Twice Egged

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Cachicamo Teaching

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The Armadillo

“Let’s not be teaching the true God’s Words like an armadillo!!”

This beloved little animal is all over the place where our dear friends live and make up part of their diet. They are usually easy to get and are quite tasty! The people are always delighted when they come across one as it means there will be something in the pot for their one meal a day. They find them in their holes or running across the plains. They will often shoot them with their bow and arrows, but also try to grab them if they can. However, they aren’t always easy to catch because they run helter-skelter all over the place.

One day as I was meeting with some of the Bible teachers, one of them launched and began saying something like this: “The Words of the true God are truly of great value. And we must be careful to teach these words with correctness. We can’t be teaching them like an armadillo runs, but rather in a very straight and true manner”.

And ever since that time, that has been a common phrase among the teachers in reminding one another to prepare for the teaching and to be on topic, not teaching helter-skelter like the armadillo runs, but rather “straight and true as an arrow flies”.

Bible Curriculum

Since finished the P. Translation Project, we have reset our sights on developing Bible lessons for our dear brethren. While we were living among them, we completed lessons from Genesis to the Ascension of Christ, as well as lessons on Acts, Romans, Ephesians, I Timothy and Titus. However, they are wanting lessons on Thessalonians and the other NT books. So we have our work cut out for us for the next number of years.

And as we develop this curriculum, we are always keeping in mind the challenge of our brethren; to teach in such a way that the words are “straight and true”, and not “helter-skelter like an armadillo!”

Check Out These Important People Below:

Our Dear Coworkers

Since 1988, we have had the joy of working with these brothers and sisters from our Host Country. They have been a great blessing to the work and it’s great to see their love for the Lord and for the P. people. Yes, so glad to have them on board in this ministry. However, things are getting ever more challenging for them as they seek to carry on with life and ministry in a land that is so broken and fractured at almost every level. Please be praying for them.

Here are some specific requests on their behalf:

—just this morning, one of our coworkers had a car accident. We don’t know details, but it sounds like they survived all right even though their vehicle was damaged badly. Without the vehicle, they won’t be able to get to where the P. people are, or to get their supplies. Thanks so much for praying for God to be hugely glorified in all this.
—for wisdom, encouragement, and a sense of urgency as these three families push to see the P. churches grow in the Lord, as well as to keep on target with literacy, gardening, health, and evangelism
—pray for a P. believer whom we call Weeto. Pray that he will be straight on the Gospel and not pay attention to those hounding him to embrace a salvation of works once again. He is a key fellow in the community of Pretty Water, and it would be so great to see him living in and enjoying the TRUTH!!
—pray that our coworker’s children would continue to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord. Most of them are seeking to leave the country for further studies and employment, as these are increasingly hard to get where they are. And four of them desire to prepare for some aspect of Missions!! Pray that God will open doors for these precious young people, and that He will be hugely glorified both in and thru their lives.

And here below is the gang of eight!!


More Praise and Prayer Items

—Praise the Lord that my new eye continues to improve and that so far there is no rejection of the new part!! This is indeed an exciting ride and I praise God for His blessing, and for your prayers….and for the joy of clear sight!! The surgeon says the next eye probably won’t be done until possibly next Fall sometime. We’ll see!
—We are waiting to see what works out regarding a trip down to encourage our dear P. brethren. At this point things are looking very tenuous. Thanks for your prayers regarding this matter.
—we are pleased to report that our coworkers were finally able to get out to where the P. people are living. They were thrilled to see them encouraged, hanging in there, teaching the Word, and living in TRUTH! Thanks so much for your continued prayers for these different village churches.
—Would appreciate prayers too for our son Josh and his family serving our Lord in Asia Pacific. His wife Josie has been sick for a long time and they can’t seem to get to the bottom of it. And their youngest daughter Katrina has been having stomach aches for months and months, and they can’t figure out what is going on there either. They have been to numerous doctors and so are seeking the Lord’s direction in the matter. Thanks so much for praying for them. It is much appreciated!
—Thanks for your ongoing prayers for all those P. who have the gift of teaching and shepherding. Pray that God will continue to show Himself strong on their behalf, and that they would be faithful in preparing and proclaiming the TRUTH!!I

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

Christmas 2016 For The P People & Translations

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Merry Christmas!!

Teresa and I together with Mom Dyck want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas as you celebrate the riches of all that our Great God has done for us!! How blessed we all are because of this marvelous Story that began in eternity past!! So hey, a big hug for you all from us up here in the land of ice and snow!!

Here is how some of the Christmas Story from John 1 and Gal 4 reads from the P. Bible:

Way back in the very beginning, the One named the Word existed. He was together with the true God, for He too is the true God. And since he also is the true God, he was together with him back in the very beginning. And it was through this One named the Word that the true God created all things. For if he hadn’t created, not one thing would exist. For only through him does life exist. For he is the one who is the Giver of life. Only in him did it all begin way back. And precisely the Giver of life is the one who gives illuminating thinking to all people. For He shines brightly right in the middle of the darkness, and the darkness is not able to defeat this Light.

