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. 

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Songs of praise bounced off concrete floors and resounded from the tin roof. A parade of officials, professors, pastors, wives, and national leaders flowed around the chapel in celebration.

This was a very special day indeed because the small village of Kikongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) now had a university.

The ceremony marked the inauguration of the pastoral training institute that had been led by missionaries here since 1948. Now as the Baptist University of Congo, it offers majors in theology, agriculture, and education. This is a huge opportunity for people this far out in the bush who have not had access to education to get a nationally recognized degree.

“We are working to ensure there is a pastoral presence in rural Congo,” said Glen Chapman, a longtime missionary in Kikongo with American Baptist International Ministries. “The local churches are up against a lot of syncretistic movements and sorcery, so we need theologically trained pastors who can protect the villagers from the deception of sorcery and magic and all the violence and poverty that go along with that.”

Having a university here is important because the pastoral institute was struggling—the number of students had dwindled down to about six. Many of the people who sought higher education would leave for the city and often would not return to the rural interior part of the country. This year, however, the enrollment is up to 80 students, with the hope of increasing to 150 by next year. The ability to get a full-fledged education is a huge boon in such a remote area.

The village sits on the banks of the Wamba River, nestled on the grassland at the edge of a lush jungle. The people there live off the land—residing in thatch-roofed, mud homes and eating what they farm, fish, or hunt.

“It is hard for you to really understand what rural means until you take this trip to Kikongo,” said Mike Lowery, a theology professor who lives in Kinshasa and teaches at the university.

Kikongo is at least an eight- to 12-hour drive to Kinshasa by four-wheel-drive vehicle if everything goes right—a journey that is subject to bandits, roadblocks, or being stranded on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. An MAF flight only takes 55 minutes.

“I have made the trip by bicycle and it took three days; I have done it by canoe, and it took about 12 days,” said Glen. “MAF is always there. They are the guardian angels who can get you out if you have an immediate need to leave, like a medical emergency.”

“MAF has been instrumental in what we do,” said Mike Lowery. “You can’t really be a missionary upcountry in the Congo without some kind of air support.”

MAF has been serving the Kikongo village for about 55 years and, because of the access they provided, played a key role in the institute making progress to gain the accreditation to become a university. MAF flights not only supported the missionaries living here but brought in professors from Kinshasa to teach at the institute and now at the university.

“It is very exciting to have the university here, said Dr. Robert Nkwim, president of the Baptist University of Congo. “Thank you MAF! If you were not there, we could not come here.”

It was not only aviation that made the development of the university possible—MAF’s technology was vital.

“Through technology, MAF has been a godsend to the university and to us remaining here over the years,” said Glen. “HF radios kept us connected and, more recently, MAF helped get Internet to Kikongo through VSATs.”

This made it possible for the university to be connected to the outside world—and for Glen and his wife, Rita, to meet their granddaughter.

“We have no power besides solar power. We have no water besides the rainwater catchment, but because of MAF, I can Skype from my bedroom,” said Glen. “We have our first grandchild that we haven’t seen yet, that we aren’t going to be able to see for another year, but we can Skype with her.”

The university means pastors will be able to reach remote areas with the message of the Gospel and combat the syncretism and witchcraft pervading the hearts of the Congolese people.

“What this means for the village, what this means for the Congolese, for their children, and for the future—we get to be part of that as MAF,” said Nick Frey, manager of MAF’s WDRC program.

Read the full edition of FlightWatch »

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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.

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The ladies of the village of Holuwan were waiting. They were dressed up, excitedly swaying back and forth and chanting in their Yali tongue. They were waiting for the MAF plane to land, bringing them Bibles in their own language.

The Cessna Caravan touched down and taxied to the top of the mountain air strip. As pilots Dave Ringenberg and Peter Santana shut down the engine and climbed out, the colorfully dressed village women continued to chant and sway. Dave remarked, “It felt like we were on holy ground. It was a holy moment—one to be remembered.”

