Posted on 08/08/2008 10:59:33 AM PDT by Gamecock
Eleven Inapang believers were baptized Sunday and others want to be baptized.
Some of the church leaders and missionary Bill Housley determined that some who asked to be baptized needed further teaching.
"The believers decided to do a 'big picture' or 'big story' class for those who had heard it and were believing but were having trouble articulating their faith," the Houslelys wrote.
A small group of 15 to 20 people were expected for the class Tuesday night, but the whole village showed up. The Inapang Bible teachers began with who God is and what He is like and then reviewed the Bible lessons they had learned from Creation through the sacrifice of Christ and His victory over death. They ended the teaching session by talking about baptism.
After the meeting Bill talked with the teachers.
"Wow!" he said, "you guys have surpassed me in your ability to teach in the parts of the story that you already know. God has strengthened you and this is your natural language and it was a beautiful thing for us to hear God's Word tonight. Thanks for strengthening us with God's Talk tonight."
Others then approached Bill. One of them said, "Thank you. God sent you here and you came with this story and it is clear in our minds now and we are so happy to know that Jesus made a road for us back to Papa God."
Another man pointed to the thick darkness outside the building and said, "Before, that is where we were -- complete darkness, groping at anything. God sent His Talk here with you and now our eyes are opened to Him and His Talk, and it is so sweet to our ears. Now, we are like this light," he pointed to the new light in the building, "because God's Spirit is in us and helping us and holding us until Heaven."
Praise God for these incredible testimonies of Inapang lives being transformed. And please continue to pray for the Inanpang believers as they take more steps toward maturity.
Where is that you may ask? Papua, New Guinea
I have friends who were missionaries there. Good things happening. Praise God!
PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!
We have two missionaries, Steve and Rhonda Hayward, who work in Papua New Guinea. It is their ministry to translate the Bible into the many languages of that island nation. They just left last week from their vacation in the USA to return to Papua New Guinea to continue it. They tell us that many of the citizens of that nation, having heard the good news of Jesus, can now read for theirselves what the Bible actually says. It's amazing how fast they learn, Steve says, and how simple it is to understand what it teaches. Their baptisms are all immersions, and only after they come to understand why they should get immersed. The pictures shown us are fantastic. These people are a simple, loving people, full of joyful spirit as the gospel takes hold of them. It's too bad more here in the USA don't read their Bibles to see what it has to say about living a Christian life.
It’s so encouraging to see people come to know the Lord Jesus Christ in such a deeply personal way. I’ve had friends, some quite young, who have worked for Wycliffe Bible Translators. One young woman, a true gem, is now in Camaroon teaching missionaries’ children. Her entire family has served as missionaries in Sierra Leone (where she was conceived!), Costa Rica and other places. Her nephew is a high school kid learning Arabic so he can one day minister to Muslims. Great family.
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