Words and photos by Heather Marx

“Ah-EEE!” The Moi believer interrupted his own words with an emotional cry. “All praise to God! You brought this Word to us. We praise You, Father, that we have seen this day before we die!”

The villagers gathered around the MAF plane to receive the first shipment of Bibles my husband, Brian, flew in. As the engine spooled down, the people whooped and then danced around the plane. So much excitement!

As the first box of Moi Bibles came off the plane, I looked around. Tears of joy streamed down the faces of those gathered—the missionary families, the pilots and other support staff, and the Moi believers themselves. Much hard work and sacrifice led to this moment of bringing the translated New Testament and 1,500 verses of the Old Testament to the Moi people.

Brian and I, along with our children Ethan, Jayden, and Elyse, spent four days with the Moi in January, arriving a few days before the dedication ceremony. Brian flew us to the village in a Kodiak, and we stayed in one of the missionary houses built over 20 years ago.

Celebrating with all the missionary families was so special. Brian has been flying for 13 years in support of the work in Moi people group, flying in the missionaries, their children to and from boarding school, medevacs, flights for the Moi school run by Lantern of Hope, and the clinic. We also supported the work when we lived in Nabire, hosting guests and doing the occasional supply errand.

I was so excited to introduce our twins to a Moi mother of twins, a boy and girl, just like ours. This is the first time in Moi history that twins have been kept alive. The Moi used to believe that one twin was an evil spirit impersonating the baby. They would kill one twin, usually the smaller one.  But the gospel changed that!

On the first night we were hosted for dinner in a honai (traditional Papuan house) by a Moi family and enjoyed a meal of root vegetables, sugar cane, and bananas, all roasted in the fire. Sepaiye is the MAF agent who helps when the plane comes to Daboto. His wife, Betani, gave me her necklace and said, “Your husband is my husband’s friend, so you are my friend.” We were so blessed and humbled to be hosted by this family who shared their food and possessions with us.

On the day of the dedication, Brian and another pilot flew in dignitaries, pastors, and VIPs. There was more dancing and whooping around the planes. Boaz, the representative of the Bible society that paid for the printing of the Bibles, was lifted and carried around.

I loved watching the parade of Moi people, missionaries, and dignitaries carrying boxes of Bibles down the airstrip, along the foot paths, through the hamlet, over pig fences, and to the sports gym where the ceremony was held.

During the dedication ceremony, the Moi people sang, chanting in harmony. All involved in the translation work went forward. Speeches were made. A Bible was ceremonially given to each Moi clan, as well as to MAF and other support organizations.  “We couldn’t have done it without you all!” said Steve, a longtime missionary to the Moi people.

One of the Moi believers had this to say: “Regarding this book, it’s in our language. It’s ours. But, even more, the purpose contained in it is for causing us to live well. And for that reason, the joy in my heart is beyond words!”

After the dedication, a video chat was set up so the 35 Moi students who are studying in Jakarta could speak with their parents and hear all about the Bible dedication. The students received their Moi Bibles the same day!

That afternoon while sitting on the porch, Steve translated for me as I asked one of the key church leaders, “How does it feel to have the Bible in Moi?” He answered, “I am thinking about the timing of the printing of it. We are so happy it is a time when we are not old. We now have the Word of God in our hands, and we can start using it for the rest of our lives. We’re very happy about that.”

He continued, “When you first hear God’s talk you’re thinking ‘Is this some kind of legend or fairy tale?’ Now I know this is God’s word, He’s talking to us! It’s the truth!”

Story ran in the Vol. 2 2024 edition of FlightWatch. Read the entire issue here:

The post God’s Word Changing Hearts appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Your support is enabling the light of Christ to reach a dark place on the south coast of Papua

“Can you please come to the south coast?”

This was the request of Pastor Simson, who had gone to great lengths to seek out missionaries interested in serving the swampy south coast of Papua, Indonesia.   

Through a series of providential connections, God led him to Sam and Kari*, a missionary couple living in Sentani at the time.

“He just showed up on our doorstep one day and said, ‘Every single Sunday I preach the gospel from the pulpit and the people go home and worship demons. I want to help my people know who Jesus is. I want to help my people be free from fear of spirits. But I’m failing to do that because we don’t have a Bible that makes sense in the Asmat language,’” said Sam.

God had already placed it in Sam and Kari’s hearts to minister on the south coast. Now they had an official invitation from Simson.

Knowing that MAF flights would support living in such a remote place, Sam and Kari began serving the Asmat area seven years ago. The community warmly welcomed them and helped them build a house, by hand. Sam and Kare are raising their three children here—now twelve, ten, and four years old.

