CELEBRATING GOD’S FAITHFULNESS VOL. 1 2024 | MAF.ORG
F L I G H T WAT C H None of the stories you are about to read would be possible without the support of people like you. It is our pleasure to show how you are making it possible for the gospel to transform the lives of isolated people around the world. Your prayers, your gifts, and your time are key to MAF’s ministry. Thank you for sharing the love of Jesus at the ends of the earth! Director of Marketing Tracey Werre Managing Editor Brad Hoaglun Production Manager Micki Blair Production Assistant Katie Moen Writers/Resourcing Natalie Holsten Jennifer Wolf Kimberly van Veen Designer Justen Stryker Copy Editor Dianna Gibney
Every gift you send, every prayer you offer for MAF, helps change lives through aviation. We enjoy hearing from you! Please send comments and questions to maf-us@maf.org. Mission Aviation Fellowship PO Box 47, Nampa, ID 83653-0047 1-208-498-0800 1-800-FLYS-MAF (359-7623) MAF maintains the highest standards of financial accountability and public disclosure to donors and the U.S. government. MAF is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) as well as other organizations. A list of all organizations can be found at maf.org/accountability.
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. —Psalm 100:5
As our Kodiak aircraft banked to the left, avoiding higher terrain and lining up with the airstrip ahead, the village of Pa’Upan came into view and with it a flood of memories from a past era of life and ministry. This flight was part of a visit to Kalimantan with the MAF board chair and his wife, to celebrate MAF’s 50th anniversary of serving in this remote area of Indonesia. This visit held great significance for me personally, as my family spent our first 10 years of MAF overseas service in Kalimantan. As we touched down in Pa’Upan, I was greeted by friends I hadn’t seen for years. We soon found ourselves reminiscing about decades past. Medevac and cargo flights along with church conference flying and regular passenger service are some of the ways that MAF aircraft and staff have impacted just this one village. Later that night, we were back in Tarakan, a coastal city that has been home to our MAF Kalimantan team for the past 50 years. There we joined local dignitaries, church leaders, MAF staff, and others for a joyous celebration of God’s faithfulness throughout the decades. During the service, I was struck by the different people God has used to allow MAF to minister for 50 years in this one location. I thought of the dedicated Indonesians who have been faithful companions in the ministry of MAF in Kalimantan. They’ve helped us fly, fix, and load airplanes. And they’ve served as cultural guides and colaborers in our efforts to reach those living in isolation. I thought of the MAF missionaries who left their friends and families behind to pursue a calling to see isolated people changed by the love of Christ. I thought of our many friends who are part of the Indonesian church. MAF first arrived in Kalimantan in 1973 to help transport local people to church conferences in difficult-to-reach places. In the years since, the church in Kalimantan has grown and matured into an effective missionary force. We celebrate our partnership and consider it a great privilege to serve together with these committed brothers and sisters. Finally, I thought of you, the caring and generous supporters of MAF. Your prayers and giving represent the essence of “serving together.” Thank you for enabling MAF’s life-changing work in Kalimantan. Serving together,
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David Holsten President and CEO Front Cover: Dancers at 50th Anniversary Celebration in Tarakan. Photo by Philip Limawan
David Holsten gives a thumbs up inside an MAF Kodiak in Kalimantan. Photo by Philip Limawan
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Your Prayers at Work
FlightWatch, January 2023 Pray for stamina and wisdom for the pastoral couple who does outreach every morning at the clinic in Kuebunyane, Lesotho.
Thank you for praying for the ministry. Read on to see how God answered.
Answer: “There has been a positive impact on the people who attend the Bible studies that the pastoral couple hold at the Kuebunyane clinic. Most of the people, even after the service at the clinic, are visiting the pastors to ask them questions related to the Bible.” —Makopoi Shoaepane, Lesotho Flying Pastors Volunteer Mentor
FlightWatch, November 2022 Lift up the children of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and in other remote areas around the world, that the love of Christ would reach and change their hearts … for His glory.
FlightWatch, January 2023 Ask the Lord to smooth the way for the new MAF flight program in Guinea. In recent months they have experienced challenges with staffing and flight permissions. Pray for a fulltime pilot family to serve in Guinea.
