Mission Newshttps://ethnos360.org/Latest Mission News Articlesen-usSite Stacker 2.0 Welcoming 2020 https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/welcoming-2020https://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15634New Year, New Life

In a few days, a new year will begin. Are you ready for it?

And as we hear from Ethnos360 missionaries around the world, a new year isn’t the only exciting new thing happening.

Kaje people

There are new believers among the Kaje people of Papua New Guinea. These people who have listened to the gospel story and accepted Jesus as their Savior are starting a new life! And this new life will last for eternity.

New Readers and New Books

Elseng Literacy Program

In the Asia-Pacific Region, the first-ever literacy course is happening among the Elseng people. None of the Elseng people have ever learned to read the Elseng language before — a major milestone! When the literacy course is finished in the coming months, the new readers will be on their way to reading the Scriptures that are already undergoing translation into Elseng.

Speaking of Scripture translations, the Tepehuan people of Mexico received a complete New Testament in their language for the first time. Imagine holding, for the first time in history, words spoken by God Himself that have been put into your language?

New Bible Lessons and New Baptisms

Wantakia Kids

In Papua New Guinea, missionaries in three people groups — the Amdu, the Wantakia and the Pei — are readying themselves to begin teaching chronologically through the Bible at the beginning of 2020. These three people groups will be hearing the gospel for the first time.

Among the Pai Tavy Tera people of Paraguay, several believers chose to be baptized on Christmas Day and others will be baptized on New Year’s Day. These believers are showing to their entire community that they are identifying with Christ’s death and resurrection, that they too were dead and raised to new life in Jesus Christ.

So, as 2020 begins, we have new believers in Jesus, newly translated Scriptures, new readers, new hearers of the gospel and new identifiers with Christ’s death and resurrection. Let us celebrate all these new beginnings as we enter the new year together.

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Sun, 29 Dec 2019 06:00:00 -0500
How Do You Explain Christmas? https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/how-do-you-explain-christmashttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15628Merry Christmas!

This is the week of Christmas. Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Fröhliche Weihnachten! Joyeux Noël! Feliz Natal! Selamat Natal! счастливого Рождества! Obviously, we could go on and on and find more and more translations for this one phrase. And, thanks to Google Translate, I can find dozens of languages to use.

But my thoughts extend to the over three billion unreached people who don’t even know anything about Jesus, much less about His birth over 2,000 years ago. They have no concept of His life, His sacrifice for them, His abundant love. And who will tell them if we don’t?

Tell the Story . . . Slower

Paul and Chabela Keefe minister in Colombia. They understand the complexities of learning other languages in order to get God’s Word into those languages. They wrote, “Tikuna. Have you ever heard of that language? It belongs to a people group that numbers around 38,000 [who] live in three countries — Brazil, Peru and Colombia.

“Here’s just a peek into what we discovered together about the Tikuna language patterns when telling a story:

A story begins with a summary of the story. In other words, you already know the point of the story before it begins.

Participants are introduced with a simple description when they enter the story.

Participants who are not important are ‘invisible’ but are ‘visible’ through the verb style.

The most important part of a Tikuna story is highly emphasized and full of descriptions and action. If you don’t understand this, you might think it’s a story inside of the main story. For a non-Tikuna, it seems confusing until the language pattern is understood. The best way to describe this section of the story is that it is like a mental tornado!”

Two ladies working on a language project

Until the Whole World Knows

So, you see that it is not a simple matter to tell the Tikuna about the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we want them to know. Just as Colossians 1:5-6 says, “because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth.”

They need to hear and know the word of truth. We want to say with the apostle Paul, “This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven.”

Working on a Language project

The Keefes continued, “The two ladies working on this language project need our prayers. It is a highly complicated language and full of fascinating discoveries. They need God’s wisdom and insight to do this work well. The purpose of this project is to fully understand how to communicate clearly like the Tikuna people do among each other so when they hear God’s Word, it is not confusing.”

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Sun, 22 Dec 2019 06:00:00 -0500
The Changing Face of Missions https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-changing-face-of-missionshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15622The Changing Face of Missions

In Tanzania, we find American missionaries with Ethnos360, Canadian missionaries from Ethnos Canada and Mexican missionaries from Misión Pro Indígena coming together under Integral Vision. Together they are moving the church planting effort forward. We also find Tanzanian believers working alongside expat missionaries. This coming together to fulfill the Great Commission is an awesome thing to see.

Tanzanian Woman

Diversity in Ministry

There is a diversity of unreached peoples within the borders of Tanzania itself which reflects the diversity of ministry in missions.

Ethnos360 missionaries continue to go to hard places, to remote places, to places where others have not yet gone in order to see a thriving church for every people. And that won’t change.

But more and more, we see unreached people groups with distinct cultures and languages living on the fringes of civilization while others are found even within the confines of large cities. As we watch the changing face of where unreached peoples are located, we see the increasing need to connect more intentionally with local churches, to engage on the edge of the church and to work together with local churches to see a thriving church for every people.

At times this manifests itself by expat missionaries working alongside local believers reaching the unreached; at other times it manifests itself by equipping local believers to do it alone. Either way gives the same desired result: more people are brought into the family of God, establishing thriving churches in the process.

Tanzanian man with greying beard

A Path Forward

Larry Brown, CEO of Ethnos360, put it this way. When talking about how we do ministry — whether flying into remote mountain villages or reaching unreached peoples in a bustling urban environment — Larry said it’s not or, but and. It’s not a this or that approach. It’s an and approach.

That’s what is happening in Tanzania: the and. Missionaries serving together under Integral Vision in Tanzania want to engage with the unreached people groups of Tanzania, and they want to engage with the already existing church in Tanzania. Pray for missionaries who are opening new venues of ministry within Tanzania, for wisdom in the varied approaches, for sensitivity to the needs at hand and for a heart for the people.

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Sun, 15 Dec 2019 06:00:00 -0500
He Will Wipe Away Every Tear https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/he-will-wipe-away-every-tearhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15608“Realistic” Movies Aren’t Realistic

This story is written by Matt and Karissa Long, part of the church planting team in Papua New Guinea.

Some people like dramas, I guess. They say they are more "realistic." On the surface, that seems true. Life is hard, things don't work out how we want them to, terrible things happen. But I argue, the fairy tale endings are actually the realistic ones.

Happy Endings

Near the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Samwise Gamgee exclaims, "Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue?" For the Christian, that is exactly what we will experience. In the end, God will win, everything will be made right, and He will wipe every tear from our eyes. I believe that we love happy endings because God has made our hearts to long for them. It's what we are made for.

Preparing a grave for a small child

The Hope of Eternity

I am so thankful to have the hope of eternity. I've heard the wailing of hopeless people here in Papua New Guinea. When someone here dies, everyone goes to a "house cry" and mourns for several days with a kind of wailing that I'll never forget. Oh, how I long to tell people that death doesn't have to be the end! That there is a God who loves them so much that He died for them.

Oh, and if you find yourself in the midst of a real-life drama, remember that the story isn't finished yet.

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Sun, 08 Dec 2019 06:00:00 -0500
Wana Bible Conference https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/wana-bible-conferencehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15593Wana: A Thriving Church

Ed and Jeanne Casteel have been missionaries with the Wana people group in Asia Pacific since 1979. After many years of ministry, the Wana churches had matured and expanded to the point that they were thriving on their own, without the Casteels’ guidance.

The Casteels returned to live in the USA where they continue to work on Bible translation and Bible curriculum development in the Wana language. Meanwhile, the Wana believers have been sending missionaries into three neighboring people groups in Asia Pacific as well as to other villages within their own people.

View of Lower Half of Wana Village

Bible Conference

In October 2019, the Wana believers hosted a Bible conference paired with a Bible dedication ceremony. God answered prayers that the Wana would be able to refurbish the neglected airstrip in time, enabling Ed Casteel, other missionaries and representatives from eight other people groups to take part in the conference and dedication.

Ed wrote, “During our Bible conference time, we again studied from Philippians 2, continuing from where we left off in April. We all enjoyed the study, discussion and hearing reports from all the different churches.”

Old Testament Dedication

Several days after the conference, the Bible dedication ceremony took place. The New Testament had previously been translated into the Wana language, and at this point, Old Testament portions were added and dedicated. The believers even invited some government officials to celebrate the dedication and presented them with copies of the Scripture.

Presenting Old Testaments to Wana Pastors

Of the last day of his visit, Ed Casteel wrote, “As I was sitting out on the porch, I noticed a lady walking by who looked quite gloomy. She is a hard worker and always in the middle of all the food preparation. I assumed she was totally worn out from all the hard work and asked her if she was tired. She said, ‘No I am just sad that all our guests have to go home today.’ Yes, they totally enjoy these times of fellowship together!”

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Sun, 01 Dec 2019 06:00:00 -0500
Finished Well https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/finished-wellhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15574God changed Fato’s life.

Some from his village marveled at his house in the valley. Didn't he know that the spirits lived there? He even left an opening in his house for light. Most Hewans’ homes were almost pitch black, even in the day, sealed to keep out spirits. But Fato no longer lived in fear.

Baptizing Yani's father

From Near Death to New Life

God had orchestrated His plan to reach Fato and his village many years before.

In 2006, a rapidly spreading sickness was overtaking the village. Some had already died. Thirteen villagers had become gravely ill, including Fato and his family. Yanis, a Hewan believer, and Jonathan Kopf, a missionary, made the two-day hike to Fato’s village with medicine.

When Fato and the rest of the villagers recovered, Fato sent an invitation for someone to come teach them the story of the Creator God. In 2008, Hewan believers and Jonathan taught from Creation to Christ in the Hewan language. After hearing the gospel in his own language, Fato understood. He and other Hewans believed. And Fato grew to become a man of God.

Fato teaching by firelight and flashlight

To Eternal Life

Over the last 18 months Fato had grown ill, and on August 26, Fato passed into the presence of his Heavenly Father.

Susan Kopf wrote, "As his strength ebbed away, his last message to his family was one of courage. 'Before, I was afraid to die, but now that I am joined together with Jesus, I know that after I die, I will go to be with God at His good ground. Don’t worry about me. I am simply going first to be with God, and later you will come also, and we will be together again. So, trust in Jesus, and I will see you soon.'"

Do you have the same hope that Fato had? Will you stand blameless before God when you die, wrapped in the righteousness of Christ?

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Sun, 24 Nov 2019 06:00:00 -0500
Making Foreign Biblical Concepts Clear https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/making-foreign-biblical-concepts-clearhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15563Making the Translation Understandable

This week’s article was written by Kirk and Yolanda Rogers. They minister among the Landuma people in West Africa.

Kirk and [their Landuma helper] translated the book of Romans quite a while back, but the translated draft needs to be put through several checks before we can be confident that it truly meets our high standard for accuracy, clarity and naturalness. One of the checks we do is to verify that the translation is readily understood.

Kirk with his translation group

A Comprehension Check

In the comprehension check, Kirk reads portions of Scripture to the helper, and the helper tells what he understands the passage to mean. Some of the portions are quickly understood, and the helper is able to tell back the meaning easily. Others turn out to be a bit ‘information-dense.’ Though the Landuma grammar is correct and all the words are familiar to them, some concepts in the passage may be very strange, foreign to a Landuma person’s way of thinking. The comprehension check brings these problem portions to light. Once identified, we look for better ways to express the thought so that the average Landuma person will more readily understand.

“Much of Romans consists of Paul answering expected questions and objections to his teaching in the letter. He was a veteran preacher, teacher and debater. Thanks to his years of experience preaching the Word of God, he knew well the typical questions his teaching would raise. However, many of these questions are not ones that Landuma people would ever think of or be concerned about. So, a Landuma person reading or listening to Romans may come away wondering, ‘Why would anyone ask that? Why did Paul answer it that way? Does that answer even make sense?’

Yolanda with her Sunday School class

Please, No Mystery

Expressing these God-inspired questions and answers in a way that is clear and meaningful to a Landuma person is quite a challenge! Chasing down answers as to why any ‘mysterious’ passage is worded as it is and what God is really trying to communicate to us there is a worthy course of study to pursue for any believer! As one Bible scholar said about such passages, ‘If it's weird, it's important.’ Now, maybe that isn't always true, but it often is.

So please pray for us as we do this nearly impossible task of first understanding it ourselves, and then making it understandable to the Landumas!

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Sun, 17 Nov 2019 06:00:00 -0500
Literacy Was God’s Idea https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/literacy-was-gods-ideahttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15553Can You Read This?

Written by Jennifer Fuentes and Silvana Lazzarini, Bolivian missionaries to the Ese Ejja people.

第一個新奇是我們從聖克魯斯寫信給你。正如我們在上一期公報中所提到的, 來到這裡的目的是參加 教授的掃盲講習班。掃盲在教會建立過程中起著非常重要的作用。

אוריינות ממלאת תפקיד חשוב מאוד בתהליך נטיעת הכנסייה שמטרתה להכין אנשים לקרוא את דבר האל המתורגם בשפתם .זה יהיה שימושי מאוד עבור .המשרד בקרב

Literacy = God’s Idea

Did you happen to understand the first paragraph? I would venture to say that, for the majority, if not all, the answer would be a resounding NO. It does undoubtedly convey a message to those who can read those languages, but for those who can’t, it’s complete gibberish. Thank God, we have had the opportunity to learn to read and write. The proof of that is that you are currently reading our newsletter. Sadly, there are a lot of people who still do not have the ability to read and write.

What a joy to realize through the [literacy workshop we attended] that the idea of literacy was not of man, but directly from the heart of God. He could have chosen any method to preserve and convey His message. But God chose the written word to transmit it.

New Foreign Bible

Literacy for the Ese Ejja People

How good God is! He knows how fragile our mind is and how difficult it is for us to retain everything. That’s why the role of literacy in the ministry is so important. Its purpose is for people to love, value and use the Word of God as the highest authority in their lives.

Anyone who can read with understanding can go to the Word and see for himself what God says. Contrary to what community leaders may tell us, it’s not what we say [that should guide people’s lives] but what the immutable Word of God says.

We yearn for the day when the Ese Ejjas who can’t read and write will be able to learn, not only to develop intellectually but through unlimited access to the Word of God [to] grow in the knowledge of our Lord and His will.

Pray for Jennifer and Silvana as they work to enable the Ese Ejja people to read the Bible for themselves.

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Sun, 10 Nov 2019 06:00:00 -0500
The Pastor Prays for the Missionarieshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-pastor-prays-for-the-missionarieshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15546From Mission Field to Missionary

This article was written by Jack Housley. Jack and Janie are now retired after serving from 1975 to 2017, most of those years in Papua New Guinea. Jack has made brief trips back since then.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but a thousand words could not describe my feeling for this pastor. I have followed him from his youth until today. Lord, teach me to pray for him the way he prays for the missionaries that helped them come from darkness into light.

Namoleya reading Bible lessons

God lets us be a part of His work.

Namoleya wrote a letter to Janie, my wife, with these words:

“Dear Janie, I have not forgotten you. You were like a momma to me, and I have not forgotten you. If you die, I will see you in Heaven. I am praying God will help you. Goodbye, Janie.”

In his poverty he prayed God would be with us in our abundance. God, thank you for allowing Janie and me to be just a small part of his life. Thank you, Lord, for the men and women that learned culture and language, allowing them to preach the gospel in a language the people could understand.

Namoleya and another man studying

There is much more to be done.

Please pray with us as we look upon the fields that are white to harvest … asking the Lord of the Harvest to send more laborers into His fields. Many missionaries are working. But there is much work to be done. As we stand on the edge of eternity in these last days, let us finish the work God has given us to do.

Thank you for standing behind missionaries as they reach and disciple the lost. Praise God that many of those believers are now bringing others to our Savior.

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Sun, 03 Nov 2019 06:00:00 -0500
What Do You Mean – Heart Language? https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/what-do-you-mean-heart-languagehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15538Why Heart Language Ministries?

