GroundCrew Issue - April 1996 - Page Four

DIRECTOR'S DESK - DWIGHT JARBOE

How would you feel if you travelled halfway around the world to your country of missionary service and no one met you at the airport? I'm sure you would feel disappointed and a bit frightened; especially since you had sent five telegrams to your mission headquarters in that country notifying them of your arrival date and flight number. This happened to friends of mine a little over twenty years ago. They were expecting fellow missionaries to meet them and guide them through immigration and customs challenges.

In 1972 when I joined the mission aviation community, parts orders would come to headquarters in the U.S. from aviation programs in some countries by telegram. Their parts department personnel would send three to five telegrams with the same request hoping one would get through. These orders would normally take a couple weeks to arrive.

Since then, fairly reliable telephone service has been established most places where good communication was lacking twenty years ago. However, international calls, even though possible, can become quite expensive.

Well, technology has bailed us out again. With the proliferation of personal computers electronic mail has come. Even where there are no telephone lines talented technicians are substituting high frequency radio to connect missionaries' computers with those of their co-workers and supervisors. At MMS we have taken advantage of the ability to communicate this way and you can find our e-mail address later on this page.

Easy and rapid communication is a real benefit to the missionary community. Easy and rapid transportation is another. We will keep preparing mission airplanes and people to maintain them; at least until someone figures a way to send people through those skinny little phone lines.

E-Mail address: mms@tims.net

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