NTM

The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. Psalm 118:14

Dear Supporting Friends and Family,

I just printed off the first ever worship song book in the Dinangat language for the believers to use during praise services! What a joy it was to see the songs come streaming in. If we ever doubted their understanding of the gospel, these songs wipe away any doubt. Listen to some of the songs:

Basa’s song: Father God we say thank to you. You always thought of us and think of us. Therefore we say thank to you. You sent our savior Jesus; therefore, we say thank you to You. Father God we say thank to You.

Bau’s song: O-o-o I want to go to where heaven is. O-o-o we people are not able to save ourselves. O-o-o but there is God’s son, the Christ who is able to save us. He will save us and lead us to God’s place (heaven).

Mesari’s song: We are not able to save ourselves. But Got because You exist You always help us. You gave us Your son. Because of our sin Jesus went up on the cross. Because of our sin He spilled out His blood. Because of Jesus You save us.

Nonjong’s song: Great Father give us Your life. Great Father give us Your life. You give it to us, and we will hold it. You give it to us, and we will quickly hold it. We want to praise and praise God. We want to praise and praise God.

Tears well up in my eyes as I translate these songs. I can’t tell you the joy that comes from what this all means. These people used to be trapped in a lifestyle of bondage to spirits and/or striving to earn favor from a God they didn’t understand. And now they call Him “great Father.” Now they sing praises to Him in freedom and truth because they see the great price the Son paid for them and they are free. Free to love Him. Free to serve Him. Free to worship Him.

The book of second Peter warns of savage wolves coming and destroying truth. Well, that is exactly what happened here last week. The Pastor of the dominating denomination came here to do his work. Many rumors have gone around concerning what these guys teach. So when this pastor showed up I decided to pay him a visit and directly ask him. It was a nice visit; and although I was very nervous, the visit seemed to be profitable. This proved to be an excellent discipleship time with the believers as they saw how to deal with these kinds of issues. However, we’ve heard from several people that he told everyone that they must do good works in order to be saved. The good news is that the believers noticed the different teaching and have been talking up a storm about it. They have been saying, “But God said He was satisfied with what Jesus did. It’s only by His blood that we can be saved. Doing good things to say thank you to God is very good, but it cannot save us because we are nothing but sinners.” There are a couple people that we are not sure about, but for the most part people are recognizing that this teaching is not consistent with Jesus’ finished work on the cross. Praise God!

All your prayers for us concerning discipleship have been bountifully answered. We still meeting with the believers twice a week for teaching and then one evening a week in smaller groups. And some of the men have started to do the review questions before each session. This has been a joy to disciple them through and they do so much better than I could ever do explaining things. It’s beautiful to hear them express it in their own words.

One thing that you could pray for is that the believers begin to sense a burden for the lost.

“We are now new people so let’s celebrate!”

This is what Nonjong told me today as he recounted his story to me. Nonjong is one of the more advanced members of this tribe. He is one of the literacy teachers and has always been one of the more Pharisaical people here. In fact the day before we taught the purpose of God’s law he went around telling everyone that we needed to keep all of God’s laws to be accepted by God. Today he told me how God changed him.

He said that at the beginning of the teaching back in January he planted two of his favorite trees to commemorate the fact that they were hearing God’s word in the language for the first time. He was genuinely excited. But what he expected was for us to tell him how they needed to change their ways in order to be accepted by God.

He told me that he used to think that it was his good works that would get him to heaven, but now he understands that since he was born in sin nothing he can do can satisfy God. Now he believes that only Jesus can save him, not his works. Before he boasted about his efforts but now he boasts about only Jesus. And when the evangelistic teaching was finished in early May and he clearly understood the gospel of grace he and his family went and got a special kind of food that is really good to them. (Sorry I don’t know what it is called in English.) And they had a feast celebrating the fact that they are new people now, because of what God has done in Christ. (The above picture of Nonjong is just him being silly after a drama we did during the teaching. The clothe on his head was part of the burning bush.)

