Clay Pots ~ New Year's Eve

The light of Jesus' story is beginning to be taught in God's Word, and the darkness is opposing it.

Wow, what a New Year's Celebration we had! At midnight, the whole village usually gathers together in agreement for the traditional dancing and singing, and then "throwing" out the sins of the last year and ushering in the "new life" of the new year. But this year there were three groups of singers: one group was off doing "fun" songs, one was off doing (from what we can tell) "cultish" songs, and one group was off doing PNG Gospel songs which they have learned from town. A physical manifestation of the lack of "unity" we have seen in the village lately. (And not just us, the people are seeing it as well, and attributing it to the teaching of God's Word). Then Chad and I turned to hear yelling, fighting, glass breaking, and stones being thrown at the meeting house above. All of this before they could do their traditional "throwing away the old, and in with the new ceremony". Why the huge fight (which included almost the whole village)? Because someone wouldn't give the "leader" the metal stick used to beat the old bell. At least that was the catalyst, but the heart of the matter seems to be that they have always been a community: every situation and decision that has come about was because the people were all "qiri mok" (in agreement). This year, it is not that way. Now the people of Dengenu are struggling to make individual decisions on their own. Families are being separated as they struggle within themselves: Is God's Word really true? Or the leaders of the cargo cult?

Please be praying hard for the hearts of the Tobo people. Community decisions (being "qiri mok") is so entrenched in their entire lives that it will be and is a tremendous struggle to make a decision as an individual, with possible consequences if they do.

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

This Week's Teaching:
January 1st: Jesus temptation in the wilderness
January 2nd: Jesus starts His ministry
January 3rd: Nikodemus, you must be born again
January 4th: Jesus forgave sins
January 5th: The parable of the soils

Audio ~ The I Am

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Clay Pots ~ False Prophecies

Our Santa Clause!

We get everything; all our food, supplies, and mail via a 206 Cessna plane flown by our awesome pilots in New Tribes Mission Aviation. We were supposed to get a flight in on Friday (22nd) but due to bad weather they couldn't make it in. So what happened the next morning the 23rd? They gave up their Saturday to wait around until our weather cleared up to bring us Christmas! Fresh veggies and eggs! And more importantly mail from home!!! :-) How awesome is that?

For those of you who are wondering: no, the prophecy of the bags of rice appearing on the ground never came true. There was also another prophecy that it was going to be dark for 3 days over Christmas. Again, it didn't come true. The satanic oppression was incredibly strong this weekend... the atmosphere was not light like it was in years past. We also heard a rumor that, if the prophecies did come true, they were going to do some human sacrifices. Thankfully, this did not happen. These people are in Satan's grip. Please continue to pray that the Word of God will penetrate their hearts over these next 4-5 weeks.

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

This Week's Teaching:
December 26th: John the Baptist is born
December 27th: Mary and Joseph
December 28th: Jesus Grows Up, God Fulfills His Promises
December 29th: Jesus is the Lamb of God

Audio ~ What Sin Is

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Audio ~ Sodom and Gomorrah

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Clay Pots ~ Merry Christmas

From the deepest part of our hearts we want to thank you for your prayers. There have been times these past weeks that our hearts were just so heavy that we couldn't think of the words to pray. Thank you for standing in the gap for us and for continually bringing the Tobo people before His throne. Our hearts are anxious for the salvation of the Tobo people but yet restful in our all knowing, all loving, all merciful Savior.

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, & Malachi Knapp

Clay Pots ~ On Trial

One of the many accusing Jason and Chad

Monday morning we were eager to see what the day might hold at the teaching time. But what we weren't planning on was being put on trial. They blind sided us. They didn't tell us this was coming. We were completely unprepared, and they wanted it that way. Needless to say, we didn't teach anything. But in the midst of the "court", as they laid bare their heart held beliefs for the first time ever, we found the answers to all the questions we were hoping to hear.

I don't have enough room to tell you all that was said. But the basic problem was that we used the actual word, "cargo cult". Sad to say, they actually think they are worshipping the true God in this cult, and thus the "secret society" is not a sin. The ten commandments did make them see their sin, but to them, this is not a sin. They are so blinded.

How did it end? 4 hours later we reached an agreement. We would no longer use the actual two words "cargo cult" in the teaching (it is actually illegal to be in the cargo cult in this country, thus the fear when we actually said it in the open). But, we said that when we got to places where God's Word addresses it, we were not going to back down, but we were going to preach what is says... and point out the individual sins.

Is this how we wanted things to turn out? Not exactly, but we do see God's hand in this... the truth is in the open, no more covering up what they do at night... we know. And we can work from there. The teachings of Jesus are strong, and to the point. Jesus exposed the many kinds of false gods and teachings of his day... very much like our day. So we will continue with the teaching, not just to say we finished; but so that Scripture and the Holy Spirit will convict them. They need God's Word in their lives, and they need the Holy Spirit to convict them of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

After it was all over we came home and sobbed. "Lord their hearts are so hard, only Your Spirit can penetrate them. Please work a miracle here."

So the teaching continued this morning (Tuesday) with the story of Jonah. Are we really believing what God says in his word? Are we afraid of God? Fear of God and His punishment is what gripped the sailors in the boat, and what eventually turned the hearts of the Ninivites. What do we think of that?

Keep praying for the hearts of the Tobo people.
His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, & Malachi Knapp

Clay Pots ~ Intense Opposition, Prayer Warriors Needed!!!

It started with a typical lie.

I asked, "You missed yesterdays teaching, did someone tell you what God's Word said yesterday?" To which he lied and said, "Yes, I was very happy to hear about it." But I knew otherwise because lately, the cargo cult is rearing it's ugly head as we near the end of the teaching, and I know he was at a cult meeting. So I asked him if the cult has ever done anything for him. To which he replied, "no". So I asked why he wasted his energy all this time on something that has never done anything for him. "We will have all the material things just like you white people do when you are done teaching, and then you will know the cult is true... just wait till December 24th (they think that bags of rice will "magically" appear on the ground that day), you will see!" This was the answer given to me by Klifford as he got up and walked away angry. He used to come to the teaching every day and he helped Chad and I with translating. He hasn't show up for 4 days now.

