Written by: Lourieke Haller
Article source: JOY! Magazine

A pilot of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), Ryan Koher, as well as two South African missionary volunteers were taken into custody on the 4th of November 2022 while preparing to fly supplies to orphanages in northern Mozambique. It has now been more than three months and they are still detained in a maximum security prison in Mozambique, without any formal charges that have been made.

Willem du Plessis and Eric Dry, days before flying to Mozambique

Summary of events from 2022
Koher (31), a pilot for Ambassador Aviation Ltd (AAL), which is a partner of MAF, was detained in Mozambique along with Willem du Plessis (77) and Eric Dry (69) on the apparent suspicion of ‘supporting insurgents’ in the country.

Koher and company were detained prior to piloting a charter flight to deliver supplies such as infant formula, food preservative supplies, and vitamins to orphanages near Montepuez. While conducting the normal security scan at the airport, the police took an interest in some vitamins, over-the-counter medications, and food preservative supplies that were to be delivered.

Wrongful accusation
The three men have been jailed on a still undetermined written charge, but there appears to be suspicion that, due to the flight’s destination in northern Mozambique, they were supporting insurgent activity. Actually, AAL has long sought to care for those who have been harmed by the insurgency, including evacuating innocent residents following the March 2021 insurgent attack.

MAF in Mozambique
MAF began serving the people of Mozambique in 1999, and in 2014, AAL became the operational entity as a registered charter service in the country. Typical flights include medical care and evacuations.

In 2021, AAL evacuated over 800 people from Afungi, following insurgent attacks on Palma in the Cabo Delgado province. They also provided 24,476 kg of food, medicine, and relief supplies to the area and delivered 29 aid workers and 32 medical workers. In addition, medical evacuation flights were conducted in the area for several months in late 2021 and early 2022 as the region recovered from the attacks.

Ryan, Annabel, Elias and Hezekiah

The Koher family
“Ryan is a caring and gentle individual,” MAF president and CEO David Holsten said. Ryan and his wife, Annabel, have served in MAF since 2019 and moved to Mozambique in 2021. Over the last couple of years they have worked hard to learn the language and culture of Mozambique to better serve those who rely on MAF’s service. After the incident, Ryan’s wife and young children returned to America as per MAF’s security protocols to allow for better care and support by the organisation and family.

‘God had been preparing us all along’
It is often eye-opening when we are dealing with a situation to realise that God had been preparing us all along. Annabel wrote a devotional for the MAF US Advent Experience in June 2022 and back then titled her devotional, “Resting assured in the risk”. In December she testified, “I received my copy of the devotional this week … God brought it to mind at the start of this difficult season to encourage me. It is interesting to see how He set things up these past couple of years in what He was teaching us and bringing us through, which has been foundation for us to lean on now.”

In a video message she also read an excerpt from a letter that Ryan wrote in prison about the struggle between flesh and spirit in this trying time: “So the spirit and flesh are always at war. Forcing me again and again to the feet of Jesus where I find my strength, so that the outworking of my faith is peace of mind.”

She continued, “Overall, we are finding comfort in God’s sovereignty and He has given us an unexplainable peace and trust in His will. Just as we can see in David’s many psalms – our tears crying out for help are mingled with the praises of God’s glory and goodness.”

What can you do?
MAF and Annabel invite you to join them in fasting and praying for the release of the three men every Wednesday. “But we are by no means limited to one day a week to lay our request before the Lord,” says Annabel. “I think of the church in Acts 12. When Peter was arrested, the church was praying fervently to God for him and when God set Peter free, he found the church assembled and praying. I urge all of us to be like that church. Let us be fervently praying for their release and the spread of God’s Word. And may that be what we are doing when we hear the joyous news of Ryan’s freedom.”

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Date published: 11/02/2023
MISSION AVIATION FELLOWSHIP help in reaching the isolated. Visit their website mafsa.co.za for more information.

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