Northeastern Archipelago

Following a request from the local government to set up a model of Christian education, a team of educators were dispatched to this region in July. For the past three months, they have been working together to strategize while ministering to children and helping local teachers.

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Latest News from Northeastern Archipelago

Nine Teachers Safely Arrived to Serve Remote Indonesian Villages

The Indonesian archipelago consists of 17,000 scattered islands inhabited by approximately 1,300 ethnic groups. It is home to 279 million people, 50-70 million of which are Indigenous Peoples. Thanks to MSI supporters' prayers and donation, nine TransformNation (TfN)...

Female Interns Igniting Transformation in the Toughest Places

2023 has been a remarkable year for the TransformNation teacher-training program. A group of twelve female interns, who graduated in June, have embarked on a quest to bring hope to underserved places. The chart below shows where they are serving. They share their...

Rising Against All Odds

Dorina's Journey: Fostering Children's Transformation with Jesus' Love During the initial week of my teaching journey, I found myself on the brink of giving up. While the enthusiasm to teach remained unwavering, unexpected turns put my commitment to the test. First,...

Children Celebrate Christmas in Indonesia

We are happy to share the following pictures of Mustard Seed's children and teachers celebrating Christmas in Indonesia. Thank you for your commitment to loving and serving these children.   If you haven’t made your 2022 donation yet, there are still a few days left...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from us at Mustard Seed International! Thank you for your commitment to loving and serving children in Indonesia. Click below to see how Indonesian children celebrate Christmas in different islands. 

A Pathway in the Wilderness

Hundreds of native Papuan men and women jumped and danced under the bright July sun. Their tanned skin was covered with white body paint. Colorful tropical feathers crowned their heads. The beat of tifa (Papuan traditional drums) commanded the group as they escorted...

New Hope. New Life. New Dreams.

By Paul Richardson “I stepped off the plane in Papua with a full heart. I was about to spend a week traveling with some of our best young teachers and leaders." *** I had asked Ari, Siela, and Michael to meet me in Jayapura. Ari is the founder of a school on the...

The Power of A Letter

“One letter. Who would have thought that something so simple and easy could actually make a difference?” *** Did you know that in villages where Mustard Seed serves, many children have never received a letter or read a book? Can you imagine that some children have...

Beautiful Feet Reaches Rusen Island

Beautiful Feet Reaches Rusen Island Remember Elisa and Michael, MSI’s TransformNation students who graduated in July? They have arrived at Rusen Island and have been teaching the students there. Together with MSI Site Leaders, Dean, Jita, and Xavier, they are serving...

Graduation of Students in Spice Island

Graduation of Students in Spice Island What would teachers do when they want to motivate and reward their students, but don’t have a school budget to do it. Would this obstacle make them give up on the idea? Not so with the teachers of Mustard Seed’s kindergarten on...

Watch the Northeastern Team in Action

Facts & Figures

Click on the pictures above to see the Northeastern Team ministering to children

Click above to see the initial meetings with the Regent and the Education Board of the District

About the Northeastern Team

The Northeastern Archipelago team consists of five educators. Dean & Jita are the MSI Site Leaders. Before moving to this island, Dean previously served as TfN's program Director. Xavier is a TfN alumni who now serves on staff with Mustard Seed. Elisa and Michael graduated from TfN this past July.

They all come from different islands with various ethnicities: Dean is a Javanese; his wife Jita, comes from Moluccas Island; Xavier is Timorese; Elisa comes from Dayak tribe in Kalimantan; while Michael's tribe lives in highlands of Papua.

Although they are from different backgrounds, they are united in one vision: to serve the children of Northeastern Archipelago.

About the Island

The Northeastern Archipelago is located at the northern part of Papua. The area is famous for its epic landscape and fishing industry.

In the district where MSI teachers are serving, there's approximately 108,000 people living there. Most of them depend on farming and fishing.  Almost 30% of the population lives in poverty, with almost 5,000 people struggling with illiteracy. Only 47% of males complete their high school education, while the rate is even lower for females (40%).

Things to Discuss

1. From talking lively in front of children to negotiating formally in front of high officials, MSI's teachers are required to possess many skills as frontline workers. What kind of skills and character do you think that the frontline workers should have?

2. What do you think about the local government requesting help and support from Mustard Seed?

3. What kind of changes would you like to see in the lives of children in the North-eastern Archipelago and how can you be a part of those changes?


4. Are there any questions you have about the work? What would you like to understand better?

Prayer Requests

This is how you can pray for The Northeastern Team and the children of Northeastern Archipelago

Prayer Requests

1. Please pray for the Northeastern Team in their first year of serving. May they adjust well with the children they serve, the local government, local teachers, and the community.

2. Please pray for the development of the boarding school initiated by the local government. May the model of Christian Education bring a positive change to the entire island.

3. Please pray for unity and peace amongst our partners, teachers, community, and the local government of the Archipelago, so they can put priority on serving and ministering to the children and their well-being.

Put Love into Action

We are a letter from Christ… written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts
(2 Corinthians 3:3)

Children's Corner

Eager to involve your children in learning about Beautiful Feet?