In our last update we asked for you all to pray for us concerning discipleship. Well the Lord has abundantly answered! He has provided many opportunities for discipleship. One recent huge one was to help two families work through a major problem. A young man evidently took advantage of a young girl without her consent and the young girl is now pregnant. This occurred many months ago. So we helped them walk through this problem pointing them to God and praying with them through it. We continue to have many one on one opportunities to lead these new believers into a walk with the heavenly Father. What a joy and privilege this is!

Another change the Lord has done has led us to have more meetings. The believers were expressing a desire to be taught more of God’s word. So we now meet on Sunday and Tuesday mornings and then have small groups on Thursday evenings around a fire reviewing the week’s lesson. It’s been a couple weeks now and they are so thrilled. Also we have added a chance for them to practice reading on Monday’s, Wednesday’s, and Friday’s. Continue to pray for us that we do not become to program oriented and miss the one on one discipleship. We westerners love programs! However, these times together are providing many new opportunities.

One other change starts tomorrow and concerns the Smith family. School is back in session! Esther and the kids start another home schooling year tomorrow. Charis starts 6th grade. Caleb starts 3rd. Nathan begins kindergarten, and Zachary starts pre-school. Having 4 children at all such varying levels will prove quite the challenge but if anyone can handle it, it’s my amazing wife! However, she knows that she cannot handle it without strength and wisdom from the Lord. So we would appreciate your prayers in that.

Thank you dear friends for so faithfully supporting us through all this. God uses your prayers and notes of encouragement to sustain us. We pray that your summer is going well and that you too are seeing God change things!

“Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:47

Praise God! This is indeed what is going on here! Since the lesson on Jesus dying on the cross for sinners, we have heard person after person praising and thanking God for doing such an incredible thing on their behalf. One by one people here are being added to the family of God!

Before the teaching there was nothing but confusion, unrest, and doubt. But now people drop their heads in amazement as they realize what God did for them, and they just keep saying, “Kulom, kulom sinik,” which means, “Thank you, thank you so much.” It’s such a joy to see them being transferred from the kingdom of death into the kingdom of God!

We haven’t had the chance to visit everyone yet; but as we were teaching the truth of the gospel, there were big smiles all over the crowd and people nodding their heads. Here’s the kinds of things that we are hearing:

Peso: Before I was in Satan’s family, but now we know that Jesus died for our sins. I know I can’t do anything to be put in Gods family, only by belief in what Jesus did, only He can save us.

Maangit: Jesus took my place and died for my sin.

Mesari: What Jesus did is true, He died for my sin. He shed his blood for me.

Takido “Before you all came to us we were living in sin and were going to die and go to hell. But now we understand that God sent Jesus to die for our sin so that we can be saved. That’s what I think is true. God is true.”

Kombu: “I believe in God and Jesus, but I didn’t understand how to wash my sin away, but now I see that Jesus washed it away by dying on the cross for my sin. I am not able to do it, but because of what He did I can go to God when I die. I’m just so happy about this.”

Juretnuwo: He said over and over again that he knows that because of his sin he deserves death, but Jesus died for his sin so now he is in God’s family.

Itiringke: “I understand that I should go to hell because of my sin, but Jesus took my place so that I can go to God.”

Raukepe: Jesus died for my sin, He saved me, later I will go to God.

Felix: Today I don’t worry anymore, I know that it’s because of what Jesus did for me that I’ll go to God.

Bau: My head is just breaking open as I think about what Jesus did for me. Thank you God!

And there are many more like this. God is being praised and glorified here as He creates something new. He is adding to the universal church and being faithful to the promise He made so many years ago when Jesus said, “I will build my church.”

Thank you so very much for fighting this battle with us on your knees, and rejoice with us (and the angels!) that God is winning the victory!

“Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40

So many years ago when we set off on this journey and through the years, our biggest struggle has been to continue to believe that God would fulfill his promise that He would build His church. When tough times hit there was a choice to be made. Would we trust God to give us the strength to continue and be used by Him to build His church here in this corner of the world? Or would we give up? Each time we faced these challenges it was almost as if God was saying the above verse to us. Well, we are now seeing the glory of God as He moves amongst the people here.