On the appointed day, the true God sent his Son. After being birthed by a woman, he began to live among people. God sent him in order to deliver us that we might not live under the rule of the words that Moses wrote down, but rather that we might be untied and set free, and not be slaves anymore. Its true!! He sent him in order that we become God’s children and that He become our Father. And because you have become God’s children, okay then, he has sent the Spirit of his Son to make his home in your bodies. And now precisely by means of this Spirit, we relate to the true God as Father. We tell him, “Father, you are my Father”. Therefore, I tell you all, none of you are slaves any longer for now you have become His children. You have become children of God. And because you have become his children, you will be ones who receive / inherit. Yes, that which is God’s you will inherit, that which He has set aside safely for his children.

Christmas in the land of the P People:

They don’t have Christmas trees or decorative lights….
….but they know that Jesus is the Light of the world….and that they are now children of light.

They don’t exchange gifts or Christmas cards….
….but they know that they have received the gift of eternal life….and the Holy Spirit as well.

They don’t have a Christmas dinner….
….but they participate in The Lord’s Supper using water and yucca cakes to remember the spilled blood and death of their Savior.

There are no Christmas Carolers moving from house to house to sing the traditional songs or manger scenes….
….but they make up their own songs and sing about the True Son who was sent by a non-stingy Father to this earth.

Report on Eye Surgery

Thanks so very much for your prayers for me regarding the surgery on my cornea. The transplant of the endothelial layer went fine and I had my patch off the next day. There was no pain, even though I still had the sutures in.

Well, after three days, I took a short walk down the trail and when I looked down, I was totally amazed at the clarity of the gravel below. I hadn’t seen gravel that clearly for years and years!! I was thrilled and suddenly had a sweet little time of worship there on the trail to the “God of Eyeballs and Sight” as the P people say. Yes, what a joy it has been to be seeing with steady improvement out of that one eye. Now we wait and see when it will work out for the surgery on the remaining eye. Thanks again so much for your prayers on this.

Prayer Items

—we don’t hear much news from the P believers as they are still cut off from contact with all the heavy rains. So there isn’t anything specific to pass on to you all right now. However, thanks so very much for your prayers for their growth, encouragement, and ministries as they walk with their Lord
—pray for our beloved Host Country that God would wonderfully intervene down there and bring His solution to the many problems that only grow worse as the days go by. We just talked to a couple of our national co-workers down there and they have never seen or imagined that anything like this could ever happen to their beloved country. So yes, thanks so much for praying!!
—pray too regarding the proliferation of evil and controlling men who are really effecting the P believers, as well as many other folks
—pray for our dear coworkers there who continue to labor under extremely trying circumstances that they would truly be Jesus in skin to those around them
—pray for us as we seek the Lord’s direction in making another trip down there to connect with the P. saints
—pray for our son Josh, his wife Josie, and their four children as they celebrate Christmas in Asia, and also for our daughter Jodi, her husband Brent, and baby Hudson as they celebrate in their host country. We miss these guys a lot but we are thankful that we can all serve the Lord during this brief stint on planet earth before the big party and family reunion in Heaven!!

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

M&T

Update On Merrill’s Eye Surgery

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Update on Merrill

Thanks for your overwhelming response of prayer. God has answered!! The doctor said three different times how well the surgery went. God surely did guide the surgeon’s hands! You all were a huge encouragement and blessing!! Thanks so much for praying. And God gave us both such peace, and a spirit of praise and prayer throughout the day of surgery. God is so good!!

The hardest part of the recovery was that Merrill had to lie flat on his back without a pillow for 24 long hours right after the surgery, getting up only for the bare essentials. Well this was really hard on his back and drove him a little crazy! But he survived nicely and now has the freedom not only to move about during the day but also sleep on his right side as well. Now the challenge is simply to keep the three different types of drops for his eyes straight, giving them 1, 4 and 6 times a day.

He had his post op check the day after surgery, and the endothelial graft was still perfectly positioned. Praise the Lord!! Now please pray that this graft will start doing its job. It can take up to 2 months for the endothelial tissue to start properly controlling the amount of moisture to be retained in the cornea! So he will continue to have cloudy vision in his operated eye (left) till it kicks in. And he will also be living under various restrictions for the 2-month period. So anyway, thanks so much for standing behind us.

Update on Brent, Jodi and baby Hudson

As I write this note, the three of them are on a jet plane winging their way back to their host country. They left for the airport yesterday afternoon and if they make all their connections, they ought to touch down in the town where they live at about 9 PM tonight PST, which would be 4 PM tomorrow afternoon their time. Thanks for your continued prayers for them in this long journey, especially with baby Hudson. We had some teary goodbyes yesterday. Sure do miss them already, but we are thankful that they want to serve our LORD and we cheerfully release them for His Glory.

