A PASSION FOR KINGDOM WORK VOL. 4 2023 | MAF.ORG
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! 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. Tracey Werre, Director of Marketing Brad Hoaglun, Managing Editor Micki Blair, Production Manager Katie Moen, Production Assistant Justen Stryker, Designer Natalie Holsten, Kim van Veen, and Jennifer Wolf, Writers/Resourcing
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Front Cover: A woman leads worship in the Kango village of Bamokandi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo by Thomas Desloges
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK
FL I G H T WAT C H
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. —Psalm 62:8 (ESV)
I recently attended a conference for leaders of various mission organizations, a number of which use the services of MAF around the world. One of our sessions was about lament. Our teacher shared examples from the Psalms, the prophets, Lamentations, and the words of Christ. He spoke about what a lament is, how it’s an opportunity to respond to a situation by protesting it before the Lord. Like a loving parent with a hurting child, God allows us to pour our hearts out before Him. Often we express our laments without receiving a clear resolution to the situation. The teacher pointed out that a North American mindset frequently wants resolution. We expect a happy ending. But the truth is, we may not get to see that happy ending. Laments create a place to express our feelings about these unresolved challenges we are facing. In this edition of FlightWatch, you’ll have an opportunity to read a lament that is both beautiful and painful, written by an MAF staff member who has served in Haiti. The situation in Haiti requires prayer, and a trust in God for an outcome that is not clear. Would you please join us in coming before the Lord to pray for this situation? Though the future is uncertain, we do move forward with the belief that in God’s timing we will be able to minister in Haiti once again. And we can be encouraged by MAF’s work in other parts of the world. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of several places where MAF is working with local partners to make disciples among unreached people groups deep in the jungle, as you will read. Thank you for your companionship in MAF’s ministry journey. Through your prayers and giving, you are standing with us, and we are deeply grateful. Serving together, David Holsten President and CEO
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REACHING THEIR NEIGHBORS MAF AND A MISSION TRAINING CENTER ARE PARTNERING TO MAKE DISCIPLES IN REMOTE VILLAGES By Jennifer Wolf
In the Kango region, in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Dingila airstrip had been in disrepair and unusable for several years. The local church had done some work on it, and the CECA 20 denomination saw the value in reopening it. This would allow Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) to serve Dingila and would shorten the travel time of missionaries working with the Kango people. MAF needed to assess the airstrip to determine if it was ready for use. MAF pilot Dominic Villeneuve was invited to travel with CECA 20 missionaries to the Kango area. “I jumped at the opportunity to see the kingdom work they were doing and to evaluate the runway,” Dominic said.
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Dominic Villeneuve MAF Pilot
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COLLABORATION IS KEY Pastor Lule Djamba Charles, director of missions and evangelism for the CECA 20 church, realized it would be difficult for a few evangelists to work with all the churches in northeastern Congo. It would be more fruitful to train local believers who could return and make disciples in their own communities and beyond. This is his vision for the school he leads. His team is identifying and recruiting missionary candidates to attend the Christian Training Center for Evangelism and Holistic Missions (CCFEMI), operated by CECA 20 in Bunia.
Lule Djamba Charles
Director of Missions and Evangelism for the CECA 20 Church
“When we train them, it’s with the aim of helping the Church,” Lule said. “How can the Church itself evangelize? From the ground up. This is our mission.” After completing two months of classes, students do a month-long mission internship in an unreached or poorly reached place. As a result of these trips, many people have chosen to follow Christ, and churches have been planted among the Mundu, Mamvu, Kango, and Barambo people.
MAF flights bring the mission teams closer to the target areas. Then the teams travel on to their final destinations by motorcycle, foot, and canoe. “MAF’s material support has provided us with four motorcycles,” Lule added. “It’s a testament to their involvement.
To accomplish this takes a strong partnership with MAF, who transports candidates from all over northeastern DRC to Bunia for the training, out to remote areas for the internship, and then back home again.
