Meet the
Samaritan Aviation Team

Mark Palm is the CEO of Samaritan Aviation (SA) which he founded with a friend in 2000. In 2010, Mark and his family launched full-time aviation operations for SA in Papua New Guinea.

Mark grew up as a pastor’s son. From a young age Mark had two passions—helping hurting people and flying airplanes. These were especially deepened during his high school years when he worked with his parents who ran Elm Street Mission, a homeless mission in Santa Cruz, California, and also when he was able to serve with his church in Mexico building houses for those in need.

Mark attended and graduated from Miramar College with a degree in Aviation Technology. He holds a commercial pilots certificate with IFR and Seaplane ratings and an FAA A&P mechanics license. He also attended Hobe Sound Bible College and served as a youth and worship pastor for more then 8 years while helping to start Samaritan Aviation.

Mark has extensive mission experience along the Sepik River in PNG. He is often called upon as a consultant for the PNG government, other faith-based nonprofits, and humanitarian agencies as they seek to respond to the ongoing needs of the local poor and isolated population. Mark also has served on the PNG Air Transport sub-committee since 2018.

Mark introduced Samaritan Aviation seaplane flight operations in the East Sepik Province in 2010 and has routinely flown into areas along the rivers that have never had airplane operations. He has been the lead pilot on more then 1500 life-saving flights in the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea.

Because of Mark and SA’s ministry among the isolated jungle people of PNG, his story has been told through media outlets such as People Magazine, Surfer Magazine, American Family Association Journal, AOPA, Seaplane magazine , Relevant Magazine as well as a number of television interviews from CNN to Headline News. He has also been featured on radio and TV broadcasts in the USA, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Europe, and France. The story of SA has made dozens of newspaper articles including the front page of the Denver Post.

Mark and his wife, Kirsten, along with their three children Sierra, Drake, and Nolan, currently live in California. Kirsten has a Masters degree in Cross Cultural Education and has been Mark's partner since the beginning.

"I have been a fan of Samaritan Aviation since 2000. When I was introduced to this organization, I was the lead pastor of a church in Colorado. Over the years, our congregation and my family supported and partnered with several projects Samaritan Aviation had taken on. It was also our church’s pleasure to have Mark Palm on our staff as one of our worship pastors for three years. Mark and I have many fond memories of working together. I chose to join the executive staff because of this long-term relationship with Mark and several board members and a strong belief in what Samaritan Aviation is about."

Bryan and his wife, Mary, have been involved in ministry since the late ’70s. They began their ministry by starting a new church in Southern New Mexico and eventually received their missionary experience when they went to Nairobi, Kenya, in 1987. While there, they did mission work in one of the largest slums in East Africa. The Yeagers also spent time pastoring a church in Singapore.

Bryan has traveled to over thirty countries and spoken at many leadership conferences. In 1993, Bryan began serving with Promise Keepers as the National Director of Volunteers and the National Director of Events. From this experience, Bryan has authored several books covering volunteer management for churches, large events, and project management for nonprofits. In 1998, Bryan was the lead pastor for twelve years for a church in Colorado before moving to Mesa, Arizona, and joining Samaritan Aviation in 2013.

Samaritan Aviation feels blessed to have a person of Bryan’s experience, qualifications, passion, and expertise on the team. Bryan was the Chief Operations Officer for eleven years and has recently transitioned to the Chief Development Officer.

The Cooke family have been serving as missionaries in Papua New Guinea since 2013, joining Samaritan Aviation in 2014, and began serving in Wewak in 2015. As the Country Director for Samaritan Aviation, Chris leads our team in PNG as they carry out the mission: to provide the hope found only in Jesus, and to provide access to life-saving medical treatment to thousands of people living in remote villages along the Sepik River. As our Ministry & Outreach Coordinator, Sarah oversees our hospital ministry, as well as our medical and evangelistic outreaches. They are blessed to be able to serve alongside of their 7 children.

The need is so great and may seem overwhelming but YOU can help. You CAN make a difference! Please consider supporting the Cooke’s financially on a monthly basis so that they may continue on in the work God has called them to in PNG.

Thank you for your support! We take your gifts seriously, and we make every effort to maximize your investment in our ministry.

1. Credit Card or EFT/eCheck donation: Simply click the Donate button and fill out the information. 
   
2. Mail a check:  Please make the check out to Samaritan Aviation. On a separate piece of paper, note that the check is with preference of the Cookes. Please mail the check to:

Samaritan Aviation
PO Box 20697
Mesa, AZ 85277

If you need help: call the Samaritan Aviation office at (480) 581-1940 or email [email protected]

All gifts to Samaritan Aviation with preference to missionaries and projects are tax-deductible. As required by the IRS, gifts should be given with the understanding that they are under the full discretion and control of Samaritan Aviation.

In 1996 Tim and his wife Diana, along with their family, moved to PNG and into the Nakui tribe, an unreached people group located deep in the interior jungle. For the next fifteen years they were involved in translating Scriptures, teaching literacy, developing Bible lesson curriculum, and pastoring the small Nakui church toward maturity. For many of those years, he also served on leadership teams and as a field consultant, providing support and oversight to other tribal church planting works. Since returning to the U.S. in 2010, they have been involved in training international leaders in Africa and India to see churches planted by focusing on children and youth as a growth trigger.

Tim’s role with Samaritan Aviation as Director of Staff Development and Missional Engagement leverages his years of ministry experience. His role involves preparing and supporting Samaritan Aviation missionaries for overseas service as well as implementing transformational, Gospel-driven initiatives and programs in PNG. Tim also uses his time to continue the ongoing Nakui Bible translation project. Tim and Diana have three adult children and are based out of San Diego, CA.

Brian has been in ministry for the past decade but ministry is his second career. He spent more than 15 years in corporate retail before being in the ministry. Brian provided operational leadership to as many as thirty locations and up to $750MM budgets with two national brands.

Brian transitioned to vocational ministry in 2014 and has served in an Executive Pastor capacity for churches of all sizes, from a church plant to a church of over 5,000 in attendance. Some of Brian’s most memorable experiences in ministry were spent abroad. He has spent time in India, Africa, South America and China supporting partnerships with several non-profits committed to providing physical and spiritual needs.

Brian is married to Angela and they have three children. He was drawn to Samaritan Aviation after learning about Samaritan’s commitment to showing and sharing Jesus with those who have little or no access to the good news and the hope God provides.