NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

November 12, 2010

[cid:image001.jpg@01CB837E.9E5ACD60] Lori, Noksiyal, and Rindilav working on Bible translation.

A Great Job What a wonderful privilege it is for me to be involved in the job of translating the Bible into the Simbari language. A few weeks ago I was working with a couple who recently came to know the Lord as their Savior. Remember my literacy student whom I told you about, Rindilav, and her husband who came to know the Lord through the testimony of his father? I asked them to come and help me do some of the comprehension checking on the book of Ephesians. As I read the scripture portions to them and they tell it back to me, I am able to ascertain how much they are understanding from the Simbari text. I loved their reaction when I came to Ephesians 2:8, 9 which says, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this: it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” (NLT) As I read these verses to them in Simbari, they were just beaming! Because they have been hammered so much by another religious group with the need to follow the law in order to be accepted by God, when they heard it stated so clearly in God’s Word that they cannot earn their salvation but that it is a free gift from God, it brought smiles to their faces and they murmured, “Oh, true. That is so true.” Of course, they already understood this truth when they accepted Christ as their Savior but to hear it communicated so clearly in their own language only encouraged them and confirmed their belief.

I love to observe the way the believers respond to God’s Word and apply it to their lives. Sometimes I have heard them talk about Paul, the writer of many of the epistles, in an affectionate way as if he is an old friend that they can’t wait to see when they get to heaven.

Not only are we finishing up the book of Ephesians but my co-worker, David Ogg, is also making fast progress as he does the preliminary drafts of the Simbari Bible translation. He has finished the preliminary drafts of 1 Corinthians, 1 Timothy, Titus and 1 Thessalonians. Granted, the preliminary drafts only comprise about one quarter of the work required to complete a book but it also requires a lot of time and I hope that we will be able to progress quickly on the subsequent steps of the translation process.

Prayer Requests v Praise the Lord for the work that we have been able to accomplish on the Simbari Bible translation. v Praise the Lord for rain in many areas of PNG. Keep praying for the Aziana tribe and the believers there (who have been coming to visit our believers regularly) as they have still not had significant rain and are going through a time of drought. v Pray that I would be faithful in the work that God has given me to do and that I would continue to grow in my love and knowledge of Him.

Thank you for your prayers and friendship. Lori

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are. While your reputation is merely what others think you are. – Unknown

September 6, 2010

Miracle Rain When the Simbari believers returned from their hike over to the Aziana tribe for the gathering of the believers there, I couldn’t wait to hear their stories of the trip. I saw them arriving single file and they seemed tired but cheerful as I called out a greeting to them. I waited a short time and then walked over to a cluster of their houses to hear the news. They were full of praise to the Lord for how he had watched over them and provided for them. As I told you in my last e-mail, there hadn’t been much rain so the trails were dry and when they crested the mountain going out of our valley and started to hike down the other side, it was so dry that the ones in the front were kicking up dust and the ones in the back were choking on it. But on that first afternoon, God first brought clouds to shade them from the hot sun and then he brought a big downpour. The believers thought that they were going to have to sleep in the jungle without shelter but a woman from one of the villages that they passed through let them use a large house for them to sleep and cook in. One of the ladies said, “This woman didn’t know us but God knew us and He gave us this house.”

They slept there that night and the following day they completed their hike to Aziana. On this day, too, God sent rain and the Aziana people said, “You have brought the rain with you!” They said it was a miracle. Prior to this, it had not rained in Aziana for 4 months! Their water tanks were dry and they were thinking of trying to pipe in water somehow through bamboo tubes in order to provide for all of the people that would be arriving for the gathering. They were also concerned that there would be a lack of food, especially the greens that they eat a lot of from their gardens. But with the rain, God also provided greens and the believers reported that there was no shortage of food. There was more than enough for everyone to eat until they were full.

While they were there, two of the young men in the Simbari group became very sick but they were given special care by a young Simbari man who had recently completed his medical training and was working in the Aziana tribe. He was able to give them the medicine and shots that they needed and although they missed some of the meetings, they were able to gain enough strength to make the return hike home. It was evident that God was going behind and before them every step of the way and they are thankful to everyone who prayed.

Prayer Requests v Praise the Lord for his provision of rain and food as the believers met together at the Aziana tribe. Keep praying for rain for Aziana and other areas in PNG. v Praise the Lord for rain here in Simbari. The very afternoon that I sent out my last e-mail, we had a big downpour and we have been getting at least a little rain nearly every day since then. v My translation helper, Jethro, and I started checking the book of Ephesians today. We’re both happy to be getting back into translation work again.

Thanks for praying, Lori

”My definition of missions: Almighty God is using the preaching of the gospel all over the world to turn rebellious, condemned sinners into redeemed worshippers of His son, Jesus Christ… and we get to help!” – Mike Gaston

Rindilav and her daughter, Phoebe

 The most exciting thing about working here in the Simbari tribe is seeing people’s lives changed. Sometimes all it takes is one person making a right choice for other people to see it and make the choice to follow God, too. Such was the case with one of the Simbari believers, Bo’wol. A thief from another tribe stole food from his garden and Bo’wol’s wife wanted her husband to take action against him but Bo’wol, wanting to show grace, did not take the action that his wife wished for. The result was that she became angry and began hitting him.

The Simbari women are strong after years of working in their gardens so I don’t doubt that her blows caused pain but although culturally most Simbari men would respond in kind, Bo’wol just put his hands over his head and let the blows rain down and did not retaliate. He said that at the time he was thinking about Jesus and the pain that He endured on his behalf.