Two Boats

“The only airplane on the island that can bring us in and out to our location is the MAF floatplane. The ground here is so swampy and muddy that essentially an airstrip is not possible,” said Sam.

Sam described the spiritual needs here as “enormous.”

“Church for them is like a shirt. It’s something you put on,” he added. “It’s not a heart change. It’s not a deep understanding of who God is.”

Since the Asmat travel by boat, Sam uses boat illustration to explain God’s redemption versus those who are separated from God and under wrath.

Unfortunately, Sam says the majority of Asmat people are in “Adam’s boat.”

There is a young group of believers who are in “God’s boat,” which is how Sam describes those who’ve been redeemed and hidden with Christ Jesus (Col. 3:3). But it’s hard for them to grow spiritually since they don’t have God’s Word in their southern Asmat dialect. 

Sam and Kari desire to see a mature Asmat church that’s alive and growing, that has the Word of God, that’s discipling its own people for the next generation.

Today, Simson and other church leaders are working alongside Sam and Kari to translate portions of Genesis and Exodus. Then they’ll tackle Mark and Luke. They’re also leading literacy classes, which have just started.

One Airplane

The MAF floatplane is the only one in all of Papua, and it’s critical to Sam and Kari’s mission.

“The fact that the floatplane can land right on the river, pick us up in the case of emergency, and take us directly to a hospital … That is a really key thing,” said Sam.

The other option is a four-hour boat ride on the ocean to the nearest airstrip. And that’s not even possible in certain seasons. When the wind kicks up, massive waves cause boats to capsize.

“When you think about a snakebite or a compound fracture … four hours is a lifetime. We couldn’t be here without the organization flying us in,” added Sam. “It’s almost impossible for us to function and be here.”

MAF medical evacuations have saved Asmat lives. The medevacs are vital, but they’re a last-ditch effort.

A new Siloam Clinic opened here last summer, which will help with day-to-day health and treat minor illnesses and injuries before they become a problem.

“The clinic here is going to allow the entire village to be healthy, to move towards wholeness, to move towards health,” said Sam. Malaria and parasite prevention, vaccination—these are the things that keep people alive and functioning well.”

“The fact that the floatplane can land right on the river, pick us up in case of emergency, and take us directly to a hospital … That is a really key thing,” said Sam.

MAF brought in a generator, a chainsaw, nails, tools, medicines, and other supplies so the new clinic and school could be built and open in time for the school year. Finally, MAF brought in the team of teachers, nurses, and a doctor.

God’s Blessings

When he reflects on the new school and clinic, Jack Gandy, the MAF floatplane pilot who did all of those flights said, “No one in the U.S. knows that the Asmat people even exist. But the Lord knows about them and He cares for them.”

Now, the Asmat children are receiving an education. The people will lead healthier lives. And, most importantly, hearts will change when they come aboard “God’s boat.”

As more missionaries—including families with children—are called to take the light of Christ to the swampy areas of Papua, they too will depend on MAF.

“Without the MAF floatplane, it would just be so impractical that it wouldn’t work,” said Jack. “The floatplane opens up so many more doors that would be closed otherwise. It opens up the whole south coast of Papua to the gospel.”

##

*Some of our partners request that identifying information be withheld for security reasons.

Story appeared in FlightWatch Vol. 2 2023. Read the entire issue here:

The post God’s Boat appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

By Jeanelle Reider

______

COMMISSIONED

On July 15, 2022, something happened to transcend tragedy.

More than two years earlier, an MAF Kodiak aircraft, along with its pilot, Joyce Lin, had crashed into Lake Sentani in Papua, Indonesia. No one can know why God, in His loving and perfect plan, allowed such a catastrophe. For MAF and all who knew Joyce, the fatal accident remains a heartbreak and a mystery.

On July 15, PK-MJL—the Kodiak replacement aircraft affectionately nicknamed “Miss Joyce Lin”—was commissioned for service in Sentani. As MAF staff formed a prayerful circle around the Kodiak, they knew the event’s significance extended far beyond the airplane itself. It extended to them.

Joyce was clear-eyed in her purpose with MAF. She said, “While I will always be excited to fly planes and work on computers, I am most excited to share the love of Jesus Christ by helping to transform other people’s discouragement and mourning into dancing and joy.”

Through PK-MJL, her legacy of love will continue.

READY FOR SERVICE!

