January 2024

Happy New Year Dear Friends, I am writing to you on a rainy Sunday morning here in Wamena.  We are grateful for the rain as this fills our water tanks.  I hope that your Christmas was a special time with family and celebrating Jesus’s birth. The highlight of last year was Eli’s birth.  We travelled to Houston, Texas, USA in February 2023 to stay with Anisha’s family and use the same midwives we used for Rebecca’s birth.  After Eli was born in April my parents were able to visit and meet him.  We will also welcome my parents to Indonesia in February as they fly over here to spend a few weeks with us. Family update Isaiah turned 13 in December and is growing up into a fine young man.  He spends his morning doing his home school lessons and, in the afternoons, spends time with neighbour kids playing football and other games.  He now speaks Indonesian like a local kid, and it is great to hear how well he communicates.  Often times he is recognised around town with shouts of his name as people see him.   The Helivida 25th Anniversary provided a great opportunity for Isaiah to reconnect with friends and he has enjoyed continuing contact with video calls and texts. This summer, a former expat family with a son his age is moving back to Wamena for a year.  Isaiah is excited to have another teenager from a western country here in Wamena. Cara is also doing well with her home schooling and is starting to pick up some Indonesian.  She has started attending a local Indonesian school 2 days a week, as well sports with the Wamena expat children.  She is enjoying making new friends and working on her language. Rebecca is now 3 and enjoying playing with her sister and looking after baby Eli.  She went for her first 2-minute helicopter ride after I had dropped some patients at the hospital and returned to the hanger.  She was speechless at the time, but then talked about it the rest of the day asking if she could go fly again. Eli has been growing up fast.  He is a chunky baby now weighing over 10kg at 9 months.  He is a delight, smiling at everyone and always happy.  He was frequently passed around at our Helivida 25th year anniversary celebration and we had a hard time keeping track of him. Helivida 25 Year Anniversary Helivida has just celebrated 25 years operating in Indonesia.  As part of the celebration, all expat and local workers from all 3 of our bases in Indonesia and their families were flown to Bali.  We spent a week hanging out with each other being refreshed, splashing in the pool, and celebrating what God has done over these years. Eli got a lot of attention. New Testament translation finished In the past when we have shared about the work of what Helimission does we have shown the Awayo video. This gives a good picture of why we do what we do.  If you haven’t seen it, please click the video below.  This month the Moi people celebrated the first translation of the whole New Testament in their own language.  Our co-workers were able to attend the celebration.  23 years ago Helimission flew in missionaries to start the huge task of learning the culture and language of the Moi people.  They presented the Creation to Christ teaching and then started translating the scripture.  Though the Moi tribe has long had an airstrip, it shows the importance of using the helicopter in those first important years for the missionaries and local evangelists getting established before an airstrip can be built. Awayo - From fear to faith The helicopter bringing the first missionaries in 23 years ago. Carrying the boxes of Bibles down the airstrip to the dedication. The team involved in the translation project. Awayo receiving his Bible. Maichel – Solo This week was exciting as we were able to celebrate our second national pilot, Maichel going solo.  I have flown many times with Maichel and seen how the locals in the villages react when they realise he is the pilot.  It is actually a good feeling when I fade to the background as they interact with one of their own people. Happy to be a solo pilot. Answering questions. Receiving his post solo shower. Support level progress We have been so encouraged by those of you who have come on board to help support us as we serve here in Papua, Indonesia.   We have reached 72% of our goal to be fully supported. We received a special donation that covered our flights back to Indonesia.  So far, we haven’t had to go without.  All our needs have been provided for with some one-time gifts.   Thank you for your partnership as we continue to serve the people here in Papua, Indonesia. Prayer requests Presidential elections in Indonesia being held on Valentines Day Praise – In March we are reaching 10 years of serving here in Indonesia.  We are grateful for the opportunity and privilege to be able to live and serve here. Maichel – As he begins to fly solo for safety and good decision making. Wisdom for our flight operations.

