Day 1

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Day 1

‘MAF aircraft fly all sorts of things
To help people out,’ Mike said.
‘This Advent, let’s build a list of them
All the way from A to Z.’

A is for audio Bible,
For listening to God’s wonderful Word.
As Mike took off in his small aircraft,
He was glad the Good News would be heard.

The first stop was northern Australia,
The territory of Arnhem Land.
As Mike landed his plane on the airstrip,
A man came to lend him a hand.

‘Most Bibles here are in English.
That’s not something that’s easy to read.
But now we can hear our own language,
Your cargo’s a blessing indeed!’

Mike showed him the audio Bible,
All charged up by the sun’s warm rays.
No need to worry about batteries or plugs,
Now people could listen for days.

These audio Bibles are just one of the things
That MAF flies through the skies.
Join us tomorrow for the next letter,
And another exciting surprise.

Day 2

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Day 2

‘MAF aircraft fly all sorts of things
To help people out,’ Mike said.
‘This Advent, let’s build a list of them
All the way from A to Z.’

B is for blankets, cosy and warm,
Stacked up in the back of Mike’s plane.
Flying so high, he looked down at the view
But could only see muddy terrain.

Beneath Mike lay Sulawesi island,
A place where he often had flown.
This Indonesian land was ruined and scarred,
It was a true disaster zone!

There’d been an earthquake and tsunami,
But MAF had got there quick,
Delivering everything the people might need
To those who were injured or sick.

Mike brought his plane down safely
For the people who’d lost their homes.
They were glad to receive his blankets
To cover their weary bones.

These blankets are just one of the things
That MAF flies through the skies.
Join us tomorrow for the next letter,
And another exciting surprise.

Day 3

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Day 3

‘MAF aircraft fly all sorts of things
To help people out,’ Mike said.
‘This Advent, let’s build a list of them
All the way from A to Z.’

C is for chimpanzee – what a surprise!
As Mike turned his plane to the west,
A call came over his radio set,
‘Please respond to this urgent request!

‘A poor baby chimp has been injured,
She has fallen out of a tree.
Please will you help us by taking her
To the wildlife sanctuary?’

Mike landed his plane in Liberia,
Where he picked up the injured ape.
Her name was Mary Beauty,
And she’d had a lucky escape.

Some poachers had killed her mother,
Leaving Mary all alone.
Mike was only too happy to take her
To the safety of her new home.

Chimpanzees are just one of the things
That MAF flies through the skies.
Join us tomorrow for the next letter,
And another exciting surprise.

Day 4

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Day 4

‘MAF aircraft fly all sorts of things
To help people out,’ Mike said.
‘This Advent, let’s build a list of them
All the way from A to Z.’

D is for dentist – open wide!
They help us to keep our teeth healthy.
Although there are many in the UK,
Not every place is as wealthy.

The next stop for Mike was Papua,
And as he began to descend,
Down there waiting, below on the ground
Was a dentist called Ika, his friend!

‘Please take me to Nalca,’ said Ika,
‘I’m teaching the small children there
About how to clean and look after their teeth
And to treat all their smiles with care.

‘I use my puppets to teach them,
They really enjoy the show.
Fun helps the children remember
The toothbrushing skills they should know.’

Dentists are just some of passengers
That MAF flies through the skies.
Join us tomorrow for the next letter,
And another exciting surprise.

Day 5

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Day 5

‘MAF aircraft fly all sorts of things
To help people out,’ Mike said.
‘This Advent, let’s build a list of them
All the way from A to Z.’

E is for evangelist –
Which is quite a difficult word
For a person who tells others about God’s love,
So the Good News can be heard.

Elisha lives in Tanzania,
Where he shares God’s Word with his tribe.
He travels all over the area,
Preaching to those far and wide.

As Mike brought his plane to a standstill,
He saw Elisha with a giraffe.
It was his dear friend Alpha,
Who always made Mike laugh.

The pair were surrounded by people,
Who were eager to hear what they’d say.
They’d been sharing God’s love with the Maasai,
And teaching them all how to pray.

‘MAF flies me to faraway places.
If I walked, it would take many days,’
Said Elisha, as he entered the aircraft,
‘You’re such a great help Mike, always.’

‘May I join in your alphabet adventure?’
Alpha asked his good friend Mike.
‘To see the things MAF’s flying,
Is something I’d really like.’

Evangelists are just some of passengers
That MAF flies through the skies.
Join us tomorrow for the next letter,
And another exciting surprise.

Day 6

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Day 6

‘MAF aircraft fly all sorts of things
To help people out,’ Mike said.
‘This Advent, let’s build a list of them
All the way from A to Z.’

F is for fuel drums – jolly and red,
And very heavy indeed.
With fuel inside, to help our planes fly,
It’s just what our pilots need.

