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Episode 15 with Sheri Sanders
March 26, 2026 · 48 min
On this episode of From the Hangar one of our MAF teachers, Sheri Sanders, joins host Lem Malabuyo to talk about her time in Wamena, Papua, Indonesia. With many years of experience working as a teacher, Sheri provides insight into the differences of teaching in a U.S. public school and teaching in an overseas mission context. She also shared her journey of faith during her time in Wamena.
Series From the Hangar March 26, 2026 · 48 min · From the Hangar
On this episode of From the Hangar one of our MAF teachers, Sheri Sanders, joins host Lem Malabuyo to talk about her time in Wamena, Papua, Indonesia. With many years of experience working as a teacher, Sheri provides insight into the differences of teaching in a U.S. public school and teaching in an overseas mission context. She also shared her journey of faith during her time in Wamena. ...more Show the full description Show less On this episode of From the Hangar one of our MAF teachers, Sheri Sanders, joins host Lem Malabuyo to talk about her time in Wamena, Papua, Indonesia. With many years of experience working as a teacher, Sheri provides insight into the differences of teaching in a U.S. public school and teaching in an overseas mission context. She also shared her journey of faith during her time in Wamena.
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Bringing help, hope and healing through aviation so that isolated people can experience Jesus's love.
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In this video 0:00 From Indiana to MAF Calling8:35 Teaching MKs in Remote Wamina20:21 Faith Growth and MAF Impact31:24 Adventures, Reentry, and Coffee Tales
From Indiana to MAF Calling 0:14 Hello, everybody. Welcome to From the Hanger podcast. I'm your host, Lem Malabuyo, and we are sitting in a hangar. And we have 2 planes behind us, a couple of 2 0 sixes from MAF, and the0:26 other planes are right now being flown either for test flights or for training. So you guys get to have these ones that got left behind this time. 1 of the 1 of the things you guys have noticed is that we have0:38 pilots and we have mechanics, but we also have teachers, on staff that we we recruit. Is recruit the right word? That we invite people to join our ministry. And0:50 and so it was really neat. We had an opportunity to have 1 teacher 1 of the teachers from Papua come back. She she just finished her 2 2 year, assignment1:02 out there, and she was willing to sit down with us and have a conversation. So this is Sherry. Sherry, why don't you introduce yourself and kinda just tell us, kinda like, yeah, your background and, what kinda got you1:14 into teaching.1:15 So I'm Sherry Sanders. I'm from a small town in Northwest Indiana, very rural area of farming. Grew up there my whole life. I was raised Catholic and,1:27 went to public school and, started college and, kind of gotten life got in the way and started my family, got married. And, so I1:39 didn't go back to school until I was a little bit older Oh. For my teaching degree. And, so I didn't start teaching till I was 30, and I happened to get a job in my, public school that I went to school
1:50 in at Oh, really? Yeah. So and then I taught there for 20 years. Same grade, same building. My first principal too when I was there as a teacher. He was my principal too
2:02 when I was when I was in school, so that was kinda neat. Small town. You know, you can get that. So Yeah. And, spent the whole 20 years in the same classroom. Met a lot of great
2:14 people, still friends with today, and kinda got to the point where it's like, okay. You know, I wanna serve in a different way and started mission trips. And
2:28 I came across we did a field trip to, our local, very small, county airport. And, it was really hot that day. It was in May. It was about 6 years
2:40 ago. And, there was I can't remember exactly. I wish I wish I could remember, but I got a brochure from MAF. Mhmm. And so I'm assuming it was a
2:51 pilot and MAF plane, and, and it said, you know, MAF teacher. So, it's like, wow. You know, getting just getting into the missions. You know, I would serve at church and things like that, but I
3:03 just wanna do something a little bit more in my field, something use my gifts that God had given me, you know, the teaching aspect of it. So, it took probably about 6, 7, 8 months before I reached out
3:15 to MAF and, got got a hold of Chrissy. Chrissy Mask. She, she got back with me. And, yeah. We we just kinda went back and forth for a few years. Yeah.
3:27 You know, life life gets in the way. Mhmm. I took care of my my aging parents. Mhmm. And, so and then finally, it just came to point where it's like, okay. You know, I think
3:39 it's time. Like I said, put put it off, and it put it off. But it wasn't in God's plan
3:46 Right.
3:46 You know, for me to do that right away. I was still you know, I had reentered the path of Christianity and, like many people, I kinda veered off and, had put other things
3:58 first.
3:58 Sure.
3:59 So, yeah. And it was it was like the beginning of March and reached back out to Chrissy because we'd been in contact all those years back and forth, kinda seeing if it was the right time, where would I be needed.
4:11 And so I I emailed her and said, you know, do you need me? You know? And she's like, yeah. And so, we started the process, and it was, like, the beginning of March.
