The 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!!
How thankful we are that the whole shipment of Bibles arrived nicely in our Host Country. Our great Lord-Owner-Boss did a lot of great miracles and it was such a blessing that he opened all the doors needed!! So yeah, what a thrill to receive the boxes, open them up, and see the Scriptures for the dear P people. They have received many different portions of the Scriptures down through the years but now they were receiving the finished product for the first time!! How we praise God that He so wonderfully went before us down through the years and opened one “Red Sea” after another for us in order to carry on and finish the project. All Praise and Glory be to our great God who commanded us to go!!
it possible for us to connect with several of the pastors and their wives out in town…..and it was to them that we handed over the Scriptures. We had many times of celebration, teaching and worship. And on top of this, we also got together with many of our believing friends at one of our main supporting churches. That was one long celebration as well, and included not only four different P pastors sharing from the Word, but also a grand fiesta with beef, a whole pig, and so much more!! Yes, it truly was a day of celebration for God’s bigness and greatness!!
While we were still in SA, we suddenly got word that my dear dad had been promoted to Glory! Even on the morning of his passing, mom and he had had a special time of prayer and worship together…..but his body was worn out and at almost 95 years of age he entered Heaven’s gates! So we quickly changed our tickets and left early. How thankful we are for dad!! How we appreciate his love of the Scriptures, his sense of pilgrimage on this planet, his example of investing in eternity, and his continual encouragement to us to finish the task that God had given us to do. Yes, a dear soldier of the cross for sure! We will miss him….but praise the Lord for the huge HOPE that we have in Christ, of celebrating together in the New Heaven and Earth!! Would appreciate your prayers for my mom as she journeys on without her best friend..