PK-MJL’s journey to Papua began with generous funding from MAF partners who shared Joyce’s vision and wanted to carry it further. Once purchased, the Kodiak spent two years at MAF’s headquarters in Nampa, Idaho, getting retrofitted for the field and waiting for import permissions. It was then ferried to Sentani where it cleared customs in record time! The airplane was then prepped with its new PK-MJL registration and some small modifications and stood ready to join the MAF Papua fleet.

FIRST FLIGHTS

PK-MJL’s first passenger flights, conducted on July 18 by MAF pilots Dave Ringenberg and Tom Bolser, carried MAF missionary kids (MKs). Linda Ringenberg, Dave’s wife, said, “We hope that being the first passengers in this plane will inspire them to live a life that’s sold out for God like Joyce did.”

The next day, PK-MJL flew its first mission flight. This flight, and the ones in the weeks that followed, represented a beautiful cross section of the many ways this tool will be used to carry on Joyce’s legacy.

PK-MJL brought a photographer and others to the village of Nalca for the purpose of chronicling the work of Dr. Atik and the Siloam Clinic.

MORE TO COME!

We’re excited to see how God will keep using PK-MJL to speak His love to the people of Papua. You’ll be hearing more as the story unfolds!

And each time you hear of new ways Joyce’s legacy lives on, we hope you know how grateful we are for compassionate partners like you whose prayers and generosity help make it all possible.

The post A Kodiak Named PK-MJL appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Educating the whole child in remote Papuan villages

By Linda Ringenberg 

Ibu Liza and I carefully picked our way around muddy patches of ground as we headed from the Siloam Clinic toward the Lantern of Hope School in the remote Papuan village of Nalca. Ibu Liza (Ibu means Mrs. in Indonesian but is used before the first name) works as our church relations representative in the MAF Sentani office. She joined our family on this trip to Nalca to see firsthand the life-saving work of Dr. Atik, a doctor from Jakarta who oversees the seven Siloam Clinics in interior Papua. Next, we were going to see their school in action.

We climbed the wooden stairs up onto a deck that extended outside of the elementary classrooms and peered through the chicken wire used to cover the open windows. Classes were decorated with brightly colored posters and drawings. The kindergarten students were sitting cross-legged in neat rows on a mat as their teacher spoke to them.

Entering the second-grade classroom to take some pictures, we observed numbers written in orderly columns on the white board. The teacher pointed to each succeeding number as the students chanted the name. Then, she did something different. She started pointing at numbers randomly, out of order, and calling on individual students to say the number’s name. The students answered flawlessly.

Joy and satisfaction welled up within me as we watched this scene unfold.

In most isolated villages there is not a viable school, and children do not receive an education at all. These teachers with Lantern of Hope Schools, or SLH (Pronounced Es-El-Ha), are changing all that for the children of Nalca, as well as the six other remote villages where there are sister SLH schools.

These students were also learning beyond the level of rote, or memorization. The regular schools teach mostly at this level only. These SLH students were being moved to the levels of understanding and correlation, or problem solving. They were being taught higher thinking skills, which will open up many more vocational opportunities for them.

I spied my husband Dave and son Ryan in the fourth-grade classroom. Ryan was sharing some encouragement with the children about school, and Dave taught them the English phrase, “school is cool!”

Ibu Liza and I continued on to the sixth-grade classroom where we presented each student with a children’s story Bible that had been donated by a Christian organization. One of these students, a girl named Klister (Klee-ster), wants to become a pilot. After class Ibu Liza sat down with Klister and another student and had them read to her from the book. I noticed that they read Indonesian very well.

SLH also teaches from a Biblical worldview and educates on hygiene and health care in addition to the regular subjects.

Later that afternoon, I walked with Dave and Ryan down the Nalca airstrip. The village children followed us, helping carry the supplies to install a cement base for the new metal windsock pole that MAF was providing for the village. Ryan mixed up the first batch of cement while Dave tried to get the kids to repeat the phrase “school is cool!” The children looked at us with big, shy eyes. Dave tried several more times, and finally Klister said in a loud voice, “School is cool!”

I told Dave that Klister wanted to be a pilot and he invited her to help mix the next batch of cement. Often the village children are very timid with outsiders, but Klister confidently set to work, helping with the whole process.

That evening we gathered together with the clinic and school staff. We enjoyed a delicious meal of nasi goreng (fried rice) and a worshipful time of singing before Dave shared from the Word of God. They were hungry for that kind of encouragement. What a blessing to be with these teachers and nurses to encourage them in the good, hard work that they are doing in a very isolated place. They are so thankful for MAF and the service we provide, helping them not feel so alone.

