teaching at the community school

Outreach at Community School

Teaching from Creation to Christ in the Simbari language has been underway for months now at a community school where the students in the upper grades have heard key Old Testament stories as well as many of the Messianic prophesies that were all fulfilled by Christ. For these people who have been confused about the message of the Bible, even to the point of thinking that they themselves are Jews, this was a huge thing to see the Old Testament pointing to the coming Messiah over and over.  It was also sobering for them to hear that God’s Law did not just refer to outward actions but also the thoughts of the heart. This left them with no argument as they realized they fell short of God’s standard of holiness. The teaching then moved on to the New Testament and the perfect life of Christ, the spotless lamb of God.  This week they are hearing of the finished work of Jesus paying for the sins of mankind through His death followed by His burial and then His overcoming the power of death in His resurrection. The fact that God raised Him from the dead  was evidence that his sacrifice on our behalf was accepted and also that Jesus was indeed who He claimed to be.  In the days ahead these young people will be struggling with the decision of whether to receive this gift of God or reject it. Many of those who receive God’s gift of salvation in Jesus will be rejected by friends and relatives who are trusting in their own works and attempts to follow the Mosaic Law. It’s a hard thing to be faced with the choice of faith or family so please pray for them during this crucial time.

Bible Translation Progress

Chapters 9-16 of Romans are ready for the final translation check and we are working on the Bible lessons for teaching through that book. David is also working on the  preliminary draft of Ephesians and is currently in chapter 6. The next book will be 1^st Corinthians.   Recently David attended some consultant and leadership meetings and also went into another tribe to assess the culture and language learning progress of some newer missionaries who are now ready to begin preparations for teaching and translating.

Simon’s surgery postponed  and future plans

After Simon broke his leg and had surgery to put in a plate he has healed well but the plate that remains inside bothers him especially when he plays sports. We were looking into taking him to Australia for the plate removal surgery in December but as we started looking into it we realized that trying to get visas and medical work done so close to the holidays when many offices shut down looked like it could end up to be a problem so we decided to wait until summer. We are looking into tickets to return home as a family just for this coming summer right after Simon graduates.  Then after quickly helping Simon get settled in, visiting our friends and family, and getting medical work done we will leave Simon in the USA and return to PNG before the start of school for the kids.  Our next regular one-year home assignment is scheduled for three years later when we take Rachel home after she graduates in 2013.

plate in Simon's leg

Thanks for praying, David and Shari Ogg

Dave on Bridge

The time finally came to begin so we headed down Sunday after our church service. It’s a three and a half hour rigorous hike one way so we got there in the late afternoon. The trail is slippery mud and climbs straight up in many places almost a 1000 ft so I always hike wearing logger boots with metal spikes all over the bottom. They work better than anything else on slippery mud and logs. The trail has two log bridge crossings and one high vine bridge over a large river but it’s a beautiful trail. We arrived down at the other village and were welcomed and given a nice house to sleep in. Much better than what we had expected. As for food: I had a banana for breakfast each day, a cucumber for lunch and some rice and tin fish for dinner. We visited for quite some time with the family that was hosting us and went out to greet others from the community. Young kids who hadn’t been close to a white man before kept surrounding me and were trying to get up the nerve to touch me. They would timidly get closer and closer till they would touch me and then run away, to which I would reward them with a big smile. Several very old people were also quite excited about my presence
there.
The Simbari Bible/literacy teachers were feeling overwhelmed with everything but they continually asked the Lord for strength and said, “God chose us for this work so he will indeed strengthen us to carry it out”. In the dim light of a kerosene lamp we got the material ready for classes the next morning and went to bed early (I know at least I was exhausted from the hike). The next morning we were thrown upon the Lord again when the scheduling plan for the school did not give enough time for Bible and literacy but we were finally able come up with a good solution. The whole situation was causing our Simbari Bible/literacy teachers to feel inadequate but they just continued to depend on the Lord. As I watched this in progress 2 Cor. 12:9 came to mind: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
In the beginning we weren’t sure at all how the Bible teaching as well as literacy would be received. But the students and teachers in the community school were thrilled with both the Bible lessons and the vernacular literacy program. In addition to teaching in the school we also taught the chronological Bible lessons in the village market area for the whole community. Even though it’s a good community meeting place we’re still not sure if that is the best location for the teaching because of the disturbances of the nearby market. Pray for God’s direction in knowing what would be the best time and place for those meetings in the future.