“So MAF is helping us in the sense of transport and financial support … MAF is also physically committed,” he says, referring to Dominic’s willingness to spend two weeks with his team and some of the CCFEMI graduates. Continued on page six.
“This is really the work of MAF, too. It’s a collaborative effort,” Lule said.
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Bandueli
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ONE PILOT’S ADVENTURE Dominic was ready. MAF flew the CECA 20 team and Dominic to Dakwa, where they spent several days working with established churches along the main road through the jungle. They did evangelism workshops, women’s ministry training, and led Bible studies. Then, it was time to head deep into the forest to the Kango people—a fishing community who live along the Uélé River. Dominic and the missionaries departed on motorcycles and spent an entire day bouncing through deep mud and ruts, breaking down twice along the way. The next day they hiked nearly seven miles in thick forest, finally reaching the Kango village of Ezabisi. CECA 20 graduates had shared the gospel in Ezabisi and planted a church back in 2021. The Kango people are extremely isolated. They lack schools and medical care. But their biggest problem is spiritual. Ancestor worship, animism, and syncretism are the norm. In Ezabisi, that is changing. People are hungry for the light of Christ. On Sunday, the whole village showed up for the church service with the CECA 20 team. “Everyone was worshipping and just really invested,” Dominic said. “At least half a dozen people responded to the altar call, which was really encouraging.”
COMING CLOSER During the trip, Dominic evaluated the nearby Dingila airstrip, and he saw a few things that needed to be addressed. While it would take some intense work, the airstrip could be ready in time for their return trip! “About a dozen people worked tirelessly for two days, clearing hundreds of termite mounds, filling holes, and cutting down about 15 trees, many large bushes, and two bamboo groves,” Dominic said. The workers’ faces beamed with pride when the MAF airplane landed there. The pilot disembarked and said, “Man, this is a nice strip!” He had first landed at Dakwa to drop off supplies before flying on to Dingila. The trip had taken him just 10 minutes! It took the CECA 20 team two days to cover that same distance on the ground.
Early survey map from CECA 20
“It was a huge reminder of the importance of this air travel,” Dominic said. “And now the community has a connection to the outside world.” Continued on page eight. 7
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A BIG VISION Pastor Lule wants to send more CCFEMI-trained missionaries to under-reached areas and hopes they will return home to mobilize their home churches. Graduates have even led a condensed version of the training program at a local church near the Kango. Twenty students were trained, including a young Kango man. Lule plans to recruit more candidates and, with the help of MAF, bring them to the center for training. His vision is a big one: to see people working for Christ throughout the DRC and beyond. “Little by little, the bird makes its nest. So little by little, it’s going to get bigger,” Lule said. “We begin something very small and with the Lord’s help, we know it’s always going to go on.”
Two women from Bunia, DRC, during their second short-term mission trip among the Mundu people. Photo by Thomas Desloges
A Mundu child in the village of Ramadala. Photo by Thomas Desloges
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CECA 20 missionaries lead a worship procession in a Kango village. Photo by Dominic Villeneuve
Story by Natalie Holsten - Lament by Angie Sutton The sound of gunshots was getting closer. Safety protocols had to be followed, and the difficult decision was made. It was time to evacuate out of Haiti. Sitting in her living room and discussing the situation, MAF missionary Angie Sutton felt unsettled. She didn’t want to leave the home and people she loved. She knew there were dangers, but still it was unthinkable that they would leave … again. With thoughts like these swirling in her head, Angie left the discussion and sat down at her piano. As she began to play and sing worship songs to the Lord, a sense of peace came over her. And not only her, but her four young daughters, as well, as they all were experiencing the turmoil of a country in crisis.
Months later, she would write a lament for Haiti, capturing her deep feelings for her beloved adopted home. “How long O Lord, will You let Haiti spiral down out of control? While the gangs run rampant and do whatever they want—looting businesses, terrorizing the streets, kidnapping, and killing the innocent. The children of this nation are forced to witness the violence day after day, living in fear and such trauma.”