Fifty-two years before this moment, other Yali men were waiting—but not in the open. These renowned jungle warriors were hiding, bow and arrows in hand, near the path that wound through their Seng Valley territory. They were waiting to ambush the two strange-looking white men whom they had heard about. These men had brought a new message to the surrounding tribes–one that went against their witchcraft and warring. Finally, they ambushed missionaries Stan Dale and Phil Masters and began mercilessly pelting them with arrows. The two missionaries stood their ground and began pulling the arrows from their bodies and breaking them in two. Over 200 broken, bloodied arrows lay on the ground before they fell and died. They had come to scout out a place for a new airstrip in order to begin evangelizing this particularly hostile Yali tribe with the gospel of Christ.

Three months after the deaths of Stan Dale and Phil Masters, a tragic MAF plane crash claimed the lives of the pilot and the Newman family, with the exception of their youngest son, Paul. Paul miraculously stumbled out of the burning wreckage and found himself in the same valley where the missionaries had been martyred. He happened upon the hut of a Yali man who had not been in favor of killing the missionaries, and that man kept Paul safe until a search party came looking for survivors. This second contact with Westerners opened the door for interaction with this Yali tribe. Amazingly, they believed this second visit from strange white outsiders was a sign and asked for missionaries to move into their village. Five years later the first 35 believers in the Seng Valley were baptized, and church was born in this previously hostile area.

In present day Holuwan, the villagers helped unload the precious cargo from the MAF plane: boxes wrapped in gunny sacks that contained newly printed Bibles in their own Yali language. This was a reprinting of the original Southern Yali Bible that had been completed in June of 2000, translated over a span of thirty years by different World Team missionaries and Yali language helpers. The very first book ever translated into the Yali language was the book of Mark by Stan Dale himself and a Yali man named Luliap Pahabol. Prior to his death in 1968, Stan and his family lived in Ninia among a different Yali tribe where they had established an infant church. Luliap was the very first Yali man to receive the gospel. Stan was working on translating the book of Acts when he was killed.

And now, instead of waiting for war, the Yali church is waiting for more Bibles in their language. There are not enough Bibles for the community. So last year, their church organization (GIDI) ordered more to be printed in Jakarta and shipped to the MAF hangar in Papua.

MAF recently delivered some of the Bibles to the Yali villages of Dekai and Oakbisik. In Dekai the Bibles were divided and given to church evangelists and pastors. In Oakbisik people from neighboring villages walked for a full day to receive the Bibles. The remaining load needed to go to Holuwan.

After the Bibles were unloaded in Holuwan, MAF pilots Dave and Peter asked the people if they could open one box and pull out a Bible to use for a picture. As the villagers agreed, Dave asked, “Which verse of the Bible do you want it open to for the photo?” A Yali Pastor named Minus immediately responded, “Psalm 119:105. ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.’”

Because God, in his far-reaching love, worked through a killing, a plane crash, faithful missionaries and translators, and organizations like MAF, these Yali tribes no longer walk the path of darkness. Their path is lit by the word of God.

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The first time disciples of Jesus were called “Christians” was in the city of Antioch. Antioch was a cosmopolitan city with many different ethnicities living within its walls. Amid this diversity, a group of people stood out—those who followed an obscure, recently crucified Jewish rabbi from Nazareth. It would have been understandable if the people of Antioch had mistaken these people as just another Jewish sect. Yet there was something different about them. Something so different they were given a name intended to poke fun: “little Christs” or “Christians.”

The term “Christian” is only used a handful of times throughout the New Testament, often by outsiders. Members of the early church were known to call themselves “disciples.” In John 13:35, Jesus gives the identifying mark that His disciples should bear: love.

Jesus’ last earthly words were for his disciples to go out into the world and make more disciples. (Matthew 28:18)

But what is a disciple?

A disciple is someone who understands and follows a teacher. But a disciple is more than just a student; a disciple has a deep relationship with his or her teacher.

What does it look like for an MAF pilot or tech specialist to make disciples? What does it look like for a person with a nine-to-five job, or a stay-at-home parent, or a retiree in America to make disciples?