There was a related story in this issue about Kids Action Network in the DRC.
Answer: “We have received flight permissions through the end of 2023, and we are confident we will keep receiving flight permissions moving forward. We have experienced favor on many fronts and we are grateful for the growing partnerships. We were able to bring life-saving machines and medicines to an outbreak in the east of the country for a medical NGO. We also transported the Minister of Health for a polio vaccination launch.
Answer: Kennedy and Raymond, with Kids Action Network, revisited the Pygmy churches in the forest near Lotumbe, DRC. During one of the church services, all the children disappeared when it was time for the offering. Before it was over, they had returned with small gifts for God—palm nuts, wild apples, and edible leaves.
“We still need another full-time pilot, so keep praying for that! Thank you for lifting us up before the Lord.” —Jonathan and Lisa B.
FlightWatch and MAF Prayer Connection (multiple over the past year) Thank you for your prayers for the Ryan Koher family, as well as the two orphanage volunteers who were detained with Ryan after they were accused of aiding terrorists. We saw God move as Ryan and the two volunteers were provisionally released from prison in March. Then, in October, their passports were returned and they were able to leave Mozambique.
MAF Prayer Connection – February 17 Lift up Luke and Amy Nelson, a pilot/mechanic family preparing to serve in Lesotho, Africa. Pray that support pledges of $2,000 per month will come in soon. This needs to happen before they will be invited to start their final training at Nampa headquarters prior to heading to Lesotho. Answer: God answered your prayers in His perfect timing. We moved to Nampa headquarters in March 2023 to begin our final training, and the day we arrived was the day we received our final pledges to meet our support goal. Two weeks after our training ended, on June 8, our son Theophilus James was born. We were blessed to stay in Nampa while waiting for his passport. We flew to Lesotho on September 13 and have settled into our new home. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and supported our family as we seek to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth! —Luke and Amy Nelson
Answer: The Koher family arrived at the Boise airport on October 4, 2023. They are enjoying a time of rest and recovery back in the U.S. Please continue to pray the case will be dismissed. The Kohers plan to return to Mozambique—their home now—and resume their ministry. MAF.ORG
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MAF Prayer Connection – August 23 Pray for Dan Wanvig, who is anticipating getting married this year and being reassigned from his service in Haiti to a new field in Indonesia after language school. Pray for Dan, and his fiancé, Anna Pederson, as they prepare for marriage.
MAF Prayer Connection – March 23 Please pray for the continued progress on the current maintenance projects in Nampa, Idaho, including the Caravan from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) being refurbished for training in Nampa; the Cessna 206 from Haiti undergoing an engine change and other repairs; and a Kodiak being prepared for Papua. Answer: The work on Kodiak N150KQ was wrapped up in early November. It was dedicated at MAF headquarters on December 6 and the plan is to ferry the plane to Papua, Indonesia, in the spring of 2024. The other two projects were delayed as maintenance staff were all hands on deck to complete work on a Cessna Caravan for western DRC, which had a tight turnaround time. (See Sept. 23).
Answer: Dan Wanvig and Anna Pederson (an MAF teacher in Papua) were married on October 21, 2023. MAF Prayer Connection – September 7 Pray for the leaders of our Haiti program as they look for a suitable housing solution for MAF staff so they can return to safely serve the country again.
MAF Prayer Connection – June 17 Pray for the timely preparation of the PC-12 aircraft in Nampa for Central Asia. After 24 years of service in Africa, MAF plans to do some needed upgrades and refurbishment before redeploying it to Central Asia
Answer: Praise God that the Haiti team leaders have identified Pignon, in the center of the country, as a safe place from which most of our staff can serve. The Port-auPrince MAF airport facilities will still be used in our aviation operations. While the team is pursuing Pignon, because of the volatile situation in Haiti, this is subject to change.
