Flying a group of missionaries

Last week I flew some missionaries from Malaumanda airstrip to Hewa airstrip.

That might not sound particularly unusual, but let me tell you who they were, and why it was such a privilege to fly them.

The group, led by pastor Jim Balus, are locals from Malaumanda who will spend the next 2-4 months at a village two days' walk from Hewa airstrip, running a literacy school in the local language (i.e. teaching people how to read in their own language) and follow-up courses teaching people the gospel and the Bible.

Jim explained: "We are going to the Hewa tribe in a small village, it’s called Minim. But God’s word has not come there. So they asked us to come up. Last year in January, from January to March or April we finished course 1 and course 2. Now this year, it’s a new year, we want to go again and continue to course 3 and course 4, plus a tok ples [local dialect] literacy school. Once they can read in their tok ples, they can fully understand God’s word. We are helping the New Tribes missionaries by going up to help with the Bible course.

"Please pray for the tok ples literacy school and the Bible course 3 and course 4, that the people in Minim would hear God's word and learn well. Pray that they can appoint their own leaders in the church and be strong."

Please pray also for the group while they are away from home for such a long time.

Jim Balus (r) with members of the group, at Malaumanda

The group after landing at Hewa airstrip. Minim village is beyond
the hill behind them.

On a map, Malaumanda and Hewa airstrips are only 37 km apart, but there is a 13,000' mountain range between them. Jim explained it would take them over a week of hard walking to get there, if they couldn't fly. Although I couldn't fly in a straight line either (due to the aforementioned mountain), it took much less than a week - 25 minutes, to be precise.

Later that day as I was praying for Jim and his group, I marvelled at their dedication and how it far surpassed my own. They didn't take a lot of cargo - a big tarpaulin, one small bag of personal belongings each, a small amount of food, and two boxes of Bibles. They are relying on God to provide for them through the generosity of others, from a different tribe. They are undertaking a mission to bring the word of God to people who had never heard it. They will certainly face opposition for doing so... and will be richly rewarded in heaven.

Update (17 July): MAF PNG recently published this story, which includes additional information.