane trip is no small feat 08:30 for any patient, much less a woman in labor. 08:33 And she has to do all this alone without her family. 09:13 However, this story has a tragic end. They were able to reach 09:17 the hospital in time for her to deliver. 09:19 Unfortunately her twin babies did not survive. 09:23 Upon this news, her husband and daughter 09:26 came to be with her in Georgetown. 09:32 That's the interesting thing about being here for the longer 09:34 term and developing relationships with people, 09:36 and that all comes down to trust. 09:41 And they know that we've been here for this many years 09:44 and we're still going to be here when they need us in the future 09:47 so that when you have someone with say a chronic condition 09:49 that needs treatment and we can take them back and forth 09:52 so they don't have to spend month and months living 09:54 away from their families. 09:59 And trust to know that sometimes things go wrong, 10:01 and people... people sometimes go out for treatment and they 10:05 die. And that's a fear that people have. 10:08 Of course, their fear is such, that they may not send their 10:12 family members out for treatment because they may die, 10:16 and if they die, they may not come back. 10:18 Or if they go for treatment they may not even be able to 10:20 come back for months at a time. 10:21 So knowing that we've been here and that we've taken people out 10:26 and we bring them back and sometimes we bring back 10:27 people that have died. 10:29 But even that gives them confidence in us because it 10:31 shows that we care enough to bring back even the people 10:36 who've died so that they can have a proper burial with 10:38 their families. And that...that's a very meaningful 10:42 thing to people out here. Something that they don't get 10:45 from anywhere else. 10:53 The reason we flew here today is we've brought in a family that, 10:58 is ready to go back into the interior. The mother delivered 11:01 twins that passed away and we're here to take that family and the 11:05 twins back to the interior, so that the family can have a 11:10 funeral there and have closure in this experience 11:17 with the pregnancy. Even though the babies haven't 11:20 been around very long, there's expectations that the family 11:23 develops and those aren't met, so there's a loss, 11:27 that has occurred. 11:28 Earlier today AWA pilot Greg had some deliveries to make 11:31 to Georgetown. Whenever this occurs, they fill up their empty 11:34 seats with passengers to take back to the village on their 11:38 return trip home. 11:40 Today, Greg will be flying the family home, 11:43 who lost their twins, but he will also be taking back 11:46 the deceased babies to be buried in their family's village. 11:50 A family may have a family member that gets sick or injured 11:54 they come into Georgetown and the family may never see them 11:58 again and they don't have closure and that's what we 12:03 try to accommodate. We'll bring the body back into the interior, 12:08 the family can then grieve the loss of the loved one and that 12:14 they are able to have the closure with the relationship 12:19 with that person that they had. Otherwise they can't experience 12:23 that and there is always that hurt there that perhaps they 12:26 haven't really finished out. So they carry it with them. 12:30 The family emerges from the airport security. 12:32 Sadly they will now begin their journey back to Mabaruama, 12:36 only the three of them. 12:40 It's a very painful and difficult situation 12:43 for all involved. 12:45 It's difficult for the family to cope with their loss. 12:47 They seem to emotionally detach from the situation, as well as 12:52 what the blue plastic bag contains. 12:54 When asked, they preferred to keep the bag in the back 12:58 of the plane rather then hold it with them. 13:01 The babies were delivered in this discrete bag, 13:04 to be transported back to Mabaruma 13:07 Interestingly enough, this is common practice here in Guyana 13:11 since it is difficult to transport caskets. 13:13 Bodies are wrapped and concealed transported and then placed in 13:17 caskets to be buried once they arrive back in their village. 13:21 However AWA missionaries do have to face this on a regular basis. 13:25 Transporting deceased loved ones has become a part 13:28 of meaningful services that they offer the Guyanese. 13:31 Through this act alone, many doors have been opened and 13:35 many villages have become receptive to the AWA ministry. 13:39 While it might seem morbid at first glance, it's made a huge 13:43 impact in the acceptance of the AWA mission field. 