The news about this incident began to circulate throughout the village and people were astounded. “He didn’t hit her back!” they said. Because of Bo’wol’s choice (domino #1), his oldest son who has resisted God for years, was open to listening to the gospel and trusted in Christ as his Savior (domino #2). He must have seen something in his father’s actions that made him realize that his faith was real. Bo’wol’s son’s wife also came to know the Lord. Her name is Rindilav (domino #3).

I wrote about Rindilav in an e-mail several years ago. She was one of my literacy school students. One day she came to class with a lump on her head which she said was from a tree falling on her head while she was working in her garden. I became concerned as the swelling increased over the next several days until one of her eyes also became swollen. What a whopping headache she must have had but she kept coming to school!

Gradually, the swelling lessened and she recovered from her injury. At that time I said to her, “God is looking after you.” I also asked her where she would go if she were to die and she said she would go to God. When I asked why God should accept her, she said it was because she went to church and tried to be good. She had been coming to church and listening to the Bible teaching but she still didn’t understand the true gospel. I told her, “You are not understanding the path to God yet but keep coming and listening to the Bible teaching and you will understand. God is not hiding from you. He has promised that if you look for Him, you will find Him.”

She agreed with me but later, she got married and quit coming to the teaching. I prayed for her but it didn’t seem like she would ever accept Christ as her Savior but in spite of my lack of faith, I’m happy to report that my prayers have been answered and she has accepted Christ as her Savior! Now she understands that Jesus Himself, who died on the cross to take the punishment for her sins, is the way to God.

All that I have told you about Bo’wol and his family took place while I was gone. Imagine my excitement when I was able to return to Simbari and greet Rindilav, my former student, as a sister in Christ! She was just beaming as I greeted her and as she showed me her newborn daughter, Pimbiyav (Phoebe), named after a woman mentioned in the book of Romans who was such a help to Paul in his ministry. I believe that little Phoebe will be domino #4 as her parents raise her to know the God who loves her and sent His son to save her.

Learning and Loving It As I see the Simbari believers’ excitement about the things that they are learning from God’s Word and the way that they are applying them to their lives, it is a challenge to me in my own walk with God. Right now the believers are being taught through the book of Romans and are in chapter 8. This song that they wrote is a direct result of the things that they are learning:

Oh, Adam, Adam, he brought death and now we all die.

Oh, Adam, Adam, he brought death.

Oh, Jesus, Jesus, he brought life. If you believe in Him, you will live.

Oh, Jesus, Jesus, he brought life.

Wherever I wander, look after me lest I fall into Satan’s temptations. Oh, Jesus, Jesus, strengthen me.

This morning the believers left on a long hike over the mountains to go to a conference in the Aziana tribe. It’s more like a reunion, really, a reunion of the family of believers from different tribes and languages. One man asked for prayer because it will be the first time that he and his wife are leaving behind their 3 children and they will miss them. Another woman is concerned because she will be carrying her baby on her shoulders and she expects that her back is going to hurt a lot.

It really is a long, difficult hike even for them and the weather has been very dry. They will hike for 2 full days and arrive at Aziana in the late afternoon on the second day. The conference will last for 3 days and then they will make the return hike after that. The good news is that the trails will be nice and dry for hiking. The bad news is that the sun will be beating down and they could be short of drinking water on the way. The Aziana people have already said that they are short on water and greens so we are praying for rain for them.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for safety for the Simbari believers as they hike to Aziana for the believers’ conference and that people won’t have to go hungry or thirsty.
• Pray for one of the believers whose house accidentally burnt down last week and he is struggling with the loss.
• Pray for rain in PNG. This drought seems to be extending throughout much of the country and the longer it lasts, the more people who will go hungry. Here in Simbari we do get a little rain on some nights so it is enough to keep their gardens going.

Thanking God for you, Lori

“I commend to you our sister, Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well.” – Romans 16:1,2

Mt. St. Helens

When I last wrote you, I was in Florida visiting Dad and Veronica. After celebrating the 4^th of July and Dad’s birthday, I left Florida on July 9^th and flew to Oregon to visit some supporters and dear friends there. My friends usually take me to see something in the area and this time they took me to Mt. St. Helens. I was particularly interested because Washington was my Mom’s home state and she used to talk about Mt. St. Helens. The trip was very educational. It was interesting to read the stories of people who were there the day the mountain exploded. Some of them survived and some of them were never seen again. I learned two important things on the trip.

1. Don’t go near rumbling mountains, especially if they have recently had fire spewing out of them.
2. Never underestimate the power of God in nature.

See the end of my post for more fun facts that I learned at Mt. St. Helens.

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Olivia and Aunt Lori

I had a great time in Michigan on Easter weekend with my brother, sister-in-law, 2 nephews, and niece. When I arrived, Ethan, the oldest, greeted me with a big hug, Isaac ran to Daddy, and Olivia stared. The younger two quickly warmed up to me, though. I learned more about my nephews and niece while I was there. Olivia is the little drama queen, always making noise to make sure that no one forgets about her. I think Isaac is going to be a mechanic when he grows up. He has a fascination with cars, especially the movie, Cars.

Ethan, Aunt Lori, Isaac

Ethan is 5 years old and is developing into quite a little personality. He is fascinated with the weather and is going to be a storm chaser. I found this out when I was visiting in the backyard with my brother who mentioned that the neighbor’s house didn’t have a basement. Ethan, who was swinging nearby said, “That’s not good! If an F5 comes through here, then that won’t be good!” “An F5? What’s an F5?” I asked. Eric then informed me that it is a classification of tornado. The Fujita scale goes from F0 to F5 with F5 being the worst. Surprised, I said, “How does he know that?!!” Then Eric told me that Ethan loves the weather, especially tornadoes, and when he was only 3, he was in a store talking about the weather and the cashier said, “Oh, so are you going to be a weather man when you grow up?” And Ethan replied, “It’s called a meteorologist.”

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