Emmanuel’s new role begins next week as A3, formerly known as Asian Access (A2), continues expanding ministry beyond its Asian roots.

“Now the scope is global,” Emmanuel says. “So that really excites me because I’m going to be part of this adventure of taking what God has been doing so powerfully in the last five decades in Asia to the rest of the world.”

Jeyakaran Emmanuel and his wife, Kavitha. (Photo courtesy of A3)

Ministry challenges persist in parts of the world A3 serves. Emmanuel explains, “Particularly in the Asian context, it’s becoming increasingly hostile. Several countries that Asian Access was working in is an area of persecution, and it is so hard to plant churches and to see the propagation of the Gospel.

“But what is also encouraging at the same time, in the most difficult of these times, the Gospel cannot be hindered. It is unstoppable, and we are seeing God operate in unique ways.”

Lausanne 4 offers ministries like A3 a platform to collaborate for greater Gospel impact.

Emmanuel says, “That’s the hope of Lausanne — that virtual relationships will continue. So what’s really going to make us stick is deep relationships and friendships and mutual respect for what God is doing in each other’s lives and contexts.”

Looking forward to his new position at A3, Emmanuel asks for prayer. “In my weakness, His strength will be made perfect. So you can be praying that as I step into this role, that the grace of the Lord will be abundantly resting on me to do what I can’t do in the natural. I don’t want to lean on my own past experiences, but I want to just receive what the Lord has in a fresh way to empower me for the task that He has called me to do.”

Learn more about A3 here!

Header photo courtesy of A3.

As a Christ-centered, student-focused program, Crossroads connects people in prison with mentors who study the Bible with them via letters. 

“We have a presence in about 29 countries around the world,” says Joe Pryor, president and CEO of Crossroads. “The reality is, we are in some countries where we have not effectively accomplished translating all of our lessons into their language.”

(Photo courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries)

The ministry has made staffing changes and hired a Translation Manager in 2023 to accomplish their strategic goal of translating 27 Bible study lessons into 10 languages. 

“When we go into a country, we’re treating it like a franchise. When a person opens a franchise, they have to have a lot of infrastructure in place before they ever open the doors, so that they can be successful when they do open the doors,” says Pryor.

“In the future, we’re not going to go into a country until we have all that infrastructure in place so that we can get everyone there, including the leaders and the students, every chance they need to succeed.”

Pray for Crossroads students around the world to be transformed as they study God’s Word and for God’s blessing on the ministry’s translation process. 

(Image courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries)

“How exciting it will be to be able to go into a country and to be able to say, ‘We not only have all these lessons, we have them in your language,'” says Pryor.

“Please pray for us as we accomplish this goal, because it’s so important to reach so many people around the world.”

To learn more about how you might get involved as a mentor with Crossroads, click here. 

Header image courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries.

Joe Pryor, President and CEO of Crossroads says, “So what happens is the large number of people who make up that average sentence length, a lot of them are involved in Crossroads, but they’re just getting out of prison. They’re leaving, and that’s why we see a large number of those dropouts.”

To give students with shorter prison sentences a complete Bible study experience, Crossroads is creating a new starting curriculum with 19 lessons.

Pryor explains, “Everyone will do that [new curriculum]. After that though, if a person has less than six months remaining on their sentence, rather than lose them,…we’re going to create a re-entry track.

(Photo courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries)

“That re-entry track will be lessons such as going home, community and the family, work and housing, staying sober, staying out, hitting the gate on day one — all of that from a biblical perspective with lessons that will help them use their faith as a way to transition out of prison and successfully back into the community.”

“Then if someone has more than 18 months remaining on their sentence after they complete that first 19 lessons, then we go to a more Crossroads in-depth curriculum — that will be things like God’s great story, the Sermon on the Mount, a renewed mind, theology of missions — and give those individuals who, unfortunately, are staying in prison longer a really strong deep-dive into God’s Word.”

The new curriculum won’t be available for some time, but you can always get involved now by becoming a mentor with Crossroads! Click here to learn more about Crossroads mentors.