13:51 I would like to pray before we go. Yes Pastor. 13:54 Father in heaven, thank You for this day, thank You 13:57 for Your Son Jesus, Who has come to save us and we ask 14:02 that You be with us now as we travel. 14:04 Be with this family, who is experiencing the loss of hopes 14:09 with having lost a couple of children. We ask that You send 14:13 Your Spirit to comfort them, and please give us 14:16 a safe flight now, Amen! 14:18 All the pilots pray before they begin every flight. 14:21 Not only do they pray for safety, but they also pray 14:24 for blessing on their passengers. 14:26 Greg now sets his GPS. Their entire journey is over 14:30 undeveloped jungle with no land marks so the only option is 14:33 that the pilots follow their instruments 14:35 to find their way home. 14:39 November 8-1-7-0-8 is at the terminal ready 14:41 to taxi for takeoff. 14:47 7-0-8 Standing by. 14:48 Since this is a fairly busy airport, Greg must be in 14:52 constant communication with the control tower. 14:55 He waits for instructions on when to leave, which 14:57 runway to use, in what order and which direction to take off. 15:02 All the procedures demand a very systematic approach 15:05 to avoid any kind of collision. 15:08 November 8-1-7-0-8 Runway departure 15:14 November 8-1-7-0-8 clear to Mabaruma flight level 4 to 5 VFR 15:20 7-0-8 Clear direct Mabaruma flight level 4-5 VFR 15:25 Before he can leave, Greg must inform them of where he is 15:28 headed, and how high he will be flying. Greg informs them 15:32 that he will be going straight to Mabaruma, and he will be 15:35 flying at 4500 feet. 15:41 7-0-8 clear for takeoff. 7-0-8 left turn out 15:46 Now that he has his clearance from the control tower, 15:49 Greg is ready to take off. 15:51 He follows his instructions and begins his take off. 15:54 Greg has done this hundreds of times but it still requires 15:58 his full attention and concentration. 16:18 Soon enough they are air borne and headed 16:21 towards their destination. 16:22 As they fly west toward the interior, the homes and 16:26 civilization slowly begins to dissipate and lush green 16:30 landscapes replace the modern construction. 16:34 Greg is still in Georgetown controlled airspace. 16:37 So he remains in contact with them. 16:40 He also gets information about oncoming traffic. 16:47 That's affirmative can you give me their altitude? 16:56 7-0-8 thank you. 16:57 He needs to verify that they are flying at a different altitude 17:01 then he is in order to avoid a collision. So now that he has 17:05 a clearer idea where they are flying, Greg can set his 17:08 altitude at a lower level to avoid intersection. 17:11 He must keep a very watchful eye as to how high 17:14 he is flying the entire journey. 17:16 They are at 9500ft coming the opposite direction from 17:19 Mabaruma and they are on the other side of the border 17:25 of the controlled airspace. 17:31 The altimeter indicates just how high he is flying. 17:34 After he leaves the perimeter of Georgetown airspace, 17:38 Greg switches to another frequency. 17:45 In a little while I'll have to go to another frequency so I'll 17:49 just go ahead and put that in. So that way when I get there 17:53 all I've got to do it hit a button, one button 17:55 to change the frequencies. 18:00 This is the one I listen and transmit on. 18:02 It's important that he keep an eye on the horizon, the clouds, 18:06 and be on the constant look out for any other aircraft flying 18:10 above or below him. 18:12 Actually a couple days ago, we flew in a woman that was 18:17 pregnant and she delivered twins and apparently there was 18:21 a fetal demise with them. The babies died. And we are 18:26 now bringing the family back to Mabaruma 18:29 with the deceased bodies. 18:37 They would otherwise have a twenty four hour boat ride 18:42 if they got to the dock at the right time. 18:45 The boat comes out about every two weeks. 18:48 I don't know what that schedule is. 18:56 That would take a lot longer for them. And it's a very 18:59 uncomfortable and hot one and it's not a good environment 19:02 to try and transport bodies in either. 19:06 I was a little bit surprised, the bodies are basically 19:09 they put them in a shopping bag you would normally 19:15 get at the store. Which actually made it better 19:18 for coming through security and a lot of other passengers 19:21 were boarding. 19:25 Normally when an adult body will come through the gate in a 19:28 hearse but these babies of course are like the size 19:34 of a loaf of bread so we didn't need to bring a vehicle 19:37 around where the airplanes are. 19:43 So I carried them. The security personnel didn't want me to 19:47 bring them through the security area, because they didn't want 19:52 other people to see them. 19:55 But they didn't know what the babies were going to be in. 19:58 I didn't either. 