Written by Peter Santana
Peter is an MAF pilot serving with his family in Papua, Indonesia. He wrote this story back in March and we’re sharing it here in hopes that it will encourage you.
It was another beautiful morning in the mountains of Papua, Indonesia, as fellow pilot Tom Bolser and I started our descent into the village of Silimo. Silimo is about an hour flight from Sentani, to the south side of the awe-inspiring mountain ranges that split the island of Papua almost in half horizontally. On board with us were two long-time Western missionaries (20-plus years in Papua), as well as their two national partner translators. Also on board were about 300 kgs (around 300) of Ngalik New Testament Bibles. This team of translators finished the full New Testament translation several years ago and only lack two books of the Old Testament to finish the work.
This was my first MAF flight since arriving back in Papua in late January, after an “adventurous” travel experience from the States and a five-day hotel quarantine in Jakarta. What a great way for me to start off this year of flying in Papua.
After landing, the local villagers quickly unloaded the New Testament Bibles, and a local church leader led us all in a prayer of thanksgiving.
I talked again with the missionary that I brought in that morning, and he reported that all of the Bibles we flew in that day were sold within a week. The Bibles are subsidized 75 percent but they still require the people to contribute a bit so that they truly value them. It had been several years since their last printing and these new copies were received enthusiastically by the Ngalik people.
In the midst of continued COVID-19 challenges, political strife, disappointments, and uncertainties about the future, please take heart that God’s Word continues to go forth throughout the world; and you are making an impact in the lives of new believers and seekers by supporting the work of MAF in Papua.
Thank you!