Siloam Clinics and Lantern of Hope Schools are one of MAF Papua’s priority partners. Not only do we fly in much of the materials to construct their buildings, but MAF also brings much-needed supplies to the seven villages where these schools and clinics are located. The teachers and nurses count on MAF to transport them to the city for their breaks. We are blessed to serve such dedicated individuals who sacrifice so much to make a difference for Christ in the lives of these isolated people.

This is the second of two stories by MAF missionary Linda Ringenberg on her family’s visit to Nalca in Papua, Indonesia. To read the previous story, visit A Faithful Doctor | MAF Story Hub. 

The post Lantern of Hope Schools appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Wano evangelist Liku takes the good news of Jesus to Puluk

By Natalie Holsten

In many ways, Liku lives the life of a typical Wano (WAH-no) man. He has a wife and children. He tends a garden of sweet potatoes. He walks the trails and shares stories by the fire.

He’s experienced the fear that comes from being enslaved to evil spirits and animistic traditions. But he also knows the true freedom that comes through faith in Jesus.

Liku, an evangelist and Bible teacher working in the Wano village of Puluk in Papua, Indonesia, is a bit of a poet, using examples from everyday life to express deep theological truths.

When the airstrip opened in his home base of Mokndoma in 2014, he wanted to illustrate to the MAF pilots what the airstrip meant to him.

So he smeared himself with dirt and told them the dirt was like sin. Then he held up a mirror and said it was like the Word of God that missionaries Tim and Mike gave them, making them aware of their sin. Then he pulled a shirt over his head and said it was like Jesus, covering his sin.

“God placed me into Christ, like me putting on this shirt. When God sees me, he doesn’t see my sin anymore,” he explained. He said the new airstrip would allow him and others to pass on the truth of the “mirror and shirt.”

Since then, he and others have done just that, traveling by MAF plane to carry the life-changing news of Jesus to other Wano villages, most recently to the hamlet of Puluk.

Liku knows how difficult the trail linking Puluk to Mokndoma is. He knows what climbing the mountains in a downpour is like, he knows the danger of crossing the vine bridges that span the river, and how challenging it can be to come to the bridge, only to find it’s been slashed by a neighboring tribe.

He also knows the difference the MAF plane makes, reducing the three-day trek to a 10-minute flight.

Liku, in his poetic way, describes it in Wano terms: “This airstrip is a trail. It can bring medicine. It brings Yahweh’s word.”

The people in Puluk were anxious for Bible teachers to come from Mokndoma and share the good news of Jesus with them. This motivated them to work on the airstrip, to get it safe enough for an MAF plane to land.

“It was by MAF that we were able to come here,” Liku shared. “They (people of Puluk) sent lots of letters asking for us to come and teach them. But how would we be able to bring our wives and children and hike this long distance? There is no way. As soon as the airstrip was complete, we were here within a week! So they are super grateful for the airstrip.”

In June of last year, MAF pilot Nathan Fagerlie flew Liku and two other Bible teachers, along with their families, into Puluk. They built houses there and settled into the full-time job of the chronological teaching of Creation to Christ.

The people of Puluk were hungry for God’s Word, and eagerly received what the teachers shared, with 78 people sharing clear testimonies of faith in Jesus. Now the body of believers is growing in their understanding of what it means to follow Him.

“They put their faith in Jesus,” Liku said. “So now it’s with great joy that they continue to learn. And we love living with them.”

The transforming power of the gospel is evident in the lives of the people in Puluk, Liku said, with many of them giving up the old ways, which involved appeasing evil spirits – be it how they planted their gardens, or how they reacted to a “bad omen.” They were bound in fear.

“All that they left behind them,” Liku said. “And now their lives are very new.”

Nathan, who frequently flies into Puluk, has heard testimonies from new believers there, including one man who used to call himself a “pastor” even though he realizes now he didn’t know the truth until hearing the teaching from Liku and the others.

Nathan shared, “He was giving his testimony and he said, ‘Look, I’m an old man. I’ve expected to die now for many, many years. But if I had died yesterday, I would have gone to hell. I know that now. But just like Simeon, just like God kept him alive to see the Christ, God kept me alive to hear His Word,’” Nathan shared.

The Puluk believers have been so impacted by the airstrip in their village that a group of them hiked over to Mokndoma to help do improvements on that airstrip, extending it so that the MAF Kodiak could carry out heavier loads.

“This airstrip is important,” Liku said. “If the airstrip is functional, God’s Word can go out super quickly. Medicine can quickly go out. And other supplies that are needed, can quickly be brought via the airplane. With this in mind, some of us from here left to go help our friends in Mokndoma work on the airstrip.”

