Speaking Out with Boldness!

We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers… for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction… so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. 1 Thess 1:2-8

I’ve been reading in 1 Thessalonians lately and it has really been a great tool that God has used to help me pray for my Tobo brothers and sisters. In chapter one Paul praises the Thessalonians for their faith in God and that their faith has gone out before them and been a witness to all the people around them. So much that Paul didn’t have to say anything on their behalf! Our prayer for the Tobo people is that as they come to understand more of God’s grace and begin to separate themselves from their old way of thinking and culture that others would begin to take notice. We serve a big God who loves to do the impossible. As I look at the many Tobo villages around here like Siu, Awengu, Masanu, Dabilu, and Tepmaron it seems like such a huge task and sometimes the believers here don’t seem to be growing as fast as we think they should. I’m reminded that when Paul was with the Thessalonians it wasn’t what he did that caused their faith to grow and be a testimony to the surrounding areas. It was God working in their lives in His timing that caused the growth. It was also the Word that Paul preached which “effectively worked in those who believed.” (1Thes 2:13) So as I reread 1 Thessalonians 1:8 I like to substitute the surrounding village names & read it like this to pray for the Tobo church; “for from you may the Word of the Lord sound forth not only in Masanu and Dabilu but also in Awengu, siu & qozalong and in every Tobo village may your faith toward God go out so that we will not need to say anything”. Would you continue to pray with me that the believer’s lives would be a testimony to all the surrounding villages here in Tobo that would one day open up doors for outreaches?

We do praise the Lord that some encouraging things that have been happening around here lately with the Tobo church. Just wanted to take a minute a give you just a glimpse of some of the things that God has been doing here in the hearts and minds of His children here in Tobo. Many of you know that we have been going through the book of Romans with the believers here. For the first time they are seeing from God’s Word some amazing truths. One truth that the believers here have really seemed to grasp is the truth that our righteousness is based on Jesus alone and not by anything that we can do and that we are not able to keep the law and save ourselves. Just the other day I met with one of my language helpers who is a believer and has been faithfully coming to the Romans teaching. He was sharing some of the things that had been on his heart, he told me;

“We are not able to follow the law; there was only one person who was clean and able to keep the law that was Jesus Christ. There is a big example in God’s talk about how when Adam and Eve sinned they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves but that was not good enough so God killed a ram and he himself covered them. That’s just like what people try to do today. They try to do good things and keep the law in hopes that the good things they do will make them clean in God’s eyes. But Jesus was clean for us; he was able to keep the law so when God looks at those who believe in His Son he sees Jesus’ cleanliness and He is satisfied”.

It hasn’t been just this one man either. It seems like after each lesson the people are sharing their thoughts, discussing new things they’ve heard, and really beginning to see how different they are from the rest of the unsaved villages. The Tobo people don’t normally publicly share their thoughts, so hearing people week after week, or even when I see them during the week sharing these thoughts that can cause waves with the unbelieving community; you can imagine how encouraged we have been. This is real evidence that the Holy Spirit is faithfully growing the believers in boldness and understanding. As we continue to look through Romans their faith is just going to continue to grow, and their desire to share these things with their families and villages around them will continue to grow as well.

I also wanted to thank you all for the role you each play, whether prayerfully or financially, in allowing us to continue to serve here and be a part of what God is doing in His church in Tobo. It is such a privilege. It sometimes may seem redundant reading the words “thank you” in yet another one of our updates. Or maybe it’s just us feeling redundant about saying thank you. How we wish there were more than one way to say it! But we know that God has used you to keep us here and we are indeed thankful for your sacrifices & love for us and for the Tobo people. We praise God for you.

Jason