These past months we have been focusing our attention on heart language ministries around the world. But what do we really mean? Don’t we use our brains to reach others? Don’t we use our logical side when we discuss the work of Christ for mankind?

Yes, we do use our brains and the logical side to speak truth to people who don’t know the story of Christ’s work on Calvary. But there is a certain level of our understanding that needs to be spoken to at our heart level, our “now I understand that idea” level, our emotional side. God speaks to our hearts, our centers of emotion, our smiling or crying side of us.

That All Might Know Him

And that is what we want to do for the unreached, those who have never heard the Word of God in their own heart language, a language that will touch the heart while it answers the brain’s logical questions. For that reason, we spend years in an effort to develop an alphabet for the language, translate the Word of God into that language and teach literacy to a heretofore illiterate people group.

Let me give you one example from Asia Pacific.

Dinangat reading the Word

Bob Clark, translator with the Tugutil people of Asia Pacific and translation consultant, said, “Ministering and teaching in a person’s heart language is crucial to their understanding of the message [of the gospel]. A few decades ago, many missionaries assumed that if people could understand a ‘second language,’ it would be easier and quicker to teach them in that language rather than investing the time and energy into learning their heart language. Over time it became clear that in most cases our audience didn’t understand that second language as well as we had hoped, and therefore our communication of the gospel and all the other important truths of Scripture were not being understood clearly. A message as important as the contents of Scripture needs to have the best chance of being understood, and we are convinced that means translating into the heart language of our audience.”

The Lid Is Off!

Family were visiting the Gary Smiths in Dinangat-land in Papua New Guinea. The visitors wrote, “We were ready to have supper with one of the [Dinangat] elders in his hut with his family. Before we ate, he was giving testimony of how their lives were before hearing the gospel. Many years ago, some people had attempted to share Christ with them without knowing their language and culture. He said it was as if they had been handed [a] bowl of food, but the lid was never opened to them, and they were never able to eat the food because they did not understand what the people were saying. But now he said the missionaries here … were finally able to open the lid to this bowl and share the gospel with them in their own language. (Hearing in their own language was the key that opened their understanding.) They have consumed the gospel and now are full of eternal life.”

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Sun, 27 Oct 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Celebrating the First Scriptures in their Language!https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/celebrating-the-first-scriptures-in-their-languagehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15527A New Translation

Not every people group has the privilege of having a Bible in their language. So, when a Bible translation is completed in a new language, it is understandably a time for celebration.

In the case of a certain people group in West Africa, a Bible translation has been in the works for many years. This summer, their New Testament translation was completed, printed and shipped to Africa just in time for the scheduled celebration. This New Testament is only the second Bible translation completed by Ethnos360 in West Africa.

Bible Dedication in West Africa

The Bible Dedication

The formal Bible dedication ceremony took place in July, and the Bible translators visited West Africa to celebrate with the people. The translators said, “Preparing for the dedication was stressful to say the least; with the believers being few in number, there was a lot of work to be done. But the Lord brought things together and worked everything out. We had a temporary shelter to erect using sticks, rope and tarps, [but we realized] that our shelter was good as a shade from the sun, but not from the rain.”

The day of the event, more than 300 people came to celebrate, both believers and unbelievers. There were people from the village where the event took place, leaders from other villages and leaders of other religions. Several missionaries, including Joel McMartin, also came to celebrate. All of the visiting leaders as well as those among this people group who had completed the literacy course received Bibles. Pray with us that they will read their Bibles!

West African man reading his new Bible

Our Amazing God

Joel McMartin shared this story about the dedication: “Here is just a small picture of how God was at work. The night that [I] arrived in the village before the ceremony, it was raining. Now rain might not sound like much, but it sure can make it hard to have a celebration, as there are no indoor [meeting areas]. Just after the ceremony, it poured — and when I say poured, I mean it dumped, all evening, [all] night and the next morning. The one window without rain was when? Yep, right during the time of the ceremony. Just as people started leaving, the rain started to come down. Our God is just amazing!”

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Sun, 20 Oct 2019 06:00:00 -0400
I Can’t Believe He Read the Whole Thing https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/i-cant-believe-he-read-the-whole-thinghttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15521A Passion for the Word

In the first three months of having the Bible in his own language, Molesse read Genesis, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, Daniel, Jonah, Malachi and the whole New Testament. And since at this point the Bible in Lolo consists of the New Testament and selected portions of the Old Testament, that was the whole thing. In three months.

Lolo believer with Bible

It Speaks to His Heart

It’s not like Molesse never had access to a Bible before. He had a Bible in Chichewa, one of the more prominent languages in his part of Mozambique, but he never had much interest in reading it. He explained, “When you read and you understand and find exciting things, you keep reading. Before we had the Bible in our language, we would read just a little bit and then put the Bible away because we did not understand very well what we were reading.”

And that’s the whole point of heart language ministries. Using the language of the Lolo people opens doors to their hearts.

Unloading the Lolo Bibles

Partner in Heart Language Ministry

As the end of the year approaches, we’d like to give you an opportunity to underwrite heart language ministries around the world with a special gift to Ethnos360.

Your gift will fund the backbone of services that are necessary for missionaries around the world to focus on the complex task of establishing a thriving church, involving many difficult processes that require their concentration, such as:

Learning the language

Understanding the culture

Developing an alphabet

Translating the Bible

Teaching clear Bible lessons

Identifying and mentoring leaders and teachers

How can they do all those things? By trusting God, of course, with the backing of partners like you.

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Sun, 13 Oct 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Growing Pains in the Churchhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/growing-pains-in-the-churchhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15513Growing Pains

This week’s prayer email was written by Elizabeth Claasen. Nate and Elizabeth minister to the Pal people of Papua New Guinea.

Anyone have kids that wake you up at night with aching knees and legs? Growing pains, we call it.

We also have kids that are waking us up at night. No, not our teens. The “middle-of-the-night-wake-up-and-pray” call is coming from our spiritual kids, the Pal church.

From Secret Words to Words for All

What if, all your life, your parents had shown you by their words and actions that the most important messages you would ever hear were those given to you in secret? That was the Pal village 10 years ago. Small family groups would cluster together around the fire, whispering the clan’s “powerful” words. A father imprinted secret hunting rituals on his son. An uncle revealed to his nephew the secret phrases he can use to enthrall the girl he has his eye on.

And then, new people — missionaries — who think and talk in completely different ways moved into Pal. The Pal people watched us stumble through learning their language. We ate and laughed and told them that we wanted to teach them the most important message they would ever hear.

Most of all, we wanted everyone to hear this message. We taught in public, for all to hear. Many listened and said, “We finally understand who Jesus is and why He came.” They responded with joy as they heard of Jesus’ finished work.

And yet the desire for secret messages and power continues to call to the hearts of Pal believers.

Test the Spirits

In February, a visitor hiked into our area. He promptly opened evening sessions for all to come and ask questions of him as a teacher. For several weeks he sat by fires and answered questions quietly and indirectly. “Yes, God’s Word is good to listen to,” he said. “Is there a hidden meaning to these verses…?” Our friends listened and looked at each other and went home and pondered his hints and insinuations about fertility rituals.

Some Pal listeners said to themselves right away, “This is garbage.” Others were quiet. The talk that they heard called to their flesh. “Maybe there is hope in this. Maybe there is a way to an easier life in this.” One group of Bible teachers publicly announced that they wanted to have nothing to do with the talk, but many waited and wondered.

Hard Times Bring Growth

Will you please pray for the Pal church? We have just come through a major upheaval. Those Bible teachers who were caught by the lies of the false teacher and publicly began asking similar questions have been asked to step down. Those who listened quietly and didn’t speak up have apologized. And those who stood for what is true exhorted the community of believers again to turn away from lies.

Please pray with us for these growing pains!

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Sun, 06 Oct 2019 06:00:00 -0400
From Fire to Fines https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/from-fire-to-fineshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15442When Lightning Strikes …

Paul and Bella Gervasi minister among the Sekadau in Asia Pacific, discipling believers and translating the Scriptures. Paul writes, “Two days after we arrived [in the village], there was a very large thunderstorm. That is not unusual for here. But then a few hours later we had a visit from a man named Lius. He is one of the men from an outreach village we teach at. … He has been a believer for a number of years and is married to Rena, a young woman … whom we have known since she was a baby. Lius came that night to tell me his brother had been struck by lightning right outside their front door. He was dead. We were stunned.”

The trauma of such an event and the urging of the neighbors caused them to move into a small house that they could rent until they could rebuild elsewhere. Lius helps Paul with the translation, giving the Gervasis a chance to help them purchase new land. Paul continued, “Last week he came over and told me they had been fined for living in the house they are in now. It seems the man who let them stay there died. There is some tribal customary law about living in a person’s house who then dies. On top of everything else, they had to pay fines for living there.”

And Burning Rice Fields …

“Lius and his family are one of the few believing families in the village they live in,” Paul said. “Getting fined is nothing new for them. The unbelievers have gone out of their way to make life as difficult as possible for them. For instance, they were fined once for burning their rice fields. All the rice gardens here are slash and burn gardens. This one year the rains came every day, so people couldn’t burn their fields. So, the village performed an animistic ceremony to stop the rain. Along with the ceremony there was a taboo about burning their fields for a week afterwards. But it did stop raining for a few days after the ceremony (but not the required week), so our friends burned their field. Before the week was out, it was raining again, so they were one of the few people who were able to plant a rice field that year. Since they had broken the taboo, they were fined.”

Stretch Your Faith

You and I read about believers being treated like that, and we wonder how they can put up with it. Paul continued in his letter, “This type of thing happens all the time when animistic people get saved. They no longer adhere to all the taboos, and so they are continually fined. In all of this, Lius and Rena have stood strong in their faith. It is definitely not easy to be one of the few believers in an animistic village.”

Please keep praying for Paul and Bella as they continue with translation as well as discipling and encouraging the believers in the Sekadau people group. And, speaking of stretching, Paul wrote, “We are still translating and making teaching lessons. We are working on the book of Luke. I keep thinking some of these books will be easier, but then I find myself yelling, ‘What do these verses mean?’ at my computer. In order to translate, I really need to understand what the intent of the verses is. I used to think I understood the Bible well. I know now that there is still much I have yet to understand.”

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Sun, 29 Sep 2019 06:00:00 -0400
The Gifts of Involvement, Growth and Community https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-gifts-of-involvement-growth-and-communityhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15430Gifts to the Church

In the Consider This column of the March issue of Ethnos360 magazine, I pondered the question of why God refers to missionaries as “gifts” to the church (Ephesians 4:11-12).

When I visited Community Baptist Church in Montoursville, Pennsylvania, this summer, I found some great answers.

Involvement, Growth, Community

Through sending teams, individuals develop strong personal relationships with missionaries, and Community Baptist elder Harry Boyer believes that spreads throughout the body.

“We’re interested because someone we know is interested in what’s going on,” Harry said, “and that’s blessed the church because now you have people who might not know a particular missionary, but they know the person who is on their sending team, and that sending team person is excited and interested, and that interest spills over.”

Ben Hazen Teaching

Sending teams also spur spiritual growth, according to Ben Hazen, Community Baptist’s director of adult discipleship. “We’re finding that a lot of times our sending teams have more passion or interest in spiritual things,” Ben said. Relationships and growth “spur on real Christian community at our church. Yes, we want to see the missionary helped, … but we’ve benefitted way beyond that.”

Reap the Blessings

Community Baptist has a few built-in advantages for missions involvement, but anyone can emulate their use of sending teams and take advantage of the lessons they’ve learned about how to help people get involved with missions and missionaries.

Want to find out how you and your church can reap the blessings of being part of God’s big-picture work? It’s all spelled out in the September issue of Ethnos360 magazine.

Missionary Family Picture

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Sun, 22 Sep 2019 06:00:00 -0400
First Iski Wedding of Believers https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/first-iski-wedding-of-believershttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15423Marriage in Iski

In the Iski people group of Papua New Guinea, “marriage is an ill-defined term,” said missionary Aurélie Tousch. “People go out together, move in together [and] break up, a bit like in the West. There is no wedding day but a ‘trial period’ that often ends in separation even after the birth of a child.”

After the gospel was presented and Iski believers began growing, the missionaries taught biblical principles of marriage. Though countercultural, the Iski believers accepted the teachings and have been waiting since 2017 for an opportunity to demonstrate their obedience.

Moombi and Bitris

Bitris and Moombi

One of these Iski believers is Bitris, a young, single lady. She “has been devoted to growing in God’s Word and strengthening herself and other women in the church,” said missionary Nisae Williamson. Bitris’ friends encouraged her to marry, but she chose to wait because there were few single, believing Iski men.

Meanwhile, in a different language group far across Papua New Guinea, Moombi, a young Mibu elder, began looking for a wife. For years, he waited to marry because he “felt rather strongly that God wanted him to focus on ministry and leave these things in His hands,” said missionary Chris Walker. Then in December 2018, his brothers “informed him that it was time for him to get married,” continued Chris Walker, and Moombi followed his family’s wishes and began growing his beard in a Mibu cultural practice to “advertise” that he was looking for a wife.

Mibu Elders

First Iski Wedding

By March 2019, Moombi and his family were having difficulties finding a wife because there were no single, Mibu Christian ladies who were spiritually mature enough to partner in Moombi’s ministry. Moombi asked Chris Walker if he could ask other missionaries if there was a potential wife for him in another ethnic group.

With time and prayer, Moombi and Bitris learned about each other and believed God’s direction for them was to marry. God worked out many details, making a way for Moombi and two others to travel to Iski to encourage the church and to meet and marry Bitris.

Moombi and Bitris’ wedding in July 2019 was the first wedding celebration of believers in Iski! Nisae Williamson said, “It was a mix of both cultural and Biblical principles and made for a special day and a milestone in the Iski church. We pray that many other young people here in Iski follow in their footsteps!”

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Sun, 15 Sep 2019 06:00:00 -0400
The Mechanics of Aviationhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-mechanics-of-aviationhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15399Misconceptions

In the years since Imie Mark III started working with Ethnos360 Aviation, dialogues with people in the USA tend to go like this:

Person: You work in aviation — so you’re a pilot?

Imie: No, I’m a mechanic.

Person (often without realizing what they’re saying): Oh … you’re just a mechanic.

*Awkward silence*

Imie: Sure, something like that.

Ethnos360 Aviation Mechanic

More Than a Mechanic

Imie is the maintenance scheduler and administrator at Ethnos360 Aviation in Papua New Guinea, and while he is a qualified pilot, God redirected his path to work with aviation mechanics.

Regarding his team, Imie says: “It’s a bit ironic to think that, at the moment, all our mechanics actually do hold pilot ratings, and yet for different reasons and in different ways, this is where the Lord’s led them for now. Regardless of how it may appear to some, they’re far from being ‘just mechanics.’ They’re men who have surrendered themselves to the Lord, using the love He’s given them for aviation to speed the work of reaching the unreached peoples of the world with the gospel.”

Necessary Workers

“In the current context, our expatriate Ethnos360 Aviation mechanics are licensed both in their home country and here in Papua New Guinea. They’re not only skilled technicians, tackling anything our planes or helicopter throws at them in order to keep the fleet safe and reliable, [but] they’re also expert jugglers … between the manufacturers, our home office, our airworthiness authority back home and the airworthiness authority here. They wear any number of other hats — project manager, innovator, leader and trainer to name a few.”

Being a mechanic isn’t a downgrade because the men are unqualified, but rather [it is] a calling and a vital role in missions. And now, as more missionaries join the field, more aviation workers are needed in order to assist them. Please pray with us for more workers.

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Sun, 08 Sep 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Church Planting on the ‘Mad Woman’ River https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/church-planting-on-the-mad-woman-riverhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15364Missionary Life with the “Mad Woman”

This week’s article is written by Jack Housley. Jack and Janie are now retired after serving from 1975 to 2017, most of those years in Papua New Guinea.

