Greetings all,

“….And the Lord added daily to the church such as should be saved – Act’s 2:47.” When we moved into the Wana Tribe back in 1979 we quickly learned of a sub-dialect of Wana known as the “Kaju Morangka” people. These people were the most remote of the Wana people and VERY afraid of outsiders. When they learned of our moving into Wana they would quietly come to our village to buy soap and salt but return back home the same day and we would never see them.

In 2003 our helicopter pilot who was flying at the time would often fly over this area and knowing these people were without the gospel challenged our Wana churches with reaching out to this group. He offered to help them with the flying, flying expenses, and to help them with building a house if they had someone they could send into this area. Pastor Bedo Saka and his wife, who were from our first Wana church, felt the Lord leading them into this ministry and moved to this area. It was a tough and challenging work in many ways – most people would have thrown in the towel but pastor Bedo and his wife stuck it out. (At one point due to a poor harvest and the helicopter not available they were at the point of starvation and an old picture showed pastor Bedo with his ribs clearly visible – skin and bones.) The first year Pastor Bedo spent just listening to them story to him their cultural stories and beliefs. After a year of listening to their stories and gaining their confidence Pastor Bedo told them that he now had a story that he wanted to tell them. He began teaching them the gospel – starting with just a few people who would listen. Eventually little by little folks started coming to know the Lord.

Well, lots of water has gone under the bridge since those early days and a village has now been established there known as “Watu Buya” (White Rock). We know Satan has wanted to use this corona virus to thwart what God is doing but the Lord continues to work in “Watu Buya”. Just a few weeks ago in the midst of this pandemic 22 people of the group pictured below followed the Lord in “believers baptism” making a public testimony of their faith in Christ. Oh, and by the way, they are now no longer afraid of us and enjoy coming to our Bible conferences – it is hard to believe they are the same people. Thanks for being a part of this ministry through your prayers and gifts – God is still at work!

God Bless,

Ed n Jeanne

p.s. Pastor Bedo is the man holding the book in his hand.