William and Jenelle Wolf have been preparing for service with MAF for years. You could even argue it’s been decades.
After viewing the documentary Through Gates of Splendor as a child, William decided he was going to be a missionary pilot.
Also as a young girl, Jenelle heard a missionary to Africa speak at a summer camp and determined God was calling her to serve in Africa.
After he learned most missionary pilots should also be mechanics, William studied Aviation Maintenance Technology at University of Alaska-Fairbanks.
Meanwhile, Jenelle earned a Biblical Studies degree at New Tribes Bible Institute, but she didn’t feel that God was leading her to join the Ethnos360 (formerly New Tribes) mission.
When William and Jenelle met, it became clear that their missionary service would be together through mission aviation. They began preparing to join MAF, with a diversion of a few years while William worked as a mechanic in Fairbanks, servicing planes that flew into the Alaskan wilderness.
Though at the time the years in Alaska seemed like a detour, William and Jenelle now see how valuable that experience was in preparing William for his role as an MAF mechanic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
They also learned to trust the Lord to provide for their every need. After a landlord told them they would need to leave their rented rustic cabin shortly before Jenelle was due to give birth to their first child, within hours, someone knocked on their door and offered another place to live. And the new cabin had running water!
The route to become MAF missionaries took longer than they expected, but the Wolfs see God’s hand in it.
“God has been leading in the direction of MAF for a very long time,” Jenelle said. “And it’s definitely been his timing in all of it.”
Rather than training to become a pilot, William learned he is well-suited to be a mechanic, and his role in the DRC will be caring for the mission aircraft, an extremely important service role that allows MAF to operate safely. “I’m not the one to be up on stage,” he said. “I really relish being able to take and make everything work for everyone else.”
As they prepare for service in DRC, William and Jenelle are raising financial support. “We’re going out and following God’s will. But we can’t do that without the help, the support, and the partnership of those behind us supporting us in prayer and in the finances,” Jenelle said.
It’s a process that moves one step of faith at a time. “Every time we get a new gift, whether it’s a recurring gift or a one-time gift, I start crying,” she said. “I am overwhelmed by the immense amount of love and trust people have in us and in God.”
To learn more about the Wolfs or to join their support team, visit maf.org/wolf.
