New Indonesia Aviation Ministry

By Ramon Tengkano 

Within the United States, cities and towns are connected to each other by over 4,000,000 miles of roads. But here in Indonesia, a country about the same size as the U.S., we only have 203,000 miles of roads.

That means we have less than 5% of the road capacity of the U.S., and the roads we have are spread over 17 thousand islands! Some of the islands do not even have paved roads serving their people, which makes land travel time-consuming, if not impossible. The best way to reach more remote areas is by airplane.

In our television ministry, we maintain contact with those who are following our TV programs. Some of them have become like family to us. For many years we have been praying to establish an aviation program to serve our viewers, so we may have easy access to and from their areas. An airplane will also enable us to bring teachers, medical workers, or Bible Workers, or we can set up other projects to improve the quality of lives of those to whom Christ is reaching out.

In the summer of 2021, Jesus for Asia decided to go ahead with an aviation program for Indonesia. It was a big decision, and with no one experienced in starting such a program, it was certainly going to be challenging. Funding an aircraft and maintaining it costs a lot of money. But we believe that if we start something, and it's God's idea, He will take care of the rest, just like he has done with everything else. God started our television work that way in 2011, and our programs are still broadcasting on satellite today. Joshua 1:3 says, “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.”

“An airplane will also enable us to bring teachers, medical workers, or Bible Workers, or we can set up other projects to improve the quality of lives of those to whom Christ is reaching out.”

In October, at a late lunch with our cycling friends, we had the opportunity to talk about charity work as part of our mission. Then we talked about our desire to acquire a small aircraft to reach out to people with charity work. We would at least like an aircraft to familiarize ourselves with the local regulations and contacts, something to get our feet in the door. Indonesian air space is never friendly to general aviation, and for years we were discouraged from starting an aviation program by those who operate aircraft locally. The authorities will do everything to keep you from flying freely from one place or another, and if they do allow you to fly, money is always involved. We are learning that there is a competition between military and civil aviation, because both claim authority over the air space and regulations.

One week following that lunch meeting, I received a phone call from someone in a town a few hours away who was selling an aircraft. Although it wasn’t the typical mission aircraft, it was definitely something we could start with. The plane is fairly new, with only 150 hours on the engine and a five-year-old frame; it was originally made for hobby flying.

The aircraft was manufactured by Arion, a company in Tennessee. The owner, who is very meticulous, purchased it back in 2014 for $180,000. The aircraft was imported, put together, and flown by the very people who manufactured it. They even did some training with the owner.

The asking price for the plane was a “low” $63,000. The owner put it on sale that very week, because his business had been affected by COVID, and he desperately needed to get rid of it. Although this aircraft was the kind I’ve been wanting to operate, and inexpensive to operate, in part because it uses auto fuel, we were not sure if that meant we had God’s approval. We wanted Him to make the decision.

Around the same time, a $50,000 grant was given to JFA to be used wherever in Asia it was most needed. We asked for a sign from the Lord, as He is the owner of the money as well as the owner of the aircraft. If the aircraft seller would be willing to take the offer of the $50,000 grant, we would know God approved of us using it for our aviation program.

In the beginning, I was hesitant to make the offer, knowing that he needed the money and it would sound like I was taking advantage of his situation. On Friday, October 29, I drove to the man’s town and on the following Sunday I went to fly the plane for an hour and look at the plane’s papers and records. Finally, we told him the price we were willing to pay for it was $50,000.

He paused for a few seconds and said yes, under the condition that we would pay him that week. I gave him a small sum of $700 as a token of confirmation, and the $50,000 was sent from JFA’s account the next day. As usual, we would be ready to receive the funds here in Indonesia within 24-48 hours. By Wednesday, November 3 in this case.

On Wednesday, the money hadn’t come as expected. It didn’t even arrive on Friday, November 5, the day when, before we talked to the owner, another buyer had planned to come and pay cash for the plane. The slightly disappointed owner asked us for reconfirmation that the sale was still on. I told him there was a slight delay with the bank transfer, and I reassured him the money was going to come early the following week. He said he wanted more money because he had made promises to others based on our deal. So I delivered the equivalent of $7,000 that my father lent me to use, that was going to be for something else.

I had to stay in his town for a week longer to assure him that my commitment was going to be delivered. By the end of the following week, Wednesday, November 20, Jesus for Asia had realized there was a problem with the wire transfer. The owner said he would cancel the sale by Friday, November 12 if the money didn’t come in, and he would not refund the money we had already given him.

By the end of the day on Friday, no funds had arrived, so I left it up to the Lord, as the owner of all the resources. The first wire transfer still hadn’t made it after 11 days, and the second transfer hadn’t made it either. But the mutual contact between the owner and myself, our cycling friend from Jakarta, called in to see if everything was okay. Nothing was okay from my perspective, but I knew God hadn’t failed.

I asked my friend to convince the owner of the aircraft to keep the sale on, because I was certain the funds would arrive by the following Monday. Out of respect for our mutual friend, the owner said he was willing to wait until Monday, despite the almost two-week delay.

On Monday morning, the second set of transfers finally arrived. I made the payment right away, and the Bill of Sale was signed. The aircraft was ours. We are happy that the aviation program is able to begin here in Indonesia.

A view from inside the new plane.

We discovered, while purchasing this airplane, that there are many doors opening to us that we had not seen before and we may have found a way to fly with great freedom. We also see this expanding our ministry to the wealthy. We hope to share more in the future.

We are faced with new sets of challenges, because many aspects of this ministry are unfamiliar to us. But we invite you all to pray with us as we take baby steps toward maturity in aviation service; hopefully we can figure out those details soon. Thank you for all your support and prayer! This aircraft is here because of you; we’ll certainly update you on all we do with it. God bless you all!

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