Jesus’ model of discipleship in the Gospels consisted of sharing His life with a select group of followers—pouring into them through teaching, showing what it looked like to live in the Kingdom of God, and being in relationship with them.

Being and making disciples looks like a missionary family in Lesotho investing in the life of a local teenager. It looks like a woman moving across the world to live in a village for decades so the people there can know Jesus. It looks like faithful people such as you supporting the work of MAF as we take the hope and love of Jesus to the most remote places on earth.

Being and making disciples means sharing the love of Jesus and the hope of the gospel with others and helping them mature in their faith.

The people of Antioch and others outside the Church in the New Testament saw this love displayed and accused disciples of being “little Christs.” Oh, that the same accusation could always be thrown at the followers of Jesus!

Story appeared in the Summer 2019 issue of FlightWatch. Read the entire issue here:

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Graduating here in Papua makes the letting-go all the harder. We won’t just drop our child off at college, or a gap year program, and turnaround to go home in the States. We’ll travel back halfway around the world to Papua. That leaves a great big ocean spanning the space between us and our kids. It feels so far. Thankfully, I have been able to watch several of my good friends navigate this transition already. I have learned from them through their tears and joys, and am so thankful we can support each other and our kids through prayer.

One of my friends, whose two oldest sons left Papua at the same time, shared a picture with me that God had given her. As she was praying for them, she saw herself in Papua, a great big ocean in between, and her boys in America. But spanning the ocean was Jesus, holding her hand in Papua and her boys’ hands in the States. What a beautiful reminder that in Christ we are still very connected.

Because we lost C.J.’s older sister to cancer, thinking about letting CJ go brings up extra feelings of grief. I am trying to face those feelings when they come, and let myself be sad when I need to. But, to also remember that I’m walking this road looking to Jesus and holding his hand. And Jesus is also holding C.J.’s hand. Jesus never lets us go.

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“Who am I to be asked to step into this role?”

That question ran through David Holsten’s mind when the MAF Board of Directors formally asked him to consider becoming MAF’s next President and CEO. Thoughts of the incredible legacy of this 73-year-old organization and the countless transformed lives washed over David in that moment.

“That was very, very humbling,” said David. “To see how God has used MAF in modern missions and then to be asked to step into that history and feel the mantle of leadership is a very weighty thing.”

David and his wife, Natalie, along with their four children, have served with MAF in Indonesia for the past 18 years. David has held a variety of roles, including pilot, program manager, and regional director of MAF’s largest region. However, one role David has particularly relished is story-teller.

David and Natalie both come from families of storytellers. David’s father was a pastor and rancher in Colorado and his brothers are pastors, authors, and communicators. David’s late mother is the one he credits as being the family’s best storyteller. His mother’s childhood was a difficult one—yet she constantly told her children how God had brought her through it.

“She would tell that story to us all the time, and God’s faithfulness and His goodness and His salvation were illustrated to us through stories,” said David.

“It just became this natural thing and, without even realizing it, I found myself doing the same thing with MAF. If you just open your eyes, the goodness of God—His faithfulness, His salvation, and the Gospel—are woven through everything MAF does.”

While David, Natalie, and their children are excited about the next chapter of their lives, they are mourning leaving behind their life in Indonesia, their home, their friends, and even their dog who won’t be able to make the transition with them. David will also miss the opportunity of having a front row seat to MAF’s operations, as a pilot, but his seat at MAF’s headquarters will give him a whole new view.

“Loving the story of MAF, to be able to see that playing out on a global level is such an incredible blessing,” said David. “It just turns up the volume of what I appreciate about MAF already.

“MAF has such a rich heritage,” said David, “it’s very humbling and a privilege to be able to lead this organization into its next chapter.”

Please pray for David, Natalie, and their family as they make this transition.

