Simon & Annika Flanagan Expanding the reach of the gospel with you quick update from the Mengen tribe
Hi friends,
Just a quick note and some prayer points. Sorry that there are no more posts coming up on the blog. We had created posts to go on and scheduled them to be published over the next 7 weeks. We have since found out that this particular function on the website has problems and is being addressed. That being said we have asked some folks to go ahead and publish those posts manually for us. That may mean the all come at once instead of weekly, so sorry about that, but at least you may still have the info to pray for the lost amongst the Mengen.
Please pray
1) It’s rainy monsoon season, and we are finding it very hard to get clothes dried and with the humidity the mould is starting to grow. Please pray for some sun for us and less rain. To add injury to insult a friendly rat made a nest in a clothes dryer that some friends gave to us and fried the thing, so we really need the sun.
2) There is lots of growth in the church, but persecution seems to come in waves so please pray for us right now. There are customs in the village and believers are getting a hard time because of this. They are young in their faith and a few are being pulled into sin. Pray for Merenge who we have mentioned before that he will be restored and come back into fellowship; he is ashamed because of his sin and this is making him stay away from us and the church. Pray we can reconcile this all today and remind him of the unending grace of the Lord.
3) Pray that Annika and I will progress well in language. That we will be motivated and make good plans that help us to advance quickly. Pray for language helpers to be faithful in coming.
4) We praise the Lord we have settled well into life here again and that bar a few sniffles we are all healthy and doing well.
5) Some of our believers – Edward, Brus and Topa have gone on a little tour of some villages. They have gone with the thought of doing a little survey to see how receptive some villages (where they grew up) may be to future evangelism. They will be gone for a week so please pray for safety for them and for wisdom to not get into any heavy debates etc. Pray God may give them opportunity to share their faith and will encourage their hearts.
6) Thanks for what you are all doing for us; people in the Mengen church decided to freely give some money to support Edward, Brus and Topa on their trip. They did this because we have told them of our supporters and how they pray for us and give money to enable us to be here amongst them. They have taken your example and are starting to follow it without any prompting from us. Thanks for being a part of the work!
Love in our Saviors name,
Simon, Annika, Nya and Noah
Pray for Komiti and Berta
Komiti and Berta
Hi all,
Well another week is upon us and we need you to call out to God once more because lives are at stake. Komiti is a believer, his wife’s name is Berta, they have a son named Damien and another baby boy called Blaze. Please pray particularly for Berta to come to a clear understanding that Jesus has stood in her place, taken the punishment that was hers and all she has to do is accept His grace and believe all He said of Himself. Pray that with two small kids / garden and her work in the local school she will still be able to make it to the new gospel presentation this coming Aug. Pray for Komiti that he will be committed to his savior and will grow more and more every day choosing the road God would have him walk. Pray that more than anything else he would experience the grace of God and know that God will never let him go even if he falls often. Komiti has been given his nickname because he likes to be seen as a big man; in this culture that means going to meetings / parties, making speeches, helping family no matter what cost. His name means a lot to him; pray the name of His Savior would mean more.
Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?– Corrie Ten Boom
Grace to pray well,
Thanks for being part of the team in reaching the Mengen people! Simon, Annika, Nya and Noah
Pray for Alfonse and Trinde
“God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.” — John Wesley
Well a what rascal we have to pray for here! Meet Alphonse and his wife Trinde. Alphonse is one of the biggest trouble makers in our village and is at the heart of most problems.
He just recently stole one of our gas bottles and because of a corrupt local court he got away with it; mostly because no-one was willing to stand up to him. He was part of the group that stole our team solar panels and is the only one who isn’t bothered to pay us back for them.
He was also the main instigator in the group who after a night drinking broke down our tractor shed and the local school. He has threatened to kill us and damage our property and houses on different occasions. So just as with ever unbeliever we are hoping for a miracle; but this miracle would speak volumes in the village!
Pray also for his wife Trinde and son Piau; Trinde has attended meetings and professed faith but hasn’t been attending meetings and is showing little growth. Pray for Piau as he is around 16 yrs old but is quickly becoming one of the worst trouble makers in the village as well.
Pray this family will come to the teaching as they have promised and pray that God will convict of sin and save them. Thanks for standing with us in the battle for Gods glory amongst the Mengen people.
We love you all in Christ and appreciate the part you play in making it possible for us to have this ministry.
Simon, Annika, Nya and Noah.
