 MAY 17, 2026 “Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into the fields.’” —Matthew 9:35-38 I think one of the hardest jobs to have would be an army medic. Every day you would be trying to patch people up and care for them, while having a relentless stream of more and more injured people coming in. I imagine you would wish you could just stop the war, and wonder if you are even making a difference. (However, I’m sure if you asked someone patched up by the medic, they’d feel like the medic made a difference!) I’ve been feeling like that in our work in member care lately. It feels like there is an endless stream of hurting people, and while I’m doing my best to care for people and patch them up, people just keep getting hurt. Not only that, but most of the injuries are from friendly fire- other believers! I really wish I could stop people from hurting each other, and sometimes I wonder if I’m even making a difference. However, like the army medic, I can’t stop the war. Until Jesus comes to reign, sin will persist on this earth, and people, even believers, will keep hurting each other. I guess I’ll just keep trying to make a difference for the person sitting in front of me. I’m sure that when Jesus was on Earth, he felt burdened by the sin and pain He saw before Him each day, even though He knew He’d come to solve it through His death on the cross. I think it’s interesting that He didn’t just speak a word and heal whole cities at a time, even though He could have. Instead, He chose to heal people in the context of a close, personal encounter with Himself, showing them His love and compassion for them personally. I hope that in our encounters with people, we are able to show them Jesus’ love and compassion. We may not be able to stop all the sin and pain, but our hope is that people who come to us for help can have a close personal encounter with Jesus, and experience the healing that comes from experiencing His unconditional love. Please pray for us as we seek to care for God’s sheep, and pray for the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into His fields. Till all know, Matt, Karissa, Ty, and Wyck  Matt preaching WHAT ARE WE SUPPORTING? THIS MONTH’S TRIBAL FOCUS: Pray for the Wabuku Church Missionary Jason Cizdziel writes, “The first believer from among our Wabuku church has died. Markus was a follower of Jesus… Pray for the Wabuku church. Before the church was born, death was a terrifying time. It brought out the worst. Suspicions, accusations, desperation. This is their first death after joining Yawe’s clan, the family of God’s children that exists beyond borders. Pray that they find comfort in the hope of our salvation and the promise of our future resurrection. And pray they avoid the old ancestor traditions of assigning blame and seeking revenge. Pray for me as I attempt to guide the church through mourning the loss of a brother with new perspective. Pray I lead with wisdom as we learn to grieve, but not without hope as the unbelievers do. And pray Wabuku understands clearly that for us, just like for Jesus, death is not the end of the story.” He also shares some testimonies from believers in the church reflecting on Markus’ death: “But I will hear him sing again. I will see his face again in heaven. So even though I cry, I have happy thinking, too.” “Some called the witchdoctor while he was sick to determine what black magic was killing him. But the church told them no, we won’t invite Satan into our village again. God marked the day Markus would die and now Markus is with the way-above, all-powerful God.” “Markus died when he was baptized. His new life can’t die. It will be forever. Just like Jesus.” “No, there were no fights, no blaming talk. We all knew that Markus believed in Jesus, he was in Yahweh’s canoe, so now he is with Yawe.” Please Pray: that we can care well for hurting people that we can do some trainings to help people interact more healthily and hopefully prevent some future hurts that we can visit some missionaries in their village this summer for more support workers, especially teachers. Our school had to cancel two grade levels for next year due to lack of staff. Praise God: God brought about reconciliation between the people we were working with God has given direction in some of our ministry decisions The school year is finishing up well Karissa gets to teach 9th-10th grade Bible next year, in addition to junior high English |