This story originally appeared in the summer 2018 issue of FlightWatch. You can read the entire issue here:

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In the aftermath of tragedy, Jesus went up to a remote place to be with His Father. Soon He was surrounded by people in need. He went over to them and healed them. As the day turned into night, His disciples wondered how they were going to feed the thousands of people who had gathered—not unlike a crisis that unfolded near one of our MAF bases.

CRISIS IN CONGO

Earlier this year, horrific violence broke out near the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. The Congolese city of Bunia swelled as an influx of people sought refuge from the nearby conflict. Soon tens of thousands of internally displaced people (IDP)—some estimates put that number near 100,000—found themselves in a makeshift camp with little to no shelter, food, or water.

Ashley Petersen, an MAF missionary, remembers the first time she came over a hill in Bunia and saw the masses of hungry, sick, and wounded people.

“This experience forever altered my perspective on the world,” wrote Ashley in a blog post. “There was much pain and suffering but we were able to bring some joy and smiles with our visit, feed a few who hadn’t eaten in days, and put a tarp over a few families’ heads to block out the rain.”

The city of Bunia is about an hour and a half drive over dirt roads—or an eight minute flight on an MAF airplane—from the MAF base in the town of Nyankunde. (MAF has offices at the airport in Bunia as well.)  This region is no stranger to violence, and the MAF hangar in Nyankunde still bears the physical—and, for many, emotional—scars of tribal fighting in recent decades.

Nyankunde was once a bustling community filled with workers from many different Western mission and non-profit organizations. But that changed as violence escalated throughout the ‘90s and early ‘00s. MAF played a key role in evacuating people as rebels overtook the area.

So when the recent round of fighting erupted, MAF was in a unique position to provide help to those affected.

ONE AT A TIME

When MAF staff first came to the camp, the situation was extremely dire—hungry and scared children, desperate mothers, people with gruesome machete wounds—everyone struggling to find relief in the volatile Congolese weather. To compound matters, there was initially only a few bags of rice to feed the roughly 100,000 people.

“We met a woman who had just come to the camp that morning,” said Jon Cadd, a long-time MAF mission pilot in Africa. “She was carrying her child who had the extended belly and reddish hair of the malnourished. They had been hiding in the bush for a month, running from people who were trying to kill them. She had seen others killed and, in fact, lost her husband. She finally felt she must get out of the area and walked for four days to Bunia and had just come to the camp before we got there. We were able to help her with food right then.”

MAF began raising funds to provide food, cooking utensils, and tarps for shelter for these people. People like you made it possible for MAF staff to purchase and deliver food and supplies to the camp on multiple occasions. Your donations allowed MAF—one of the few organizations responding to the crisis—to begin meeting the needs there.

But in the face of such great need, any amount of help can feel like a drop in a bucket.

Jon shares a conversation he had with a Congolese MAF staff member who had visited the camp with him. “I asked Anecho about what he had seen,” said Jon, “and he replied ‘Compassion, I have compassion on these people. But what can I do about so many people?’ ”

Jon recalls Jesus’ words to the disciples with the 5,000: “You feed them.”

GOD MULTIPLIES

The needs in the camp are still great and the situation is far from resolved. One of the MAF staff members estimates that MAF and local Congolese Christians are managing the only feeding program for the people of the Bunia camp—and MAF is donating the bulk of the food.

“We do what we can do and let God sort out the rest,” said Jon. “Because people gave money [to MAF] we can now do things we could not do before. We have been shocked at the way God has provided. More than 5,000 people are being fed more than just one meal. I always wondered how Jesus could say the works I do, you will do and greater works because I am going to my Father (John 14:12). I am not saying that we are doing greater things than Jesus, but that He is doing things here and allowing us to be part of it.

“I would love to thank everyone who has helped us to make a significant difference in the lives of these people who have suffered so much. As physical scars heal we pray that the traumatic events, so fresh in people’s minds, will also be healed.”

Story originally appeared in the summer 2018 issue of FlightWatch. You can read the entire issue here:

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Unless you are of Jewish heritage, there was likely a point in time when someone, somewhere had to cross a cultural boundary to share the Gospel with your ancestors.