“We really believe that this will serve our students well and help them to go home, stay home, and to not only stay out of trouble but live fruitful, successful lives after they get out of prison.”

Pray for men and women in prison to know the grace of Jesus Christ and be strengthened in their faith while serving time.

Header image courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries.

The moniker change comes from Jesus’ last words in Acts 1:8 when He told the disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Greg Kelley has been the CEO of World Mission – now Unknown Nations – for 25 years. Kelley says, “We would love to see people really analyze that in their own world, whether it’s as an individual or in their local church, and say, ‘What is our expression of the last thing Jesus said? The ends of the earth?’

“With that in mind, we are changing our name because our laser focus is on that mission to unknown nations. So World Mission is no longer. We’ll now be Unknown Nations. We’re very excited about it, and we believe that it says a lot more specifically about what God has called us to.”

(Photo courtesy of Unknown Nations)

Out of 8 billion people worldwide, roughly 3.4 billion live in unreached people groups — meaning they have no access to the Gospel. A people group is generally considered “reached” with the Gospel when at least 2% of the population begins following Jesus Christ.

The highest concentration of unreached people groups live in a geographic region known as the 10/40 Window. The region stretches from 10 to 40 degrees north, from Morocco to Japan and all the countries in between.

Unfortunately, only 1% of Christian giving in Western churches goes towards sending the Gospel to unreached people groups.

Kelley says, “The most needy spiritual countries that are filled with hundreds and hundreds of people groups don’t live in the places that we primarily do foreign missions. So that’s a problem. We need to start paying attention to the spiritual conditions. If everybody who comes in contact with Unknown Nations does that assessment, then we view that as a win.”

Unknown Nations’ heart and mission have not changed from when they were known as World Mission. But with a new name, the ministry seeks to put a spotlight on peoples who desperately need Jesus — if only they could hear the Gospel!

Check out Unknown Nations’ new website and learn how to get involved!

Header photo courtesy of Unknown Nations.

Crossroads Prison Ministries connects men and women in prison with Christian mentors through mail-in Bible studies. It can take several weeks for just one Bible study letter to go between the Crossroads student and the mentor. So what about those serving shorter stints behind jail bars?

John Byrne, the Director of Student Programming with Crossroads says, “Typically, for a Crossroads lesson, it takes four to six weeks [for] turnaround. So a student gets a lesson booklet from us, they do the work, they send it back to us at Crossroads, [and] it goes to a volunteer who reviews it and sends it to a mentor. The mentor then reviews the lesson, writes some comments, and then writes a letter to the student.

(Image courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries)

“The jail population is very transient. Typically, they don’t have enough time to get very far into the Crossroads coursework because they’re there for such a short amount of time.”

Around one-third of Crossroads’ student enrollment comes from men and women serving jail time. Most of them are out of jail before they can finish a Crossroads course.

That is why Crossroads recently developed a new jail curriculum. For someone in jail, it should only take about a week to complete this new coursework, and it serves as an introduction to the ministry. From there, if they still have more jail time to serve — or if they’ve received a longer sentence in prison — they can begin another Crossroads course.

Reaching this demographic is critical. Byrne says the time someone spends in jail is often a spiritual wake-up call.

“For some, it’s the first time they haven’t been drunk or high for several days in a row, especially if they’re addicted to drugs or alcohol. So now they have a block of time…to sober up, to reconsider their life [and] to weigh out what they’ve lost or what they could lose going to prison.”

“It’s kind of a big shock. For a lot of people, jail becomes that place of rock bottom. ‘How did I get here? I’m looking around, I’m locked up, I can’t go home. How did I get myself in this spot?’ So in jail, it’s very fertile ground for evangelism…. A lot of people in jail make a commitment to follow Jesus.”

(Image courtesy of Crossroads Prison Ministries)

Please pray for men and women in jail to sense their need for a Savior in Jesus Christ! Ask God to make Himself known in mighty ways, renewing hearts and minds for the Kingdom.

If you’re interested in becoming a mentor with Crossroads, click here!

