‘I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you': Esther Dii reunites with MAF pilot

3rd October 2025

Esther Dii now works as a pilot having been medevacked by MAF as a child (credit: Esther Dii)

A MAF medevac inspired Esther to become a medevac pilot (credit: Esther Dii)

Esther Dii was 8 months old when she was medevacked out of PNG’s Eastern Highlands after contracting pneumonia. 36 years later, Esther reunites with the man who medevacked her to hospital – MAF’s Master Air Pilot, Marcus Grey. MAF’s Tajs Jespersen reports…

When Esther Dii reconnected with MAF Captain Marcus Grey, 36 years after he medevacked her to hospital, she was overcome with emotion:

‘Wow, this is so surreal. There’s no right words to say except thank you to the Lord, thank you to you, and thank you to MAF.

‘My mother never forgot the way you went above and beyond that day. Through you, God answered her prayers and I am alive today because of it.

‘I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. I’m very very blessed and grateful for everything.’

CSI Aviation Pilot Esther Dii & MAF beneficiary

Today, Esther works as a medevac pilot for CSI Aviation in America. Her whole life and career have been shaped by her childhood in Papua New Guinea, including a near death experience in 1989.

Esther medevacs patients to hospital in America as part of her job (credit: Esther Dii)

MAF – an answer to prayer

Born to David and Tabitha Dii – founders of Life in the Spirit Ministries – Esther grew up in the isolated village of Simbari in Papua New Guinea’s Eastern Highlands.

The remote community relied on MAF to deliver essential drugs to their local health centre and to carry out critical medical evacuations. Esther shares how a MAF medevac saved her life:

‘When I was just eight months old, I became gravely ill with pneumonia. My mother called Goroka, desperately asking for a flight.

‘She explained that the patient was her own baby girl who had stopped eating and drinking, and wasn’t responding to any treatment. All she could do was pray and wait.’

MAF’s Marcus Grey was Tabitha’s answer to prayer for her daughter, Esther (credit: Katherine Williams)

MAF’s Marcus Grey was Tabitha’s answer to prayer (credit: Katherine Williams)

Tabitha’s answer to prayer could be heard shortly afterwards, echoing through the mountains – a small plane piloted by MAF’s Marcus Grey. Marcus did everything he could to save baby Esther:

‘You were the one who answered that call. You flew into Simbari, you immediately saw the seriousness of my condition, and rushed us to Goroka.

‘And you didn’t stop there – you personally drove us to the hospital to make sure we got the care we needed.’

Goroka Airstrip during the 1980s (credit: Esther Dii)

MAF’s hangar in Goroka during the 1980s (credit: Esther Dii)

Today, Captain Marcus Grey is a chief flight instructor, chief pilot and head of operations at MAF Mareeba’s flight school.

He has clocked up over 40 years of service for MAF and more than 17,000 flight hours across Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Australia and Africa.

Marcus is one of charity’s most experienced and highly qualified pilots of all time.

1988: Marcus holds baby Esther & her father, David, holds Marcus’ son (credit: Esther Dii)

Giving back

Like Marcus, Esther is using her aviation skills at CSI Aviation to give remote communities access to healthcare:

‘I am a byproduct of MAF.

‘Today, I serve rural communities – often from Native American reservations – bringing critically ill patients to larger hospitals.

‘Every time I fly a sick child, I think of you. I think of the grace of God, and the day you helped save my life. Your example and kindness planted a seed in me that has grown into a life of service.

‘I’m sharing my story to inspire future generations in PNG, as well as to give glory to the Lord for what He has done and continues to do.’

CSI Aviation Pilot Esther Dii & MAF beneficiary

Esther in front of an aircraft (credit: Esther Dii)

Marcus is delighted that the medevac he carried out nearly 40 years ago has had such a profound effect on Esther:

‘It does my heart good to hear that you have gone with the Lord into sacrificial service using aviation, after you were saved by God in PNG.’

May Esther’s medevacs also inspire others to serve the world’s most isolated people.

Children in front of MAF plane at Dimanbil, PNG (credit: Mandy Glass)

‘I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you’: Esther Dii reunites with MAF pilot

3rd October 2025

Esther Dii was 8 months old when she was medevacked out of PNG’s Eastern Highlands after contracting pneumonia. 36 years later, Esther reunites with the man who medevacked her to hospital – MAF’s Master Air Pilot, Marcus Grey. MAF’s Tajs Jespersen reports…

MAF – an answer to prayer

Giving back

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