Tingon (my translation helper and the first believer) said that he was approached by 2 of the cult leaders in the past few weeks asking him to join. When he told them, "No, I have everything I has ever wanted or needed because Jesus washed my sins away," then the rejection and ridicule started, "You are not thinking about your future," they said.
On Monday there was talk of putting off the teaching for a couple days so that people could go to an opening of a cargo cult house. These cult houses are made to hold the "cargo" when the mountains will spew forth the money. I said, "No we will not stop the teaching. You will have to make a choice as to what is more important at this point in your lives. Satan wants you to go. He is promising things to you just like he promised Eve if she would eat the fruit. But he is a liar. The cult has never given you anything, and it can not give you eternal life."

We went up to the teaching today (Friday) and no one talked to us or shook our hands because they were all hiding the fact that they were planning a cargo cult meeting that very morning. When asked why they came to the teaching, they said they want the cargo and not God's Word. So we didn't teach. Jason told them that we will be back Monday, but we have no cargo to give them... that is not why we came. Now that they have been told that, many are having to decide either to come to the teaching or go back to their cargo cult. This weekend many may be making a decision one way or the other. We need your prayers!!!

Please don't stop praying, the enemy is hard at work.
His Clay Pots, Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, & Malachi Knapp

The Kiddos

His Little Clay Pots, Micah (7), Sophia (5), Malachi (2)

Wanted ~ Yaka Siwia

Name: Yaka Siwia (means "food shavings")
Family: He has two wives, and I believe10 children, and numerous grandchildren.
Village: Dengenu

Stats: Yaka Siwia is just an older man in the village. He is not anyone of great importance, but he makes sure we know which words we say in the language here are indeed from long ago, and which words are new. He had a hard time getting over the fact that the language is "mixed" now-a-days with other dialects and languages... and it is no longer pure. (Sounds like some older folks in my culture:) So at first he was hesitant to come to the teaching because of that. But lately he has been coming everyday and no longer mentions the individual words... mostly because he is into the story, and he is hearing it for the first time in his heart language instead of another language which has been the case his whole life.

Pray: That Yaka Siwia's heart would be drawn to the Word of God. That he would see the power of God through His written Word, and that he would see that the meaning of the words, which convey to us the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, is more important than the medium of the individual words themselves.

This Weeks Teaching:
December 11th: Brazen Serpent
December 12th: Israel Failed but God never left them
December 13th: Israel wants a King
December 14th: Jonah
December 15th: Prophecy of the Deliverer

Clay Pots ~ Law

Chad giving Jason a mirror so that he would realize his face is truly dirty.

Last Friday Jason prepared them for this week's teaching. The Law. He asked them "Why would our good God give us the law knowing full well that we would fail to keep it?" No one looked at Jason, their heads were bowed. They were ashamed, scared, and some were crying. The LAW has been what they have tried to follow their whole lives. They have been told over and over again that if they don't follow the law they are doomed to hell. So they would try to follow it but always failed. Day after day, hour after hour, they try to do the impossible: Perfection. They know they have failed over and over again. For some when they realized they couldn't follow the law they chucked it and went to the opposite extreme.

This week Jason was teaching why God gave the law. It is like a mirror, its purpose is simply to show us how sinful we are, that by ourselves we cannot possibly keep it, and that we need a Savior. The law was given to prepare us for the Deliverer who is coming. He will fulfill the law for us, and deliver us from the curse of the law.

Pray that this week people will be convicted of their own individual sin. It's a whole lot easier to point the finger at other people, and say, "so and so is worse than me"! When in reality, we are all doomed to hell because even one small sin is worthy of that punishment. Some already have admitted their own personal sin, and are in fear because they now see that there is nothing they can do to merit their way to heaven. They realize now for the first time, that God might not "just let them in if they are good enough", but that there is no way they can be allowed into God's presence. We are getting close to the answer, and they are starting to get hungry for it! Praise God.

Wanted ~ Bafi

Name: Bafi
Family: 6 children
Village: Dengenu
Stats: Bafi is a leader in the Lutheran church. His responsibilities include the reading of the Scriptures (in Melanesian Pidgin and another "non-heart" language), liturgical readings, leading in songs, burials, etc. Bafi feels very responsible for the lack of spiritual knowledge that the people have here. He has said numerous times since he started coming to the teaching that he has never heard the Word taught this way, and that he has been doing it wrong for all these years. He is sorry for his "grabbing things out of context" and teaching them falsely to the people. He has been at the teaching every day since the beginning, and he has a hunger to hear the truth. He too is beginning to see his own sinfulness.

Pray: That God would continue to enlighten his soul and his mind to his lost condition. That he would come to believe that even though he has been "in the church" his whole life, he doesn't know the true Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that the Spirit would convict him of the necessity of believing the gospel, and not just following a religion to gain eternal life.

This Weeks Teaching:
December 4th: Ten Commandments Part 1
December 5th: Ten Commandments Part 2
December 6th: Tabernacle and Sacrifices Explained
December 7th: The Golden Calf
December 8th: Israel did not go into Canaan

Christmas Cookie Making Day

Clay Pots ~ Blood

This is a picture of Bafi putting "blood" on some wood on both sides of the door to his house. We put a shield there, so he could paint it with "blood" as well. Jason had him show everyone at the teaching on Tuesday of what it was like for the Israelites to do what God had said. Only by believing the Word of God spoken to them by Moses, and by doing what God told them to do would the Angel of death pass over their homes and not kill their first born sons. Just like the Tobo people used to hide behind these wooden shields so that their enemies' arrows wouldn't kill them, in like manner, the Israelites hid behind the blood of the lamb on their doorposts and were safe. The angel of death saw the blood, and just like an arrow would reflect off of a shield, so he "reflected off" of the blood and their children were saved.

Soon the Tobo people will be told that there is only one Lamb worthy enough to be sacrificed Whose blood is sufficient to "hide behind". Only through his spilt blood can we gain eternal life and forgiveness of sins.

Please Keep Praying, we are at the HALF WAY mark today!!!!!