“It’s like anything else, any loss, there’s a grieving that takes place. ‘I lost my freedom. I may have lost my family.’ So to be able to encourage somebody in that situation, it’s like giving them a glass of spiritual ice water in their situation.”

Also, if you can read and write in Spanish, Crossroads has a specific need for more Spanish-speaking mentors. Byrne says, “We really would like to have more Spanish-speaking students, but we don’t have enough mentors to go through all those lessons from our Spanish-speaking students.”

Header photo courtesy of Ye Jinghan via Unsplash.

You Are Beautiful

That is why SAT-7, a satellite TV ministry to the Middle East and North Africa, is creating a new program—You Are Beautiful. (Read about the experience of Arab women HERE.) In cooperation with Campus Crusade, SAT-7 is making God’s love known to these women through this program.

(Photo by M.T ElGassier on Unsplash)

You Are Beautiful is dedicated to women in the Arab world. It raises awareness of the problems they face, provides guidance for handling their situations, and introduces these women to counselors. The producers have set up counseling lines for women viewers in Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and other Arab countries.

The program counters the idea that women are second-class citizens in the Arab World. It resources women living in abusive and unhealthy conditions with creative solutions to change their situations or leave altogether.

“We try to achieve the goal that we help women with their self-worth and make them realize that they are valuable and they have a purpose in life,” SAT-7’s Amgad Shafik says through a translator.

Domestic Violence Against Arab Women

In many households in the Arab world, discrimination towards women and girls is common, Shafik says.

(Photo by Thiago Barletta on Unsplash)

For example, boys in the family are offered education while girls are not. In some homes, chores rest on the girls’ shoulders while boys are allowed to relax. These situations contribute to societies in which men believe women have no rights.

“They continue living [like] that because women are convinced that they are second-class citizens and the men also continue to renew this legacy,” Shafik says.

Sherif Wahba, producer of You Are Beautiful, adds that women are not considered equal to men in some local religions, leading to intense mistreatment. You Are Beautiful covers related topics such as female genital mutilation, homeless pregnant women, rape, sexual abuse, and underage marriage.

A Woman’s Worth

Photo by M.T ElGassier on Unsplash

To further examine the value of women, You Are Beautiful hosts Christian and Islamic leaders and experts to explain each religion’s view of women and their worth. The program also features stories of women from various Arab countries who have triumphant stories of change.

“The women that invited challenge the society and faced their problems bravely and achieved the results that they wanted,” Shafik says.

You Are Beautiful is presented to women by women; the hosts include Dina from Egypt and Randa from Jordan. The program is currently in post-production and will air early next year.

Next Steps

Will you pray for You Are Beautiful and ask God to use this program to heal women?

“Pray for the staff. The staff here, they live in the Arab world and they face a lot of challenges in their lives and in their work. So, there are local challenges in terms of production. So, we need prayers for that…Also, we need prayers for the crew. We need prayers for the viewers themselves,” asks Mary Joseph, communications officer at SAT-7 Egypt office.

SAT-7 needs support to continue filming real women who have challenged societal norms and the idea that women are second class citizens. Promoting You Are Beautiful requires social media and marketing support.

If you want to support this work financially, please click here.

Header photo courtesy of SAT-7.

Set Free Ministries works both in the United States and overseas. Domestically, they’re primarily focused on bringing spiritual freedom and healing through God’s Word and what they call freedom appointments. Internationally, they’re bringing these principles into the work they’re doing to build stronger communities and educational opportunities.

A year of hope

Looking back on the year, Pete Noor of Set Free is grateful for the hundreds of people who came through their door and were able to grasp at hope once more.

“We daily have people coming in here, right, that are broken, hurting, struggling with depression and anxiety and so forth.”

Noor says that when these individuals arrive in the lobby at their headquarters in West Michigan, you can see that they are downcast and depressed. The team regularly starts the day by praying for everyone who will come in that day. They ask God to reveal himself to the hurting.

Volunteers take participants through the freedom appointments. These one-time counseling sessions help people identify harmful lies in their life and replace them with the promises of God.

