August 25, 2023 • 26 mins
Today's Episode was recorded on location at the ASI convention in Kansas City Missouri. In this Episode we hear about what Hope Studios is doing and how business and ministry are needed to complete the work.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Music
(00:23):
Welcome to Mission Sunlight Chat from the Media Missionaries of Network 7 Media Center.
Once again, we're not in our world headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but we are here
at ASI in Kansas City, Missouri in the United States of America, and we are thrilled to
be at ASI.
We're hearing all types of testimonies and words of encouragement from the various ministries
and the institutional ministries that are represented here.
(00:47):
ASI is a convention of the laity, and very often ministers, pastors, workers from the
church also are here as friends of the lay ministries around the world of the Seventh
Day Adventist Church, and we are thrilled to be part of ASI as well.
My name is Christopher Beeson, and our Director of Production and Engineering today is Jordan
(01:08):
Wagner.
Jordan, I noticed that I've been looking over when I mention you, you don't go to the wide
shot of you on the camera there, so everybody needs to know where you are, plus they can
see us here in the booth space and really see what all the noise is about.
I hear popping balloons, Andrew, we'll get to you in just a minute, but I hear noise
overhead.
Pretty soon we'll hear somebody on the speaker, it's almost inevitable.
(01:29):
But anyway, we love being in this live setting here at ASI.
Mission Sunlight Chat is a non-profit organization.
You can visit missionsunlight.org, that's mission, S-O-N, light.org, and if you want
to give, you can click donate there.
We certainly appreciate your prayers, we're very grateful for you.
One more thing before we continue, we need to grow.
(01:50):
We want to touch more lives for Jesus, we want to share the story of Jesus, we want
to spread the truth as it is in Jesus.
So please, if you can't give your time, you can't give your prayers or your monies, would
you consider sharing this link?
Give this link to a friend or even an enemy.
Post it on your social media, text it to a friend right now, and snail mail it if you
want.
Share Mission Sunlight Chat today.
(02:11):
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
As I said, we're here at ASI enjoying fellowship with the ministries of ASI.
PAMAS is a ministry of ASI, and Andrew Hosford, you are a pilot with PAMAS.
So tell us, what is PAMAS?
PAMAS is a, the acronym stands for the Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services, and we're
(02:37):
based in the Philippines.
We do a lot of medevac flights to the, to enter island areas, and also up into the mountains
where there's very limited access to the outside world and especially medical care.
Very good.
Andrew, before we talk much more about PAMAS, I'd just like to have you share with the audience
a little bit more about who you are.
(02:59):
I've known you since you were a teenager, which wasn't that long ago, but it's been
a few years.
We met on a farm mission field.
I think we were in Thailand or Cambodia or Laos.
I don't remember where the first place, I think it must've been Cambodia.
I think it was Cambodia, yeah.
Yeah, but tell us a little bit about your upbringing and your experience.
What led you to be a pilot?
(03:20):
Sure.
So my family raised me Seventh-day Adventist as we navigated our early years.
We were introduced to more mission stories in different contexts and different stories
stood out to me more than others.
Specifically, the story of Nate Saint.
(03:40):
He was a missionary in Ecuador and his influence really helped a whole bunch of tribes be reached
with the gospel.
And he ultimately gave his life along with his friends that were fellow missionaries.
And the experience of doing that opened the floodgates for Western religion to come into
(04:05):
the very remote tribes.
And that really touched my heart because I wanted to...
Growing up, I didn't really know what I wanted to do in life.
My parents were pilots.
My interest was in digital media.
And so I pursued that for a number of years.
(04:28):
And then in 2018, I felt the Lord called me to missions very clearly and very specifically.
And then he followed that call up two weeks later with a specific call to mission aviation.
And so acting on that call, I went to the School of Missionary Aviation Technology.
They offer a one-year mechanics training program and a one-year flight program that I graduated
(04:49):
from.
And since then, the Lord has really been blessing.
And out of that, I joined a missionary networking organization called Angel One.
They're kind of a logistical and support branch to numerous different ministries that are
involved in aviation all over the world.
(05:11):
And as a result of that, I was launched to first off Nicaragua.
And then later, about a year and a half ago, I went to the Philippines as a full-time missionary
pilot.
Amen.
Wow.
So quite a journey for you there.
Was there ever a period of time where you experienced doubt or questions about God or
(05:33):
about your faith?