Pray for Masta and family
Hi,
This second week we would like to ask you to pray for Masta and Lilpage. They are both very involved in the Kevung cult that is strong in our area. However recently Masta has been coming to literacy class and doing very well, even though he got much family pressure not to come; he has relished learning to read and right and is a smart guy, he can now read and right well. His wife Lilpage not supportive but pray that the Lord would save her also, they have 1 boy who is older but we dont know him as he is very shy – pray for him also. Masta has started to come to Sunday meeting, but we are sure these make little sense to him as they are in Romans and he doesn’t understand the truths of the gospel yet. Masta has been asking lots of questions recently and is seeing that the path he is on is not the true one. He is seeking for the truth; pray he and his wife will find the truth in Christ when we start our new phase 1 (gospel presentation) in Aug of this year.
Thanks for your prayers for the lost and the church amongst the Mengen people!
Because of our Savior,
Simon, Annika, Nya and Noah
Noah update!
Noah in recovery
Trying to escape?
Arnolda update
Hi, Just a short update to let you know that Arnolda is back home from the hospital this week and is doing much better. She recovered from the cerebral malaria that she had; this is a huge answer to prayer as cerebral malaria is very dangerous and can kill quickly. It has also given no opportunity for the devil to use this illness to challenge the new church. In the past those from a local cult have used illness and death amongst the Church to say that the Spirits are punishing those who believe in Christ because they have left the old ways. We are thankful to our God that he has chosen to spare Arnolda and has renewed her to full health and strength. Thanks for your prayers!
Simon, Annika, Nya and Noah!
Noahs operation date
What's he gonna do again Dad?
Hi all,
Noah and I went to the ENT Dr here in Cairns today. The check up went well and the Dr confirmed that Noah’s tubes/grommets have came out. He has fluid behind the ears and needs to have surgery done again. The Dr is hopeful that this will be the last action that needs to be taken to help Noah’s ears get back to normal so he will have no further infections or discomfort. His operation is on Friday, but this time he will have his adenoids taken out; as well as having the tubes inserted in his ears. Noah has an afternoon operation and isn’t allowed to have any food all day! This will be tough for our little muncher, so pray we can keep him busy so he doesn’t get too upset. Seeing your son put under anesthetic is never fun, so please pray all goes well and that the operation will be a success. Pray he doesn’t have too much pain afterwards and that he can get back to normal life soon. We hope to return to PNG on Tuesday please pray all goes well so we can keep to that plan. Thanks for your prayers for us and Noah, we really appreciate it.
Noah and Nya muching
On the wiggles car
Video of first baptisim in the Mengen tribe
mengen2011 from S Flanagan on Vimeo.
Enjoy this video of our first 16 believers being baptized. Thanks for the part you played in seeing new life amongst the Mengen people. There is still so much more work to be done – thanks for standing with us. To our God be all the glory!
Simon, Annika, Nya and Noah
New believer in Mengen tribe!
Hi Friends
Last night some guys woke Lourens up at about 3 o clock the morning. Usually people wake us up because someone is very sick, or someone has died. But last night was different. The guys who came and woke me up are, Kamalus and Brus, two of our key believers and they came to tell me about something wonderful that had happened. You could sense there excitement. They were telling Lourens that they are experiencing great joy because of what Christ has done for them and continues to do every day in their lives. They are so thankful for the new life they have found in Christ but what they actually wanted to tell me was that an unbelieving neighbor was visiting with them and expressed his longing to make peace with God.
His name is Fransis and lives close to our houses. He has been a difficult guy and very full of himself, but over the last few months he has been showing more interest. Recently we had some believers from another language group visiting us and he was particularly challenged by their testimonies. Last night as our believers were visiting, singing and praying together, he expressed his desire to make peace with the creator. He said that he has been watching the believers lives and saw that their ‘talk and their walk’ was the same! And also that the change was permanent and was not just something small over a short time but it has endured over about 2 years now! This really convinced him that it was true.
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cataract surgery – pray the blind will receive sight!
This post starts a weekly post to enable you to pray for the lost in Mengen land before our new gospel presentation starts in August. We will continue to post pictures of unsaved families here weekly to help you pray effectively. They need your prayers!
Meet Silaso, he is one of the oldest men in the village. Normally he wears a laplap (skirt like thing) only, but as he was flying out to town for the first time he got someone to buy him some clothes from a market, which is a days hike away from our village. Turns out they have some fake football kits there; at least he looked smart for coming out to town.
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