One door, many shelves and cupboards, funny looking equipment, 400 square feet, and lots and lots of fluorescent lights. I have found myself working in and out of this small enclave (called the Radio Base) for almost 16 years now.

My teammates and I serve to keep the aviation electronics (called avionics) functioning for AIM AIR, the air wing of Africa Inland Mission. It’s a ministry that requires a lot of patience, persistence, paperwork, and prayer. We also love to help missionaries with electronic equipment used in their ministry.

Luke 15 records that Jesus once told three parables in response to the Pharisees’ self-righteous and condemning remarks about the people he was spending time with. The core threads running through those parables, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, are that God places unimaginable value on every human soul and is passionately seeking the lost.

We see the manifestation of these threads through the lives of His amazing servants who are willing to go to difficult and remote areas to live among those who do not know Christ. Though the methods may vary widely the ultimate goal is to share the truth of the Gospel to those who have not heard, and establish maturing churches filled with those who have come to believe and are growing in their faith.

I feel this “thread” runs though those of us at AIM International Services (of which AIM AIR is one part), and expresses itself in a burning desire to support and enable the ministry of those willing to reach out to people in remote places.

Not many of us are gifted evangelists; our gifting is more in the area of serving and…well, we may be more blacksmiths than wordsmiths. But I think there is a deep desire within us to see people come to Christ, to grow in their faith, and to produce fruit on earth that will last for eternity.

An aircraft’s instruments and avionics are essential to carry out each flight safely and efficiently. They allow the pilot to know the complete situation of his aircraft even when all that can be seen outside the window is white cloud vapor. Avionics systems allow for communication, navigation, awareness and avoidance of potential hazards to the flight, and relieve the pilot’s workload and fatigue.

Doesn’t it seem ironic that these complex machines filled with these complex systems are being used to reach people in some of the simplest cultures on earth? It is as though God is saying to us, these souls are precious to me, so do whatever it takes to reach them. Wait…there’s that thread again.

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