The Cat

Rain, Rain Go Away

WANTED ~ Morisin

WANTED
By the Savior

Name: Morisin
Family: 5 children and one grandchild (and one due in January)
Village: He lives near us on the airstrip.
Stats: Morisin is one of our land owners, and has taken it upon himself to help us with all the physical aspects of living here (cutting grass, firewood, trail maintenance, and any other project around the house). Before a year ago, we hardly ever saw him. He would only come around from time to time... but as we started getting nearer to the teaching, I believe the Lord caused him to take interest in what we were doing. He started to really ask why we were here and then he would think about it instead of coming to his own conclusions. And then he wanted to help in the physical ways so that we could continue translating in the office, and we were more than happy to oblige. Originally, we never thought we would see him at the teaching, but he has been faithfully coming every day, and he is the man that stood up in the center after the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and admitted that he was a sinner and on the road to judgment.
Pray: Please keep praying that God will draw Morisin to himself. That the Holy Spirit would continue to convict his heart of his sin, of the impending judgment, and of the righteousness that can only be found in Christ as He completely frees us from sin, death, and the power of Satan.

This Weeks Teaching:

(Scripture: Exodus4:27-31, 5:1-2, 6:1-8, 7:4-5, 20-21, 8:5-6, 16-17, 24, 9:3, 6-7, 10, 23-26, 10:13-15, 21-23, 28-29, 11:1, 4-7, 12:1-7, 12-14, 22-23, 28-33, 46, 51, 13:21-22, 14:1-31, 16:1-3, 11-16, 35, 17:1-6, 19:1-25 )

November 27th: God displays His power through the 9 plagues of Egypt
November28th: The Passover Lamb
November 29th: God delivers Israel through the Red Sea
November 30th: God provides food and water in the desert for Israel
December 1st: God demonstrates His Holiness at Mt. Sinai

Jason and Kellie Knapp

Clay Pots ~ Thanksgiving

To be honest it was really hard for me to conjure up Thankfulness this Thanksgiving. I know you are all gasping with shock at this supposedly spiritual missionary lady!:-) I miss family, I miss Mom making the turkey, not me! I miss going to the grocery store and having eggs at any given time. I'm tired of oatmeal! I'm tired of not understanding this language, not especially liking this culture, and I would give anything for a babysitter, a night out with my husband, a school for the kids, and a doughnut!

But (you knew that was coming didn't you:-) what is going on here is so much bigger than ME. I am thankful that God chose to use me here despite my millions of flaws (and lack of contentment). I am so very thankful for the many e-mail addresses in our address book and our overflowing inbox. I am so thankful for the sacrifice of many of you who financially and prayerfully give to us. I thankful for my husband who loves me despite the fact that his wife is going through an emotional roller coaster called menopause (I can hear many men groan in agreement with that statement:-). And for my kids who still give me a hug when I have had to discipline them.

Every day I see hundreds of people who do not have the scriptures in their own language and who live in fear of death. As Paul said, .."I have learned the secret of being content in every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Him who gives me strength." The secret is simply this: remembering that I have eternal life, and a home in heaven. And I don't have to be strong because He will give me the strength.

His Clay Pots, Kellie for the family

PS I have a favor to ask all of you. Would you send us a picture of you & your family? We would like to have a visual for our family and for the Tobo people of the many people who are praying for them. Our mailing address is below (if you add candy to the envelope I will put your picture at the front of the photo album...only kidding...sort of:-):

Clay Pots ~ 9 Weeks and Counting

Jason and Micah acted out Abraham taking Isaac to be sacrificed. It was hard to hold back tears as it became so real watching your son carry his own wood, get tied up, laid on the alter, and his father raising a knife to him. The people were completely silenced. In this culture if you as so much raise a knife to a person (even though you don't cut them) you have killed them in their eyes. Some are starting to realize that God's Word is more important than anything in this life. Even your own son.

This Weeks Teaching:
(Scripture: Genesis 24:67, 25:20-34, 27:41-44, 28:10-15, 29:1, 31:13, 32:28, 37:1-35, 39:1-23, 41:1-8, 14-16, 25-49, 42:1-20, 43:1-5, 11-17, 45:1-11, 25-28, 46:5-7. Exodus: 1:1-22, 2:1-25, 3:1-20, 4:1-20)
November 20th: Esau sells his birthright, Jacob see the vision of the ladder
November21st: Joseph Part 1
November 22nd: Joseph Part 2
November 23rd: Moses is born
November 24th: God sees Israel suffering and comes to Moses in a burning bush

Clay Pots ~ Sodom and Gomorrah

Komite is Malachi's Assa (Grandpa) here in the village

This week we taught on Sodom and Gomorrah. This lesson proved to be the most stirring of all of them yet. It convicted and cut right to their hearts. It was quiet all around, at times you could hear a pin drop. Especially when I said, “Don’t be like Lot’s two sons-in-law, they heard God’s warning and thought it was a joke, that it was nothing, and went on their very way. The next morning, they both died!” They were cut to the heart. When I named off the sins, they were super quiet… yeah, we don’t do sins like Sodom, where they slept with men, but do we sleep with women that aren’t ours? Do we lie? Do we steal? Yes, we are just like Sodom, we desire to sin, and want to sin and love to sin because it is fun, it is like a game to us.

After the teaching, Morosin got up, crying openly, and said, “I am a terrible sinner, you all know it. We all are sinners. I am going to die unless God helps me. These two guys (Jason and Chad) are like Noah, who are telling us that God’s judgment is going to come, and I/we need to listen. This is true talk, we are ready to die. I am a sinner.” He said that in front of all the people, he was gripped with conviction of his own personal sin. How powerful is God’s Word! Afterwards, people were just sitting there almost shell shocked. They didn’t get up but were discussing their sin, God’s word, how they don’t really want to go to the garden because of all this, etc. I was just in awe and sat in silence for a long time just listening.

Megelin Mama came up and asked, "if we died in our sins, and got the punishment for our sin, would we just be destroyed, or would we go on living, or would we go to heaven?." I said that if you died in your sins, you would live forever in fire and torment, but if you believed in what God says, then you would live with him forever in the joy of heaven. He sat thinking.

And then Komiti got up and said that you didn’t come here of your own accord, but that God sent you so that we could hear this message. He said, “I don’t know God’s word, I thought I did, but I don’t. I am on the verge of death. The material things of this life are not going to help me, it is just fuel for the fires of hell. I can't even listen to talk about other things, such as politics and such... it is a bore to me. The only thing that can help me is God’s Word, it gives life. I say truthfully, I am sooo happy to wake up and hear the message every morning, because I know it will give me life!”

