Hi friends,
Persecution grows:
Our friends Edward and Francesca where at our house last night for supper with their two little girls. This couple is trying to move their house closer to where we live and move out of the area of the village they live in as they are receive a lot of differing forms of persecution. The core group of believers live close to us and so they are craving that fellowship and security just now. On Saturday night Edward came down from his house as he couldn’t bear the situation any longer and felt he needed prayer. His grandfather (the oldest person in the village) who is a believer had fallen earlier in the day onto some rocks and has broken his ribs; he is in lots of pain and can’t speak without difficulty. Immediately the unbelieving relatives had sent for the Maliaba (the shaman) and have sent payment for him to come and work his magic. They believe that the afterbirth of everyone has a spirit force, this is always buried in a secret place(I know this seems strange). They believe this old man’s sanguma (afterbirth spirit) for lack of a better term has knocked him down at the water causing him to break his ribs and because this injury was caused by something in the spirit realm it can then only be healed by someone who has power over this. On Saturday night after they had sent word to the Maliaba, Edwards mother came and publically shamed him; shouting at him and telling him he must believe in the Maliaba and if he doesn’t then his grandfather will not be healed. They will then put the responsibility of the illness or death upon him. Others came into the house, many big men from the village and backed up his mothers talk shouting at him to believe and telling him his lack of belief in the Maliaba will cancel his power. Edward told them all that he could not believe in the Maliaba as he believed in Jesus now. They threatened Edward that if the Maliaba can’t work his magic effectively that they will beat him and his family. At this point he felt the pressure was so great that he wanted to run away into the jungle, which is the typical response in those type of situations. But God guided him to us and we were able to pray with him and encourage his heart. He said he felt much stronger and wanted to go back to the house to sleep. The next day I went and sat with him for a long time at his house to show my support and tried to encourage them; that part of the village has a cold atmosphere and I am not welcomed as I once was as people are afraid because of the increased pressure coming from the cult. Edward has since moved his house closer to us and we helped him build in a hurry. The pressure here is mounting from the local Kevung cult; they have now forbidden people to come to our houses and are telling the village we are liars. They have publically said they are taking us to court and will have us removed from our houses within the year’s end. This pressure is stopping some of our young believers from coming, public shame and family pressure is a huge obstacle in animistic shame cultures. We are following up on all of those who are missing and we try to teach truth again and encourage them to follow their Savior – the cost of being a disciple is high!
Joy continues –
We are hoping this story will turn out to be similar to the prodigal Son returning to his father. Merenge is the name of a young man who turned to Christ during the evangelism stage earlier in the year; he would stay up late and talk of his savior and found much joy in that. He sat in my office just last week and talked of those nights, his eyes really lit up as he spoke of how much joy he used to get from singing and discussing the wonderful things that Jesus has done for the Mengen people. Merenge has historically always been a trouble maker and a thief and in the middle of every fight. When he got saved people couldn’t believe how he changed. Earlier this year his wife gave birth to a baby that was premature, the baby was small and weak and couldn’t feed very well. We tried to help as we could but the little girl died. Merenge told me that his joy finished when this happened, many people said that because he now believed in this ‘Jesus’ that the spirits played a role in taking the child. A believer in their immaturity said that he mustn’t be a true believer and that’s why the baby died. As he spoke of these things (which is not normal for a Mengen) I could see that he was hurt but that he also wasn’t happy about how his life is now. Merenge in these last several months is the man who has been part of most of our troubles, he has moved far away from the path God would have him walk. He was part of the group who got drunk and broke up our tractor shed and the elementary school in the village. He is part of the group who threatened to come and cut us with their axes as villagers stopped them short of our houses. He has caused us much trouble in the past months but here he is in my office, asking for help. I asked him if he was happy and how his stomach felt (that’s how they speak of their emotions), he told me he is not happy living the way he is and that he is hungry to get back what he had. He is attending the another village lotu, but he says he knows that’s a lie and only goes because of family pressure – wives here have a lot of influence and she is pressuring him not to return to the bible church (our church). He went and spoke with our partner Dave and they had a great chat, we suggested that he comes to help check the lessons before they are preached at church. He was excited and has been coming faithfully twice per week for three weeks to hear the lessons! We are excited about this and are giving him time, but he also knows there is no middle road with God and he must nail his colors to the mast. We tell you this story to help you to pray for Merenge, we will keep you updated in the weeks ahead! We are also very encourages with some Key believers – Bruce and His wife Apite – Bruce is a quieter believer but is very faithful, he is one of our first literacy teachers; he helps check lessons in the language before they are taught. Pray Bruce will grow in confidence as he teaches new readers. Apite is a bubbly character and is a mother of 3; she works with Annika twice per week helping her to learn Mengen. Pray Apite can continue to support her husband in his new roles and that her and Annika’s relationship can continue to deepen so more effective discipleship can take place.
Kids and health – Thanks so much for your prayers – We had a scary few days with the kids having very high temps. We were able to get a scope flown in to check Nya and Noah’s ears. Nya and Noah both have ear infections, Noah’s ears being more red than Nya’s. Both are now on antibiotics for their ears and Noah is also in mid treatment for his malaria. The medicines are working and the temperatures are back to normal and as of today they are starting to play more like themselves. Simon has sinusitis but this is starting to get better and he is feeling like he can go back to work again.
Prayer and praise:
– Praise that the church is growing and that we see progress and little victories in the midst of the troubles.
– Praise that our health is getting better and we are feeling more like ourselves.
– Praise that Merenge is showing interest in learning more about his savior.
– Praise that nothing to date has come of the threats from the man who claims we are on his land and wanted us to pay him lots of money or get out.
– Praise that work is going on to help drainage on our airstrip to keep it open over rainy season.
– Pray that we will be at full health and strength again soon and that our energy levels will go up.
– Pray for good progress in language.
– Pray we can teach and disciple effectively.
– Pray for wisdom to find a road to settle the disputes over the airstrip.
– Pray that our regular finances will increase so we can better serve the Mengen people.
– Pray we will be open to the Lord as he teaches us the cost of discipleship, hand in hand with the joy of being His child.
Thanks for your prayers and support, we couldn’t do it without you,
Simon, Annika, Nya and Noah