Oppression and the Answer.
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| Thankful for faithful men: walking with some fellow missionaries and some national church leaders through the market in Menya station. |
Sheep in the Fold.
"Pray for us, our son is being rebellious and it has been hard." - Kuluvidu
Most days, we are in contact with one or more members of the Mesi church. A few nights ago, my friend Kuluvidu called me and simply asked for prayer. You might recall some of his story if you've been following our updates for awhile. He is the church leader whose wife has struggled with mental illness to the point where she is volatile and has a hard time being around other people.
Kuluvidu went on to describe his struggles with teaching his preteen son to listen and obey, with his spouse sometimes helping and sometimes fighting him. Kuluvidu's primary request wasn't for a change of circumstances, it was for the strength to walk with Jesus through the situation that he is in. This is faith in action and it challenged me that day to walk with the same perspective. Thank you, Jesus, for continuing to work in the lives of your people.
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies...the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Heb 11:32-40
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| Thankful for coworkers! We had a vehicle breakdown on the way to Ukarumpa, the headquarters of SIL/Wycliffe here in New Guinea. This was a dangerous spot, but we were helped by SIL mechanics who came to tow the car to their garage. |
Those That Need Rescue.
"They did that ceremony and the mom went crazy. They had to tie up her hands so that she wouldn't hurt her kids."
Too often we forget that we are in the middle of a battle. In Mesiland, the battle has recently taken the form of the tulunia ceremony. Some Mesi men and women have been teaching that there is a special way that you should cut the umbilical cord of a newborn baby (along with saying ancestor names and adding in a special meal and some prayers). The belief is that doing this will bring great wealth to the baby and its parents.
We, along with the Mesi Bible teachers, have been speaking out against this practice; it literally is a dependence on the demonic. While this has helped some of the Mesi people stand strong in their faith, many others have been swayed by the leaders of this practice. We are brokenhearted over those that have, in the past, taught others about Jesus only to be drawn in and deceived by this false teaching.
Last week, we heard about a friend of ours that decided to do the ceremony on his newborn son. Although he has professed faith in the past, his wife has not. Right around the time that they did the ceremony, his wife went crazy. When our friends called us for help, they described her as fighting everyone, trying to harm her own children, and yelling that she was seeing and hearing some of her long dead uncles. She continues to fight those around her and is now not able to live in the village. Her baby has been taken by a local believer to nurse.
Please pray with us for the oppressed in Mesiland, and across PNG. We are offering the only message of hope, from the only One that loves perfectly and protects forever. Please pray for our churches here as they depend on the Lord in the midst of the battle.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. [13] Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Eph 6:12-13
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| A visit to Madang: Some of our Mesi friends have built a small settlement closer to town. It was good to connect with them last month when I (Nate) was at our Madang base helping to orient new church planting families. |
Quick Prayer Requests:
- Nate and the other NTM-PNG field leaders are shorthanded and are trying to make plans for 2025-2026 when there will be a large number of us heading on home assignment. Pray for healthy teams and faithful men and women to take on the responsibilities for the field.
- There are 3 weeks left in this semester of school. It has been a real challenge for Elizabeth to keep up with all that is on her plate. Pray for energy and efficiency for her.
- Pray for unity on the team here in PNG. We have 350 missionaries and thousands of national believers that are working together. Communication and healthy partnership takes real work.
- Pray for our boys as they finish up their semesters in the USA. Noah graduates in 2 weeks and then he and Tim will come for a Christmas visit!
- Pray for the churches in PNG - especially the leaders that God is raising up. We are working to connect them with each other and with good resources for encouragement and equipping.
- Pray for our support team here. We are understaffed and facing new challenges every day. For instance: fuel for our planes has been hard to come by lately, we have several mission bases that are in need of managers, and some of our infrastructure is in need of repair.
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