Clay Pots ~ Getting Better

Daddy’s Feeling Better!

This has probably been one of the worst cases of malaria I have ever had. It, along with the infection, must have really worn down my system because at the 2 week mark, I finally now have enough energy to walk through town without being completely worn out. The chest pain was painful and scary, but thankfully, not heart related. The chest pain is not gone, but I am still on some medicine for the next few days in order to take care of whatever infections are still lingering. We will be in Australia for the next couple weeks just to make sure nothing comes back and so that we can just enjoy some time as a family away from the tribe. We had originally planned a break for next month, flying down with our mission plane, and my sister, brother-in-law, nephew, Noah, and my Mother were all going to meet up with us. We had to cancel all those plans and were pretty disappointed but we are here now, starting to enjoy some much needed R&R despite it being Australia’s winter time and a bit cool. We may never know why God chose to change those plans, but we are thankful that He knows best and we trust in His perfect timing.

We have been very encouraged with what we have heard about the Tobo church back home. They have really rallied together and prayed for me. How awesome is that? People who, a few short months ago were afraid of God, are now praying for me that my health be restored! Public prayer is a struggle for them but was something they felt comfortable praying out loud for. Mankins said it was a wonderful time with the believers on that day. And as a dear Tobo woman (Daisa) told the Janeene, “Jason still has a ton of work to do here, so I knew that it wasn’t time for him to go to heaven.”

Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement!

His Clay Pots,

Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi

Emergency UPDATE

Thank you so much for your e-mails and those much needed long distance hugs!

Today is Monday morning here in Aussie land. We were in total culture shock yesterday so I’m glad it’s a new day. The general population seem to wear less clothing and get louder every time we come outJ. Jason got pretty weak yesterday and is still in pain but every day he is getting a little better so that is a huge praise and we are in a place that he can rest.

We found a place yesterday for the next 3 weeks to stay. We will move there today. The guy was really nice, (although scary looking and our next door neighborJ) and he gave us a 1 bedroom apartment with a little kitchenette for the next 3 weeks. And it is about a 5 minute walk from grocery stores so we don’t have to rent a car. I still don’t like losing $3,000.00 to stay somewhere but I am SO thankful that we found a place and it is very nice and clean and the cheap in comparison to everything else. I went on the internet and it was the only place that had something available for 2-3 weeks straight without having to move to different places every couple days. So that was a total answer to prayer.

Thank you for your prayers, we can feel them.

Love,

Kellie for the family!

Emergency UPDATE

On our last update Jason had mentioned that he had malaria. Well his malaria got pretty bad (105 fever) and then we noticed he had infected boils on his feet causing other symptoms on his already worn out body. Then to top it off he got really bad chest pain Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning, this wife couldn’t take it anymore and called our mission nurses on our 2-way radio. They were and are my heroes! They agreed that we needed to get Jason out of the tribe and at 12:15 there were 2 pilots (more heroes!) landing on our airstrip to take Jason, me, and the kids out to town to our mission’s base where the nurses could monitor Jason (Our mission Dr. was on his way out of the country when all this was happening). At 2 pm Jason was lying in the clinic in totally awesome and capable hands. I couldn’t stop smiling. Not because my husband was in pain and very sick but because I wasn’t the one trying to read all the medical manuals and “guess” what he had! It was no longer in my hands and I was no longer in an isolated mountain tribe with no help or no way out. I was surrounded by the body of Christ who were bending over backwards to do all that they could for us.

Thursday, Jason seemed to be doing better. His malaria was gone, and his infection was slowly starting to go away. But his chest pain was still hanging on. Then Yesterday morning at 2:30 a.m. his pain woke him up; he wasn’t out of breath or going numb, but the pain was intense in the center of his chest, and it was spreading from side to side with a heat type of pain, which scared him (and me) a bit. We were pretty sure it was not cardiac related, however, the EKG machine was not working very well, and we still did not have conclusive evidence to support this, so the nurses decided it was best to send him down to Australia to get the necessary checks done. So by 6:00 a.m. we were on our way to the airport for a medevac. We all got down to Cairns, Australia by 10:30 a.m. and they rushed Jason off in an ambulance while the kids and I went through customs and immigration and got a taxi and got our luggage and followed him there. When I got there, they had already taken an EKG of Jason’s heart rhythm, drawn blood for tests, and were on their way to sending him to the X-ray room.