Current Hopkinson Happenings February 2023

 

5 + 1 = 6 September brought us a big surprise with the discovery that we will have another baby. It’s a boy! We are all very excited for this fourth little person to join our family. With baby boy due in April, we already left Indonesia landing in Houston earlier this week to be ready for the birth. Along with this blessing comes a need. We currently do not have the funds to purchase return tickets to Wamena. For our family to travel, tickets from Houston to Wamena will cost an estimated $8,000 or £6700. We would very much appreciate if you would consider giving a special donation specifically towards airfare. How to give.

Monthly Support Update Speaking of finances, we have a big praise to share. When we left for furlough we were at less than 30% of our monthly target set by Helimission. Thanks to the continued generosity of many, and the addition of new people joining our monthly support team, we are now at 60%! This amount means that while we can now cover our day to day living expenses in Wamena, other important budgeted items like health insurance and saving for airfare are not yet covered. So we again ask you to consider giving, this time whether to join our monthly team. Also, as we’ll be in the Houston area for several months for baby’s birth, we would be happy to share about our work with Helimission if you have any connections to churches, individuals, and groups. Please let us know. Support

A Growing Team

The last few years have been years of goodbyes as teammates have left the field. We were so excited to just this week welcome a new family to join our team! The Wenks are now settling into Wamena and we are really looking forward to serving alongside them. Soon, a second family, the Lehmans, will also arrive. Please be praying for these families as they adjust to life in Wamena begin serving with Helimission.

Wenk Family Patrick will be joining us as a mechanic. Lehman Family Salomo will be joining us as a pilot and avionics technician.

Wamena Catch-Up

We returned to Wamena at the end of November, and as is pretty typical, spent the next six weeks battling through various sicknesses. We were so thankful to finally all be healthy around the beginning of January! Despite the long illnesses, there have been some definite highlights. On the family front, the kids have loved being home again and reconnecting with friends and beloved animals. We’ve gotten back into a good home schooling routine, and continue regularly doing trash pickup along our road and neighbourhood. I (Anisha) have also been sharing the story of salvation and reminding our neighbour children of how precious they are to God using bracelets gifted to us on furlough. The kids love the bracelets and hearing/retelling the story. At the hanger, Ben had several very special flights. Taking the Clarks, 40+ year missionaries to the Yali people, back into the village of Lolat for a final farewell. Taking both Isaiah and Cara on medical evacuation flights. And a return flight for Paul Snider, a missionary to the Korawai people, after 2+ years in the US due to severe health problems.

Final Goodbye in Lolat 40+ years ago, Art and Carol Clark started missionary work in Lolat among the Yali people. Art sadly passed away but Carol and their sons have returned almost every year to visit with the people. This time they are clearing out their house for the last time. Jesus Is Worth It Paul Snider has laboured for ten years as a missionary to the Northern Korowai people in Papua, Indonesia. In the course of these years in the jungle, Paul was struck by a series of nearly fatal diseases, which forced him back to the States to recover. But by the grace of God, Paul determined to press on through his suffering and continue the work. After two years of toil and adversity, Paul at last makes a return to Indonesia.

Riots in Sinakma, Wamena

Sadly, the day after we left Wamena riots broke out. Many shops and houses were burned and 9 people lost their lives. The riots occurred right around two of our teammates’ houses. Praise God, our teammates have many miraculous stories of their homes being preserved and of being kept safe in a very dangerous situation. Wamena remains tense at this time. Please be praying for peace and justice in Wamena, also for our team (both locals and expats) as they are still in the city navigating this crisis. We have been sharing more details of the crisis in our private Signal Prayer Group. If you would like to join, you can do so here:

Signal Prayer Group

Life in Pictures

Making Christmas cookies with the neighbour kids. Isaiah coming along on a weekend medevac.

