Well, it’s been a while… again… since our last update. We’re so bad about that recently.
As we’re getting closer and closer to our scheduled return home on September 29th, it takes extra effort to keep our minds on things here in Mibu! We’re really excited about our first proper furlough coming up here; a time where we hope to not only ‘catch up’ with our beloved friends and family, but also to have the time to grow more in those relationships!
The recent child training lessons all went really well. We’re excited to see signs of people who are starting to perceive their parenting task from a biblical perspective. If there is one single thing that we hope rang out above all the rest of the teaching, it is that the parents are the God placed authority over their children. It’s been the other way around here for so long that that one truth really comes as a shocker to most; A real eye opener there. We drove that point home again and again.
It’s been so awesome to watch one of my close friends here, with whom I probably spend the most time as he’s my main translation helper. He’s had a preview of much of this stuff as he spends the most time with me and my family and as we’ve developed the lessons over this last year, I’ve had much discussion with him. At this point there is a clear and marked difference in his house as he has strived to incorporate what God’s word says into his role as parent to his 2 children. It’s encouraging to see him taking the time and gently directing and disciplining his children and showing a genuine care for them as creatures made in God’s image. His household will clearly be an example to the many others who have heard the talk and are now just starting down that road.
There are two more lessons left at this point. It will be a couple weeks before they’re ready. One will be Shannon addressing mainly the ladies concerning the young newborns. Then I have one more final lesson that I’ll be putting together here to wrap things up for this round.
In the meanwhile, Joey has begun to take them through the book of Romans… but this time with real scripture in the mother tongue! It’s very satisfying to see God’s word being used and adored by the people in their own language.