“Often times we will have the opportunity just to see these individuals and to see the actual difference in their countenance as they leave, the hope that’s in their eyes,” Noor says.

The volunteers walking these people through the freedom appointments, exposing the lies that are dragging them down and sharing the truths and promises of God, are blessed to be used by God to bring spiritual and emotional healing. Just about every day, Noor says, they get to see God transform lives in a big way.

Noor recalls how this year, they received a letter from a woman who tahenked them for helping her husband find healing through the Gospel. He had once more assumed the role of spiritual leader in their household.

“Hope. Hope is just something everybody needs, right? And it’s just, so many are searching for it in all the wrong places. And so when they come here and get connected to the true Healer– what a great thing.”

A growing ministry

This ministry offers freedom appointments free of charge to participants. They feel strongly about this because they don’t want to put up any barriers to God’s free gift of mercy and grace. Noor says they often have people break down in tears of gratitude because they didn’t know there was anyone who could help them in their financial difficulties.

But providing these free services requires the time, talent, and treasure of others.

Jim Faber of Set Free says as they finish out the year and look ahead, there are a few ways they are asking God to provide. First, he says they want to meet their basic budget and finish the year in the black. Second, they are raising funds to build a high school in Uganda. And third, they are planning to build a new ministry building so that they can expand their operations in West Michigan.

All of these financial needs have come about because of the growing demand for what Set Free provides. But time and time again, they’ve seen God provide, and they’ve seen the people involved in that provision greatly blessed.

So, what exactly does it look like to be blessed through giving? Noor gives an example.

Lives changed

Several years ago, there was a man who accompanied their executive director, Dean VanderMey, to Uganda to visit the schools Set Free supports there. During their visit, they met a student named Robert whose leg was so deformed, he was unable to walk. His future was bleak.

“The gentleman that accompanied Dean on this trip saw this, and they inquired about the possibility of having surgery done, found out how much it was. And he committed on the spot to take care of this boy’s surgeries,” Noor explains.

The boy went through quite a few surgeries to try and fix his leg. Last year, a team went back to visit the school he attends. Dean was excited to bring the news to this donor that Robert not only walked up to him, he ran across the classroom!

Robert underwent several corrective surgeries.
(Photo courtesy of Set Free Ministries)

Today, Robert is the top academic student of his class. Noor believes this boy will one day be a leader due to his personality and drive. His donor is blessed to know he was part of making that possible.

Another example from Africa involves the rescue of 18 young girls from an area where they would have become victims of female genital mutilation. These girls were taken in by the schools that Set Free supports, but they needed to be enrolled in high school. This meant that tuition funds needed to be raised.

Set Free approached one of their donor couples and told them about the girls and their need for school. This couple decided to pay for their tuition. They’ve been able to give these girls a hopeful future and a chance to succeed, and to know the love of Jesus through all of that.

Faber says God is working through donors and prayer warriors all the time, and he’s doing incredible things.

“It’s a joy to come in every day and to work with these people. They have such tremendous hearts. And God is using Set Free Ministries in a tremendous way.”

How you can help

If you want to be a part of this incredible work, there are a few ways to get involved. First of all, consider becoming a prayer warrior for Set Free. You can learn more about that, here.

Second of all, consider supporting them financially so that they can achieve their exciting goals for the near future. Learn more, here.

And finally, Noor says, “We need more volunteers, frankly… We’re becoming more known. And we’re getting referrals from a lot of different sources now. We’re having people come here from out of state. And we see a real need for more people whose hearts are moved by this type of ministry. Who would like to be used, to be the hands and feet of Christ.”

Volunteers just need to be willing to be trained and go through their own freedom appointment. They need to have a desire to “get in the trenches and experience the rewards that come when you answer the call,” Noor says. “And you are able to actually experience the power, the grace of God, flowing through you to others. It’s unlike anything you’ll ever experience.”

For more information on this, click here.

If you are looking for some help to work through addiction, depression, anger, or any other emotional or spiritual difficulty, you can reach out to Set Free here. 