Alis and Bafi both got up and said, “We need to get our friends and other family members here to hear this message, or we will all die in the flood. Our Noah is standing here building the boat, and if we neglect the words he says from God, we will all die. We need to believe them and get in the boat and live happily. Please, come. You must come, or you will die.”

God is indeed at work here in Tobo land!

Clay Pots ~ Discipling Tingon

Tingon (in the red) talking with guys after the teaching..

Tingon, whether at the teaching, before the teaching, after the teaching, or at his home, has been giving his testimony left and right to anyone who will listen to him. This is roughly what he says,
"You guys all know how bad of a person I was. I was kicked out of the Jehovah Witness church, I have 2 wives, and I have done many bad things, and I tried, but couldn't make myself pleasing to God all these years. But Now, I am free, totally happy, totally forgiven, and when God looks at me he is satisfied because my sins are washed away. Please keep coming to the teaching so you too can be happy just like me!"

This man is on fire! He isn't witnessing because some book tells him to, or because that is what you are supposed to do to be a part of the "church". He just witnesses because Jesus has made such a completely amazing transformation in his life, that he can't contain it. He is bubbling over with praise and joy for what Jesus did for him.

But what do you do when you have a brand new believer there in the States? Yeah, you give them a Bible right away! We wish we could do that for Tingon! But there is not a complete Bible written in his language to give to him. So we have given him the portions of Genesis that we have finalized, and we are going to give him Exodus here soon. You can be praying for the day that the Tobo people can hold the whole scriptures in their hands. There are OT potions ready and NT portions being prepared for them to read at the end of the teaching. But the whole Bible won't be ready for another couple years. It is a long, tedious process. At this point, Tingon meets with me twice a week to talk. We go over his questions and I continue to tell him about the wonderful things God has written in His word to us believers as we continue to translate the lessons on the life of Christ. As we read the drafts of the scriptures in his own language he can barely contain himself in my office as we go over the incredible power Jesus had over nature, spirits, and death! God's word is very powerful.

Continue to pray for Tingon, that he would continue to grow and continue to share his faith. He is being used by God already, and I know that God will be able to use him even more than us in reaching the hearts of the Tobo people... because Tingon is one of them. And because his testimony is so amazing, they won't be able to deny it.

Thank you for your prayers and financial support that makes this possible!
His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

Clay Pots ~ Machetes at the tower of Babel!?

Jason showing the people a drawing of the Tower of Babel

Mondays teaching was of the Tower of Babel. In order for the people to understand what it was like when all of a sudden no one could understand each other's language we did a skit. There was 7 of us who could speak different languages and so we all stood there trying to communicate with each other. What was the people's reaction? They ran to go get their machetes!!!! They were so confused and scared with so many people talking in different languages, some thought we were going to have a fight... they weren't too sure what was going on. That is exactly what the people felt at the Tower of Babel. Confusion and Fear.
The sun continues to shine during the teaching and instead of the numbers decreasing, they are increasing.

Keep Praying! God's Word is SO Powerful!
His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, & Malachi

Clay Pots ~ 10 Weeks and Counting

"And they brought their old, their lame, their sick, and their blind to see Jesus"

Every day, Sania-alla, this old, lame, and mostly blind lady comes to the teaching. She arrives an hour early and sits on her banana leaf as she waits for the teaching to start. Sometimes she has a hard time staying awake but when the review questions are asked she quietly answers them to herself. She is one of the oldest people coming to the teaching. Pray that she will soon rest in the awesome provision of Jesus Christ.

Why do we still have 10 more weeks of teaching? Why does it take so long to get to Jesus' death, and resurrection? Because we need to build a foundation for these people. They have had many different religions and cults come in here and they mix it up with all their animistic thinking. They need to know who God is, what His attributes are, how they were created, how they are born sinners because of Adam, and they need to see that they are sinners, lost, and need a Savior. And what better way to do that, than to teach the Old Testament stories which explain it so well?

Can you pray with us as the countdown continues? His Clay Pots, Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, & Malachi Knapp

This Weeks Teaching:
(Scripture: Genesis 11:1-9, 13:5-17, 15:5-6, 12-16, 17:1-5, 15-17, 18:20-21, 19: 1-17, 24-26, 21:1-3, 22:1-19)

November 13th: Different languages and cultures explained in the story of the tower of Babel.
November14th: God calls Abraham out of his country
November 15th: God promises the Deliverer and descendents like the stars to Abraham
November 16th: Sodom and Gomorrah
November 17th: The lamb takes the place of Isaac

Clay Pots ~ The Kids

Could you be praying for Micah, Sophia, and Malachi? Every morning they wake up early and walk up to the village with us. Once there, they sit quietly for hours listening to the teaching (in a language they don't understand), then walk home and eat lunch. Right after lunch we start school. By the time we finish school it is time to make dinner and go to bed. It isn't always easy on them, but they are doing it with a smile. Pray for continued endurance:-)

His Little Clay Pots, Micah, Sophia, & Malachi

Clay Pots: Tears

A reenactment of Cain and Abel at the teaching

The Tobo believed for a long time that they were Cain's descendants. And we white people are Abel's descendants. Because God didn't like the smell of Cain's sacrifice he cursed him with hard work, therefore the Tobo people are cursed to have to work in their gardens and not live a "life of ease" that they assume we Americans do because Abel did it "right".

Jason taught them this past week that no, we are ALL born out of the garden, separated from God, and we are ALL sinners. ADAM was the one that sinned and caused "hard work" to be the norm. Adam sinned so God kicked him out of Paradise and he became God's enemy, separated from him forever and doomed to die in the lake of fire. There is no way back into the garden, and no way that we alone can gain eternal life. Adam is our ancestor, both blacks and whites, therefore we are all sinners. We white people are also cursed to do hard work, and we also work hard to get the things that we do.

He also taught that Cain's heart attitude was wrong, he thought he could come to God in his own way. He believed there was a God but didn't believe he was a sinner and needed God's help. And that is why he was not accepted by God.

What was their reaction? Tears. Because they are realizing that they are sinners and that there is no way for them to get back into the garden to get to the tree of life. There has to be another way or we will all die and go to the lake of fire.......?

The Best is yet to come!

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

This Weeks Teaching:
(Genesis 6:1-3, 5-22 7:1-17, 21-23, 8:1-4, 14-22, 9:1-19, 11:1-9)
November 6th: God said He would punish the world, but He promised to save Noah and all who entered into the boat.
November 7th: God destroyed everyone in the world except Noah and his family who were in the boat.
November 8th: God scattered the rebels at the tower of Babel.
( Our people ended up not going to the cultural event last week and are going this week so we taught through Cain and Abel and Seth last week)

Set the Stage!

