Updates

Montollita….and what he said to me!!

I was out with our truck helping the P people haul palm for their houses. It was one of the things we did for them to make life a little easier. Well on one particular occasion, a dog suddenly ran out in front of the truck and before I knew it, I had run the poor fellow over. Well, that certainly was not a good thing. I stopped the truck and before long the owner of the dog confronted me.

“You ran over my dog” Montollita said. “You killed my dog. You have done bad to me. And for the worth of that bad, I demand a payment. I want a machete.”

So after a couple of hours or so, I showed up with a machete. He took it and said, “Jabechjî chjadëde yabâ” meaning, okay, it’s all right now, it’s all fixed up.

 Marcos …..and what he said to Minitiva:

It happened right in front of my eyes. Suddenly Marcos began to speak to Minitiva:

“You have done bad to me” he told him. “You stole some of my tobacco….and I’m wanting a payment for that. I demand three arrows and a hammock for the bad you have done to me” he said tohim.

Well at first Minitiva denied it and strongly objected but after a bit, he began to look guilty and his eyes turned downward…..and then he walked away.

A few days later, Minitiva arrived and presented the hammock and the three arrows to Marcos, saying:

“Here is the payment.”

Then Marcos responded:

“Jabechjî chjadëde yabâ. Okay, it’s all right now, it’s all fixed up“….and that resolved the whole matter. Payment was given for the wrong done and all was made right.

 So then, with those two cultural examples behind our belt and more studying……

…..here is how we went on to give the Good News of the Gospel to the P. Nation after laying solid foundations for them first from the OT and the Gospels. In a nutshell, it went something like this:

We have done bad against the true God. We have sinned against the One who is surpassingly bright, against the One who does not mix with evil (he is holy). And therefore He is demanding a payment. What is He demanding? Well, He is wanting blood and death, blood and death that are perfect and without bad. Yes, he requires a payment of blood and death for the bad we have done against Him. For the Words of the true God say: “The payment for sin is death”. So how will we make things right with the true God? With what will we pay? Arrows won’t work. Hammocks won’t work. There has to be blood, there has to be death. So what will we give as a payment to make things right with the true God, with the One who is demanding blood and death from us? We have nothing to pay with. Our own blood and death won’t work.

But hey, what did the true God do for us? Well He sent His Son, the “Payer”. And after living a perfect life without doing bad to his Heavenly Father even one time, he was killed on a pole. He died having been nailed to that pole. And his blood ran out. And right before he died, he yelled out, PAID FOR IN FULL (It is Finished)!! And when God the Father saw the payment of the Payer, He thought: Jabechjî chjadëde yabâ. Okay, it’s all right now, it is all fixed up.

And so whoever accepts and believes for themselves what the substitute Payer Jesus did for them on the pole, well they will have their payment and receive living-forever life.

 Two Distinct Paths

Montollita came to trust in the this Good News and in the “Payer”. How great it was to see this dear friend understand what the Payer Jesus did for him on the pole, and that he became a paid-for-in-full one. We just heard the other day that this dear brother had died. He died ….and yet is very much alive as he is there with his Savior in Heaven. However Marcos continues to believe in the old way and does all he can to promote it. Both of these guys unknowingly helped us come up with the needed way to communicate the Gospel, but both have chosen different routes. How pleased we are to know that Montollita is now in Glory with the Payer.

Prayer Requests

—for our beloved Host Country, that God would wonderfully intervene down there and bring His solution to the many huge problems
—for our many dear coworkers there who continue to labor under extremely trying circumstances
—for God to meet the physical, medical, and spiritual needs of the believers. Last Rainy Season there were 22 who died due to complications from parasites, mostly children.
—for God’s translated Word to make it into new villages, and that many more will have a desire to learn to read this Book in their own language
—for us as we switch gears from Bible Translation to the continued development of Bible Curriculum. The P pastors have made it quite clear that they want more teaching helps, and that we shouldn’t be thinking about retirement!!!
—for our daughter Jodi, and her husband Brent. They will be returning to Canada the end of this month from their field of service of their host country for Jodi to have a baby and for Brent to get further flight training on the aircraft he will be flying. The baby is due the end of July. So we’ll have the joy of spending a bit of extra time with them. Please pray for a safe delivery, and for the health of both mother and child.
—for the community of SW as foundations continue to be laid from the OT. PTL that many are really interested and believing all they have heard thus far
—pray for the gals in the different villages to really stick with reading and get good at it. Many have taken the course and have learned to read but then quit. They also need to be reading the Scriptures for themselves and teaching others

Thanks again so very much for your partnering with us. We are indeed thankful for the on going opportunities to serve the P. believers by preparing additional resource material for them. Thanks again for all you do to keep us going!!