Lori Morley Working with the Simbari people of Papua New Guinea 
Baby being carried around in a string bag.
I believe in miracles but I must say that I have been more ready to believe in spiritual miracles than in physical ones. When I talk about spiritual miracles, I’m talking about the miracle of someone seeing their own sinfulness and humbling themselves before God, the miracle of changed lives and relationships restored. But I have been, shall I say, more suspicious of physical miracles. After all, we live in a fallen world where death and sickness exist because of sin’s curse. However, I do believe that God has the power to heal and even to raise people to life if He chooses.
I heard of a miracle that took place recently right here in Simbari land. There was a Simbari woman with a little baby who had fallen gravely ill. She carried her baby to a religious group who falsely believe that they can gain God’s approval by following the law. She said to them, “Please, can you pray for my baby?” They said, “No, we can’t pray for her but those who believe in Jesus are staying in your village tonight. Take your baby to them and they will pray for you.” Perhaps they were afraid that if they prayed and nothing happened, it would make them look bad. Or perhaps they were just acting on the stories they had heard about other people near death whom the believers had prayed for and God had chosen to heal. Regardless of the reason, they directed this woman to the believers and so she brought her baby to them and asked them to pray for her baby. By then, the baby seemed dead. The people say that she was dead. She wouldn’t eat, didn’t seem to be breathing, and was foaming at the mouth so the people believed her to be dead. The believers said to the woman, “Yes, we can pray for your baby but we don’t have any power in ourselves. Only God has the power to heal and life and death are in His hands.” Then they prayed to God for healing and He honored their prayer. The baby began breathing normally again and began to nurse. No one was more excited at this display of God’s power than the believers themselves. Their faith was strengthened as was mine when I was told the story. God sure does know how best to bring glory to Himself.
Changeable Weather
As I write, I am sitting in my house waiting for the rain to stop. Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day but today, on the very day that the plane is supposed to come, it has decided to be foggy and rainy. That means it is a day of watching the weather for any sign of improvement, standing by the radio to report weather to the pilot, and prowling around the house, invading cupboards to find something to eat because everything has been finished up in preparation for departure. It also involves finishing little projects like an e-mail to my friends. I’d ask you to pray for a change in the weather but by the time you receive this, I will already have arrived in town. The only concern I have about not getting out of the tribe as scheduled is that tomorrow (Saturday, the 6th) is the start of our translation check of Romans 1-8. It is scheduled over 3 days so if we don’t make it out today, there is still a chance that we could finish it in 2 days. However, if we don’t make it to this check, then it might be quite awhile before we are able to reschedule. I’d ask you to pray for that, too, but…
The next few months will very busy ones. First, we have our translation check. Then, Oggs and I and some other friends will take a weekend to climb Mt. Wilhelm, the highest mountain in PNG. I seem to have forgotten the agony of my previous climb and am now ready to attempt it again with a new group of friends. Then we head to the coast for some rest and relaxation by the sea. Oh, and I mustn’t forget what I learned in my diving classes 6 months ago so I’ll go on some dives, too. About 3 weeks after we return to the tribe, a work team will be arriving from Oggs church. We look forward to showing them around and the encouragement that we will be to each other.
Prayer Requests
- Pray that the parents of the baby who was healed will have their hearts softened toward God and come to hear the Bible teaching.
- Pray for our final translation check of Romans 1-8 this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. (David Ogg and the translation helpers did make it out to town in time for the translation check. Shari Ogg, the kids, and I had to stay in the tribe an extra night.)
- Pray for safety during summer travels.
Thanks for praying,
Lori
“God never made a promise that was too good to be true.” – Dwight L. Moody
Tags: healing, translation, weather