“We are like the thief on the cross”
Sunday was an almost cloudless day for which we were very thankful because that was the day we had planned to have a Simbari-style potluck with the believers before Esther and Simon went back out to school. While the meal was cooking on the hot stones, we met together to worship the Lord and study His Word. We covered the details of the crucifixion of Christ in Mark 15, and when we were through, the teachers encouraged those who had been listening to share their thoughts on what they had just heard and to express their thankfulness to the Lord for His sacrifice on the cross. It was such a blessing to hear testimony after testimony of faith in the finished work of Christ on Calvary. Two women expressed for the first time publicly that they are believing in Christ as their Savior. One of the women is the wife of Raymond who is one of the teachers. Raymond works with David on translation so we been praying for his wife, Ellen, for a long time. Raymond has been proofreading the Bible lessons to her at home, and the Lord has been working in her heart and drawing her to Himself. In her testimony on Sunday, she shared how we are like the thief on the cross, in that he could do nothing to earn his salvation. He had not gone to church or obeyed the law, but as a sinner, deserving of death, Jesus had accepted him completely on the basis of his faith in Him as the Savior. This was especially meaningful to Ellen as she has been trying all her life to obey the law in hopes of earning her salvation and was discouraged with her inability to accomplish that.
Esther and Simon Return to NCA
We praise the Lord for a very special school break with our kids. The Lord answered our prayers and gave us beautiful weather while they were home, so we were able to enjoy a hike to the river and many fun games of volleyball. On Sunday, after the potluck (mumu) we played volleyball with our Simbari friends for several hours and everyone had a great time. Please pray for Esther and Simon as they adjust to being away from us again. The first few days are always the most difficult, but we know the Lord will be faithful to comfort each one of us. Rachel is hard at work again on fourth grade and she and Jason have been playing a lot with our new little “refugee”, a baby cockatoo that the people brought to us a few days ago. It hardly has any feathers due to a bird mite problem, and we are trying to nurse it back to health. Our other cockatoo, Bozo is really enjoying the company and the two of them are so cute together.
Airstrip in Need of Repair
Repairs on our airstrip have been needed for a long time but the bad weather has prevented us so far from getting the work done. Last week when a plane flew in some cargo for the people, they were not happy with the condition of the airstrip, and threatened to close it within a month if the necessary repairs are not made. There are some spots that are holding the water after it rains and not allowing it to drain off the strip. The possibility of the airstip being closed down has been a good motivation to get the people working. So yesterday with the change in the weather the Simbaris started work on the airstrip. We got some wheelbarrows for them to help speed up the work. We thank the Lord for the great weather because it was impossible to do the repairs as long as it continued raining. The good weather makes for sunny days but COLD nights. Believe it or not it got down to 30°F here in the jungle last night!
Thanks for praying,
David & Shari Ogg
(Esther, Simon, Rachel & Jason too)
Prayer and Praise:
- Praise the Lord for the two ladies who gave testimony of their faith in Christ.
- Praise the Lord for the special time we had with Esther and Simon.
- Praise the Lord for the beautiful weather.
- Pray for Esther and Simon as they adjust to being back in school again and away from their family.
- Pray for David and Raymond as they continue the revision of Bible lessons.
- Pray that the Simbaris would not quit the airstrip work until it is finished.