| We’re into week three already of the evangelistic teaching in Dabilyu village and just wanted to give you all an update on how things have been going. Thank you so much for all your prayers and for your notes of encouragement! The first week we taught on how God’s big story has now come to the Tobo people, how it started when God’s prophets wrote down His Word and now after all these years it has finally come to them in their own language! We also started off by teaching on who God is, His characteristics, His holy nature, and His unparalleled self existing power. We also talked about the limited characteristics of some of His creation like the angels including Lucifer, and also how Lucifer became an enemy of God and so God prepared an eternal place of punishment for them. The second week we talk about how God stood on His own power and created the world in 6 days out of nothing. Everything He created was perfect there was nothing wrong with it because He is perfect and holy and cannot create anything imperfect. We ended the week talking about how God created everything with Adam and Eve in mind so that they could live happily and not be in need - we are the center of his creation! God made everything for us and wanted us to see it and turn around and praise Him so he also gave us a free will and thinking. To drive this point home we used an example of a spear. I held up a spear and told them that I was done teaching and needed to go hunt for a tree kangaroo so I started to walk off and stopped and turned and said to them “do you guys see that tree kangaroo up in that tree? Quiet I’m going to try and shoot it” So I then put the spear on the ground and started to talk to it “ ok spear go kill that tree kangaroo for me” and then I turned and asked “why doesn’t it listen to me?” Because it doesn’t have life and thinking” they replied. I then explained “we are the center of God’s creation. He has given us life and thinking and so we have the choice to listen to God or reject what God has to say. God didn’t make us like this lifeless spear. God wants us to see all that he has made for us and turn around and want to have a relationship with Him. This week we started off with a big lesson on God’s command to Adam not to eat of the one tree. If he did he would be eternally separated from his Friend and his Creator and he would receive the payment for breaking God’s law – death. Just like a branch when it’s cut from its life source cannot survive and is only good for the fire, Adam also would be cut off from God and begin to die and would ultimately receive his punishment in the Lake of Fire. Thank you for your prayers for Unex and his family as well as for the other people who have been coming to the teaching. This week I was feeling a bit discouraged because of the small numbers that have been turning out to the meetings. Most days it’s only about 4 people. I told the believers before the teaching started that if 100 people came or just 1, we need to be thankful for the road that God has given us to teach His talk. After a couple weeks of getting up early nearly every morning and hiking 25 minutes both ways, preparing lessons, and getting together with teachers, I have gotten a bit tired and I shamefully found myself wondering “is this worth it all, for just a small handful of people?” God is good and encouraged me today that yes, yes, yes it is worth it all! After the meeting this morning I opened it up for any questions that they might have. And Unex said in front of everyone “I don’t have any questions for you because this talk has now, for the first time in my life, become clear in my insides and I’m understanding it. Before, other religions and people would say this and that and I couldn’t understand it and didn’t know who to believe. But this teaching is clear and I’m happy to come and sit and be a learner of this big true talk.” Hearing him say that just really encouraged my heart. This person for the first time is beginning to understand God’s story. How exciting is that? My time spent on hiking and hours spent in preparation seem not to matter when I think of even one person understanding what Christ has done for him. My prayer is that through the next couple months God will use our sacrifices (are they really sacrifices when we see God using us?) in the lives of these 4 people and reconcile them to Himself. Keep praying! Your hands & feet to the Tobo people in Dabilyu, Jason, Nisae, Kadynn, Judah and Eden |
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