The river called the “Mad Woman” in English, was always a pain to the missionaries working along her banks in the early 80s. But it was a source to get us to a tribe where language could be learned and a church planted among the Bisorio people.

River Life and Church Planting

Janie and I met the needs of those who were studying language full time and preparing to preach the gospel. There were supply runs to be made to the nearest airstrip, eating up most of two days if all went well and the river was good to us. There were times when the river was very high and times when we needed to pull the motorized canoe through the shallow waters. In the early days we were making back-to-back trips getting the missionaries settled in.

Over the years the language was learned, and the church was planted. When the young church became strong, it was time for the missionaries to leave.

His Church Still Stands

This March, I turned 72 years old and returned to the little village along the banks of the river, traveling with Bob and Noby Kennell, just to see how they were doing. The church was fine, and many young new believers were there to meet us, singing and praising God.

Then I took a little trip down memory lane. All the houses were gone, the tractor was gone and the airstrip was cut in half. The river had won again.

The river took it all — the works of my hands. But the sounds of the church praising God with their songs echoing into the night reminds me that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.

All the hard work is just a side job. The real work is the Holy Spirit letting us missionaries work by His side until the job is done. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” On the banks of that river in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, that power has been realized. We have seen firsthand men and women coming from darkness into the light, and to Jesus we give thanks.

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Sun, 01 Sep 2019 06:00:00 -0400
When Missionaries Don’t Communicate https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/when-missionaries-dont-communicatehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15356Silent Missionaries

Imagine this: Your church happily sends missionaries overseas. Time passes, and they send regular updates on what they are doing. But then, suddenly, the updates stop. Months pass and you don’t hear from the missionaries. You wonder how to pray for them.

Has this ever happened to you? If so, read on to discover what John Kerstetter, Ethnos360 missionary in the USA, has to say about this.

An Empty File Folder

The Empty File Folder

“When I, John, was in Bible school, one of our classes was dedicated to praying for the missionaries on the field. Each missionary family had a file folder, and in them were kept the prayer letters that they sent to the school. During class we were assigned missionaries to pray for, and we were given their file folder to read their letters for prayer requests. One time I was given a folder that was completely empty! I questioned how I could pray for someone if I didn’t know anything about them. It was very discouraging. The son of the family I was given happened to be at the school, so I asked him about the empty file folder. I will never forget his response, ‘The missionaries with the empty file folders are the ones that need the most prayer. They are so busy that they don’t have time to write.’”

Praying for your missionaries

Praying for your Missionaries

John’s story is one example of a missionary family who weren’t sending updates, and the explanation was given by their son who knew the situation. Not all situations are the same. There can be various reasons why your missionary hasn’t updated you. Some of those reasons may sound valid. Some may not.

Maybe they are in an overly busy season in life and need your prayers for wisdom in what they should or shouldn’t be doing — or for co-workers to join them in carrying the heavy workload.

Maybe they’re facing discouragement and aren’t sure what to write. Pray for your missionary to be encouraged — and maybe even send them an encouraging note.

Maybe writing is not their strong point, and it’s stressful to pick up pen (or keyboard) and write. Pray for that non-writer to be able to communicate when it doesn’t come naturally, because communication is important.

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Sun, 25 Aug 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Hope in Death https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/hope-in-deathhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15350“My Mommy is in Heaven”

These words were recently uttered by Anas, a 6-year-old boy from the Moi people group in Asia Pacific. Twelve Moi were travelling to town on the river when suddenly their boat capsized after hitting a log, resulting in five deaths. Three of the causalities were Anas’s father, baby sister, and mother Wameaindo, who was a friend and language helper to missionary Carolyn Crockett.

Wameaindo’s Legacy

Since the accident, Carolyn has been constantly reminded of the type of woman Wameaindo was. Carolyn said, “I remember asking her in church one day, as she sat down beside me all sweaty from her hike up from her village, if it was hard for her to hike up all the time for church. Wameaindo replied, ‘Are you kidding? I go to bed anticipating the morning when I get to go up and hear God’s Word.’ That’s what she was like: eager to learn more about the Lord and always the first one to answer the questions regarding the Bible teaching.”

Hope in Spite of Despair

Though the Moi people and Stephen and Carolyn Crockett are experiencing a great loss from these five deaths, this tragedy is not a hopeless one. Anas communicated his confidence of seeing his mom again in Heaven one day: “That’s just my mom’s body; she has gone to Heaven to be with Jesus.”

Sepaiye, a friend and language helper of Stephen, was one of the seven survivors. He admitted that he was running from the Lord like Jonah, and this accident changed his heart and renewed his passion for God.

Please pray for the Moi church as they continue to grieve the five who died in the boat accident.

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Sun, 18 Aug 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Latin America Missionary Training Workshophttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/latin-america-missionary-training-workshophttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15342More Training for Trainers

Today’s article is written by Jonathan Willcock, assistant to the director of the Latin America region. He was one of the presenters at the workshop in Mexico. Jonathan and his wife, Rachel, live in England and travel extensively in their ministries.

Rancho Siloe Training Institute

In July of this year, over 50 missionary trainers from all parts of Latin America, from Mexico in the north to Brazil and Bolivia in the south, met together in the desert of Chihuahua to learn more about Foundational Bible Teaching. Why meet in the Chihuahuan desert? Because that is where the Mexican missionary training center is located.

Many of these trainers have worked for years, teaching, discipling and training missionary candidates with a certain model of church planting in mind. As a mission we are recognizing that the contexts where the missionaries are serving are becoming increasingly more complex, and our training needs to prepare people for that complexity.

Straighten the Skewed Version

During the workshop the trainers were reminded of God’s eternal plan: to bring His creation, and particularly His people, into a relationship with Him forever which brings glory to Him. This overarching story that runs through the Bible is the truth that provides us with an accurate view of the world. Unfortunately, every culture has taken parts of that truth and adapted, twisted or replaced other parts to concoct their own worldview.

Much of the time was spent thinking through a strategy to address the differences between the perfect story that God provides and the skewed versions we find around the world. Each team of trainers was tasked to prepare two lessons that addressed the disparity between God’s version and the worldview of many of their students, and then to present one of these lessons to the rest of the attendees.

Where to Go from Here

Teaching faithful teachers

The last three days were spent asking questions such as, “How can we better prepare the students for cross-cultural ministry? What adjustments need to be made?” Some goals were set up, and a team was formed to see that those goals are reached.

We thank God for His provision in making the workshop possible and for His direction in guiding the discussions and conclusions.

[Editor’s Note: This workshop was done exclusively in Spanish with some translation for the Portuguese-speaking Brazilians.]

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Sun, 11 Aug 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Want to Wayumi This Summer? https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/want-to-wayumi-this-summerhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15335Wayumi

Wayumi. Why-you-me. Wayumi. If you’ve never heard it before, wayumi is a word describing a cultural practice of the Yanomamo people of Brazil. Going wayumi means leaving where you normally live to go somewhere else for a specific period of time, for a specific purpose. Where, why, and how long varies depending on the situation. Similar English words are “vacation” and “business trip.”

Missions Exposure = Summer Camp

Hammocks in the cabin at Wayumi

Wayumi is a generic word in Yanomamo, but Ethnos360 named a facility Wayumi. Located in Pennsylvania, Wayumi is a combination of a missions exposure course and a summer camp. People of all ages are welcome to visit Wayumi for a week or a weekend. So if you’re interested in becoming a cross-cultural missionary, if you want to learn what life is like for the missionaries you support, or if you want your kids — or your church’s youth group — to have a fun time while being exposed to missions, consider Wayumi.

My Wayumi Adventure

Around the flag at Wayumi

I, Emily Kopf, an intern at Ethnos360 and Bible Institute student, went to Wayumi with my college in March. It was a really cool experience. Even though I have been hearing about cross-cultural missions all my life, I learned a lot about the process of planting a thriving church. One of the most memorable things about Wayumi was the real-life scenarios. The missionary-teachers showed us a slice of what life is like in the Yanomamo and Joti people groups, and we observed and asked questions to learn their languages and cultures. The perfectionist in me was terrified of mispronouncing words, but the writer/editor in me loved the puzzle of dissecting those words for understanding. Another thing I enjoyed about Wayumi was the fellowship. Experiencing Wayumi with my friends and talking with the missionaries was amazing.

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Sun, 04 Aug 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Different Missionary Roles on the Same Team https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/different-missionary-roles-on-the-same-teamhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15325Missions Takes a Team

When it comes to missions, there’s no “us” and “them.” Whether you’re a supporter or a missionary, it’s a “we” team. But people have a habit of differentiating roles. This differentiating can be easy for missionaries to fall into. We can put ourselves in categories of support role missionaries, stateside missionaries or front-line missionaries. And the categories make us forget that we are all one team and that we can’t get the job done without each other.

Summer hosting a Bible study and brunch

Recognizing Teamwork Through Pidgin

Summer Zimmer, a missionary in Papua New Guinea (PNG), has recently understood this tendency to differentiate by comparing teamwork to pronouns in Pidgin, one of the official languages of PNG. Three different words communicate “we.”

Mitupela = you and me

Yupela = you (plural) without me

Yumi = you, me and someone else

In her recent blogpost she said, “One funny thing I find myself doing is referring to the other missionaries here in the ‘yupela’ (you all) sense, and sometimes I forget that it’s really ‘yumi’ (us).”

Engaging with the Team

Cards and goodies sent to the tribal missionaries

She came up with a great strategy to encourage and better engage with her co-workers in the bush. Summer invites other missionaries at the PNG support center to send cards along with goodies like stickers or candy out to tribal missionaries. She would also like to mobilize supporting churches to participate in encouraging their missionaries by sending written prayers packages, and letters. Every other month Summer will send out an email newsletter of ideas on how churches and supporters can best engage with missionaries.

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Sun, 28 Jul 2019 06:00:00 -0400
A Strategic Cook? https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/a-strategic-cookhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15318A Dream Comes to Pass

Tom and Beth Carlton minister in Mexico as the coordinators of the church planting missionary teams, as part of the leadership team, and as teachers at the Mexican training facility called “The Ranch.” In the Carlton’s words, “Why do we serve in Mexico? For the sake of our Savior, the One Who died and rose for us, and for His Church, whom He purchased with His blood. We look forward to being able to serve the Church by assisting our church planting teams, working in unity to see people come to know Christ and [to be] built up in Him among the least reached peoples of Mexico.”

Recently, Beth mentioned that the Lord allowed her to be a part of a ministry to the Nahuatl people group. She had wanted to be able to see that ministry for years, and she got her wish!

A Strategic Cook?

Beth said, “I was asked to be one of the cooks providing meals for one of the building teams that would be traveling out to the village to build the house for the [new] family [joining the Nahuatl team]. Of course, I said I would do it because going out to visit the Nahuatl work is the very thing I have wanted to do for so long. I was thrilled to be able to be a small part!”

A strategic cook, you say? Indeed, and those of you who have ministered to others in any kitchen know the very important place a cook has in any work crew. Beth continued, “I had already done all my meal planning, of course, and had made lists upon lists of every ingredient I would need, having done careful math, keeping in mind that each person might want two servings of each meal I made. If I didn’t calculate correctly, we could run out of food, and that would be stressful. There is no corner grocer in the [village], so the list making was very important!”

A Thriving Church in Las Moras

Why is the house being built in Nahuatl-land? Why did the construction crew and the cook endure hot days, little fresh water and lots of dust? In order to see the church among the Nahuatl people be a thriving church with disciples making disciples. Beth said, “With some good teamwork the house was ready, and the last day came before anyone was ready for it. Half the group left in the truck, and we parted ways early in the morning. Two flights would take the rest of us out of the village, and the first group left early and were on their way. … I really do thank the Lord for the opportunity to serve on this trip. I am humbled by the body of Christ and how the Lord uses so many people in different ways to reach the lost.”

Would you pray for?

the team reaching the Nahuatl people group in Las Moras,

the Husband family as they move in,

Rachel Chapman as she translates the Scriptures,

the Hypki family as they continue teaching the lessons,

Katie Moore as she works with the literacy program, helps Rachel with translation and teaches and disciples women in Las Moras, and

the Carltons as they continue to minister to the entire Mexico team.

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Sun, 21 Jul 2019 06:00:00 -0400
What’s More ‘Earth-Shattering’ Than a Volcano? https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/whats-more-earthshattering-than-a-volcanohttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15306Two Important Phone Calls

Today’s story is written by Aaron Luse with David Pierce. Aaron is a missionary to the Patpatar people and mission leader in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Yesterday, I received two phone calls. Both calls were to tell me about some major news that would affect the lives of many. They were different events which took place nearly simultaneously on two neighboring islands.

Both Calls Were “Earth-shattering.”

The second call was from the mission coordinator over in the islands area of PNG. He was calling to let me know about the eruption of Mt. Ulawun in West New Britain. We have missionaries working in a people group there with a window view of the volcano, and they possibly needed to be evacuated. Within hours, the news began to break around the globe as the story followed the evacuation of 5,000 people living near the base of the volcano that was spewing ash up to 55,000 feet in the air.

As "earth-shattering" (literally) as that news was, in my mind it was not as big as the news I received on the first phone call. Tokiung, the national missionary sent by the Patpatar church on the coast, has been working in a mountain village and called to give me an update. For the last couple of months, he has been teaching chronologically through the Bible to lay a solid foundation to be able to present the gospel of Jesus Christ clearly.

The night before he called, he had taught on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. When he finished, he asked if anyone would like to share. [The sharing] went on until 1:00 in the morning.

Names Written in the Book of Life

One of the men shared, "All my life I've gone to church and heard pieces of God's Talk, but it was never the whole story, and it didn't ever make sense. The preachers would pick something to talk about and would put in English words, but it was hard to know what they were saying. Now, I've heard God's Talk in my own language. Now I've been taught from the beginning all the way to Jesus' death. Now I understand. Now I am putting my trust in what Christ did for me."

One of the ladies shared, "It's like that story when the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus' hem. Her whole life she had tried everything she could. She went to doctors. She spent her money. But nothing could deliver her from the sickness. Jesus did it all for her. She came to Him, and He did it all. I've tried all my life to get rid of my sin, but nothing I could do could help me. Jesus has done it all for me. I'm coming to Him."

I now have new brothers and sisters in Christ. Those who have trusted Christ as their Savior have been changed for eternity. Their lives are on a new path, they are in a new family and their names are now written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

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Sun, 14 Jul 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Modern-Day Crucifixions  https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/modernday-crucifixionshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15300Modern-Day Crucifixions

This week’s prayer email was written by Mike Peschka, missionary in the Philippines, along with David Pierce. Mike and his wife, Jessica, will use the national language to learn the heart language of the people they will work with.

Modern-day crucifixions. Yes, you read that right. These people aren't criminals though. They volunteered.

Every year in the Philippines, just 50 miles from the capital, thousands of people come to see people crucified as part of a play staged every Good Friday.

As the events begin Friday morning until the end of the day, there is much to see. We saw people walking down the sides of the roads carrying crosses. Shirtless men whipped their own backs, covering themselves with blood. By some reports, there are over 10,000 people involved. But the main focus is the crucifixions.

Why do they choose to be crucified?

The crucifixions aren’t intended to kill. The volunteer has a step to stand on, and his arms and body are tied to the cross. But they do nail his hands and feet to the cross. Volunteers are taken down after five or ten minutes.

In 2019, there were at least ten crucifixions. Several had volunteered for crucifixion numerous times over the years; for one, this was his 33rd time.

To some, this looks like pure religious devotion. To others, it seems crazy.

So why do they do this?

Christianity + Anything Else Is Not Christianity

They do it to keep their family healthy, to ward off sickness and even to take away their sins.

Those are the answers you'll get if you ask.

But deep down, this is syncretism.

Syncretism is “the combination of different forms of belief or practice” (Merriam-Webster). Missionaries invest extensive time studying the culture and heart language of a people so that their Bible teaching will be clear, and to avoid syncretism.

