Matt,
Ignoring the whole fly for nothing issue MAF and similar organisations are not the place for low houred wanabee airline pilots.
If you have any doubt about this do some research into the conditions in places such as the highlands of New Guinea. You might want to get hold of a copy of the ONC for the area and look at the large white bits saying "unsurveyed" or "MEF not determined but believed to be not more than 14000ft" or similar. Then try to imagine what it is like flying a single engine aircraft in marginal VMC below the level of the surrounding terrain (ie through the passes rather than over the top of the mountains), dodging the clouds because they may contain rocks, always looking over your shoulder for a way out in case the weather clamps ahead, into 500m dirt strips at 7000ft AMSL with 20% or more upslopes in the TDZ. The Swiss guy who died had 12 years experience of operating in PNG under those conditions, and he is still dead. With all due respect is this the place for a glider pilot with a lapsed PPL, as you describe yourself?