Or did you always just feel strong all the way through?
There was times where it was a weaker impression of Christianity, more doing the motions, doing
the actions, and not really feeling it.
I will admit that that was a portion of my life.
In 2012, I was baptized, gave my heart to Jesus.
(05:56):
And from there, it was one mission trip after another continuing to inspire me to continue
on that path of steady Christian life.
And I can't say it's been perfect, but the Lord has been guiding all the way through.
Wow.
So I want you to talk a little bit about your work at PAMAS, but we're going to take a break
(06:19):
here and then we'll come back and you can share some of that.
Just a reminder, missionsunlight.org is a place where you can learn more and you can
give there.
Please share the link to today's program or the entire show podcast platform with a friend
by text, social media, or even by email.
Take a moment right now during the break and share it with someone.
We'll be back with more Mission Sunlight Chat.
(07:07):
Welcome back to Mission Sunlight Chat.
(07:27):
Our guest today here at ASI, PAMAS pilot, Andrew Hosford.
You are here in Kansas City, Missouri for ASI, but that's not really where you live.
Yes.
I live in the Philippines, specifically the island of Palawan.
And as Christopher mentioned, I'm a professional pilot that's dedicated my entire career and
(07:54):
life to mission service.
And right now I'm serving as a medevac pilot in the Philippines.
Okay, tell us about PAMAS as a ministry.
So PAMAS again stands for the Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services.
And we operate a fleet of, right now it's five different aircraft.
We're looking at expanding our fleet to bigger and better aircraft that have more capacity.
(08:20):
But a lot of our flights involve patient transfers and medevac services.
And for the past 17 years, PAMAS has been reaching the people in the Philippines through,
first we started in Palawan with a small little helicopter, a two seat helicopter.
(08:41):
And from there we started another base up in Luzon.
And we've grown, that project now has a 182.
That's a plane.
That's an airplane.
And then we had another base start up in Mindanao near Mountain View College.
(09:02):
And then the last, latest base is starting up just south of Manila in Tui Batangas.
So between the four bases we're reaching a lot of the areas that need our services in
the Philippines.
So you have four bases of operation.
And from my memory, that's mostly central Philippines.
(09:26):
Where do you think you might go next?
So there's a big open chunk in Visayas.
And then also we want to put a special emphasis on Mindoro.
Both of those islands don't have a lot of our services offered at this time.
So we're looking to put a helicopter in Mindoro in conjunction with Avanis World Radio.
(09:48):
And then we're praying about the rest.
Just curious, do you run into other Christian missionary pilots while you're over there?
There's a number of different organizations in the area.
Specifically some of those are up in Luzon.
So while I was working in Luzon before transitioning to Palawan, there was a number of different
(10:13):
organizations that I was connected with.
Is there a chance to rub shoulders with them or is it just in passing?
A lot of it's just in passing unfortunately.
I'd like to learn more from these other organizations.
But I usually do that stateside.
So you're flying an airplane.
It just doesn't sound like there's a whole lot of chance to show your faith.
Yeah, that's how I wondered how it would be.
(10:35):
The Philippines is a considered reached project on joshuaproject.net.
If you go look at the Philippines, it's a green country.
It shows that it's been reached with Christianity.
But once I got there, I went there and I was like, all right, how am I going to really
be effective as a missionary?
I'm just going to get experience and then I'll go to some closed country and be a real
(11:00):
witness.
But when I got to the Philippines, I realized that there's a lot of people that need a sympathetic
shoulder, a helping hand, and somebody to share Jesus with them.
Even if they're Christian already, they need that.
Specifically, the island of Palawan where I'm working, just south of us, is a majority
(11:26):
of animists up in the mountains.
There's a lot of animism and then it's actually statistically 8% Muslim.
So we're actually dealing with a lot of inter-island flights, transporting Muslims back and forth.
They're very accepting of our services.
(11:51):
It's really cool because they let us pray with the people on the flight before we take
off and it's a huge blessing to them.
I remember once I was in, I think Mende now, I think that's Caldwell Academy maybe there,
and was speaking and someone told me that many of the students there are Muslim at the
(12:14):
school and the reason they like the Adventist school is because they don't have to worry
about the diet for their children in the cafeteria.
We respect their religious, the uniqueness of their faith as well.
That was one of the first places where I began to understand how we could find common ground
(12:41):
with the Muslim faith.