Liku and the other teachers will continue to teach through the New Testament epistles, and there are plans for literacy workers to come to Puluk. Eventually they will identify the next generation of leaders and train them.

And if the call comes to go to a new place to teach, Liku is ready: “While I’m alive, I will continue to do my work.”

Meet Liku in this short video: Wistia

You can see Liku and the story of how the airstrip in Puluk opened in the MAF documentary ENDS OF THE EARTH. For streaming or purchase options, visit Ends of the Earth – Mission Aviation Fellowship (maf.org).

The post Lives Made New appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

MAF KODIAK PK-MEA is very busy serving the people of Papua, Indonesia. Looking back at one of the MAF pilots’ flight logs shows a variety of ways she has served.

One day she was called for a medevac flight, to pick up a child in Nipsan village who had a piece of wood stuck in his eye. She flew to the village and whisked him away to get medical care. He has healed well after receiving medical treatment in Wamena.

In December she brought a Pioneers missionary couple back to the Nalca area where they had served for so many years before. They spent Christmas with the local churches there and encouraged the people in their Kingdom work.

PK-MEA also helped train one of the new MAF pilots so he could get “checked out” at the remote villages of Sumtamon, Paro, and Kenyam, which means the pilot can now fly by himself and safely land or takeoff at these three villages. The new pilot flew PK-MEA along with the chief pilot and together they tackled each day’s schedule, handling medical evacuations, church flights, or general community flights.

On another day the KODIAK took a load of building materials and food supplies to Soba. From there, she traveled to Obukain where she picked up a missionary family. Then there was a stop to pick up six adults and two babies at Welarek before the airplane continued on to Sentani.

Whew! As you can see, PK-MEA gets a lot done on any given day. From training pilots to helping people stay healthy to transporting missionaries, villagers, and basic necessities.

Did you know you can adopt this KODIAK with a one-time or monthly recurring gift? By doing so you’ll play an important role in sharing Christ’s love with the Papuan people through this airplane.

The post PK-MEA appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

When Petrus Giay, an Indonesian missionary, finally found the Weserau tribe deep in the mountainous interior of Papua, Indonesia, he wasn’t welcomed with open arms. It was obvious by their primitive garments made of bark, and their fear, that this tribe had little contact with outsiders. Their first instinct was to kill Petrus, who was trying desperately to communicate with hand gestures since he didn’t know their language. Finally, a small boy convinced the others that Petrus was a teacher, sent to help them.

These people had been on Petrus’ heart ever since MAF surveyed unreached tribes in the 1990s. Petrus joined a Papuan church on two different outreach trips to small villages in the area, and saw the great need there. Setting out on foot, he trekked four weeks through difficult terrain and finally reached the Weserau people.

Petrus’ discovery opened the door for MAF to help the Baliem Mission Center (BMC)—an organization supported by local Indonesian churches—to bring the Word of God, education, and healthcare to the Weserau people. In the beginning stages, BMC chartered a helicopter to take a small mission team to the area. Long-term, however, they would need MAF’s services as the helicopter was too costly and didn’t hold enough cargo. So on their third flight in they brought along MAF pilot Pieter van Dijk to survey the area. Van Dijk was dismayed when he saw just how rugged it was, and that there was no possible location for an airstrip.

Van Dijk couldn’t stop thinking about it. “I really felt like God was tugging on my heart—what can MAF do?”

While working on an airplane the day after his visit, he remembered a beautiful lake near the Weserau tribe’s village. And all of a sudden it occurred to him: We have an amphibious Caravan at another MAF base! Could we bring this floatplane up to Esrotnamba?

This was way out of the normal flight range for the Caravan. However, Pieter’s plan worked and MAF was able to make special arrangements. In 2012 MAF began serving the village with its floatplane, the only one in all of Papua. Since then they’ve brought in BMC teams three or four times a year, along with supplies, medicine, and building materials—enough to construct a church, a medical clinic, a school, and 21 homes!

“We have seen many changes in the community, both spiritual and physical,” said Dr. Roland Lallo, who is on staff with BMC and serves as a doctor at the clinic. “We can see it in those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior. The community is healthier; the children are receiving better nutrition.”

A pastor and his wife are based there year-round, along with a doctor and nurse. Additional doctors, teachers, and work teams, visit for weeks at a time. The children have made great progress in learning to read.

“The people seem calmer and more at peace with each other,” says floatplane pilot John Dalton. There’s a lot less fear—fear of the unknown, of evil spirits, and just fear in general.

Petrus, BMC, and MAF are focused on reaching the last isolated people groups in Papua, like the Weserau, with Christ’s love. This unique partnership—which includes your support—is allowing that to happen.