4:23 And I was here in Nampa and ready to leave in August. So
4:27 Well, it's it's interesting to hear you talk about, like, leaning up to being involved with MAF because there was, like you said, like, the the timing wasn't right or just, you know, like Mhmm. In God God's
4:39 timing, really. Yeah. But you're you're the second person in in 2 consecutive episodes that grew up, in a Catholic home.
4:48 Mhmm.
4:49 You know, at what point did like, Paul Paul in last episode was talking, like, yeah, he he came to, like, the the Protestant or the evangelical faith of, in his fifties. You
5:01 know? And yeah. I kinda just like, if you don't mind, like, at what point did you start kind of thinking about, like, the evangelical faith in Jesus?
5:10 Probably about 15, 20 years ago. So Yeah. Like, growing up Catholic, you know, was church every Sunday. It was catechism on Wednesdays.
5:20 Sure. You
5:20 know, made my profession and all those things. And I'm a believer.
5:24 Yeah.
5:24 Just, you know, their way of doing things was different. Right. And I started, not, I guess I guess not understanding
5:36 why they did the things they did. Okay. So and as I mentioned, you know, I got married and I had a family, and my past just kinda stalled, if you will. Sure. And, I always
5:48 I put my children first. Mhmm. And, and it it was probably about 10 years ago. Message from my pastor was about, you know, the order in which things go. And it's like,
6:00 I've been doing it wrong all these years. You know? So that's when I really, got serious about getting on the right path. And,
6:08 But that's a that is a a common pitfall with with believers, you know, like to there's there's always priorities that we we tend to wanna put over put over
6:20 God.
6:20 Right? Yeah.
6:22 I mean, it sounds good when you say, like, yeah. I wanted to really, like, pour into my children, to the point where, like, they they become more important to me than
6:33 Exactly.
6:33 Than Jesus. Yeah. And, I mean, just and you look back on that. You, like, you just think, like, about that sermon that pastor was saying. Yeah. Kind of a way that God was saying, like,
6:45 come back to me. Mhmm. Come back to me. And, I mean, it's good that you love your children. Like, don't don't don't negate
6:52 that. Exactly. Yeah.
6:53 But there are you know, I'm the most important thing that should be in your life. And everything kinda, like, trickles down from there and Yep. Because god loves children too. And so Yeah. Anyway. So it's just really it
7:04 was really interesting, and I just wanted to make sure that, like, yeah, peep like, we I guess just it makes it resonates with me what you were saying.
7:14 So Yeah. And, like, I I just feel a lot of people do that. You know, you put your children first and not that, you know, God isn't important. But
7:21 Right.
7:21 At the time when they're growing up, I just feel like that's that was the most important thing. And so Yeah. So then it was it was kinda, you know, the realization of, okay. Yeah. They are important. I do love
7:33 them. Yeah. But, I need to focus put my focus where it belongs. And, so, like, taking care of my parents and things like that. Yeah.
7:45 Serving. It was all those things that, you know, they had to play out and in God's plan. And, you know, 1 thing that I've learned, I'd say, in the last 5, 10 years is patience. Mhmm.
7:57 So I'm a very scheduled, routine person being a teacher. Most of us are. But waiting and seeing how God's plan unfolds was very challenging for me. So
8:09 my time in the field helped with that too. Yeah.
8:13 That's cool.
8:13 Learning patience and it's like, okay. It's it's not my time. It's it's his time, and I just I have to I have to be patient and then see how this unfolds. And and it has led to a lot of great
8:25 things.
8:26 That's cool.
8:27 It's opened up new opportunities for me also here back in the States. So I'm pretty excited about that. Yeah. But, yeah.
Teaching MKs in Remote Wamina
8:35 Let's yeah. Let's dive into, like, your time with MAF. When you when you connected with Chrissy and, like, you started that process, did you know where you were going from get go? Or
8:46 No. I well, she had told me Chrissy had mentioned, you know, where where I was needed, but I I went into it too saying, where am I needed? I wasn't about to say, oh, I would like to go here. I would like to
8:58 go. It wasn't Yeah. Okay. It's not it's not like that. It's where am I needed Because that's what I want. I wanted to help. I wanted to serve, but, you know, it's not my terms. So so I was needed in in Wominah.
9:10 So, that's what we focused on. Yeah. The process was a little overwhelming in that very short time, but, MAF was great with, helping me, you know, get everything in
9:21 order and, and getting out into the field. So, yeah, I was able to travel with another new teacher and, which was nice because I'd never traveled that kind of distance by myself. So so
9:33 that was nice having a companion. Yeah.
9:35 I was gonna ask, like, have you been overseas to a third world country before?
