PCM News: Four Day Limpopo Medical Outreach

13 March 2022

Four Day Limpopo Medical Outreach

Paul and Cathy both took part in a four day medical trip to Limpopo.

Paul set off early to collect specialists from Johannesburg...

..whilst Cathy flew up in the helicopter.

We based out of a bush strip just outside the Kruger Park in the north of South Africa.

One night we saw footprints in the sand of elephants that had walked right past the aircraft.

The team was 12 strong and included a dentist, optometrist, GP, two midwifes, evangelists and a team from Tin Soldiers (www.tinsoldiers.org) who specialise in Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva which attacks the body's muscular skeletal system.

Each day the helicopter flew the various teams to different clinics.

https://www.flyingforlife.co.za/blog/unite-against-cancer


Cathy with one of the ladies she helped

In all we did close on 60 flights and the teams saw about 330 people.

The Tin Soldiers guys were keen to publicise what they did and had bought a film crew with them. Paul got interviewed on the last day. Apparently the cameramen had previously worked on Survivor and The Amazing Race!

Lights, camera, action!

Whilst there we stayed in bush tents...

..and were a few kilometers away from some cove paintings.

Thank you

Paul and Cathy

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A short history of us

Not long after we were married we felt that God had some full time work for us overseas. This initially began with a move to Sheffield in 1992 to work for a Christian management training company. Three years later we felt the Lord's prompting that another change was imminent and this led to a move to Africa where we helped set up a youth program with the Lesotho-Durham link in the capital Maseru. An initial three year commitment turned into four after which the youth work was handed over to the nationals.

Then, after feeling God was moving us into mission flying Paul enrolled at a flying school and completed his South African commercial license with an instrument rating in December 1999.

We moved from Lesotho to White River in South Africa in June of 2003 where we now work with Mercy Air. Mercy Air was borne out of Youth with a Mission (YWAM) and is a sister, although smaller organisation to the more well known Mercy Ships. We are situated near Nelspruit and provide a service to missions and the development/aid community in the southern African region but mainly serve Mozambique.

We operate four aircraft at present - a Quest Kodiak, a Cessna 310 and two Airbus 350 helicopters which are often used for the relief flights.

When not flying Paul is responsible for flight operations and is Mercy Air's Safety Officer.

Cathy, who is a registered Nurse and Midwife works part time at Africa School of Missions which is a bible college preparing missionaries for overseas service. She teaches in their School of Health and is part of a team which visits a number of rural clinics during the week. She is also helps with the hospitality ministry that Mercy Air runs.

Matthew spent four years at Rhodes University in Grahamstown where he studied photo journalism. He has now flown the nest and is living with his wife in Durban. They have a young daughter named Isabella.