Walking a New Path

An introduction to an isolated tribe featured in the new documentary Ends of the Earth

 

The hamlet of Mokndoma sits high in the mountains of Papua, the western half of the island of New Guinea in Asia Pacific. With no roads and limited government exposure, there has been little influence from the outside world.

You won’t find Mokndoma in any tourist guidebook, but the topography makes you think this area would be designated a national park if it were in America, with rugged mountain peaks, dense tropical rainforest, and rushing rivers.

Morning in the mountain hamlet of Mokndoma. Photo by Natalie Holsten.

Walking through the village is like a step back to another time. The Wano, the people group who populate Mokndoma, are living much the same way their ancestors did before them. They live in simple conical huts called honai. They cultivate sweet potatoes in their gardens and have pig feasts for special occasions. The women wear skirts, the men have their noses pierced, and almost everyone wears a beaded necklace. Anything that needs to be carried goes into a noken, a woven net bag usually worn from the head.

But in other crucial ways, the Wano people are living a new way of life very different from their ancestors. Formerly an animistic tribe, they lived in fear of the evil spirits they believed controlled everything. But after the message of Jesus’ love for them took root in the hearts of a core group of believers, the Wano in Mokndoma are walking a new path, one not of fear, but of following the way of Jesus.

These believers were taught and discipled by the Ingles and Wild families, expatriate missionaries who lived among them. Before the airstrip opened in Mokndoma in 2014, the two families used a helicopter to get in and out. The Wano put in thousands of hours of labor into the construction of the airstrip, which sits high at 7,000 feet above sea level. Since the airstrip opened, MAF has been able to provide transport, bring in medicine and other supplies, and do medevac flights.

The airstrip in Mokndoma sits at 7,000 feet above sea level. Photo by Natalie Holsten.

Our family lived for a number of years in the town of Sentani, about an hour and a half flight from Mokndoma. We became friends with Mike and Libby Wild and their four boys and as we learned about their ministry, we came to have an affection for the Wano. Eventually, our family had the opportunity to visit Mokndoma in 2017.

When my husband David, who served as regional director for MAF’s operations in Indonesia at the time, flew us in, our first attempt at landing was aborted because of clouds covering the airstrip, a common occurrence at that elevation. On our second attempt, the clouds parted, and the 1,500-foot-long airstrip came into view (by contrast, a typical commercial runway at major airports is between 8,000 and 13,000 feet long).

Shortly after we landed, our Kodiak aircraft was surrounded by our friends and many of the Wano. We were met with the traditional greeting of “Wa, wa, wa!” and a handshake that involves joining knuckles and pulling back hard for a satisfying snap.

The Holsten, Ingles, and Wild families gather with Wano friends by the MAF Kodiak. Photo by David Holsten.

We got the grand tour of the village, including the clinic, the church, and the literacy building. I even popped into the honai of Grandma, one of Libby’s close friends, who shared a roasted sweet potato with me. One of her grandchildren handed me a roasted honeybee from a comb that was found in the jungle (if you’re wondering, it tasted like a smoky nut).

Natalie with Liku’s son Peliton.

I was struck by how friendly the children were. Many times on my trips with David into villages, my attempts at friendly interaction with the village kids sent them screaming and running away. But in Mokndoma, the children came right up to us, slipping their hands into ours as we walked around.

After one of our meals, Libby and I stood at the sink together, washing dishes. The kitchen had a large window that looked out over the village. Below us, we could see a man named Liku and another man squatting on the ground, talking and playing with their children while their wives worked in the garden.

“Before the teaching, you wouldn’t have seen that,” Libby said as she handed me a soapy dish.

The teaching she referred to is the chronological teaching, from creation to Christ, of God’s redemptive plan for mankind. The Ingles and Wild families spent years learning the language and culture of the Wano, putting it into a written form, and translating portions of scripture. They also held literacy classes so the Wano would be able to read the scriptures for themselves. It all culminated in 2010 when they were able to present the teaching, and right away, there were many sincere testimonies of faith.

The Wilds and the Holstens in the Mokndoma church building. Photo by David Holsten.

