The MAF Blog: Worldwide Pulse

Posts Tagged ‘evangelism’

An Unlikely Gift Exchange

Posted on: June 21st, 2011 by Natalie Holsten |

Today, in the name of ministry and relationship building, I got a massage.

Me with Lina and her daughter

My neighbor, “Lina,” has been asking me for weeks if she could give me a massage. She and her husband and their young kids live in a rambling shack beside our house. Over the years, the MAF families in our neighborhood have befriended them, given them work, and helped them with medical bills.

“Please, Ibu, let me do this for you,” she begged. “You’ve done so much for me, and we’re so poor, and this is the only way I can repay you.”

Years ago when I envisioned myself doing missions, I pictured myself in Africa somewhere with a group of half-naked children gathered around me as I told Bible stories with a flannel graph, or maybe teaching English somewhere to a group of college students. But lying on a mattress on the floor with an Indonesian woman vigorously rubbing lotion into my tired arms and legs? Never would have imagined it.

There was something about being on the receiving end that didn’t set right. I felt like I needed to be the one helping her. But I knew that by allowing her to do this for me, I was helping her feel she had something to give to me.

And it truly was a help to me. After months of recurring stomach issues, I have been feeling worn down to a nub, wasted, exhausted. During the hour and a half she spent kneading my weary body we talked––about her relationship with her husband, about the house they’re hoping to build, about her kids, about my upcoming move. Silently I prayed for her.

Lord, bless this woman. Bless her and her family––especially her frail little boy––with good health. May this woman find You as she searches for the truth.

Seeing God in the Summer Time

Posted on: June 15th, 2011 by Jonathan Smith | 1 Comment

On the ever-changing mission field, people come and go often enough. But knowing that doesn’t make it any easier every summer when you are one of the few kids left in an ever-shrinking community as families head into the village, attend conferences, or go on furlough and mid-term breaks.

Many of the kids in my class have left for the summer. It can be disappointing to watch friends leave for a time, but it is fun to get to know the kids who stay just that much more, by going on adventures and spending time with them.

In the first week off of school, we planned two hikes to the waterfall, one at night, and one the next morning. During the nighttime trip, we sat around a fire, roasting chicken and admiring the stars, while we talked and got to know each other better. The next morning as we hiked to the higher falls, I sat stunned, once again, at the beauty of God’s AWESOME creation.

Unfortunately, summer isn’t just a time for goofing off and enjoying life. One friend, who was planning to stay the whole summer, had to leave after unexpected problems arose. When you so quickly lose a close friend like that, it leaves you crushed and disappointed as the plans you had are torn apart. It’s nice to know that even in times like that, when no one knows what is going to happen next, God has a plan.

This is a great way to remember that no matter what happens the Lord is in control:
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.” – Psalm 145:13-14 (NIV 1984)

Set Free to Tell the Simple Truth

Posted on: June 9th, 2011 by Sean Cannon | 4 Comments

One of the joys of being a missionary pilot is the unplanned flights that leave you with a special memory. Although I serve and fly in Indonesia now, my family and I first served with MAF in Ecuador. One morning while I was just about to leave our hangar for a day of flying in the Amazon, I noticed someone in the passenger waiting area. It was Dewey, one of the men responsible for killing the five missionaries in the jungles of Ecuador in 1956. While modern law would convict him a murderer, God’s laws have set him free and he is one of the most radically changed men I know––passionate in his dedication to promoting and proclaiming the very God he once tried to destroy.

Dewey

When I asked him what he was up to, Dewey told me he was hoping he could catch a ride on a flight back to his home village. Not only was there a flight heading that direction, but I was the pilot and I even had an extra empty seat. I told him that we would have to make several stops before we got to his village but Dewey didn’t mind––in fact he liked the idea. While he was in Shell, where MAF is based, Dewey had found a children’s illustrated Bible. He was excited to use this simple Bible to share Gospel stories with those still living in the jungle. Better yet, for those that could not read, he could explain with pictures what God has done for them through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Shortly after we landed at our first destination, Dewey jumped out of the plane and began to share the Gospel from his new Bible. It didn’t take long for a small group to surround Dewey as he shared God’s love in a way that I could never have done as a foreigner and non-native speaker. At each of the several stops before we landed in his village, Dewey would preach the Good News to any that would listen.

