Village Heartbeat exists to help meet the social, educational, health, and spiritual needs of the remote communities throughout the Intan Jaya region in Papua, Republik Indonesia.

West Papua, Indonesia’s most eastern province, is home to hundreds of distinct ethnic groups. It is often regarded as one of the world’s last great frontiers.

Village Heartbeat is dedicated to helping remote tribal communities in Papua restore and maintain their spiritual and social heartbeat. It has the goal of strengthening these indigenous communities through identifying and training leaders who are dedicated to their communities, who feel a personal responsibility to their people, and who will have the capacity and integrity to work together with interested partners or donors, thereby guaranteeing their community’s survival in this ever-changing world.

Read more about Village Heartbeats Plan and Purpose.

Read more about Growing up Moni.

View fullsize 🎉2025 Brings Exciting News! 🎉 • We’ve updated our website! Explore a fresh new look and all the latest on Village Heartbeat. Stay connected with our mission and see how you can make an impact. • Check it out now at www.villageheartb
View fullsize The VHB family grew in 2024, when Jaime married Nick (Shust), who moved across the world to live with Jaime and Alina in Papua. Nick has quickly become a part of the Cutts clan’s extended Papuan family. #nonprofitorganization #papua #vhbpapua
View fullsize In 2017, John’s eldest daughter, Jaime, and her daughter, Alina, returned to live in Papua, the island that held Jaime’s heart long after she returned to the U.S. for college. After a lot of years of tearful goodbyes in Papua, roles were
View fullsize Village Heartbeat was born in 1999, after John and Joy had already served in Papua for over two decades. It was through Village Heartbeat that John believed he could most effectively continue to serve his people in the present, while providing a path
View fullsize John and Joy Cutts had two daughters, Jaime and Jenna, who were raised with the Moni people in the village of Pogapa. They followed in the footsteps of their dad and grew up speaking the Moni language and embracing the culture as part of their own.
View fullsize After attending college in the U.S. and marrying his high school sweetheart, John Cutts and his bride, Joy (Persons) Cutts, returned to serve in Papua in 1978. They overlapped with the senior Cutts for a term before they retired and passed the torch
View fullsize VHB has a team of translators who are currently working on the remaining 12,000 verses of the Bible that are left to be translated, with a goal of having everything completed in the next three to four years. What an accomplishment it will be to have
View fullsize The Moni people, and the island of Papua, captured the hearts of the Cutts family. Bill and Grace spent their lifetimes serving the Moni. They learned the language and put it into written form for the first time and began education programs so the Mo

The Pulse

Discover The Moni Way

In The Moni Way, John Cutts, along with his friends John, George, and Donald, share a heartfelt account of the Moni people of Papua. Through a blend of stunning photography and poignant storytelling, they illuminate the challenges, resilience, and rich cultural heritage of the Moni, while advocating for their future.