There's a lot of common ground if you dig deeper.
There's a lot of common ground with Muslims.
So you're a mission pilot.
Got to be a good story in there.
You got anything to share with us?
I've got several.
A specific medevac flight that I was a part of, I was working with the flight nurse, General
(13:01):
Alder.
Some of you may recognize the name.
She was involved in a helicopter crash in March of this year.
But a story before she went down in the helicopter crash, it was actually the first medevac that
I was the pilot and she was the nurse.
We were working together on that flight.
It was a Sabbath afternoon and we were kind of winding down for the day.
(13:24):
The sun was getting lower in the sky and we get this urgent call.
There's a pregnancy complication patient in the island of Cuyo.
So immediately we started getting into action and we're waiting for the green light to go.
(13:45):
And by the way, what do you fly?
I fly a Cessna 206.
We have a door, it's a bifold door and you can slide a nice size stretcher into the back
of it.
So it's perfect for medevacs in that scenario.
So anyway, we got the green light, we took off, we got to the island and the patient,
(14:08):
her water had broken and everything.
She was well on the way through the delivery process but it had stopped progressing.
So she was in a very dangerous position as a mother.
There's high risk involved in that.
And so we loaded her up as efficiently as we could and by that time we were chasing
(14:30):
sunset.
And for our little airplanes that can't get up to the flight levels that the Boeings and
the Airbus get up to, we're not able to fly on an instrument flight plan at all.
So basically we're limited to daytime operations only.
(14:52):
And so basically what that means for us is we have to land before dark.
We're chasing sunset and we're praying the whole way that the Lord would give us a little
bit more tailwind and I could see the flight counter, the GPS, it was counting down and
(15:12):
we were just within minutes of sunset and we were able to land on the island and the
ambulance was able to pick them up and transfer them.
And it was such a blessing.
I got the text the next day that the family was so grateful for our service that they
named the baby.
It was a little boy, they named him Andrew after me.
(15:36):
That really touched my heart.
That's pretty special.
That was really cool.
Wow.
All right.
You got another one for us?
Another one.
Wait.
You got another one.
I do.
Okay, hold on.
We're going to take a break and come back with it.
We certainly hope you're being encouraged and blessed by listening to the program today.
We have more to come, of course, from Andrew.
We need to take a break.
(15:56):
So remember, you can give at missionsunlight.org and you can share this program with anyone
right now.
Thanks for doing both or either.
We'll be back with more Mission Sunlight Chat.
Our salvation is a day-to-day matter, isn't it?
(16:20):
The real principle of the Sabbath is reconnecting ourselves with the Creator.
We must learn to abide in Jesus' map.
We move ahead with our mission objectives, recognizing that we are serving together the
Most High God.
(16:53):
Welcome back to Mission Sunlight Chat.
We are at ASI enjoying the sounds of ministry all around us as people share coming and going
down our aisle.
Jordan, that camera shot again.
I want everybody to get a chance to see folks mingling around ministry to ministry.
And of course, they get to see Jordan.
Thanks so much for your work producing today, Jordan.
And Andrew, thanks so much for joining us also.
(17:14):
You are with PAMAS.
How can people get in touch if they find what you're sharing interesting and they'd like
to get involved in your ministry?
How can they do that?
Yeah, for sure.
You can find me on the website, pamasmission.org, and that'll direct you to different newsletters
and stories.
You can find me best on Facebook under my name, Andrew Hosford, or my ministry page,
(17:39):
Airways of Hope, Andrew Hosford.
Several different ways to get in touch with me, but airwaysofhope.com is my personal website,
and you can find all that information there.
And it was pamasmission.org.
That's correct.
So they can learn more.
Andrew, you were about to share a story before we close, so go ahead.
(18:00):
Yeah, so sorry for the cliffhanger, but here it is.
So one of the most touching missions that I've ever been a part of is an elderly gentleman
that I had flown a couple days before.
This is a little bit of the preface to the story.
I flew him from the island of Maupun to the hospital in Brooks Point where we're based.
(18:23):
And his family was very touched by our services.
And unfortunately, he was suffering from acute appendicitis, and I think it had already ruptured
by the time he was transported.
His tummy was very tough, and I just felt really sad for the family specifically.
(18:48):
And so as time went on, about three days later, I got another call saying that he needed to
go back to the island.