These people have taken some teachings of Christianity and combined them with their own animistic beliefs, resulting in something that has elements of Christianity, but most assuredly is not.

Syncretism can be as extreme as these crucifixions or as subtle as people closing their eyes in prayer thinking that there is something magical in the form itself.

Will you pray for missionaries studying culture and language? This is a critical time which lays the foundation for their entire ministry, helping them to avoid syncretism when they begin teaching.

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Sun, 07 Jul 2019 06:00:00 -0400
You Can Make a Difference https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/you-can-make-a-difference-1https://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15294A Mechanic’s Heart and Cars

It takes people to make up a church. There are some people who take it upon themselves to be a special blessing to missionaries that their church supports. Erick and Kelly Stone are one such couple from Pennsylvania. They decided that they wanted to bless missionaries with quality vehicles while they were on home assignment. The Stones said, “We proposed our ideas for the ‘Missionary Vehicle Ministry’ to the pastor of our church, then to the deacon board, and then to the trustees. They were all in favor of the idea and told us to present it to the church. We found out that God's people want to help, and they want to give. Sometimes they just need an opportunity to do it, and this ministry gave them that chance. Our church family loves our missionaries, and they were excited to give.” The Stones have provided cars and service to missionaries since that time.

Stone's Garage

The Care Team Concept

And then there is another way to bless missionaries. Geoffrey and Shannon Husa have been incredibly blessed by what has been called their Care Team. This Care Team is comprised of members from a number of churches, and their one goal is to see the Husas and the ministry to the Mibu people in Papua New Guinea flourish and grow.

Who is involved in the core team? Kevin Kramar, the core team’s leader, said, “The team was formed out of the community of Bethany Community Church, [and has] since… grown to include more churches. Today we have core team members from … Grace Community Church, Sun Valley Community Church, Arizona Community Church and Chaparral Christian Church.”

Part of the Care Team

Mi Casa Es Su Casa

Kent and Brenda Rockwell minister at Ethnos360 Aviation in Arizona. They and others have been encouraged by Tim and Julie Eicher and their family. The Eichers have a ministry to missionaries called the Eicher House Ministries. Kent said, “They provide homes for missionaries on home assignment (or even while in training) rent free. It is a tremendous service that allows missionaries their own home so they don’t have to live in a stressed environment of sharing a home with someone or making rent payments that could be spent on other necessities.”

Three groups of individuals who believed God wanted them to bless others … hmm, nothing supernatural about what they did, right? God took the skills and abilities that these “normal humans” had and used them to nurture, to bless, to care for and to encourage missionaries around the world.

But maybe — just maybe — someone reading this has had an idea of how to form a Core Team or how to begin a business with the sole purpose of using it to further a missionary’s ministry or how to be creative in being a blessing. Go. Do. Take that step of faith and watch God work.

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Sun, 30 Jun 2019 06:00:00 -0400
The Iski and the Helicopterhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-iski-and-the-helicopterhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15286Isolated

“I don’t know what we’d do without our helicopter,” wrote Seth Callahan, missionary to the Iski people of Papua New Guinea. “We have no roads to our jungle location. We have no roads to anywhere even close to our jungle location. Without our helicopter and the people who maintain it and fly it, I’m not sure we’d be able to work among the Iski."

Inaccessible

Unfortunately, this reality is not unique to Seth and Rochelle Callahan. Many of their missionary peers find themselves in the same predicament, working among people groups scattered throughout Papua New Guinea in areas where roads do not exist. “Without a chopper or an airplane, they would not be able to transport their families or their supplies to their remote locations. The people groups they work among would be inaccessible,” wrote Seth.

Inaccessible

How sobering is that? And how greatly does that speak to teamwork?

It’s not that the Callahans weren’t prepared. They received specialized training before heading to Papua New Guinea, all with the goal of sharing the gospel with a people group who never had the chance to hear it.

It’s not that they didn’t have a team. They already had a supportive team of individuals and churches partnering with them in prayer and giving. But was it enough?

“If we didn’t have our aircraft, our pilots and our maintenance crews, none of that would amount to anything,” Seth wrote. “You can’t bring the gospel to people you can’t get to. ... I think this reality is sometimes overlooked, or forgotten, by those who are not intimately involved in the logistics of our work. In many cases, a people group’s access to the gospel directly depends on a missionary’s access to a flight program.”

Intentional

Intentional

That’s why teamwork is vital to the mission endeavor. Teamwork on all levels. We need church planters, but we also need pilots, supply buyers, construction workers, accountants, techies and the list goes on. And like the Callahans, every missionary needs a supportive team behind them, a team that prays for them, a team that gives financially, a team that encourages and challenges them. Pray that God would raise up teams like that to partner with individual missionaries. Better yet, be on one of those teams. Let a missionary know today that you are standing behind them in prayer!

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Sun, 23 Jun 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Passing the Baton to the Hewa Church https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/passing-the-baton-to-the-hewa-churchhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15280The Hewa of Papua New Guinea

Jonathan and Susan Kopf have been living with the Hewa tribal people in the rugged mountains of central Papua New Guinea since January of 2000. After studying the culture and language, they have devoted themselves to translating and teaching the Bible and assisting the Hewa in their struggle for survival in a changing world. By 2005, they had translated enough verses to start teaching an overview of the Bible and later that year the Hewa church was born.

‘Are They Ready?’

Now, almost 15 years later, Jonathan said, “In this later phase of our ministry, our focus is to effectively pass the various aspects of the leadership baton to the new elders and deacons [as they come into increased contact with the outside world]. Over the years we have been teaching leader trainees how to teach the Bible, how to teach school, how to operate a small medical clinic, how to [lead] worship with the guitar and how to drive a tractor and maintain an airfield.

“And now we are adding building construction and maintenance training, with solar electrical installation to power lights. We feel a need to pass on as much as possible in order to help the villagers thrive after our departure. As we have been ramping up our education efforts, we have found ourselves tired, but it is a good kind of tired as it has been a joy to teach eager learners.”

Following in His Steps

Jonathan continued, “We feel the most pressing need is for us to continually encourage biblical shepherding skills for the new elders and deacons. They have been doing a tremendous job of teaching the Word, but they keep finding themselves overwhelmed by unbelievers who arrive from other villages [intending] to squelch biblical thought processes and to get the believers to return to harmful and self-destructive patterns. Please pray that the leaders will gain discernment and courage to fearlessly stand for Jesus principles and that the believers will develop strength to follow in His steps.”

Note: Jonathan explained that they are about a year away from transitioning to a more itinerate ministry in a nearby town to continue with New Testament translation and be close enough to help. They will be out of the village, allowing the elders to oversee the church on their own. They are planning a departure that will hopefully help the church thrive after their departure.

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Sun, 16 Jun 2019 06:00:00 -0400
International Day of the Unreached https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/international-day-of-the-unreachedhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15273It’s not National Donut Day.

There are a lot of special days on the calendar. Besides national holidays, there are days like National Day of Prayer and International Literacy Day. Then there are a few days that we kind of wish we could celebrate way more often, like National Donut Day (it’s a thing!). But this June 9 is a day that we want to put a magnifying glass on. June 9, 2019, is the International Day of the Unreached, and we invite you to recognize it with us.

It’s International Day of the Unreached.

National Unreached Day

According to the Church calendar, today is also the day we mark Pentecost. Jesus already had left instructions for His fledgling Church, and this was the day when God sent the Holy Spirit to equip and enable the Body of Christ to move outward through times of blessing and times of persecution.

Their mandate was to make disciples of all the nations. And that is still our mandate today. And yet, much remains to be done. We are raising our voices in the best way possible with many other like-minded organizations and communities as we ask the Lord of all Creation to continue to send more workers to the nations.

It’s a Day to Consider the Great Commission.

Day to Consider the Great Commission

Today on the International Day for the Unreached, will you take a moment to ask the Lord to strengthen the hands of those already working towards this end? And will you ask your heavenly Father to show you more clearly your own role in this great cause?

Please follow the link below to watch a video that will cement in place why this day is so important, then share it with others and raise your voice with us!

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Sun, 09 Jun 2019 06:00:00 -0400
How God Used the Landslide https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/how-god-used-the-landslidehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15258This week’s prayer article is written by Rachel Jobe. Jim and Rachel minister in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Ministering While Waiting to Minister

We've previously shared about the [group of people we work with] who have re-located to the town where we live from their home in the mountains. Between trips out to the island [where we will be ministering], Jim and a coworker, Jason, have had the privilege of teaching in one particular community weekly — teaching foundationally and thematically through Scripture, starting in Genesis.

Laying the Biblical Foundation

After months of laying the foundation of Who God is, the sinful condition of mankind, the fact that God repeatedly — through the Old Testament prophets — promised a King who would, among other things, save mankind from their sins, the group finally reached a point where they began discussing Jesus and the very beginning of His ministry. There are still several more lessons on the life, words and ministry of Jesus that the guys will teach before they reach the point of discussing Jesus' death and resurrection.

But then the landslides happened.

God Is Using this Tragedy

Their subdivision was one of the hardest hit communities. Several of the people lost their lives, and the whole group abandoned their houses and is now living in a temporary shelter.

So, Jim and Jason started teaching at the shelter. Before the landslides, there were about 10-15 faithful attendees. But since they have been teaching at the shelter, there have been 40-60 attendees!

God is doing big things. And we are just so thankful that He lets us come along for the ride, and we even get a front-row seat.

Please join us in praying for this community!

  • That the whole population at the shelter would attend, hear and understand.
  • That young children would be content and quiet during the teaching.
  • That there would be fruitful discussion among the whole population.
  • That those who understand would be good teachers to those around them.

As you pray, you are no less a part of this than we are; your role is crucial.

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Sun, 02 Jun 2019 06:00:00 -0400
The Tigak New Testament is finished! https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-tigak-new-testament-is-finishedhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15252This week’s article was written by Aimee Hedrick who ministers to the Tigak people of Papua New Guinea.

Completion of the Tigak New Testament

"Mar 28, 2019 9:45 a.m., Tigak New Testament finished."

That was the text message I got from my teammate Ned yesterday morning. He’d been working with a couple Tigak guys and [our translation] consultants over the last weeks to check over the last remaining books of the New Testament. As you know, we’ve all been pushing, especially the last few months, to see this happen, and many of you have prayed. Thank you. God has provided and here we are. This is good news! It’s huge!

God Never Left the Tigak

God loves the Tigak. He loved them enough not only to send Jesus to make a way for them to be reconciled to Himself, but also to orchestrate things throughout history so that they would be given the opportunity to actually read about that — and so much more — in their own language. His love for them is great.

From the million drops of sweat on a tropical island…to the invention of the printing press and the development of computers…God has been in the tiniest of things and the biggest of things — making a way for more of His image-bearers, Tigak ones to be specific, to know Him.

The Work Is Not Finished

It will be a while still before we print the entire New Testament in one book — maybe a year or two. Time will be given for it to be read, taught from and used by our Tigak friends. Effort will be made on buttoning up different things, so some work remains. But this is a very important cause for pause and celebration.

You know there are hundreds of languages around the world in which the written Word of God still does not exist? Sometimes I forget. Because His love for each of those people groups is great, God will continue His tiny picture/big picture efforts to change that, but let us also pray that He would send out more laborers to take on
that task.

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Sun, 26 May 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Resting in God’s Faithfulnesshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/resting-in-gods-faithfulnesshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15237Overwhelmed with Decisions

Cameron and Katy Pryor, missionaries to West Africa, have experienced many hardships in the last couple years including several major health problems. Just recently, in fellowship with their field leadership, they have decided to move to a different country in West Africa, leaving them with so many decisions lying ahead. With all the preparation that needs to be made, it can be easy for them to be overwhelmed.

God Has Been Faithful in the Past

God Has Been Faithful in the Past

But they have also been able to rest in the faithfulness of God, seeing what He has done for them in the past. Katy wrote, “When I look to our future, I’m flooded with questions, and I start to worry over the unknown, but that’s not remembering what God has done. Not only can I look at Scripture for example after example of what He’s capable of, I can look at my own life. God healed my son [Calvin]. He healed my sister-in-law. And God provided what we needed just in the nick of time on our first move to West Africa.”

God is Faithful Still Today

God is Faithful Still Today

She continues, “Recently God has sent us great encouragement through our church services and allowing us to go to our church’s camp. He has been faithful by providing people and resources to help me in homeschooling. If this God, who’s helped us in big. . . events all the way down to small everyday things. . .is with us, then what do we have to fear? It may be hard, but in each step, we’ll have the very best Father looking out for us. We cannot forget all His works!”

Pray for the Pryor family to trust God with all the major decisions they have ahead.

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Sun, 19 May 2019 06:00:00 -0400
When You Can’t Plan Aheadhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/when-you-cant-plan-aheadhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15215When I Can’t Plan

Today’s article is taken from Katie Moore’s blog. She is on the Nahuatl team in Mexico.

Some days, you simply need to do what needs to be done. Sure, some of those things fit neatly into categories like literacy, translation or community service. But sometimes (or most of the time?) when I wake up, I have very little idea of what the day will hold and what will need to be done.

There are no plumbers here, so if we have a problem with that, we have to deal with it. … Same goes for issues with our solar power or lawn mower or pump or photocopier. We look things up online, write the experts and attempt to get things back into working order. I am good at holding extra tools, lifting heavy things and the “unplug-it-and-plug-it-back-in-and-see-if-that-fixes-it” trick.

You Just Never Know

You Just Never Know

Sometimes we need to deliver items to someone and so we zip around on our four-wheeler to do that. Sometimes a lady who sells vegetables shows up in the village, so we go out to buy fresh veggies and maybe a round of farmer’s cheese. The chance for fresh food means we stop whatever else we’re doing and go stand in line. Sometimes we spend all afternoon making announcements house-to-house. Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes…you just never know.

Always the Right “How”

Many of the items that occupy our hours – and sometimes our days – were never on a to-do list, because we did not know we were going to need to do them. They simply pop up and demand to be handled.

Always the Right "How"

And in the meantime, we remind ourselves that the “how” of the handling, much more so than what actually gets handled, is the expression of the church in action before the eyes of many who are lost. God grant that our team live with love and grace and patience in how we do what needs to be done.

Keep praying for the Nahuatl team as they face each day’s changing schedule. Pray for them as the Husband family join the team in Las Moras when their house is finished.

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Sun, 12 May 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Twists and Turns Are Normal Missionary Life https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/twists-and-turns-are-normal-missionary-lifehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15205Twists and Turns to the Finish Line

Good news! The Mengen New Testament translation has been completed!

Rebecca Preheim, main translator for the Mengen New Testament in Papua New Guinea (PNG), reported that those final few days of translation checking were full of unexpected twists and turns.

In the Nick of Time

“Just as the plane was taking off, the fog was starting to roll in,” Rebecca said. That’s always a concern in mountainous terrain while flying in a plane with room for up to eight passengers. The pilot mentioned that if it had been 10 minutes later, the plane would have been grounded. And for the next two days, bad weather prevented any flights into or out from that airstrip.

The book of John was first on the schedule. After just two days into the translation check, one of the Mengen men came down with malaria. He missed a couple of days of the check, but he was able to recuperate over the weekend. “It was a long and strenuous week, with quite a bit of stress. Thankfully the Lord provided grace and strength, and we were able to make it to the end.” The Lord gave relief to Rebecca for the cold and cough she had been battling for a few weeks. “My voice stayed strong in spite of everything! Praise the Lord for His goodness.”

Loud Trucks and Cow Horns

Next, Rebecca and the three translation helpers traveled to the central area of PNG in order to finish the last three books of the New Testament to be checked: Matthew, Hebrews and Revelation.

One of the days was particularly difficult, Rebecca wrote, “as the three Mengen men are exhausted and are having difficulty concentrating.” She attributed that to the long hours and the noises of the nearby town that kept them from sleeping well. “The place where I am staying is [even farther from the road than where the translation helpers are staying], and even I can hear the loud crashing of trucks on the rough road at night!! ... They are from a quiet jungle location where the loudest noise at night would be crickets and croaking toads!!”