Read the full edition of FlightWatch »

The post To Every Tribe appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

Linda is an MAF missionary serving in Papua, Indonesia, who had the chance to fly with her husband, Dave, to visit the remote village of Nalca recently.   

As we stepped out of the MAF Kodiak onto the green grass of the Nalca airstrip, nurses from the Siloam Clinic took turns presenting each of us with a colorful piece of Batik cloth that they draped around our necks like a scarf. My husband, Dave, had flown our family, one of our national staff, and a videographer from the States who had traveled halfway around the world to capture the story of Dr. Atik.

The cool air invigorated us as we sauntered down the airstrip, marveling at the rugged mountains that encircled the village. We followed a path that led us to the Siloam Clinic where the nurses and Dr. Atik help the villagers each day with their health needs.

Dr. Atik introduced us to some of the individuals waiting at the clinic. One woman came to say thank you to MAF for flying her out of the village in a medical emergency. The clinic nurses had saved her life by stopping the bleeding after her husband cut off her hand in a failed attempt to kill her. Now her arm had healed, and she was so thankful.

Another woman was pregnant with her sixth child. Unfortunately, her first three babies had died during childbirth. Dr. Atik wondered if the woman was too small for a baby to survive a natural birth, so for her fourth pregnancy, she encouraged the woman to fly on MAF to the city where she had a Caesarean birth ending in a healthy baby! The plan for this sixth baby is to do the same.

This clinic is one of seven strategically placed in remote villages by a Christian organization founded by an Indonesian businessman and his family. They fully fund and staff the clinics with graduates from their medical university in Jakarta. The clinic is always placed with a school that is staffed in the same way from their teaching university. MAF has flown in most of the supplies to build these schools and clinics, and regularly transports teachers and nurses in and out on their breaks.

The people’s gratitude for MAF’s services and Dr. Atik and the nurses’ care was clear. I was touched to see, standing in front of me, people who are alive today through the clinic’s intervention and MAF’s assistance.

This fresh example of MAF making a difference in people’s lives reminded me anew that serving here is worth it.

That afternoon I helped translate for the filmed interview with Dr. Atik. I was very moved as she shared her story.

Dr. Atik strongly desired to come to Papua after finishing medical school in Jakarta, but her parents were against the idea. So, to honor them, she didn’t come, but instead worked in a hospital in Jakarta. She ended up experiencing some hard circumstances that left her very broken. It wasn’t until years later that she once again felt the intense longing to come serve the people of Papua, and this time her family didn’t stand in the way.

When she was 40 years old, Dr. Atik landed in Papua without a job or a contact. Eventually she was invited to join the Siloam Clinic staff as a traveling doctor to provide guidance and expertise at the various locations, which she has done for the past seven years.

One day she asked the Lord, “Why didn’t you let me come do this earlier in my life?” And the Lord told her, “Because, my child, you would have come in your own strength. Now you know you can’t do this on your own and you serve in My strength.”

All the nurses were sad to say goodbye to Dr. Atik the next morning as she flew out of Nalca with us so she could attend the grand opening of the seventh Siloam Clinic in a different village. MAF is blessed to partner with her and all the staff of the Siloam Clinics to reach the least, the last, and the lost for Jesus.

The post A Faithful Doctor appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

MAF delivers letter of encouragement to new believers

By Natalie Holsten

“You Dem there who have put your faith in Yagwe*, trust him. Yagwe has not forgotten you. He loves you so much. You also are now my family and I want to be there with you but right now I can’t.”

These heartfelt words, written from a missionary to a group of new believers from the Dem tribe, are reminiscent of the letters the Apostle Paul wrote to the early church 2000 years ago.

Nowadays, with Zoom, email, Facebook, and texting, sending a letter on paper seems almost antiquated. But for the Dem people living without cell service or electricity in the highlands of Papua, Indonesia, a letter is sometimes the only option for communication.

Last summer, the body of Dem believers in the village of Bina was brand new. After months of hearing the teaching of the redemptive story of Christ, many had made decisions to place their faith in the Lord.

It was time for the missionaries to take a break – some for a longer time of furlough in their home countries, and for Jay† and his family, a short vacation on the island of Bali.

But that short vacation turned unexpectedly long because of COVID-19 travel restrictions, and Jay began to worry about how the new believers were doing.

Like the Apostle Paul writing to the early church, Jay wanted to write the new believers and remind them of the good news they had heard and believed, and to reassure them that they were not forgotten.

But how to get a letter to the Dem believers?

