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The Rumble at Babel
Monday morning in the clearing where we teach: Jason was teaching about the confusion at Babel, and to illustrate, he began speaking in English, calling us to get to work. I came up asking him where the hammer was in Spanish, and 2 other Tobo men who were in on the skit came up each speaking bits of another language each knew. By the time Janeene and Kellie entered the scene from 2 different corners, each speaking a language from Africa, we noticed that many people on the outer areas of the audience were running away to get their bushknives (machetes)! They apparently had missed the fact that we were just performing a skit and thought that a small village war was breaking out! All those who knew what we were doing were laughing at the others. Needless to say, after everyone settled down, we all had a good laugh about it and a point was made: Babel must have truly broken up and scattered everyone in the world into the various language and people groups as we see today!
Airplane? What airplane?
Tuesday morning: Just as I was beginning our time by asking review questions from Monday’s lesson, we all heard the familiar drone of an approaching plane. The small MAF airplane was bringing a visiting dignitary running for parliament in PNG’s 2007 elections, who is a doctor from Port Moresby and a relative of our local doctor from a neighboring tribal group. To our shock, no one wanted to move a muscle to run down to the airstrip. They said, “We’ll hear this talk first, then go!” What a powerful testimony to how much this group desires to hear God’s Word taught in their language! The doctor, who is a regular at the teaching, did go down after a little while, then brought his relative back up with himself and they sat through the rest of the lesson with us!
Walking between the ‘animal pieces’?!?
Wednesday morning: Jason and I team-taught the lesson on God confirming His promise or covenant with Abram and giving him the new name Abraham. Jason, along with another friend of ours illustrated the custom of walking through a line of split animal carcasses (stones in our case) in order to making a binding contract or covenant. He then shared how God alone went between the pieces, not Abram, as this was God’s promise to make and His to carry out, what work could the elderly and childless Abram do to help himself have more descendants than the stars in the sky? Or to inherit all the land of Canaan? (This story comes from Genesis 15, for those who may be curious about God’s going between the animal pieces) Again, we had a very large turnout, most of whom came to the teaching first and then down the hill to the political meeting afterward. In the past, such a meeting would have taken precedence over other plans, but again we are seeing the hunger to hear the clear teaching of God’s Word. What an encouragement!
Morosin’s Tears
Thursday morning: We had just finished teaching the lesson on how God destroyed the wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah, but rescued Lot and his family. After the review questions, we invited people in the group to share their questions and thoughts with us. Among those with something to say was one of our neighbors, a middle-aged man named Morosin. Morosin has always been one of those people we had found, let’s say, difficult. In fact, we weren’t even sure at the outset how often or even if he would come to the teaching. Well, we were unprepared for what happened today. In front of all the men and women present, he stood up to talk and began crying as he shared how he was seeing how sinful he was! With tears coming to our eyes as well, we sat there marveling at the convicting power of the Holy Spirit through the truth of the Word of God. Please be praying for Morosin, that he would continue to come and learn the truth that will set him free from the bondage of his sin.
A Preview of the Ultimate Sacrifice
Friday morning: We had a good crowd assembled as Jason and I started stacking stones for a makeshift altar, while 2 other friends got a bush and a sheep ready. What was all this about? Midway through the lesson, Jason and his son Micah portrayed the story of Abraham about to kill his son Isaac, as Chad narrated from the Bible and the angel of the Lord stopped Abraham. Then the sheep was there behind him in the bush to take Isaac’s place as the sacrifice. You could have heard a leaf drop as Jason untied Micah, took him off of the altar, and pretended to kill and sacrifice the sheep. We could hear and see people sniffling and crying as Jason and Micah walked off the scene together- the drama had a definite impact. Afterward, various people with tears in their eyes were saying to us how God’s Word has been breaking their livers, their hearts, their insides. We are truly seeing God’s hand here. Please pray for these dear people for whom Christ died, that very soon they will be able to look at this picture and make the connection between this story and what Christ has done for them. The teaching is building up momentum to bring people to the point of seeing their need for a Savior and then they will be able to accept the provision of Christ to save them from the penalty of their sin. Please continue to pray!
God is at work here! Please keep praying with us!!!
Chad, Janeene & Elijah
This coming week, the following lessons will be taught and we ask that you would specifically pray for us these days that these lessons will be communicated clearly:
November 20th: (Gen 24:67; 25:20-34; 27:41-44: 28:10-15: 29:1: 31:13; 32:24-28) Isaac married Rebekah; Esau and Jacob born; Esau sells his birthright for soup; God passed on the promises He had given to Abraham and Isaac
November 21st: (Gen chapters 37 & 39) God called and led Abram to go to Canaan- Joseph part 1- God brought Joseph to Egypt and from Potiphar’s house to jail- God is sovereign and was working out his plan for Joseph all for the good
November 22nd: (Gen 41:1-8, 14-16, 25-49; 42:1-20; 43:1-5, 11-17; 45:1-11, 25-28; 46:5-7) Joseph part 2- God made Joseph a ruler over Egypt; Jacob and his family all moved to Egypt- God is sovereign
November 23rd: (Exodus chapters 1 & 2:1-22) God preserved Israel enslaved in Egypt; God chose, protected and provided for Moses
November 24th: (Exodus 2:23-25; ch.3; 4:1-20) God called Moses to deliver Israel from their bondage in Egypt