Jack and Jane Housley Reaching the Unreached
In 2 Corinthians 11:22-28, the missionary life lived out by the apostle Paul comes front stage. The spot light shines on this man’s battered body showing all the battle scars from a life on the mission field. Verse 28 shows us where his mind was at daily, the deep concern for the churches.
Jesus was praying, Luke 9:18, on the road, Mark 8:27, in the region of Caesarea Philippi, Matthew 16:13, when his disciples joined Him and He asked this question. “Who do the crowds say that I am? So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.”
Today we would hear some of the crowds singing the little song, “Jesus loves me this I know because the Bible tells me so,” for lack of anything else to say. Jesus was taking them deeper and more personal building a foundation to send them into all the world with the gospel so He asked, “But, who do you say that I am?”
It was a sad day when Janie and the other missionary ladies decided we needed to send her out because the sickness had developed past our knowledge of what to do. As I picked her up in my arms she looked at me with fear of not knowing what lay ahead.
Walking her to the small plane, we laid her frail body behind the seat for the ride to the hospital. Could I ever forget those yellow eyes and the emotion of the moment that pulled deep with in my heart and made me feel so helpless?
I saw the man from well down river late that afternoon as the sun was laying down to rest among the mountains that stood tall along the beautiful river. We had heard of this tribe living near by; it had been said they still made beds for some of their dead and let them rot in the open air. “No nose” as he would be later called by me was waving an old white shirt, shouting above the roar of the outboard engine. (more…)
It was September the 8th 1983, I will never forget because it was our 16th wedding adversary. Janie, the four boys, and I had just flown out of the tribe the day before and were looking forward to a few days to relax with the boys before they flew back to school. (more…)
As I sit around a warm fire and contemplate on our second Christmas in PNG emotions run wild as I unpack my memories of the best Christmas of all. (more…)
My thoughts on how a Biblical shepherd should function in a New Testament church setting today? (more…)
As Mission and Church leaders we must reflect on why we are losing so many people from the mission field and look for solutions that can attack in offence before the missionary ever gets to the field. (more…)