Header photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Take Senegal, for instance. According to Operation World, about 91 percent of the population is made up of Muslims. But while many people might assume these nearly 12 million Muslims are closed off to the Gospel, what Christians are finding in their door-to-door outreach is encouraging them to keep talking about Jesus.

You see, everything changes when followers of Jesus step out to meet the individual — to learn their story, their needs, and their heart.

World Missionary Press has a major distributor of their materials in Senegal. This same group is organizing home-to-home campaigns, open-air evangelism, and street films, and they’ve seen a great impact from the JESUS Film.

Williams says that right now in Senegal, their distributor is awaiting 40,000 New Testaments to hand out. Christian workers have been going house to house to leave biblical literature and booklets and to talk about Jesus.

She says, “The Muslims will accept the New Testament. So [this distributor has] asked for 20,000 in French and 20,000 in Arabic. And one of the things about this that we’ve seen is that there is a growing responsiveness.”

(Photo courtesy of World Missionary Press)

In fact, many of the distributor contacts of World Missionary Press have shown a desire to focus even more on Muslim areas.

Williams explains that to live in some of these countries is to be considered Muslim, but it’s more about cultural influence and lifestyle than a personal faith. That means Christians on the ground often find that nominal Muslims are willing to discuss faith openly.

But that doesn’t mean this kind of outreach isn’t met with opposition or risk. That’s why Williams says these believers in Senegal are asking “…for prayer for their staff for safety, for boldness, for open doors, and we really believe that this is a time for this.”

World Missionary Press already has Arabic New Testaments in stock and is finishing up preparations forFrench New Testaments. But Senegal is not the only country in Africa in great need of God’s Word.

Nigeria and Ethiopia

Williams explains a scenario that happens constantly in her line of work: “We sent a container to Nigeria and we got a response within just a matter of months and they said, ‘That shipment is all used up but we need you to send us another shipment, but send us more material in Hausa.’”

In Nigeria, Christians are finding openness to the Gospel in Northern Nigeria, where the heaviest concentration of Muslims is in the country. This is also the area plagued by terrorist activity from groups like Boko Haram.

According to the Joshua Project, only about point-one percent of the Hausa are evangelical Christians.

There’s a similar need for New Testaments and biblical literature in Ethiopia, where a group of Christians is working hard to reach their neighbors with the Gospel.

Williams explains, “From their base there, they’re reaching into Somalia and Djibouti and Eritrea, countries that are, for us, kind of locked in terms of being able to get materials directly in.”

It’s an exciting time, especially for those who have prayed for openness in these parts of the world for decades.

“There is a movement in that area, a movement in the Church being willing to, ok, let’s go. Let’s try. And a movement of the spirit opening doors and opening hearts. So, this is an exciting time, I think, and we just pray for boldness, we pray for protection, we pray for harvest. But this is a great opportunity for World Missionary Press help the believers reach these areas where they either have had limited access or limited opportunity before. It does seem that the doors are opening even more.”

(Photo courtesy of World Missionary Press).

Williams emphasizes that what they hope to accomplish through this outreach is not just to introduce people to a different religion. It’s really about showing how a relationship with Jesus changes everything.

“People seem to be not at peace or not completely spiritually satisfied, if you will, with what they’ve been given all their life. And we know that that can even be true with nominal Christianity in our country. If the relationship with the Lord is not there, the form doesn’t fill the void.”

Do you want to be a part of this exciting moment in the history of the Church? There are a few ways you can get involved.

First of all, you can pray for World Missionary Press. Ask God to give the team discernment and wisdom. Pray for them to make the right connections around the world with people who love God and love telling others about Him. You can also pray for the safety, protection, and wisdom of the distributors, as well.

Secondly, you can help financially. World Missionary Press is constantly under the weight of requests for more material. While this means that people really want to hear about Jesus, the ministry wants to be able to increase their production.

Williams says right now they have requests for about 90 million booklets with large orders coming in every day. They can produce about seven million booklets each month, but would love to be able to increase production to 10 million a month. To learn how you can contribute financially, click here.