Jay happened to see on the MAF flight schedule that a flight was going to Bina that week, so he reached out to MAF pilot Peter Santana.

“He sent me a message and said, ‘Is there any way if we email you a letter, can you print it out and drop it in to Bina,” Peter shared. “I said ‘yeah, we can figure that out.’”

Jay wrote out his letter of encouragement in the Dem language and emailed it to Peter, who printed it and delivered it to Bina, along with a load of cargo.

“It was pretty cool,” Peter said. “We brought in this letter, kind of like Paul writing a letter to the church, but it’s from Bali to the Dem in the middle of Papua.”

In his letter, Jay told the Dem believers that the missionaries were coming back soon, and the believers should continue to trust the Lord.

“I wanted to make sure they knew that we hadn’t abandoned them,” Jay said. “The letter…reminded them of what God had done for the Dem in sending a payment for their sins and that they are now children of God and how God knows all things and we do not, so we need to trust the Lord and follow His words that we have learned.”

Not only was the letter meant to encourage, but also to convey their regret that they couldn’t be there to help with medical needs.

The first morning after Jay and his family took off from Bina, they received word that a close Dem friend of Jay’s son was seriously ill. MAF flew him to a nearby town for treatment, but sadly, the boy died a few weeks later.

“We felt so burdened because we were supposed to be there to help with meds and there were some other health issues going around, and so in the letter I addressed that as well….just that we were sad we weren’t there to do medicine, but God is in control and knows all things,” Jay said.

Delivering the encouragement letter is just one way that MAF has supported the work of Jay and his coworkers in Bina. Through the years, MAF planes have flown in cargo and done medical flights, and MAF staff have assisted with the construction of the building where the teaching is done.

“We have such a unique role as the transportation arm of missions and the church,” Peter said. “Sometimes that comes in the form of flying in church leaders, sometimes missionaries, sometimes pigs, and occasionally we get to deliver a message for the young church in Dem. One flight like this is such a boost not only to their work leading a group of new believers, but also for each of us that God allows us to play a part in His story.”

Want to read the letter that Jay wrote? Here is the Letter to the Dem believers.

*Yagwe is Dem for Yahweh

†Some of our partners request that identifying information be withheld for security reasons.

Story appeared in the FlightWatch Vol. 3 (summer), 2022 issue:

The post Special Delivery appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.

By Jennifer Wolf

One day in 2012, a few men from Bina, a village in the highlands of Papua, Indonesia, started a two-day trek to traverse a huge valley. When they reached the rushing river in the middle, they stepped barefoot and sure-footedly on a narrow vine bridge to cross to the other side.

The bridge had been torn down years before due to tension between their tribe—the Dem—and the Wano people. They had recently rebuilt the bridge because they’d heard a group of missionaries were visiting the Wano people in Mokndoma and they hoped to bring them to Bina.

In Mokndoma that day, four men were helping a fellow missionary with a project. They were all expatriates from the same Christian organization.* As they were working, they got word that some men had come from Bina and wanted to talk with them. They put down their tools and met them at the local meeting area.

Through a translator, the Dem men shared how they felt like forgotten people; all the tribes around them already had missionaries come and translate the Bible in their language.

“We know when Jesus comes back we’re going to die. We are in darkness,” said one of the Dem men, wiping tears from his eyes.

Although missionaries had passed through Bina around 50 years ago, they hadn’t stayed. They were on their way to bring the gospel to another tribe. But they told the Dem that if they were to build an airstrip in Bina, missionaries would be more likely to come. So they did, but no one came. And while a few Dem people had some brief Bible training, it wasn’t in their mother tongue. What little the people knew was mixed in with their animistic beliefs—the belief that spirits lived in inanimate objects. And they continued to live in fear of these spirits.

Dylan, one of the four men helping at the time, and his wife had been asking God to reveal where He wanted them to serve. They had committed to go to a people group who were asking for the gospel, which is how they came to be in Papua, Indonesia. The visit to Mokndoma was an unplanned, last-minute trip.

“I knew right away that this was the answer from God we had been waiting for. It couldn’t have been any clearer,” said Dylan.

Dylan told the Dem men, “If it was up to us we would grab our bags and come to the village to live with you.” But first, they needed to return to the city to finish tasks, check with their organization’s leaders, and talk it over with their families before they could come to Bina.

But they did come. Almost a year later, Dylan returned to build a home so his wife and three young children could come and live there. Near the end of Dylan’s visit, MAF officially opened the Bina airstrip and began serving Dylan’s family and the other three men who were with him that day—and their families—who followed shortly after.