Even in the middle of nowhere we like to have fun!:-)

Jason as Adam, Kellie as Queen Shulamith, Micah as David, Sophia as Lydia seller of purple, Malachi as Zaccheus (in his sycamore tree) and Turtle as Paul in the basket

We wish each one of you could be here to experience everything that we are during the teaching. We were thinking if you could just create the same environment that we have here for the teaching it might help you experience it with us.

Here is a step by step process on creating your very own mock teaching setting!
1. First thing you need to do is go find a large dirt area. Flood it with water, make sure there are lots of holes so you have puddles everywhere.
2. For seating, just go find some pieces of firewood. Make sure they aren't round, sanded, or smooth in any way and have lots of splinters.
3. Get 3 pigs. Set them in the middle right where Jason is standing.
4. Get 3 dogs. Set them in the middle right where Jason is standing.
5. Get 3 chickens. Set them in the middle right where Jason is standing
6. Get 3 toddlers. Set them in the middle right where Jason is standing.
7. Get 25 sheets of newspaper and 25 leaves of tobacco. Roll up cigarettes and hand them to all the men in the crowd.
8. Get buai (the local chewing tobacco, it is bright red in color) Hand that out to any other guy that doesn't have a cigarette.
9. Make sure the pigs, chickens, dogs, and children use the dirt floor as a bathroom right by Jason.
10. Get one crazy lady, make sure she dances and swears in the back.
11. Make sure everyone has a lice partner to pick out the lice as they listen.
13. Now, go get 200 lost people and be prepared for what God is about to do!!!!

Because God created laughter..and if I didn't laugh about this I think it just might get to me after awhile!:-)
Kellie for Jason, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

WANTED: Pot

Name: Pot (pronounced Pote with a long 'o')
Village: Masanu
Family: He is a relation to Tingon.
Stats: Tingon met with Pot awhile ago and was talking to him about all the Christ has done for him. How, although he was one of the worst sinners in the village (in the eyes of others), his sins are completely washed away and he doesn't have to try to be a good person anymore because his sins being washed away has nothing to do with what he does, but with what Jesus did for him. Pot said that he has been searching for many years to hear a message like that, and he wants to know the whole story. He said he could tell that Tingon had changed and he too wanted to know why. So Tingon said he needed to come to the teaching to hear from the beginning, what God has done for him. So every day, Pot leaves his village of Masanu at 6:30 and arrives in Dengenu at 7:00 am, (an hour before teaching) and waits to hear this good news. He has faithfully been there every day.
Pray: That Pot would continue to come every day, and that he would see his sinfulness (which I think he is beginning to understand) and that he would trust in Jesus as his deliverer from sin, death, and Satan's grasp.

The Fall

The Tobo people were shocked this past week that the sin in the garden was not Adam and Eve sleeping together but that it was the eating of the fruit. They were also shocked to hear that Satan isn't omnipresent as God is.

The above picture is of our village Dr. at the teaching. He stood up and made this comment, "How amazing is it that God spoke and created thousands of angels and all the world that we see, and yet when he made us He used his hands. We are so special... he singled us out and made us out of ground!"

Because He loves the Tobo people,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi

PS How could I forget to tell you this? Every morning we continue to see our miraculous sunshine at the teaching! Such an incredible testimony to the people. As soon as the teaching is done we are engulfed in clouds and rain. Keep praying!

Next weeks Teaching will cover:
(Scripture Genesis 3:7-24 )
October 30: Sin separated Adam and Eve from God
October 31: God promised the Deliverer (Big Lesson be praying for this one!)
November 1: God made Adam and Eve's clothes and kicked them out of the garden.
~Thursday and Friday our people are going to a big cultural event in another village a long ways away and we will be taking off these 2 days from teaching.

Masa

This is Masa looking at one of the pictures we handed out of the animals God created. This is the first time the Tobo people have seen a picture of a tiger, elephant, lion,etc.

Masa was the man when we very first moved into the tribe said to us, "I want to hear God's talk before I die". So Masa has been in a sense our personal "time clock". The first 4 days of teaching he never came and we were heart broken and prayed he would start coming. We came to find out that his grandson was really ill and he was sitting with him every day so the rest of the family could go to the teaching. His grandson happens to be one of Micah's friend and when Micah found out that Masa was missing the teaching he went up to the clinic early Friday morning and told Masa that he would sit with his grandson and read him books and play with him so he could go to the teaching. So Masa came:-)

God answers prayers in awesome ways! Our hearts are overflowing with thankfulness that our children are as much a part of this as any of us.

This week of Teaching:
(Genesis 1:26-31, Genesis 2:1-9, 2:16-25)
October 23: God created Adam and we ALL are descendants of Adam
October 24: God places Adam in Eden
October 25: God told Adam not to eat fruit form the tree of knowledge of good and evil
October 26: God created a wife for Adam
October 27: Lucifer rebelled against God.

His Clay Pots, Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, & Malachi

Earthquakes, Sunburns, Rainbows.......

What does an earthquake, sunburn, a rainbow, fear, and shouts of excitement have in common?
The first week of teaching!

Tuesday we felt an rather large earthquake during the teaching. It felt like a stampede of horses about to storm through. Just an awesome picture to the Tobo people that earthquakes are part of God's handiwork.

That's right I said sunburn! First of all, we have gotten literally hundreds of e-mails from all of you saying you are praying for the weather and for the teaching. We had tears running down our faces as we read e-mail after e-mail of encouragement and prayers. We SO wish you were here to watch the clouds move away as the teaching begins and to watch them come right back as soon as the teaching stops. One old lady who hasn't been coming to the teaching told Tingon this; "The sun was only out when they taught, what they have to say must be important and I am going to start going". Thursday before the teaching it started to rain and our hearts sank..that is until we looked up and saw the rainbow! Within minutes we were looking at blue sky! And then after the teaching, a half hour later, it was raining again. Your prayers are making the sun shine!

Daisa, Kellie's dear friend and language helper told her and Janeene yesterday that she didn't know that God was everywhere and could see everything, even when she goes to her garden. Now she said she is afraid that God can see all, hear all, and know all. She has great fear now because she knows that God sees all her bad stuff and she can't hide from Him. That is the beginning of understanding it all!