Finally, if you live in the region of World Missionary Press’ headquarters or feel like taking a road trip, you can visit them for a tour or to volunteer. Go to the website to learn more.

You can contact World Missionary Press here with any additional questions.

Header photo courtesy of pixabay.

Clifton doesn’t just represent a new leadership era with FARMS. At 29-years-old, he also represents a new generation in ministry.

Richter says this is a great thing for FARMS. “We are looking forward to inspiring a whole new generation of young people, young families that are interested in helping the poor. That is something I believe Scott can do very well to inspire people in his age group and those around that age group, that they can be actively involved in helping people out of poverty and especially helping Christians around the world that are disadvantaged.

“We’re excited too about the giftings that Scott has. When we looked for an executive director for my position, it needed to be a person that had a love for the poor and we felt they also had to be willing to travel and be in villages in remote places, and Scott had a real interest in that. We just came off almost a month-long trip to Asia and visited many rugged and remote places in the world and I could tell Scott thoroughly enjoyed and related well with the people.”

Joe & Pat Richter with one of the FARMS project holders in Thailand. (Photo, caption courtesy of FARMS International)

In their ministry, FARMS combines Christian stewardship principles with interest-free loans to bolster families in impoverished communities.

“We are reaching into places where there is no other help, there is no other organization, there is no government to help even. It’s a great responsibility we feel…and a burden to reach into those places and to be a help. They really need that type of economic help as well as discipleship to see the Kingdom of God expand. FARMS has been behind it all, seeing hundreds of churches started around the world, and they want to see that continue and expand.”

When Richter first began as FARMS’ executive director 25 years ago, the organization served in Sri Lanka, India, and Haiti. Since then, they have gone from just three programs to now over a dozen active programs in several countries.

When asked what his favorite part was about serving with FARMS, Richter responds, “It was the opportunity to see… what I would call really Christianity in the raw around the world — real Christianity in the lives of people that were willing to suffer harm and suffer persecution and even risk their lives for serving the Gospel. So few people have that opportunity to be in places where their very lives and livelihoods are at risk at the fact of following Christ as their Lord and Savior.

“I remember one lady in Nepal [was] asked before she was baptized why she wanted to be baptized. She said, ‘Well, I made Jesus my Lord and Savior. I once was in darkness and now I am in the Light.’ The pastor said, ‘Well, you know when your husband was baptized how they came into your home and dragged him out and beat him nearly to death. Aren’t you worried that might happen to you?’ And she said, ‘It doesn’t matter. I love Jesus. I don’t care what they do to me. I will never go back to Hinduism.’”

Richter reflects, “This was an amazing thing to see — a little lady in a sari in Nepal sharing her faith and her belief that Jesus meant everything to her even if it risked her life.”

After Richter retires, he will still be involved as a consultant with FARMS.

“…one of our loan recipients in Haiti and the handicrafts that she makes.” (Photo, caption courtesy of FARMS International)

We also spoke with Clifton about his transition into the FARMS executive director role. He says his vision for the ministry’s future can be summed up in three words:

“Continue, grow, and connect. Continue being that FARMS has invested in really good quality work and we want to see that continue. Grow is this idea of expansion of there [are] more places that would really be a good fit with FARMS methodology that we go about in relieving poverty. And then connect is the next generation, the younger generations that this organization will continue to be relevant for years and years to come.”

During this time of leadership transition at FARMS, the ministry would greatly appreciate the prayers and support of the Body of Christ.

Clifton shares, “On my end, certainly there is this limited time where Joe and I are both on staff, where I get to glean as much as I can from him. [Pray] that I would be able to absorb all of these details. There is a lot that goes into an organization like this behind the scenes and a lot of details that have been compiled over 25 years that we’re in the process of handing off and bringing me up to speed. I would appreciate prayer personally to be able to do that in the transition.”

Richter also adds, “I would ask for prayer that as this transition takes place, that people recognize that FARMS is continuing on as a biblically-based Christian ministry that is not compromising, and is working with Bible-believing Christians around the world. That won’t change. The new leadership is something the organization has seen that will be fruitful and will bring FARMS into this new era and to continue the work that’s been around for over 55 years.”

