Clay Pots - Be Courageous

Micah (who is going to build a million snowmen), Sophia (who doesn’t remember snow), & Malachi (who has never seen snow until now)

It is almost December and Jack Frost is nipping at our noses! Kellie wants you to know that we have the decorations up and the Christmas music playing. With Christmas coming soon, it reminds us that next year is right around the corner. And for us, next year means that we will be heading back to PNG.

As I look ahead to next year, I find myself a little overwhelmed with taking on the responsibilities in the tribe again. I find myself worried about the Tobo church, concerned that our team might make mistakes along the way, inadequate because I have never done this before, and fearful that what we have done might fall apart. But I was encouraged by what the Lord said to Joshua in the first chapter of the book of Joshua. I am sure that Joshua too felt much the way I am… worried about the people he was leading, concerned that he might make mistakes, inadequate to lead people in battle when he hadn’t fought too many wars before, and fearful that they might get into the land and get completely wiped out. But God said to him, “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you (past tense)… no man will be able to stand before you… I will be with you… Be strong and courageous.” Joshua was asked to fight the battle, but the outcome was not his to decide. God had already promised that the land was theirs, so obviously all Joshua had to do was go and obtain it. God would take care of him and the Israelites. No one would die if they kept their eyes on him. It was God’s war, just as the church is God’s church, and has already promised that he will build it. Building the church is not our job, but his, because as humans we really are inadequate. But he still requires us to go into battle fully trusting, confident, and courageous that God himself will give the victory.

Some prayer requests:

~We have set a target date for returning to PNG… August 1st! We need to buy a 4 years supply of certain cosmetics, electronics, office supplies, clothes for the kids, replacement parts for our solar equipment, plane tickets, contacts/glasses, chocolate (Kellie put that), etc. The prayer request would be for the necessary funds to buy it all and for some volunteers to push 10 shopping carts at Wal-mart for usJ. Trust me the look on the cashiers face is worth the trip!

~Pray for our team as they continue to translate, teach, and disciple the Tobo believers. It looks like I will be able to assist in the translation process from over here as we head into the new year, so be praying that our team can work together efficiently even with the long miles between us.

~Pray that the Tobo church will, like Joshua, be strong and courageous, fully confident in God and understand that the battle is the Lord’s as they live their lives in a very dark place.

His Clay Pots,
Jason for the Knapps

Clay Pots ~ Moving Forward

“But Jesus said unto him, ‘No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’”

Many of you know or have heard me share of my struggle with returning back to the mission field. I had ideas of what I thought I deserved and what I thought my “rights” were as an American woman. And full-time ministry in a remote tribal location was not one of those ideas!

For the past couple months I have been listening to this amazing (and good looking) preacher teach at various churches on unity, suffering, and sacrifice. And the other day, that same preacher quoted the above verse to me. Normally I would have hit him. However, God in His caring and loving way of working in my life had been preparing my heart to hear that verse. I have my hands on the plow but am straining to look back at everything I am leaving behind. And yet my greatest fear is failure of not finishing well. What a contradiction!

The verse was a reminder to me that I am not a citizen of this earth and that I am here to do what God has asked of me to do (through His power, so stop trying Kellie!) and to not look back. And so my goal now is to move forward, take those baby steps, and be thankful for the time God has allowed me to have here in the States instead of wishing for more or wishing that it would be permanent.

Thank you for your prayers for me in this area, they are being answered!

Kellie for the good looking Pastor, & Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

P.S. Could you pray for us again? Jason was returning home from a Bible study last night and hit a deer with the van. (Yes, the one we purchased just a few short months ago) It is discouraging because we know that God provided this van through all of you, so why would he choose to ruin a perfectly good vehicle? I don’t know either. But we would appreciate if you could be in prayer for us, this was our only vehicle and we need to make some decisions quickly. Thank you.

Speaking of cherishing fun times….

Micah and Malachi’s first time hunting with the Knapp boys!

Clay Pots ~ Kellie

As some of you know Kellie had a CAT scan done last Wednesday. Her Dr. was looking for some cancer in her lymph nodes. We were called back to the Doctors office on Monday and they expressed their concern that the results of the CAT scan showed that Kellie might have at the very least, a cyst on her one remaining ovary (she had a partial hysterectomy 3 years ago) or at the very worst, ovarian cancer. 4 hours later we were then told by an OBGYN surgeon (after an ultrasound) that the CAT scan was miss-read and Kellie is very healthy. Also, a week ago Kellie went in to her Dermatologist and was assured that her melanoma is no longer there! So it has been an emotional roller coaster these past few days going from what could be cancer to something totally normal. But it has been really good for us to go through it together. You tend to appreciate each other more knowing that you could lose the other one at any time… so you hold each other a little tighter every night, you take more time to really listen to your kids, and you ignore the dishes and laundry (I guess we tend to do that anyway!). We never really know what the future holds, do we? It was a good reminder to Kellie to live every day like it could be her last. Thankfully there isn’t anything we would change about our lives. Well except for those medical bills!

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

Clay Pots ~ Fall

You can take the kids out of the jungle, but can’t take the jungle out of the kids

It’s fall time here in Wisconsin! I think the #1 reason most of us Wisconsinites brave the cold winters is so we can be here for fall. It is awesome watching the leaves change colors and to be able to experience a change in season. It is so much different than the tribe!

Malachi had his surgery last Thursday. If you have never seen your child on those relaxation drugs, it is a must for all parents, totally funny. We are only sad that we left the video camera at home! The surgery went awesome but the recovery time wasn’t so much fun for him. It is hard to see your little guy in so much pain and with so many questions. He felt great before the surgery and not so great afterwards so it was hard for him to understand the necessity for the pain. It did help having his Grandparents and his Auntie bring him special treats though! And thanks to all of you who brought meals.

Micah and Sophia are enjoying going to a “real” school for the first time and yet not really enjoying the very “real” homework! As a family, it has been an adjustment making school a priority in our lives. I know that sounds funny but in the tribe so many other things demand our time that school did not necessarily get the priority it deserved. We are proud of our kids and the extra time and energy they have to put into school.

I have been busy writing sermons, preaching at different churches, watching the Packers lose, and making furniture. It has been a joy to me to be able to share my passion for discipleship with different congregations. The month of October is mission conferences at two of our churches, so I am looking forward to that opportunity as well.

Kellie has been really enjoying just…being. She has been able to spend some time at home with Malachi, work on refinishing some furniture “steals” which she found at garage sales, and help the kids with homework at night. In the upcoming month she will be sharing at a few different ladies groups, AWANA, and Sunday Schools. It has been awesome to see God meet my wife in her frailty and give her the strength again to speak of his power in her own life and in the lives of others.

Thank you to all of you for all of your love and support which you have lavished on our family during our time at home. We know many of you are struggling with finances during this financially unstable time and we are in awe of God’s continued provision in our lives as you sacrifice daily to provide for us. There are no words to express our gratitude!

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

Clay Pots ~ Malachi and our Family

We have a praise and yet another prayer request: Malachi has healed up wonderfully form his stitches and concussion. However since then he has come down with malaria. Through a series of circumstances the Doctor examined him and found an un-related problem which will require surgery. So Malachi will be going into surgery on October 2nd. They will be closing up a tube, removing some fluid, and preventing a future hernia. Our prayer request is that he will heal up completely from the malaria and his fever will leave so that he can be strong enough to do the surgery in a couple weeks.

To be honest, we as a family are barely holding on as we feel that we have little to no time to process one crisis before we head into the next. Please be in prayer for us as we fall into His arms and “give up”. As some of you have probably noticed we have really stepped back from communicating and being involved in things. Even to the point of having to go back on our word and withdraw from things we had originally said we would love to do. We as a family need more time to work through everything, and we really need some “normal” time as our own family. At this point in time, talking about our time in the tribe is painful for us because we have had so many crisis that we have not had a chance to fully internalize or process. We thank you for your love and grace towards us as we take this time to refresh our souls.

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

Clay Pots ~ Remembering to Pray

Micah and Sophia’s first day of school!

Bored. Twiddling our fingers. HoHum. I keep thinking one of these days I can use those words to describe our lives, but alas we are nothing close to that these days! Malachi thought it would be kind of cool this past week to jump off a retaining wall, get a concussion, 15 stitches, 5 hours in the hospital, and a visit to the dentist. Dad and Mom did not find it so cool. Malachi is now experiencing the joy of eating everything through a straw and talking like Rocky.

The two weeks before that, we as a family have been grieving, praying, and struggling with the situation Kellie’s brother and family have been going through. We are grateful for the body of believers nation-wide who have comforted and helped out Kellie’s parents, their Bed and Breakfast, and Jonathan.

When we first arrived in the States the Tobo church and our co-workers were never very far from our thoughts at any given hour of the day. The busier we get though, the more we find ourselves only thinking of them perhaps once a day. We are realizing how much more difficult it is for you to remember to pray for the Tobo believers when you have never even been to Papua New Guinea and have never met them. But the simple truth is that this job is a group effort. We and our co-workers cannot do this without you or your prayers. So during this year, our desire is to foster additional prayer and financial support for the Tobo church. Sometimes simply writing a check each month can remind us to pray for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ being persecuted on the other side of the globe. For instance, one lady from the Tobo church is no longer allowed to come to the church meetings because her husband has threatened to slit her throat. Wow, I know how hard it is to think beyond our crazy schedules here in the States, but could you take a minute and pray for her and for other Tobo believers who are faced with this sort of opposition? And pray for other believers who have not been persecuted, but need to persevere and grow in their faith by making the tough decisions instead of being hesitant and afraid to make a stand for Christ. Also, pray for our co-workers the Mankins and Williamsons, that God will give them the wisdom and strength as they disciple the believers and stand in the face of opposition. God has so designed that prayer is vital to the spread and belief of the gospel, so please continue to lift up the Tobo church before our heavenly Father. Thank you.

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

Clay Pots ~ The Past 6 Weeks

In the past 6 weeks we have slept in our own bed about 5 times. But we are grateful to be able to say that our suitcases are stored away for now and we plan on being home for awhile! In our last e-mail, we told you that we were going on a camping trip, and that our family would be taking time to try to deal with things that have happened to us as a family in the past few years. We talked about the highs and lows in the tribe and about our feelings and/or struggles concerning them. It was a much needed time in the quietness of nature to talk and pray. We made lists of all the good things that have happened in the past 4 years and all of the bad things. We asked God to help us focus on the good and to trust Him with the bad. It was a great time to get to understand our children and ourselves a little bit better. And we thank God for giving us seasons of refreshing, and the assurance that He will never leave us or forsake us.

The kids voiced that although they are loving the States, they are anxious and excited to return to home (the tribe) in a year’s time. Jason too is enjoying being here immensely, but misses his friends and desires to continue the task of discipleship. I, however, am still struggling with choosing contentment and joy when faced with returning to the tribe. Honestly and selfishly. I truly enjoy and love my culture here in the States. I love convenience, shopping, and lots of people speaking English! I love not being watched through my windows. I love wearing pants and jewelry. I love being clean and wearing new clothes. I love my husband not having to be pulled in a million different directions. I love being able to know when I go outside I won't be followed and touched. I love having a doctor and dentist to take my kids to. I love running out of groceries and running to the store at any time I want to. And I love going on a date with my husband and having the chance to actually miss my kids!

So can you pray for me? Pray that I will trust God to give me the grace and strength when I need it. Pray that I will enjoy this year instead of getting anxious when I think of having to go back. I can say without a doubt that I know God wants us to go back to the tribe and finish well, but I don’t want to go back and just survive… I want to thrive.

Thank you for being gracious with us as we have been traveling, healing, and ignoring e-mails. We felt that we needed to take this summer to re-gain our footing. And we are excited as fall approaches (what happened to the summer?!) in order to be more involved in your lives!

Here are some of the highlights of the past 6 weeks that we thought you might enjoy seeing…

We got the incredible privilege to attend the wedding of our friends in Northern Ireland, Tim and Vivienne (Eakin) Price, and while there we celebrated our 11th Wedding Anniversary with a stopover in Paris!

Malachi’s 4th Birthday!

Getting to spend a weekend with Uncle Jonathan (who isn’t very good at arm wrestling)

When we went camping all the kids were sooo excited to see their machetes again and be able to do what they miss the most….climb trees, cut trees, and make fires

More fishing of course

We got to go to the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) show in Oshkosh, the biggest air show in the world! Our to-be-pilot, Micah, was in awe of everything. There was a plane landing or taking off every 8 seconds!!

Clay Pots ~ Healing

The new one!

Have you ever noticed that things break down in three's? Our van, our laptop, and another thing all gave us problems in one week. It has been one of those stretching times for us as we trust God to provide for our physical needs and not allow ourselves to worry. We didn’t do too good of a job of it this past week, but as always, God has started to intervene despite our lack of faith. When our first van started pouring fluid all over the driveway, our family prayed around the dinner table for God to provide for us. We need a reliable vehicle for all the traveling we do. That night we went on a bike ride. We went to a used car dealership thinking that it would be closed for the night. But it was still open. (He normally would have closed two hours earlier, but had to finish something up) Well, in the lot was a van of same make and model as the one with fluid problems, but it looked a lot newer and nicer for a good price, $4,000.00. So yesterday we picked it up praying that God would provide the money for it. That afternoon our church dropped off a $1,000.00 check. Also, this past weekend someone gave us $600.00, and to top it off the man from whom we had bought the first van gave us all our $ back, $1000.00. So within 24 hours God provided for over half of the vehicle! And we know He will continue to provide for the rest because we have already seen him pay off our medical bills from all those surgeries.

Also, this next week our family of 5 will be leaving for a 2 week primitive camping trip up north. We ask that you pray for our family as we go. In many ways, we all are still dealing with and processing all that happened to us while living in the tribe. Our children have been through alot in the past years. As a first response it is easy to say we are okay and doing fine; but we have come to realize in the past weeks, that we are struggling and need some emotional and spiritual rest. Kellie has actually had panic attacks when she thinks about going back to the tribe and I have been dealing with high emotions as well. We want to take this time camping to pray and talk as a family. We are going to make lists of what we have seen or gone through and take time to talk to God about those things. So we ask that, as you think of it, you pray for our family. Pray that we will heal completely in this next year so that we can finish well.

We thank God for every one of you and how He has uses each of you in our lives,

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

Clay Pots ~ Memorable Moments

Grandma, Aunt Whitney, and Mommy taking Sophia to the American Girl doll store in Chicago for her 7th Birthday (June 7th)!

Jen Knievel/Knapp, our new sister-in-law getting baptized

Going on the paddle boats with Grandpa.

Malachi’s First Fish with Uncle Kyle (Pederson)

All dressed up for Jeremy and Jen Knapp’s wedding!

The Bride with flower girl and ring bearers!

The kids did awesome in the wedding except for the end of the ceremony when Malachi all of a sudden burst into tears because he realized that “his” aunt Jen was going to marry Uncle Jeremy instead of him. She promised to still love him though, so it was a ‘happily-ever-after’ for everyone, even Malachi.

The Bride & Groom!

Thank you, Jeremy and Jen, for glorifying God through your wedding and for displaying the wonderful picture of Christ and the church. It was a neat time, as a family, to have Jason perform the ceremony, Jen Pederson singing in the wedding, and to have Kyle and the kids all stand up in it. The wedding ceremony was a memorable experience; and no, not because of the tornados and sirens going off during the wedding, but because of the incredible picture of Christ’s servant hood displayed within marriage.

4 Generations

God answered our prayers in keeping our Grandparents healthy so that we could see them again!

Not to gross you out or anything but just in case any of you E.R. fans want a look at the incision on Kellie’s arm where the melanoma was.

For her 30th birthday, Jason surprised Kellie with a night out with her “old” high school friends whom she hasn’t seen in a very long time!

Gone Fishing!

These are just some of our highlights from the past couple of months. Jason’s sister and brother-in-law, Kyle and Jen Pederson and their son Noah, returned to Papua New Guinea just a few days ago. Jeremy and his new bride, Jen, will be living in Waukesha until they go on with the missionary training in Missouri with New Tribes Mission in January. Kellie’s brother, Jonathan, hopes to visit us next month from California; and Kellie’s sister, Whitney, will be returning to college in Chicago this fall. For us, we will be hanging tight here in Waukesha close to our churches and enjoying the summer with more fishing and camping. We would love to share with your church or small group some time this fall or winter…so please give us a call or drop us a line!

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

(cracked) Clay Pots ~ Kellie

For as unpleasant as all the doctors appointments and surgeries have been, things have gone really well. We are praising God for his faithfulness and constant watch-care over our lives. We are also praising God for competent doctors and wonderful medical facilities here in the States. I wanted to update you all on how Kellie is doing right now.

Kellie went in on Wednesday and the doctor removed some more skin from around the area on her right arm where they had previously found the melanoma cancer. It was quite a large cut, and he had to go pretty deep, but was able to bring it all together and stitch it up. So she will only have a line scar across her whole arm instead of a huge round area. We are thankful that this cancer was caught in the earliest stage it could be, thus there will be no need for further treatments or procedures. She is unable to type until they remove her stitches (in about a couple weeks) so wants me to apologize for her lack of communication with any of you who might have written lately.

She went to the dentist the following day and will be getting a filling and a cap put on in the next couple of weeks, God has provided our family with a dentist who does all of this for free…what a blessing! Also her colonoscopy went well, she will be going for follow up appointments and taking some medications to take care of some minor problems. So all in all, she is doing well, and we are just glad that God has allowed us to be able to get these things done and “out of the way with” before summer sets in. We are greatly anticipating going camping and fishing with the kids and enjoying some of these long malaria-free Wisconsin summer nights.

We want to thank you all for all your prayers and concern for us. We truly feel loved and accepted by the body of Christ. You all truly are our brothers and sister in Christ.

Please continue to pray for our co-workers, the Williamsons and the Mankins. Williamsons have had their first language and culture evaluation and they are progressing very well. Pray that the language continues to come quickly for them. You can read their updates at www.handsandfeet.net. Also, Chad and Janeene Mankins (and kiddos) should have arrived in Madang. Pray for them as they re-adjust to PNG life and prepare to return to the tribe. Read their updates at www.reachestotheskies.com. And finally, please continue to pray for the Tobo believers, that they would grow in grace and in the knowledge of their God and Savior Jesus Christ, and that the gospel will spread through them to those around them.

In Christ,
Jason for the Knapp family (Wedding pictures will be coming soon!)

Thank you

I wanted to stop and thank all of you for praying for me. I was overwhelmed as there were people whom I had never even met praying for me and then calling to ask if everything was alright. Thank you.

The procedure went very well. I went to Waukesha Memorial Hospital early in the morning, got prepped and then was wheeled into the surgical room. That was a little intimidating with all the monitors and all the “stickers” they put on me. I think that my back and front were completely covered in stickers, but with these they were able to see a three dimensional view of my heart on the monitors.

Anyway, after they put me under, they stimulated my heart and were immediately able to find the problem (praise the Lord because sometimes things like this just don’t show up when you want them to). So they cauterized the electrodes that were causing a problem in my heart and then they stimulated it again to see if the problem would re-occur. It did not. So everything was a success. Again, thanks for your prayers on my behalf.

I have been a little groggy due to the anesthesia, and a little sore in places; but I really feel pretty good and just waiting for the entrance points to heal. I will not really be able to see the effects of the procedure until I am able to exert myself and get my heart going faster. Before the surgery, that is when I would have the problem of a racing heart; but that should no longer be the case. Which will be a nice peace of mind on those long hikes in the mountains of New Guinea.

Thanks again for your prayers,
In Christ,
Jason

Clay Pots ~ Medical and Wedding Update

This “shot gun wedding” picture was taken up in Wisconsin Dells this past week. We as a family were all together in the same country for the first time in 4 years! We had so much fun and were so blessed to be together!
(Kyle and Jen Pederson (Noah), Todd and Carol Knapp, Jeremy Knapp and Fiancé Jen Knievel)

This Wednesday Jason goes in for his heart surgery at the Milwaukee Heart Institute, it is about a 8-9 hour surgery but he will hopefully be able to go home right away that night! Please be praying for Jason: that the surgery will go exactly as planned and be successful and that God will calm his nerves (and mine!), and that he will regain his energy and strength quickly because this Saturday is Jeremy Knapp and Jen’s wedding and Jason has the privilege of being able to perform the wedding for them. We are so thrilled to be able to be home for this awesome day and incredibly thankful that we get to keep Jen in our family forever!!!

Then the following Wednesday I will go back to the Doctor. They did find out I had skin cancer. BUT it was found really early and the Dr. is pretty confident that he got it all out the first time. So next Wednesday they will be taking out good tissue all around the sight just to make sure and then sew me up. It is about a 2 hour surgery. I will have limited use of my right arm for awhile but it will be worth it and I am so thankful, it could have been a lot worse! And next Friday is my colonoscopy.

So in a couple weeks here we should be all “fixed” up and done with it all! We will let you know how everything goes and send pictures of the wedding celebration!!!

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

Clay Pots ~ Home

We are home! We arrived almost three weeks ago and yes, we went directly to Culvers for some good food. We have been told that for every hour of difference between here and PNG, it would take that many days for the jet lag to wear off. Papua New Guinea if 15 hours ahead of Wisconsin so a few days ago, we finally woke up feeling somewhat normal.

One of the main reasons for our time home is to rest and to rejuvenate so that in a year’s time we would be ready to return to our ministry among the Tobo tribe. Part of that is going to the doctor and taking care of ourselves physically as well. This week it was determined that Jason needs to have procedure done on his heart. It was a condition which he was born with but in the past year has gotten worse and is becoming dangerous. Kellie also had some spots removed by the dermatologist this past week. He is concerned that one in particular is cancerous and will be calling us this next week with the results. Kellie will also be going in for a colonoscopy next month. We are a bit discouraged with all this new found information and trying to get used to Doctor’s offices, bills, and gas prices. But we are so thankful that we are home among friends and family and very capable doctors.

We are renting a duplex in Waukesha just a few blocks from the hospital (and no we did not do that on purpose). Thanks to our wonderful families and the ladies from church; we arrived to our new home fully furnished and cupboards full of food and toiletries! After traveling for 3 days the last thing we wanted to do was to go and pick out toothpaste at Wal-mart. Thank you so much to all of you who sacrificed your time and $ to make us feel at home here in the States and for all the used clothes to clothe our kiddos!

And speaking of the kiddos… They are in awe of everything! From seeing “real” cows for the first time to doorbells and the toaster. As much as they are in awe of everything, it is when we tuck them in bed at night that they start asking us when we are going back home to the tribe and their friends. It will take some time for them to get used to living here and to make some new friends. Please pray for them as they internalize their new world here.

Our highlight, by far, has been to fellowship with our churches. Our first Sunday home the tears flowed freely as we sang, “Indescribable”. Our God truly is amazing all the time, and we love to praise him in song, but it sounds a lot different when there are hundreds of people singing instead of just us 5! We have so missed fellowship within our own culture! We have had the opportunity to show our DVD presentation to a few of you and it has been fun! Thank you for loving and caring for us and this ministry. If you would like to see the video or just hang out, please don’t hesitate to call us.

It would mean a lot to us if you would read the following update from our co-workers, Jason and Nisae Williamson. Right now, they are in the tribe alone…keeping things going while we and Mankins are here in the States. This update gave us tears of joy. There are many things to discourage us, but God always gives little things, like what Kips did and said, which make every hardship worth it! You are making a difference in people’s lives, thank you!

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

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove,
rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 2 Timothy 4:2

“I was in my house trying to sleep but the two old ladies next door just wouldn’t stop talking, they where talking about night and day and how we just go to sleep and wake up and never really think about it. Who or what causes the sun to rise in the morning and go down in the evening? I saw this as an opportunity from the Lord to talk to the women about some of the things that I have been teaching in the village. So I got out from my warm bed got my flashlight and headed out the door. I went and saw the ladies and asked them, pointing to my flashlight, ‘whose flashlight is this?’ They laughed and said ‘well of course it’s yours’. Then I told them that because it’s mine I have the power to turn it on and off as I wish. That’s just like our creator God. He made the world and so everything in it;, the sun, moon and stars are His. He controls everything just like I turn this flashlight on and off.” – Kips

Kips, Welsen and Tingon, for the last three weeks have been teaching about who God is, who Satan is, and where sin came from. They are teaching chronologically through the Bible just like they heard it for the first time over a year and a half ago. The believers are excited to hear these truths again and to really cement them into their thinking. Now that they are believers some of these truths take on a whole new meaning. This has also been a time of outreach for them as we are having the meetings up in the village of Denginu. There have been some new men & women who curiously come in to the meeting house and sit down, but not many. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to begin a work in the thinking of the Tobo people here. The believers really have a heart to reach their own people but struggle to know how to do it. I told them that it’s so much more than just teaching God’s word -we have to live it before the unbelievers. Kips shared a verse with me from 1 Corinthians 13:13 “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love”. “We need to show these people we care and that we will make time for them just like Jesus,” he stated. I showed them from Philippians 2:3 that we need to look after the interests of others and not just ourselves, this will show people we love them. It has been a real encouraging time with these guys as they in turn have been teaching me things about the power of God and loving others just as Christ loves us. Please pray for these three Tobo teachers, Kips, Welsen and Tingon for boldness and direction as they look to reach out into their own community.

Your hands and feet,
Jason, Nisae, Kadynn, Judah and Eden

Clay Pots ~ Re-entry

~Tobo~
At the top of the airstrip there is a group of 3 houses with tin. That is our house, Williamson’s house and Mankin’s house.
The houses on the right is the medical clinic and Doctor’s house
The picture is taken from the trail going up to the village.

We will be arriving in Wisconsin on May 7th! We leave Madang on May 5th so that kind of gives you an idea of how long we will be traveling with 3 kids, 10 bags, 2 baby dolls, turtle, bear, monkey, giraffe, and blankey. Our longest flight will be 14 hours. We are already thinking of creative ways to knock our kids out!!!

Feel free to come and see what a family of 5 looks like after our journey of flying across the world, sleeping in airport lounges and eating nothing but airplane food. We will be the ones kissing the solid ground! Laugh at us as we stand at the edge of the escalator not too sure if we remember how to get on it. Giggle out loud as we try to talk Malachi into not climbing to the top of the airport terminal, not running ahead, and not yelling every 2 seconds…”Yahoo Cowboy”. (to get a sneak preview, click here…we hear it is getting to be a popular ring tone in WA.). But oh man, can we ever tell you about God’s greatness and faithfulness to us these past years! So you go ahead and laugh, we’ll talk through mouths full of custard, and we will see our unity in Christ connecting us again despite the years of change in all of us. Please give us a call, we would love to connect with you.



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

Clay Pots ~ Happy Rememberance Day!

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?” (Psalm 77:11-13)

I know what you are thinking, another holiday?! What did Hallmark come up with this time? Don’t worry, Hallmark doesn’t have the goods on this holiday. And no husbands, you don’t have to buy a gift for your wife on this one (but I am thinking of adding that to the by-laws!). This is a day for a Feast of Remembrance. To look back at the past year and remember. Not necessarily to be thankful, but to remember. Just like God had the Israelites celebrate Passover and the Feast of the Booths to remind them of all that He had done for them by delivering them out of Egypt. We decided as a family that it was about time to have our own little feast of remembrance before we head to the States! We videotaped each family member and our co-workers, the Williamsons, sharing about one thing they remembered from this past year.

“I remember my turtle”
(stuffed turtle / best friend) ~ Malachi (3 years old)

“I remember God’s provision in sending us co-workers and God’s Faithfulness in maturing the Tobo believers.” ~Jason

“I remember when I was scared to be baptized but God helped me and I wasn’t scared and Daddy baptized me in the river” ~Sophia (6 years old)

“I remember God helping me through a dark emotional time in my life this past year and I am grateful for it. I will always look back and remember God getting me through it” ~Kellie

“I remember that with God all things are possible. When I hurt my knee real bad I was able to go to town and be with my friends and stay out for 3 weeks!” ~ Micah (9 years old)

It was a day for music, laughter, and fun! Keep your calendar from the past year and look through what happened and important events that God put in your lives and then invite friends and family over for a Feast of Remembrance! Thank you for all that you have done and given in order for us to be able to celebrate this day of remembrance in PNG. We left the tribe this morning and are anxiously awaiting our departure date in Madang. We will arrive in the U.S. on Wednesday!

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

Clay Pots ~ Review

Discussing the Word of God

“I do not have a lot of knowledge. I only made it to grade 2 in school. I don’t see books (know how to read). But since I believed in Jesus’ death and resurrection for me, I have seen him bless me. I went through the literacy school you taught and learned to read my own language, and now I am able to read God’s Word every day! I know that it is God’s work in my life because these words are very big and difficult to understand, but I pray every time before I read the Bible or prepare to teach a lesson, and God opens my eyes so that I can see the words and understand them. It is not my strength, but his, and I am so thankful that he has given me this work to do.” – Welsen

“We desire to continue to grow and learn more about God’s Word. We are hungry for it. We learned a lot of new and good talk from the book of Acts and we desire to review it again so that we will not forget all that God has taught us.” – The believing women to the men asking them to review Acts.

As we said a few days ago, the believers are doing an outreach to the village of Dengenu. They are going to be doing that every Saturday morning for the next year while we are gone… please be praying for them. Also, the believers are going to meet every Sunday afternoon as well, and they are going to review the book of Acts together so that they will not forget what they have learned. They are excited to do this, and it thrills our hearts to see them desire and hunger for the word of God. As they have been studying through the Old Testament again, in order to teach on Saturdays, they have realized how much they had forgotten; but also, they are thrilled with the things that they are learning which is strengthening their faith. Please be praying for your brothers and sisters in Christ, that they indeed would grow in their faith and retain all that God is teaching them.

May God give you a hunger and desire for his word.
His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

Clay Pots ~ Handing Over

Handing out and splitting up the lessons

“I sat there and my intestines were shaking.. As Tingon started teaching, I just sat there waiting for my time wondering how I was going to be able to do this. Then it was my time to teach. My intestines were still shaking, but I started teaching my point of the lesson. And this is huge! As I started talking, God just gave me thoughts and reminded me of what I had learned before, and the words just came out. I know that God exists (I could feel his presence) because I could not have taught that lesson on my own strength, but God gave me strength and I was able to do it. So now I am giving big praise to him.” – Kips (after teaching for the first time)

“Now that we are meeting in the village again, you all can see that we are not just another “religion”. We have just learned the true meaning of God’s Word, which was hidden to us for so long, and now we want to share it with you. Look, these men who are teaching you are not important men; but they want to tell you what they have learned and show you the way to get eternal life.” – Yaka Siwia (Kips’s father, talking to the unsaved who came to the outreach)

The believers decided a few weeks ago that we would go back up to the village of Dengenu and meet in the village square and teach again from creation to the resurrection of Christ. This is where we first taught back in 2006. There are unbelieving people who desire to hear this story again because it has made such an impact in their friend’s lives. Others still choose to reject and ridicule the believers, but to the believers, it is ok because they know that persecution is a sign that they are believing what is right, and it has strengthened their faith.

As my family prepares to leave, we are handing over the responsibility of the church and outreach to the believers. It was a joy to hand out copies of the lessons from Genesis and watch as Tingon, Welsen, Kips, the Doctor, and Alex all split up the lesson so each of them could help each other and support each other as they taught. And it was exciting to watch them teach God’s Word clearly, even though I knew that they were afraid and they knew that other people were going to ridicule them for it. At the outreach, all the believers and about 10 unbelievers came to hear God’s Word. I did see some unbelieving people out on the fringe coming and going, but not wanting to be a part yet. Pray that these people and others will swallow their pride and arrogance and come to hear the message of life. Pray for the 5 teachers as they faithfully expound God’s Word for the year that we are gone, and that they would have insight and wisdom and be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading.

Thank you for being a part of what God is doing here in Lengbati.

Your Co-workers,
His Clay Pots,
Jason, Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

Clay Pots ~ Visitors and Baptism

Dr. Zango

Kips

Nanci Zango

Last Sunday, the rain stopped just long enough for Dr. Zango, his wife, and Kips to be baptized in front of the community. One by one they slowly stepped into the freezing water and gave a public testimony of their faith in Christ before being baptized by Jason and Welsen. They were physically shaking… mostly because of the freezing cold water but partly due to their nervousness. They were ready, but apprehensive to take this step of faith in front of everyone since there has been opposition to the gospel recently. And yet as they came out of the water, every one of them had a smile. After it was all done and we were sitting around the fire trying to warm up, Kips and the doctor were encouraging each other with the fact that this was the same thing the early believers in the book of Acts faced as they believed in Jesus Christ. “Praise God that we finally know the truth,” they said.

The Smith family

We were also blessed to have some dear friends of ours bring their entire family to come visit us in the tribe this past week! We were in awe that the Smiths were willing to make this tremendous sacrifice to not only come over and encourage us, but to meet their brothers and sisters in Christ. They and their three children brought lots of laughter and fun to our home as they interacted and played games with our three kids and the tribal children, and helped us with some projects around the house. They were also our personal CNN correspondents as we asked question after question about what was happening back home. From elections to economy we feel like we can now enter back into “society” without feeling so lost and clueless. And they sat down with us and explained all the new technology out there as well. I know this sounds silly to you, but after living in the tribe for 4 years it was a blessing to have some of the changes explained before we hit home soil again.

They were in tears as some of the believers said goodbye to them here on earth, but reassured them that they will be in heaven with them some day soon! The Smiths commented that it was a huge encouragement for them to see simple faith in action.

We only have a few weeks before we will be leaving the tribe for our year long home assignment! We would appreciate your prayers as Jason is in the process of handing over the teaching responsibilities to a few of the Tobo men. Also be praying for our co-workers, the Williamsons, as they continue to learn language and culture. It is hard to think about leaving them and the church but we know this time apart is a needed time of growth for all of us.

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

Clay Pots ~ 48 Hours and 1%

The kids favorite thing to do on break while in town is ride their bikes!!

We had a nice break… a time to relax and enjoy the ocean and some good food. Thank you for your prayers. Well, we have been back in the tribe for 48 Hours. In that little amount of time we have had….

~ A man come to our house yesterday morning accusing Jason of starting rumors and lies about a plane coming in (seeing how we just stepped off the plane ourselves we were kind of amused that they could think of something to accuse Jason of so fast!).
~Last night we received a letter from some unbelievers in the surrounding area saying that they made a resolution that we need to stop our work here. (don’t worry we aren’t going toJ).
~This morning, a plane landed with the dead body of a young girl who had died out in town. We had sent her out a few months ago in hopes of getting her some more advanced medical treatment as our Dr. was gone at the time. She never received the needed treatment. So today, outside our house on the airstrip, there was loud wailing by hundreds of people… all of them without hope of eternal life. That is a sound you will never forget. The community is split in thinking that she died because a man worked poison on her or because of a sin in her life. So there will be a court held all day today with police from other villages to decide the reason. One of the believers (the Dr.) is being accused of wrong doing, but he was gone when it all happened.

So much for “welcome back.”

For your information. Out of the entire Tobo tribe, only about 1% of them have believed in Christ’s finished work on the cross. That would leave the rest of the community either apathetic or opposed to the believers. Some of the unbelievers even try to persuade the community that we are all just a bunch of liars trying to steal things from them. Satan has used the Cargo Cult to blind them to the truth.

~Could you be praying for the 1% that they will stay strong in the midst of daily persecution and shaming.
~Pray for the 99% that they will see and hear the testimony of the believers and desire the joy and freedom in Christ.
~Pray for us, we are outsiders and it is hard enough living here without the majority against us. We have 7 weeks until we fly home, pray that we will finish well and still have a smile leftJ!

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

Clay Pots ~ Micah

The last couple weeks have been a bit “interesting” for our family. About 2 weeks ago Micah was running on the airstrip, slipped on some moss, and fell on his knee. His knee took the full impact of his fall on a sharp rock and was split open. We took care of it the best we knew how, but when a part of his skin was still lying on the airstrip it was a little hard to “butterfly” back together! After 4 days, Micah’s knee was very swollen and he had very little movement, so we started to wonder if he sustained any trauma to the area. Also, despite the antibiotics we had given him to ward off infection, the knee was infected and he needed some stronger medicine. Also, during this same time Micah had a double ear infection (that he never complained about) and there was blood coming out of his ear.

So on Tuesday we packed up our family, handed over Jason’s responsibilities to our partner and some men in the church, and flew out to town to take Micah to the doctor. After some local anesthetics, a whole lot of needles, syringes, gauze, x-rays, and medicine, Micah is on his way to full recovery. He will have a “war wound” to brag about for the rest of his life but he doesn’t seem to mind too much and thankfully it is on his knee and not face!

We will be out in town for another week or so in order to recoup from more stress and fatigue that we realized we were under. So we apologize for not returning personal e-mails lately…we just needed some time to catch our breath. We really appreciate your prayers for us as a family during this time. It seems that the last few weeks and months before furlough are some of the more stressful.

Clay Pots - gratitude

“And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” – 1 John 5:15

Tingon came to me and told me this story the other day:

“About 2 days ago, my wife and I woke up, cooked food and went outside our house to go give food to our two pigs. But when we got there, we saw that they had both vomited everything in their stomachs, and were now lying on their sides, barely alive. They were on the road of death. This was a huge thing to me, so I told my wife to get some cold water, and when she came back, I poured the cool water over their bodies, and then I put my hands on their heads and prayed. I said, ‘God, you know that this is a big heavy. You gave me these pigs to look out for, and you know what they are used for in our culture, and how important they are to me. You also made them, so you care for them. And you care for me. So I am just asking that you will heal these two pigs of mine, so that they will not die.’ I prayed that, and then I prayed that same prayer again later that day. I knew that these pigs were going to die. They were on the road to death, and there was nothing I could do for them. In the past, I would have called the “cold” man, and he would have said some words, poured some special blend of water and blood and herbs over them, and cast out the bad spirit. But I knew that wasn’t the true way. So I waited and prayed. Then last night, I was ready to go to sleep, and I prayed a third time to God to heal my pigs. When I got done praying (and this is the truth), I felt a total peace from God. I just KNEW that my pigs were going to be alright. And I lay down and went to sleep. This morning, I woke up and went outside, and there they were, standing there ready to eat. And I went over and gave them food and they ate! I tell you the truth, I have never seen anything like this in my whole life! This was impossible, they were as good as dead, but God healed them for me. I thank him for that. So I came today to help you teach God’s word to the people because this story was just burning in my liver... I was so thankful. And as I left, I was just so happy I went over and patted the two pigs on the head and said, ‘See, God is watching out for us,’ and I came here.”

Later, he told me that he has an even greater desire to study, read, and teach God’s Word, because he is just so thankful for what God has done for him. Not only did he save him from sin, hell, and Satan, but he also is caring for his every need!

Isn’t that what it is all about? Service to God out of gratitude, not grudgingly or in order to gain favor. We already have favor in God’s eyes, and we are already as loved as we ever could be because we are in his Son. Why is it that we constantly need to be reminded of that fact? And the simple prayer of faith, just KNOWING that we have the request which we have asked of the Father, because we know that he hears us. This is a changed man… but it is only by the grace of God, through belief in his Word.

Clay Pots ~ Crushed Frogs

This is a picture of Sophia and our partners daughter, Kadynn, crushing up a beetle and feeding it to their “babies”.

When I saw them doing this I yelled, “what are you doing?!!!” (along with “gross” “yuck” “ugh”).

They looked at me calmly and said, “we couldn’t find a frog”.

In the Tobo tribe when a baby has a cold they take a frog; boil it, crush it up, and feed it to the baby. If it isn’t smooth enough for the baby to eat they will put it in their mouths and chew it up themselves and then spit it out and feed it to the baby. Sophia and Kadynn are in fact very good “mothers” according to the Tobo people. This mother made sure they weren’t going to chew the beetles up for their babies before I went back inside!

My life is SO not normal!

Clay Pots - depart from iniquity

“Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

Kips, the fighter
Just before Christmas I sent out an email explaining that if Kips’s relative came from the town of Lae, that the two of them would probably have a huge fight, possibly ending in the death of one of them. I also shared how one Sunday we all met together and Welsen and some of the other believers came beside Kips to encourage him not to fight, but to forgive this man and walk away; and then how they had all prayed together for Kips. Kips had readily admitted that he was contemplating killing the guy, but he knew that that was from Satan. 

Well, here is the rest of the story: A few weeks later Kips came up to me and said, “I know that God is alive.” (meaning, God really does answer prayer). So I asked him why he said that, and he said to me, “Remember when we prayed on that Sunday about me not fighting with my relative? Well, in my heart I forgave him, and decided that I was not going to fight him even if he came and called me out. But then a few of his friends came to the village the other day, and they brought word from him. And this is what they said, ‘We sat down and talked about what we would do to you; but instead of deciding to fight, your relative said he forgave you, and that if he were ever to come to Lengbati, that the two of you would shake hands and kiss (sign of affection and total agreement).’” Then Kips said to me, “The reason I said that I know that God is alive, is not only because he forgave me and I forgave him; but because they told me that the day that they had met to talk about this was the same Sunday which we prayed together.” That sent chills up my spine as I heard it… yes, God is alive and he is working out his plan for his children.

Alex, the fiery temper
There were times in the past when the community was ready to kill Alex because of his incessant anger. Well, there was a group of people from another village who had a gripe with him, so they took him to court a few weeks ago. Last year, during the election time, he and a few others were traveling to a couple other villages on a campaign trail. One of the young boys who went with them had stolen a can of tinned fish, and lied about it. Well, Alex, as our village magistrate, was told about it, found the evidence, and made the boy pay compensation for it to the offended party. During the course of that time, he had hit the boy in the face. Well, a few days later (or weeks, we don’t know which), a tooth fell out of the boys mouth. So now 8 months later, the family of this boy got angry, and greedy for money, so they came to court Alex for causing his tooth to fall out. If they won the court, then they would get compensated with money. I sat in during the court, but didn’t say anything… I just wanted to watch and see what was going to happen. How would Alex respond to false accusations and no proof? Both the young boy and Alex gave their stories, and Alex did admit to hitting him twice in the face for stealing. But there was no evidence that the tooth fell out because of that hit. But, the court officials (who were not Christians) decided in favor of the boy and charged Alex.

A few days later I was in the village of the accusers, and they said to me, “We wanted to kiss and hug Alex for how he conducted himself during the court. He told his story truthfully, did not get angry, submitted to the authorities, and was very peaceful. We saw this in his life, and we knew that Jesus has changed him. We saw the fruit of his belief and baptism in his life.” What an amazing testimony!

Welsen, the instigator
A week ago, there was a huge disturbance in our village. We had sent out a young lady to the hospital in town with NTM Aviation because she was very sick and not eating and couldn’t swallow. Well, on Wednesday night of last week, the family heard over the radio that she had died in town. So there was screaming, yelling, wailing, but also angry fighting type of sounds, people angrily running up and down the airstrip hitting houses with bush knives. We found out later, that everyone was angry at the school teacher, who had supposedly had relations with her… in their minds they thought that he was the cause of the sickness which took her life. So they wanted to kill the teacher. In the morning, Welsen and a few other believers came to our houses here and we talked through this situation a bit. Welsen said that he could see this situation causing a lot of problems and conflicts in the village, and also in the midst of us believers. So he decided that we should pray. So we did, and he led us in a prayer for God’s protection, wisdom, and insight into how to handle this situation so it didn’t escalate and cause more problems. Then we had to go up for a court regarding some of the damages done to personal and community property. Welsen did not want to go with us. So I asked why, and he said, “You remember that before I was saved, I instigated many fights. Well, I know that if I go right now and look at the faces of those responsible for this disturbance, then I will probably sin by getting angry, starting a fight, or something. And I don’t want to do that, because Jesus wouldn’t want me to do that.” I was again very encouraged. Here is a man who was fleeing from sin (2 Tim. 2:22).

May you be encouraged in the Greatness of our God.

Clay Pots ~ Culture Stress

One of my better moments…

I have been culturally stressed this past month beyond anything I could have ever imagined. We have lived in the tribe for almost 6 years now and I feel like it was only today that we moved in. I was at the ladies bible study a few weeks ago and began to pinpoint some of the specific things that were stressing me out. Maybe you can pick out some things that just wouldn’t happen at your ladies Bible study in the States?….

We ladies gathered together and sat on the cold, wet, dirt floor of a small grass hut. The lady picked to share that day had her 3 year old son go from breast to breast nursing as he pleased while she shared from the book of Acts. He held her shirt up and for 10 minutes we had a topless speaker. To keep from staring I decided to count the flies that I was wildly trying to keep off my face. I got to a 100 and realized I should be paying attention to the speaker. By now her son was done nursing but had pooped in his pants right next to her so she took his clothes off, threw them in her bag, and he ran around her naked. And no, she never missed a beat the whole time. She then noticed that his nose was running (more like huge chunks of snot hanging down his face) and took her bare hands and wiped it off and then wiped it on her shirt. So I decided to count the bugs again. There was a weird looking orange spider that had crawled on my shirt, a fluorescent blue bug on it’s way to my leg, and something much bigger than a fly was trying to land in my hair! (Did you know God made 3 inch long furry bees?!!)…I was getting the willies and ready to cry. Then I started to cry. Not because my emotions were at an all time high but because the smoke from the fire in the middle of the hut was hurling large amounts of smoke at me (I am sure on purpose!). I was drenched in smoke and my nostrils were burning, so I moved closer to the lady sitting next to me to get out of the path way of the smoke. I offered to hold her baby while she got something out of her string bag. The baby peed all over me. Now I smelled of smoke and pee . So I tried focusing on something else and looked away. Only to be met by intense staring. Every child in the hut was watching me. That hasn’t changed in 6 years. I am constantly being stared at. You would think they would get used to me and my white skin and red hair! I even wear the same clothes so there’s nothing new to look at. But every move and word is seen and heard. They will actually notice if a piece of my hair falls out of my head and will grab it to inspect it. Now that is fishbowl living! I looked at my watch. 3 hours we have been sitting here and we haven’t even begun to pray yet which would take another couple hours. I cant feel my legs, I need to start dinner, and I really needed a shower. So I got up and left.

