Mozambique (MNN/MAF) — A judge has denied bail for American missionary pilot Ryan Koher detained in Mozambique. We’re coming up on four months since he was wrongfully arrested, along with two South African believers, while preparing to transport orphanage supplies.
Ryan is a pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), known in Mozambique as Ambassador Aviation. His wife, Annabel Koher, heard from him after bail was denied.
Annabel says, “When I talked to Ryan just this past week, we had about a 20-minute phone call and he said receiving that news was hard on him for a few days. But he was able to come out of that hard place and he has the peace of God now.”
Ryan and Annabel Koher (Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship, used with permission from the Koher family.)
The investigation by the Mozambican prosecutor is continuing and hopefully will wrap up at the end of the month.
“There is the chance for the prosecutor to request an extension and we know that the dates aren’t always set in stone. Sometimes there’s some fluidity there,” Annabel says. “So we’re hopeful that at the beginning of March, we’ll have more answers as to whether there’s a charge or if he’ll be dismissed.
“Of course, we’re praying that this will be the end of the case and that he’ll be home with us soon.”
Please also pray for the Gospel’s spread as the Lord is using Ryan’s case to call other Christians to the mission field.
“It’s surprising because you think something like this would make people second-guess going and spreading the Gospel overseas because there are these dangers. But I hear the opposite about how it’s pushing people to want to go and to further the Gospel in other places,” Annabel says.
“I spoke with a young man at our church just a couple of weeks ago, and he was telling me how he hopes that he will be able to have that kind of faith. To see how God has sustained Ryan in this time gives him assurance of going to the hard places because it’s the same God. So he knows that God will be there with him as well if he was ever in a situation like that.”
An official from the U.S. Embassy visited Ryan earlier last week. He was able to deliver a mattress cover and other items that Ambassador Aviation had purchased for him. The official confirmed with the country director that Ryan is able to spend an hour outside each day. They also delivered letters for Ryan that he will eventually receive once they have been reviewed.
Annabel shares, “[They are] also helping with trying to arrange medical needs and stuff. He’s still struggling with itching and he has not been able to get relief from anything that the prison clinic has been able to provide for him. So Ambassador Aviation and the U.S. Embassy are working to find a dermatologist and get the appropriate paperwork to have Ryan leave the facility to be able to visit the dermatologist and then go back.”
Pray for relief from Ryan’s health concerns. Pray also for the two Christians from South Africa who were arrested at the same time and remain in jail with him.
Ryan Koher (Photo courtesy of MAF, used with permission from the Koher family.)
This time of separation has been especially difficult for their two young boys. Annabel says, “They’ve been more vocal — even my two-year-old has been more vocal about daddy being stuck. We are focusing on the hopefulness of daddy coming home at some point, and thinking about how we want to welcome him home and focusing on those things. But I’m sure that in their hearts, they still don’t understand everything fully.
“Pray that God can comfort their hearts. It seems like bedtime is usually the hardest time for them and when the most questions arise. So be praying that bedtimes will go smoothly, and they’ll be able to get peace and rest so that I can get some peace and rest as well.”
If you desire to send words of encouragement to Annabel, they can be emailed at [email protected].
Header photo of Ryan Koher, courtesy of MAF, used with permission from the Koher family.