Answer: Maintenance and avionics work were completed on the airplane to prepare it for service overseas. It arrived in Central Asia in late November following a multi-day ferry flight from the U.S. The PC-12 is now hard at work serving the people of Central Asia. MAF Prayer Connection – June 23 Lift up Fred and Desiree Schmidt, serving with MAF for nearly 40 years. The Schmidts have served in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Nampa, Ecuador, and Indonesia. They recently completed their time in Indonesia and will be transferring to MAF HQ once again. Pray for this transition and pray for wisdom for their next steps. Answer: We have transitioned to the Waypoints department as mentors to help shepherd people, on track for mission aviation, to be successful when getting into cross-cultural ministry. In the fall we helped lead a workshop with students at the School of Missionary Aviation Technology (SMAT), followed by another one at Moody Aviation. We are currently shepherding a team of interns who are taking part in a fourweek MAF internship in Shell, Ecuador. —Fred and Desi Schmidt
MAF Prayer Connection – September 23 Pray for the team in the western Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as they prepare to import a new Caravan this fall. Pray that the process goes smoothly so they can get the airplane in operation. Answer: The airplane was dedicated at MAF headquarters on October 3 and departed the U.S. on October 27, arriving in Kinshasa, DRC, on November 5. 5
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A Legacy of Service
In 1973, MAF asked Dave, his wife, Ruth, and their three children, to move from Papua to Tarakan to establish an MAF base there. They rented a home with no electricity or running water, located near the busy docks. For the first year, Dave wasn’t allowed by the government to have a radio in his plane, so when he took off in the morning, Ruth wouldn’t know how his flight went until he returned in the evening.
Celebrating MAF’s 50 years in North Kalimantan
As he flew into the interior of north Kalimantan, he began to learn more about the history of the area and those who had given their lives to bring the gospel here.
By Natalie Holsten In 1971, MAF pilot Dave Hoisington was flying church conference delegates from Papua, Indonesia, to the MAF base in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. While stopping to refuel on the small island of Tarakan, a woman approached him on the airport ramp. It was Elizabeth Jackson, a missionary Dave met on a previous flight to Kalimantan. She asked if she could catch a ride to West Kalimantan. “I had room, so I said, ‘sure,’” Dave recalled.
Before takeoff, Elizabeth asked Dave if he knew where Long Nawang was. He checked his map, which in those days had large sections marked “relief data unknown.” But, drawing a line from Tarakan to their destination of Pontianak, the flight path went right through Long Nawang, one of the few places shown on the map. “It was then she told me that her husband had been killed there in World War II and she had never seen the spot,” Dave said. Long Nawang didn’t have an airstrip, so Dave made three low, slow passes so Elizabeth could see the place where her husband’s life so tragically ended.
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Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA) missionary George Fisk is the first missionary to use an airplane for ministry
MAF opens base in Pontianak, West Kalimantan
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CMA missionaries establish churches in interior Kalimantan but are either killed or forced to leave during World War II
First landing in Long Bawan— Dave Hoisington in a Shrike Commander aircraft
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Those who went before
allowed to join him, but planned to as soon as she got the needed permissions.
In 1938, the Christian and Missionary Alliance purchased a Beechcraft Staggerwing floatplane. George Fisk and his wife, Anna, had been serving in Kalimantan since 1929 and George had requested an aircraft after obtaining his pilot’s license. It would cut his travel time to the interior mountain region down from weeks to hours. It is believed he was the first person ever to use a plane for mission work.
There were other missionaries serving in the northern part of Kalimantan at the time. Ernest Presswood started the first Bible school in the area and was later joined by missionary John Willfinger. The two of them traveled from village to village, sharing their message of hope. They brought a group of young Christians from south Sulawesi to an area called the Krayan to disciple the new Dayak (general term for the Indigenous people of Kalimantan) believers there.
When the time came for George and Anna to go on furlough, he handed pilot duties over to CMA missionary Fred Jackson. His wife, Elizabeth, wasn’t
Then World War II erupted, and the Imperial Japanese army made its way to Kalimantan. They wanted to commandeer the CMA mission plane, but it was dismantled and sunk in a river to keep it out of enemy hands. When the Japanese heard this, they executed Fred Jackson in Long Nawang.
Missionaries Ernest Pre sswood (far left) and John Willfinger (far right) with believer s in North Kalimantan , Indonesia.
