God is at work in the mountains!
The Gospel of Jesus Christ has gone to another village in Papua New Guinea!
In 2019 we took the Firm Foundation lessons to the village. In 2018, we first went to take a look at the place and the people were often drunk from a home brew called Yava and they would fight and cut each other and scream at each other and do other bad things in that community. When we first observed the people, we thought it would be really hard to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those people. But two men from that community, Laurens and Tony, went to a nearby village in 2018 and heard the “Firm Foundation” lessons being taught to unbelievers there. They clearly understood the Gospel of Jesus Christ and believed.
Later, they returned home to their village and talked to their families about what they had heard and they told them about what things were happening among the believers in other areas. Their report took hold on many of the villagers and they wanted to hear also, so they sent word to the Mibu church and we took the lessons to them in 2019.
When we went to teach them the lessons, many of them were so happy and many of them asked questions. Among them was a man named Kip who was opposed to us because we didn’t answer their question as he wanted us to.
We completed teaching all the lessons in the course and many believed in Christ, including Kip! We observed that many of them were filled with joy. We continued teaching them through the other courses in Pidgin English and their faith is grew stronger.
Some Great Changes Came to the village
When we got into the lessons in Romans and Ephesians, we saw many changes in their lives. Many of the young men stopped drinking Yava and the yelling and rebellious behaviour stopped in the community.
These are some of the troublemakers in the community who have believed in Jesus who are rejoicing and have a great desire to see the gospel go out to other areas of the Ngain language family.
Many of the elderly men and women in the community are rejoicing and thanking God that he saved them before they died and they know now that it won’t be long before they are seated with Him.
What about all those who have not believed in Jesus Christ yet?
In the Ngain language many people have not received eternal life in Jesus yet. They have seen the changes in the believers and want the lessons to be taught to them also. But at this time there are no workers to help them.
We Bible teachers and elders of the church have a great joy in working together to see lives saved. We rejoice too when we see God redeeming people.
Our concerns are that God’s message must go out to other locations, too. But we want our local churches to be strong in the faith and have good leaders. We desire to have missionaries in the languages around us so they can translate God’s Word for the people and together we can draw strength from each other like the illustration of many pieces of firewood giving off heat and light, but if one piece is left alone, it will soon lose its heat and light. Therefore, having fellowship with other believers and missionaries will keep us shining brightly.
Pray for the lost people in that area.
Praising God for working in the hearts of these people.
Jim & Kathy Tanner
Papua New Guinea
Earlier in March…
This photo brought joy to my heart as I have been following these four former students. They lacked knowledge, but certainly came with enthusiasm and a will to learn. Thomas and Rose are a couple, Peter is married, and Jeremy is single. They were handpicked by their leaders to attend training.
Their leadership team had a specific goal in mind when they sent them to us. They had targeted an area that didn’t have any churches preaching the gospel of grace. The plan was to put Thomas and Rose in one area and Peter and his wife in another designated area, which became a reality.
It has been great to see them plod along faithfully in their designated ministries. Both areas now have good sound churches and are teaching others to go out and spread the good news. They have even started a small Bible Institute to teach folks who don’t attend their churches. Jeremy lives in the capitol and he is managing a Christian Bookstore there.
Thank you, God, for the plodders who even though they face obstacles they stay focused on putting you first and teaching your Word.
Jim & Kathy Tanner, Papua New Guinea
You must be logged in to post a comment.