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.