Now the best part....shouts and cries of excitement!! Thursday was the first time during the teaching that a portion of scripture was read: The days of creation in Genesis. After the reading there was shouts of excitement, clicking of tongues, and clapping. The teaching couldn't go on... they just had to hear it again! Men came up to Jason and Chad and told them they wanted to cry when they heard the Word of God in their very own language for the first time.

Thank you for being our co-workers in this awesome ministry,
His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

First Day of Teaching

6:00am the rain stopped
7:00am we got up to the village and were told "we have a problem, many people have showed up for the teaching from far away villages and we don't have enough food or firewood for them and barely enough for ourselves. The rain is rotting everything."
8:00am the teaching started....a quick look over the crowd...300? All of their feet covered in mud.
11:00am the teaching stopped and the people asked us to keep on teaching through the night and through the next day until it was done. They begged and said "we are starving for spiritual truth, please don't stop."
12:00pm It started to rain again and we headed home.
4:00pm 6 different people stopped by in the pouring rain to say how happy their hearts were to hear the teaching and learn about God's Word. They can't wait for tomorrow morning.

Yesterday I felt completely overwhelmed, at the start, my tongue was so heavy I felt like sitting down and quitting. But I threw up a prayer and asked the Lord to grab my tongue and to cause me to say what he wanted me to. From that point on, I was no longer TRYING to speak, it just came from the God of all languages. Praise Him.
Our hearts are heavy with another issue: the rain just keeps on coming, and the mud just keeps on rising. This is supposed to be dry season, and it is worse than most rainy seasons. Pray that in spite of the weather, people will continue to come through the mud to hear the word of God. Thank you for your prayers, keep it up.

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

Graduation and Teaching Highlights

We just had the awesome privilege of attending the graduation of 6 students from the first Tobo run literacy class. What an awesome encouragement to us as we go into the first week of teaching.

Monday morning at 8am we will be going up to the village Dengenu to begin the teaching of the Word of God in their own language. Every Monday I will send out an e-mail of what Jason will be covering that week. Please be in prayer for the specific points that will be highlighted throughout the week.
(Genesis 1:1-25)
October 16th: The Bible is God's Message to all people.
October 17th: The Bible tells us what God is like and that He alone existed before everything and everyone else.
October 18th: God created spirits. God created the heavens and the earth
October 19th and 20th: God revealed His nature and attributes through His creative acts (Days of creation 1-6)

Because Prayer Makes a Difference,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi

Speak Boldly

"By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas..."

May this be the song of the Tobo people after they hear the great news of what Christ has done for them. He indeed is the HOPE of all the ends of the earth, and we ARE at the ends of the earth as the meaning of the name of our mountain range (the Finisterre Range) is "The Ends of the Earth".
The Bible teaching will start on October 16th, 2006. For those of you who have been praying and fasting with us for the salvation of the Tobo people... thank you! Your sacrifice will not be forgotten. Please continue to PRAY WITH US, "keep alert with all perseverance making supplication for the saints":
1.) That words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel... that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. (Eph.6:19-20)
2.) That the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and BE GLORIFIED, just as it did also with you. (2 Thess. 3:1) (Pray that the word of God will be magnified in the eyes of the Tobo people as they hear it for the first time in the heart language.)
Thank you for your prayers, for as we know, the battle is not ours, but the Lord's! And He IS the victor!

For His glory,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

Micah's Baptism

"The reason I want to be baptized is because I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and He saved me from all of my sins and I will get to go to heaven some day. I want to show all of you that I love God and show God that I love him"

Said by, Micah Habakkuk Knapp On October 1st, 2006
He was baptized by Jason in the Pacific Ocean, Madang, PNG during our annual Madang regional conference.

Lord, help all of us parents to be faithful to our first and foremost missions field...our children.

Wanted: Helix

Name: Helix
Village: Dengenu
Family: wife and 4 children (some very rowdy boys)
Position: village policeman. He takes care of domestic violence and disputes, and often leads in village courts and meetings.
Pray: Helix is a great guy, but he is quite proud and thinks he knows it all. He uses his position for leverage in the community, and he often quotes the Bible in the pidgin language as "authority" for his decisions, but the verses are often taken out of context and he doesn't understand the true meaning of the gospel. He and I have an interesting relationship, to say the least, since he was in our first literacy class. He really wants to read and understand God's word in his own language. (probably for ulterior motives, but hey, that is ok). Pray that God would grab his heart through the truth of the word in his own language. And that as he sees the unmerited grace and love of God that it would overwhelm his heart, and that he would believe the truth.

The Burden

The church is made up of people, just average, everyday black and white people who have been saved by God's grace. The burden to share the message of grace with all people is ours and yours to share. Tingon has now joined in carrying this burden and wants others in his family to hear. Please be praying that Tingon will have others of his own language group to help carry this burden with him soon.

The start of teaching is 4 weeks away.

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

Literacy

While Jason and Chad continue to prepare and translate for October 16th when the Tobo people will be taught the Word of God. Literacy classes are still going full swing. There is a class of 15 students in the village of Denganu. There is a class of 8 students in the village of Dapilu (with another class ready to go when they are done). And another class of students starting next week in the village of Masanu. The really exciting part is that these classes are being taught by the Tobo people themselves! After going through the literacy classes themselves and being trained they were ready to teach their own. Continue to pray for the literacy classes and the Tobo people. That they will desire to read the Word of God and the Bible lessons when they are made available to them in a few months.

FOUND: Tingon Willy

Praise God! Tingon Willy has just become our first Tobo brother in Christ!

Yesterday he trusted in Christ. Here is what he said:

"Ever since you taught me that the law was like a mirror (that it was there so that I could see how sinful I really am) I have been thinking about my sin. After my family falls asleep at night, I think about it. On the trail as I am walking back and forth, I think about it. In fact, I even forgot where I was going and ended up in the wrong spot because I was thinking so much about my sin. I kept coming to your house to help you translate the Bible lessons, but I felt that I was just helping everyone else in Tobo to find eternal life, but I wasn't going to be able to find it. My sins were too many and too big for God to be able to wash them away. And I would just go to the fires of hell. I was scared. I used to think Jesus could wash away my past sins, but that my future sins would heap up and then in the end God would just throw me into the fires of hell. But now I see and believe that Jesus took my place as the lamb took Isaac's place and he died just once so I could live. And his blood washed ALL my sins away, and he delivered me from my sin, death, Satan's power, and the fires of hell. I feel like the arrow of my sin that has been in my heart and in my head and giving me pain for all this time has been removed. And I am not afraid. Thank you, this is the first time I have ever heard this talk."