God allowed the men the opportunity to see a whole herd of cows with large horns, much bigger (and more formidable) than the pigs and chickens they see in the jungle.

An Accurate Picture of Missionary Life

As I read Rebecca’s last few update letters, I was struck by the fact that the twists and turns she experienced were, in fact, normal missionary life.

Missionaries enjoy the rewards of seeing people come to faith in Christ, seeing them learn to read the Word of God in their own language, and seeing them grow in their faith to spiritual maturity.

But there are also many times that the planes can’t fly in because of weather, or missionaries and translation helpers develop malaria. And most of the time spent in translation and discipleship is month-after-month, year-after-year plain hard work.

All that to say that missionaries need your prayers, most of all for their day-to-day relationships with the Lord.

Through the ups and downs of missionary life, it is only He Who can sustain them each day. As Rebecca wrote, “Thank you so much for your prayers. The battle is the Lord’s.”

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Sun, 05 May 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Had God Forgotten Them? https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/had-god-forgotten-themhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15168God Remembered Them

Brian and Kelly Helmuth minister in Papua New Guinea with Ethnos360 Aviation.

Lying on Kelly’s lap was a small Menyan child fast asleep. This child was among the first generation of Menyans to have parents who were believers. The moment was surreal for Kelly as that thought lingered in her mind. Even though the Menyan people group is in a very remote location, God had not forgotten them.

Kelly describes the Menyan people as “people that God has redeemed. … A people overlooked by mankind, but not by their Creator. A people who now are a part of a new family that God is creating in Christ Jesus.”

Gabi’s Realization

Gabi's Realization

After the day’s teaching, Kelly was able to pray and fellowship with a small group of Menyan women. Gabi, one of the ladies from the group, expressed her anger at the teaching when she first heard that her works were not enough to save her. She was a good person, so she should be accepted by God! Despite her anger, she kept going back to the teaching. When Gabi finally understood she needed a transformation from the inside out, she realized the futility of her works. She wasn’t angry anymore; instead, “joy radiated from her face as she described the salvation of Jesus and becoming God’s child.”

The Edge of the Church Extends Further

Already, the Menyans have seen God at work in their every-day living. They are confident in the Holy Spirit’s ability to grow them in their spiritual walks. These moments have been long awaited by the team in Menya after years of preparing to teach the gospel.

The Edge of the Church Extends Further

“It was so familiar and something you might experience in your own church and yet the context made it so much more poignant. To see the salvation of the Lord reach the ends of the earth. To see Him redeeming a people from every tribe, tongue and nation. The gospel isn’t specific to a culture or language. It is God’s redemption of mankind, and it knows no bounds.”

Pray for the Menya church.

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Sun, 28 Apr 2019 06:00:00 -0400
See Paiye’s Joy as He Retells the Story of Easter https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/see-paiyes-joy-as-he-retells-the-story-of-easterhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15172The Easter Story

The sultry air hung close around us. We sat on a log next to a rugged airstrip deep in a tropical highland in the Asia-Pacific Region to chat with Paiye. Off the top of his head and from the depths of his heart, the man from the Moi tribe shared the true story of Easter.

What impressed us most was not that Paiye could spontaneously retell the story so well. No, what impressed us was the joy with which he told the story. He got what the story meant. Jesus died and rose triumphant over sin and death so we could have eternal abundant life — so our joy may be full. We are His now and forever because of what He did for us. May His name be praised to the ends of the earth!

Download your free copy of the video today and share it with someone this Easter!

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Sun, 21 Apr 2019 06:00:00 -0400
The Rumble of a Landslide https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-rumble-of-a-landslidehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15161The Rumble of a Landslide

Written by Chris and Maggie Hostetter, missionaries to the Pal people of Papua New Guinea

The Rumble of a Landslide

In case you were wondering, a landslide sounds like thunder; it starts out as a distant rumble that builds and builds and then slowly fades away. The difference is that a landslide leaves behind more than an echo. Up here in the mountains, water flows through almost every valley, and there are a lot of valleys. On top of that, people cut and burn the land for their gardens on the slopes, removing huge networks of plant root structure that would otherwise help to anchor the topsoil.

From Feast to Famine

All these factors compound into at least a few landslides each [year], but this [time] there were more than a few. We can see dozens of them from our ridge, and if we walk to the ridge across from us, we can see a dozen more. … They range in size from the sidewalk on your street to a couple of city blocks. They can uproot mature trees and carry away boulders. They can destroy houses and bury people alive. One almost carried away our co-worker a couple of years ago!

Thankfully, nothing that horrible happened on Sunday. No lives were lost, only a few pots and spoons, an axe and machete here and there, and some clothing. And food. Lots and lots of food. Some of the gardens were just beginning to grow and are a total loss. Some of the gardens were just getting ripe, and people have been able to salvage some of the food that was swept away. So, while many appear to be “feasting” now, the famine will probably come later.

Disaster Is Different When You Know God

And yet, this calamity is satisfyingly different from those in the past. Before they knew God, even minor catastrophes would bring large groups of people together to decide whose sin was responsible and how they could atone for it. … Before they knew God, there was only confusion, fear and hopelessness. Now the story is different. Instead of worrying about the future, they are thanking God for His protection during the storms. Instead of accusing each other, they are giving gifts of food to those who need it most. Instead of asking, “Whose fault is this?” they are asking God to take care of them.

Disaster is Different When You Know God

Pray for the Pal people as they struggle with the harsh reality of a cursed earth even as they wait with hope for the return of Jesus. Pray that unbelievers would see the peace and gratitude that the Holy Spirit gives in the midst of turmoil and turn their hearts toward God. Pray for the rain to stop! Pray that people who have enough food to share with others will do so to the glory of God. And please pray for us to represent Jesus well here in our rugged mountains.

You won’t want to miss the Pal believers’ testimonies in the full story.

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Sun, 14 Apr 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Please, God, Let the Rain Stop https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/please-god-let-the-rain-stophttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15148The Rain Won’t Stop

What happens when you’re ready to build, but the rains won’t stop? Seth and Kaitlyn Sanford, missionaries to the Konomala people of Papua New Guinea, found themselves in that predicament — and they found God to be bigger than their predicament.

“Together with a group from the Siar church, our goal was to build a small truck shed that would eventually be used for our two offices and as a place for our truck," the Sanfords wrote. We [arrived] a couple of days before we planned to start working. On the day that we got there, it started raining. … and continued through until the morning that we were planning to start working.”

Start with Prayer

So, what do you do? What did they do?

Start with Prayer

“As we sat there with our friends from Siar, we were each looking at the sky and asking the Lord to stop the rain so that we could get posts set in the ground and begin building. The rain was not slowing down, so we all decided to just start working and do what we could.

“Literally, the very moment that we all stood up and started to gather tools, the rain stopped! We all cheered and thanked God. Then we looked at the sky, saw the dark clouds and asked Him to keep it from raining again.”

It didn’t rain at all while they worked for the next four days.

God Showed His Power

Amazing, right? But I love what happened next as well. Seth wrote, “Then the exact moment that the last tool was put away and we sat down to rest, the sky opened up and it started dumping rain.

God Showed His Power

“We all started laughing and talking about how awesome God is. We just watched the rain, washed our dirty feet off and told the story to each other of how God stopped the rain on Monday and how He started it back up on Thursday. We were at the end of our water supply on Thursday too, and God filled the tank in one perfect rain storm.”

Praise God that He is opening doors for ministry among the Konomala people — even to the point of stopping the rain. Pray for this new work.

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Sun, 07 Apr 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Turning a Corner in the Work https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/turning-a-corner-in-the-workhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15135The Corner Is Turned!

Taylor and Abby Goheen and Jon and Jen Myers minister to the Kaje people of Papua New Guinea. They are getting very close to the time when they will be able to present the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Kaje people.

Taylor said, “It is times like this that cause [us] to reflect on the great privilege it is to bring the message of the Son to a people. We have turned a corner here in the work, and the excitement is growing. We have been communicating to the people in the village that later this year … we will begin teaching them God's Message. And what corner have we turned? We have begun writing the lessons that will be our teaching notes. We want to make sure that when we stand up and teach, it is done in a natural and clear manner. To do this, we needed help.”

The Needed Help Is Here

“We did not just want anyone,” Taylor continued. “They would be hearing the gospel taught before anyone in the village. We wanted people who have displayed a humble attitude over the past few years. We also were looking for people who have shown an interest in hearing what God has to say in the Bible.”

Jon added, “Meet Mbinge, Jepun and Nggomo. These three guys [are] being systematically taught Bible lessons by Taylor and me. After being taught, they then work to write word for word Bible lessons with us in their language. This means they often sit with us for over eight hours in the office! These Bible lessons, when finished, will make up the evangelistic Bible narrative that we will teach to the entire village later this year ... from Creation to Christ to the restoration of all things.”

The Kajes’ Words

Is there any reaction to the lessons? Does the Word of God have power? Jon said yes there is, and he shares what the men are saying.

Jepun (at the end of the story of Cain and Abel): “Taylor, I am in big trouble. How do I get rid of my sin?”

Jon: “Nggomo, if we write it like that about Cain, will it come across too harsh to the village when they hear it?”

Nggomo “'No Jon. You have to understand: our heads are thick. You have to write it like that so it will split their thick heads open, and then they will be like, ‘True, true, we are murderers just like Cain. We are in big trouble.’”

Please keep praying for the Goheens and Myers as they begin teaching the Word of God to the Kaje people. Pray, too, for Nggomo, Jepun and Mbinge that they would understand the Word as they hear it and work on the lesson.

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Sun, 31 Mar 2019 06:00:00 -0400
Translation Isn’t Apples to Appleshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/translation-isnt-apples-to-appleshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15127Translating the Bible into Lusi

This week’s article was written by Rick and Anji Zook who minister to the Lusi people of Papua New Guinea.

Yesterday I was working on a [section of Scripture] where Paul says, “Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed.” Galatians 1:8 (NASB)

Isn’t that nice and short and succinct? Unfortunately, I can’t put that information into Lusi in quite the same length.

Translation Must Cross Language and Cultural Barriers

Crossing Language and Cultural Barriers

Bible translation is so much more than taking one word of Greek and substituting in one word of Lusi. Why? Have you ever read anything translated by Google Translate from a non-western culture? There are some things which must cross not only language barriers but cultural barriers. Sometimes Paul’s thinking is just really foreign to the Lusi. He makes cultural assumptions, and Lusi speakers make different cultural assumptions.

It is not just about finding the right words but making sure that we are communicating clearly the same message. So, I had to unpack it and slow it down even more, because what Paul was saying is very different than the assumptions that the Lusi make.

Slow Down! You’re Going Too Fast!

Slow Down!

I thought I was doing really well with slowing the information rate down. However, during the mother tongue taping session, my Lusi speaker really struggled with the idea that Paul had previously taught them the truth but then could turn around and teach something different.

I had to unpack it and slow it down even more by breaking the argument down into pieces and explaining things that Paul’s audience would have known or taken for granted, because what Paul was saying is very different than the assumptions that the Lusi make. My next attempt communicated Galatians 1:8 clearly.

Please pray for us as we continue the huge job of translation. We need God’s wisdom as we cannot do this job in and of our own power and will.

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Sun, 24 Mar 2019 06:00:00 -0400
When a Shaman Attends Bible Teaching ... https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/when-a-shaman-attends-bible-teachinghttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15116A Mengen Shaman...

When Lourens and Marie Laureti first moved into the Mengen village in Papua New Guinea, Topa Taman didn’t stand out in their minds. But it didn’t take long to learn that this introverted man was one of the village shamans, a man with great influence within the community, whose status also resulted in wealth.

"As I studied the Mengen language and culture,” Lourens wrote, “I witnessed him practicing many rituals and soon realized that it would not be easy for him to turn away from his position and follow Christ. It would come at a price!”

...Trusts in Christ...

And then the foundational, Creation-to-Christ teaching began, and Topa Tamana, his wife and kids attended all the lessons.

“It’s ... not strange for these shamans to attend teaching like this, as they hope to find more secrets to manipulate the spirit world,” Lourens explained. “But this time around God touched their hearts, and both Topa Tamana and his wife placed their trust in Christ. ... [But since] he did not continue to follow his old ways, ... he lost his status and income and was often accused of angering the spirits due to neglecting his role as mediator.”

This did not deter Topa Tamana.

“Over a 10-year period, Topa Tamana faithfully attended the teaching sessions and responded in obedience as we discipled him. He became one of the faithful older men in the village who helped me evaluate our curriculum, and he played a key role in discipling and shepherding the church. ... Even though he was not officially appointed as a deacon, he functioned as one and was recognized and appreciated by the church.”

...And now Meets the True Mediator.

Recently, Topa Tamana died. As Lourens reflected on the life of this man, the stark contrast of his life before and after salvation stood out in his mind. “[At salvation], he transitioned from being a mediator between the Mengen people and the dark spirit world to trusting in the True Mediator. And now he is meeting Jesus himself!”

Pray for missionaries as they learn the culture and heart language of people groups around the world, share God’s message of salvation with them, and walk beside them until they are part of thriving churches.

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Sun, 17 Mar 2019 06:00:00 -0400
When You’re Not a Native Speaker https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/when-youre-not-a-native-speakerhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15102The Continual Learner

If you sign up to be a missionary in a tribal context, I don’t think you will ever reach the point where “study” is not on your to-do list. And if you do find it scratched off, I humbly suggest you write it back on.

Learning on Many Levels

I work with a people group that speak a language I did not grow up hearing. And while I have learned to communicate more-or-less clearly, I will never say things just like they do. But I keep learning new words, new ways to hook old words together, and new ways to organize my thoughts in order to be understood in this context.

Not only am I not a native speaker, I am not a native thinker in this culture, either. It will be a life-long pursuit (or at least all the years of my life in this village) to study out how the Nahuatl see the world, what is good manners, how and when to make comments, what is or isn’t funny, how to correct students kindly, and how to tell a good story.

I have learned, and keep learning, a lot of practical things pertinent to life out here. I’ve studied up on water-borne illnesses, how to clean a wound, and the best way to treat burns. I’ve learned some about DC and AC and solar panels. I’ve learned how to clean dental equipment and about composting.

I study things that have to do with my ministry, too. Literacy techniques used around the world. How to help people with dyslexia. Leadership best-practice. Discourse analysis. Partnership development. Missiology. Discipleship methods. The learning never ends.

Learning About God

By far the most dramatic thing I’ve undertaken to study is how to serve and know my Father better. Just as I am learning to think how the Nahuatl do, I am attempting to learn daily how to live in the culture of my true citizenship. Sanctification is teaching me a new language, a new thought pattern, and a new manner of being. If we think we have learned this lesson fully, we are mistaken. And if we stop studying, we are lost.

Pray for Katie or some other missionary that you know, that they would be continual learners, not only in their area of ministry, but in their relationship with their Heavenly Father.

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Sun, 10 Mar 2019 06:00:00 -0400
The Believers ‘Took It upon Themselves’ https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-believers-took-it-upon-themselveshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15082‘They Took It upon Themselves.’

This week’s article was written by Adam and Julie Martin who minister to the Akolet people of Papua New Guinea.

Yesterday at church I noticed that a man took it upon himself to enlist some of the young men to build more benches in our church. You see, we’re having a “marriage conference” of sorts here in this next week.

Discipleship without PowerPoint

This conference is something entirely unprecedented in Akolet church history. We even have guest speakers! They are dear believers from other people groups, traveling here to share with the Akolet believers what they’ve learned about walking with Jesus and growing with their spouses.

This event is something we’ve been working to get arranged for over a year. There won’t be any PowerPoints, and certainly no one encouraging husbands and wives to hold hands and gaze into each other’s eyes or anything equally mortifying to an Akolet couple. But we hope there will be Scriptures unpacked that help the Akolet see, from fellow Papua New Guinean believers, what a Christ-centered marriage can look like. We are beyond excited.