As we were hiking back we stopped at the high vine bridge and had a little fun jumping off the bridge into the river. It’s one of the few places where there are no rocks and the water is deep enough to do that. We walked for much of the time in a misty rain and as we headed up the valley higher and higher we eventually ended up right in the clouds where our village is located. After the message in our Sunday worship service we talked about the power of God at work in our midst. We also discussed bringing some sweet potatoes to put in the offering to help our teachers to not go hungry during the outreach. After church we played a few games of volleyball then the teachers headed off again on the hike down to the other village. I, David,
stayed home this time to keep working on the translation of Ephesians. Please pray for this outreach in the school and community as it continues in
the weeks ahead.

Esther’s visit

What an encouraging summer it has been here in PNG! It started when Esther arrived from California in June and we were able to go with a group of missionary friends (18 of us all together) to climb Mt. Wilhelm, the tallest mountain in PNG. Everyone in our family except Jason and Shari made it to the summit and back to base camp in about 13 hours. (Shari and Jason stayed at base camp where there is a beautiful lake).

After a fun but rainy, cold few days, we flew to thecoast and spent a week at the ocean where it was a lot warmer. Esther enjoyed being able to snorkel and dive with us again after being gone a couple of years.

Church Team

Later in July a team of nine from GBC in California came and spent a week with us in the tribe. They were a real blessing and were able to help us with a lot of necessary projects on our airstrip and homes. They really connected with their Simbari brothers and sisters in Christ and were a real encouragement to us all. We all had some very special times visiting and sitting around the fire pit with the Simbari believers for hours singing songs of worship to the Lord. On Sunday some of the Simbari believers put on a special service for us by acting out two dramas. In the first one they acted out key stories from the Bible starting with Adam and Eve and working their way through the Bible, ending with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Then they did a second drama where men women and children came in carrying heavy bags on their backs representing the burden of sin every human being carries before they come to know Christ. Even Jason got to be a part of the drama as they wanted to illustrate how white men as well as dark-skinned people are sinners, in need of a Savior. Everyone carried their burdens to a man who was playing the part of Christ and he placed on each one of them a white shirt representing the righteousness of Christ which He freely gives to those who trust in Him. Then the group of white-clad people went up to the front and joined another group who had been humming in three or four-part harmony. It was a very touching drama and a reminder of the amazing things that God is doing in the hearts of the Simbari people. After the team spent a week in the tribe with us we all came out to the school center where they helped with a building project for a few days. We praise the Lord for this team and the wonderful time we had together!

Start of school and new dorm
This week school started for Simon and Rachel and we can hardly believe we have a 9th grader and a senior this year! Please be praying for them both as they get settled into their new dorm family and a busy year of school. Pray for Jason as well, since it will be hard for him to go back to the tribe and be the only kid at home. We know that God will encourage his heart as He always does, and continue to use him to be a light for Jesus with his Simbari friends.

Simbari progress
Please pray for David, Lori, and Shari as well as our Simbari translation helpers that we would continue to make good progress in finishing up the book of Romans as well as all the Bible lessons that go with it. We are excited as we anticipate being able to teach it to the rest of the Simbari believers soon. Please pray for continued growth in their lives and that they would be shining lights to those around them.

We deeply appreciate your friendship and prayers!

Love in Christ,

David, Shari, and family

We praise the Lord that it went very well and after a few revisions to improve the translation we will be able to print those chapters and use them for teaching. David is done with most of his work on the rest of Romans so our co-worker, Lori, as well as Shari will be working on finishing their part of the process on the rest of the chapters. As that is in progress David is translating Bible lessons to go with the book of Romans and has also begun the preliminary draft of Ephesians.

We have been so thrilled with the open doors the Lord is giving the Simbari believers to share the good news of Christ\’s love not only in our village but in the surrounding villages as well.

Recently two of the Bible teachers were invited to the largest Simbari village about a four-hour rigorous hike from here to meet with the headmaster of the community school there. For quite awhile now he has been expressing his desire to have God\’s talk brought to his village. The people have been exposed to some religion and in fact there is a big “church” building but he says it leaves them feeling cold.

