Please Pray - Opposition Continues

In our last update we were praising the Lord for moving in the heart of someone who was strongly opposed to the gospel in one of the locations where the Mibu church is doing an outreach. I'm still amazed by that. Keep your eyes out… I just recorded one of the church leaders telling the amazing story from his perspective. I need to put subtitles in it and then I'll post it!

What I'm writing about today is the other group I wrote about who was still opposed to the gospel and causing trouble for the church. That opposition continues to grow. If you remember, there was a family in the village of Joso who was opposed when the Mibu church was invited there to bring the gospel message. Their son, Semi, who you see in picture below with the swollen neck and face, became a believer despite their protestations. He chose to stand firm on the work of Jesus on the cross and the hope that is assured through his resurrection rather than the cargo cult beliefs and animism that his family and ancestors mixed in with shallow religious practices. Semi, about a year after becoming a child of God, died from some kind of cancer. His family is blaming those who brought the gospel message to them, saying that their son died because he listened to 'Satan's' talk. Semi's father has been going around blaming not only the church but also Ethnos360 (NTM) for his son's death. Unfortunately there are quite a few people in the surrounding area who are latching on to the things Semi's family has been saying.

The rumors are being spread, and now in one of the other outreach villages, Kookwik, about a day's hike away, where there has been a maturing church for a few years now, some opposition leaders severely beat one of the bible teachers, Banai, and his wife. Thankfully they are both recovering from their injuries, though she may be left with a permanent issue in her hip as a result. The growing opposition is threatening to burn the teachers' homes and belongings with gas. They're actively going around trying to dissuade anyone else from paying attention to the gospel teaching.

The church in Kookwik sent word via one of their teachers, Davison (pictured below), and are asking for help from the church in Mibu and from us. Sesi and I met with Davison, heard some of the difficulties that are being caused over there, and prayed together that God would protect the church there, and that he would do what only he can do, change the heart of man. Meanwhile we're contemplating some possible actions to try to keep the peace and not have the spread of the gospel hindered as the opposition intends to do.

I wish I had recorded the prayer of Sesi today as it was a prayer of deep faith and dependence on God and trust in his Word!

Would you please join us in prayer with us over the coming weeks for this issue; for protection for the believers there who are being persecuted, but also that God would change the minds of those who are so violently opposed to God's word.

From Opposition to Acceptance!

We have an exciting update to the situation we reported on in our last update about the outreach in Sindama! If you recall the teachers had said that many people (mostly led by one individual) were strongly opposed to the gospel message upon coming to the point of realizing that accepting the truth that God alone is the creator of everything would mean leaving behind a longstanding traditional belief that they themselves are deities of a sort. The confrontation grew intense, and the teachers continued to make the trips to keep developing this gospel message to those who still wanted to hear.

Well you prayed, and the Lord worked amazingly as he always does! It was reported to us recently that Kips, the main instigator in all this (along with those following his lead) continued to come to the teaching. Whether his motivation was to be present in order to oppose, or maybe his conscience being pricked by the Holy Spirit compelling him to keep listening, he and the others continued to come to the daily lessons. When the teachers finally got to the point of teaching about Jesus' life, death and resurrection Kips was moved to the point of tears! Somewhere along the way he must have begun to entertain the possibility that we are indeed created by God alone and that we are made to be in a relationship with him. Somewhere in there he must've begun to agree that our sin separates us from God and that God promised to make the necessary moves to bring us back to him. When Jesus' story was presented Kips must have seen all the pieces come together in that one person and to put his trust in him! Kips broke down in tears publicly and announced his faith in Jesus while also saying how sorry he was for opposing them so strongly!

I don't know about you, but WOW! When we meet opposition like this we can know, as the Mibu teachers do, that God is the one who works in peoples' hearts! Kips presented a seeming impossibility, but God moved him!

Originally we could only report somewhat ambiguously that a small handful of people were left looking to Jesus. But most recently it's been reported that at least 62 people in Sindama are new Christians! What a praise and a reminder that we can't take for granted who's heart God will move in!

Okay so zoom out from Sindama, and make your way up the mountain a ways and zoom back in to the village of Joso. If you recall the Mibu church did an outreach there a couple years ago. Joso is experiencing God at work too with a fledgling church continuing to receive teaching and growing in their faith. They too are not immune to opposition. There is one family there who has remained opposed to the teaching. Their young adult son, Semi, is a believer who just recently passed away from mouth or throat cancer. His family is blaming the Mibu church for his death (even though they helped raise money to get him to the hospital and try to get the care he needs), saying that they are the devil and that they caused this illness to befall their son. Usually when someone dies in Mibu friends and family all gather to view the body and mourn before burying it. Semi's family would not let any of the Mibu believers come to mourn before burying him. They literally blocked the roadway to keep them out. With all the other people from other areas coming as well to mourn, and hearing what Semi's family is saying about the church the Mibus are concerned that it will put a damper in other villages' willingness to hear the gospel message. Please be in prayer for this situation as Semi's family is even talking about taking the Mibu believers to court over their son's death! If we learned anything from Sindama, we know that this is not beyond God's control or ability!

Please continue to pray for the ever growing number of believers in the Mibu area; for the testimony of the church, the teachers taking the word to various places, for hardened hearts to be changed. Thank you so very much for your role in the Mibu Ministry as you faithfully pray!