Day 21 of 21: Leaving the tribe

This is the last day of our 21 days in the tribe!  Thanks for trekking along with us as we get a glimpse of what it’s going to be like living in a bush location!  Here are our wrap-up thoughts, and tons of pictures!  XOXO!

BJ’s Post:

This has been a great month. Our kids have done so well. Jill has done really well with the ladies. She has a couple of really great relationships here with Mata and Julie and Kenna, not to mention Lyngina from Wantakia, who basically stayed here the whole time we were here.

I was paid a very high compliment today by Kipi and Enoch– They said I was the first one who has come to Wusuraambya (other than the missionaries) and rounded with them and gone to the bush with them; they were so happy. Yeah, we went on a really long hike earlier–started at Enoch’s house and went all the way up the mountain almost to the “white stone” then back down the other side by Enoch’s old garden.  I am going to miss these guys–Enoch, Willis, Peter, Keniel, Josek, Elon, all the other believers.

Last night, Enoch came over to the Goud’s house while we were there with a gift for me. He had made me a bunara (bow) with a bunch of different types of arrows…one to kill birds, pigs, lizards, people…haha j/k! He even made a little bunara for Graham!  Enoch is so great. I pray that one day he will stop trusting in the law for his right standing with God. I pray that one day he’ll realize Jesus could be his righteousness if he would trust only in his finished work for salvation.  We are really going to miss being in this tribe.

 

Jill’s Post:

I don’t even know where to start…We had the best bush orientation that I even could have imagined!  Times were definitely difficult: BJ leaving me for a trip, putting sunscreen on our kids all the time, eating the same food all the time, living in close quarters, etc.  But the good farrrrr outweigh the difficult!  We got to spend a whole month really living in the bush.  We learned so much from the missionaries that working here (Cathy and Andrew Goud).  We learned how important it is to stay together as a team to finish the task…as they are out here all alone without co workers.  We got to spend a lot of time with the believers and hear their testimonies (incredible!)  We got to see portions of the Wusuraambya Bible, and see the believers reading it! We got to spend time with unbelievers and God broke our heart for them to pray for them.  We got to see how our family would do in a tribe.  And we feel like we will really thrive!  The Lord has been so great to us, and we are so excited about closing one chapter in our lives, and opening another one very soon!

Please be Praying:

-As our team prays about what tribe to live in (for direction.)
-For all of the logistics of moving: land agreements, building house, etc.
-For our co workers-the Crabtrees, who are just diving into the orientation program in M adang…for them to learn the national language and culture.
-For us and the Hambrices, we are staying here in Goroka, plugging in to serve others, and also taking survey trips of possible tribes to allocate in.

Em Tasol- “That’s all!”