A Son Returns
“No airplane had landed here in over 5 years—until now.”
Why Is Hitadipa So Significant?
Why is Hitadipa the center for so much human suffering and how significant could it be in returning peace to the overall area?
Since the mid-1960s, Hitadipa, or the "place of the two beaches," where the Dogabu and Hiabu rivers meet, has been a vital nerve center for the Moni, Dani, Nduga, and Wano tribes. These communities all lived around this beautiful village in the Dugindoga valley.
In 1960, Bill and Grace Cutts trekked into the area and were mobbed by villagers, overjoyed to finally have their own missionaries. The couple soon discovered a perfect location along the Dogabu River for a grass runway and a spot near it for constructing their next jungle home. Even after flooding wiped out the first airstrip and house, Hitadipa continued to grow and become a vital hub for the entire region.
A Center for Hope and Growth
As the mission center developed, a second grass runway was built by hand. A new home went up for the Cutts family and for the orphans who came to live with them.
Hitadipa soon became a thriving center:
A Bible school trained men and women from multiple tribes to share God's Word in several key languages.
Schools were started for village children.
Literacy classes taught adults to read and write in their own tribal tongues.
Medical work became part of daily life, with Bill and Grace treating the sick.
Sunday services often lasted three hours or more, as messages were translated into three different languages.
Hitadipa was a crossroads. A place where good things happened and where lives were being transformed.
Darkness Falls
All of that changed four years ago.
Indigenous rebels armed with guns took over the area, living off the people. Soon the military arrived to push them out. What followed was brutal: the beautiful valley became a battlefield. Some of our top Christian leaders were caught in the crossfire and died far too young.
Eventually, the rebels gained full control of Hitadipa. They terrorized the community, burned schools, and forced nearly everyone to flee. The Bible school was shut down. Only three hard-core pastors stayed behind.
A Son Returns
It was into this darkness that Aner arrived. No plane had landed there in over five years… until now.
Born in Hitadipa and recently elected to lead his tribe, Aner is now the top government official in the area. And just weeks ago, he landed in the village amidst the crying and wailing of those few who remained.
Their tears weren’t just for what had been lost. They were tears of hope because someone had finally come back. Someone who understood. Someone who believed that healing was possible.
Aner returned with a deep desire to drive out the rebels and bring peace to his own people. What took place in the village that day is hard to describe. The crying and wailing captured on video reflect not only the trauma they have endured, but also the first real sense of hope they have felt in years. Their tears were also tears of relief. They believe that with Aner’s leadership, and with God's help, life can begin again.
Aner arrives in Hitadipa. After five years of terror and loss, the village weeps with hope.
Join Us in Prayer and Action
Please pray for Aner, for the people of Hitadipa, and for all of us as we plan, pray, and labor together to bring spiritual renewal, community rebuilding, and lasting peace to a place that has been silenced and broken for far too long.
Watch as a pastor prays over Aner, marking a new beginning for Hitadipa.
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