Truth Impacting Some
First a bit of reflecting on the most recent Bible Study meeting Chris and fellow missionary Aaron DeRidder have had with the national workers as they've been teaching through Creation to Christ in Pigin. They have started teaching on the 10 Commandments, a crucial point of understanding in the study. One of the guys, Remal, upon hearing the commandment "thou shalt have no other gods before me", pondered outloud, "that's just like us! When we cut our fingers off, or keep some part of an ancestor when they die, and then talk to it and pray to it as if they can help us with something...that's just like worshipping them instead of God". How true he is! Another fellow attending the Bible study immediately piped up, "yeah, but Rimal's from the Yagaria tribe! They do that kind of thing there! WE don't do that!". This particular gentleman has made claims to being a Christian, and yet, at a mumu (a food festival of sorts) was overheard by a fellow missionary leading the others in a prayer TO the mumu (to the food) itself! We praise the LORD for the insight He has given to some (like Remal), and yet are saddened to see the hardness of hearts of some others. We are saddened, but do not dispair! Our Lord is powerful, and His Word is sharp and is able to penetrate the hardest of hearts! Please pray with us for these dear souls! Pray that as we continue to teach through the 10 Commandments that they will come to understand that the true purpose of them...to show us our sinful and hopeless state...NOT a means to becoming acceptable to God.Great Opportunities to Share Truth
I (Angie) have had the opportunity to develop a neat friendship with a local lady named Trixie. We have shared a neat relationship of give and take and helping each other out with different projects. In and effort to keep this neat friendship going, I've asked her to teach me how to make bilums (the string bags that EVERY PNG lady knows how to make). She has claimed to be a Christian, and I'd been praying for an opportunity to find out just where she is (seeing as we've had so many experiences of some claiming to be Christians, but are so confused spiritually). One evening, she was at our house, and we were working on making bilums, and after conversation seemed to die down, Chris suggested that we put on a documentary DVD. We've enjoyed doing this kind of things with nationals in the past, allowing them to see other parts of the world (or even outer space in some cases) that they would otherwise not get to see, and help to broaden their world view. The one we put in happened to be on archeology, and in this particular episode, the archeological team "happened" to dig up an ancient cemetery. As they were brushing off the bones they had found, and discussing what they could tell about the lives of the people from those bones, Trixie got very tense, and her hands stopped moving as she sat there completely horrified by what she was seeing!! We really had not anticipated this kind of response at all!!! In our other conversations about faith and such, we had no reason to believe that she wasn't a Christian, as she had claimed. But, as we noticed her reaction, and asked her what she was thinking, she said that she was scared for them (the archeologists) because of the spirits of the dead people. We stopped the DVD, and turned to her and asked her what the Bible had to say about a person's spirit. "Where does a person's spirit go when they die?" She answered, "to heaven or to hell". "Right, so why do we need to be afraid of dead people's spirits?"The PNG culture that Trixie has grown up in is wrought with beliefs and teachings about dead people's spirits. There is much belief that these spirits hang around indefinitely, and can be manipulated into helping them gain specific knowledge, manipulate nature, or even other people. Trixie went home so upset by what she had seen that she could not fall asleep, but instead stayed up working until after midnight, at which point she collapsed out of pure exhaustion.
She came back to see me the next day and shared all that with me. She commented about how WE (the missionaries) were not afraid, and that we knew why we didn't need to be afraid. She knows that Chris has been teaching this Bible study in Pigin, and as this came up in our conversation, I realized that we may not be here long enough to share this same study with her all the way through. Then it occurred to us: THIS is exactly why we have worked on developing relationships with the local churches that we have. One of the local churches uses this same Bible study on a regular basis. I mentioned this to Trixie and asked her if she would like to attend this church with us. She was VERY excited to!!
Unfortunately, the day that she was supposed to come with us, she came up sick! I've not seen much of her at all these last 2 weeks since then. Please pray that I can get in touch with her again, and that she would still be interested in attending this church where we believe she can get good Biblical teaching that will clear up any confusion she might have. Also pray that I might have an opportunity to talk with her about the state of her eternal soul...if she is confused in other areas, it is vital that she is clear in that!
Schooling Update
Well, a month and a half into homeschooling plus Discovery, and all is going well! I have had the blessing of another Discovery therapist who has sat in on a couple of our sessions now and made some extremely helpful suggestions! We praise the LORD for her insight, experience and help. We continue to feel good about how things are progressing. Jael is due for a re-evaluation this winter during Christmas break (Dec. or Jan.), and we will have more concrete answers as to where she is and just how she is doing then. In the mean time, all indications are good, and we are enjoying our time learning together.Help in ICT
Thank you for praying! Chris has a new co-worker in ICT. Norber Huebner and his wife Michaela arrived from Germany just over a week ago! Already he has been a huge blessing in helping to lighten the work load there. MORE co-workers are needed in the department, so please keep praying!Waiting Patterns
We know we have asked prayer for this before, but we ask yet again for you to pray with us about the future ministry of our family. As time moves on, we are rapidly approaching the time that may well give us at least some of the answers that we seek. As that time approaches, and as we start to make decisions that will effect our future, we ask for wisdom and continued clear direction!In a couple weeks, we will travel down to Madang for the Madang Regional Conference. After that, we will have a long over-due break with our family (it's been almost 15 months since we've had a break together as a family away from our support center where we live and work). We anticipate that we may start to get some direction during that time, and again this winter, with some possible decisions to be made then or shortly after the first of the year. It's a time of great anticipation, as we've seen this coming, and have looked forward to it as well. But as with any change that comes, there is both excitement and some fear. Yet, we know that as we strive to keep our eyes on Him, and our ears tuned to His Word, He will be faithful to lead us right.
I know this email has gone on a bit. Some exciting things happening here, and we are so privileged to get to be here with a front-row seat! Serving here on your behalf, it is our joy to share these stories with you! Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement.
Here because of HIM,
Chris, Angie, Jael, Baruch and Titus Walker
