Nakui Morning Bible Study

We are in Nakui. Very good to see the Greenlaws, and our Nakui friends. Coming down the trail and walking into Nakui life once again brings a flood of memories and emotions. Sitting down to a lunch of ham rolls and lemonade in the G-law house was perfect. We visited most of the day … hardly even had enough time to unpack our clothes and food save the freezer/cooler.

I was reminded today from Acts 4 (when Peter was asked about healing of the cripple) that everything that has been done in here has been done “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth”.   For 2000+ Jesus has been actively involved in changing lives, from healing leapers and cripples to the physically and spiritually blind. Everything that has been done in Nakui over the last 18 years – through the Kings, Phil, the Gibsons, the Greenlaws and Askews has been accomplished in and through the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  He is working in our midst.

In our discipleship time today I was greatly encouraged by Svse, who talked about the pressure on him to perform ceremonial customs on his sick child. “Your kid will die” they tell him.  The accumulated pressure is immense to just slip back a bit in this area in order to get the crowd off his back. Svse’s faith is strong, however, and he has drawn the line. “Not me” he says. “If God takes me or my kids, it’s OK. We hangup on him. If I ever did one of the customs, my fear would be that it might work. Then others would see this and they too would want to follow that path.” Huge statement by Svse … reveals where his life is truly found and – life or death – where he finds his security. The fact that he would rather see his child die without the ceremony than have him live with it reveals a man of deep faith.

Tim's Super Bowl

Thought you might be interested in where I was this weekend. My trek took me to the Uriay language group in the Sundaun Province to a small village of approx 100 about a 2-hour motor canoe (a massive 50-ft long carved out tree with a Yamaha 40hp engine) from an airstrip an hour flight interior from Wewak. I was in checking a selection of their Bible lessons and going over strategy for their teaching program that begins in May. In one of the pictures you can see Elias Struik (a Dutch colleague and close friend) reading a Bible lesson to a group of interested listeners in his office. After they listened to him teach a section (in the vernacular) I would then ask comprehension questions (using pidgin) attempting to assess how the lessons are communicating. Very exciting to not only see the main lesson themes (God's omniscience, power, goodness, love, etc...) hitting home, but also the excitement as many extra spectators sat on the office steps and crammed within earshot to hear for themselves. In a few short months, they will begin hearing those plus about 65 more lessons from creation on through Christ.

If I had to miss the Super Bowl for something, I guess this was worth it :-)