To make a very long tiring story short, all of Jason’s blood tests came back fine, his chest X-rays were perfect, he went through a stress test and that also checked out great. He has a perfectly healthy heart! The EKG showed a couple blips (a birth defect) that we need to have a cardiologist look at when we get home to the states, but that was not the cause of the chest pain. So what was it that scared us so much and got us down here to Australia? They said that there was inflammation in the chest cavity due to the stress of the malaria and the infection which he had undergone. They put him on some medications/antibiotics told him to rest, recuperate and stay near a hospital for at least a couple more days. So, we are here in Australia right now and trying to put our minds in “break” mode since we have to stay here 3 weeks because we need our PNG visas to be renewed. Our passports are being DHL to us today and we will have to send those to Brisbane to get the necessary paperwork.

This has been hard on Jason leaving the Tobo church and not being able to teach the Acts lessons he was SO looking forward to teaching. But we are grateful for this God given, much needed break from the tribe and a chance to let our heads stop spinning. We are confident that our God is good and He is in charge. That’s reassuring and what we can rest in!!! We are very thankful for God’s protection, and for giving Jason good health. 4 days ago we were in the tribe and now we are in the heart of a busy tourist city in Australia. Pray for us as we re-group as a family and internalize all that just happened.

Right now we are at a hotel near the hospital and hope to find something cheaper very soon and find a place to send this to all of you.

We will keep in touch and praising the Lord for the Body of Christ and for our support team there in PNG.

His Clay Pots, Kellie for the family

Emergency UPDATE

I received this update from Joy:

Here's something more recent on Jason and family:

Jason's mom called one of my friends this morning and said that the chest pains were not a heart attack but rather an inflamation of the chest caused by the malaria. He is being managed on pain meds and released from the hospital. The congenital heart condition that they found is not life threatening and can wait until they go home on furlough next year for treatment.

The whole family is in Cairns, Australia and will need to stay there until they get visa clearance. That is a problem, the most inexpensive hotel that they could find was $100 a night; that could really add up with that many weeks; any one know of anyone living in Australia that might give this family some housing?

Scott of Sqribbled Design

Emergency

I received the following email this morning from Williamsons [Jason & Kellies new partners]:

We’d like to ask you to pray for our partners Jason and Kellie Knapp who’ve just had to be flown to Australia for medical attention (for him)… here’s an excerpt from our other partners [Chad & Janeene] who were with him when it happened:

Here’s what we know to date: Jason returned from an overnight trip to the river with his son and some friends this past weekend, and spent the rest of the weekend and early part of this week with intermittent high fevers, shakes and chills, and symptoms of malaria (which he contracted back in Madang—malaria just stays in the system and pops up at various times). Jason thought that he was improving by Tuesday. Then, that night he awoke from a dead sleep at midnight with chest pain. The pain kept him awake the rest of the night. By morning, after consulting on the radio with nurses Jason and Kellie and the kids all flew out on our mission’s plane to our base in Lapilo, where he could get the proper meds that the nurses felt might help him. While there, Jason had an EKG, and a cardiologist in Australia was going to be looking at test results.

Early this morning, Jason (Knapp) began experiencing chest pains once again. With no doctor available at this time, the nurses felt like Jason needed to have a doctor in Cairns, Australia look at him. So at 7 this morning, Jason and his family were on a plane to Australia.

Thanks for praying and trusting the Lord with us, that this will be something minor and treatable. We’ll update you as soon as we hear something more.

Your hands & feet,
Jason & Nisae Williamson,
Kadynn, Judah & Eden

Scott of Sqribbled Design (I maintain this website)

Found ~ Sikol

Sikol

Getting an attack of malaria is a small price to pay for a fantastic weekend. Not only did I get to take my oldest son Micah down 3,000 feet to a beautiful flowing river closed in by pine trees and thick jungle; but God encouraged my heart greatly that He indeed is alive and working in the heart’s of people around the world.

After a full day of sunshine, spearing for fresh water shrimp, swimming in ice cold water, and just enjoying time with my boy, we went back to the thatched roof hut (with no door) and rested. As we sat around the fire with Tingon, his wife, 2 sons, and one of his relatives, Sikol with his wife and son, we enjoyed a good meal of shrimp, rice, sweet potatoes, and cabbage. After we finished eating we sat by the fire and Sikol asked me, “So what are these literacy classes about and when will one start?” I told him that the classes were designed so that people could read God’s word and understand for themselves God’s road to eternal life. To which he replied, “Tingon, awhile ago, came and told me what you had been teaching him from the Old Testament and the life of Jesus. I heard this and I went to the village church (the other religions that are here) and I heard them talk about how we need to clean up our lives, forsake our sins, follow the ten commandments, and hold on to God really strong and then we can go to heaven. If we do not do these things, we will go to hell, they said. So I thought about what they said and weighed it in my mind, and I knew that it wasn’t correct. There is no one who can follow God’s law and make his own way to heaven. We try, but always fail. So we will all go to hell. I also thought about your talk which Tingon had told me about what Jesus had done; how He washed our sins and took our place so we didn’t have to die and go to hell. He said all we need to do is believe it, and Jesus, through his blood, would save us and take us to heaven. And I knew that this was the truth. Jesus is the only road to heaven, we can’t do it on our own insignificant strength. So I weighed these two different talks and I believed in Jesus.”

