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Prayer Letter - New Guinea
News
December 8, 2001
Friends and Family,
Friends and
Family,
“So what causes
it to rain?” I asked in the trade language of PNG. The Nakanai man
I was talking too had already told me that the reason the seas were
rough at times was because of magic worked by someone who was angry
to keep people from being able to fish. “The reason it rains,” he
relied, “Everybody knows that, it is the work of Kalakulu, one of
the big men here in Kasia.” I questioned him further for a more
detailed explanation. “This big man knows the right things to say
and do. He can send three different kinds of rain. Some rains are
good and some are bad. If you want the good rain for your garden
you can go give him money and he will work it for you. If there is
a wrong in the village or this big man has been shamed he will send
a bad rain… Now do you understand?”
It was hard to
understand, let alone reply. After all, this man was from a village
near a civilized town in Papua New Guinea. He knew his talk place,
the trade language, and even some English. This man had a Bible in
the trade language, talked about Jesus, and even went to a church
and helped out with the preaching. Yet, he was trying to do the
right things and avoid the wrong things so that the spirits would
not be angry with him.
The longer we are
here the more we realize, that even in the towns, where some have
heard the gospel presented in the trade language there is much
confusion. Often the result is simply adding “this Jesus” to their
list of other gods and having one more “spirit” to try to appease so
that they can have a good life.
Next month a PNG
man will begin teaching the Nakanai in their own language. This man
is from another tribe where a missionary had learned the language
and presented the Gospel. This tribal man, freed from the bondage
of Satan, was convinced he should take this Good News to others. He
went through a training facility set up in PNG by the missionaries
and then moved to the Nakanai people group to learn their language.
Please pray for Nick as he teaches the people the truth about “this
Jesus.” Pray also for the Nakanai people that they will truly
understand and be set free from the confusion in which they are
bound.
We have just
finished check four in the trade language and are now officially
finished with the Pidgin course. Though we both feel that there is
more to be learnt, we have a much stronger basis now for learning a
tribal language. Thank you for your prayers and partnership as we
move closer to entering a tribal group in Papua New Guinea.
Serving the One
True God,
Aaron, Lori, and
Avalon
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