9:40 Just, I've went to 2 different, mission trips in Haiti.
9:44 So Okay.
9:45 Oh, yes. With my church. Yeah. And, we were fostering relationships with different orphanages. Oh, that's awesome. It was a few years ago when
9:52 Oh, when the when it was
9:53 yeah. Yeah. When it was a little bit different. So, which is really what, you know, kinda where I got my inspiration to do mission work.
10:03 Right. Did you, did you know MAF was in Haiti at the time you were in Haiti? No. I did not. Okay.
10:09 No. No. So Yeah.
10:11 I could have flown with MAF out there. I know.
10:14 Probably would have been better.
10:15 Yeah. So when when you heard that you're going to, like, Indonesia and, like, you're gonna be teaching in this school in Wamina, like, what did like, did did that make sense to
10:27 you? Like, did you know where that was on the map or anything like that
10:31 or anything? I did not. So what most of us do this day and age, I Googled it. You don't you don't get a lot of information and some of it too is kinda like,
10:43 woah. But I did find on Google Maps, they actually have a, a picture of the school, which was nice. So kind of in my mind, I had pictured 1 room
10:54 school and, because I would be teaching multiple levels. Yeah. And but it wasn't a 1 room school. It was actually a very nice school. Yeah. We had, like, 3 rooms. Mhmm. So, and we did
11:06 my first year, I worked with students grades 1 through 6.
11:10 Okay.
11:11 And then I also had a a teacher who, is Indonesian, which was very helpful.
11:16 Oh, that's cool.
11:17 So and she worked really well with with the younger kids. And, you know, it would have been really challenging if I didn't have her to help. And then my second year, it was pretty much pre
11:29 1 through seventh grade.
11:30 Okay.
11:31 Her and I also still kinda taking on the load. Yeah. So yeah. And it took me a while to, being in public school for 20 years in the same exact classroom.
11:43 It took me a while to kind of get a system down and a schedule to teach multiple levels. But it was very rewarding. And
11:53 That's cool. That's great.
11:55 The children showed me a lot of grace, which was great. I think, 1 thing I didn't mention, I had how many students? I think I had about 8 students the first year.
12:03 Okay.
12:03 And then I finished off with 12 this year. So,
12:07 Yeah. It's a very I was gonna ask you, like, yeah, what were some differences there? I mean, like, it's it's a stark contrast between Yeah. Like, everything. Like, your whole career being in 1 grade
12:18 and Yeah.
12:18 Like, probably a larger class. Right? Probably, like, 20 I
12:20 always would have, like, 25 to 30 students every year. Yeah. So so, yeah, this was different and and then the multiple levels is challenging. Not only, you know, multiple grade levels, but students at multiple
12:32 levels, you know, within their grades too. So, having a little bit of experience helps with that. Yeah. I was comfortable. MAF works with Hillcrest International School.
12:44 Mhmm.
12:44 So we use a lot of their resources, which was helpful also. So I, you know, I I didn't go there with nothing. Yeah. Some people thought too, like, I would be going and just all willy nilly
12:56 teaching, you know. But I did have resources to help. So so that was nice.
13:00 That's cool.
13:01 That's cool. Yeah. And, so it was great. And it it's it's really nice to partner up with with Hillcrest for different things like that.
13:08 So if you don't mind
13:11 That's okay.
13:11 No. It's good.
13:12 We'll see.
13:13 Like, there's a oh, man. Now I don't wanna ask the question. No. No. Like, you can you, like, explain maybe to the to the viewers and listeners, like, the the relationship or, like, I
13:24 guess, the geographical relationship between, like, where Wamina is and, like, the school there, and, like, you mentioned Hillcrest, like, what and kinda just what it takes to get to Wamina.
13:37 So Wamina is a city, a larger city, and it's in the Bali Valley, which is kind of in the center of Papua, the island of Papua on the Indonesian
13:48 side. A lot of people get confused. They're like, oh, Papua, New Guinea. No.
13:52 Yeah. Yeah.
13:53 So and it's in a valley. And, like, we're at a high elevation. We're at, like, about 5000 feet inside the valley. And, but you have the 14000 foot mountains that surround you. So it's like being in a giant
14:05 fishbowl. At 1 point, Wamina was solely provided by air. Everything. Everything had to be flown in. I don't know if that's necessarily true to this
14:17 to this day. There is a road, but it can take weeks
14:21 to Oh, wow.
14:22 To use that road to get up over the mountains. So MAF being that, you know, they, through aviation, help, and healing and and bringing the the gospel Mhmm. To
14:33 remote areas and this place only being accessible through air, it kinda makes sense. Yeah. So we have our, you know, missionary pilots there and the mechanics and their families. And so they
14:46 have need education for their kids. So so yeah. So we're in this valley and it's you can only really get out by air to the next, like, largest city, which is Sentani
14:57 Mhmm.