He was basically...they couldn't do anything more as health professionals to help him.
And that really touched me because I had built a friendship with him as I connected with
(19:10):
him and flew him and his family members.
And so we got the airplane already.
The stretcher was already in the airplane.
We had some complications getting him released from the hospital.
So anyway, I went into town to kind of be a little bit of a mediator there.
(19:31):
And we got all the details figured out, and they loaded him into the ambulance.
And I took off on my motorcycle to try to beat them to the Pommas base.
And I look in my mirrors, and the ambulance is coming up faster and faster behind me.
And they quickly passed me.
And I'm going as fast as my little bike will go to keep up with this ambulance because
(19:55):
they're serious about getting them to the airplane fast.
So anyway, it's a nice paved highway.
They're going as fast as their sirens will let them.
And people are clearing out left and right, and it's just going as fast as we can.
And as we get closer to the gravel portion before we get to our base, they had to slow
(20:21):
down for the more rough terrain.
And I was able to kind of pass them at that point and prepare the airplane adequately
before they arrived.
And so we loaded the patient.
He was very lethargic and probably not very responsive at that point.
And again, my heart went out to him.
(20:43):
His eyes were closed.
He was peaceful, but you could tell he was suffering.
And they opted to not have us bring a nurse, and the family member would take the position
of the nurse and try to keep him alive as long as they could.
So we loaded him.
(21:04):
We loaded the family members.
We said a prayer, and we were off.
And as we got closer to the island, you could tell he wasn't doing very well.
And we landed.
He was still alive.
We unloaded him to the ambulance.
And of course, there were several people that shared their connection with this elderly
(21:28):
man, and my heart went out to them.
I cried with several of them, and I genuinely felt sorry for them.
And as a result, anyway, the ambulance took off, and some of these people started kind
of milling out after that.
(21:49):
And it turned out that I had to stay the night in the island just because it was late enough.
Anyway, I got a text later that evening that the patient had died about 10 minutes after
landing in Mapuan.
And that was a touching moment, because I had touched more than 20 people came up to
(22:15):
me, roughly 20, came up and expressed how much my help had benefited them.
And they saw Jesus through that.
It was a very special time.
So the work of the mission pilot is more than just flying an airplane.
That's true.
Yeah, my son Levi is very interested in aviation, and we're trying to encourage him in the direction
(22:38):
of mission pilot instead of commercial pilot.
Amen.
Way, way greater rewards for the kingdom.
That's true.
I've seen it time and time again how rewarding mission aviation actually is.
So many people's lives are touched.
Me personally, in the last year and a half of flying in the Philippines, I've flown over
(23:00):
230 medevacs, and the Lord has really been using me there.
Amen.
Andrew, before we close, just do you have an encouraging word you want to share with
our listeners and viewers?
I think the biggest thing I can say is be faithful in the little things.
(23:20):
I didn't start out as a mission pilot.
I just listened to God's call, and each step of the way, God kept growing my faith.
First, it started with finances, and then it was any number of things in preparation
for being a mission pilot.
There's a lot of skills involved, and just be faithful in the little things.
(23:43):
They'll add up, but you just have to be patient.
Thank you.
Amen.
Thank you for the encouragement for all of our listeners, but especially our young ones.
Amen.
Would you close us with a word of prayer?
Let's pray.
Father in heaven, Lord, we've shared stories from the Philippines.
We've shared about what a mission pilot actually does, and I wish we had more time to share
(24:04):
more stories, but you have been so great.
We were so grateful for your presence.
We're so grateful for your leading and guidance.
I pray for our listeners today that you would touch their lives in some way, and if some
were being called to mission service, I pray that you would give them the courage and strength
(24:26):
to follow through.
I pray this in your name.
Amen.
Amen.
That is today's program from the Media Missionaries of Network 7 Media Center.
This has been Mission Sunlight Chat.
Our guest, Andrew Hosford, his ministry Airways of Hope with PAMAS Mission.
PAMAS again stands for?
The Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services.
(24:47):
And you can find them at pamasmission.org.
I'm Christopher Beeson, your host and today's engineer, our director of production, Jordan
Wagner.
We thank you for joining us.
Thank you for sharing our program with your friends via text, email, or on your social
media platforms.
We also thank you for your gifts and your prayers, especially, especially your prayers.
That's all for today from our mobile studios here in Kansas City, Missouri at ASI.