Cara coming along on a weekend medevac with Rebecca wanting to come along too. Celebrating Chinese new year.

Newly hatched baby ducklings to love on. We were able to welcome our long time friend Sugi and his wife Elva for a visit. We have known Sugi since 1999 with Mercy Ships.

Hello from Wamena, Video updates, National pilot, Furlough dates, Home schooling and Backyard Ministry, and Financial Support

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Hello from Wamena, Video updates, National pilot, Furlough dates, Home schooling and Backyard Ministry, and Financial Support   View this email in your browser Wamena, Papua, Indonesia Hello from Wamena! August 2022 Dear friends,  It's hard to believe we've been back in Papua for 12 months already. We've been busy and the time has flown by, both at the hanger and home. If you're on Facebook, hopefully you've seen some of our video updates. If not, we've included some highlights here we think you'll enjoy. We continue to fly missionaries serving in villages where the only access is via helicopter, assisting the local church in their efforts to support the church body in remote locations.  And also responding to medevacs where there is no healthcare bringing patients to the nearest hospital.  Thanks so much for your support. Your partnership with us in prayer and finances makes this all possible! We fly to Yasip with Todd Adams as he brings in church leaders from the Ibele church to introduce them to some local evangelists working in the southern low lands. On the way back we pick up a patient and drop them at the hospital. The second day we pickup Todd and the church leaders and hear some encouraging news. This flight I fly with Kevin from MAF and two church leaders from the GIDI church. We go to 3 airstrips Bisek, Aniek and Wenapung . Kevin inspected the strips to check suitability for MAF aircraft to be able to serve them. I was able to bring the drone and get some aerial shots. National Pilot Some exciting news is our first national pilot has just gone solo in July.  He is the first national pilot in the 50 years of Helimission operations. Dyro started with us in 2019 and has been building experience in the challenging flight environment we have here in Papua.  Please pray for him as he continues to gain experience and that he would continue to make good decisions regarding weather.   Furlough Dates We are soon headed for furlough and would love the opportunity to share with groups, churches and individuals about the work happening in Papua, Indonesia.  Please reach out if you'd like to meet with us and hear more. Homeschooling and Backyard Ministry At home we continue on with home education. Isaiah and Cara also join the expat school children on Fridays for "specials" like tree planting, first aid, and sports. This year, thanks to Isaiah's efforts, we've also been very involved with our neighbor children. As a result, we've had many fun adventures as well deep conversations surrounding culture, poverty, and abusive behaviours. All the hours spent building friendships has led to Isaiah, and recently Cara as well, really taking off with the Indonesian language. Rebecca also loves to have our neighbors over, especially her little friend James. Boys on their way to buy noodles for lunch Girls making mud pie Cara wrote a newspaper and sold it along with paper butterflies, raising about $150 for charity Front porch crafts Financial Support A big thanks to all who have faithfully supported us over the last 8 years.  It's crazy to think it has already been that long.  This year we have seen a reduction in monthly support.  This leaves us at about 30% of the recommended Helimission support level. We quite literally couldn't be doing this without the team of people who financially support us.  Would you consider joining the team and be a part of this mission? For information on how to give, click here:   SUPPORT PRAYER REQUESTS - Additional committed monthly financial supporters.  - Additional long term personnel. We are understaffed at the moment with only us running the base. - A good time as we reconnect with friends and family on furlough. - In just a week we begin our journey traveling to Switzerland for the 50th Helimission anniversary celebration and retreat on the 20th August. The base will be closed for three weeks while we are away before our co-workers return in September. We really appreciate your encouragement, prayers, and financial support over the years! We are thankful to be in Papua, and thankful for your partnership with us. Lots of love from our family to yours, Ben, Anisha, Isaiah, Cara, and Rebecca For the latest news: Follow our page for frequent videos and updates Flight videos and life in Wamena Instagram Family blog (Newsletters posted) Join our Signal prayer group