Dear Friends,
Just 7 weeks back in PNG and what a whirlwind it has been. All I can say is that the Lord is forever faithful. My first few weeks were spent with 4 translation helpers here at Hoskins and we were able to cover a lot of ground in a short time. When the flight came to take my helpers back into the tribe, I went along with them!! It was GREAT to be back “home” again after being medevaced out last year. The Lord certainly was gracious in allowing me to see my friends and gave me strength to continue on with the translation work.
I have so many stories of actual miracles taking place in the hearts of people in our village, where doors that were once closed to the gospel are now being broken down!! It took me 3 hours on the phone yesterday to tell my co-worker Keri all about it and I nearly lost my voice!
There are SO many amazing things happening.
For instance, when Masi was out at Hoskins helping me with my translation work a few weeks ago, his unsaved wife Susan remained in the village. During this time, Susan signed up to start taking the Creation to Christ Bible lessons and has even been coming to church!! That is a huge miracle and one we’ve been praying about for ages. Susan’s parents have been closed to the gospel, but the Lord in His grace is drawing the younger generation to Himself.
And speaking of young people, I could tell you a long story about another family in our village who have been opposed to the Gospel from the very beginning. Just recently Kurme, the very youngest girl in the whole family (she’s probably 18 now and has 5 older siblings), is stepping out in spite of persecution and is coming to the Creation to Christ lessons and to church. Various family members and leaders of the religion Kurme’s family is in have tried to persuade her not to come to the Bible teaching. Thank the Lord for His work in her heart!! This young girl quietly allows people to talk, and then steps out and comes to the teaching anyways!!
Just last week her niece Lina has done the same thing and is now coming to the Bible teaching as well. The Lord is breaking down Satan’s stronghold in our village and we are amazed and overjoyed to see Him at work in the hearts of so many young people.
For those of you who are praying for 2 sisters Mande and Maria (married to Alex and Albert), you will be happy to hear that Kurme is their little sister. Please pray that these teen girls can have a real testimony to their siblings.
I counted 21 “new” kids/young adults coming to the Creation to Christ lessons. Considering we have only 180 in our village and many of them are already believers, that is HUGE. These young people represent families who have been rejecting the gospel for years. Please pray that they would attend the lessons faithfully every day and would come to and understanding of their sin and need of a Saviour. Just because the enter the church doors doesn’t make them righteous in God’s sight. They still have a long ways to go, but we know that the Lord is faithfully drawing them to Himself.
Praise the Lord for His faithfulness. To Him be the glory.
On a quick side note, I appreciate your prayers for me personally. My time in the village was incredible, but also mentally and emotionally exhausting. However, I didn’t even have as much as a headache the whole time, so that’s a huge answer to prayer. As for the translation work, praise the Lord that I accomplished more than I ever dreamed possible. There is still a very long way to go to bring the Mengen New Testament to completion, so I appreciate your continued prayers.
Thanks again for standing with me in this incredible ministry.
Becky Preheim