Building Benches Demonstrates Spiritual Growth

But where was I? Oh yes, the benches. There are 13 visitors coming for this marriage conference, and our bursting-at-the-seams church building doesn’t have the space! So this Akolet man saw this need and took it upon himself to get more benches built off to the side of our current structure. And there’s no Lowe’s nearby to pick up more timber, either. We’re talking, “Boys, let’s go chop some trees.”

These are small steps in many ways. Yet for the past seven years since the Akolet church was first born, the believers have relied heavily on us as the missionaries. Slowly but surely, some are seeing the needs and taking it upon themselves to ask the Lord how He wants them to meet those needs.

Praise the Lord for the growth among the Akolet church. Would you pray for continued growth? And pray for more spiritual fruit as a result of this marriage conference.

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Sun, 03 Mar 2019 06:00:00 -0500
What’s the Secret Ingredient? https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/whats-the-secret-ingredienthttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15076

Literacy and Heart Language Ministry 

Heart language ministries are the foundation of so much of what Ethnos360 is involved in. Part of that foundation is teaching the people groups with whom we are living to be able to read and write in their own language. After all, of what use to the people is a translated Bible with no one in their group to read it? 

 Jerry and Joyce McDaniels are the international literacy consultants for Ethnos360, traveling around the globe to develop literacy curriculums as well as to train literacy consultants and teachers. With the development of the software called Literacy Starter, the time required and the quality of the literacy materials has been greatly improved. 

And the Secret Ingredient . . . ? 

The McDaniels said, “Our ministry is focused on literacy: teaching people to read so they can have full access to the translated Word of God in their own language. This certainly involves printed words in the literacy curriculum that we develop. But there is a secret ingredient that goes into the reading materials. It is the illustrations! Great illustrations contribute to the reader’s understanding of the story, adding interest and details. 

  “The reading books start very simply, with three or four little sentences using the three most frequent letters in the language. This keeps the lesson uncomplicated for the new readers. But because few words are intentionally used, the story may lack clarity or sparkle. Illustrations come in as the secret ingredient to improve comprehension and hold the attention of the readers.” 

Welcome, Image Finder! 

“We’ve never had a good way to share images for literacy,” continued the McDaniels, “so our programming team is putting the finishing touches on the final part of the literacy software called Image Finder. It’s a database that organizes tens of thousands of images that teams have used in their literacy materials for others to use or adapt. It will be searchable by word-tags and regions. What a great resource and help this will be to teams all around the world!” 

Welcome, Image Finder

Pray for the McDaniels and all those associated with Image Finder. Praise the Lord with us that these tools are being made available around the world.

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Sun, 24 Feb 2019 06:00:00 -0500
A Helicopter: The Barrier Crusherhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/02172019-a-helicopter-the-barrier-crusherhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15061

Beyond the Dream 

 Brian and Bailey Pruett minister in the Philippines with Ethnos360 Aviation. Brian said, “A few years ago, when the new helicopter program was just starting, we never dreamed how much it would impact the work here. It has changed things in the greatest ways possible. We only thought we were reaching the farthest, hardest to reach places with the airplane, when there are even farther places to reach and spiritually darker places than we ever imagined. These areas are so dark and so hard to get to that foreign missionaries would mostly likely never be welcome.” 

 The main Tala-Andig village had accepted the gospel. Some of the believers from the main village had relatives in another second village downriver who were interested in the gospel, causing serious division in that village as well as spiritual opposition. 

 The Barriers Go Up 

The Barriers Go Up

Brian continued, “The believers had never seen an open door in this area before and they wanted to boldly take advantage of this small opening. As they discussed it, they ran into barrier after barrier. “The outreach village was a grueling two-day hike away — much of it was floating down the river through dangerous canyons. When they would arrive at the outreach, there wasn’t a clean water source, land for farms or a place for a house. … They couldn’t bring their spouses or children, and they wouldn’t be able to survive there or stay long enough to teach.” 

 Incredible barriers. Impossible to overcome? Not at all! 

 The Barrier Crusher 

“God’s timing is perfect, though,” said Brian. “At the same time as this door to the gospel was opening, God had placed a barrier-crushing machine in their midst – [the helicopter]! And He made it accessible to [the Tala-Andig believers] via donors who cover their expenses!  

The Barrier Crusher

 “They discussed it amongst themselves and felt that with the helicopter they could take turns in three-week shifts going to the outreach. They could bring enough food and supplies for three weeks in the helicopter [a six-minute flight]. This plan would break down the physical barriers and give them the needed momentum to keep people engaged as they teach.” Praise the Lord for the provision of the helicopter in the Philippines. Pray for the Tala-Andig outreach to their own families downriver.

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Sun, 17 Feb 2019 06:00:00 -0500
Some Great Ideas to Do Missions Well https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/some-great-ideas-to-do-missions-wellhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15052

Missionaries in the Middle 

 My colleagues do a good job each issue, writing about missionaries who are reaching unreached people. And the stories have impact because we see God’s hand at work. 

 But each story doesn’t actually start with a missionary. Nor does it end with a new believer. That’s only the middle part. 

   Missions Starts and Ends with the Church 

In reality the story starts with the church. A local church sending a missionary to the field through Ethnos360. Then other local churches and individuals jump on board, supporting that missionary to see those unreached people become reached. 

Missions Starts and Ends with the Church

 And the story ends with the church, a new body of believers established among that people group, which in turn begins a new chapter of the story. 

 In 2019, we’re widening our vista to include that first part of the story — churches sending and supporting missionaries. That emphasis will be reflected in our prayer emails, website and magazine articles and on social media all year.  

 Great Ideas to Do Missions Well 

Wherever you are on the missions continuum, we hope that highlighting these missions-minded churches encourages you, maybe even challenges you, but definitely moves you forward on the path. 

 We kick off the year with an in-depth look at the missions focus of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California. Read the article to find out not just what they do in the realm of missions, but the mindset that makes missions such an integral part of the church.

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Sun, 10 Feb 2019 06:00:00 -0500
The Lolo Bibles Have Arrived!https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-lolo-bibles-have-arrivedhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15040

God’s Word in Lolo 

Matt and Debi Zook went as Ethnos360 missionaries to Mozambique in 2005. Later that same year, the moved into the Lolo people group to begin ministering there. As heart language ministry is one of the tenets of Ethnos360, they spent the next three years in culture and language study.  

From 2010 until 2017, they worked on Bible translation, eager to get the Word of God into the Lolo mother tongue for the nascent church. They worked with Lolo helpers, the mission’s consultants and people from the Seed Company and the Summer Institute of Linguistics. 

Getting the Word Ready 

After finishing the first version by the end of 2016, Matt and the team produced a second version at the end of 2017, making some dialectal changes for another Lolo dialect. The final touches and checks were finished in 2018. The Bibles were ready to be sent off to the printers. 

Getting the Word out

These are not completely Lolo Bibles; they could be considered “hybrid” Bibles. The books of Genesis, Ruth, I and II Samuel, Jonah, Daniel, Malachi and the entire New Testament are in Lolo. All the other books are in Portuguese or Chichewa, the two common trade languages used by the Lolo people. Matt said, “There are over 1850 footnotes designed to help people understand the text, see the differences between Bible truth and their cultural understandings and show the necessity of putting and keeping our faith in Christ.” 

And It Will Arrive . . . ? 

And It Will Arrive ...?

The Bibles were printed in China. Right now, somewhere in the Indian Ocean, there is a boat heading toward Mozambique with 6,149 Bibles in a container.  Pray for good speed in the shipping, in clearing customs, in transporting the Bibles to the Zooks’ location, and in the distribution of those Bibles to the Lolo people. Most of all pray that these Bibles will bear good fruit among the Lolo people. 

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Sun, 03 Feb 2019 06:00:00 -0500
‘Gospel Day’ Is Coming to the Amdu!https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/gospel-day-is-coming-to-the-amduhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/15002An Interrupted Journey

“Amdu friends of ours left the village one day on a long journey only to return later the same afternoon despite their intentions to be gone for two weeks,” wrote Benjamin and Missy Hatton, missionaries to the Amdu in Papua New Guinea. “They said their legs got heavy, and so they came home.”

But what’s significant about heavy legs? Were they just too tired? Was there more behind it?

A Purposeful Journey

“In the Amdu universe, when a person goes on a journey and their legs get heavy, it means that something isn’t right in the realm of the unseen,” the Hattons explained. “The Amdu people never ignore these signs because they believe that to do so could be fatal.”

A Purposeful Journey

And now, the Hattons are the ones getting ready to go on a long journey, but they have no cause for fear. As they return to Amdu after a time of home assignment, they do so with anticipation.

“Momentum is building towards ‘Gospel Day’ in Amdu,” they wrote. “Translation of key Old Testament stories and portions of the Gospels is underway so that we can write evangelistic Bible lessons. … We will be focused full time on developing this curriculum. Teaching the Amdu people God’s story from Creation through the ascension of Christ will give them a firm foundation for understanding how to get right with God and be free from the fear that controls their lives now. This is what we have to look forward to as our time in America draws to an end and we say all our difficult goodbyes.”

The Continuing Journey

It’s been a journey to get to this point. The Hattons reminisce about all that has taken place.

Journey

“From the building of our house, to navigating the years of culture and language learning, to the launch of the literacy program and now translation and Bible curriculum development, God’s faithfulness steals the show. And as we march towards presenting the gospel later next year, we don’t doubt that God’s faithfulness will remain center stage in our story.”

Pray for Benjamin and Missy as they return to Papua New Guinea and as they keep the momentum moving forward to the day when the gospel will be presented to the Amdu people. Pray for the day when the Amdu people won’t be concerned about heavy legs.

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Sun, 27 Jan 2019 06:00:00 -0500
Brus’ Story: Prayer Changes Thingshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/brus-story-prayer-changes-thingshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14984Meet Brus and Apite

This week’s story is written by Lourens Laureti, who ministers among the Mengen people of Papua New Guinea.

Many moons ago, a nervous me landed in the bush village between the Mengen valleys and mountains. It was only for a short visit to meet our future co-workers and meet the Mengen friends among whom we would live for the next roughly 20 years of our lives.

During this time, I met Brus and his wife Apite. I immediately got to like them, with Apite who had a great sense of humor and Brus being a bit of an introvert and serious. They lived in a typical hamlet in their own little bush house close to Brus’ parents. As I walked into their house, it was obvious that this family, as all other Mengen families, was very confused about God, sin and salvation. They had a statue of Mary which they got from who knows where, and she was standing right next to all the paraphernalia they use to produce “white soup,” a potent local alcoholic beverage.

Understanding the Gospel

Understanding the Gospel

When our teammates were eventually ready, they started to teach our village friends evangelically from Genesis to Christ. We met for four months, four times a week and twice a day. Brus and Apite attended most of the sessions and even came to the review lessons in the evenings. From the beginning, I could sense that Brus was touched by what he heard, but in typical Mengen fashion, he was not going to show any signs of interest. … But as we approached the end of our second phase of teaching, both Brus and Apite expressed that they had trusted Christ alone as their Lord and Savior.

Growth and Maturity

Brus was one of our first literacy graduates, and he also became one of our first Mengen literacy teachers, with Apite following him soon afterward.

Since then Brus and Apite continued to grow in maturity as we taught and discipled them through the New Testament. After about six years of teaching and discipleship, they became our first missionaries whom we sent to plant a new church.

Growth and Maturity

This next season of ministry, we would like to focus on leadership development and hope to disciple Brus to become an elder within the Mengen church.

We thank you for making it possible to reach the unreached. We cannot make a difference without you! Would you continue to pray for Brus and Apite?

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Sun, 20 Jan 2019 06:00:00 -0500
Gabi, a Story from Mengen, Part 2https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/gabi-a-story-from-mengen-part-2https://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14975Gabi Takes the Gospel Out

Written by Lourens Laureti, missionary to the Mengen people, with David Pierce. This is part 2 of Gabi’s story. Read part 1.

Gabi became part of the team of young men we trained and discipled as teachers. He even became one of the teachers who would travel to other villages to teach and disciple believers. It’s about a two-hour hike away, and Gabi would hike multiple times to these villages each week.

Gabi Takes the Gospel Out

Going Despite Health Issues

It was then that I was told that Gabi suffers from seizures, up to three times a week, probably due to cerebral malaria. When I asked him about it, he explained that as he would hike to one of these villages, he would have a seizure, wake up in the jungle and just go on. His family wanted him to stop, but he shared that God’s Word was too great to stop teaching. I remember how he told me that the joy of sharing God's Word and seeing people saved and growing far exceeds the difficulty of having seizures.

Crossing the Finish Line

A few months after arriving in South Africa for our home assignment, I received a message that Gabi had died. They suspect that he went to work in his garden and died from a seizure there. They only discovered him late at night after he never returned home.

Even though this was sad, the church rejoiced as one of the first Mengen believers entered Heaven. He is now united with the One they so dearly love, E Rabgaliu, the One who takes us back, our Redeemer — Jesus!

Crossing the Finish Line


I hope that Gabi’s story will encourage you to appreciate God’s grace and love for you as Gabi did, and that God's love for you will compel you to live a sanctified life and to show and share Christ with others.

Please pray that God will open up more doors for us to share the Good News with the Mengen people! Also pray for Gabi’s wife, Itu, and their three children.

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Sun, 13 Jan 2019 06:00:00 -0500
Gabi, a Story from Mengen, Part 1https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/gabi-a-story-from-mengen-part-1https://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14963Determining the Need to Hear

Written by Lourens Laureti, missionary to the Mengen people, with David Pierce

The first time I met Gabi was on a survey to some Mengen villages which had asked us to come teach. We were determining if there was already any gospel teaching there and where would be the best location to start. Some Mengen young men went with me. One of the young men was Eddie. He is Gabi’s brother.

Gabi hears the gospel  …

Eddie was concerned for his brother Gabi’s soul, and he told me a lot about him on this trip. He was a teenager who knew nothing about God and lived a reckless life. He actually lived in the village we visited as he was not welcome in his own village due to his bad choices.

We invited Gabi to travel with us throughout the Mengen villages. He spent a week with us going from hamlet to hamlet and hearing us share our testimony. Gabi heard how God sent this amazing message in writing to us, revealing Himself as the only sovereign, all-powerful, holy and just Creator God who actually loves us! But our ancestors sinned. We inherited this sinful nature, and we are all guilty before God.

… and responds in faith.

This all gripped Gabi’s heart. When he heard about how God Himself came to die in our stead as payment of our sin, he was convicted of truth and trusted Christ for His salvation.
When Eddie and I returned to our home village, we started to hear reports that Gabi was studying God’s Word and going to others to share these truths. And so it happened that after many years Gabi returned to his home village and was reconciled with his family and community.

Praise God for the work he did in Gabi’s life. Pray for the Mengen people who continue to hear the teaching of God’s Word in their own language.

Read more of Gabi’s story next week.

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Sun, 06 Jan 2019 06:00:00 -0500
Pressing On, Whatever the Outcomehttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/pressing-on-whatever-the-outcomehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14956What Was

After 45 years serving in Colombia, it was strange for Mark and Joyce Cain to think that they would now settle down in America. But they weren’t really settling down, at least not yet. Looking to retirement the following year, there was much work they still wanted to accomplish.

Mark continued to translate Scripture, planning to return to Colombia for two months later in 2019 to do a translation check on those final portions. The Guahibo Bible (complete New Testament and portions of the Old Testament) would then be ready to be formatted and sent to the printers.

That was the plan.

What Is

And then life changed. In late November, Mark was diagnosed with a fast-growing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Chemo started in December and will continue for four and a half months.

“We as a family are reeling and wondering what God is doing,” Joyce wrote. But they are still trusting Him. And I love what she asks prayer for because it shows where their hearts are.

“If he is able to endure these six sessions, there is a 40 to 50 percent chance it will go into remission. Pray with us that this remission would occur. Join us in prayer that God would enable us to do the final two-month check in Colombia in the late summer or Fall of 2019.”