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Dave and Ruth Hoisington establish the MAF base in Tarakan; a Cessna 185 is first plane
MAF opens a base in Long Bia
1974 A second MAF family—Paul and Doris Huling—arrives in Tarakan
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Other missionaries met a similar fate. A group of Dayaks offered to hide John Willfinger from the Japanese, but he didn’t want to endanger them, so he gave himself up and was executed.
said. “We felt like we were just following in the footprints of Ernie Presswood and John Willfinger.”
Ernest Presswood survived several years in a Japanese internment camp but died of sickness shortly after the war ended.
Pastor Son is a third generation Dayak Christian. His grandparents told him stories of the days before the gospel came to the Krayan, how their people were known as headhunters, bound to animistic beliefs.
Generations of believers
It seemed that missionary efforts would grind to a halt.
Then the missionaries came with their message of Jesus’ saving grace. Pastor Son’s grandfather was one of the early believers baptized by Ernest Presswood.
The growing church When Dave Hoisington began opening airstrips in North Kalimantan in the early 1970s, he found that, despite all odds, the churches had experienced phenomenal growth since World War II.
The Bible school named in memory of John Willfinger is in Kampung Baru, Pastor Son’s home village. A core memory from his childhood is the sound of the MAF plane landing nearby. “Every time the MAF plane landed, we would all leave the classroom to look at the plane and watch everything the pilot did,” Pastor Son recalled. “I often saw how MAF brought people who would study at the Willfinger school.”
Long Nawang, where he had circled overhead with Elizabeth Jackson, was one of the first airstrips he landed at. The head of the village presented Dave with a ceremonial sword, a token of their gratitude for MAF’s services. “I still have it,” Dave said. Dave learned that the young Christians left behind by Willfinger and Presswood in the Krayan had established a Bible school and trained evangelists to go out into surrounding areas. Another Bible school in the village of Long Bia was also in operation when the MAF base in Tarakan opened, and many flights were done through the years supporting these schools. Dave said he was inspired by the Dayak believers and had a sense of awe at the sacrifice of the early missionaries.
Pastor Son
“The caliber of those Dayak Christians interior was a real testimony to the ability of the gospel to change hearts,” he
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Photo by Philip Limawan
1976
1980s
Lloyd and Diane Goheen establish Samarinda base
Two staff houses are built on Peningki Hill in Tarakan. They are later used as a school
1980
1985
MAF hangar in Tarakan destroyed by a tornado, and rebuilt the next year
Herman Yus becomes the first Dayak MAF pilot
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Pastor Son and his family moved to Tarakan in 1979, flown there by MAF. “At that time, MAF planes were the only means of transportation out of the Krayan. It’s very geographically isolated.”
In 1994, Pilot Eric Stoothoff (shown here with his wife Anne) did a medevac flight for Ibu Siporah when her baby Damus was sick with tuberculosis and meningitis. Nearly three decades later, Ibu Siporah again received help from MAF when pilot Joel Driscoll flew her to Tarakan for cataract surgery.
After graduating from college, Pastor Son led several churches in Kalimantan. He is currently regional chair of the CMA churches (GKII) in North Kalimantan, as well as an associate professor at the Willfinger Bible school, which has trained hundreds of evangelists and preachers. “MAF has been the most important partner in supporting the ministry of GKII North Kalimantan in providing transportation assistance for God’s servants and goods needed by the church who are in hard-to-reach places,” Pastor Son said. “If it were not for the help of MAF flights, it would not have been possible for us to quickly reach several strategic areas for evangelism in the 1980s.”
Faithful service Through five decades MAF staff have faithfully served isolated communities in Kalimantan. Countless medevacs, hundreds of thousands of pounds of cargo, and thousands of passengers have been carried on MAF planes.
