Carrying on.

In our last update

In our last update we shared with you about the departure of our coworkers the Hostetters from the bush. They’ve been out on the mission base in consultation with doctors there. They are still waiting for answers, but at this point it looks like they will be taking a trip to Australia for further tests. Please pray for them and their family in all of the transitions and for wisdom for making decisions about the next steps that they must take. Please pray for us as well as we revise our plans here on the ground in Mesi-land. Also, please pray for the Mesi-church that they put their faith in Jesus rather than us missionaries.

 

In focus: standing on the truth.

I heard it said lately that, in the west, we live in a post-truth society. That is to say, we are so inundated with information that claims to be true, that we no longer can actually properly evaluate it. Since we are no longer able to evaluate information well, we tend to just follow what sounds reasonable or what confirms the things that we already believe to be true.

Ironically, in Mesi-land we are moving out of a pre-truth society. That is to say, there has never been a standard of defined and reliable truth by which the veracity of information can be checked. We are working hard with the believers here to help them evaluate claims of spiritual insight and authority by checking them against what they know to be true in God’s Word. Think about this: how hard is it for you to move away from long-held assumptions? Pretty tough eh? Now imagine that you’ve always formed your opinions in discussion with a community of people who, just like yourself, have not had anything but their own limited experience to rely on.

Suffice it to say, we see progress, but it is slow progress.

 

Please pray with us that God will continue to grow these young believers in experience and wisdom.

 

Pray for us:

•             This week we are working on a new series of lessons, two different series at the same time in fact. We desire that God continues to build His church in His timing and are trusting Him to direct us as we make decisions for where to teach next.

•             We are looking at major preparations for the Pal language literacy school over the next month. Including adding courses in basic math and reading in Melanesian pigin – the trade language of Papua New Guinea. This will be a ton of work to get going right and we are asking God to bring the right guys along to help us put these courses together in the best way possible.

•             We’ve been working on a family schedule that will allow us to spend more time in life-on-life discipleship in the community and service for Mesi people. Its going to be harder now that we are trying to keep homeschooling going for our 5th, 7th, and 9th graders. Pray for multiplied time.

•             Also, if you think of it, please pray for us for wisdom in making decisions. As our kids grow up, we see a day coming when we will need to be out of the bush for a time to help them finish school well and transition back to their home country.