20:00 Safety is the number one priority of Greg's concerns 20:03 and transporting his passengers without incident. 20:06 However these passengers are in very capable hands. 20:09 There are many instruments, gauges and meters one needs 20:12 to be familiar with when flying a plane. 20:15 At first sight, it might look overwhelming, but 20:18 to the trained eye, each serves a purpose and usefulness. 20:22 Greg has finally reached the altitude for his flight. 20:25 He must make adjustments so he does not continue to 20:28 climb higher, but rather stay at his current level. 20:32 Just fine tune things. Get things set approximately 20:35 where they're at and as their airplane settles in, 20:39 fine tune, make some adjustments so that, 20:42 you don't have to work as hard. Well the trim makes it so I 20:48 don't have to pull them back hard and the rudder paddles help 20:53 There are some control surfaces on the parts that control the 20:57 flight and it makes it so I don't have to constantly push 21:00 on one rudder pedal or the other more, or pull back or push 21:04 forward on the yoke as much. And that depends on what my 21:06 power settings are, so I adjust that. 21:09 Any time you change the power setting, you got to change 21:11 everything else. 21:16 And I'm still setting it a little bit. 21:20 And adjust here. Adjust for fuel performance. And monitor 21:25 the engine temperature while I'm doing that. 21:31 And you'll change the engine temperature with the cowl flaps 21:35 and my mixture control; how much fuel is going in. 21:40 Once all of his adjustments are made, Greg can concentrate on 21:44 staying on course with his GPS. 21:47 It's very important he doesn't deviate from his path. 21:50 As he looks out the window he sees a river below, but because 21:54 it twist, turns and winds, he cannot use it as a compass 21:59 and instead must rely on his instruments. 22:02 Finally, they can begin their slow descent. 22:04 They are within a few miles of Mabauruma. 22:07 Traffic advisory November 8-1- 7-0-8 is two miles out, 22:10 landing Mabaruma. 22:13 It's important to make a slow decline in altitude as they 22:16 approach their air strip, especially with passengers, 22:19 who are not frequent flyers. Pretty soon they see their 22:23 familiar hometown as they circle around. 22:26 It's important that Greg circle the run way once, 22:29 before he goes in for his final approach. 22:31 Often there are people, animals or vehicles on the runway 22:35 so this circle gives Greg a chance to glance at the 22:38 runway to make sure it's all clear. 22:42 We look at the runway; make sure nobody is on it. 22:44 I like to look and see if any cars are coming. 22:47 A lot of times people will drive across the runway. 22:51 It appears now that they are clear to land. There is no one 22:54 on the runway and they can safely land the plane. 23:04 At last they are on the ground and this tough journey 23:07 for the family in the back is finally over. 23:12 It's been a very difficult past few days for them and they are 23:16 very relieved to be home, in a familiar place 23:19 to regain some normalcy. 23:21 Greg however is quite surprised. Typically when a 23:25 death occurs, and a family returns there is a large 23:29 congregation of mourners from the village. 23:32 Today however, it seems there is nobody awaiting their arrival. 23:35 The family collects their belongings 23:38 and begins to walk home. 24:00 Undoubtedly for this mother, this is not how she expected 24:03 to be bringing home her babies. 24:05 A solemn and saddening air sweeps the field. 24:09 Yet through out the entire experience, this family was 24:12 shown the love of God from the AWA team. 24:16 And they are very appreciative and touched from the services 24:19 provided from AWA. 24:22 This is little different. 24:24 Usually when we bring a body back, 24:26 there is a crowd of people around and somebody comes 24:29 up with a truck and they get a casket out 24:33 and set it on the ground. 24:34 We don't transport caskets because we don't have 24:37 enough room in the airplane to get the caskets in there. 24:44 So they'll come in a body bag and some family members will 24:49 pull the body out, and take them out of the body bag 24:52 and put them in the casket. And they go off on a truck out to, 24:57 whether it's to the church or a home, or out to the cemetery. 