Over the next seven-plus years, MAF airplanes landed in Bina often, bringing the families in and out; transporting zinc roofing for their homes, a literacy building, and a large gathering place; and delivering appliances, food, and other supplies needed to live in the remote village. MAF also did medical evacuation flights for the Dem people.

Together, the missionary families learned the culture and the language of the Dem. They taught literacy classes so the people could one day read God’s Word. And, eventually, they were able to translate and prepare a series of 79 Bible lessons covering Creation to Christ—“God’s Talk.”

The Hamstras’ Path to Papua

Just days after Christmas 2020, Jack Hamstra, an MAF maintenance specialist, his wife, Angie, and their three teen children, along with other teammates, were spending a few days in the village of Bina, to help with a special building project—a large gathering place where the Dem people would soon be hearing about the God who loves them.

Jack had been serving with his family in Papua, Indonesia, for a few months and he was happy to do this work project for the Bina missionaries who were supported by MAF flights. As Jack thought and prayed about what would soon transpire under the shelter they were building, he was amazed at the goodness of God and the path He had brought them on to get to this point—even though that path had included some tough things along the way.

A few years earlier, Jack and Angie had stepped out in faith in their first “mission field”—fostering and adoption. Angie had cared for their four children, including an adopted daughter who had several medical needs. Jack had been working on corporate jet engines for several years but was beginning to feel unsettled at work.

“I  liked my job fixing airplanes and the guys I worked with. I just felt like there was something more.”

His discontentment had gone on for three years while the couple had prayed together every morning for the Lord’s direction. As time went on, their daughter’s health had begun to decline. The family had been through some difficult times before, but when Laila died, it was the most heart-rending trial they’d experienced. They hadn’t known it was coming, but the Lord knew.

Six months later, after they’d taken time to grieve, God finally began to reveal what he had in mind for them next.

In 2017, they sent an inquiry to MAF, trusting that God would open the doors if it was His will. God opened them wide. Three years later, the Hamstras were in Indonesia serving at the MAF base in Sentani, which is how their family came to be in the village of Bina in late 2020.

They had a sweet time of fellowship during that visit with the four missionary families and learned the amazing story of how God had called them to Bina. They also met the Dem people and heard about their culture, their beliefs, and their fears. But now, the Dem were so close to hearing God’s Word in their own language for the first time; it gave Angie pause for thought.

With Laila’s death and other hard things her family had been through, plus the general craziness of the world in 2020, Angie had sometimes found herself thinking, “Jesus, can you just come back?”

But as she stood in the middle of a village of five-hundred people who didn’t know Christ, it gave her a different perspective. “Maybe wait a little bit longer, Jesus. We need these people to have the Word.”

Hope comes to the Dem

In early January 2021, Dem villagers walked across the dewy grass and took a seat on the ground under the new shelter. They may not have realized it at the time, but God was calling them to His heart. He wanted them to know the extravagant love He had for them—the salvation that awaited each and every one.

Among them were Tigitogon, Liut, Nambal and his son, Yanet, the ones who had crossed the bridge several years earlier. Terisi, whom God had saved the year before through an MAF medevac flight, was there with her twin babies. Many others filed in, some who had hiked from over an hour away to hear the teaching, even three people who were crippled and endured difficult, muddy mountain trails.

The teaching began in the Old Testament with the Creation story and continued every weekday for several weeks. By March, they were in the New Testament. In mid-April, the Dem heard of Jesus’ death and resurrection and learned how they could be made right with God. Many tears were shed and confessions of faith were shared that day.

“Jesus did nothing wrong. He took my punishment so that I wouldn’t have to die and be separated from Yagwe,”† said an elderly woman through her tears. “I believe He did that because I couldn’t do it myself; no one can. Jesus did that for me. That Talk is very true.”

One man, after he’d believed in Christ as his Savior, said, “We have always thought Yagwe was white man’s Father.”

God in His sovereign, merciful way called the Dem men to cross the bridge that led to the four missionary families coming to Bina, which led to MAF opening the Bina airstrip. All continue to be obedient to God’s call on their lives: the Dem seek after God, the Bina missionaries teach and disciple, and the MAF missionaries partner with them.

Now the Dem people know that the good news is for all people, even for those who feel like the forgotten ones—even for those who live at the ends of the earth.

##

*Some of our partners prefer to be anonymous, particularly when they are in the early stages of working with a new tribe.

†Yagwe – Dem word for Yahweh

This story appeared in the Vol. 1 2022 edition of FlightWatch. Read the full issue here:

The post The Bridge to Hope appeared first on Mission Aviation Fellowship.