Mike Mara is a retired United States Air Force pilot and also an active member of Gideons International. Over at least the last several years, Mike has partnered with FFCM to provide New Testaments (in Spanish and English versions) so that we can share the Word of God and the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to the 2,500 farm workers we serve in our ministry every year. Recently, Mike, who lives in Carlisle, PA, reached out to let us know that he had acquired 500 more New Testaments in Spanish language. This is a challenging time for us to go to pick up the powerful little books from Mike, so he offered to deliver them to us . . . by FLYING them to us. As it turns out, Mike owns his own small airplane and needs to fly a certain number of hours to keep his pilot’s certification intact. So, he loaded up the cases of New Testaments and flew to a small airport in Palmyra, PA, where Bill Ogle (FFCM Vice-President) met him and took possession of them. We are so grateful to God for our Mission Partnership with the Gideons and especially Mike.
Mike also shared that when he was unloading the cases of New Testaments from his airplane after landing, two young men of Latino heritage approached Mike and offered to help unload. Once done, Mike asked these two men if they would like a Spanish language New Testament and they were quite receptive and each took one! Perhaps the lesson in this act of service is that people are hungry for the Word of God and to hear the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, especially at this time of year during the holiday season of Hope. Feliz Navidad!