14:57 Which, is where we also have another base, and that is where Hillcrest is Yeah. Located, the main Hillcrest International School. Mhmm. So we're kinda like a little satellite school for them.
15:08 Yeah. And Centanni is the is the city that you can fly from Jakarta
15:15 Correct.
15:16 Yes. To Centanni. And so yeah. So it's a it's a larger hub, if you will.
15:21 Yeah.
15:21 And there's a lot of there's a lot of different organizations that work in Centanni, on other mysteries. Right?
15:28 Yes. And in and in Wominah also. So we have, I had the privilege of, having students from Heli Mission
15:35 Oh, cool.
15:36 Swiss helicopter. Yeah. AMA, CMA. Mhmm. So a lot of different organizations are represented, even in the small valley. So That's cool. Yeah.
15:47 That's great. Yeah. What were some what were some, like, joys or just, like, things that you look fondly on, teaching in Wamina in that in that context?
15:58 So, coming from a public school for so long, I could not bring my faith into the classroom. Mhmm. So, doing that in Wominah with
16:10 that small group of MKs was was truly a blessing. We would have awesome conversations, students, you know, first graders,
16:21 second graders. You know? Mhmm. And, just being part of that Yeah. And, was was just truly a blessing. So and and that made me kinda change my whole outlook
16:33 on where I would want to teach in the future.
16:36 Oh, really?
16:36 And, yeah. So so that was probably 1 of the 1 of the 1 of the best things. I even had 1 of my students who, decided to be baptized and publicly announce their faith. So that was
16:48 I feel like I don't know if it was me, but I feel like I had a small part in that. You know? And Oh, for sure. Just kinda like it turned my mission into, you know, helping to raise disciples.
17:00 So Yeah. And, you know, if it's 1 1 person at a time, 1 child at a time
17:05 Mhmm.
17:05 You know? Yeah. I do my part that way.
17:09 And it it also kinda just reinforces that that idea, that, you know, I may have always say this, like, we need teachers. Right. Like, teachers are
17:21 just crucial to the the ministry in a way that you don't really think about too much. Right?
17:27 Because,
17:28 it helps free free the mission missionaries out there to be able to do what they came out there to do. And, also, teachers are really skilled at education. So, like, you know, it's
17:40 really, like, for the best interest of the chill child to, like, have a a person who actually is trained to teach. Yeah. And so
17:47 So yeah. And being that we're in so I've only been to, Centanni and, Wamina. Right? And we have many other remote locations and isolated locations.
18:00 So I can only speak from from that perspective, but, on my way from Sentani to Wominah, obviously, I flew MAF. And, it finally dawned on me. It's
18:12 like watch looking at the the starkness except for the rainforest, but it was just it was just rainforest.
18:19 Mhmm.
18:19 It's like, oh, wow. This is why MAF is here. Yeah. You know, it's it it is isolated. There's no roads. You don't see any roads. You don't see any cities or anything like that. So, you know, noticing
18:31 that and seeing that, you people could tell you you can watch the movies. But until you see it and you're like, wow. Okay. I understand why I'm here now
18:38 Yeah.
18:38 And why these pilots are here. And, so obviously, you know, you have the families and, yeah, life is this is a little bit more challenging, you know, cooking and doing all those things or not. You know,
18:50 you just can't just go to the fridge and pull something out. You know, you have to make sure everything's clean. And so parents, moms, wives are very busy also, and they take on roles too. So having a teacher
19:02 in not just Wollamena, but any of the remote locations is just it's really important because it does alleviate, that aspect from parents so they can concentrate on the mission and why they're there.
19:14 Yeah. Yeah. No. That's a really good point. That's awesome.
19:17 So
19:17 I mean, you spoke a little bit in those those challenges. Did you find yourself in those challenges as well, trying to find food to cook with?
19:24 Oh, yeah. Yeah.
19:26 I mean, it's
19:27 Lost a lot of weight for my my first 6 months. However, my MAF team in Wampano was just amazing. They just they made it feel like home right away and, took
19:39 me in and, showed me the ropes. They were very patient with, questions and comments, concerns that I would have, and, they were always right there. So I was very blessed
19:50 Oh, that's great.
19:51 That, I had such a great team and built some really lasting relationships Oh. With the people there. That's so
19:59 sweet. I
20:00 love it. That's so It's pretty amazing. It was Yeah. You know, they always say that they appreciate me coming and and teaching, and and I'm the 1 that should thank them that that I
20:12 had this opportunity. Yeah. You know? And, obviously, I have this opportunity through MAF, and, it was truly a blessing.
20:18 That's cool.
20:19 Truly a blessing.Show more
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