Mozambique (MNN) — You may remember hearing about Mission Aviation Fellowship pilot Ryan Koher. He was detained several months ago in Mozambique.

Authorities provisionally released Koher in March. Instead of returning to the United States as soon as possible, Ryan and his wife Annabel are waiting for the green light to continue working in Mozambique.

“We trust God will keep us safe as long as it’s His will that we’re here,” Ryan Koher says in his first public interview since the arrest.

“So far, we don’t see anything that indicates it’s not His will. In fact, we feel that He wants us to be here more than ever.”

Missionary flights are critical in parts of Mozambique. Treacherous terrain and seasonal flooding make some villages unreachable. Furthermore, “With the current conflict going on, there’s danger in driving,” Ryan says.

“We’ve flown a lot of missionaries and Gospel workers over those areas so they don’t have to drive.”

maf, mozambique

(Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

Pray for peace as Ryan, Annabel, and their two sons wait for justice in his case.

“This is in His hands and His timing. It gets frustrating; sometimes, it feels like we don’t know when it will end. But we’ve been able to learn and grow in waiting on the Lord,” Annabel Koher says.

“The Scriptures talk about that a lot – ‘wait on the Lord.’ The Lord is good to those who wait on Him; wait on the Lord, and He’ll give you strength.”

Pray that Ryan and Annabel can soon return to the “normal” they knew as God’s servants in Mozambique.

“We love the people here, and we love our team. It’s hard to imagine doing anything else,” Ryan says.

 

Header image depicts Ryan Koher, Annabel Koher, and their two boys. (Photo courtesy of MAF, used with permission from the Koher family)