The desire to obey God has led a family of six to serve in Papua Indonesia for the next three and a half years.
Ben and Amy Eadie will leave for Papua, which is Indonesia's poorest province, on Nov. 9, with their four children: six-year-old Luke, four-year-old Simon, three-year-old Helena and six-month-old Charlotte.
"On a personal level, the main reason we want to serve in this way [as a family] is to honour God by obeying where we have felt He has led us," Ben said.
"As Christians, we desire to honour Christ with our lives, and consider it a complete blessing to be able to do something like this, and show a little of the love of Jesus to a people who have so much less than we do here in Canada."
In Papua, the Eadies will be working with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) to help keep the essential aircraft service operational in the area and able to deliver life-saving medical supplies, food and the word of God to people isolated by dense jungle and mountainous terrain.
MAF also helps with community development by transporting workers and supplies and provides distance education technologies to help train indigenous pastors who would otherwise not be able to access Biblical teaching or leadership training.
Ben decided to become an aircraft mechanic in 2002, after discovering there was a need for people to serve in that capacity with MAF.
"We were receiving MAF Canada's Life Link newsletter, and in one edition we read about the need for aircraft mechanics to serve through MAF. After praying about it, Amy and I felt I should pursue a career in aircraft maintenance with the intention of our family one day serving with MAF."
After Amy completed her licensed practical nursing course in 2003, the family moved to Dawson Creek for Ben to start his aircraft maintenance schooling.
After graduating, he worked for five years as an aircraft mechanic to gain experience before the family signed on with MAF.
Ben's main job in Indonesia will be maintaining the organization's aircraft.
"Although MAF has need for pilots, teachers, accounts and IT techs (to name a few), one of the major current needs MAF has overseas is for trained aircraft maintenance personnel to enable their aircraft to keep flying," Ben said.
The family will live in Papua and take Indonesian language school in Java, enabling them to share the gospel with the people of the area.
Amy's mother Marjorie White is putting together a public send-off for the Eadies on Nov. 5 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Christ the King Community Church, #219 - 287 Gower Point Rd. in Gibsons.
She hopes the community will come out for coffee and dessert and to hear more about the Eadies' plans, as well as make a small donation toward purchasing a scooter for the family to get around in Papua.
For more information about the event, contact White at 604-885-8842. To learn more about MAF and the Eadies visit their blog at http://eadies.blogspot.com.
