Hope Deferred ... but desire cometh
Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”
The desire has come! On March 18, 2026, the R66 in Indonesia became a “tree of life" as pilots Nathan Willems and Reuel Yeow flew the helicopter’s first ministry flight to facilitate a Bible conference among the Wana people group!
Rewind to June 2021 when, in one day, funds came in to purchase an R66 helicopter for Indonesia — so necessary, since another mission’s helicopter that we relied on was being taken out of service.
In July 2021, a purchase agreement was signed to order a brand new R66 from the Robinson factory. But the supply chain issues after the worldwide pandemic caused a long delay. Finally, December 20, 2022, pilot Brian Pruett flew the new bird to Ethnos360 Aviation in McNeal, AZ.
Then “hope deferred” became the name of the game as we waited until August of 2024 for approval to import. With great hope, our maintenance specialists, led by Larry Dye and Jim Stewart, packed the R66 and supplies into a container. Then hope was deferred as the R66-laden container sat for nearly a year in the blazing Arizona sun, waiting for paperwork.
Acting on our faith, Ethnos360 Aviation called for February 17, 2025, to be a day of prayer and fasting for the importation of the R66. We knew God was not helpless — but we needed help to trust His plan. A ray of hope shone on August 14, 2025, when the container was loaded on a truck, transferred to a train, stacked on a ship — and transported to Indonesia — with many more moments of near despair until the Operating Certificate came through March 12, 2026!! The desire has come, and it is a tree of life, bringing God’s Word for years to come to the people groups of Indonesia.
Thank you for any part you had in prayer, giving and encouragement through this five-year saga. Thanks for trusting God with us as we together provide aviation service for church planters reaching the unreached.
The R66 brings an unprecedented opportunity for indigenous church planting teams to reach the most isolated villages of their own people – and even reach out cross culturally to other people groups. Such an open door for them brings an open door for you also — to join in their church planting efforts by supporting the Missionary Flight Sponsorship fund. You can make aviation service an affordable reality for trained, eager and willing church planting teams.