Clay Pots: November 2007

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Clay Pots ~ Their Mouths Were Stopped!

Welsen

We all know the story of Stephen, the first martyr for Christ. His defense speech before his accusers is a masterpiece. He articulated the whole word of God in a 15 minute speech. And in the face of those who were pointing their fingers at him and saying that he was blaspheming God and the law of Moses by preaching Christ, he turned and pointed his finger back at his accusers, and said to them, “No, I am not blaspheming God, but proclaiming to you the very word which He spoke for thousands of years. Only you did not listen, just as your fathers did not listen. And just as they killed the prophets who proclaimed to them the way of forgiveness and life; in the same way, you killed Jesus, the only one who could give you forgiveness and give you life.” What a fantastic story! What an encouragement to us to stand in the face of our accusers and proclaim the way of life.

I wondered why Welsen did not come to our Sunday afternoon men’s bible study. The next day he was quick to come and tell me why. He said that he put his string bag over his shoulder and came down out of his house to come to the meeting, but some guys stopped him on the way. There were six guys, all leaders of the Cargo Cult, and all wanted to ask him questions about what he did every Sunday. So they took him into a house and grilled him with questions. They asked why he left their cult, if he was a part of a new “church”, if he was going to get baptized, and why he was turning his back on and rejecting his former beliefs. Sound familiar? So he boldly told them that their cult was a lie of Satan. That Jesus did not come to give us paradise or a comfy life on earth, but that Jesus died to save us from our sins and give us life in heaven. He told them that, “No, I am not part of a new church, but I am simply a believer in Jesus, which makes me a true child of God and part of Jesus’ clan.” He also told them that he was going to get baptized because it was just a sign to them of what Jesus did to him when he believed. He also told them that they were on their way to hell if they didn’t believe in Jesus’ death and that hell was eternal even though they did not believe that either. He told me that he talked for 3 hours to these guys, and their mouths were stopped. When faced with the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, they had no answer and their mouths were stopped. It is the same thing that happened in Acts 6:10 where it says, “But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.”

Welsen claims that two of those men believed that day! Two men who are leaders in the Cargo Cult and who, during our teaching last year, sat in their houses waiting for cargo to miraculously appear from the ground. What a testimony of the power of God’s Word. I know it was not easy for him to stand up against 6 guys like that. In Tobo culture you just don’t do that sort of thing. But Welsen did, and he witnessed to them, and their mouths were stopped. Praise God!

Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ here in Lengbati. They face opposition, but they have already won! They are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Clay Pots ~ Family, Partners, & The Tobo Church

(Kellie, Nisae, and the Tobo ladies meet every Tuesday to pray, this Grandma is praying for the men to come.)

Our Family:

On Wednesday, Kellie flew out of the tribe with Malachi. After a week of Malachi having a high fever due to what we think might have been cerebral malaria we just couldn’t handle it anymore on our own. Our mission Dr. was able to do some blood work and found a bacterial infection on top of the malaria and so started him on antibiotics. Kellie was also able to get a couple of painful, infected teeth taken care of. While they were gone the other 2 kiddos and I surprised Kellie with a ceiling/loft above our living room. It helps keep out the noise of rain on a tin roof and gives her some extra storage space. Kellie and Malachi flew back in on Friday and they are both back to normal… oh and she loved the loft. We also found out that, due to a building project needed elsewhere in PNG, my sister and brother-in-law won’t be able to make it in here for Christmas as they were all originally planning to do. We were looking forward to spending our nephew’s first Christmas together but we know that God has better ideas.

Our Partners:
You all know our partners, Chad and Janeene Mankins, well, they are on furlough, enjoying cheese burgers and good church fellowship (not in that orderJ) They are in the process of adopting their 2nd child. Please be praying for them, and that God would be gracious to give them another baby!

And our other partners, Jason and Nisae Williamson, have just moved into their house this week and we officially have neighbors! The walls are up, roof is on, electrical and plumbing in, and floors are polyed. We are so thankful that they have their own home now and will be able to settle in before they start learning the language and culture here in Tobo.

The Church:
As with all newborn babies, they are a joy and a privilege to have and to hold, but they are a lot of work too. Well it is the same with new believers. We have had an interesting few weeks, as many of the men were too distracted with planting gardens, building houses, and going to town ( a 3 days hike) to show up for our regular meetings. Mix that with the fact that I too have been distracted with helping Williamsons build their home, and it seems that things begin to slide.

BUT GOD! The women of the church were seeing that the men were not coming, and were not leading them as they should; so they took it upon themselves to pray for the men. They prayed that God would send the men, so they could learn and grow and be the leaders that they need to be. (Praise God for sensitive women). Well, God answered their prayer, and they have been coming back again on Thursdays, and also they have been coming on Sundays as well for our “men’s meeting”. During that time on Sundays we are going over the Evangelistic lessons which we taught last year, and correcting them and making them even more user friendly for them to use. We are praying that they can do an outreach to another village sometime next year.

We also just taught on Stephen being tried and killed for his faith. It encouraged the believers to hear the message that Stephen proclaimed to his accusers: the message that the very person whom they rejected, tortured and crucified, was the only person that could save them. Just like Stephen’s accusers, we have people here in Lengbati who believe that acknowledgment that God exists and careful obedience to his ten commandments will make you acceptable to God. So anyone who proclaims another message (i.e. belief in Jesus is the only way to receive forgiveness of sins and make us acceptable to God), is looked at as a threat to the established religion. And they receive the very same accusations which Stephen received. No one has been persecuted like Stephen yet; but they have been accused of believing a false gospel and “badmouthing” God and the ten commandments. So this story really encouraged their hearts to know that they are not the only ones who went through this type of thing. Pray for our believers as they stand in the minority here. Pray that they will constantly look to their Savior and trust only in him, and not in their own strength!

Thank you for standing with us and sending us to the Tobo people.