What Are We Supporting? | Matt and Karissa Long

Usually I feature a tribal work that we are supporting at the end of each newsletter, but so many exciting things are happening right now that I decided to take this newsletter to tell you about THREE unreached tribes in Papua New Guinea that are currently hearing the gospel in their language for the first time!

PEI
Last month the Pei people heard about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and the church was born! They heard that they are sinners, that Jesus died for them, and that trusting Him is the only way to be saved. There were people that heard, understood, and put their trust in Christ. Now the missionaries are beginning to teach these new believers. They are already starting to ask questions about how the gospel should affect how they should raise their kids, and are saying that this teaching is really “shooting their thinking” (convicting them). They know they are part of God’s family and are learning about what that looks like, and are talking about what their destiny as God’s family is. Pray for the Pei people as they grow in their relationships with Christ.

AMDU
The Amdu people are in the process of hearing God’s Word. NTM teaches through the Bible chronologically, so that when people get to the New Testament they really understand their need for Jesus. Right now they are teaching about Adam. This is from their most recent update: “We wanted to make sure everyone understood that Adam was in a position of choice. We talked about this by describing Adam at a crossroads. One trail led to life. The other trail led to death. After explaining things, we asked audience members to come and role play, by giving Adam their advice about what trail he should follow. We were surprised when some of the older members of the audience jumped up to advise Adam not to go down the road leading to death. It was precious to see enthusiasm in their eyes… We’re so happy these key concepts are coming across clearly.” Pray that God would open up the hearts of the Amdu people to hear and understand His message.

WANTAKIA
The missionaries in Wantakia are just starting to teach through God’s Word to the Wantakia people. They have a Facebook group called “Reach Wantakia” that you can follow, and they are posting lots of great videos sharing about people’s reaction to the teaching, as well as daily prayer requests- I encourage you to check it out. Just a few highlights: They learned about creation, and the women were astounded that God created Eve with inherent value, not just the value her family could get from a bride price. They learned that God created the angels good, which was big for them to think about, because so much of their lives are impacted by fear of spirits. They learned that the way to God is not through doing good things. Here is a link to the video where they talk about that. You can copy and paste (or type) it into your browser.
https://www.facebook.com/reachwantakia/posts/3021866747896741
Pray that God would be preparing the Wantakia people to put their trust in Him.

We are so honored to get to be a part of what God is doing in these tribal locations. We are so thankful that despite everything going on in the world, we have been able to stay and help this work go forward. We are so thankful that YOU are praying and supporting this work.

Till all know,
Matt, Karissa, Ty, and Wyck

PS- We just found out today that some friends of ours have to return to their home country to raise more support. Please pray that they are able to raise what they need and return soon, and if you or someone you know would like to start supporting them, let me know and I’ll give you their info. They are in need of monthly supporters, not one time gifts. Please also pray for Ty and Wyck as these are their best friends :(.

(Top/Left): Before teaching through the Bible, the missionaries in Wantakia translated the Bible into their language and taught them how to read it. Here is a picture of a Wantakian man following along in his Bible to see if what the missionaries were saying is true. (Bottom/Right): My parents recently found a report I wrote in fourth grade about why I wanted to be a missionary. I appreciate the encouragement from my younger self to “stick with it” even though it’s hard.

Praise God:
– For the new Pei believers!
– That Amdu and Wantakia are hearing God’s Word
– We were able to make an appointment for Wyck to see an eye doctor in Port Moresby, the capital of PNG, for later this month
– Karissa’s headaches seem to be improving with some new medication
– He is giving us clarity and excitement about the future
Please Pray:
– That NTM members will be able to return to PNG soon
– That school is able to start in the fall
– For our pilots and mechanics who are stretched thin right now
– For endurance for us as we continue to serve this last year before home assignment
– That God would continue to help us as we seek to build deep friendships here