There and Back
Every church needs the quintessential sweet little old lady that always prays for “traveling mercies.” I think our little old lady was sleeping because there was absolutely no mercy on our butts during the 5 hour car ride and 5 hour boat ride to the Ramu Valley Bible Conference. There was even less mercy as we felt serious pain in our legs on the 10 hour hike to a tribe called Kadje. Praise the Lord He gave Jess the foresight to bring some pain killers or we would have slept in the jungle. Our time out in some pretty remote parts of the country was incredible. It is WILD to connect with believers in these remote areas. We are looking forward to how God may use us in the lives of similar people.
The trip gave us incredible 24/7 exposure to the national language and culture. Things have been just as great after we got back and have continued to learn. Luke has been studying the Bible with Elijah and it is amazing to see how Elijah is hungry for the truth and is reading the Bible on his own. We got to sit down with him one Sunday after church and talk through some of his current questions about the passages he has been reading.
If you want to see for yourself how awesome all of this stuff has been then check out the video above! Thank you so much for your faithful support! You guys are the best!
Prayer and Praise:
Praise the Lord for the Ramu Valley Bible Conference that strengthened believers from 4 different language groups. We are praising the Lord that he allowed us to go and for keeping us safe on our travels there and also to Kadje.
Pray for the new believers of the Iski church (one of the churches that was at the conference). Through an outreach, a group just heard God’s word presented in their own language for the first time ever.
Praise the Lord for what God is doing in Elijah’s life. Thank you SO MUCH for praying for him.
Please continue to pray for Elijah. He got drunk recently and it was sad to see him do that, but understandable that as a possible new believer he will still be learning as he struggles with the things of this world. Pray also that when we leave in a few days there would be sufficient follow through with those we have connected Elijah with here so that he can continue to receive teaching and discipleship.
Please pray for our friends we made here who do not yet know the Lord, that God would continue to pursue their hearts and send people after us to continue to share Christ with them. Jess would like you to pray specifically for her friend Evilin whose husband has multiple women. She is starting to realize that only God has the power to change him.
Please continue to pray that we would gain fluency in the national language and culture.
Pray for the continued strengthening of our walks with the Lord as well as our marriage.
Please continue to pray that God would guide us as we get to know potential teammates we may one day partner with in going into a tribal location.