And then the changes began. Warriors laid down their weapons. As the men began following Jesus, they embraced their roles as husbands and fathers and were learning to help their wives. Men were trained as Bible teachers, and several of them, including Liku, began to have a desire to reach Wano in other areas.

There is much more to this story, which you will be able to watch in the upcoming documentary, Ends of the Earth. I can’t wait for you to “meet” the Wano for yourself and see how God is raising up men like Liku with a heart for evangelism, and how MAF is partnering with them to reach others with the good news of Jesus.

18 Comments

  • Joel Caplan says:

    So thankful and appreciative of godly people who have been constrained by the love of Christ and have been obedient to a difficult calling…to leave behind the luxuries and conveniences of the Western world, to go live among isolated people for whom Christ died!
    What a rich life they have gained for themselves and for those they have devoted their lives to bring salvation!

  • Patricia Davis says:

    what a great story. God is certainly still at work because He truly loves the lost of this world hoping to win them. do you know if the missionaries working in this tribe are fully supported. would love to help. I am chairperson of an org. called Ministry to Missionaries, Inc. Please get back to me ASAP. Pat
    how do i get the film. the ends of the earth?
    God bless

  • Wally Meyer says:

    We spent 16 years with Wycliffe Bible Translators. I actually spent some time in the mountains of Papua with two of the translators who took me to a village where I was only the second white skin they had ever seen. Yes we drove up mountains, rivers and what ever to get there….over 7 hours, and that was the beginning of my experience. Ended up joining Wycliffe several years later.

  • Calvin Pitts says:

    Very touching thinking of the years it took to learn that new language. As a language student of Hebrew, that fact alone speaks volumes. This will be added to my prayer list. Thank you for sharing this story of God’s grace/

  • Mike Barnes says:

    I would like to see the film when it is available. Our church is in Big Bear Lake, CA. We support an MAF couple in the Congo.

  • Sue Hilton says:

    Thank you for sharing. It will be a wonderful occasion in glory when we tell each other about our coming to know Christ.

  • Bob & Celia Rice says:

    Wow, what a find for me this afternoon here in my home office, away from the church.
    We are Bob and Celia Rice, formally missionaries to Sentani, as general missionaries, teachers at Pos TuJu during the school months and general missionaries during the school vacation.
    we are excited to read about the distant people and how God has touched their lives.
    Keep us in touch.
    Blessings,
    The Rice’s

    • Natalie Holsten says:

      Hi there! Our family lived on Pos 7 during our time in Sentani. Papua is a special place! Thank you for commenting.

    • Karen (Pontier) Dutton says:

      So glad to see your names here. Grateful for our days together in Papua so long ago. Thankful for your faithful service to the Lord for so many years.
      Greetings and blessings to your family.
      -Karen (Pontier) Dutton, an old MAF friend❤️🙏✝️

    • Melvin Isaac says:

      Hi Bob and Celia,

      Nancy and I consider it a privilege to have been part of the Papua mission community. We appreciate your service at the CMA grammar school. You are part of the ‘great cloud of witnesses’ (modern day) as presented in Hebrews 12.

  • George Champion says:

    Thank you so much for this. It warms my old heart to read the effect of “the teaching” for these precious people. I’m encouraged to do the same here in my little neck of the wood. So grateful for the faithful lives of the Wilds and the Ingles.

  • Ruth Pontier says:

    Hi, Bob& Cel- imagine all these years later reading this! Blessed just to know we also worked in this same land all those years ago-1960-1977!PTL

  • robert wilson says:

    Great article. Looking forward to the movie next week. May God continue to bless the ministry.

  • Dick Hillman says:

    What a excellent testimony, and a strong ministry,as your ministry carries out the Great Commission.

  • Jeff Kopp says:

    I’m speechless. Have no idea how to do what you all do to reach the unreached. I heard a sermon/teaching just today that talks about the purpose and reason each one of was created for. I think you found yours. Thank you for answering your call.

  • Carmen Kamphausen says:

    Thanking Jesus for his love for all the people of the world. Thanking you for obeying His call to follow Him to the ends of the earth — till all have heard!

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