In the cockpit of a Cessna 208 Caravan, AIM AIR pilot Joe Batchelder glanced at the GPS display on the dashboard. Nearly three-quarters of an hour into the flight from Nairobi, the screen revealed that he was around forty miles from his destination- a region in Eastern Kenya.
It was time to begin descending. Pulling back at the lever that decreased the plane’s power, the Cessna 208 Caravan responded effortlessly, descending through the blanket of clouds.
From the plane, what had usually looked completely desolate and brown was now teeming with rich-green plant life, masking the tale of desperation on the ground.
Due to the rains, the roads had been destroyed, rendering them inaccessible for a number of weeks now, which had meant that the trucks couldn’t deliver food to the villages anymore. In their state of need, the villages had reached out to the missionaries, who in turn had reached out to AIM AIR.
This flight was the third of seven trips made over a period of two weeks. In the first two flights, Joe had flown to both the north and south airstrips in an empty, lighter plane in order to check the runway conditions. A few days later, Joe and a fellow pilot would start the process of delivering over five thousand kilos of nutrient-rich food supplies.
Down at the sides of the north airstrip, a young boy stared intently into the clouded skies. Him, his family and several other members of the village lined the runway, waiting to witness the landing.
Then, they all heard it. The low hum of an aircraft’s engine. The young boy suddenly exclaimed, tugging at mama’s shuka and pointing at the skies.
“Mama look!”
A single white speck streaked towards them, contrasting sharply against the graying clouds. The plane was coming!
Everybody shifted their attention to the Cessna as it neared the landing strip.
“They believe in a supreme provider, but not the true God. They understood that the food came from the people who follow Jesus.
They wanted me to thank the people of Jesus for the food.”
Meanwhile, a thousand feet in the air, Joe was lining up the Caravan with the sandy runway in readiness for landing. Beginning the final descent, he was confident that the runway was suitable for landing, having checked it a few days ago.
The aircraft finally touched down, braked and came to a halt as the cheers and claps of the villagers filled the air. After the engine had finally come to a stop, everyone who could help offload the boxes gathered around the plane. Within no time, the plane had been emptied, sparing some time for Joe to pull out his Bible and share a message from John 6. Eager to hear, a small crowd gathered around him.
“I shared from John 6:25-35,” recollected Joe. “I shared that Jesus was the bread of life and that they (the villagers) needed the bread that God gives. The one whom God sent.”
When asked if they knew who the bread was, one of the village elders replied that he knew it was Jesus. “They believe in a supreme provider, but not the true God. They understood that the food came from the people who follow Jesus. They wanted me to thank the people of Jesus for the food.”
He then continued to add that his favorite part of the trip was sharing the gospel message from John 6. “Getting to share the Gospel with people that are so fundamentally opposed to its truth is not something we often get to do as pilots. It was a joy to teach them about the food that will never perish, about the bread of life whose body was broken to make a way for us to the Father, and to get to pray for them that they would know God and would not labor for the food that perishes but would hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
Since the deliveries, the Lord has enabled Joe to make a couple of visits to the villages for other reasons. The Chief and people remember him and have endearingly nicknamed him “Biscotti Joe.” They are so thankful for the help that they received at that time. “They have heard the gospel many times, but most still reject it. They have a great respect for Christians (The people of Jesus) and want to hear more…the missionaries who live there have been and are still sharing the gospel for years. They say these acts of kindness (from AIM AIR and donors) opened up a new reception from the people.”