Another religious group came wanting to teach in the national language of Pidgin but they said that would not help them understand the truth. He wants his village to hear it in their own language. The delay in going there so far is because we have been short-handed and are already teaching in two villages. Now the headmaster would like a couple of our Bible
teachers to come to his school on a regular basis (possibly starting in August) and teach the Creation-to-Christ evangelism lessons each morning before school followed by vernacular literacy classes right in the school so that the students will be able to read and write in their own language. (the community schools teach in English and Pidgin) There will be other adult teachers sitting in on the classes and learning as well so that they can teach it in their own village schools. We are praising the Lord with the Simbari believers for this wonderful opportunity to spread God\’s Word to other villages. Since David\’s translation helper is also one of the main Bible teachers David will need to hike down with the Bible teachers and stay there for blocks of time to be able to continue making progress on the Bible translation.

David\’s translation helper told us a story about something really neat that happened recently at the other village where the believers were meeting together for a time of fellowship.

He said there was a lady whose baby had been sick and was having a hard time breathing. All of a sudden the baby became lifeless and started foaming at the mouth and the mother believed her to be dead. So she quickly took her baby to some men who are with another religious group in the area and asked them to pray for her. Surprisingly they told her to take her baby over to the house where the believers in Jesus were meeting and ask them to pray for her. This village has seen God do some amazing things when the believers pray,    so they must have thought the baby would have a better chance if the mother took her to them. When the mother brought her baby to the house where the believers were meeting, she told them what had happened and asked them to pray for her baby. They quickly explained to her that they were just normal people, but God alone was the one with the power to heal her if it was His will and that life and death are in God\’s hands. So they prayed for the baby right then, and to everyone\’s amazement, the baby regained consciousness and started nursing. Everyone there was awed at the way God answered their prayers immediately and showed His love and power. There is still a lot of opposition to the Gospel so we are all praying that God would use this obvious answer to prayer and many others like it to draw people to Himself and show them that in Christ alone is the way the truth and the life.

The noise started a few days ago.

It was the eerie sound of the “bullroar” which is a bamboo switch with a small noise-maker tied to the top which is twirled around at high speed to produce the eerie sound. The noise marked the beginning of a “yumbunja” which takes place a month or so after a death to drive away the ghost of the one who died. It’s not a noise that we like to hear because it’s ringing in the air is indicative of many people who are still blinded to the truth and under the powers of darkness. As the Simbari believers came and went around the village when they came upon the people with the bullroars there was a strong reaction.   The people with the bullroars acted as if they were angry evil forces being confronted by the light. After listening to this noise for a couple days we hoped it wouldn’t get in the way of the baptism that had been put off for weeks because of deaths and bad weather. But we woke up to a beautiful Sunday morning and after a morning worship service with the believers we all hiked down to the nearest river for the baptism. Because of all the rain lately we had a tough time finding a safe spot in the river where the people getting baptized wouldn’t get swept down the cold river. We found a spot and 16 people began to give personal testimonies about their faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ alone for their salvation. (One of them was our youngest son, Jason.) We had a hard time hearing the testimonies over the noise of the rapids even wondering if the testimonies were necessary with all the noise of the river working to drown them out. But there was a bunch of unbelievers watching the whole thing. And we were to find out later in the day that many were marveling at what they saw. The public, personal statements of faith in Christ alone for salvation were not drowned out by the noise of the river. After the baptism we all gathered on the shore of the river to sing a few songs of worship. Because many were shivering from the cold water we didn’t sing for too long but went back up to the village so the wet ones could get changed. After that we all gathered for some volleyball and just to hang out together. We recently put up a round thatched-roof hut in our front yard for these time of fellowship. As we sat in the house the believers were all full of joy, singing around the fire and talking about the wonderful things God was doing in their midst. It was then that they told us how the testimonies had impacted some of the unbelievers in spite of the river’s noise. They also told us about how in one of the “yumbunja” rituals the people offer a sacrificial offering of a possum to be completely burnt up on a fire. (The Simbari’s had kept that one secret from us during our initial culture study) They thought of how similar that was to the Old Testament Biblical sacrifices that point to Christ. But the enemy uses these rituals to keep people away from Christ and in the dark. All-in-all it went from 9:30am to 4:30pm but it was a very special day that left our thoughts dwelling on the power of God. And the realization the testimony of the believers, usually referred to as: “Jesus’ men and women” is not being drown out by the noise of bullroars or the waters roar. On the translation side of things Romans 1-8 is ready for the final translation check coming up in June and David has finished the preliminary drafting of chapters 9-16 and is working with translation helpers to finalize the draft. He’s also been getting lessons ready and meeting with the Bible teachers for planning the teaching schedule for both villages. Simon’s leg seems to have healed ok but the plate which is just under the skin seems to get irritated and sore when he uses it a lot. It will need taken out sometime in the next 6 months but we haven’t finalized when we’ll do that. David has a torn rotator -cuff that might need repaired then as well. We’re really looking forward to a visit this summer from our oldest daughter, Esther, who will be finishing her second year of college.

