Since the Mission has been in there we have been able to see the life expectancy rate increase due to the medical care we have been able to provide. Well here we are some 22 years later and what has happened is the female population in the village has caught up to the guys and has even started to surpass them. This is great, however it has brought up the issue of polygamy. That is, what about the gals who don’t have a husband, especially those gals who have been recently widowed? We presently have several widows in the village and they are looking to be married once again. Not to mention that some of the Inaru men are interested in taking a second wife. Again, traditionally this was an acceptable custom, although the present wives of these guys are not at all happy about their husbands’ taking a second wife and this has been a cause of some serious strife and contention in their marriages and in the village.

Along with this is the fact that now we have believers and they know what God’s ideal for marriage is, one man with one wife for life (until death do them part). Although there are examples of those who have had more than one wife in the Bible, this is not what God originally intended as seen in God creating and bringing Eve to Adam, and not Eve and one or two other gals. The ideal of only having one wife really “hits home” when it comes to church leadership, as a qualification of Biblical eldership is “to be the husband of one wife” (I Timothy 3:2 & Titus 1:6). We do have guys who are involved in church leadership and one in particular, who is an elder, has recently had to step down from his ministry because he was being pursued aggressively by gal who was recently widowed. It is interesting because this same gal was against her husband taking a second wife while he was alive but now that he has recently died she is all for being the second wife of this church leader (go figure). As you can image this is causing grief in the marriage of this church leader and therefore he has had to step down from his position, at least for a time.

All this to say, that the Inaru church really needs our prayers at this time. As far as the Lord is concerned, with any trial comes the opportunity for growth. At the same time Satan wants to use this same trial as a temptation to divide them and he seems to be doing a pretty good job of it right now with the Inaru. As is the case anywhere, there is always a need for good leaders and it is a shame to see those who are functioning or being raised up as possible future elders to be render ineffective because what they are modeling to others doesn’t line up with what God’s word teaches. We know that ultimately God will have the final say, but He does tell us to pray. Thanks much for taking the time to read this email and for any and all prayers as they are much needed and appreciated during this time.

In His Love, Jay, Lisa & Anthony