By God’s grace, the experience of imprisonment in Mozambique actually deepened Ryan’s passion to serve the Mozambican people.

“Over at least my detainment experience, I grew to love the people of Mozambique more as I spent time with the worst of society in jail and learned to love them and love the people who put me in jail and the prison guards,” says Ryan. “We just also look forward to doing life with our team and our national staff that we came to know in Mozambique, and just ministering to them as well.

“Our drive going back is rooted in our love for Christ and our love of serving Him and bringing people to Him.”

Ryan Koher, Annabel Koher, and their two boys. (Photo courtesy of MAF, used with permission from the Koher family.)

MAF has been serving in Mozambique since 1999 and created Ambassador Aviation in 2014 to meet new requirements for charter services. Today, the ministry’s missionary families and indigenous staff primarily serve hard-to-reach people groups in northern Mozambique, flying healthcare resources and other forms of aid in Jesus’s name.

The Kohers still believe in this mission and want God to use them, despite whatever future challenges may arise.

“God has given us special gifts and abilities and skills, and also opportunity to go and serve in Mozambique,” Ryan says. “We are just going to take that open door and go and serve them there.”

After their daughter is born and they have time to recuperate as a family, Ryan and Annabel plan to move back to Mozambique and continue serving with Ambassador Aviation.

As they prepare to follow God’s calling, Annabel requests, “Prayer for the visa process, that our daughter’s passport would come through quickly and smoothly, that we’d be able to get visas to go to Mozambique smoothly.

Ryan Koher (Photo courtesy of MAF, used with permission from the Koher family.)

“Also [pray for] the transition back into Mozambique because we have been out of the country for over a year now. Our boys are five and almost four, and they’re super excited to go back. That’s home to them, but we also realize that there will be a transition going back. So prayer that that will go smoothly, that our language skills will come back to us, and just that we’ll thrive there and be open to whatever ministries God has for us in Mozambique.”

To learn more about how Mission Aviation Fellowship serves communities in Mozambique, visit MAF’s website.

Header photo taken in September 2022 at Nairuko, Mozambique. Featuring Ryan Koher, Annabel Koher, and their two boys. (Photo courtesy of MAF, used with permission from the Koher family.)

“From the very beginning, we knew that Ryan was carrying out a legitimate and needed flight and was completely innocent of the suspicions that were investigated,” said David Holsten, MAF President and CEO. “During this lengthy ordeal, Ryan and Annabel have faithfully trusted the Lord and experienced His sustaining care on many occasions. We are so grateful to everyone who has diligently prayed for the Koher family. We know that God will use this situation for His glory.”

Ryan Koher (Photo courtesy of MAF, used with permission from the Koher family.)

Ryan Koher responded to the news by saying, “It has been a long journey and an uphill battle at times, to get to this point of closure. I know this would not be possible without the many people who have been faithfully praying to this end. I would like to thank everyone for your prayers and love for our family. I pray that God will receive all the glory for His work in our lives.”

On November 2, 2022, Koher left the AAL base in Nampula for a five-hour flight to Inhambane on a Cessna 206. He met two South Africans who had brought supplies to be delivered to an orphanage in northern Mozambique. AAL has been conducting these supply flights to the
orphanage for several years.

While going through the normal security scan at the airport, police took an interest in some vitamins, over-the-counter medications, and food preservative supplies. They confiscated the entire load and detained Koher and the two South Africans. None of the confiscated material belonged to Koher nor had it been loaded onto the airplane, which was secured by police.

The three men were jailed under suspicion of supporting the insurgent activity in northern Mozambique, near to where the orphanage is located. Following an initial incarceration at the local police jail on November 4, 2022, they were officially arrested on November 7 and moved to a prison in Inhambane. Koher and the South Africans were then moved to the Machava High Security Prison near the capital city of Maputo on November 16. AAL retained a Mozambican lawyer for Koher, and the U.S. Embassy was made aware of the situation.

Kohers arrive in Boise. (Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

Koher was released from the high security prison on March 14, 2023, and required to remain in Mozambique. In late September 2023, a judge ordered that Koher’s passport be returned and he and his family arrived in the United States on October 5. Ryan and his wife, Annabel, have two boys and are expecting their third child in December. They are currently planning to resume their work in Mozambique in 2025.

“There has never been a point in this whole process where Annabel and I lost the desire to return. Through this experience, we have come to love the people of Mozambique more, and we are very excited to go back and continue serving there. Because we know from experience that God is faithful to carry us through hardship and difficulty, we can return in confidence, knowing His plans for us are good and that He will again help us in any time of trouble,” Koher said.

Mission Aviation Fellowship has been serving the people of Mozambique since 1999 with Ambassador Aviation becoming the operational entity in 2014. Based out of Nampula with two aircraft, the Cessna 206 and a Cessna Caravan EX, typical flights include medical evacuations, medical care through the MOZMED project, and flights for conservation groups in the Niassa Special Reserve, to name a few.

In 2021, AAL evacuated over 800 people from Afungi following insurgent attacks on Palma in the Cabo Delgado province. They also provided food, medicine, and relief supplies to the area. Medical personnel flights served the area for several months in late 2021 and early 2022 as the
region recovered from the attacks. In 2019, AAL provided a disaster assessment by air following Cyclones Idai and Kenneth and conducted 184 relief flight legs, delivering over 45,000 kg of cargo and 691 passengers as part of the humanitarian assistance response.

Tomorrow, we’ll share part two of this story, focusing on the Koher family’s hope to resume their ministry in Mozambique.

Header photo: Ryan & Annabel Koher, their two boys, and a baby girl expected in December 2024. (Photo courtesy of MAF)