David, Shari and family

I know we just sent out an update a few days ago, but something just happened today, Sunday, that we wanted to share with you so that you can be praying with us.

In church this morning the lesson was about Paul and Silas and how they were thrown into prison for sharing the good news of Christ and instead of feeling sorry for themselves or blaming God, they chose to focus on Him by singing and praying. You know the story about how God rescued them from prison and used them to lead the jailer and his family to faith in Christ. It was discussed how if Paul and Silas had not been imprisoned then how would the jailer and is family heard the plan of salvation? The Simbari believers were listening very attentively and when the teacher was ready to stop the lesson in the middle of the story because it was getting late, the believers said they really wanted to hear the rest of it. So church went a little long this morning but it was such an encouragement to see the believers clinging to every word and making the applications to their own lives.

While we were in church we did not realize it, but our house was being robbed (for the first time since we’ve been in PNG). As soon as we realized we had been robbed we summoned our Simbari neighbors who came running to help. We told them what had happened and they took off immediately down different trails to try and apprehend the thieves. After awhile a group came back carrying some of our things which had been dropped on the trail as the thieves panicked when they saw people chasing them. Some of the items have been returned but not the thing that concerns us most. Thankfully we rarely encounter situations like this but we found out the instigator of this is already on the run from the police and had just arrived in our area.

There was quite a large crowd of people, many of whom were unbelievers, sitting on our lawn for about two hours as many of them wanted to show their support for us and some were just here to see what would happen. After awhile the Lord laid it on our hearts to go outside with Shari’s guitar and sit on the ground with them, singing songs like Paul and Silas did. We did not want the people to think that our stuff was too important to us, but rather God’s Word and lifting up His name. First, one of the believers shared with the rest of the crowd the story we had just heard in church this morning and then we sang for quite awhile.

We would like to ask you to be praying about this situation, that God would use it to draw people to Himself and cause us and our Simbari brothers and sisters to grow closer to Him. Please pray that we would not experience too many interruptions from the work that God has called us to do here as a result of this.

Thanks so much for praying!

Joyfully in Him,

David and Shari

In the church service this Sunday the believers shared a very exciting answer to prayer.

Ever since completing the outreach in a neighboring village about an hour and a half away, the new believers down there have had the desire to construct a building which can also be used for continued Bible teaching and as a literacy school. However some opposition to the Gospel that sprung up during the outreach has prevented them from being able to have a village-approved meeting place. Since the completion of the outreach some of the believers from that village have been making the rugged hike up to our village every Sunday to worship with their brothers and sisters here but there are many more who would come to hear if we had the teaching in their own village. The believers have been praying together for the Lord to work in the hearts of those who are opposing God’s work and to open the way for the believers in that village to have their own place to meet. This Sunday we heard that approval to build in that village has been granted by the community. They said it was obviously “of God” and that they didn’t want to be opposing His work. So building plans are under way and we are all praising the Lord together for answered prayer.

The bones in Simon’s leg have been healing slowly but surely and he is gaining more and more mobility. Unfortunately the surgery incision site has taken longer to heal and this week he went to the medical clinic to get it checked. The doctor cleaned it well and then put adhesive sutures on the wound to pull the edges together again. He said if it does not do the trick he will have to redo the incision and use surgical sutures to pull it together. So, we would appreciate prayer for complete healing and that there would be no more complications between now and next Fall when we take him back down to Australia to have the steel plate and screws removed. He’s all caught up with schoolwork now and keeps very busy with Junior Class activities and homework.

