Unsung heroes

 

Isaac & Gifsen talk with Jack via Zoom

In the midst of discouragement from seeing heroes fall this last year (Joshua Harris?  Ravi Zacharias?  Rhett and Link?) I want to take a few minutes from our week to share the story of a faithful man. 

You won’t know his name – most of you have never heard it before.  Jack and his wife moved to Papua New Guinea in the 1970s and raised a family - and a church -  in a very remote area.  As a nurse, his wife cared for those with sicknesses, and Jack translated the Bible into the Pawaian language.  We met them during our first year in Papua New Guinea.  They had returned for several months out of retirement to connect with and encourage believers, to continue working on new lessons and translation projects.  They sat on our front porch and we laughed and talked as we asked them every question we could think of.  Their love for each other was evident.  Their love for Jesus was palpable.  And their joy spilled over into their conversation and lives. 

Over the next ten years we saw them a few more times – we didn’t come out of the jungle very often, so we rarely overlapped.  The couple, now in their 70s, continued their yearly visits to encourage the Pawaian church.  Each time they arrived, they unpacked their simple jungle hut, pulled out the short-wave radio and ate sweet potatoes and canned goods for 6 weeks.  And then, after their last visit to PNG 3 years ago, Jack’s wife started to deal with dizziness and headaches.   They found she had a brain tumor, and before too many months had passed, she was with the Lord. 

Jack, alone after caring for his wife, did not despair in the face of loneliness.  Instead, he currently serves at a small Bible college.  When he heard that church elders from the Gimi tribe had been visiting the Pawaian church, he reached out to us to ask if he also could talk with them.

A few nights ago, Nate set up his computer and made the Zoom connection with Jack in the UK.  For almost an hour, he watched as Jack talked with the Gimi believers, encouraged them and supported them in the work they have done with the Pawaian church.  Tears streamed down Jack’s face as he rejoiced with them.

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”  3 John 4

Later, the Gimi men said to Nate, “We walked those trails in Pawaian territory with lots of different men in different places.  And always, we heard the same thing:  ‘Jack used to walk this trail with us.’”

Thank God with me for men and women like Jack and his wife, who faithfully walked the trails and served Jesus for 40 years and counting.  Remember that for every public name that falls in disgrace, there are many unsung men and women who are quietly walking the trails of life and serving those around them in Jesus’ name.  And pray for us, that we will also walk the trails and build a testimony of Jesus’ love and faithfulness.