Driven by a passion to see technology used to advance the gospel, Sanjaya Rasanjana moved from Sri Lanka to the highlands of Papua New Guinea, to serve with MAF Technologies.
Story by Kathy Burrows
Last May, Sanjaya Rasanjana, his wife, Thanjua, and their 12-year-old twin daughters, Anubha and Anagi, moved to Goroka in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG).
With an IT background and a wealth of experience using solar and radio technologies in remote areas, Sanjaya is the newest member joining the team to help bridge the digital divide for isolated communities across the nation.
“What keeps me going is the passion I have for missions and especially using technology for missions,” said Sanjaya, who works as the team’s E-Projects Specialist.
He first heard about MAF Technologies, formerly known as Christian Radio Missionary Fellowship, whilst working in Radio Broadcasting in Sri Lanka.
“When I saw they had been using IT and radio communications to share the gospel and other things, a light came to my mind; ‘Oh, wow, this organisation is really doing what I'm trying to convince the Church in Sri Lanka about,’” he said.
“I felt that because of my passion, the Lord was directing me and saying, ‘This is your next assignment.’”
As well as finding technological solutions for challenging environments, Sanjaya helps train churches and missionaries how to use technology to carry out their ministries. With everything he does, his desire is always to ‘bring it back to missions.’
“My focus is to make technicians think with a mission-oriented perspective,” he said. “How can we use the solar installation to share the gospel: to bring help, hope, and healing?”
“What keeps me going is the passion I have for missions and especially using technology for missions”
Alongside working with MAF, the couple have also started their own children’s ministry from the porch of their house.
“After we got married, we had a vision to start a kids ministry in our home,” said Sanjaya. “We prayed about it, and Thanjua said, ‘If we have a house that has a bigger veranda, we can invite the kids in the area and serve them.’ So, that was in our hearts for some time.”
Once they arrived in PNG, Sanjaya and Thanjua quickly saw a need in the local community, especially among children who were out of school and lacking access to basic hygiene. Having worked for many years in child development, Thanjua was keen to reach out and realise that vision.
“We are doing a special programme once a month, sharing stories about Jesus and some characters,” said Thanjua. “I teach them some numbers, not big things, small things; numbers, letters and colours.”
Thanjua and Sanjaya have also provided essentials, like toothbrushes, and are working with the children’s parents to offer them further support.
“Children enjoy it; they are asking sometimes, ‘Aunty Thanjua, when are you doing Sunday school?’ They really like it!” she said.
As the family continues to settle into life in PNG, Sanjaya is already looking towards the future and considering how to make things more sustainable, and mission focused:
“I think we need to turn and see how we can make it more impactful in the name of Jesus Christ; bringing it back to the gospel and spreading the good news,” he said.