What is the difference between a squash plant and an oak tree?

Maybe the most obvious difference is how long they thrive and bear fruit.  Aimee Hedrick shares that their church-planting team has thought much about this question and about the value of planting and cultivating strong, fruit-bearing disciples that mature and endure.

This team has a great vision for a thriving church among the Tigaks that influences not only their island, but lands beyond.  Paul instructed Timothy, “The things which you have heard from me…entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Tim. 2:2)  This urging from Paul is the heart of the church-planting team there.  They are striving toward equipping the Tigak believers to be spiritually mature so that in time the work of ministry can be entrusted directly to them.

And just what do spiritual oak trees look like?

Aimee reminds us that their family life is transformed.  Husbands love sacrificially.  Wives submit joyfully.  Couples partner together in life and in ministry.  These works of God’s Spirit are fundamentally different relationships from the traditional cultural view of Papua New Guinea and are strong outward evidence of God’s transforming power.

The church-planting team also longs to see maturity in areas such as the church’s identity and function, their ability to relate to unbelievers, and in handling God’s Word with integrity.  Literacy is another big goal—so that the Tigak church can take ownership of the importance of people reading the Scripture for themselves.  The final goal of the church-planting team is to “work themselves out of a job” when the church stands mature and ready.

It’s clear that growing Tigak oak trees is not a quick or simple task.  Please pray for the church-planting team who work and pray and persevere to cultivate faithfully the soil of Tigak hearts and lives.  Pray for God to encourage them in this task and remind them of their complete dependence upon Him to accomplish the task.  Pray for the Tigak church to thrive and grow into a mighty oak forest for God’s glory.

Dan, a tribal mother among the Kumans, trusted Christ last month.

She was a special friend of missionaries Will and Kelly Tallman. At the end of last year she suffered what appeared to be a stroke. Will and Kelly as well as several others, were bringing her medicine, food and encouragement.

At the beginning of her illness Dan asked to hear the Firm Foundation Bible lessons. As they reached the culmination, explaining the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, she joyfully trusted Christ.

Dan stayed faithful and declared her faith to everyone. She said, “I am trusting Jesus as the sacrifice for my sins. Some people say that spirits caused my illness and that I should be making sacrifices to appease them. But I want people to know I am not trusting in my ancestors talk but am standing on God’s Word.”

On Jan. 19, Dan went home to her Savior. At the funeral Will, Umba and Par were able to give the Gospel message and share the testimony that Dan left behind.

Pray for the Tallmans and the Kuman believers who are missing Dan. Pray, too, that her testimony and the Gospel message presented at her funeral will touch hearts and cause others to want to hear the Firm Foundation Bible lessons.

So what are your dreams?  Bill Morlang’s favorite dream is to take off in a small plane headed for a remote bush location where missionaries need help.  And Bill is living his dream.

The missionary email he received beseeching him for help with a leaky roof is exactly the kind of hands-on project Bill loves.

Bill and his trusty sidekick, Layne Campbell, along with all their tools, flew as far into the bush as was practical. Then they switched from the plane to a dugout canoe.  Three more hours upriver brought them to the scene of the leaky roof and some very grateful missionaries.    

Bill’s wife, Jen, shares that radio contact with him is possible only at three specific times a day when he is working on projects in the remote bush. 

Pray for safety for support missionaries like Bill who are investing their lives in the great adventure of helping and encouraging fellow missionaries to share the Gospel in countries all over the world.

Fifty-four North Wahgi people heard missionary Andrew Wilson declare that the next day he had a strong message for them that everyone needed to attend.

Missionary Robyn Lenz commented on the final Firm Foundations Bible lesson: “Last Tuesday’s lesson ended with the arrest and beating of Jesus and His appearing before Pilate with the crowd jeering and requesting that the murderer be released and Jesus be crucified.”

Wednesday morning many of them came early and began dropping piles of garden produce as a thank you to the missionaries for bringing them an important message.

“That was a sweet gesture as it shows a cultural thankfulness by all who have been coming,” wrote Robyn.

Seventy-seven people came to hear the Gospel message Wednesday morning. The missionaries had made a cross with a T-shirt and cloth draped over hiding balloons filled with red food coloring to represent the shedding of Jesus blood as an illustration. The North Wahgis listened and watched intently as the message was presented.

“Gabriel first [accepted Christ as his savior], now Janet, Elise, Susan, Elise, Marta, Pinpin, and Magdelena, these are only eight that we have been able to hear clear professions of faith thus far,” wrote Robyn.

The others are still thinking and considering. Years of betrayal, years of doing things for God that you thought was getting you made right in his eyes, payments of money to get loved ones out of hell, anger, hurt, confusion – these are all areas that these individuals are facing right now and many are struggling with what to do with the Truth they have received. The message of God’s grace that they have received resonates in their mind but past difficulties hold them back.

Pray for those North Wahgis who are one step away from trusting Christ.

Janet spoke out immediately sharing that her sin is no longer hers but it was paid for in full by Jesus Christ who died on the cross in her place and now her sin is gone.

Magdelina then professed a clear faith and understanding in the finished work of Jesus on her behalf.

Pinpin, an elderly North Wahgi man, summed it all up with, “All you have to do is believe! That’s it, just believe.”

Please pray for these new believers and pray for the missionaries who are now beginning to disciple and teach the believers.