Truly Precious Gathering
By Kimberly van Veen
As the planes touched down, the village of Banda threw a welcome party.
A fleet of motorcycles decorated with flowers waited to carry visitors down rutted mud roads. Archways of woven palm branches hung over the path as crowds lined the way, cheering loudly. In front of the church, a cluster of women waved handkerchiefs and danced in matching wax-print dresses.
Together, they welcomed the first Women of the Good News committee meeting ever held in Banda, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Banda is the most isolated district in the denomination’s territory, and because of many militant groups, it’s too dangerous to travel there by road.
“I am so thankful for MAF,” said Masika Kivikwano Rose, director of the women’s ministry in Beni. Beni is the farthest district from Banda, and Masika would have had to cross multiple rebel areas to get there. Instead, she arrived safely aboard an MAF airplane.
A Congolese Church
This meeting represented months of effort by the director of the women’s committee, Maturu Tiperu Kezia, and her team of tenacious women. Tiperu serves in the largest Protestant church denomination in northeastern DRC, the Evangelical Church of Central Africa (CECA 20), an MAF partner.
Maturu Tiperu Kezia, head of the women’s committee, took the lead on organizing the conference.
CECA 20 has over 1,500 local churches and congregations. They operate Bible schools in each of their 12 districts and run hundreds of primary and secondary schools, as well as a handful of clinics. “The strongest believers I know are here,” Africa Inland Missionary Abbie Desloges said. Abbie serves on the CECA 20 denominational leadership training team and teaches at CECA 20 Bible schools.
The DRC is not an easy place to minister. The distances are vast and roads are poor. Travel from one end of the denominational parish (covering territory from the Ugandan border to Central African Republic) could take up to two weeks on the back of a motorcycle—if road conditions are favorable.
Residents can rarely drive between places without risking a run-in with the 120+ active rebel groups dotting the rainforest. “At best you’ll get stuck,” Abbie said. “At worst … you’ll get kidnapped.”
Culturally, the Women of the Good News Ministry is the heart of the church. Every year, each of the denomination’s 12 district leaders of the women’s ministry gather for planning, refreshment, and fellowship. However, the women from Banda rarely participate. It’s simply too far and too dangerous to journey to the CECA 20 headquarters in the city of Bunia. For perspective, Bunia is closer to Nairobi, Kenya, than it is to the Banda district.
Holding the annual women’s committee meeting in Banda was a bold undertaking, but Tiperu was determined to include this isolated community, and she needed MAF’s help to make it happen.
Even before Tiperu met with chief pilot Ben Samuelson, Abbie knew it was an audacious ask. She had calculated how much the multiple flights would cost and knew the denomination didn’t have the funds.
“I love that MAF has that relationship with the church, so we can just approach them with things like this,” Abbie said.
As Ben fields ongoing requests from mission partners, he often has to bring in reality by discussing fuel requirements, logistics, space or seats in the cabin, takeoff weight restrictions, in addition to the overall cost.
The size of the team, the distances, the cost of the flights, and even the status of the infrequently used airstrip were all factors Ben considered when he thought about Tiperu’s request. But in the end, the value of bringing the women together outweighed all the other challenges.
“What these women do on a weekly basis … upholds and bolsters the church and the community,” Ben said. “They are constantly engaged in help, hope, and healing in their communities, and that is why we wanted to help make this happen.”
MAF pilots John Loker and Dominic Villeneuve flew over 600 nautical miles ferrying the women from the communities of Magahi, Aru, Dungu, and Mungbere to Banda. “The passengers were noticeably joyful,” John said. “Each stop on this day witnessed a reunion of [women] embracing and praying together as well as singing during the flight!”
An aviation map showing the route the pilots took between Bunia and Banda with the stops along the way
Precious Time
Everyone made the most of the time in Banda, knowing they might never be together again. Though only 18 delegates attended the meetings, roughly 900 believers from miles around arrived on motorcycles, bicycles, or on foot to join morning worship inside the brick church.
After worship and meetings, the visitors ventured out to encourage widows and visit with the sick. Abbie held nutrition and development classes and taught at the local Bible institute while the denominational treasurer trained local treasurers in proper financial procedures.
“These opportunities for them to be together … are truly precious,” Abbie said.
Because of its remoteness and the presence of militia groups, Banda is cut off from the rest of the body of Christ and from the rest of the DRC. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group operates nearby. In fact, the presence of the LRA meant the community needed to hire freelance soldiers for protection during the meetings.
Looking back on the meetings, Tiperu came away with a renewed commitment to steward the ministry God gave her and not let the busyness of ministry dampen her compassion for those around her.
“It would have never happened without the airplanes,” Abbie said. “To have someone come and preach hope and show that you’re not alone, that you’re part of a huge denomination … this is a representation of Christ.”
This story appeared in the August 2026 edition of FlightWatch.