(25:11):
This is Mission Sunlight Chat.
(25:41):
Thank you.
Music
(00:23):
Welcome to Mission Sunlight Chat from the Media Missionaries of Network 7 Media Center.
Once again, we're not in our world headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but we are here
at ASI in Kansas City, Missouri in the United States of America, and we are thrilled to
be at ASI.
We're hearing all types of testimonies and words of encouragement from the various ministries
and the institutional ministries that are represented here.
(00:47):
ASI is a convention of the laity, and very often ministers, pastors, workers from the
church also are here as friends of the lay ministries around the world of the Seventh
Day Adventist Church, and we are thrilled to be part of ASI as well.
My name is Christopher Beeson, and our Director of Production and Engineering today is Jordan
(01:08):
Wagner.
Jordan, I noticed that I've been looking over when I mention you, you don't go to the wide
shot of you on the camera there, so everybody needs to know where you are, plus they can
see us here in the booth space and really see what all the noise is about.
I hear popping balloons, Andrew, we'll get to you in just a minute, but I hear noise
overhead.
Pretty soon we'll hear somebody on the speaker, it's almost inevitable.
(01:29):
But anyway, we love being in this live setting here at ASI.
Mission Sunlight Chat is a non-profit organization.
You can visit missionsunlight.org, that's mission, S-O-N, light.org, and if you want
to give, you can click donate there.
We certainly appreciate your prayers, we're very grateful for you.
One more thing before we continue, we need to grow.
(01:50):
We want to touch more lives for Jesus, we want to share the story of Jesus, we want
to spread the truth as it is in Jesus.
So please, if you can't give your time, you can't give your prayers or your monies, would
you consider sharing this link?
Give this link to a friend or even an enemy.
Post it on your social media, text it to a friend right now, and snail mail it if you
want.
Share Mission Sunlight Chat today.
(02:11):
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
As I said, we're here at ASI enjoying fellowship with the ministries of ASI.
PAMAS is a ministry of ASI, and Andrew Hosford, you are a pilot with PAMAS.
So tell us, what is PAMAS?
PAMAS is a, the acronym stands for the Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services, and we're
(02:37):
based in the Philippines.
We do a lot of medevac flights to the, to enter island areas, and also up into the mountains
where there's very limited access to the outside world and especially medical care.
Very good.
Andrew, before we talk much more about PAMAS, I'd just like to have you share with the audience
a little bit more about who you are.
(02:59):
I've known you since you were a teenager, which wasn't that long ago, but it's been
a few years.
We met on a farm mission field.
I think we were in Thailand or Cambodia or Laos.
I don't remember where the first place, I think it must've been Cambodia.
I think it was Cambodia, yeah.
Yeah, but tell us a little bit about your upbringing and your experience.
What led you to be a pilot?
(03:20):
Sure.
So my family raised me Seventh-day Adventist as we navigated our early years.
We were introduced to more mission stories in different contexts and different stories
stood out to me more than others.
Specifically, the story of Nate Saint.
(03:40):
He was a missionary in Ecuador and his influence really helped a whole bunch of tribes be reached
with the gospel.
And he ultimately gave his life along with his friends that were fellow missionaries.
And the experience of doing that opened the floodgates for Western religion to come into
(04:05):
the very remote tribes.
And that really touched my heart because I wanted to...
Growing up, I didn't really know what I wanted to do in life.
My parents were pilots.
My interest was in digital media.
And so I pursued that for a number of years.
(04:28):
And then in 2018, I felt the Lord called me to missions very clearly and very specifically.
And then he followed that call up two weeks later with a specific call to mission aviation.
And so acting on that call, I went to the School of Missionary Aviation Technology.
They offer a one-year mechanics training program and a one-year flight program that I graduated
(04:49):
from.
And since then, the Lord has really been blessing.
And out of that, I joined a missionary networking organization called Angel One.
They're kind of a logistical and support branch to numerous different ministries that are
involved in aviation all over the world.
(05:11):
And as a result of that, I was launched to first off Nicaragua.
And then later, about a year and a half ago, I went to the Philippines as a full-time missionary
pilot.
Amen.
Wow.
So quite a journey for you there.
Was there ever a period of time where you experienced doubt or questions about God or
(05:33):
about your faith?
Or did you always just feel strong all the way through?