That is still the plan.

What Is to Come

That may be a big ask, but we have a big God. We have the God of the impossible.

And though Mark and Joyce don’t claim to understand, they’re definitely still trusting Him — whatever the outcome.

Joyce wrote, “I will accept what God will do in the end, no matter what. I will be giving God the glory.”

But they’re still asking for prayer and for an answer to prayer that includes remission. Joyce wrote, “Mark’s desire is that God’s people pray for a miracle at this time. You know, because we have been missionaries for 45 years, we are privileged to have a huge host of prayers going up for us around the world!”

And they would appreciate your prayers being added to that huge host. Read Mark and Joyce’s updates and pray for them, that the cancer would go into remission, and that the translation would be completed.

Pray that the plan comes to pass!

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Sun, 30 Dec 2018 06:00:00 -0500
From God’s Heart to His Worldhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/from-gods-heart-to-his-worldhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14950It’s Christmas!

This week’s article is written by Jill Goring, Ethnos360 Translation and Consultant Coordinator.

We’re coming up on the Best Day Ever, right? The day we celebrate what makes the God of the Bible different from any other god: He comes down. To where we are. Christmas is the Almighty God of the Universe doing what He’s done since day six of Creation — bending down, drawing near, reaching out — coming to be with His dear ones.

This is the One Who has always made every effort … gone the extra mile … knocked down every barrier … searched every corner ... kept coming back … to the Garden … to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob … to Moses on the mountain … to His own people, Israel, time after time after time. Every time His people cried “help,” He was there. Whenever even the wickedest king said, “I’m so sorry,” He forgave.

Christmas Tree

God Incarnate

This is the One Who made His throne on a gold-covered, blood-spattered box, barely concealed behind a delicately embroidered linen curtain, in a glorified tent in the middle of Camp Israel, and said to Moses, “I will meet with you there and talk with you.”

It’s that God.

Putting on a human body — a body envisioned in the mind of an ingenious Designer and reproduced billions of times (but rendered no less miraculous by its frequency) — and now that Creator Himself, who for all eternity inhabited the whole universe with no physical limitations, now HE, in the greatest of miracles, is somehow limiting Himself to an embryonic egg in the womb of a virgin He created, where He will develop like every other baby, and come into the world like every other ‘human being’ before Him so that He can experience every human experience from the first cry of birth to the last sigh of death.

This Is Our God!

This God is so determined that we hear Him. “I’m right here. Look at me. Listen to me. Watch me. Talk with me. Face to face.”

The Word became flesh and lived right here with us. And we — ah, we! — we beheld His glory!

Which is why you keep praying and giving, and translators keep laying down their lives in difficult places, making sure people do hear in the language of their hearts the Message from the God with a heart like that.

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Sun, 23 Dec 2018 06:00:00 -0500
Five Skipped Sacrificeshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/five-skipped-sacrificeshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14913Distilled Spirits

This week’s prayer email is from Paul McDole in the Asia-Pacific region.

Across our island is a native tree that is related to the eucalyptus tree. [The islanders] cook the leaves in a still, much like one used to make moonshine. The oil that is produced is sold to make medicine, similar to Bengay or one of those “essential oils.” The people [on the island] furnish this popular oil for the entire country.

Distilling the oil

Dispelled Spirits

This has been done for years, with five sacrifices to the spirits to ensure good results. The five sacrifices are given:

  • when the first foundation stone of the still is laid.

  • when the first pole of the house is raised.

  • when the first handful of leaves is harvested.

  • when the huge wok is set up on the still.

  • when the water begins to flow through the bamboo pipe into the still.

The sacrifices offered are chickens, cloth, coins and special words in prayer to the evil spirits.

Divine Spirit

In 2018, believers in Jesus Christ from the [nearby village] decided that they’ve had enough. No longer will they be enslaved by the spirits when they make the oil. Praise God with the believers here as they rejoice in their freedom from the devil’s deception!

Pray for these believers who have been the first one’s in this island’s history to make this important stand for Christ. Pray that their stills will produce more oil than those who have followed Satan’s lies. As the news gets out, may Christ be glorified all over the island!

Pray also for Paul and Tina and others who work in the heart language of the local people. Understanding the language and culture allows the missionaries to clearly translate and teach the Scriptures in the heart language of the people.

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Sun, 16 Dec 2018 06:00:00 -0500
A Taste of God’s Word in their Heart Languagehttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/a-taste-of-gods-word-in-their-heart-languagehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14868They Didn’t Know What They Were Missing

The people of Pretty Water already had God’s Word in the national language, and they were bilingual — at least that’s what everyone said. And for some of the villagers, there was a mistaken belief that God’s Word could only be taught in the national language, that God wasn't interested in their language. With thoughts like that, why would the villagers even think they needed God’s Word written in their heart language?

God’s Word in Their Heart Language

That’s where the villagers of Pretty Water were at, convinced that they didn’t need God’s Word in their heart language — until key members of their community began reading Scripture translated into their mother tongue during their meetings. That changed everything!

God's Word in Their Heart Language

“They are getting a taste of how much better God’s Word communicates in their own heart language, and this is spurring them on to learn to read in their own tongue!” wrote the missionary. “You can imagine the thrill this news has been to us who [have] labored long hours, days, weeks, months and years to get God’s love letter into their language and into their hands.”

A Great Gift From God

At this time of year, we focus on the birth of our Savior, God’s greatest gift to mankind — and what a gift that is! I can’t help but think what a great gift has been given to the villagers of Pretty Water. They not only have a Savior, but they have been given the gift of God’s Word written in their heart language, because God is interested in communicating with His creation in their heart language.

A Great Gift From God

Pray for the villagers of Pretty Water and for an ever-increasing desire to read the Bible in their mother tongue.

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Sun, 09 Dec 2018 06:00:00 -0500
Understanding the Significance of Jesus’ Birthhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/understanding-the-significance-of-jesus-birthhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14855They Are Changed

It was in April of this year when the missionaries first presented the gospel message to the Menya people. They called that day “Cross Day” and captured the Menyas’ response on video. It tells the story of the Menya people, the story of how they came to be our brothers and sisters in Christ, the story how “Cross Day” changed their lives.

They Give Testimony

But their story is not over. Evangelism was just the beginning. Discipleship has been ongoing, and the testimonies given at the first Menya baptism in October brought joy to my heart. I would like to share a few of them with you.

They Give Testimony

“Sin enslaved my body, speech and thoughts. By God’s grace, He sent Jesus Christ. He took all of my sin as if it were His. Through Jesus, I am pure in God’s eyes.” — Zabet

“I was living under sin, Satan and death. Only through the work of Jesus — His blood that was spilled on the cross — He set me free, and now I am alive with Him. Now Jesus is my King.” — Wati

“God sent His only Son to the earth. He spilled His great blood. He took away my sin.” — Neti

“The Bible says, ‘You can’t follow your ideas.’ You won’t get to heaven that way. Only through the holy blood of Jesus Christ can you get to Heaven.” — Helen

They Celebrate

For the Menya, Christmas may have been a unknown concept and the birth of Jesus insignificant. But not anymore. For the first time, the Menya people can celebrate the birth of their Savior along with us.

They Celebrate

Pray for the infant Menya church to continue to grow in their relationship with the Lord and Savior.

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Sun, 02 Dec 2018 06:00:00 -0500
A Three-Day Walk to Hear in His Heart Languagehttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/a-threeday-walk-to-hear-in-his-heart-languagehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14847The Advantage of the Heart Language

“I walked for three days to get here,” one of the attendees said, and another expressed the same. But who were these men?

“These men and others are the fruit of the teaching of the first phase of [chronological Bible lessons] in five village communities,” wrote Alberto and Nancy Gonzalez, missionaries who work among the Guahibo people with Ethnos360’s global partner in Colombia. They went on to explain that the Guahibo people are scattered throughout the extensive territory of eastern Colombia.

Still, why would they travel that far just to hear someone teach?

Hearing with Clarity

“Being able to read the Word and hear such clear teaching in their own language makes all the difference,” Alberto wrote.

He understood that having God’s Word written in their heart language and hearing clear teaching in their heart language were reasons that attendees were willing to travel that far. And knowing that people wanted to come, wanted to listen and would have their lives changed by the message — that’s what made the effort so worthwhile for the Guahibo Bible teachers.

Becoming Disciple-Makers

That is how the disciples become the disciplers. It takes clear teaching that can be replicated, but it also takes being equipped with God’s Word in their heart language so that they can rightly divide the Word of Truth.

That’s what we want. Our goal is not evangelism alone. We want to make disciples who in turn will become disciple-makers. And, praise the Lord, that is what has happened among the Guahibos in Colombia.

Alberto wrote, “We are grateful to the Lord for the team of disciples, the ‘old ones’ and the ‘new ones,’ who continue teaching. Praise God that the cycle is repeated as disciples make new disciples.”

Pray for this cycle of “disciples becoming the disciplers” to continue.

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Sun, 25 Nov 2018 06:00:00 -0500
Learning Culture and Language through Participationhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/learning-culture-and-language-through-participationhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14840Participating with the People

This week’s story comes from Brian and Rachel Rich who minister in Brazil.

One of the most beneficial things for our culture and language learning is when we can participate with the people in an activity. Recently, some of the villagers finally decided to start building a farinha house, where they can turn their manioc root into farinha (roasted granules). Farinha is a local staple, so they can also sell it.

Building Together

The structure is basically just a roof to shield them and their equipment from the elements. There will be no walls, so poles will hold up the palm leaf roof. During the process of selecting and cutting poles, I learned about a few trees and what they are good for. I also got to hear and practice various words during construction.

Building Together

Gardening Together

Rachel got to experience going to their garden and pulling up manioc, as well as picking papaya. The people weave baskets out of strips of vine and use a type of tree bark to make a strap, which they usually place on their forehead. Things that are everyday activities for them are gold mines for us to learn the names of objects and their associated actions.

Gardening Together

Pray for Brian and Rachel and other missionaries who are studying culture and language. During this time, the missionaries experience everyday life with the people and learn about everything from where they get their food all the way up to their worldview. This formidable step is key to communicating clearly in the heart language of the people.

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Sun, 18 Nov 2018 06:00:00 -0500
Does God Speak My Language?https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/does-god-speak-my-languagehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14829Does God Speak Your Language?

Regina Kowert had this thought-provoking paragraph in her letter: I always thought my friend Cristina was praying in French because of me. A while ago we visited her family, and everyone was speaking in Sérè, but she changed to French to pray. That is when it hit me. I asked her, ”Why do you not pray in Sérè?” She replied, “I do not know how to pray in my language.” Will she ever be able to say “God speaks my language”? She does not speak to God in her mother tongue because God has never spoken to her in her language.

It takes many years from the time a translation is started until the New Testament is completed. In order to understand the driving passion of translators, I asked some of the translators and translation consultants who are working on translation projects about the importance of heart language ministries.

Translate, Please

Kirk Rogers has ministered among the Landuma people of Guinea and is translating the New Testament. He said, “Heart language ministry, communicating God’s Word in the heart language of each person, is critical to their receiving the truth with maximum clarity, understanding and impact.”

Translate, please

Bob Clark, translator with the Tugutil people of Asia-Pacific and translation consultant, said, “A message as important as the contents of Scripture needs to have the best chance of being understood, and we are convinced that means translating into the heart language of our audience.

Now I Understand

As both a translator and a translation consultant, Lisa Kappeler ministers among the Uriay people of Papua New Guinea. Her words are clear and pointed: “I work in a language group where the majority of the women don’t speak the national language. … There were men and women in the village that I couldn’t really communicate with until I spoke their heart language (emphasis by author). So our situation is that, unless we worked in the heart language of the people, they wouldn’t understand the Word of God or the gospel.”

Lisa continued, “What are you going to teach from if there’s no Bible in that heart language? If you believe in a heart language ministry, then you’d need a heart language Bible to teach from. And you want them feeding themselves from God’s Word, so they need to be able to read it in their language. It’s vital to the church planting effort and to the growth and maturity of the church.”

Now I understand

There is no way to exaggerate the importance of heart language ministries. Allowing Cristina to hear God speak in her own language is a gift beyond compare. To teach, to read the Scripture and to counsel new believers in their own language with all its subtleties and nuances diminishes syncretism and misunderstanding. Pray for clarity for translators.

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Sun, 11 Nov 2018 06:00:00 -0500
Why Heart Language Ministries?https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/why-heart-language-ministrieshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14821Why Heart Language Ministries?

The weather app on my phone was showing a little sun icon with a 39°C beside it. Hmm. Even after living in Thailand over 20 years, I do not relate to Celsius the same as I do to Fahrenheit. I was reading the accurate scientific description of 39°C, but it was not really communicating to me. Even while feeling the heat of 39°C, I was still wanting to know, “How hot is it?” Handy Google said, “39°C = 102.2°F.”

What changed? I heard the description in my own “language” of Fahrenheit and instinctively knew how to respond. 102.2°F is hot.

Good friends wrote the above, comparing that with the need to have the Scriptures translated into the heart language of unreached or least reached people around the world. Those of us that speak two or more languages can understand words without capturing the meaning.

Ethnos360’s goal is to have a thriving church for every people -- a good goal. But how can it be attained? What has to take place for those churches to become thriving and not just surviving? One way is to make sure that our ministries are indeed heart language ones -- where we speak to the hearts of the hearers in a language that truly expresses their culture, their world view, their emotions, their uniqueness.

Culture and Language

I have talked with some of our consultants who are helping missionaries come to the point where they can minister in the heart language -- the mother tongue -- of people groups. One that I talked with is Andi McMartin, a culture and language acquisition consultant in West Africa. One of the questions that I asked her was if heart-language ministry was important.

Culture and Language

She answered, “Heart language ministry is important because God is a communicator. God communicated to people in a language that they would understand. When a message is communicated to us in our heart language, then we know that the message is for us. We want the people we work with to know that as well: God's message is for them. He cares for them enough to bring His truth to them in a way that they can understand best.”

Why Literacy?

Literacy is a “next-step” process of heart language ministry. It involves helping people learn to read and write in their heart language. Literacy classes take place since many people groups of the world do not have their language in written form. In order to capture and maintain the integrity and purity of a language, it needs to be written down and preserved.

Why Literacy?

Jerry and Joyce McDaniels are Ethnos360’s international literacy coordinators. They said, “Since ‘ministry’ is opening the door for people to have a relationship with their Creator God, it must be done in the language of their heart. People need to know that God speaks their language and [that He] desires a close, personal relationship with them.”

Pray for the consultants as they work with missionaries in order for there to be a heart language ministry. Read more about these ministries.

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Sun, 04 Nov 2018 06:00:00 -0500
Learning Culture and Language Is Mostly NOT Deskworkhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/learning-culture-and-language-is-mostly-not-deskworkhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14808One Year Anniversary in Paraguay

This week's prayer email is written by Bill and Debby Abitz, serving in Paraguay.

t is hard to believe that we’ve been in Paraguay for a year already. October 4 was our official anniversary, and we just wanted to share some highlights in pictures of our first year.

Finally Settled in … for Now

Of course, just arriving was a highlight. For those of you who know us well, you know we’ve been talking, praying and planning to serve overseas for a very long time. God in His sovereignty was gracious enough to allow us to move. And move we have. Three times already in this first year.

Paraguay

First, we moved into our mission’s guest house while we looked for a place to stay. Then, after eight weeks, we found an apartment and moved into it. Before we even came to a place of seriously considering the need to move [so the boys could be involved in sports], a house became available that is a 7-minute walk to the boys’ school. So, once again, we moved. We do hope we’ll be able to stay in this house for a while and not have to move again any time soon.

Living Life, Learning Language

Most of our time is spent in culture and language. That’s sort of a fancy title for living in another culture and language foreign to ours, building relationships and beginning the process of making disciples. So, it looks like….