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The Sutton family with HH-VAN, one of the MAF airplanes that flies in Haiti. Photo by Lemuel Malabuyo
Angie and her husband, Andrew, and their daughters were among the MAF families that evacuated Haiti in 2021, then again in fall of 2022, due to increasing insecurity and instability. While her husband continued to do rotations of three weeks in Haiti, and two weeks in the U.S. along with other pilots, mechanics, and support staff, Angie cared for her girls in their home base of New York. She struggled with the disappointment of watching her husband continue to have an active part in the ministry, while she waited at home, at times fraught with worry over his safety, and deeply concerned for their Haitian friends. “Lord, the country is in so much need and utter despair. Andrew Sutton FaceTimes Angie The people are exhausted and weary. and the girls during one of his They are tired of all the suffering. rotations in Haiti. Photo by Zacharie François Bitterness is their portion. There is a massive sense of hopelessness. Wave after wave of destruction, devastation, and loss. Earthquakes, flooding, hurricanes, hunger, famine, no government to lead the people, gang wars, so much bloodshed, such violence day after day. There is no justice.” In January of this year, the entire U.S.-based Haiti team gathered for a family conference in Florida. It was a time to reconnect, debrief, and process the traumatic events and grief they had collectively and individually experienced. Afterwards, the decision was made to cease all flight operations in Haiti as of April 1. Angie struggled with feelings of guilt—as if they were abandoning the missionaries and organizations in Haiti that depended on their flights to carry out their work.
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“Lord, when will it end? I know You’re not unaware, but it seems that You have forgotten them. Have You abandoned them? Do You see their pain? Won’t You step in? Lord, would You intervene in a mighty and powerful way?” But during a church service in New York, a former missionary got up and shared a word from the Lord. She had an image of a person carrying a backpack of heavy rocks. She said, “The Lord is telling you, ‘Take them out, let them go. That’s not your burden to carry. Let me hold those for you.’” Weeping, Angie knew those words were for her, a reassurance that God had not abandoned those left behind in Haiti. “You are all-powerful, You are able. Would you move in big ways? You parted the Red Sea for Your people, You sent manna from heaven. You are able to do what we can’t even fathom. You are a wonder-working God. Strengthen and restore Your people. Protect the children. Provide for their needs: their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. You intricately and intimately know each of them. You are Jehovah Jireh—we trust You.” In late spring, most of MAF’s Haiti families relocated to Idaho, where they are currently living in apartments on MAF’s campus. Together in community, they are working on a plan for the future of the Haiti program. Angie said as a team they have described this time of waiting and planning as a “wilderness”—like the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years. Part of the process for Angie has been to go freely to the Lord, through the medium of lament, with her questions and cries. She longs to return to the home they left behind. Physically she and the rest of the team are in Idaho, but their hearts are in Haiti. “And yet, EVEN if nothing changes in Haiti, we will continue to praise You. We will worship You because You are faithful and good. You are the same God of Jacob, of Abraham, Moses, and David. We remember Your faithfulness to them and are trusting in You now with our fellow brothers and sisters in Haiti. Even when we don’t see You working, we will trust You and Your sovereign plan. Increase our faith. Help us in our unbelief. May we cling to You and Your promises. We love You, Lord.” During a recent chapel service at MAF headquarters, the Haiti team shared about God’s faithfulness, through song—with Angie at the piano—and through testimony. In the midst of the uncertainty, they are trusting God’s timing and leading. MAF.ORG
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The Haiti team gathered in the Family Center at MAF headquarters in Nampa, Idaho. Photo by Anna Pederson
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MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT ALFRED AND JEWEL OTTOSSON
From a deputation stop in Colorado, Alfred Ottosson described his journey to missions. “The goal was always MAF,” he said. The son of medical missionaries to Nepal, Alfred was certain he would not be a missionary. But a high school research project on child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) piqued his interest in the “dark continent.” Then, a Bible school professor in his native Sweden directed him toward a career in mission aviation, beginning with Moody Aviation in Spokane, where he trained to be a pilot/mechanic. There, Alfred met Jewel, who had a degree in English as a second language (ESL) education and had spent two years teaching English in Japan. Jewel’s motivation to pursue missions came after she heard a former missionary to the DRC speak during college. Alfred and Jewel bonded over similar experiences in Asia and wondered if God was calling them to work in mission aviation in Asia.