As the people had another week of the teachings and ministry of the Lord Jesus they too are faced with the same challenge. Will they hear God’s message to them and believe or will they hold on to former beliefs. It is my estimation that the people are already believing, and they are so ready to hear what Jesus did to deliver them. They already clearly accept that He is the deliverer promised by God. They are just desperate to understand what He did to save them.

One man gave clear testimony to this. We’ve mentioned him before. His name is Itiringke, and God is doing a work in his heart. He is one of the leaders in the village, so his words carry weight. On Friday the people held a graduation service for 30 graduates of the literacy class (Praise God!), and after the ceremony he got up and shared something with tears in his eyes. He told everyone that God has displayed His power in his life because now not only can he read but is a teacher in literacy as well. He said that he was not able to read before. He only went to first grade when he was a child, but now God has given him the strength and the ability to finish the course and to be a teacher. He kept saying that God is true. Then he encouraged people who are older not to give up. To know that they too can learn how to read. It reminded me of that old hymn, “You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.” Well, Itringke was telling everyone that he knows God is true because of what He’s done in his own life. Itiringke is choosing to believe and as a result is seeing the glory of God in his life! And praise God so are we!

What we are witnessing here and what you have been a part of is nothing short of witnessing the glory of God as He changes hearts and draws these men and women to Himself. God is bringing them from hopelessness to a place of hope, from confusion to certainty, and from a life of pain to a life of purpose. They are not there yet, they need to hear the gospel first, but they are well on the way. And because you too have chosen to believe God and support us may you too see the glory of God displayed in His work among these precious people.

Next Week’s Lessons: (last week before the gospel!) Monday – It is foolish to trust in riches. Tuesday – Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus and rode into Jerusalem. Wednesday – Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover. Thursday – Jesus was arrested by His enemies (part 1). Friday – Jesus was arrested by His enemies (part 2).

Your Coworkers, GECCNZ Smith

‘When I heard God’s laws, I knew that I had broken them and I knew that I was in Satan’s hand, and I was afraid. But now I see what Jesus did, how he completely paid for my sin and I am not afraid anymore. Ronny.

The entire group has not heard the whole gospel story yet; but two men have, and both have made a clear profession of faith like what you read above from Ronny (pictured on far right)! Bau (second from right) also expressed sincere joy in what Christ has done for him. Both men help me as I write the Bible lessons. Thus, this week they heard the rest of the story. I felt like Jesus when I told them to not tell anyone. I never quite understood why Jesus did that, but now I get it. It’s pure exhilaration, getting this glimpse of things to come!

In the meantime the rest of the people heard stories of Jesus’ work, teaching and miracles. Talking with Itiringke (he is one of the main leaders of the village pictured in the crowd there in the middle) after the lesson we were discussing my sore eye and what he said was very encouraging. He said, ‘God can heal your eye. He can do anything! It’s like what happened yesterday. Before when someone was sick I would go get some water and try to heal the person, but now I know that I am just a sinner and that only God has the power to heal. Yesterday I went and visited your papa (Esingke) because he was sick. But I didn’t do what I used to do. Instead the two of us just talked about how God has the power to heal sickness. And now look at him. He is healthy again. God is true! Hearing that made the pain of my eye worth it!

People were shocked that Jesus chose Judas Iscariot who would later betray him. So to demonstrate hypocrisy, we filled a nice shiny new pot with nastiness from our compost pile (picture on far left), and showed them that what counts is what’s inside. That what God sees is our sinful, ugly hearts. This illustration went much further than we expected. People afterwards were asking, ‘How can I clean my dirty heart? Another huge lesson was the parable of the sower. People related with that by admitting that their hearts are like the soil, full of rocks. Then we taught the well known story of feeding the 5,000, and later Jesus walking on the water. So we magnified the person of Christ with the people, marveling at His awesome power. We then moved into the next part of the story that is not so well known. That the crowds of people came looking for Jesus because they wanted more of that free food. As Jesus rebukes their misguided motives, He explains that He is the bread of life and what the work of God is; that the work God requires for salvation is to believe in Christ.

