House Repurposing
We got back over a week ago from our trip to Papua New Guinea. On top of the normal jet lag we also got sick right after we got home. We are still recovering but we wanted to update you on our trip. We spent a little over a month in the village during March and April and had a very productive and encouraging time with our Simbari brothers and sisters. The first few weeks were spent doing a lot of physical work on our house, getting it repurposed so that we could give the house to the church to use as their new meeting place. We were so thankful to have the help of two missionary guys for the first few days and they were a huge blessing with all the heavy lifting, putting in roof supports, taking out walls, etc. After they left, some of the Simbari guys helped us with other projects like moving the water tank up the hill so David could put in a gravity-fed water pipe for us to use in a small living space underneath the house, putting an awning on the front of the church, digging an outhouse for us, etc. Yes, it was a bit like camping for a few weeks, but the Lord gave us grateful hearts as we thought about how few conveniences the Simbari people have available.
Translation and Audio Bible
After all the physical work was done, we worked on comprehension checking the book of Ruth and got our ministry office all set up for recording the Simbari audio Bible. With the low rate of literacy among the Simbari, having an audio Bible will make the Biblical text even more accessible to the larger community.
Last Sunday and Upcoming Conference
Our last day in the village was a Sunday and we were so encouraged to be able to share the experience of meeting for the first time in the new church building with our brothers and sisters. The believers said our visit was a reminder that God had not forgotten about them. It made our hearts happy listening to the beautiful sound of singing, testimonies, and sweet fellowship ringing through the house where we had lived for so many years and raised our children. We praise the Lord that it will no longer sit empty, but be used for His kingdom work, including a conference that the Simbari church will be hosting in August with other language groups who will be hiking over the mountains to join them. Please pray that it will be a very fruitful and encouraging time.
Click here to watch an 18 min. video blog of our trip: https://youtu.be/sYUcpC92qzU