I was blessed that day to realize how God’s plans are higher than mine, and that still many years later after the “tragedy” in the Amazon jungle, God was making His name famous in ways that I didn’t expect––using a man who truly understood God’s boundless grace and a simple, illustrated Bible.

From the Log Book of Jim L. Harris

Posted on: June 3rd, 2011 by Jennifer Wolf | 3 Comments

Papua, Indonesia (then called Irian Jaya) 1980–1983

While he was stationed at the Wamena base in Papua on his first term, Jim Harris had many adventures as an MAF helicopter pilot. Looking back, some of them seem comical, almost surreal. Like the time he landed the helicopter at Vakabuis for a second contact with this South Coast Citak tribe, who were known headhunters and cannibals. He was transporting Clarence Gillett, Margaret Stringer and her linguist, Noak, Team missionaries based in Senggo. John Forsythe flew circles overhead in the float plane from Yaosakor to make sure they would be alright.

Photo courtesy of Margaret Stringer

This was Jim’s second trip to Vakabuis to drop off Margaret and her team. But this time he actually shut down the helicopter and got out of the aircraft. The Citaks were not used to seeing the helicopter, which they called the “flying canoe,” or the strange-looking pilot that disembarked from it. Jim was wearing a Nomex flight suit and a helmet with the visor down.

Photo courtesy of Margaret Stringer

Margaret’s team had been telling them about the Creator (God) who loved them, and how he lived up in the sky. Since Jim came out of the sky, that’s who they thought he was. So, when he jumped out of the helicopter they were saying, “There’s the Creator!” Unaware, really, of what they were thinking of him at the time, Jim reached out and touched the closest man to him. The man fainted, thinking Jim was going to kill him.

The crowd grew even more excited when Jim went to take off his helmet. “I suppose they thought I was removing my head!”

Once inside the men’s hut, sitting around the fire, the chief gave Jim a beautiful stone ax. It was one of the chief’s prized possessions. Clarence reached for it, meaning to examine it. At that point, the men in the tribe all went for their bows and arrows hanging in the rafters of the hut. The interpreter started yelling at Clarence to give it back, saying, “Don’t touch it or they will kill you!”

Jim also recalls Margaret asking the chief where his wife was. He said, “She is hiding from that THING!” That Thing was Jim.

Margaret and her team kept coming back and began to make progress. Eventually, the Citaks came to believe the message about God’s love and how Jesus had died for them. You can read all about Margaret’s ministry to the Citak people in her book From Cannibalism to Christianity.

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When I first contacted Jim about another story I was working on, he mentioned his Log Book. Somewhat surprised that he still had it, I asked him if all MAF pilots held on to their Log Books. He said it was likely that they did and explained why: “Those were the best times of our lives.” So, I thought I would start a regular feature here and share some of those best times with you. If you are a former MAF pilot and have a story you want to share, please contact me at jwolf*at*maf.org.

Tears and Hope

Posted on: May 24th, 2011 by Rebecca Hopkins | 1 Comment

I wished my 9-month-old daughter had taken her nap. Now I was trying to get home from the store as fast as I could with her screaming in the back of the car, refusing to be comforted. My Indonesian friend was sitting next to me, even more concerned about the screaming than I was. She’d never seen either of my kids quite this upset. I wondered if she thought I was a bad mom. When we got to her house, she quickly got out of the car, and I sped off to my own house, unnerved and overwhelmed.

A week later, my friend told me she was glad her child wasn’t the only one who loses control sometimes. Her 3-year-old son—about the same age as my son—has a disability. He hits his head on the floor if he gets overwhelmed or doesn’t get what he wants, which is hard to figure out since he only knows a handful of words. My friend’s in-laws blame my friend for her son’s slow development and behavioral issues. Her marriage, which was arranged, is in shambles. And my friend admitted that she often can hardly stand her son; her love is renewed for him while she watches him sleep peacefully. My friend’s load is heavy and painful and often seems hopeless.

My friend also told me that she wishes she could have a new heart, one that isn’t full of sin and anger. She wishes God would forgive her. She yearns for a relationship with Him. I shared with her some verses, telling her that God wants those things too. I prayed with her, begging God to turn her sorrow into dancing. Then I thanked God for turning my daughter’s tears into an opportunity to share hope with a friend.

How about you? Has God ever used an uncomfortable situation that you’ve been in and turned it into an opportunity for Him?