Clay Pots ~ Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT 6-8pm

Your Wednesday night between 6-8pm is when the Tobo believers meet together here in PNG. (Your Wednesday night is our Thursday morning because we are 15 hours ahead of you.) As you sit down and eat dinner every Wednesday night could you remember to pray? Or perhaps that is when you are at church for a Bible study or prayer meeting. While you are meeting, would you be willing to pray for your fellow brothers and sisters meeting at the same time half a world away?

This week I was reminded of Galatians 1:6-9. During the believer’s meeting last Thursday we were joined by a group of men and women from a village across the valley. One of the men had come the previous week; possibly to spy us out. They caught us off guard and brought their guitars, and proceeded to take over the meeting. PNG culture does not allow us to “shame” someone in a public forum, so the believers just sat there. These people were false prophets from a false belief who came and sang songs which we didn’t know (they were in another language to boot), prayed lofty memorized prayers showing off their lack of knowledge of Bible references, and they gave testimonies of how Jesus had appeared to and literally “spoken” to them. Praise the Lord, they did not try to do any teaching. But, they were there to take Jesus’ sheep and try to “lure” them away to their false believe. Some of it was subtle and some of it wasn’t.

I have talked to different believers this past week about what happened during that meeting, just to see what they thought of it. I have come away from those discussions encouraged with their maturity. It has been a great time of discipleship. Tingon said, “I felt very uncomfortable. That man was just showing off in his prayer like the Pharisees did in Jesus time. It wasn’t true.” And after I asked Nikos if anyone could actually see Jesus, he said, “No, Jesus is at God’s right hand, and God speaks to us through what the prophets wrote in His Word. If it isn’t written in God’s Word then it’s not true and it’s a lie.” So I asked him if a person adds anything to the gospel, what does the apostle Paul say about that in Galatians? And Nikos let out a yell and said, “Anyone who adds to the good news, and does not simply believe that Jesus died on the cross for them, they are going to hell! They are Satan’s people! Wow, I never saw it like that before!”

This Tuesday, Nikos and I will be hiking to where this group lives and telling them if they come again they can only sit and listen. They will not be allowed to sing their songs, pray their prayers, or speak. Please be praying for us as we go and confront them. And please be praying for the believers: that they will not be swerved from the truth; and that as we meet again next week and talk with them about what happened last week, that they will apply the truths of God’s Word to their lives.

Don’t forget to pray on Wednesdays! As you sit and eat dinner on Wednesday night, half way around the world, your brothers and sisters are worshipping the Lord in the Tobo language. Kind of awesome hey?!

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

Clay Pots ~ Just Between Us Ladies

My much coveted and looked forward to “girl time” with fellow missionaries when going out to town!

I thought it would be nice to sit down and just write a letter from one lady to another. Recently I was asked how long I have lived here in PNG by a new missionary and I said,” 6 years this August” and you know what? They looked at me like I was this old and seasoned missionary!! Boy do I have them fooled! It’s hard to believe that it has been 6 years ago that we packed up and headed to a completely unknown country, ministry, and way of life. Along with those things my mixed feelings of fear and excitement. Now I sit here 6 years later and I still have those mixed feelings of fear and excitement! I love looking back at what God has done in those 6 years in my life as a wife, mother, and friend. I can honestly say He never failed me, never gave up on me, never left me, never stopped being good, and never stopped growing me. I wish I could say the same about myself!

Even though I live in a different country than you and have a different ministry and different lifestyle. I know that we all struggle with a lot of the same things. And ultimately we are all learning to be totally and completely dependent on our God. I frankly don’t enjoy the molding part of being a clay pot for Him and have prayed that desperate prayer of “Father leave me alone it hurts too much!!!” But when it’s all said and done I am so thankful that He didn’t stop and leave me alone.

I want to thank each one of you ladies for being with me in this journey of life and for praying for me in this ministry. It has it’s hardships just like anywhere else. But I am privileged to be a part of it and to have you behind me in it. Thank you for the grace, love, and forgiveness that you have poured out on me as I learn to be what He wants me to be and as I represent you over here to the Tobo church. I am sure God could have picked someone wiser, more loving, more perfect. But I guess He thinks this broken pot is useful out here in PNG.

Your prayers, letters, e-mails, packages, and gifts of love do not go unnoticed and you are a big factor in keeping me sane out here in an isolated mountain tribe. You are my special gifts of blessings and my long distance “girl time”!

Here are some questions I get asked that I thought might be fun to answer and feel free to ask anything else you might think of:

How do you get your food and supplies?
Once a month I send out a grocery list to a supply buyer in town who takes that list and try’s to find it all in our limited grocery stores in town and then packs it up, weighs it, and puts it on the plane for us. Once a month a small little 206 Cessna plane then flies into our grass airstrip and brings us all our food, veggies, eggs, mail, and supplies. Including all cosmetics, office supplies, hardware, medical, etc. That is one of my biggest jobs. To make sure we have enough to eat for a month and not to forget anything on that list!! There are times that due to weather or scheduling the plane cant come in so I also need to keep an extra month worth of supplies on hand for those “just in case” moments!