25:13 Before I came here, I never would have thought that I'd be 25:17 flying dead people. But what happens is that, if we fly them 25:21 to town, if there is a med-evac and they go to the hospital and 25:24 they don't make it and they don't survive then the body, 25:28 they don't... If we don't fly the body back to the village, 25:32 they're just going to bury the body there in Georgetown in some 25:35 unknown grave. And the families here, will never get to 25:38 say goodbye. They never get that closure. And so, we have 25:41 started flying them. Flying the dead back to the village and it 25:46 has meant so much to the families. 25:48 The airplane has broke down many many barriers and the 25:52 impact we've had in individual lives, like, just thinking about 25:54 a community such as Baramita out in the middle of the jungle, 25:58 where they've never had a funeral there for one of their 26:01 dead that came back to the village. 26:02 If someone went to Georgetown, they just assumed 26:05 they went there to die and they never came back in many cases. 26:08 The loved ones never got to say good-bye. And when we started 26:11 flying in there, that was one of the things we did. For the first 26:13 time in the history of Baramita, we brought a body back for 26:16 burial there. 26:18 And the reception, I wasn't there, but Jud 26:19 Wickwire was there, and he told me about it and it was such 26:21 a tearful event. Everybody was so happy and so thrilled to be 26:24 able to have their loved one come back for a funeral. 26:28 And we've been doing that ever since. And that community has 26:30 just opened up to us because of that. 27:02 In the past, people didn't even want to be med-evaced out at all 27:07 Because they didn't want to die in some... all alone in the 27:10 hospital and then never be buried where their other 27:13 people were at, 27:14 so sometimes they would even refuse med-evacs. 27:17 And so then they would die for sure, so this at least increases 27:20 their chances of survival if we can med-evac them out, 27:23 knowing that if they don't make it, that we will fly them back. 27:26 One of the things that I really had my eyes opened to when I 27:30 first came to Guyana. I always thought of missionaries as 27:33 being people that are out there, pounding on doors and just 27:35 shoving Bibles down people's throats and you know trying to 27:38 get their message and their agendas across to them. 27:41 And after I got down here, I really realized that that isn't 27:43 necessarily what mission work is all about. 27:45 It is about sharing the gospel message, but a lot of times 27:49 a sermon lived, is worth much more than a sermon preached. 27:53 And when you go down and you live among a people and you 27:55 show them love; you will show them Jesus Christ. 27:59 By living among them, helping them with their difficulties and 28:02 their problems. They will want to know more about what you know 28:05 What makes you this way? Why do you come here and do 28:07 these types of things for us? 28:08 And it gives you a chance to tell them of the love of God. 28:11 And then Bible studies just fallow naturally because they 28:14 want to understand more about what you believe. 28:16 Jesus said in the great Gospel Commission in Matther28:19-20 28:20 that we are to go into all the world! 28:23 Well, Adventist World Aviation is dedicated to doing just that! 28:27 There are between six and a half and seven billion people 28:30 now living on planet earth. 28:31 And two billion of them have never heard of Jesus. 28:35 Of the two billion, eight hundred million 28:38 of them can only be reached like means like aircraft. 28:41 or through aviation support. 28:43 We go into the un-reached areas of the world. 28:47 What we find when we go in there, we find 28:49 death and disease and despair. 28:52 What we bring them is hope, health and life. 28:56 And a great Gospel message that Jesus loves them. 28:58 That there is somebody out there, who does care. 29:02 They often ask, why do you do this? 29:04 We say, because Jesus loves you! 29:06 And so the message that we bring them is absolute hope. 29:10 Since it's inception, 1995, AWA, or Adventist World Aviation 29:15 has been able to relieve over thirty five epidemics. 29:18 We've literally flown millions of missionary miles. 29:22 We are relieving the pain and suffering of those who live 29:24 in these remote parts of the world. Helping them. 29:27 Will you pray for us! We need prayer more than anything else! 29:30 If you like more information please contact this station 29:34 3 Angels Broadcasting Network Or call the number on the screen 29:38 Thanks for watching! 29:40 (Music) |
Revised 2014-12-17