Full Hearts
“Gaaa!,” Naz says as he smiles. Luke and I’s eyes are glued on him, full of awe and love for our son. Naz has not really done much yet (other than eat, sleep, poop, pee, and look cute) and yet we love him so much, it’s unconditional. As I thought about that, I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to my soul, “that’s how God loves you.”
God loved me before I ever became a missionary, before I ever started serving him, going to church, praying, etc. The way I lovingly look at Naz, is how God looks at me.
And it’s that kind of love, the unconditional love of a father, that moved him to act.
God’s love for us moved him to act when we were far from him. We were his enemies, rebelling against his rule, worshipping other things, and headed toward destruction. Because of his love for us, he sent Christ to die in our place, making a way for eternal relationship with our heavenly Father by trusting that Christ paid for our wrong doings. There was nothing we could do to remove our wrongs before a holy God. Only in Christ can we be made right with Him. He died for us and offers us eternal life and relationship with him. All we have to do is accept that gift.
”God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8
Just as parents delight in their children, God delights in us as his children.
1 John 3:1a “See what kind of love the Father has given to us - that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”
Thank you for praying for us as we adjust to parenthood and enjoy time with our family, friends, and home church in Atascadero, CA. We are loving being parents so far and enjoying this time. Thank you also for praying for our paperwork needed for us to return to PNG. We received Naz’ passport and are now waiting on his visa as well as Luke’s renewal visa. We hope to head back in January to continue learning the Uruwa language and culture so that we may one day teach and translate the Word of God and see, Lord willing, a mature church established among them.
Speaking Opportunity at Ethnos 360
Luke is headed to the Ethnos360 Bible Institute in Waukesha, Wisconsin this weekend. He is speaking to the students on Monday about the vital importance of language and culture learning for clear communication of the gospel. Pray God would use him to encourage the students and that the Lord would be stirring some of their hearts to want to be be apart of taking the gospel to the unreached.
Papua New Guinea Night
Luke and I are hosting a “Papua New Guinea Night” event at our church in a few weeks. It will be a church planting experience for people to see what it’s like to go about learning an unwritten language and culture and try some PNG foods. Please pray for us as we host this event and for our church family as they get an inside look into our ministry. Pray that it would help them know how to pray more specifically for us and for our Uruwa friends.
Our co-workers in Uruwa learning language and culture:
Prayer and Praise
Praise the Lord for blessing us with Naz! What an incredible display of God’s grace.
Praise the Lord for receiving Naz’ passport quickly.
Pray for us as we adjust to parenthood and that we would be honoring the Lord in our parenting.
Pray for Luke as he speaks to the students at Ethnos360 Bible Institute in Waukesha, Wisconsin on Monday about the vital importance of language and culture learning for a clear communication of the gospel. Pray God would be stirring some of their hearts to want to be be apart of taking the gospel to the unreached.
Pray that the Lord would work in us to take advantage of being able to share the gospel with people that we already share a culture and language with here in the US.
Please continue praying for language and culture learning for our co-workers, the Weavers and the Brendles.
Pray that the Lord would provide us favor in allowing us to receive Naz and Luke’s visas in time for us to return to PNG in January.
Pray for God to be preparing the Uruwa people’s hearts to hear and receive the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ one day. Pray that He would be using our lives to be ambassadors for Him as we seek to display His love.
Please pray for continued team unity.
Pray for the continued strengthening of our walks with the Lord as well as our marriage.
Want to receive more frequent updates and prayer requests? Join our prayer group via Facebook or e-mail using the buttons below. And as always, please let us know how we can be praying for you as well!
Luke & Jessica Thek
Luke:
US phone: 8054236830
whatsapp: +18054236830
email: luke_thek@ntm.org
Jess:
US phone: 8165207474
whatsapp: +18165207474
email: jessica_thek@ntm.org