John 6:28-29 (NIV) Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires? Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.

Even in this remote culture the drive to earn merit before God is huge. However, when one understands that he is a sinner by nature it’s easy to understand that working for salvation is just a complete misnomer. It’s just impossible. And as a result of teaching God’s word in this manner (chronologically), the people are indeed beginning to grasp this concept. They are beginning to feel the burden being lifted from them as three older men said to me after the lesson, ‘This talk is turning us inside out! I tried to say ‘Amen! but the closest I could get here was, ‘Bulje! (which means true.)

Next Week Lessons for your prayers: Monday -The way of the Pharisees is not God’s way. Tuesday – Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Wednesday – Jesus is the only doorway to eternal life. Thursday – Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Friday – Jesus taught that we need to be humble and admit our guilt.

This week was the first real Christmas in our small insignificant village. (sound familiar?) People heard this week of the promised redeemer, the Kidaak Amna. They heard that Jesus is the Kidaak Amna and as we said those words I could literally see eyes lighting up all over the crowd. The people are sensing salvation coming! Here’s some of the things they are saying

Asa: "For a long time now I’ve wondered how will the Kidaak Amna come. Where will He come from? I didn’t know. But today I’ve heard the story, and I know his name, and I am so happy."

Boringke: "I’m so happy to hear that the Kidaak Amna is both God and man because for a long time we’ve heard now that God would send someone to save us, and that he would come from a certain family line. Well today we heard his name, and my heart is just pounding in my chest. I’m so happy!"

Alex: "Last week I was going to leave the village to go do some government work in the city, but my heart is stirred, and I didn’t want to miss any of God’s talk. Today I heard about Him sending the savior, and I’m so very happy that I didn’t go."

Opangnepe: "We are bad people. We have gone the way of our forefathers, doing bad things; and I really don’t want to go to the fire. So today hearing that God is sending the Kidaak Amna made me so very happy. We are all so so happy because of what we heard today!"

And all they really heard was that God made good on His promise! They haven’t seen yet what Jesus did to save them. However this method of teaching clearly lays out man’s need, God’s demands, and God’s provision. All we are doing is teaching the way God has laid out His truth. So Christmas is happening in this !

A lot of these people have already heard the name Jesus and some of His story, but I don’t think any of them understood the reason for His coming. But now they know. That is why even the ones who may have heard the story before are so excited. Here are some other testimonies:

Tom: "All of us absolutely don’t want to go into the fire; therefore, to hear today that Jesus is our Kidaak Amna makes us very happy!"

Epanang: "I’m so happy, my head is spinning, I don’t even know what to say."

Jeremiah (not our coworker): "I was sick this morning, but I didn’t want to miss the story of the Kidaak Amna, so I still came."

At the end of each lesson we ask review questions to pack things down again. One of the questions was, "Why did Jesus come to earth?" And Boringke’s answer was sweet music. He said, "Jesus came to get us from sin’s punishment and from Satan’s power. Therefore, Jesus is our savior." I just loved that he made it personal!

Next Week Lessons for your prayers:

• Monday – God sent John to teach and baptize.
• Tuesday – Jesus resisted Satan’s temptations.
• Wednesday – Jesus began His ministry.
• Thursday – Jesus taught that people must be born again.
• Friday – Jesus had power to heal sickness and to forgive sins.

For His Glory, 
GECCNZ Smith

Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! Romans 11:33 (NLT)

Dear Supporting Friends and Family,

The verse above typifies this previous week for us and the people here in Dinangat. Another incredibly awesome week. It was a roller coaster for all of us. They went from God saving the Israelites in a powerful and miraculous way and sensing that maybe God will deliver them in the same way all the way to feeling the heavy weight and burden of their sin as we started teaching the 10 commandments. Here’s what a mean.

