Maikol¹s Plea for Help

Maikol’s Plea for Help

Maikol saw something he desperately wanted when he visited two Hewa villages. He wanted it so badly that when he found out missionary Jonathan Kopf was back from the USA, he hiked three long, hard days to reach him and ask for help.

‘I was Amazed’

In one village, “the boy Ken stood in front of the group and taught them in the Hewa language using the Bible you are translating. … I looked around and realized the people who were attending the service could hear and understand because it was …in their own tongue.”

Maikol told them he later visited the village where Jonathan lives, while Jonathan and his family were on home assignment in the USA.

“I was amazed by what I saw. The people were reading Bibles in and around their huts. Not just a few people and they didn’t stop when it got dark. That evening the boys read out loud by flashlight after we ate our sweet potatoes, and the same thing was happening in the other huts. I couldn’t believe it.”

‘I Want This for My Village’

Maikol has never seen this in his years as a religious leader in his own village.

“I preach from the Pidgin Bible on the weekends but since my villagers don’t know how to read and they are unfamiliar with the language of town … there is little interest in God, and no change in their lives. Then I come here and see that people are not only reading the Bible in their homes but they are also completely different than other people. That’s what I want for my village.”

What Will You Say?

This was not the first time Maikol had asked for a missionary for his people. Jonathan has asked for missionaries for Maikol’s village. He even spoke about the need in several churches while he was in the USA. “No one has come,” he told Maikol. “I don’t know what to say.”

Do you know what to say?

What about, “Yes”?

“Yes, I’ll pray daily for more missionaries, and for more senders to make their ministries possible.” Maybe, “Yes, I’ll act in faith and help send missionaries.” Or even, “Yes, here I am, Lord. Send me.”