Thank you so much for your love, prayers and gifts! We are deeply grateful for your part in reaching the Hewa people with the love of Jesus. Thank you!
We had originally planned to return to the States for a one-year home-assignment starting in May but now we are praying about returning in July. In the meantime, the Lord has granted health and safety for us and our Hewa friends and we are happy to press forward with New Testament translation and teaching/discipleship. We are currently translating Colossians, Philemon, 1-3 John and Jude during the day and have enjoyed teaching the freshly translated book of 1 Peter three evenings each week. We are very grateful for those who continue to have a desire to learn and grow in their walk with the Lord.
We are also very pleased to report that the first phase of the Creation-through-Christ outreach to the small village of Yano is complete! Kifeson and his wife, Emiyas, took their family and another young family to Yano (about a nine-hour hike from our village) in March and started teaching daily lessons to the very remote little group and just this week I received news from Kifeson saying the people there followed well and did a great job answering his questions, showing that they comprehend the main truths of the message.
Then today, Kifeson hiked to the top of a nearby mountain where there is cell phone reception so he could call us. We had a good conversation where he told me that some in the group are now professing faith in Jesus. He said they have invited him to continue into the next phase of teaching which is a series of lessons designed to strengthen the faith of new believers. He hopes to hike here with his family for a short break and then to return to Yano with a new blackboard (a windstorm destroyed the one pictured at the top) so that in addition to teaching the Bible he can also teach a new reading and writing class for others who have a new desire to read the Bible for themselves.
These pictures were taken a few years ago when Kifeson and Emiyas made their first trip to Yano to teach a group how to read and write in their language. Please pray for the Yano villagers as they grow in their new faith, and please remember to pray for Kifeson and Emiyas and also Aliyes and Lusina as they plan to continue teaching in Yano.
As we consider this time of uncertainty across the globe, our hearts break for those who have lost family and loved ones. Our prayer is that God will give all of us the insight and courage for how to best reflect the love of Jesus into the hearts and lives of those around us.
Love and prayers,
Jonathan, Susan & Mikenna
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