What is your kitchen like?
We don’t have a toaster, a refrigerator, a mixer, a microwave or anything that requires electricity. We do have a freezer that runs off of solar power for all our meats and leftovers. We fly in gas bottles that run our gas stove and oven. Jason made a gravity fed water system. So above our house is a spring that he piped into our house and I have running water in my kitchen and bathroom. We also heat the water through the gas bottles for a must have hot water shower for me!

What do you cook?
I try and cook as American as possible. The Tobo people’s sweet potatoes and spinach get old really fast.

Is there anywhere to go to getaway?
No. There is just mountain after mountain of tribe after tribe of people after people. If we go for a walk or sit on the porch there is always people around looking at us or following us. I am still trying to talk the Grandparents, Wal-mart, McDonalds, and Kohls to move out here!

How do you do laundry?
I have an automatic washing machine that we run on our generator and then hang the laundry out under the roof of our porch.

Do you dress-up and wear make-up?
You bet! I still have a husband who I like to flirt with. We try to make a date night once a week where the kids go to bed early and we go on a date to… our living room.

Do you get TV?
No we don’t, but we do have a DVD player and TV that we love to watch movies/sitcoms on. It has to have a good Hollywood ending though for me to watch it!!

What do you do for the kid’s schooling?
I home school Micah and Sophia. I dream of living in a place that I can send them to a school that has a qualified teacher!

Do you love what you do?
I know this is where God wants me to be and I would not trade it for anywhere else. I also know we will not be here forever.

What are holidays like there?
Even though we don’t have hallmark to remind us we make a pretty good party way out here! If it is a holiday we make sure to decorate and celebrate it! Yes, despite popular opinion…the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause, and the Tooth Fairy do know where PNG is.

What do you do for medical and dental?
We have medicines and medical books in the tribe so we try and do a lot of diagnosing and treating ourselves. When that doesn’t work we then fly out to see our mission Dr. It’s usually a $2,000.00 trip not covered by insurance so we don’t like to do that very often. And if the weather is bad or it’s night time then a plane can't get into here to get us out. We have learned (and in the process of learning) to rest in that God will take care of us and our kids in His perfect way, no matter where we are.

What is your house like?
I will send you pictures of it…once it’s all cleaned up!

Well I have tried to keep this e-mail short but you know how woman are!!!

His Clay Pot,
Kellie

Clay Pots - The Family

We thought we would update you a little on each member of our family:

Jason: I am still growing up. I have finally learned how to do the dishes; and I think I was even caught making omelets for breakfast the other day. I spend my time translating, teaching the Tobo believers the Word of God, working on the computer, snapping pictures, and teaching our kids bad manners.

Kellie: She is still home schooling Micah and Sophia, cooking, cleaning, cooking, scheduling flights, cooking, ordering supplies, cooking, corresponding with all of you, cooking, and did I mention cooking? She is a great mother and wife, and we don’t know what we would do without her. Oh, and she is the one who teaches our kids good manners.

Micah: Micah is 8, and just like Tom Sawyer. If he isn’t doing his 3rd grade homework, sitting in school, or playing leggos, he is usually out swinging from vines, cutting down the jungle with a machete, making forts, digging pits, playing soccer, and whooping it up with the boys. He just had his first cavity in his back molar, and was a real trooper getting it filled.

Sophia: Sophia is 5 (almost 6 now). She is getting very tall, and is a very pretty girl. If “Soap” (as we call her) is not sitting in kindergarten trying to learn to read and count to 100 (“why do I need to learn this anyway… you don’t count to 100 do you?”), then she is out scavenging the neighbors for sweet potato, cucumbers, or passion fruit. She also carries a bush knife and cuts down trees and grass, starts fires regularly, and swings from tree to tree. She is getting to be a good cook and might even rival her father sometime.

Malachi: Malachi, what can I say? Malachi is now 2 almost 3 years old. He never looses his smile, I think it is plastered on his face. He has a contagious laugh and is always the life of every party. Malachi loves to help me with any maintenance around the house and with translating the Bible Lessons with my helpers. All my friends call him the “old man” and treat him with utmost respect. He is always 100 yards ahead of us on the trail, or climbing a cliff by his hands and feet, or chasing his brother and sister begging to have the bush knife. (don’t worry, we won’t let him have it…yet).

Scamper and Abigail: They are our two cats. They make themselves useful by shedding, eating our leftovers, and leaving rat heads by the front door almost every morning. Yes, we greatly appreciate it.

Hope you have gotten to know us a little better; and we thank you for your prayers. We have had some close calls with accidents this past year; but God has kept us safe; and we realize that it is because you are praying for our little tribe. Thank you.

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

Tobo people singing praises

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