MAF flies the Agape School of the Deaf in Timor-Leste
Romans 8:28 says that God works things out for good for those who love him. This verse was lived out recently in Timor-Leste, as a desired trip resulted in new believers being welcomed into God’s Kingdom.
On a seemingly normal Sunday in Dili, the Job family, Jason, Kim and Samuel were enjoying a cup of tea and a snack after church, when an everyday conversation occurred. The pastor’s wife, Wennie Fernandez, who is also the founder of the ‘Agape School for the Deaf’ in Dili, was expressing her frustrations about some plans she had made. An Australian audiologist, Jennie, was visiting Timor-Leste, and she was seeking to use her audiology skills to help as many hearing impaired people as she could during her two week visit. Together, she and Wennie wanted to visit the island of Atauro, where they had been told a number of people with hearing impairment lived. The ladies had the desire and the time to carry out this trip, but the transportation was a problem. The boat they wanted to use only ran on certain days, which didn’t fit in with their available time. The weather was also very windy resulting in very high waves, which meant using other boats wasn’t possible. When Kim asked why they hadn’t booked to use the MAF aircraft for the short journey, Wennie’s response was simple, “We didn’t know we could!” It didn’t take long after this discussion, before Wennie was talking with Jason, one of MAF Timor-Leste’s pilots about bookings, prices and times.
Pilot Timon Kundig, flew Wennie, Jennie and staff from Agape School of the Deaf to Atauro Island on the 18th of July at 9am in the Airvan VH-MTX. Wennie was born in the Philippines and has lived and worked in Timor-Leste since November 2001. At a Missions Conference, God spoke to her husband Nelson about working in Timor-Leste. Following God’s call to Dili was a challenge for her as she has two young adult children who she would leave behind in University, but “the Lord’s words were very precise to us,” Wennie said. “God promised, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee,” from Hebrews 13:5.” And so they went!
The short overnight visit to Atauro Island was planned “to visit a community of deaf people in a certain village and talk to them about the school for the deaf we have established in Dili. We also wanted to be able to provide hearing tests for some deaf people living there,” Wennie explains. “It was also my desire to bring some of my staff from the school with us, two deaf teachers and an interpreter trainee, to Atauro to share with them the burden of my heart for other deaf people in this country. We found out that this was the first time my staff had ever been to Atauro, and also their first time to ride on an aeroplane and motorboat!”
Atauro is an island that sits just thirty kilometres to the north of Timor-Leste’s capital city of Dili. The island is known for it’s natural beauty and the amazing coral reefs that surround it, but in the past it has been used as a place of banishment and imprisonment for those who opposed the governing leaders.
The ocean depth and hazardous wave conditions can make sea travel across this small area of water very dangerous and time consuming. The people of Atauro island depend upon the sea for much of their food supply and many of the deaf people on the island have lost their hearing as a result of their deep sea diving.
Wennie says, “we went right away to one village, called Vila where some deaf people are working selling handicrafts and jewellery. We were able to meet seven deaf young people and their supervisor. After some introductions, we started to check their hearing and their level of deafness. While Jennie, the Audiologist was conducting the tests, my two deaf teachers started to teach the others some of the sign language that we use in Dili and gave them some sign language materials as well. I was able to talk to the supervisor about the Lord Jesus and how to put her trust in Him alone.”
“The next day we set sail for Maqueli village, which took 45 minutes by motorboat to reach, or a one and a half hour trip by motorcycle and walking. This village has more than fifty deaf people living in it and their means of earning an income is by fishing and handicrafts. We stopped by one house and had a special meeting. In this home, we met three deaf people in the two families that lived there, with several children. I was able to do some medical checks on the people and provided medicine to an old man with acute dermatitis. My two deaf teachers started to teach sign language to the three deaf people and distributed sign language materials to them. While they were busy teaching, I took the opportunity to share a story from the Bible: Jesus Calms the Sea and after the story, I gave an invitation for them to receive the Lord Jesus as their Savior and praise God, ten people got saved and prayed to receive Jesus.”
“The house where we had our stopover, was the house of our former deaf student from the Agape School for the Deaf in Dili. I did not know that this was his home. But his father was one of those who had prayed to receive Christ! We needed to head back to the airstrip to catch our 3:00pm flight, but while we were walking towards the sea, a familiar face approached me and hugged me. It was my former deaf student! That was a wonderful experience for all of us. God was working all things together for good. So many good things had been accomplished in just two days!” Jason Job, another MAF Timor-Leste pilot returned to Atauro island to collect the passengers at 3pm on the 19th of July.
This theme of God using moments, conversations and experiences for His purposes and good during this trip to Atauro Island, was the powerful theme as Wennie later shared this story during a church service, “We needed to get to Atauro on Tuesday but there was no ferry and strong waves. So, the MAF plane brought us there and in just fifteen minutes we arrived and we were able to cover a lot of activities. But the most important thing was that I was able to share the Word of God to many people who have never heard the plan of salvation. For me, this is the best thing that happened! All the other things that happened, are just bonuses from God for obeying Him. As God allowed us to meet several new deaf people and taught them sign language, encouraging them to come to Dili and study at our school.”