A frog in the dark

This is Lukut, quite possibly the first Pal believer. He has been working with us in the office helping to check translated scripture and lessons. After time in the office, he  said to Nate this week, “My heaviness is gone, my big worry is over. I am happy that Jesus did it all.” We pray that he is the first of many more.

 

He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. (Tit 2:14 NLT)

 

A squishy surprise

You can well imagine that after a week in which we see what we believe to be the first Pal believer that we’d pretty much be walking on air. I mean, that’s why we came to Pal in the first place right?  Yes! (and yet…)

 

But first a story… These days we have been making every effort to be out in the evenings with folks to help them catch things that they may have missed in the teaching (and to assess whether we are communicating very well during the teaching). What that means practically is that I (Nate) am spending a couple hours a week hiking in the dark in the jungle. For the most part I can take it like a man, enjoying the night sounds, the exercise, and the blessed aloneness that is rare these days. But I’ll have to admit that my adrenaline gets pumping when I nearly step on a rat (Friday night) or when Tim says “Dad, did you see that snake behind you?” (Tuesday night…Yes there was a snake and no, I had not seen it. FYI that snake is now very dead)

 

So, tonight as I was hurrying home after meeting with some fellas, a largish frog came flying out of the dark to land above my knee. It wasn’t there very long, but even not very long was long enough for me to feel the effects for the next bit. (Even now, 1 hour later, my typing speed is at least improved by 20%).

 

When Chris teaches, Nate’s responsibility is to stand up to read the scripture portions (and vice-versa). We seek to make a strong point that what we are saying is based not on our own thoughts, but on the Word of God.

 

Surprise of another kind.

On Friday I was invited by some folks to come and talk some more about what we have been teaching. We are hearing often from the Pal people, “Most of us can’t read yet, and the teaching is very long, we really would like your help remembering the main points.”  So it was a surprise to find that those friends biggest questions had to do with the names of Moses’s parents. Turns out that there are a few people from this particular hamlet who think that the main events of the Bible occurred locally to their place. They are also clinging to the view that they deserve blessing because of their lineage. (Thus the interest in Moses’s parents… trust me, it makes sense to them)

 

It was the kind of things that pulls you up short. We have emphasized daily in the lessons that man’s main problem is his sin debt. Also that the places and people we are talking about are not local. What we are finding is that there is a percentage (15-20%) of our friends who are coming to the lessons but not really listening while there. Their thinking is still fixed on the idea that God will look at their attendance and bless them.  Pray for us as we seek to help them understand the truth.

 

One of the many kids that gets carried to the teaching daily. For many of the kids from distant hamlets, our white skin is a bit frightening. We have to be pretty careful not to scare them.

 

This Week:

·         Wednesday: Our first day back after a week off of garden work. Chris will kick off with a review of the last several lessons. After that Nate will teach on the kings, the building of the temple, and the offerings for sin that needed to be made there. It is critical for our friends to hear again the holiness of God, the need of man, and the insufficiency of the regular animal sacrifices.

·         Thursday: Our lesson on Jonah. Chris will be teaching about the Jonah story, making sure to mention that God was concerned with all people, not just the Israelites. He’ll also be setting the stage for late when we talk about Jesus’s own promise to carry through the sign of Jonah.

·         Friday: Chris will be teaching the Old Testament prophecies of Christ. He’ll walk through specifics and be talking about how only God can confidently say specifics like those hundreds of years in advance. We’ll be talking about how, if even one of the prophecies fails then that person cannot be the promised Deliverer.

 

Please pray with us for our Pal friends that they would be hungry for the Deliverer.

 

Thanks for stadning with us,

Nate for the family

O God, your ways are holy. Is there any god as mighty as you? You are the God of great wonders! You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations. Psalm 77:13-14