- Tingon Willy, 29, August 2006

Please pray that we would have fertile soil as we begin to teach God's Word to the Tobo people of the village of Dengenu in October. Pray that God would have a bountiful harvest.

The true mark of a good Tobo friend

What is the true mark of a good friend here in Tobo?

Someone who will pick out the lice for you.

Thank you for your support and prayers. We can feel you "picking our lice out" over the miles:-).

This is a picture of our people at the Cargo Cult meeting last month.

What does the date October 16th mean for you? For the Tobo people it will mean the first day they will be taught the Word of God correctly in their own language. Yes, for the first time in their lives they will hear God's Word, the Bible, in their own language. After 10 years of preparing for this moment we have a target date to start teaching! Will you rise up and faithfully be in prayer that the hearts of the Tobo people will not be hardened towards God's Word? For Jason as he diligently continues to translate the Bible lessons that will be taught. And for Tingong, Jason's translation helper, for wisdom and health as he continues to help. For Chad as he translates the Bible portions to be used during the teaching. For Chad's helper, Rigo, for wisdom and health for him as well. And for Jason and Chad as they search for the best way to convey God's Word in a foreign tongue.

Later updates will explain the who, what, when, and where of the teaching process.

Clay Pots ~ Reunited

My little trooper and traveling companion...he has more hours logged on an airplane than he has ever been in a car.

21 Doctor's, surgeons, and dentist visits, 6 days of traveling, 1 month of being gone from my husband and kids and it was time to come home!!!!! I just arrived in PNG this morning and yes I am pain free! The final diagnosis was... due to my previous surgery a year ago, my bowels have dropped into that empty opening resulting in a bad kink which then completely stopped everything from working properly. In addition there were cysts that they were concerned about. The surgeon said he had only seen patients in the emergency room with what I had due to the extreme amount of pain it gives you. I was so thankful for God's strength during all of this that allowed me to still function amidst it. I was able to get cleaned out and with the medicine they put me on it will help keep my colon functioning as it should. 2 days before I was to fly back to PNG the cysts burst on their own and so I didn't have to have surgery to remove them.

I'm not going to pretend these 3 weeks were fun because they were the farthest thing from that. I was in the doctor's office every day and went through some pretty humiliating and painful tests and procedures...just use your imagination. There were the very low times of when there was the thought of cancer and the lonely times without my husband there to help make decisions and be the strong one to lean on.

But despite all of that and no matter what the outcome could have been GOD IS GOOD. So thank you for your prayers, concern, and love during this time towards me in the States and towards Jason and the kids here in PNG. I have so many awesome stories of God sending people to help me everywhere I went. Like the businessman who insisted on holding my bags for over 2 hours while we waited to check in at the LA airport or the dentist who paid for all my dental bills. Whether you tell us you pray for us or not, makes no difference, we know there were people praying for us and we thank you dearly for that sacrifice in your own lives to encourage us through that.

God's work is moving forward, thank you for helping us be a part of it.
His fixed up clay pot, Kellie for the family

Clay Pots~Committee and Sondik's Response to Jason

(Committee is the one sitting on the pink mat and
Sondik is the one in the blue and white shirt. Mike Mikolovich is our translation consultant and is sitting next to Jason in the chair.)

"Our church leaders have not been teaching us the Word of God correctly. I sat and listened to you and I was afraid"
(said by Committee)
"Reading the Word is God in the trade language is like eating white men's food. It is okay but the taste isn't very good. But hearing it in our very own language is like eating our food and it tastes sweet and good"
(said by Sondik)

These 2 comments were made to Jason after he had finished going over the first 6 Bible lessons he had translated with 4 Tobo guys and the translation consultant this past week. The first 6 lessons cover the 6 days of creation up until the creation of man, introduces the trinity, and also highlights that God is eternal, self-sufficient, omniscient, omnipotent, and loving. Keep praying for this fall when all of Dengenu will be taught the Bible lessons and hear the truth for the first time ever in their own language!!!J

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp
www.claypots.org

PS: For those who have asked how Kellie's teeth went...well it's a long story...we will let you know in the next update....:-)

Clay Pots: Teacher's Training Course

Teacher's Training Course

Last Friday, 12 students graduated from the literacy teacher's training course. This next month we are looking at possibly 3 new literacy classes starting up in 3 different villages with these teachers. The first day of the course Jason told them this, "The reason we want everyone to learn to read and write is so that when we give you the Word of God in your language it will not just sit there and go to waste. But we want you to be able to read it and gain true knowledge."
We wanted to thank all of you who are giving so generously to the literacy program. It is very humbling for us to have to ask for help in paying for things but we truly believe that this work is worthy of your support.
Tomorrow morning, Kellie will be flying out for her root canals. On that flight there will be 3 translation consultants flying in here. While Kellie is gone for 3 days, Jason will not only be watching 3 kids, but also taking his first translation check. They will be going over 6 of his Bible lessons that he has translated. If all goes well it will also be his last translation check! He will be given the green light from here on out. We are in awe of God bringing him to that point. We would greatly appreciate prayers for Jason and the kids during this extremely important time. Also, Chad will be going over his translation of Genesis 1-22 during those three days. So these are big times here. Thanks for your prayers.

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

Wanted: Sondik

WANTED
By the Savior

• NAME: Sondik
• FAMILY: Wife and one small child. For those of you who keep up, he is married to Tingon's daughter.
• VILLAGE: Dapilu
• FACTS: I first met Sondik when I went down to the big river once to spend the night and go fishing. We had a great time. He was nominated to be in our first literacy class and came faithfully every day. He is one of the best readers of the group and has great aptitude to teach. He will be in the teacher's training class starting on Monday the 15th, and I am going to use him not only to teach in his village of Dapilu, but to help with the oversight of it. He will also be helping me with the checking of the first 6 Bible lessons with our church planting consultant when he comes in at the end of the month.
• PRAY: I talked to Sondik once on the trail and asked him which church he went to and why. He said he went to the JW church, but didn't really know why. "Is one better than the other? I don't know which is the truth," he said. Please pray for Sondik and his young family that they will come to the teaching and come to a saving knowledge of the Lord. Pray that he will hear the truth and understand it. Pray also tat he will be a good and faithful literacy teacher in the upcoming weeks.

