New Guinea News 16 December 2009
Tale of Two Weeks
Aaron and the Patpatar men in a session at the workshop.
Warnings, false accusations, being yelled at, a break-in and theft…and all that the week of Thanksgiving. By the end of the week we were wondering what new difficulty would greet us the next day. But it was not just our family that was facing the problems, it was also the Patpatar believers.
For a while now, we have been studying through the book of Acts with the young Patpatar believers. The spread of the Gospel, the start of the church, and the work of the Holy Spirit are a few of the important topics we have been covering. One of the biggest surprises for the Patpatar was the persecution and hardships the early church experienced. Many of the apostles and those most dedicated to God’s work endured ridicule, ostracizing, beating, and even death. This truth in Scripture soon manifested itself in reality to the Patpatar church. Many of those professing faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross have been talked about, excluded, taken advantage of, and even threatened. Though mild compared to the persecution the first church experienced the believers here can relate. It seemed to culminate the week of Thanksgiving toward us. Though all of the events were not related, and though we never felt in danger, and though the break-in was at our partner’s house who is currently in the States, we do believe that the Enemy and enemies of the true gospel would do whatever they can to discourage and hinder God’s work among the Patpatar people.
We were encouraged with many of the believers who realize what is happening and like the early church are standing firm in their faith. We met together in the midst of this time and had a wonderful time of prayer and praise to our God and Savior. There are those however, who due to the persecution have faded to the background to avoid being a target. There are also issues and accusations that have to be dealt with before the village council that we would request your prayers for wisdom on how to respond and react.
That week was followed by a much different week. Though the timing seemed terrible, I think that God knew we needed to be away from the situation. Our family along with two of the Patpatar believers left for a workshop about curriculum development. There we met with missionaries and tribal believers from about 10 different tribes throughout the islands of Papua New Guinea. Besides the benefit of the workshop it was great for the Patpatar men to interact with their brothers in Christ that they had never met but had been praying for them and was encouraging for our family to be with missionaries who could relate to what we were going through. Following the workshop our family went on a “getaway” and got some much needed rest, relaxation, restaurants, and shopping J.
Now we are back in the tribe and have quickly faced again the realities of village life. The people have been cleaning up the villages and repairing houses after a big flood over the weekend and today I attended the funerals of an elderly woman and a baby. Tomorrow we face the village council. We praise God for what He is doing here, what the church is learning, the ministry He has allowed us to be a part of, and the times of rest we have had. Thank you for keeping the Patpatar in your prayers and for being a part of our ministry.
The family relaxing with a koala bear.
ALL for Him,
Aaron
Aaron, Lori, Avalon, Sierra, and Kylee Luse
Missionaries to the Patpatar people of Papua New Guinea
With New Tribes Mission