Another village in this language group is starting to spread rumors that the people in our village are believing in a new god. One man from the other village came to check things out and began to challenge one of the men here. And what the man from our village, Asa did was awesome. He said, “Well let me ask you something, did your god create the sun?” And the guy sheepishly said, “No.” And then Asa nailed him with a barrage of questions, “Did your God create all these mountains? Did you God make the moon and the stars? Did your God give life to everything and create humanity? Is you God the foundation of everything? Is your God supreme over everything?” To all of which the guy said either, “No,” or “I don’t know.” And then Asa said, “Well THAT is the true God and that is the God of the Bible that these missionaries are telling us about. Before we didn’t know anything. We followed all kinds of false things, but now we are hearing the truth!” I felt like it was a little scene much like Elijah challenging the prophets of Baal. I kept waiting for fire to come shooting down from heaven. But instead God spoke through Asa and silenced the enemy.

And then the people heard of God providing food and water in the dessert in the midst of grumbling and complaining and from that Epox said, “We should stop praising what we do.” Then Basa got up and said, “What we’ve heard today is big talk and we need to measure it. But one thing I want to add is that God gives us what we need every day. Just like he did for the Israelites . We don’t lack for anything, but we are never thankful. We too complain all the time. Instead we need to be thankful to God who is the provider of all we need!”

Later in the week the people heard of the covenant God made with the Israelites as he said, “If you obey me I will bless you, but if you disobey I will punish you.” To which the Israelites proudly proclaimed, “All that the Lord asks of us we will do!” And ironically enough the people here did the same thing! One of the literacy teachers went to both of the literacy classes and told them that we too are going to obey all that God says. Perfectly setting them up for the next two days. The Law. Now comes the downside of the roller coaster.

On Friday, We started off with again explaining the purpose of the Law and even used an illustration to describe it. I smeared some soot on my face and I acted as if I hadn’t done anything. And the people just looked at me with furrowed brows trying to figure out what in the world was going on. And then Ralf from within the crowd said, “Gary, your face is dirty.” And I challenged him telling him that he was lying. I felt fine. And so Jeremiah walked up to me and handed me a mirror. On the back of the mirror we had written God’s commandments. And so I looked at my face and realized that indeed it was dirty and I tried to use the mirror to wash off my face but obviously failed. It was then that the people understood – OH! The Law shows us that we are sinners!

And then as we went through each of the laws we challenged them to really think about it and see if they have always kept that law. Because if they have always kept the law then God will accept them. So they were excited because they thought, finally we have a way out of this mess! But as we taught each law they admitted that they haven’t kept them. And after they admitted that they haven’t kept them I put a medium sized stone in a carrying bag. On Monday after that bag is filled with 10 heavy stones our plan is to take that bag and try to walk around with it during the teaching demonstrating that this is the burden that each one of us carry. (Obviously after the gospel is presented we will have Jesus come and take that burden off our shoulders and throw it over the side of the mountain! I can’t wait until that day!)

Anyway, as I dropped each stone in the bag it you could feel the people wince. They understood what was going on even though the bag is just hanging there right now. After the lesson there was literally a flurry of activity. People all over were saying that they now see clearly that they have broken God’s laws and therefore stand condemned before God. And that they are all afraid wondering what they are going to do. Even the leader men who we wondered if they would admit their sin we saying they were afraid. Felix, Ralf’s translation helper, stood up and went to the front and confessed that he has broken these laws. He said that he thought he was a good man but now sees that he has broken God’s law. He said that he felt pressure in his heart (conviction maybe?) and so he had to get up and say this. It was amazing. He even reiterated that if we’ve broken one law we’ve broken them all.

Jinongke said to me, “I’m just afraid. I wonder what’s going to happen to us?” Yupete, one of the ladies said, “I can’t sleep and I can’t work because I’m always thinking about God’s talk.” And Mesari said “I’m not feeling well because I always wonder what will happen with us. What is the promised deliverer going to do?”

