My sincerest apologies for taking so long to let you all know more about our recent survey trip into the Jerung language area. I started this the day after we got back, but then came down with a nasty stomach bug and was down for the count for a couple days.
For starters I want to thank all of you who were praying for us during the survey! I was concerned, before starting, that my ankles and knees, which have been problematic were going to be an issue for me as we worked our way up and down and across the mountains so notorious for their steep, rugged and unforgiving trails. By God's many special graces we were able to make the entire 48km trek, ascend over 10,300ft, descend over 9,600ft, crossing rivers and landslides with no more pain (for the most part) than tired muscles. It wasn't until the last 5km that my knee gave out, and I was able to gimp my way to our last destination. Amazingly my ankles, for which I had the most concern, gave me zero problems! Isaac came down with stomach issues and fever early on, but we were ready to treat with some antibiotics. We're so thankful for God's many mercies along the way as we relied on the hospitality of the residents of the various places we visited, and had mostly favorable weather with not too much rain or other circumstances that would otherwise make it impossible to continue. The food was good. We had places to sleep. And one place was particularly comfortable as a couple foam mattresses and pillows were produced for us to sleep on! Overall, we were able to accomplish what we'd hoped!
Each place we went to, we would explain what we're doing and ask if it's OK that we're there and if it would be OK to sit and meet with some of the people and leaders. Once given the OK, and also being set up with a host family, we'd spend several hours asking folks about their village, any government services they have there (if any), gathering word lists (to compare language across dialects), asking about religious groups in the area, and whether or not each place might be interested in a church planting ministry being initiated there. For that, we explain the 4 things that make up such a ministry; One being that a team locates there, living full-time, and learning the language and culture of the people; Two, that they'd develop a written alphabet for their unwritten language and teach the people how to read and write in their own language; Three, that they'd work to translate the bible into their language; and Fourth, that they'd teach them the bible. After making these things clear we'd ask them if those are things they'd be interested in having happen there.
All but one of the villages were pretty excited about the prospect. The invitation extended by the two closest villages to the Mibu area was beyond emphatic, and had the unanimous agreement among their leaders. This confirms what we've been hearing for several years now!
I'll share one story that shows just how God has been working on several fronts to prepare the hearts of these people to hear and respond to his word. In one of the villages nearer to Mibu, we stayed with a 'pastor' of a FourSquare church there. We had a few hours to talk personally with him before meeting with all the rest of the local leaders. During this time he excitedly shared with us his interest in having the gospel brought to the area. His interest is several-fold, one of which is having interacted with leaders from the Mibu church and seeing the change in the community there since God's word has taken root. But the other one that got him really excited is the one I want to share about. This gentleman was in Madang town some time ago where he ended up interacting with another NTM missionary who was running errands around town. Through further interaction with this missionary this pastor guy got a hold of some books that basically outline the redemptive story of the bible, written in Pidgin English (the trade language) and published by another of NTM's missionaries. So this pastor brought the books back and has been reading them. He's been so stoked by what he's reading! He was animatedly sharing with us… 'I went to a bible school there in Madang, and here I am a pastor of a church. But I'm reading these books and I realize I don't understand the bible at all. I'm teaching people, yet I don't know anything about what the bible says! I've never known these things before. And now that I see more and more what the bible is showing us I think everyone else here absolutely needs to know it too!'
We were blown away to be in this place away from home and see how God has been orchestrating from different angles to pique this man's interest in hearing more about who He is! And while the other leaders, too, were interested previously from having seen the changes in Mibu, this pastor's excitement is clearly sealing the deal in their minds. It's infectious!
Having Sesi and Lukas, from Mibu, accompany us was so so perfect! For one they're leaders in the church in Mibu who are planning on helping in any ministry efforts possible there in Jerung. Also their insights and cultural wisdom proved invaluable as we looked at each place, listened to people's stories, and try to evaluate where ministry might best be initiated, and what it might look like! And finally, it was really good training for them to be a part of that evaluation process; to get a better feel for some of the things that need to be evaluated. Sesi and Lukas were much more sensitive to subtle cultural overtones that we as expats have a hard time picking up on! For example, in one place, the leaders were pointing out 3 different areas they'd marked out where potential missionaries could build their homes. Regarding one of the areas, Sesi mentioned that any future missionaries would either want to avoid it or otherwise check very thoroughly because he was picking up that some sacred ancestral ground was attached to it. Such an attachment could spell early disaster in ministry because of the misunderstandings that could create! Sesi was able to pick up on this with teeny tiny cues in the language that were being used to show us the place. As foreigners, there's no way we would have heard or understood those little unintended hints. Even Sesi, once he tried to ask some clarifying questions, had a hard time getting anything concrete. These types of things can be incredibly difficult to understand, especially on these initial 'surface' interactions. They often stay hidden for years before being discovered through careful cultural study. Anyway, Sesi said since there are two other potential places to build in that village that we ought to just avoid that one to be sure. Don't want to mess with that.
Many of you are probably wondering what's next. We've been getting a clear invitation to the Jerung language for several years, we just did a survey which confirmed their openness and gave us a chance to sit with the local leaders personally, and also to evaluate each place, and how dialectical differences between places might play into the decision of where to start. Now we'll compile all this information into a report, share it with the field leadership, and make it available for those prospective missionaries who are trying to decide where they might best go to be a part of the spread of God's word. They'll now have much more information than they've had in the past. Our hope is that it'll be enough to allow for better consideration and eventually the placement of a couple families there in Jerung, in partnership with the church in Mibu!
Thanks again for all of you who prayed, and also for those who give financially each month in partnership with us in this ministry to the people of Mibu!
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| One of many bamboo bridges we crossed over strong rivers |