This thrilled my heart because here was a second generation Christian led to the Lord by Tingon and I had nothing to do with it. From there we proceeded to talk through the Old Testament through the life of Christ, rehashing the stories of Abraham and Isaac, the brazen serpent, the Bread of Life, and many others for the next 3 hours into the night. In a lull in the conversation, Tingon in classic Tobo fashion said, “Brothers, this is very good talk, let’s go to sleep.” So we laid back and fell asleep to the roar of the river, the warmth of the fire, and the assurance that our God has saved us for all eternity. What a blessed time.

His Clay Pots, Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, Malachi & The Tobo Church

Some More Photos

Malachi and his tree swing


Sophia's Tree


Micah's hut that he built with his friends


Awhh mom everyone else has one

Some Photos

Malachi and Turtle


Sophia's Tree Swing


Sophia


Micah getting dinner with his sling shot


Micah walking on stilts


Malachi in his tree


Micah's Tree Fort


Inside of Micah's Hut

Kellie's 29th Birthday and yep Jason made the cake all by himself

Clay Pots - discouragement

Just like this baby, Sassiya, the Tobo Church is only 5 months old

I have had a sort of discouraging couple of days… I don’t know about you; but I will sometimes take my eyes off of the Lord and put them on my circumstances. I was thinking how it just seems like sometimes you don’t see the growth in people you want to. Many people here in Tobo land are involved in this year’s election campaign and so everything else has taken second fiddle… even our believer’s meetings, and times of prayer. At times I will talk to these people and it seems like nothing has changed, and it gets very frustrating. I was discouraged and asked, “God, when will we see some fruit?” But God gave me a Psalm 127 this morning which I always applied to our physical families, but today I applied it to the “church” family:

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” I often feel like it is my job to build up the church and to guard them and protect them; but who really is their shepherd and who is the one who will build the church?

“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” Boy, have I been up lately strategizing and thinking and planning… how much better to just pray and give it to my Father to do?

“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.” If we have “converts”, they are like children, and children take years to grow and mature. But God’s Word says that we are blessed of the Lord if we have children. So why should I be frustrated when only after a few months I don’t see leaps of growth? I shouldn’t be.

Also, God looks at children as a weapon to continue the fight with the enemy. “They are like arrows..” We are in a spiritual battle, and they too are God’s weapons.

I continue to learn that it is not up to me and my abilities; but it is up to God and his great abilities. This is God’s work and He is going to do it in spite of myself. Why do I fret and worry about the future? Because I am not trusting in the power of God enough, that is why. I need to believe God for the impossible and go out and let him do it through me.

So, as only God can do and as He always does, he has encouraged me with some amazing stories lately, which has shown me that these believers are growing:

Tingon has understood the concept of our identity in Christ, and has given me some great words and terminology to use to explain it. Like, “All the wrath which God had sitting ready to pour on us, he turned and poured on his son Jesus instead.” I really liked how that came out.

Doctor Zango went on a trip recently and came back and said that he heard a preacher down the way during his travels who was telling the people that they needed to follow the law and go to church on Sundays, or they would not get to heaven. He said, “I heard it and I knew it was false. We can go to heaven only if we believe in Jesus and stand on the road of his blood. There is no way we can do those things and get to heaven.” It was so cool to hear him saying that; and then the rest of the believers chimed in and were going on about how it is not what we can do; but only what Jesus did for us.

Also Morisin said this to me, “Before when I didn’t believe, I would pray to God with really long prayers and I would tell him ancestor stories and try to go on for long, long periods of time. But then I heard you teach on prayer, and I am very clear now. I understand that prayer is just talking to God and thanking him for Jesus and what he did. So now I have tried like you said, and I pray short prayers thanking God for Jesus and asking for help for the day; and it is so much easier. I am very happy now.”

I was talking to Kips (Ankl) about Klifford’s wife, because she is saved, and understands everything, but Klifford does not. And Kips said sort of matter of factly, “Well, God will see that a husband’s heart is too hard, so he will work in the wife, and even in the kids; and then possibly later on in the life of that man again after he has seen the change in his wife.” I was pleasantly surprised to hear him say that. He also said that he hoped he had done a good job with me that day on the lesson. When I asked why he said that; he said that he usually likes to wake up in the morning and pray and ask God to help him translate with me… that he will get the right words and get the meaning correct and such; but today he thought he was just going to his garden to work and not come to help me; so he hadn’t prayed first. What a testimony that was to me.

May you be encouraged today that God is very much alive and working in the hearts of His children,
His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp