Clay Pots ~ The 12 Days of Christmas

Tingong and his wife had a baby boy (Caleb) while we were gone and she brought him for me to see as soon as we got back.

I keep humming the 12 days of Christmas song in my head except my version sounds more like this…

“On the first month of tribal living the Good Lord gave to me…6 layers of mold , 5 cockroaches, 4 earthquakes, 3 muddy kids, 2 leaping rats, and 1 (hundred) maggots”

Did I mention the spiders? Despite the cold, rainy world we now live in and our very limited access to communication. I am SO thankful! Thankful to be back with our co-workers, the Williamsons. Thankful for my ever-loving and gracious husband who not only kills all the things that try to live with us but he is also doing all that he can do to make this an easy transition for me. I am thankful for our kids who find the fun and laughter in all of this (“Hey, mom if the cockroaches eat crayons they poop different colors!”). And I am so very thankful for the Tobo people and our ministry here with them. We met this past Sunday for church. There were about 12 people there, and as I sat there I said to myself; “if God has decided to send us here so that 12 Tobo people can be in heaven with Him then so be it, I will do it.” I have been reading Jeremiah and God asked him to go and warn his people and then told Jeremiah “oh by the way they wont listen to you and you won’t do any good”. (Kellie’s version) So I am thankful for these 12 growing and maturing believers. Jason told them that God started with just one man and one woman. He can do mighty things here as well. So they are encouraged and we are praying hard that maybe God will choose to do something even bigger here.

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

Clay Pots ~ Everlasting God

I could feel a change in myself. With Kellie and our two younger children safely resting in the guesthouse in town, Micah and I were flying at 9,000 ft. above a sea of endless clouds. It was 6:30 a.m. and off to my right there was a huge thunderstorm, underneath us I caught a glimpse of a huge waterfall surrounded by steep white cliffs, then quickly shrouded in clouds again. As this amazing panorama was unfolding beneath me, my mind went back to the past year and what it was that God had taught me. The first song I had heard at church after returning to the states last year was “Everlasting God”. Little did I know then that that song would encapsulate my whole experience while stateside. “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord… You are the Everlasting God, you do not faint, you won’t grow weary. You are the defender of the weak. You comfort those in need. You lift us up on wings like eagles.” I am weak, but God the Father has been my defender. I am a very needy person, yet God patiently comforted and strengthened me, and he has changed me and lifted me up again to soar upon his grace.

You see, a year and a half ago, while sitting in a little plane looking at endless clouds, not knowing what was going to greet me on the ground, and carrying the burden of a young church, I would have had a pit in my stomach, shivers from the nervousness, and my mind would have been racing with scenario after scenario of what to do in each and every circumstance. But not so this time. I could feel a peace from God and a confidence in Him like I have never experienced before. I sat there in awe of his creation, the cloud formations, the incredible expanse of jungle, the waterfalls; and I thought back to how faithful the Father had been to me over the course of this past year. Here I was again, going back to this little corner of the world where only He could give me a desire to live and serve him and I was impressed with the fact that he doesn’t faint and he doesn’t grow weary. In fact, he patiently, lovingly, and graciously continues to conform us to the image of our Savior and hero, Jesus Christ. He did this for me, and he has done it in the lives of the Tobo believers too. Though their numbers are fewer, I could see growth and maturity peeking out of the lives of those I have seen.

After a huge embrace, the first words out of Tingon’s mouth to me were, “I continually thank God for our brother-brother relationship. I had lost hope and then God sent you to tell me of Jesus. While you were gone I have seen God meet my needs and care for me. Oh, I have had heavies, but he has helped and guarded me through them all, and I am doing well. I praise Him.” At this point in time I did have shivers… but they were not from nervousness. They were shivers of awe at how great and awesome God the Father is… how he can minister to me, as I wait on him, in the crazy and hectic pace of America, while at the same time he can minister to Tingon in the jungle mountains of Papua New Guinea. Wow! He is the Everlasting God! The defender of the weak!

Thank you to all of you who have prayed for us and have supported us this past year. Thank you for not giving up on us and allowing us the privilege of representing you to the Tobo church.

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

Clay Pots ~ the eagle has landed

We made it to Papua New Guinea after one of the most uneventful and smooth flights we have ever encountered. Thank you for your prayers! All our luggage was accounted for and we got through customs without even having to open a single bag! 36 sleepless hours later and we arrive to speaking a different language, eating totally different food, and living with a new standard of cleanliness. When we got off our last plane there were people screaming and whaling. One of the passengers on the plane was obviously coming back for a funeral of a relative and it is the way of the people here to show how sorry they are. We aren’t in Kansas anymore TotoJ.

We are at the mission base in town and Jason flew out with Micah this morning to go into the tribe. Monday morning I fly in with Sophia and Malachi. For the next 4 days I have different meetings in order to catch up with the newest tax laws, home school, computer set up for e-mails from the tribe, buy supplies, etc.

Thank you for all your love and support this past year. We were given an undeserved “heroes” farewell and we will cherish the memories forever.

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

(we are now 15+ hours ahead of you – go to the website www.claypots.org to see exactly what time it is here)
((That's on this page, in the upper right!))