Dear Supporting Friends and Family,
One of the things that we taught the people here was that as God created the universe from nothing the angels watched in wonder and amazement of what God is capable of doing because of His unparalleled character
Dream with me for a moment. You have just come to life. You don’t know how but there you are and the only thing you feel is peace and joy. And out of the darkness you hear, "Let there be light!" And wham there was light. A warm glow that sooths your soul. Then for the next several days you watch this incredible world appear out of nowhere complete and perfect. Imagine. From nothing comes utter beauty. What would do? Praise and glorify the maker no doubt!
Well, honestly I feel like one of those angels. We are just sitting here watching God create beauty out of the darkness. The Dinangat people are being changed! Even the people are sensing this. Two consultants flew in this week and Papa Toji said to them, "I just want to tell you that we are so happy. We all are in darkness, but now these missionaries are telling us God’s word and we are so happy." God is creating something new here and we are in utter amazement as He works.
This week probably the biggest thing that happened was for the people to grasp the reality of God’s judgment on the people in Noah’s day. After the lesson everyone literally just sat there. No one moved. Usually people get up right away and look at the pictures, start talking, or someone stands up and says something. But that day, stillness. It was weird. And awesome at the same time.
You could see the wheels turning. We should die like all those people. We are sinners just like they were. We deserve God’s judgment. So just to be sure after 10 or 15 minutes I went to Tom and asked him why everyone was so quiet. And he said, "Because they are all measuring this talk. This is new talk. This story is really something. God just killed everyone. We are all thinking, ‘What can we do so this kind of thing doesn’t happen to us?’ That’s what everyone is thinking. Tonight I will listen to the lesson again and read the summary to think about it some more." So I let that simmer for a moment and then reminded Tom that God did provide a way of escape but the people rejected it, and God promised to send the redeemer. That’s what Noah was trusting in.
Another worldview shake up has that none of us are good enough to please God. After this week they’ve seen over and over how mankind rejects God. They saw God trying to appeal to Cain, but he rejected God. They saw the God give the people of Noah’s day 120 years to change their minds, but still they rejected God. Then with a fresh new start after the flood the people still rejected God and tried to make a name for themselves. So these Dinangat people who once believed that they were good enough are beginning to come to grips with the fact that mankind has a nature that cannot please God. And thus this promised redeemer, this Kidaak Amna is becoming more and more appealing to them. They are starting to see that unless this Kidaak Amna comes to deliver them they too will suffer the same fate as those in Noah’s day. But not just in this life, but forever.
Next Week: Monday – God chose Abram and guided him to Canaan Tuesday – God renewed His promises to Abram Wednesday – God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah Thursday – God gave Isaac and delivered Isaac from death Friday – God chose Jacob and rejected Esau
Continue praying with us and watching as God creates another beautiful creation out of this darkness!
Your coworkers in PNG, Gary, Esther, Charis, Caleb, Nathan, and Zachary
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