MADANG, Papua New Guinea: Tension. Confusion. Distress. Conflict. The Mibu people are feeling it all as they hear what God's Word says about their position before God and compare it to their old beliefs.
Six weeks of evangelistic Bible teaching by missionaries Chris Walker and Joey Tartaglia have the people asking lots of questions.
"My sins are many. How can I go to heaven?"
"Should we sacrifice animals to God so that He will forgive us?"
"How will the Deliverer that God promised make a way for me to go to heaven?"
"All of our ancestors that died before hearing God's Word. What happened to them?"
"If I die before hearing the end of the story, what will happen to me?"
One woman shared her predicament with missionaries after just three weeks of teaching. "I've been coming every day to the teaching," she said. "My husband has not. He just sits in the house during these times. I know that some of our ways and customs will change because of this teaching, and I'm OK with that. My husband does not want our ways to change. What is my responsibility here?"
"Wow!" was the missionaries' response. They weren't expecting that kind of a question yet.
Chris and Joey have told the people that the picture will get clearer as they hear more of the teaching, and then they can decide what is true -- God's Word or their ancestors stories.
There is still a lot of teaching to be done, but no matter how long it takes some Mibus want to hear it all.
Early in the teaching, Chris apologized for what he thought was a long lesson, and assured the people that the next lesson would be shorter. One man stood up and exclaimed, "This is God's Word. How can a lesson be too long? I want to sit and learn as long as it takes."
Pray that those who are asking questions will gain a clear understanding of God's answers.
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