MISSIONS: 

Steve and Gail Quigg
416 Red Hill Rd, Pequea, PA 17565
717-284-4788           
[email protected]
FlyingQuiggs.org         
MSISafety.org
UMAviationMinistries.org

We Never Saw It Coming!!

   One of the on-going struggles across the missionary aviation world in general,
and in the Congo in particular, is the scarcity and high price of aviation gasoline.
The proverbial handwriting is on the wall that the stuff will disappear altogether in
the not so distant future. The logical answer for our United Methodist Aviation
Ministries (UMAM) operations is to buy an aircraft that uses much cheaper and
more widely available jet fuel. And the logical place to put the new plane is in the
North Katanga annual conference area in the Congo since that program is our best
unded operation and has our most experienced turbine pilot. The Greater NJ
conference is a partner conference with North Katanga, so it accepted the
challenge of raising funds for the new airplane. Under the �Change for a Plane�
slogan, GNJ churches have been gathering coins over the last year to give during
one of the Annual Conference offerings. Because our leadership role with UMAM,
we had the privilege to make a short presentation just prior to the Thursday �Change
for a Plane� collection, and to liven up the proceedings, participants had been
encouraged all week to stop by the �Build a Paper Airplane� table in the registration
area to fashion a paper airplane for use during the offering. You should have seen
the place come alive during the offering as the ushers collected the gifts and everyone
rose to their feet to let loose with their flying creations, even while dropping their
checks in the baskets. There were planes flying all over the place, but the total giving �
get this � was over $86,000! To give it perspective, the four other offerings taken during
annual conference averaged about $5,000. Wow! But to put it into an even larger
perspective, the budget for the new plane is $1.6 Million (turbine aircraft are incredibly
expensive in comparison to gasoline burning planes), and GNJ�s portion of the load was
$100,000. Here�s where the story gets really interesting. On Saturday morning, a
retired District Superintendent asked the Bishop for a moment of personal privilege.
He spoke directly to the delegates, sharing how he felt the need to challenge them
to complete the $20,000 lacking from GNJ�s share. He committed his own church to
adding $1,000 to the total and threw down the gauntlet for others to do the same.
After a bit of urging, a pastor got up and committed her church to $3,000. The Latino
Ministries rep said his group would match the $800 they had just spent on a ministry
celebration event. Another church committed $1,000; yet another $3,000. A pastor
got up to say that she�d give $100 of her own money if there were 10 others who
would match her gift � dozens got up to join her. Lines started gathering at the
microphones. A life-long friend committed $500; a poor college student gave $50;
church rep after church rep committed various sums � sometimes with permission
from their congregation and sometimes without! People gave gifts in honor of others.
The Bishop got giddy with excitement � the beat went on. The time for lunch break
came and went and the lines at the microphones simply grew. For the next half hour,
the Spirit continued to move in the hearts and pocketbooks of the delegates in a
truly miraculous way. When it was all said and done, an additional $108,000 had been
pledged for a total commitment of $195,000! If you want to experience a bit of what it
was like (and trust us, you do), go to www.gnjumc.org/682, scroll most of the way down
the page and click on the video segment entitled, �2011 AC June 4^th: �Wings of the
Morning� pledges, Part 1.� You�ll probably want to watch the other segments too, but
start there.

   We hope that at some point in your life you get to experience the incredible outpouring
of love and bathing of the Holy Spirit we experienced at this annual conference session.
Just be ready for it. We never saw it coming.

   Fritz Harz and Pastor Dave pledged $2,000 from Elmer UMC. Al-Jo Voeckler, our treasurer,
has received $1,000 of that. We still need another $1,000.

   Steve Quigg and his father, Rev. Walter Quigg came to Elmer UMC when Steve was in
1^st grade and stayed 17 years till Steve graduated from college. He was a missionary in
the Congo during their revolution and in Nigeria before joining aviation safety where he
teaches bush pilots. This plane will save many lives as it takes people for medical help
and expecting mothers for safe delivery of their babies. If you would like to help purchase
this plane, talk to Al-Jo. Pray for Steve and Gail Quigg and for all the money to come in
soon. Each day many people die because they cannot get to the hospitals in Africa.
Thank you for praying,  caring and giving!