Thanks for your awesome support in prayer!
Teresa for us both!

Surgery, Departures and Many Strangers

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So much to pray about! Lots to intervene over as we enter the Throne Room of the Most High One. Thanks so much for going to bat for the Lord’s glory!!

Greetings Dear Friends

Thanks so much for partnering with us and tracking the work. We praise God that He continues to work among the P. people and build His glorious church, in spite of many challenges. Thanks so much for sticking with us and intervening for us and the beloved P. Nation before the Throne of God. How we thank God for you all!!.

A Great Need to Intercede!!

—please pray for our dear and loved Host Country as things continue to spiral out of control. How we need God’s solution to be brought to bear as evil and corruption continue to abound
—pray for the P. believers, that they will continue to grow in spite of many difficult challenges. Yes, they are facing many health issues without the needed help, food shortages, and different forms of abuse and persecution
—pray for the new believers in Pretty Water as violent and evil men continue to abound in the region and seek to take control of their lives in different areas, especially regarding what they believe
—pray for the leaders and pastors that they will faithfully teach the Word in spite of hardships and challenges
—pray for our son Josh and his wife Josie, and their family in the Asian-Pacific region as they press forward with many different challenges. They have been plagued with many strange and random infirmities and your prayers would be much appreciated.
—pray for me (Merrill) as I go in for DSAEK eye surgery tomorrow for Fuchs Corneal Dystrophy, and for our Lord’s healing touch. Here is a link to an article that describes my condition: http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/fuchs-corneal-dystrophy.htm

Yes, I will be entering the Hospital at noon tomorrow (PST) for surgery on my left eye. This disease started showing up about 6 years ago and has been steadily growing worse. In practical terms, the windshield wipers (the endothelium) of my windshield (the cornea) have ceased to function properly and so I’m always looking out thru a windshield that is increasingly fogged up. So yes, your prayers are very much appreciated!!

—pray for our daughter Jodi and her husband Brent, along with their new little son Hudson, as they head back to their host country on Monday night. Their picture is just below.

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!!

Hudson, Guerrillas, Pretty Water

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A New Body of Believers!!

A new church of living stones has been born in Pretty Water!!

Many of you have been praying for the people in Pretty Water. Well we praise God that there are about 20 new believers there who have joyfully trusted in what the Payer Jesus did for them on the cross when he paid in full with His blood and death for their sin. They have been thrilled to hear the Bible teaching in their own language and are very excited about having the translated Scriptures in their hands! Yes, they have come to faith in Christ, believing that He paid the sin debt to the One who was demanding blood and death, and so now their tracks of sin have all been erased!! They are rejoicing and partying, and we can party with them!! Yes, praise be to God Almighty as He continues to build His church in all kinds of different contexts. How good it is to know that the very powers of hell will NOT prevail against Him, but rather that He will be the GLORIOUS WINNER!!

But as God works, the enemy is always at work as well to hinder and thwart, and so it is not surprising to see opposition rising up quickly against this new little flock. Just recently a group of violent men moved into the area saying that they would now be the ones in control of their village, and that this also meant deciding what was taught in the schools. They met with the village leaders and pastors to tell them that the people weren’t to embrace foreign ideas but rather stick with the teachings of their ancestors. So who knows where this will all go but yes, the battle rages on ….and yet we praise God that He will indeed build His church among this special people group!! Thanks so much for praying for these dear new brothers and sisters in Christ!

A Report on the P. Work

So many of you have been tracking this work for many years and we thank you for your participation in so many different ways. So we want to give you an opportunity to hear a bit of God’s story as He has worked among this dear People Group. Recently we were able to share a mini-history of what God has done among the P. and specifically regarding the translated Scriptures, and how they have powerfully impacted them.

 Praise and Prayer

—praise be to God Most High for raising up a new infant church there in Pretty Water!! Thanks for your prayers for the teaching of the Word there, and for the growth of the believers. Pray too regarding those violent men who are wanting to take control of their village, that God will use this too for His Glory!!
—pray for our beloved host country, that God would wonderfully intervene down there and bring His solution to the many huge problems
—praise for continued opportunities for ministry, but please continue to pray for our many dear coworkers there who continue to labor under extremely trying circumstances
—pray for God to meet the physical, medical, and spiritual needs of the believers. August is always the toughest month for these semi-nomads to find food. And we just heard recently that 10 women and children have already died.
—praise for God’s Word being in their language and in their hands!! Please pray for this liberating 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
—pray for us as we continue to focus more and more on developing additional tools for the growth of the 10 different village churches
—pray for our daughter Jodi, and her husband Brent as they adjust to raising their beloved son, and that God would give them much wisdom in raising him for His glory. Especially pray for Brent as he soon begins a very intense 3 week aviation course, and for grace and strength for Jodi in adjusting to all that comes with being a first-time mom. Pray for all 3 of them as they head back to their host country in a few weeks.

Thanks again so very much for your partnering with us. We thank God for all of you!