Esther is living with her aunt and attending a nearby community college. She has been taking a couple of condensed winter classes which have kept her very busy. But it will be good for her to get a couple more credits out of the way before regular classes resume in February. We are hoping she can come to PNG next summer for a visit so we are all excited about that! 

Rachel is doing very well in school and recently made the high honor roll with only five other students from 7-12th grade so we are very proud of her efforts. She loves music and has been volunteering some Sunday mornings to help on the worship team. Recently she was invited to join the adult choir and was very excited about that. There are some other teen girls who sing with them so she won’t be the only one.

Jason has really been enjoying the beautiful sunny days that the Lord has been blessing us with. He loves to be outdoors almost every waking hour so that makes it a bit hard for him to be motivated to do his home schooling. He is a typical boy! He has really taken an interest in a small guitar that Simon received as a gift when he was about the same age. Shari has taught him three chords and he has been practicing those and singing the same song (in Pidgin)  over and over again. He loves to gather a group of Simbari kids outside on the lawn and give them other homemade musical instruments to play. A couple of days ago he must have had about fifteen kids (teen guys too) all around him in a circle as he was playing the guitar and singing with them. We thank the Lord for his outgoing, sweet personality which we know is a real example to these kids who need to hear about Jesus.

We would like to let you know about a need at our missionary medical clinic here in PNG. A donated portable x-ray machine has been received and installed.  Supplies have been purchased and a dark room was built last summer but they need a qualified person to finish setting up the system and teach them how to use it. If you are a qualified x-ray technician who might be able to help please send us a note. The clinic serves hundreds of missionary families all over the field of PNG. Thank you so much for joining us in praying for this need.

We appreciate each one of you and are so thankful for your prayers, support and encouragement.

David, Shari, and family

We had a very special Christmas service with the Simbari believers this week.

After beginning the service with some Simbari worship songs our son, Jason, sang “Away In a Manger” in the trade language while Shari accompanied him on the guitar. Then Lori, Rachel, and Shari sang a couple of other Christmas carols in the trade language. After that was a drama about the birth and life of Christ that the Simbari believers themselves organized and presented. This is the first time they have ever done anything like that and it was done very well. There was a larger crowd than usual at church because a lot of visitors are here now for a big holiday sports tournament. The believers acted out not only the birth of Christ but highlights from His life including one of His miracles, His betrayal, trial, death and resurrection. After that they portrayed a man staggering along carrying a heavy burden of sin and crying out from the weight of it on his shoulders. Then another man playing the part of Jesus came along and lifted the burden of sin and put his arms around him. The two men who were performing the drama were so overcome with the reality of Christ’s sacrifice for them that they had a hard time getting through the drama without crying. While they were acting out the drama, four other believers were in the background humming in four-part harmony the song “At the Cross.” It was the most beautiful song we have heard them sing and several of us were in tears as we listened. After the burden of sin was lifted from the man, both men joined the group who had been humming, and together they began singing the verses of the song. It was such a blessing to celebrate the birth of Christ in such a special way and to be a part of the joy that His birth has brought to this small corner of the world.

We have really enjoyed having Simon and Rachel with us for Christmas break and it will be hard to see them go back to school next week, but they have a lot of activities to look forward to and are always anxious to get back. So that makes it not so hard to say goodbye. We really missed Esther as this was our first Christmas apart, but we have received some great e-mails from her telling about all the things she has been able to do with her aunts, uncles and grandparents during the Christmas season, so it is comforting to us that she can be with them. We have enjoyed having another missionary couple join our team for Christmas and they will be staying a couple of extra weeks at our guest house so they can catch up on some much needed rest.

We just wanted to say thanks for praying for the Simbari mother and baby who fell down the cliff awhile back and were seriously injured. We just heard recently that they are back home and doing well now. The Lord is so good!

We hope you have a Happy New Year and we appreciate your love and prayers for us and the Simbari believers.

Love in Christ,
The Ogg Family