Dave and Linda Ringenberg

The Ringenbergs’ first assignment with MAF was to East Kalimantan, Indonesia. They served there from 1998-2002, when they had to medevac their daughter Hannah to Singapore where she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. After radiation treatment in Singapore, they returned to San Diego to care for Hannah until the Lord took her home in 2003. Dave and Linda share, “We were so thankful for MAF’s care for us during this difficult time in our lives.”

Afterwards, they accepted a stateside position at headquarters so they and their three-year-old son C.J. could be close to family. Dave worked as a flight instructor in the flight training department. Their stay at headquarters stretched to seven years, including the move from Redlands, California, to Nampa, Idaho. In 2006, soon after moving to Nampa, God blessed the Ringenberg family with another son, Ryan.

In 2010 God opened the door for the whole family to return to Tarakan, Indonesia, where they previously served. Dave flew the Caravan and filled in as Chief Pilot. They enjoyed meeting with old friends and serving overseas again. “We felt that the Lord was taking our family ‘full-circle,’ as He took us back to Hannah’s home,” Linda shares. During this year in Indonesia, she found Psalm 126:5 to be a solace to her. “It was so hard to face the memories of Hannah in that place, but it was so fulfilling and healing as well.”

While in Tarakan, God again opened the door for them to accept a full-time assignment back to Indonesia, this time in the province of Papua. The Ringenbergs began serving in Wamena in December 2011 and served there for two years with Dave fulfilling the roles of Instructor Pilot and line pilot/mechanic. But, in January of 2014 they moved to Sentani after Dave accepted a new role to serve as the Assistant Program Manager for the Papua program. Then in 2016 as MAF restructured their management positions, Dave was asked to fill the Director of Operations role for Indonesia. In 2023 he was asked to switch roles and is currently the Chief Pilot for Indonesia.

Linda cares for the family, manages the household, and stays involved in the community. She particularly enjoys organizing a weekly Bible study for MAF ladies and being involved in the boys’ lives and school. Several times a year she puts together a publication for the MAF Papua team highlighting stories from the past months about how they are making an impact in Papua. She is also currently working on a book about all that the Lord taught her through Hannah’s illness.

C.J. attended Liberty University in Virginia and graduated in 2023. Ryan is in high school at Hillcrest School in Sentani and will graduate in 2025.

Dave was born in Columbus, Georgia, but lived in Chenoa, Illinois, until age 10 when his family relocated to El Cajon, California. Dave became a Christian as a senior in high school. After becoming a Christian, he wanted to get busy serving the Lord in a technical field so he attended San Diego Christian College in El Cajon where he earned a B.S. in Aviation Flight and Maintenance Technology. Dave holds an Airline Transport Pilot rating (ATP), a commercial and instrument pilot’s license, a gold seal flight instructor rating, ground instructor rating, and an airframe & powerplant (A&P) mechanic’s license.

Linda was born and raised in a Christian family in El Cajon, California, and accepted Christ into her life when she was six years old. Linda attended Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California, earning B.A. degrees in both Literature and Spanish and a secondary teaching credential.