There was times where it was a weaker impression of Christianity, more doing the motions, doing
the actions, and not really feeling it.
I will admit that that was a portion of my life.
In 2012, I was baptized, gave my heart to Jesus.
(05:56):
And from there, it was one mission trip after another continuing to inspire me to continue
on that path of steady Christian life.
And I can't say it's been perfect, but the Lord has been guiding all the way through.
Wow.
So I want you to talk a little bit about your work at PAMAS, but we're going to take a break
(06:19):
here and then we'll come back and you can share some of that.
Just a reminder, missionsunlight.org is a place where you can learn more and you can
give there.
Please share the link to today's program or the entire show podcast platform with a friend
by text, social media, or even by email.
Take a moment right now during the break and share it with someone.
We'll be back with more Mission Sunlight Chat.
(07:07):
Welcome back to Mission Sunlight Chat.
(07:27):
Our guest today here at ASI, PAMAS pilot, Andrew Hosford.
You are here in Kansas City, Missouri for ASI, but that's not really where you live.
Yes.
I live in the Philippines, specifically the island of Palawan.
And as Christopher mentioned, I'm a professional pilot that's dedicated my entire career and
(07:54):
life to mission service.
And right now I'm serving as a medevac pilot in the Philippines.
Okay, tell us about PAMAS as a ministry.
So PAMAS again stands for the Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services.
And we operate a fleet of, right now it's five different aircraft.
We're looking at expanding our fleet to bigger and better aircraft that have more capacity.
(08:20):
But a lot of our flights involve patient transfers and medevac services.
And for the past 17 years, PAMAS has been reaching the people in the Philippines through,
first we started in Palawan with a small little helicopter, a two seat helicopter.
(08:41):
And from there we started another base up in Luzon.
And we've grown, that project now has a 182.
That's a plane.
That's an airplane.
And then we had another base start up in Mindanao near Mountain View College.
(09:02):
And then the last, latest base is starting up just south of Manila in Tui Batangas.
So between the four bases we're reaching a lot of the areas that need our services in
the Philippines.
So you have four bases of operation.
And from my memory, that's mostly central Philippines.
(09:26):
Where do you think you might go next?
So there's a big open chunk in Visayas.
And then also we want to put a special emphasis on Mindoro.
Both of those islands don't have a lot of our services offered at this time.
So we're looking to put a helicopter in Mindoro in conjunction with Avanis World Radio.
(09:48):
And then we're praying about the rest.
Just curious, do you run into other Christian missionary pilots while you're over there?
There's a number of different organizations in the area.
Specifically some of those are up in Luzon.
So while I was working in Luzon before transitioning to Palawan, there was a number of different
(10:13):
organizations that I was connected with.
Is there a chance to rub shoulders with them or is it just in passing?
A lot of it's just in passing unfortunately.
I'd like to learn more from these other organizations.
But I usually do that stateside.
So you're flying an airplane.
It just doesn't sound like there's a whole lot of chance to show your faith.
Yeah, that's how I wondered how it would be.
(10:35):
The Philippines is a considered reached project on joshuaproject.net.
If you go look at the Philippines, it's a green country.
It shows that it's been reached with Christianity.
But once I got there, I went there and I was like, all right, how am I going to really
be effective as a missionary?
I'm just going to get experience and then I'll go to some closed country and be a real
(11:00):
witness.
But when I got to the Philippines, I realized that there's a lot of people that need a sympathetic
shoulder, a helping hand, and somebody to share Jesus with them.
Even if they're Christian already, they need that.
Specifically, the island of Palawan where I'm working, just south of us, is a majority
(11:26):
of animists up in the mountains.
There's a lot of animism and then it's actually statistically 8% Muslim.
So we're actually dealing with a lot of inter-island flights, transporting Muslims back and forth.
They're very accepting of our services.
(11:51):
It's really cool because they let us pray with the people on the flight before we take
off and it's a huge blessing to them.
I remember once I was in, I think Mende now, I think that's Caldwell Academy maybe there,
and was speaking and someone told me that many of the students there are Muslim at the
(12:14):
school and the reason they like the Adventist school is because they don't have to worry
about the diet for their children in the cafeteria.
We respect their religious, the uniqueness of their faith as well.
That was one of the first places where I began to understand how we could find common ground
(12:41):
with the Muslim faith.
There's a lot of common ground if you dig deeper.
There's a lot of common ground with Muslims.