During candidacy at MAF headquarters, Alfred and Jewel heard MAF’s Africa regional director talk about the DRC. “We both looked at each other and said, ‘Yes!’” Jewel said. Today, Alfred and Jewel have two sons, ages three and two, and a new baby daughter born in May. They plan to travel to France in January for a year of language study before moving to Bunia, DRC. The process of fundraising is humbling. “Often it seems that we put all our work efforts in one direction and then support comes from somewhere else,” Jewel said. “It feels like a small miracle.” “Sometimes you can struggle with a lot of selfdoubt,” Alfred said. “But then people come alongside and invest and stay involved and that’s incredibly encouraging. The whole partnership thing is so important in letting us know that other people are on board with our calling.”
The Ottossons are looking for more partners to join their support team. To partner with them, visit www.maf.org/missionaries/ottosson.
PRAYER REQUESTS •
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Praise the Lord that a Mozambican judge has lifted the travel restrictions on Ryan Koher and the two orphanage volunteers from South Africa, allowing them to leave the country. Ryan and Annabel have returned to the United States for an extended period of rest and time with family. Pray for them during this time of renewal and for a swift conclusion and dismissal of the case. Please be in prayer for these MAF families who served in Haiti prior to MAF’s evacuation and want to return. Pray for the Carwell, Fouche,
Kramer, Simon, Snyder, and Sutton families as they seek the Lord’s leading in returning to Haiti. Also lift up the Fagerlands and the Haitian staff who remain in the country. •
Pray for Alas de Socorro Mexico, an MAF affiliate. Mexico was MAF’s first program in 1946. Today, a team of eight staff with two Cessna 206s serve 16 people groups in the state of Oaxaca. They support medical flights, evangelism, and discipleship efforts in these communities.
NEWS
MAF DELIVERS KETENGBAN BIBLES
MEDICAL CARE IN REMOTE AREAS
MAF Papua helped to deliver 4,000 Bibles (2,000 each of Old and New Testaments) in the Ketengban language to several villages in the Pegunungan Bintang province of Indonesia. Last summer, Laura Beth Moses delivered 28 boxes to Borme. She says, “The New Testament was completed in 1998 by a team of Wycliffe and local translators, and the Old is now finally finished! Praise the Lord for the gift of His Word arriving in this area and for the dedication of all those involved in the translation process!” —Photo from Laura Beth Moses
In July, MAF’s MozMed program visited five very remote village medical clinics in the Niassa Province of Mozambique. This is one of the most remote parts of the country, where no doctors are available. Each month, two MozMed teams visit the same five clinics, where they treat patients. Each MozMed team is typically comprised of a doctor, a dentist, a nurse, and a health educator, and occasionally a specialist. MAF is looking to expand the MozMed program to another area in cooperation with a different partner. —Photo by Dave LePoidevin
INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS In western Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), MAF flew Swedish missionary David Erickson and his team to the village of Mimia. David runs an NGO that works on improving infrastructure like roads and bridges in the interior of the country, focusing right now on the Mai Ndombe province. MAF picked up the team a week later in Semendua after they had completed a 354mile journey by motorcycle over terrible roads. David reports that without MAF, they would never have been able to complete this trip. —A washed out bridge in Mai Ndombe province. Photo by David Erickson 15
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This Christmas, give a gift that will spread good tidings and great joy to isolated people. Partner with MAF to send help, hope, and healing to those who still need to know Christ’s love. • Give a year-end gift at maf.org/yearend • Support an MAF missionary family at maf.org/missionaries • Join a community of monthly donors at maf.org/joinflightcrew