Next Week:

Monday – God gave the Ten Commandments (Part 2)

Tuesday – God told the Israelites to build the Tabernacle (Part 1)

Wednesday – God told the Israelites to build the Tabernacle (Part 2)

Thursday – The Israelites worship a golden calf

Friday – The Israelites did not believe that God would give them the land He promised to give them.

Exodus 6:6-7 (NLT) "I am the LORD, and I will free you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with mighty power and great acts of judgment. I will make you my own special people, and I will be your God. And you will know that I am the LORD your God who has rescued you from your slavery in Egypt."

Dear Supporting Friends and Family,

This is what the Dinangat people learned this week. They saw God take a young boy named Joseph and shape him into a great leader and preserve the people of Israel through a horrible famine. And then hundreds of years later, the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites under slavery. The Dinangat quickly understood that they are in a similar position as the Israelites. Trapped in their sin under the heavy handed serpent of old. They shook their heads as they realized there is no escape! But God said those verses above, and as we stressed this to the Dinangat, smiles and nods swept through the crowd. As the first nine plaques were described to the them we found ourselves glorifying God together.

Even Jimingke said, "We used to think that we could chew our ginger roots and control the weather. But now we see only God really has that power. Only God!" Beautiful. God is being glorified. On Monday they will see the final plague, and God’s road for salvation, and the awesome event of the Israelites being powerfully freed from their dire position. I so look forward to drawing applications to their own lives through it all. Then as they move into the covenant relationship with God and realize that God’s standard is perfection, it will no doubt set them up for their huge need of a savior! (Which of course is the purpose of the Law.) Please pray that they will continue to see their huge need; and that just as they have begun, will continue to look to God alone for that salvation!

Next week lessons for your prayers: Monday – God killed the firstborn of the Egyptians but saved the firstborn of the Israelites. Tuesday – God delivered the Israelites at the Red Sea. Wednesday – God gave food and water to the Israelites Thursday – God made an agreement to bless the Israelites if they obeyed Him. (The purpose of the Law) Friday – God gave the 10 commandments (Part 1 – first 4 commands)

One more thing, Esther and I were talking about the many comments we’ve read that say people admire us for being "on the front lines" and wish they could be here with us. To carry that analogy a bit further, the front lines is not necessarily a glorious place to be. How many of you saw Saving Private Ryan? Wow. Now that was front lines. Absolute chaos! How many deaths, wounds, and lost limbs? Sleep deprivation, unusual diets, confusion. The front lines are not easy. We are on the spiritual front lines, and we too are under attack. It’s not the battle of Normandy, but it’s tough. The benefit we have is you. And as a result we are encouraged. You fighting with and for us on your knees is winning this battle and hundreds of people will come out changed on the other side! Thank you! After all the Battle is the Lord’s!

Your Fellow Co-workers, 
Gary, Esther, Charis, Caleb, Nathan, and Zachary Smith

Genesis 22:13-14 “Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering on the altar in place of his son. Abraham named the place ‘The LORD Will Provide.’”

The pictures above are four individual pictures from a drama that Caleb and I acted out. I’m sure you’ve already figured out the story. But for most of the people it was the first time they’d ever seen it, and definitely the first time they’ve ever heard it explained this way. That God provided a sacrifice in Isaac’s place. We all are under condemnation, but God provided a substitution on our behalf! As

Personally I was very moved as I acted out the scene. I couldn’t hold back the tears even in the drama, and afterwards I looked out into the crowd and saw many heads down and heard sniffles rolling through the crowd. It was a powerful moment.

After the teaching Epox got up and said, “I want to say something. You all pay attention! God has shown you today that He is waiting on us to change our thinking and follow His way. We are all sinners and deserve death just like Isaac, but Got is holding up the knife waiting for us. What will we do? Will we listen to Him and follow His way or we will just die. Each of you should decide.” Praise God for this response!

And then Musawe got up and said, “We have all just seen that drama, and here’s what I think. Just as Isaac had his hands and legs bound up waiting for death so we are bound to sin and there is nothing we can do. But God provided that lamb that was caught by its horns so that it would be an acceptable sacrifice in Isaac’s place. I think the Promised Deliverer will do this kind of work. Because God said the Deliverer will save us from sin and Satan.” God is so good.