Paul went to the Gentiles. Mediterranean Christians went into the rest of Europe and further East. And the message of Jesus Christ has been spreading throughout the rest of the world ever since.

Yet there are still people groups who are either cut off from the news of Jesus Christ—or are still working to kindle the fires of their faith.

MAF has the privilege of working with many different people groups around the world—some of them have had access to the Gospel for years—others have yet to hear it in a meaningful way.

We wanted to give you a glimpse into just a few of the many people groups MAF serves.

Thank you for making it possible for MAF to be part of bringing hope to these people and many others around the world.

BASOTHO

Nearly two million Basotho people live in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho in southern Africa. HIV/AIDS is one of the most pressing concerns for the people of this remote country. MAF works with local Christians, missionaries, and doctors to meet the physical and spiritual needs of these people who are often cut off from medical care and the message of the Gospel due to Lesotho’s rugged mountainous terrain.

WANO

The Wano tribe lives deep in the mountains of Papua, Indonesia. Some studies estimate that there are only about 1,100 to 1,500 Wano people. In recent years, the first airstrip opened in Mokndoma, one of the Wano villages. This airstrip opens doors for MAF to support our partners who live and work there among these people. Before missionaries brought the message of the Gospel to the Wano, they were animists who lived in fear of evil spirits—even going so far as dismembering themselves to protect their families from these spirits. Since then, many of the Wano have passionately embraced their faith in Jesus and are reaching out to surrounding tribes. Efforts are still being made to translate the Bible into the Wano language.

HAITIANS

There are nearly 11 million Haitians living in the small island nation of Haiti. Their main language is Haitian Creole. MAF has worked in Haiti since 1986, helping churches and other organizations share Christ’s love with these people—particularly when disasters like the 2010 earthquake or 2016’s Hurricane Matthew struck this small island nation and devastated the lives of many of the Haitians who live here.

DAYAK

The term “Dayak” refers to some 200 different ethnic groups who live on the island of Borneo. The southern part of this large island belongs to Indonesia, and is known as Kalimantan. MAF serves many of the Dayak peoples throughout the interior of Kalimantan—often using floatplanes to land on the rivers that wind their way through this remote region. Traditionally, most Dayak have held to animistic beliefs, but in recent centuries, both Islam and Christianity have taken hold among the Dayak people. Along with providing access to medical care, MAF works with local churches and some Western missionaries to share Christ’s love here.

Story appeared in the spring 2018 issue of FlightWatch.

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Before ascending into heaven, Jesus gave His followers one last command—we know it as the Great Commission—and as a missionary organization, it is MAF’s guiding verse. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations …”

But what does “all nations” actually mean?

Panta ta ethne

Panta ta ethne is Greek for “all nations.” Ethne is the Greek word from which we get “ethnicity” or “ethnic groups.” Most Biblical scholars believe this passage meant something more like people groups or ethnic groups than just countries. But what is a people group?

The Lausanne Movement, an evangelical, global mission movement, defines people groups like this: “For evangelization purposes, a people group is the largest group within which the Gospel can spread as a church planting movement without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance.”

Basically, a people group is just that—a group of people with a shared language and culture. So a people group could be as large as most the United States or it might be much smaller.

In many remote places were MAF serves, such as in Indonesia, tribes living on one side of a valley might speak a totally different language and have a distinct culture and history than a tribe on the other side of that valley. These would be classified as two different people groups even though they live in the same country.

This is the case in many of the other places MAF serves as well. And without MAF many of these isolated people groups could not be reached with Christ’s love. MAF’s role in God’s story is an important one—because MAF plays a key part in going to “all nations”—particularly the ones cut off by geographic barriers.

In Revelation 7:9, John gives us a peek into the throne room of God. I like to think of this as a “spoiler” about how the story God is writing is going to end. Here, John shows us that a multitude from every tribe, tongue, and nation will be worshipping the Lord.

MAF is working with that goal in mind—and we cannot do it without you.

Story appeared in the spring 2018 issue of FlightWatch.

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