“In 1990, Roland and Janet Heinrichs and their two children came to Tarakan to become our first schoolteachers. They lived in the upper house on Peningki while using one of the bedrooms for a classroom. Roland and Janet were very gifted, as parents, musicians, and teachers. Everyone loved them and we were blessed not to have to send our kids away to boarding schools. That was the beginning of the ‘one room schoolhouse’ in Tarakan that continues to this day.” — Photo and text submitted by Terry Wohlgemuth
The planes have changed through the years—from piston-engine driven aircraft with minimal navigation equipment like Dave Hoisington flew, to turbinepowered aircraft with sophisticated avionics and GPS, like the Kodiak that is currently flown. Though the look of the planes has changed, the heart of MAF’s mission has not, and it’s what continues to inspire Kalimantan Program Director Jeremy Toews.
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Pilot Terry Wohlgemuth helps establish the first hydroelectric plant in northeast Kalimantan. Hydroelectric plants are installed in four communities
Classes begin at the one-room schoolhouse on Penginki Hill in Tarakan, which will serve MAF children for decades to come
1988
2002
The first Cessna 206 is introduced into MAF’s Kalimantan fleet
A passenger subsidy program was started with the regional government, making flights more affordable to people interior
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“For 50 years, MAF has made a life and death difference in the lives of the people in the communities we serve,” he recently shared. “Countless lives have been saved through the years,” he said, “from babies born in distress, to burn victims, to typhoid patients.” MAF does around 200 medevac flights each year, with many of the patients and their families receiving practical help and spiritual counseling from MAF’s hospital house ministry. While medevacs, cargo loads, passenger and church flights have made up a bulk of MAF’s ministry through the years, MAF also works with Indonesian partners to meet the unmet needs of Kalimantan’s isolated communities.
“MAF worked with the Willfinger Bible School to reach the unreached area of Talisayan, from surveying, sending missionaries, to 10 churches established in the mid-1990s. It’s a privilege that MAF could partner with them in building the kingdom of God in Kalimantan.” -Philip Tsai
One new partner is Kartidaya, an Indonesian Bible translation organization that works in partnership with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Translation facilitator Darmaputra Podengge said he learned of MAF several years ago as a possible solution to their transportation needs for getting their translation teams to hard-to-reach places. “Praise God, we share with MAF the same vision, which is to serve the tribes in Kalimantan so that all these tribes can glorify God,” he said. “Since 2019, MAF has supported our Bible translation ministry.” In one of the villages where translation work is ongoing, Darmaputra shared, they were met with great joy when they brought in a recently completed translation of Luke. “A servant of God who ministered there said, ‘I have prayed and dreamed of God’s Word in the Kenyah Lepo’ Ke language for 20 years. Thank God, now this Word of God is in my hands!’”
MAF missionary Jodi Appleby and church worker Esther Yohanna Adam prepare books to send via MAF plane to Bible school students in 1997. Submitted by Jodi Appleby
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MAF Kalimantan staff provide aid on the island of Sumatra following the earthquake and tsunami
MAF begins flying the Kodiak in Kalimantan in March
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The first Cessna Caravan joins MAF’s Kalimantan fleet
MAF’s Rumah Singgah hospital house opens
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Looking ahead to what the future might hold for MAF in North Kalimantan, Jeremy anticipates there will continue to be a need for the ministry. “There are many places interior that have not seen much change as far as transportation infrastructure. I don’t foresee it changing that radically in the next 50 years.”
The work of MAF in Kalimantan would not be possible without the help of national staff. Many of them are from interior villages and understand the importance of MAF’s ministry for their people. Photo by Isaac Rogers
Full-circle praise The Hoisingtons returned to the U.S. in late 1974, after helping the second MAF family, Paul and Doris Huling get settled in Tarakan. Many more staff—over 100 family units—would follow in the decades to come. At a recent gathering at MAF headquarters, staff representing each decade of service in Kalimantan shared stories from their time there. Several were hearing for the first time how the program got started in 1973. Dave and Ruth Hoisington learned what happened in the years after they left, and they said their hearts were warmed to know the ministry continues. “It was a very hard experience, but we felt it was worth it,” Dave said.
In 2013, a plague of rats ate the rice crop in Long Sule. MAF was able to fly in much-needed rice and noodles to alleviate hunger. It’s one of the many ways MAF has served the core needs of the people of Kalimantan. Photo by Dave F.