Still I’m fighting back the tears as I see what God is doing here. God is showing them so clearly that He is worthy of praise because mankind is helpless in sin and God himself is providing a way of escape. We all have been challenged by the people’s childlike faith. We westerners have a tendency to explain away everything, but these guys here just accept it completely as truth. It’s awesome and refreshing.

Thank you all for you steadfast prayers. I am convinced that things are going to so well because of you all storming the gates for us! I wish you could be here and catch a glimpse of what God is doing here. Everyone is still coming to the teaching every day. They listen to the tapes and read the summary sheets every night. It’s just awesome. Nine more weeks to go, but already these people are so close to the kingdom!

Next Week lessons for your prayers: Monday – God guided and protected Joseph. Tuesday – God promoted Joseph and took Jacob’s family into Egypt. Wednesday – God preserved the Israelites and protected Moses. Thursday – God chose Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery. Friday – The Lord sent plagues on the Egyptians.

You Coworkers in PNG, Gary & Esther Smith

Dear Supporting Friends and Family,

One of the things that we taught the people here was that as God created the universe from nothing the angels watched in wonder and amazement of what God is capable of doing because of His unparalleled character

Dream with me for a moment. You have just come to life. You don’t know how but there you are and the only thing you feel is peace and joy. And out of the darkness you hear, "Let there be light!" And wham there was light. A warm glow that sooths your soul. Then for the next several days you watch this incredible world appear out of nowhere complete and perfect. Imagine. From nothing comes utter beauty. What would do? Praise and glorify the maker no doubt!

Well, honestly I feel like one of those angels. We are just sitting here watching God create beauty out of the darkness. The Dinangat people are being changed! Even the people are sensing this. Two consultants flew in this week and Papa Toji said to them, "I just want to tell you that we are so happy. We all are in darkness, but now these missionaries are telling us God’s word and we are so happy." God is creating something new here and we are in utter amazement as He works.

This week probably the biggest thing that happened was for the people to grasp the reality of God’s judgment on the people in Noah’s day. After the lesson everyone literally just sat there. No one moved. Usually people get up right away and look at the pictures, start talking, or someone stands up and says something. But that day, stillness. It was weird. And awesome at the same time.

You could see the wheels turning. We should die like all those people. We are sinners just like they were. We deserve God’s judgment. So just to be sure after 10 or 15 minutes I went to Tom and asked him why everyone was so quiet. And he said, "Because they are all measuring this talk. This is new talk. This story is really something. God just killed everyone. We are all thinking, ‘What can we do so this kind of thing doesn’t happen to us?’ That’s what everyone is thinking. Tonight I will listen to the lesson again and read the summary to think about it some more." So I let that simmer for a moment and then reminded Tom that God did provide a way of escape but the people rejected it, and God promised to send the redeemer. That’s what Noah was trusting in.

Another worldview shake up has that none of us are good enough to please God. After this week they’ve seen over and over how mankind rejects God. They saw God trying to appeal to Cain, but he rejected God. They saw the God give the people of Noah’s day 120 years to change their minds, but still they rejected God. Then with a fresh new start after the flood the people still rejected God and tried to make a name for themselves. So these Dinangat people who once believed that they were good enough are beginning to come to grips with the fact that mankind has a nature that cannot please God. And thus this promised redeemer, this Kidaak Amna is becoming more and more appealing to them. They are starting to see that unless this Kidaak Amna comes to deliver them they too will suffer the same fate as those in Noah’s day. But not just in this life, but forever.

Next Week: Monday – God chose Abram and guided him to Canaan Tuesday – God renewed His promises to Abram Wednesday – God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah Thursday – God gave Isaac and delivered Isaac from death Friday – God chose Jacob and rejected Esau

Continue praying with us and watching as God creates another beautiful creation out of this darkness!

Your coworkers in PNG, Gary, Esther, Charis, Caleb, Nathan, and Zachary