Emergency
Two days after Christmas our co-workers 15 year-old daughter, Renata, came down with appendicitis. Shari gave her two penicillin injections through the night and the next day she was flown to Cairns, Australia by doctor’s orders for surgery. She recovered in the hospital without needing the surgery. Now they are back in the bush with us. We praise the Lord for protecting her. A burst appendix out here in the bush would be life-threatening.
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head…
We get rain all year long but during the wet season we get quite a bit more. We get an average of 180 inches of rain per year here in the Simbari tribe. The most rainfall in one day since we have been here was 6.3 inches! It is wet season NOW. All this rain has been hard on the airstrip. In fact, the airstrip has been closed a lot over the last few months. In December we were forced to use our helicopter to go out to Goroka. Please pray that the condition of our airstrip would improve so it can stay open.
Yangaiwamnda
also called language study continues. It has been discouraging at times that it is taking so long to learn this language. But, like Christ,
“who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross.” (Heb. 12:2)
we too are enduring years of language study for the joy of ministering the Gospel to the Simbari people. Please continue to Pray that God would give us strength and ability to speak the language fluently.
Machines or Messengers
I am reminded of how the priests of Israel were required to hand carry the Ark of the Covenant to their destination. It would have been nice if modern conveniences such as an ox-cart could have carried it for them. But that was not God’s way. Today we enjoy many modern conveniences: radio, video, cassettes, books, computers, airplanes, etc. But none of these things can learn an unknown tribal language and then teach and make disciples of Christ. Only people can do that and so Christ told us, “Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth laborers into His harvest.”