Mike’s next stop was back in Australia,
To MAF’s maintenance base.
Waiting was Pilot Bridget,
With a great big smile on her face.

‘Welcome, Mike and Alpha,
I hope you can help me today.
These drums full of fuel will help me fly
To Arnhem Land far away.’

The friends were only too happy to help,
And the drums were soon on the plane.
Then heading west towards Arnhem Land,
They knew they’d see their friends again.

These fuel drums are just one of the things
That MAF flies through the skies.
Join us tomorrow for the next letter,
And another exciting surprise.

Day 7

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Day 7

‘MAF aircraft fly all sorts of things
To help people out,’ Mike said.
‘This Advent, let’s build a list of them
All the way from A to Z.’

G is for glass eyes – they can’t help you see,
But they might help you feel more content
If you unfortunately lost your own eye
Through an illness or accident.

The next stop was Madagascar,
On the runway below was a fox.
It was their old friend Foxtrot,
In whose paws they saw a box.

Foxtrot handed over the cargo,
A big box filled with glass eyes.
They were needed in a faraway hospital,
To give a patient a nice surprise.

Foxtrot climbed into the aircraft,
And the friends were soon in the air,
Heading off to the remote village hospital,
To deliver the cargo there.

These glass eyes are just one of the things
That MAF flies through the skies.
Join us tomorrow for the next letter,
And another exciting surprise.

Day 8

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Day 8

‘MAF aircraft fly all sorts of things
To help people out,’ Mike said.
‘This Advent, let’s build a list of them
All the way from A to Z.’

H is for healthcare workers
Who use their special skills
To help people far from a hospital,
And take care of all their ills.

Next stop for the friends was Angola,
The home of Dr Tim.
He looks after people who aren’t very well,
So they were pleased they could help him.

‘Hello friends,’ said the doctor,
As Mike carefully landed his plane.
‘I’m needed in a hard-to-reach village,
Do you think you could help me again?

‘I help people when they’re feeling sick,
I tell them about Jesus too,
But the village is a very long way away,
So I can’t get there without you.’

‘Climb on board,’ shouted Alpha.
‘We’ll soon get you there,’ said Mike.
Foxtrot said, as he loaded the plane,
‘We’re glad we can save you a hike.’

Healthcare staff are just some of the passengers
That MAF flies through the skies.
Join us tomorrow for the next letter,
And another exciting surprise.

Day 9

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Day 9

‘MAF aircraft fly all sorts of things
To help people out,’ Mike said.
‘This Advent, let’s build a list of them
All the way from A to Z.’

I is for injured people,
Who need urgent medical care.
If they can’t get to hospital by car or bus,
MAF carries them in the air.

As Mike and his friends headed west,
An urgent call came through:
‘Could you hurry to the island of Timor-Leste?
We’ve an urgent job for you.

‘A villager was hurt on his bike,
When it started veering madly.
Please take the patient in your plane,
He needs a crutch quite badly.’

The friends were only too happy to help,
And they sped to the man in their plane.
They soon had him safe with the doctors
Who helped him feel better again.

Injured people are just some of the passengers
That MAF flies through the skies.
Join us tomorrow for the next letter,
And another exciting surprise.

Day 10

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Day 10

‘MAF aircraft fly all sorts of things
To help people out,’ Mike said.
‘This Advent, let’s build a list of them
All the way from A to Z.’

J is for the Jesus film,
With a powerful story to tell
Of what Jesus did in His time on earth,
And His power to change lives as well.

The next stop for the friends was Uganda,
To catch up with their old mate Sam,
Who works hard as an evangelist,
Which is why he’s a busy man.

Sam was below on the airstrip
As Mike brought his plane in to land.
‘Could you take me to the Ssese Islands?
I’ve something exciting planned.

‘The people who live in the islands
Have had a difficult year.
I’m going to show them the Jesus film;
They need some Christmas cheer!’

In no time at all, they were on their way
To the isolated location,
Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ
At the islanders’ celebration.

The Jesus film is just one of the things
That MAF flies through the skies.
Join us tomorrow for the next letter,
And another exciting surprise.

Day 11

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Day 11

‘MAF aircraft fly all sorts of things
To help people out,’ Mike said.
‘This Advent, let’s build a list of them
All the way from A to Z.’

K is for the Kündigs,
A couple from Switzerland.
They’ve been with MAF for many years,
And love to lend a hand.

Our friends flew to see them in Guinea,
Which is where Emil and Margrit live.
They are travelling around the country
To see what help MAF can give.

The roads in Guinea are not very good,
With some washed away by the rain.
It’s certainly easier to travel there
If you’re flying in Mike’s little plane.