Village leaders in Long Nawang present Dave Hoisington with a ceremonial sword. Submitted by Dave Hoisington
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MAF begins flight service for the Kartidaya ministry
Flights in support of Hati MAF (Heart of MAF) ministry begin again after delay due to COVID-19
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Cessna 206 retires and fleet becomes all-turbine
In partnership with MAF, Kartidaya completes translation of the Book of Luke in five local languages
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50th Anniversary Celebration in Tarakan
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Photos by Philip Limawan
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PR AYER REQ UEST S
• Give thanks to God for 50 years of fruitful MAF ministry in Kalimantan, Indonesia! Pray that we can continue to share the love of Christ in remote parts of the region.
MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT JEREMY AND JODIE TOEWS
Life on the mission field looks different than what Jeremy and Jodie Toews expected when they joined MAF nine years ago. As fresh missionaries in Tarakan, Indonesia, everything was new—culture, language, home, and rhythm of life. At first, they experienced the tangible parts of the ministry—the medical evacuations, flights for pastors, and cargo deliveries to remote communities. “It was so clear to see the ways God was using the airplane in North Kalimantan,” Jodie said. Today, the Toews (pronounced “Taves”) see the broader scope of the ministry. With a better grasp of the language and more time there, they are immersed in some of the less visible aspects of the ministry. As program director, Jeremy works with government officials. And Jodie takes their four children to visit MAF’s hospital house every Thursday. They meet with patients from the interior of the country who stay there while receiving treatment. “The weight of work is much heavier,” Jodie said, “But it is so rich and so fulfilling to see how God is working. It grows richer every year.”
To partner with the Toews and share in what God is doing in North Kalimantan, visit www.maf.org/toews. MAF.ORG
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• Praise the Lord for MAF’s partnership with the Lokisa Water Project. Through this collaboration, the village of Kuebunyane, Lesotho, now has 16 water taps and eight toilets— something that will significantly change the peoples’ lives. • Please pray for Bible translators laboring in remote places so that people can have God’s Word in their heart languages. MAF is privileged to support this important work around the world. • The harvest is plentiful! Please ask the Lord to raise up more pilots and aircraft mechanics to serve with MAF around the world.
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GOD’S WORD FOR PAPUA This cabinet at MAF’s base in Papua, Indonesia, contains Bibles and individual books of the Bible translated into local Papuan languages. Of the 270-some languages of Papua, just a handful have a complete translation of the Bible. MAF provides transportation and support so Bible translators can do this important work. Ben Eadie, MAF’s program director in Papua, says, “The cabinet represents the common foundation of every church and mission organization in Papua. It represents life-long investments others have made for each book and each language. How many now know and believe in the name of Christ because of these translations? The cabinet also reminds us that much is yet to be done.”
THE “JESUS” FILM IN MOZAMBIQUE Nelson, an aircraft mechanic trainee with Ambassador Aviation (the MAF name in Mozambique), has been partnering with a local missionary to show the “JESUS” film in towns near the MAF base at Nampula. They are able to use MAF’s Land Cruiser to transport the equipment over the rough roads to their remote destinations. Nelson reports that a number of people have given their lives to Christ through this outreach. Setting up the screen to show the “JESUS” film in Mozambique. Photo by Nelson.
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WELL DONE, FAITHFUL SERVANT Steve Marx has retired from MAF after 50 years of faithful ministry. Steve joined Mission Aviation Fellowship in 1973 as a pilot/mechanic. He and his family served many years in Honduras and Ecuador before relocating to MAF headquarters in 2005. At HQ, Steve served as a purchasing agent, ordering parts for the MAF fleet around the world. Steve’s oldest son, Brian followed in his father’s footsteps: Brian is an MAF pilot/mechanic in Papua, Indonesia. Steve’s 50 years with MAF are a milestone: only one other staff member has served so long. Well done, faithful servant! Steve Marx and his wife, Ann. 15
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Are you a teacher with a heart for missions? Do you know a teacher who would love to serve overseas?
MAF teachers play a vital role in sharing the love of Christ with isolated people. Explore current openings around the world or share the opportunity. Scan the QR code or visit maf.org/education