(Photo courtesy of FARMS International)

If you want to learn more about what God is doing through FARMS’ ministry and how you can join them, click here!

Moving forward in the months and years ahead, Clifton emphasizes above all, “We want to do things that are specifically what God is leading us towards and to always be receptive towards the prompting of the Holy Spirit.”

(Header photo courtesy of FARMS International)

According to ReliefWeb, nearly half a million people were affected by the quake and 247,000 were in immediate need of emergency supplies. The devastation killed more than 100 people and wounded more than 500.

What made this earthquake so difficult to address was how remote many affected communities were. Major landslides and damaged roads made travel nearly impossible. The rebuilding and aid process in PNG is still ongoing.

MAF Aerial Survey of PNG following several strong earthquakes, February 2018. (Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

Mission Aviation Fellowship works alongside ministries and organizations to serve isolated communities in PNG. They deliver health and educational supplies, food, and provide medical evacuations.

When the major earthquake struck on February 26, Sharlene Coker with MAF says the ministry sprang into action.

“We woke up that morning in the early morning to the earthquake, and once the sun was up we had two aircraft in the air which had already been scheduled to go to that part of the country, checking on the communities. So the pilots took some extra time talking to the community leaders and people on the ground at the airstrips they were at, finding out their needs.

“So we had that information coming in from pilots, and then we also have HF radio. We have people monitoring that on a regular basis. Also, we partner with CRMF — which is Christian Radio Missionary Fellowship — and they are monitoring the HF frequencies at all times. So people would be calling in because cell networks were down and being able to get communication was one of the issues.”

Between the radio communication and an aerial survey, MAF was able to pinpoint areas with the greatest needs following the earthquake. From there, the ministry communicated these needs to other organizations and ministries that could then provide aid and assistance.

MAF also collected donations of food, rice, and water and flew those aid items to the hardest hit areas.

MAF Aerial Survey of PNG following several strong earthquakes, February 2018. (Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

“In PNG, a lot of people know that if they can get to an airstrip, help will come. So that is what happened in the weeks following the earthquake.”

The psychological trauma was hard on communities as well. Tremors can bring on a renewed sense of stress and panic in the wake of the earthquake.

Some people have gone back to rebuild, but not everyone can. “There are certain areas…that it is not safe for them to go back in. So there are areas — care centers is what they call them — at the different airstrip areas where many people are gathered and they are still sorting out where they will make home in the future because they can’t get back home.”

Coker explains, “At this time, we’re more in the recovery phase. So most of the supplies going out now are more for rebuilding and hygiene, and organizations are offering training on clean water and how to obtain that and gender protection and different things that need to happen. But rebuilding right now is the main focus.”

While there is demand for rebuilding supplies and aid, there is also a deep desire for spiritual truth in PNG.

“For us, the most important need is Christ, getting the Word of God into people’s hands. Our planes are all equipped with a Wi-Fi Bible and that allows people to use their cell phones and download many items, Bibles, and other Christian resources to their phones. And yes, in the bush airstrips, they have cell phones!” says Coker.

“Our pilots also take out Bibles and Christian resources on their planes in a box wherever they go. Rarely do they come back without an empty box…. People are just hungry for the Word of God.”

Even in the midst of hardship and devastation, MAF pilots and staff in PNG are seeing God move. “We could not reach so many people without the Lord working. Even after the earthquake when many had gathered at the airstrips and they were asking for food and water and basic things, they were also asking for the Bibles. We had calls coming in from the people working on the ground asking us to put Bibles on the airplanes.”

If you would like to learn more about MAF and how you can support their ministry, click here!

One of the best ways you can support MAF and Papua New Guineans is through prayer.

Coker asks, “Pray for safety in flight. The weather here can turn at any moment and it really impacts what we can do. But keeping our pilots and those on board safe is always a prayer request. [Pray] for people to be open to God’s Word; and also for those who have heard it, to really grow in their faith as they get a better understanding of what Scripture is about and what Christ has done for them.”

(Header photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)