Thank you for your prayers, they do make a difference.
His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi

Clay Pots for May 2, 2006

Malachi's First Kiss

We got back into the tribe safe and sound! It's good to be home despite the welcome we got from the rats that had moved into our house. They met their maker last night though! First of all we wanted to let you know that our web page is getting a face lift!!! Scott Sutton took it over and it looks awesome. There is even the promised pictures of our house inside and out on it now. Check out the progress at www.claypots.org Thanks Scott for all your hard work even with your bad wrists. We really appreciate it.

For all of you who have been asking about my teeth. Well it didn't go as planned but we wouldn't want life to get too boring. The dentist said I was about a month away from blood poisoning and a medical flight home. 3 years ago I had gone to Australia to get my wisdom teeth out and some fillings put in. The fillings were done wrong and started leaking giving me a bad infection in both sides of my mouth. Anyways, the dentist took care of the infection and I will have to go see him every couple months to get the root canals, caps, etc done. Dentures don't sound too bad right now and probably cheaper!

Once we get all settled in Jason will be writing you a ministry update on the translation workshop he attended and what the future holds for the Tobo people and the Word of God in their language. Keep praying for wisdom for him and Chad as they translate ever y day. Your prayers DO make a difference.

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

Clay Pots also for May 2, 2006

We got back into the tribe safe and sound! It's good to be home despite the welcome we got from the rats that had moved into our house. They met their maker last night though!

For all of you who have been asking about my teeth. Well it didn't go as planned but we wouldn't want life to get too boring. The dentist said I was about a month away from blood poisoning and a medical flight home. 3 years ago +I had gone to Australia to get my wisdom teeth out and some fillings put in. The fillings were done wrong and started leaking giving me a bad infection in both sides of my mouth. Anyways, the dentist took care of the infection and I will have to go see him every couple months to get the root canals, caps, etc done. Dentures don't sound too bad right now and probably cheaper!

Once we get all settled in Jason will be writing you a ministry update on the translation workshop he attended and what the future holds for the Tobo people and the Word of God in their language. Keep praying for wisdom for him and Chad as they translate every day. Your prayers DO make a difference.

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

Clay Pots for April 10th

In Madang:
Jason's sister and brother in law, our family, and Jason's brother who just left to go back to the States.

As we flew out of Lengbati for the first time on the new airstrip it struck me that this was the first time I didn't close my eyes on take off. It felt good to be taking off on solid ground! Normally I am a little sad when we leave our home in the tribe. But this time I felt relieved and didn't look back. It has been a long and tiring 6 months and I needed to get out to town and fellowship with people of my own language and culture. I needed to walk in a grocery store and pick out my own food and go to a restaurant where a pile of dishes wasn't waiting for me. And you know what the kids favorite thing to do here is? Going for a ride in the truck. An airplane they can do "any day" but a ride in the truck, now that is fun!

Jason is at a 2 week translation workshop in Goroka town, a 20 min flight away. So that means mom and the kiddos are trying to make the time go fast until Daddy comes home. Even though we miss him dearly it has been so wonderful to be able to just hang out with the kids in a non-tribal atmosphere. We don't have an audience every time we step outside and we can wear shorts!

This week I "get" to go to a Dentist to get 2 root canals. I should be thankful for the fact that I was able to find a dentist but all I could think about was if I lived in the States I wouldn't have to pay to fly to a dentist! But I am so grateful that my months of pain will be taken care of and we have awesome family in this country to baby-sit the kids while I am gone for a couple of days.

While we have been out I got a chance to go to a retreat for missionary ladies given by Women of the Harvest magazine. At my table there were some ladies who haven't gotten a single e-mail, letter, or package from their churches or friends in over 2 years. I was shocked. There is rarely a week that goes by that we don't hear from someone from home. And there is never a month that goes by that we don't realize the many who sacrifice financially to keep us here. Thank you so much for that much needed encouragement by your prayers, e-mail, letters, and packages. God uses you to keep our batteries charged and to accomplish His will in all our lives. Thank you for loving us and taking the time to tell us and show us that.

We are truly blessed by you,
His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, & Malachi Knapp

Clay Pots for April 2, 2006

Jason checking the dictionary with Tingong today.

This week Jason is checking the last of the words in the dictionary with his language helper! He has made an English/Tobo dictionary that will greatly help us with the literacy primers and translation. There are over 2,000 verbs! Along with that he has also just finished a final grammar write up of the Tobo language and all needed literacy data (frequency counts,etc). So when you (and us)are wondering what are those missionaries doing over there?! Rest assured, God is moving things along!

Thank you for your prayers and support that make this possible!

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

Clay Pots for February 27, 2006

We have had the awesome blessing of having not only someone from our home church visiting us this past week but he also happens to be Jason's brother, Jeremy. They are working on the boxes Jeremy had made for us to put all our literacy supplies in.

Translation of Bible Lessons: Before teaching of God's Word can begin there must lessons to teach from. Jason has been working on translating those lessons. He hopes to have all of them done by this fall so that the teaching of God's Word to the Tobo people can begin!!!! Words can not express how much we yearn for that day. In the process of translating those lessons he goes over them with his three language helpers: First Tingon, then Kliford, then Singo. They all got it. The second one he just finished going over with Tingon. It is on God being eternal and everywhere. How he was there before the beginning, etc. He kept thinking that Jason was translating or saying it wrong. He kept wanting Jason to say that God "appeared" or "made himself" or whatever. Jason finally just had to put it in as many terms as possible: God had no parents; wasn't born, didn't appear, didn't make himself, no one made him, etc. Tingon finally understood and "believed". It was great to see him believe this most foundational truth which for his whole life he didn't know well. We can't understand how God can be eternal; but we have to believe it; and Tingon did. It excited our hearts to no end. This is foundational truth for the gospel and Jason feels so privileged to be able to teach it to these guys first as he goes through the process of translating it. Praise the Lord.

We are encouraged in the greatness of our God.

His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, & Malachi Knapp