Mozambique (MNN) — It has been over two months since American missionary pilot Ryan Koher was thrown into a high security prison in Mozambique.
Now, who better to share an update from Ryan than his wife, Annabel Koher? Annabel says, “He has been let out of isolation. He’s still in the same cell, but some of the restrictions have been lifted. He is allowed outside time for an hour a day, and we just received a letter this week that he was able to attend the church service.
“At the church service, he was able to share a word of encouragement and exhortation to the others there [about] being doers of the Word and not just hearers only.”
Photo taken in September at Nairuko, Mozambique. Featuring Ryan Koher, Annabel Koher, and their two boys. (Photo courtesy of MAF, used with permission from the Koher family.)
The reference to James 1:22 is a poignant Scripture passage that Ryan and Annabel Koher are living out at this time — as active witnesses to the Gospel through painful trials.
Ryan is a pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship, known in Mozambique as Ambassador Aviation. He was arrested along with two South African men by airport police on accusations that quickly escalated to “supporting terrorism.” Ryan was transferring orphanage supplies in a routine flight that Ambassador Aviation has flown many times.
The US Embassy is advocating for Ryan’s release. Meanwhile, Ryan is able to send out letters via a US Embassy official. Annabel and their two young boys are back in the States waiting for progress in his case.
“This is not something we were expecting would happen. But God knew it would happen, and God also knows what the end result will be,” Annabel says. “He knows when Ryan will be free again and when we’ll be reunited, and so there’s a comfort in that.”
Annabel and Ryan both have been encouraged by ways they see the Lord working amidst an incredibly difficult situation.
“Young men and women who are working towards being missionaries in the mission aviation field or just working towards their calling in missions in general, they’ve told me how our story and how God has been working through us has been a witness to them. It’s been an encouragement to them; maybe it strengthened their calling or just put the urgency in what they feel God is calling them to do.”
Ryan Koher (Photo courtesy of MAF, used with permission from the Koher family.)
For now, please continue to pray. Annabel says, “I think for Ryan, he could use prayer for peace and comfort in this time as he’s still alone in his cell. He doesn’t get much interaction with other people. In a place where he doesn’t deserve to be there, [pray] that he would be able to continue to lean on the Lord, that his relationship with God would deepen during this time, and that God would open up doors for ministry while he’s still detained.
“Most of all, we pray that he would be released and that we would be reunited soon.
“For myself, having two young boys who are active, it takes a lot of energy. So [pray for] endurance, keeping up with them during this time and seeing to their needs, as well as continuing to seek the Lord and being renewed and refreshed myself during this time.”
If you want to send an email to uplift Annabel, you can reach her at [email protected].
Header photo of Ryan Koher, courtesy of MAF, used with permission from the Koher family.
