“Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days- You would not believe even if you were told!”
Habakkuk 1:5
This week was ground breaking in a lot of ways. After weeks of teaching on man’s sin problem, that no matter how hard we try, we cannot clean ourselves up good enough to be worthy of God and that only by Jesus can we come to Him, it looks like many are really starting to understand what that means on a personal level. Last Tuesday one of the head religious men from the region came and held a 4 hour service after we had finished teaching that morning. He taught about what it takes to be a Christian, and for that many hours, this very nice and well meaning man fed our village a main course of do’s and don’ts that will make you acceptable to God. We wondered how they would respond.
We didn’t have to wonder very long. After a powerful message on Wednesday teaching that Jesus is the ONLY way, my language helper turned to me and said, “So many people have been teaching us what is not true. Now we have seen what the Bible says. We know that we are sinners, and nothing we can do can save us. We’ve been taught that if we go to church, give offerings, give to the poor, pray and read the Bible, then one day we will go and be with God. But this is not true. It is good to do those things, but they cannot save us. Only the Kidaak Amna can save us!” Then Basa got up and spoke, so beautifully encouraging the people in their own language in a way that we as foreigners cannot do. But he basically exhorted them all that they need to stop believing in themselves and praising themselves for what they do, but to believe only in Jesus!
Another thing worth mentioning is that this was the first week that a woman ever was brave enough to speak up and ask a question! Not a small thing in this culture, and we praise the Lord that more and more the woman are starting to come forward (more one on one, but sometimes even in the group they are answering the review questions!) This is ANOTHER direct answer to prayer!
Friday was a big day. First there was the lesson on humility. We taught on Jesus rebuking the disciples and telling them to let the children come to Him, and that we can learn from their example of faith. We actually did a drama so they could see “Jesus” being loving to all the kids, black and white. In this culture kids are often not treated well or thought much of, so it was a great lesson on how Jesus feels about their children. We also taught on the young rich man who came and asked Jesus what he needed to do to enter the kingdom. The man was proud, and though he thought he was following all the commandments, Jesus showed him that in his heart, he was not, and therefore he, too, was a sinner. Again, God through His Word is showing the people that He does not look at outside appearances, but HE knows our hearts! Will we, like the rich man, reject His teaching and turn away, or will we agree with Him and let Him be our Savior?
Immediately after the lesson, the literacy teachers held a graduation service for 30 new graduates! Now there are 30 more people who can read and write in their own language! It was a beautiful service. 6 students got up and read Scripture portions. All the students were presented with a gift of the first three chapters of Genesis, to encourage them to keep reading. The students presented gifts to the teachers (and even to us missionaries!) of bilums (string bags) and garden food. It is truly wonderful to see how much they value the gift of being able to read in their own language!
From our co-workers’ newsletter: God is really doing a work in Itiringke’s heart. After the ceremony he got up and shared something with tears in his eyes. He told everyone that God has displayed His power in his life because he can not only read, but now is a teacher in literacy. He said that he was not able to read before. He only went to first grade when he was a child, but now God has given him the strength and the ability to finish the course and to be a teacher. He kept saying that God is true. And then he encouraged people who are older to not give up. That they too can learn how to read. It reminded me of that old hymn, “You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.” Well, Itringke was telling everyone that he knows God is true because of what He’s done in his own life.
We are just around the corner from telling them the answer to the question we’ve been hearing so much these last couple of weeks; “What will the Kidaak Amna do to save us from our sin?” We have just 5 more lessons until we begin the Gospel presentation of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. Please continue to stand with us! God is faithful, He is doing as He said He would, and we are at the edge of our seats to see what He will do in these next 2 weeks!
This week’s lessons:
Monday – It is foolish to trust in riches.
Tuesday – Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus and rode into Jerusalem.
Wednesday – Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover.
Thursday – Jesus was arrested by His enemies (part 1).
Friday – Jesus was arrested by His enemies (part 2).
In His Grip,
Jeremiah, April, Jordan, Judah and Alayna
PS- Although it’s not until Wednesday, we celebrated Jordan’s 8 birthday with a party with our co-workers yesterday. We decided to have a “play day” with our kids to unwind from a busy week. So the day included getting ‘dressed up’ by the kids, then acting out a skit, being farm animals on our hands and knees, and making up silly stories. But the ‘icing’ on the cake was an unplanned “chicken raid” as we watched our co-workers chasing chickens out of a tree. These pests have taken up residence right outside their bedroom window in a tree, and like to start cock-a-doodle-doing at crazy hours!
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