So you're a mission pilot.
Got to be a good story in there.
You got anything to share with us?
I've got several.
A specific medevac flight that I was a part of, I was working with the flight nurse, General
(13:01):
Alder.
Some of you may recognize the name.
She was involved in a helicopter crash in March of this year.
But a story before she went down in the helicopter crash, it was actually the first medevac that
I was the pilot and she was the nurse.
We were working together on that flight.
It was a Sabbath afternoon and we were kind of winding down for the day.
(13:24):
The sun was getting lower in the sky and we get this urgent call.
There's a pregnancy complication patient in the island of Cuyo.
So immediately we started getting into action and we're waiting for the green light to go.
(13:45):
And by the way, what do you fly?
I fly a Cessna 206.
We have a door, it's a bifold door and you can slide a nice size stretcher into the back
of it.
So it's perfect for medevacs in that scenario.
So anyway, we got the green light, we took off, we got to the island and the patient,
(14:08):
her water had broken and everything.
She was well on the way through the delivery process but it had stopped progressing.
So she was in a very dangerous position as a mother.
There's high risk involved in that.
And so we loaded her up as efficiently as we could and by that time we were chasing
(14:30):
sunset.
And for our little airplanes that can't get up to the flight levels that the Boeings and
the Airbus get up to, we're not able to fly on an instrument flight plan at all.
So basically we're limited to daytime operations only.
(14:52):
And so basically what that means for us is we have to land before dark.
We're chasing sunset and we're praying the whole way that the Lord would give us a little
bit more tailwind and I could see the flight counter, the GPS, it was counting down and
(15:12):
we were just within minutes of sunset and we were able to land on the island and the
ambulance was able to pick them up and transfer them.
And it was such a blessing.
I got the text the next day that the family was so grateful for our service that they
named the baby.
It was a little boy, they named him Andrew after me.
(15:36):
That really touched my heart.
That's pretty special.
That was really cool.
Wow.
All right.
You got another one for us?
Another one.
Wait.
You got another one.
I do.
Okay, hold on.
We're going to take a break and come back with it.
We certainly hope you're being encouraged and blessed by listening to the program today.
We have more to come, of course, from Andrew.
We need to take a break.
(15:56):
So remember, you can give at missionsunlight.org and you can share this program with anyone
right now.
Thanks for doing both or either.
We'll be back with more Mission Sunlight Chat.
Our salvation is a day-to-day matter, isn't it?
(16:20):
The real principle of the Sabbath is reconnecting ourselves with the Creator.
We must learn to abide in Jesus' map.
We move ahead with our mission objectives, recognizing that we are serving together the
Most High God.
(16:53):
Welcome back to Mission Sunlight Chat.
We are at ASI enjoying the sounds of ministry all around us as people share coming and going
down our aisle.
Jordan, that camera shot again.
I want everybody to get a chance to see folks mingling around ministry to ministry.
And of course, they get to see Jordan.
Thanks so much for your work producing today, Jordan.
And Andrew, thanks so much for joining us also.
(17:14):
You are with PAMAS.
How can people get in touch if they find what you're sharing interesting and they'd like
to get involved in your ministry?
How can they do that?
Yeah, for sure.
You can find me on the website, pamasmission.org, and that'll direct you to different newsletters
and stories.
You can find me best on Facebook under my name, Andrew Hosford, or my ministry page,
(17:39):
Airways of Hope, Andrew Hosford.
Several different ways to get in touch with me, but airwaysofhope.com is my personal website,
and you can find all that information there.
And it was pamasmission.org.
That's correct.
So they can learn more.
Andrew, you were about to share a story before we close, so go ahead.
(18:00):
Yeah, so sorry for the cliffhanger, but here it is.
So one of the most touching missions that I've ever been a part of is an elderly gentleman
that I had flown a couple days before.
This is a little bit of the preface to the story.
I flew him from the island of Maupun to the hospital in Brooks Point where we're based.
(18:23):
And his family was very touched by our services.
And unfortunately, he was suffering from acute appendicitis, and I think it had already ruptured
by the time he was transported.
His tummy was very tough, and I just felt really sad for the family specifically.
(18:48):
And so as time went on, about three days later, I got another call saying that he needed to
go back to the island.
He was basically...they couldn't do anything more as health professionals to help him.