It would be such a joy for the people
If there was an MAF base.
The Kündigs are working to set one up,
Which would be a great help for the place.

Alpha was very excited
To hear all the news of their mission.
He decided he’d stay and help them there;
He’d be a most useful addition.

The Kündigs are just some of the passengers
That MAF flies through the skies.
Join us tomorrow for the next letter,
And another exciting surprise.

Look around

There is so much to explore in Tanzania. Beautiful lakes, big forests, and Africa’s tallest mountain – Kilimanjaro – attract lots of visitors.

It’s a great place to go on safari – but not by jeep! MAF planes take passengers ‘on safari’ by air; flying doctors, nurses, dentists and church leaders around so they can help people in villages that don’t have roads. Without MAF, many places would be cut off from the outside world. People in these little communities speak a total of 100 different languages. Some tribes have never read the Bible, so MAF is working with translators to make it available in the languages people understand.

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A little more about Tanzania...

Location

Tanzania lies just below the equator, on Africa’s eastern coast. To the east of the country lies the Indian Ocean.

View map

Time

1:43pm, 11th November 2025

UTC +3

Fascinating Fact

There are more than one million wildebeest (gnus) living in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Every year, they make the 800km trek to follow their food source of the green grasses that grow around the park at different times of the year. This is the largest migration of mammals in the world.

Weather

Today’s weather in Tanzania is a warm and sunny 28°C. You can expect ten hours of sunshine a day at this time of year, but don’t be surprised by the occasional short rain shower.

A beautiful landscape in Tanzania. Photo by Jarkko Korhonen.

An MAF aircraft dropping off some nurses to the village of Basotu. Photo by Eivind Lindtjorn.

Mothers walking to a health clinic for babies. Photo by Eivind Lindtjorn.

A nurse weighs the babies at the Chidudu clinic. Photo by Eivind Lindtjorn.

Cattle crossing the runway in Tanzania! Photo by Lukas Schmid.

Maasai evangelists preaching under a tree in Tanzania. Photo by Kirstein Combrink.

Evade that elephant!

Elisha learned to read and write growing up in his village in northern Tanzania. This was very unusual.

Having been given a Bible in a language he could read, from then on, Elisha wanted to tell other Maasai about Jesus.

MAF helps Elisha reach places he couldn’t access easily. Journeys which would take days on foot can be covered in a less than an hour by plane.

It was very dangerous to get to places before Elisha met MAF because he had to walk everywhere.

One day, he met a herd of elephants. They chased him to the mountains and he had to hide on top of a big rock until they went away. Another time, Elisha met a badly injured buffalo. It tried to attack him and he had to climb a tree to escape!

‘I remember a time that I walked barefoot,’ says Elisha, ‘I got sunstroke and I couldn’t walk. I stopped under a tree and I started to cry because of the pain. But MAF was the answer to my cries.’

Elisha is the lead evangelist at Malambo Bible College. The college trains workers to talk to people in remote villages and help them understand the Bible. Because Elisha is a Maasai tribesman, he knows how the people in the area live. New airstrips have even been made in the mountains because of his work!

MAF pilots fly Elisha and his team of evangelists from Malambo to inaccessible villages over three days. They give talks and are then flown home again. They tell people about Jesus, baptise those who believe, teach from the Bible, and pray for the sick.

Elisha and his friends have continued to work during the coronavirus pandemic, teaching people to trust God in good times and in bad.

This year, they baptised more than 130 adults. Instead of worshipping idols and other created beings, they now worship the one true God.

MAF loves supporting the work of the Malambo evangelists and seeing so many people come to know Jesus.

Watch video

Maasai

The Maasai are a group of people who live in Kenya and northern Tanzania. They traditionally farm cattle and move from place to place. They wear distinctive traditional dress and are often seen wearing colourful beads and jewellery.

Evangelist

An evangelist is a person who teaches others about the Christian faith.

Baptise

To dip a person in water or sprinkle them with water. A way to publicly show your acceptance and love of Jesus.

Pray

Praying is when you have a conversation with God. It can be to say sorry for things you’ve done wrong, to say thank you or to ask God for His peace, protection or healing.

Pandemic

When an infectious disease spreads around a country, or even across the world, affecting many people.

Idols

The act of worshiping something or someone, other than God.

Read

Luke 1:38

‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.

Pray

Dear God, we thank You for the work of Elisha and other evangelists. We ask You to bless them and pray that many more people will hear their message, give their lives to Jesus and be baptised. Amen.

Today's Challenge

Phone or text a friend that you haven’t spoken to in a while and find out how they are doing.

Did you complete yesterday's challenge?

Next time you’re at the dentists, take a thank you card letting them know you’re grateful for their service.

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MAF Advent Adventure Story

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