That’s it. The climax of my story. I left. I want you to know that even though I am supposed to be an “experienced” missionary…I make mistakes, more than I care to admit. I let these trivial things get to me and missed truly fellowshipping with these ladies because I was grossed out.

Will you pray for me as I try in the following months to ignore my culture stress and be sensitive to the Spirit?

His Clay Pot,
Kellie for the family

Clay Pots ~ Coming Home!

Sophia has only been in the States 8 months out of her 7 years of life
Malachi 7 weeks out of 4 years
And Micah 2.5 years out of 9

There is always a lot of confusion as to why missionaries go back home to their home country for a year after being on the mission field for 4 years. You see… we start getting this twitch, and then we start mumbling a lot in a different language, and then our kids start looking and acting like tribal kids! No, I’m only kidding (sort of). In partnership with our mission and our home churches, we all feel that it is a needed time for us to re-connect with not only our own culture, but also our churches and all of you. It is a time for us to really be able to share in person what God is doing over here and our future plans in this ministry. It is also a much needed sabbatical for Jason. Planting a church has it’s daily pressures and the spiritual battle has been intense these past 4 years and we are feeling it. Our family needs a time of spiritual renewal, corporate worship with our church bodies, and time as a family, husband/ wife outside of a tribal atmosphere. It has been 10 years since we have been home for a full year! We will be arriving in the states on May 7th.

“That is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine.” (Romans 1:12)

Many of you have asked what we would need when we go home. Here is a list of the things we will need when we get to the states. If you are selling any of these things or have any ideas of people to contact, please let us or Jason’s mom, Carol Knapp , know. She already has keys to the place that we will be renting and is setting it up ahead of time for us.

~Dressers
~Full Size Mattress Set
~ Pillows
~Mattress Covers
~Sheets/towels
~desk/ office chair
~A Vehicle
~Desk top computer for when we are home in the States and to bring back into the tribe for translation
~Printer
~kid’s bikes
~Jet Ski (thought I would just throw that one in there!)
~kid’s clothes ( 4T through 12 years old...we need to stock up for the next 4 years in the tribe )

We have made a DVD presentation of the incredible things happening here. And we are making one for kids to see what it is like to live in the jungles of Papua New Guinea as a MK (Missionary Kid). Make a date on your calendar to get together with the Knapps, and then let us know the date. We will be sure to let you know our phone # and address once we get them. You can always get a hold of us by e-mail though!

Clay Pots ~ Baptism

“…so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” -Joshua 4:24

I have often wondered why, if salvation is simply by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, that Jesus told us to baptize those who believe. I think maybe it has to do with solidifying our belief in our own minds. It is like the stone memorial which the Israelites erected after they crossed the Jordan River… it reminded them that they had believed God and God had fulfilled his promise. Baptism is a picture to us of what Christ did for us through his death, burial, and resurrection; and that God fulfilled his promise by saving us through faith in his Son. It is a memorial to God’s faithfulness in our lives.

Yesterday was a day full of truth and emotion. Two men (Welsen and Alex), 4 women, and Sophia, all stepped out and were baptized yesterday in front of their families and friends. The freezing cold mountain stream rushed down to where we stood in a waist deep pool of water. One of the ladies took a bag of flower petals and threw them on top of the water. And as the seven men and women solemnly stood there with heads bowed, water dripping off their hair, shivering, and yet full of joy, I couldn’t help but praise God for their simple yet steadfast faith in Jesus Christ. Years ago, I would have thought that the bowed heads and solemn faces was a sign of dissatisfaction, embarrassment, or uncertainty. But after spending time with them, I have come to realize that it is a sign of conviction and reverence. Praise God for their response.

Before we started, Welsen told Jason Williamson that he was afraid because he was one of only two men who were going to be baptized. Alex too, told me that he was afraid of what the community would do to him if he got baptized. But all those fears were dissolved after it was all said and done. Alex came up to me afterwards and said, “I see clearly now what you were trying to tell me all along. I just wanted to fight with you and say that things were going to go bad, or that you were not doing this right, or whatever. But now I see that this whole thing is simply a mark, a sign, of what happened when we believed. It is nothing more, and I see that now. I am sorry for doubting God’s Word.” He was so relieved, he went and killed a pig, and we had a wonderful feast. Those who had gotten baptized and those Christians who hadn’t, we all got together and sang songs, fellowshipped, and praised God for his salvation.

Afterwards, there were many people who came and told us that they too want to demonstrate their faith by being baptized very soon. So in the next couple weeks, we might just see some more of the believers act in accordance with Jesus command.

We want to thank all of you for your prayers this past week. It has been a difficult one; but we have seen God work in our own hearts, as well as the hearts of those around us. Thank you for holding us and the Tobo church up before the Lord.

Clay Pots ~ Prayers Needed

Jason took this picture on a recent hike he went on with Jason Williamson .. They had found a heart shaped crevice in a large boulder filled with the nights rain.

The believers clearly understand that baptism is simply an expression of their belief in Christ and that they are now associated with Him. They also understand that it is an act of obedience to Jesus’ command in scriptures, and that it is a testimony to those around them that they now believe in Jesus finished work on the cross. But to the rest of the community, baptism is the means by which a person leaves one religion and enters a new one, and thus they see it as an attack to their old belief system. I guess, in a way, they are correct, but the believers know that they are not becoming a part of a new religion; but that they have already been born into a new family; the family of God!

The date for the baptism has been set for Thursday, January 10th. I wish we could report that everyone is excited with anticipation for that date, but that is not the case. We have talked and prayed with various believers who have made it known that they are going to be baptized, and they have already been under tremendous pressure and persecution. Husbands, families, and village leaders have mocked them, laughed at them, and have even threatened to harm them if they proceed with their decision to be baptized. So the general atmosphere has been more along the lines of fear and nervousness, rather than joy and excitement. But we know that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. So we know that because they will be obeying God, this baptism truly will be a testimony to others, just as God intended it to be.

We covet your prayers. We need them. If we felt that your prayers were of no use, then we would not be writing this e-mail to ask you to pray. Pray for the Tobo believers, that they will have strength and courage in the face of opposition. Pray for Jason and some of the Tobo men who will be preparing what they will say on the 10th to the crowd of people. Pray that Jason will have courage and wisdom in addressing the crowd. Pray for the ladies whose husbands have not believed, and who are taking a real step of faith by disobeying their husbands in order to obey the command of Christ. And most of all, pray that God and his Son would be glorified in all that is said and done.