Indonesia (MNN) — Nathan Fagerlie remembers falling asleep as a kid to the sound of his dad reading missionary biographies, many of which detailed early missionary efforts in Papua New Guinea and neighboring Indonesia. What began as an interest in historical accounts has turned into a present-day passion.
“With 250 different language groups, there are still places that haven’t heard, that haven’t had missionaries or Bible translators or an opportunity to hear; and I wanted to go be a part of bringing the Gospel to them,” Fagerlie says.
Now a pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship, he doesn’t sugarcoat the flying conditions in many of MAF’s regions.
“There are often weather challenges. The airstrips are pretty crazy: short, steep, rough. So the pilots take on a lot of risk as we operate in that area,” he says.
Evangelists arrive in Puluk, Papua. Courtesy of Nathan Fagerlie.
Fagerlie first felt the pull to aviation in high school, when a missionary pilot suggested he consider it. Before long, he found himself graduating from Moody Bible Institute with a degree in mission aviation and a commercial pilot’s license. As he researched missions organizations, Fagerlie landed on MAF. The wide array of ministry involvement appealed to him. MAF pilots support everything from church planting to Bible translation and famine relief.
“I just liked their overall view of, ‘You know what? We’re here to serve. We’re here to help both to provide physical transformation in this life and spiritual transformation for the next,” he says.
Missionary pilots can be difficult to come by, as the journey to a licensed pilot’s seat takes significant time and dedication. Pilots with a commercial license and some experience are invited to pray about joining the mission.
“Once you’ve decided that this is what you want to do, you come join up with MAF and go through a few evaluations. We want to make sure that you have both the skills and the right heart for what we do overseas,” Fagerlie says.
If the pilot and MAF are a fit for each other, evaluations are followed up with support raising and additional flight and non-technical training before pilots head to the field. The first six months to a year focus on language acquisition.
“And then we get you in an airplane and start you flying,” Fagerlie says.
Chicken and ducks flown via laundry baskets and MAF into a village whose residents wanted to start raising them. Courtesy of Nathan Fagerlie
Interested pilots can browse MAF’s current needs here.
For those of us on the ground: Please pray for the safety of pilots and their passengers. Pray also for relationships between MAF and national governments, local governments, and ministry partners. If you’d like to financially support missionary aviators, consider giving through MAF’s website.
Whether you head to the skies or send your support from solid ground, you can watch Nathan Fagerlie in action here.