And that really touched me because I had built a friendship with him as I connected with
(19:10):
him and flew him and his family members.
And so we got the airplane already.
The stretcher was already in the airplane.
We had some complications getting him released from the hospital.
So anyway, I went into town to kind of be a little bit of a mediator there.
(19:31):
And we got all the details figured out, and they loaded him into the ambulance.
And I took off on my motorcycle to try to beat them to the Pommas base.
And I look in my mirrors, and the ambulance is coming up faster and faster behind me.
And they quickly passed me.
And I'm going as fast as my little bike will go to keep up with this ambulance because
(19:55):
they're serious about getting them to the airplane fast.
So anyway, it's a nice paved highway.
They're going as fast as their sirens will let them.
And people are clearing out left and right, and it's just going as fast as we can.
And as we get closer to the gravel portion before we get to our base, they had to slow
(20:21):
down for the more rough terrain.
And I was able to kind of pass them at that point and prepare the airplane adequately
before they arrived.
And so we loaded the patient.
He was very lethargic and probably not very responsive at that point.
And again, my heart went out to him.
(20:43):
His eyes were closed.
He was peaceful, but you could tell he was suffering.
And they opted to not have us bring a nurse, and the family member would take the position
of the nurse and try to keep him alive as long as they could.
So we loaded him.
(21:04):
We loaded the family members.
We said a prayer, and we were off.
And as we got closer to the island, you could tell he wasn't doing very well.
And we landed.
He was still alive.
We unloaded him to the ambulance.
And of course, there were several people that shared their connection with this elderly
(21:28):
man, and my heart went out to them.
I cried with several of them, and I genuinely felt sorry for them.
And as a result, anyway, the ambulance took off, and some of these people started kind
of milling out after that.
(21:49):
And it turned out that I had to stay the night in the island just because it was late enough.
Anyway, I got a text later that evening that the patient had died about 10 minutes after
landing in Mapuan.
And that was a touching moment, because I had touched more than 20 people came up to
(22:15):
me, roughly 20, came up and expressed how much my help had benefited them.
And they saw Jesus through that.
It was a very special time.
So the work of the mission pilot is more than just flying an airplane.
That's true.
Yeah, my son Levi is very interested in aviation, and we're trying to encourage him in the direction
(22:38):
of mission pilot instead of commercial pilot.
Amen.
Way, way greater rewards for the kingdom.
That's true.
I've seen it time and time again how rewarding mission aviation actually is.
So many people's lives are touched.
Me personally, in the last year and a half of flying in the Philippines, I've flown over
(23:00):
230 medevacs, and the Lord has really been using me there.
Amen.
Andrew, before we close, just do you have an encouraging word you want to share with
our listeners and viewers?
I think the biggest thing I can say is be faithful in the little things.
(23:20):
I didn't start out as a mission pilot.
I just listened to God's call, and each step of the way, God kept growing my faith.
First, it started with finances, and then it was any number of things in preparation
for being a mission pilot.
There's a lot of skills involved, and just be faithful in the little things.
(23:43):
They'll add up, but you just have to be patient.
Thank you.
Amen.
Thank you for the encouragement for all of our listeners, but especially our young ones.
Amen.
Would you close us with a word of prayer?
Let's pray.
Father in heaven, Lord, we've shared stories from the Philippines.
We've shared about what a mission pilot actually does, and I wish we had more time to share
(24:04):
more stories, but you have been so great.
We were so grateful for your presence.
We're so grateful for your leading and guidance.
I pray for our listeners today that you would touch their lives in some way, and if some
were being called to mission service, I pray that you would give them the courage and strength
(24:26):
to follow through.
I pray this in your name.
Amen.
Amen.
That is today's program from the Media Missionaries of Network 7 Media Center.
This has been Mission Sunlight Chat.
Our guest, Andrew Hosford, his ministry Airways of Hope with PAMAS Mission.
PAMAS again stands for?
The Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services.
(24:47):
And you can find them at pamasmission.org.
I'm Christopher Beeson, your host and today's engineer, our director of production, Jordan
Wagner.
We thank you for joining us.
Thank you for sharing our program with your friends via text, email, or on your social
media platforms.
We also thank you for your gifts and your prayers, especially, especially your prayers.
That's all for today from our mobile studios here in Kansas City, Missouri at ASI.
(25:11):
This is Mission Sunlight Chat.
(25:41):
Thank you.
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