  • Visiting immigration to get proper documentation to stay in Paraguay

  • Getting a haircut at the local barber

  • Grocery shopping

  • Ordering empanadas at the store

  • Attending church

  • Taking public transportation

  • Having formal language sessions

  • Going to the dentist

  • Meals with friends and family

  • Attending cultural events

We are so grateful to be here even though our first year has had its challenges. Our ministry, just like every other Christian believer, is to make disciples. We look forward to the day when we speak Spanish well enough to start making disciples here in Paraguay.

Thank you for praying for missionaries studying culture and language. As they make friends and build relationships, they move to the day when they can effectively reach these people with the gospel.

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Sun, 28 Oct 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Tech by Texthttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/tech-by-texthttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14801The Problem

Ruth Brendle always knew that having a techie husband was a great benefit, but when she found herself 1,500 miles away from Dave while taking care of her mom, she wasn’t sure how that was going to benefit her. She was having computer problems and felt at a loss. She wished Dave would walk through the door and solve her problem.

The Long-Distance Solution

That didn’t happen. Dave didn’t walk through the door, but he did solve her problem.

“He handled it by text!” Ruth wrote. “I described [the problem]; he responded.” And back and forth they went until he figured out the problem.

“He told me to ‘Click on this. Select the second one. Enable that.’ And it worked!”

and it worked ...

It shouldn’t have been a novel idea to Ruth. Solving technological problems is what her husband is good at and the type of service he provides for missionaries around the globe. But there’s nothing like experiencing it firsthand to make it real.

The On-Going Service

“I had never experienced Dave’s expertise and systematic guidance in the way so many of our missionaries do — from long distance!” Ruth wrote. “I am thankful for the gifts God has given him!”

Pray for Dave Brendle and the entire IT team that provide tech support to missionaries serving in locations where tech support is limited or non-existent.

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Sun, 21 Oct 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Breaking the Four-Fingered Grip of Fearhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/breaking-the-fourfingered-grip-of-fearhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14795A Joyous Occasion

All hands turned out for the dedication of the Pawaian New Testament. The year was 2000, and Larry M. Brown, currently CEO of Ethnos360, was in the organization’s leadership in Papua New Guinea. He was prepared for the celebration. He wasn’t prepared for the handshakes.

A Four-Fingered Grip

At any event in Papua New Guinea, everyone shakes hands with everyone else. When Larry shook hands with one older Pawaian, he noted that the man had four fingers. So did the next older man, and the next, and on and on it went. Yet the younger Pawaians had all their fingers. What was going on?

A Four-Fingered Grip

Jack Douglas, who with his wife, Isa, translated the New Testament, told Larry that the people had feared the spirits so much that they cut off each baby’s little finger to appease them.

Faith has Five Fingers

But no more. Now the Pawaia people have heard God’s Truth and have the New Testament in their own language. They know they serve God, and God loves them and is more powerful than all the spirits.

Today, neighboring people groups are asking the Pawaians to share God’s Truth with them. “It is a new life they are noticing,” Jack Douglas wrote.

Faith has Five Fingers

Heart language ministries — translating the Bible, teaching in their language, teaching them to read and write — have lasting results. Learn more, and find out how you can take part:

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Sun, 14 Oct 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Moving to the Island to Preach the Gospelhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/moving-to-the-island-to-preach-the-gospelhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14772Obstacle Overcome

Jim and Rachel have been waiting patiently for the Lord to open the doors for them to move into a new location in the Asia-Pacific Region. Finally the leadership team and Jim were able to make that first trip to the island. The team for the new work is made up of Jim and Rachel and two other families.

Jim commented on that first planned trip: “One of the biggest obstacles to moving forward with our plans to move out to our target village has been working out an agreement with the main religious organization that has influence over the specific area we are looking at. To move forward without that agreement would be inviting much more opposition down the road, so we have been waiting patiently for their response to our proposal.”

On to The Island

On to the Island

After flying to the largest island of the chain, the plan was to find a vendor in the market whose home was on the island in question. First stop, though, was the police station to report in and let them know the plans to visit the smaller island. Jim shared a God moment at the police station. “After listening to our plans, the local police chief called for one of his officers in the back and said, ‘You are from that island, right? These men want to visit there; take them down to the port and arrange a boat.’ Just like that our plans were made. Even better, the police officer decided to clock out and take us to the island himself, even inviting us to stay the first night in his uncle's house.”

Their trip to the island was in a 16-foot long fiberglass boat with twin 40-hp motors which could make the journey in two fairly gentle hours if the sea were calm. It took them two and a half hours -- still safe but not exactly gentle. The island is about seven miles long and almost two miles wide at the widest point. Most of the island is tropical jungle, bisected by a thin trail connecting the two coasts.

First Contact

First Contact

“We stayed four nights total, making our way by foot to each village on the island,” Jim continued. “As we went, we spoke with anyone we came across and made sure to visit with the heads of each village. We explained about the type of work our organization is typically involved in and our desire to determine whether this location would also be an appropriate place to send a team. The reception was extremely positive. The island people are very worried about losing their heart language as their kids grow up and begin to prioritize the national language. They loved the idea of having the Bible and literacy tools in their own language and expressed joy that an outsider was taking interest in learning to speak it.

“The local church situation in this region is quite complicated, making our team journey to build houses and live on the island highly dependent on a degree of cooperation with the main religious denomination present in the area. Because of this, we have waited over a year for the proper permissions to come through that allow us to make a return trip to the island. Last week our team finally received an official invitation to move forward and to start working on those logistical details like house locations, supply possibilities [and other issues]. We are so thankful for this letter!”

Pray for Jim and Rachel as they proceed with plans for other trips to the island, developing relationships and seeing God move them to His chosen location.

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Sun, 07 Oct 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Moving Into the Wantakian Villagehttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/moving-into-the-wantakian-villagehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14758People Group Assessment Is Complete

“As we got out of the helicopter, the Wantakian people were everywhere just waiting to see us and shake our hands,” wrote Jill Sanders on that momentous day. “I think the whole village came. But who wouldn’t come see a helicopter and white men? …  Today, we had a big meeting where we signed our land agreement and told them again why we were coming!”

But what did they tell them?

An Explanation Is Given

How would you have explained it? How would you explain why someone would move to a village across the globe, far from all they knew and understood? How would you explain why someone would want to live among a people whose culture contradicted their own worldview, among a people whose language they did not understand, among a people where they have no familial ties?

The team to the Wantakians had an answer. Here’s what they told the Wantakian people. They told them that they wanted to:

  • learn their language and culture;

  • teach them to read in their own language;

  • translate the Bible into their own language;

  • teach them the Bible from Genesis to Revelation; and

  • teach them to take the gospel to the rest of their people group and then to the ends of the earth!

But they did more than just tell them that.

“Next, tribal believers from two different surrounding languages came and supported our talk,” Jill wrote. “They told the Wantakians that missionaries came into their villages and gave them God’s Talk in their heart language, and they shared about the impact it’s had on their lives. They told the people that they needed to help us learn their language, so we can do the same.  

“Hearing these believers talk was my favorite part of the whole trip! We heard talk after of the Wantakians saying, ‘If they would hike all the way over here to tell us this, this talk must be true!’”

The Work Begins

Then the work began. There were houses to build. There were the logistics to consider when moving three families into the village. And then official culture and language learning began.

The team is already following through on their first promise to learn the Wantakia language and culture. Two out of the six members of the team have completed their formal language study. They have recently attended a translation workshop, and now they are beginning to translate the Bible into Wantakia. At the same time, they are taking all the language data they have collected and are using that to develop the Wantakia literacy program so that they can teach the people to read and write their own language. Having a translation in the heart language and having local readers  are two huge steps in their goal of seeing mature churches established among the Wantakia people.

BJ Sanders wrote, “Please pray for us to have good ears to hear [and] for the people to be excited to help us as we say, ‘Can you say that again?’ over and over, and pray for us to keep modeling the life of Jesus to the Wantakians!”

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Sun, 30 Sep 2018 06:00:00 -0400
So God Can Speak the Anem Languagehttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/so-god-can-speak-the-anem-languagehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14735Tears of a Longing Fulfilled

Back in May, Josiah and Rachel Van Der Decker (Papua New Guinea) made the survey to find out where to build their house in order to work with Mouk co-workers to translate the Bible into the Anem language. As they arrived, the following took place, as told by Rachel: “I took a minute to sit down on a bench in the shade, grateful to be out from under the burning gaze of the sun. An old man whose facial features looked Anem made a beeline to come and shake my hand. The next thing I knew, one of his hands held mine, while the other wrapped around me in a tight embrace. And he was weeping. Loudly. As uncommon as it was for a man to hug a woman publicly, something told me this was okay.

“For this moment in time, the ordinary was eclipsed by the extraordinary. Our arrival had some sort of significance to him. The tears that fell freely from his face and onto my lap were tears of joy. Tears of hope. Tears of a longing fulfilled. ‘He heard the teaching in Pidgin through us Mouk,’ our Mouk co-workers pointed out, ‘but he, along with the rest of these Anem believers, are longing to hear God's Word in their own language.’ Our coming meant he was one step closer to that day – the day when God's Word could be read and taught in the Anem language. The day when God would ‘speak’ the Anem language.”

Logistics and Timelines

Logistics and Timelines

Things are coming together to make the move happen. About 70 Mouk church leaders met to plan the logistics and timeline for the Van Der Deckers’ house-building process. The resulting plan was for Josiah to take the first load of house-building supplies (stuff for pouring concrete) into Anem on September 10. The Mouk are sending a team of guys down to Anem this week to start washing and hauling sand and gravel for mixing with the cement for the footers of the house posts. The Mouk are also locating a portable sawmill so they can begin slabbing the lumber for the house frame.

Transporting the building materials into Anem is on the agenda for the end of October, after which the house-building process will officially begin. The task force for getting the house built will be coordinated by the Mouk, who plan to involve several churches from other people groups as well as work teams from the Mouk church. The plan is for house building to continue through mid-December, with the move-in taking place soon after that.

What Hath God Wrought?

What Hath God Wrought?

When we stop to consider how much has gone into the house planning (survey, logistics, building and moving), there is one thing that stands out. That is the magnificent work of God, leading in the hearts of the Mouk believers, moving them to reach out to the Anem. The Van Der Deckers are members of the Mouk team, taking their translating skills to the Anem people.

There is no doubt that the Lord has directed the Mouk church, the Van Der Deckers and the mission leaders to see this step forward in making the Anem church a thriving one. Pray for the Mouk believers, the Anem believers and Josiah and Rachel as they work together to see a thriving church in Anem.

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Sun, 23 Sep 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Super Typhoon Mangkhuthttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/super-typhoon-mangkhuthttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14741Super Typhoon Mangkhut came with fury and whipped over the northern end of Luzon Island in the Philippines Friday and Saturday of last week. To cities and villages in northern Philippines, it’s every bit as real as Hurricane Florence in the USA. And it was stronger, bringing possible devastation of homes and crops in its path.

Missionary pilot’s wife Jane Keller said it was like going through “the heavy wash cycle” for four hours. When the worst was over, she took stock:

“We’re OK! We still have our roof! All our tribal missionaries have checked in and are safe.”

Her husband, pilot Zach Keller, checked on the helicopter as soon as he could. The hangar doors had held! “The helicopter was untouched. Thank you, Lord! … Now we are able to get help to the hard to reach areas along the coast.”

Here is an account from one family of missionaries (Donovan and Charla Epp) who went through the storm.

After flying out of the Agta village, we prepared for the approaching storm here in the supply center for Northern Luzon. The typhoon hit ... early Saturday morning [Philippine time]. It is a crazy scary thing to experience. The typhoon is so loud, the wind and the rain. The debris flying around hitting buildings. Metal roofing flapping and creaking. We had a few window panes break, and a couple shutters fly open in the night. We did not get much sleep, but the kids did however finally find rest in the early morning. However, the house we were staying in stood strong. For most of the day on Saturday, the wind stayed quite strong, but we were able to assess the damage to the neighborhood, as well as later in the evening go for a drive around town. Everywhere you look is debris, roofing material, tree branches and whole trees. In town, signs are down, large glass windows on businesses busted up and everyone out beginning the cleanup. As a whole, the city was more prepared this time for the typhoon. We are still out of electricity, but the cell towers are still working, and stores were already open today (Sunday).

We also praise the Lord that the hanger and the helicopter were kept safe. We were able today (Sunday) to fly out to the village where we live. It was heartbreaking to see the damage even from the air. However, we are so thankful to report that there was no injuries or deaths. This is such an answer to our prayers. Thank you for standing with us in prayer for the community. We were beyond thankful to see our friends and neighbors, give hugs and hear about the typhoon.

They said it was terrifying and was scarier to live through than the last super typhoon that hit two years ago. Most of the community hid in the cement buildings. However, some of the Agta stayed in their houses, and one family decided to go up to their rice fields for the storm. They hid under a tarp!  I can’t even imagine.

The typhoon did a lot of damage to the area. Most of the cement houses in the area seemed to do ok, even keeping their roofs. Other houses lost roofs, some left in piles, others were completely blown away. …  The school down the coast lost the majority of its roof.

We were only able to be on the ground for a short time before the helicopter needed to take off again to return with us to the supply center. I’m sure we will hear more stories and understand more fully in the days to come the toll that Typhoon Mangkhut took on the village. We do know that with the damage to the rice crops, food is a present need, but also a future worry. We hope to fly in a few sacks of rice on our next flight to the village where we live.

Already, Zach, in conjunction with MAF and Wings Above, has surveyed the damage to houses and crops in the villages where Ethnos360 works. Lots of devastation! “How is it even possible no one was hurt? We thank the Lord for protecting these precious lives,” wrote Jane.

Now the team will work together to maximize efforts to fly food, basic supplies, and building materials to smaller villages that may be overlooked. “The days ahead are going to be full on so please pray for endurance and wisdom for our support team as we work through all the logistics,” wrote Jane.

Thanks again for your prayers. Keep praying that Christ’s love will be evident as Ethnos360 Aviation begins the longer effort of helping to rebuild after the storm. You can put hands and feet to your prayers by contributing to the disaster relief fund – ensuring that everyone who needs help will get help. Thank you to those of you who have already given to the relief fund in the past. In the past, we have seen the tremendous impact that relief flying has for the name of Christ. You can be a part!

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Wed, 19 Sep 2018 14:00:00 -0400
Ministering with the Mouk to Reach the Anemhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/ministering-with-the-mouk-to-reach-the-anemhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14728Engaging with the Mouk Church

Josiah and Rachel Van Der Decker are working with the Mouk church to reach the Anem people group. They explained the process: “A survey happens when a team of Western missionaries goes to visit a people group (that has already had a people group assessment done) to determine if a people group is a good fit for them as a team and if so, where to locate in the people group. In that same survey or in a subsequent survey, they will often work out the land agreement and explain why they are coming.” This survey was to find out where they would build their house in order to assist the Mouk church in translation and printing of the Scriptures in the Anem language.

The Anem Connection

After a bit of a rough start and getting used to being bounced in a fiberglass boat on the ocean waves, the group could see the village where the Van Der Deckers would live. Rachel tells their story:

Finally, at noon [of the second day], we saw it. “There it is!” one of our Mouk co-workers pointed out. “That's our village!”

It may be just another village on the coast to some people, but to us, it would soon be home. It's beautiful, was the first thought that rose to mind as I gazed at the thatched roof houses strung along the beach, nestled between emerald green jungles and clear turquoise waters. Already, something about it felt like home.

Though we were there and would be the ones moving into Anem, any agreement about the land would be between the Anem landowner and the Mouk church, the Mouk church leader pointed out. He made it clear that we were here as an extension of the Mouk church and were under their supervision and direction.

[On day four], the Mouk who were with us … led us back towards the beach a few hundred yards to the house site of their choice. It was not too far from the coast, which would make it easier for hauling our supplies up. From the practical side, this place checked all the boxes. From the side of sheer visual pleasure, the view was terrific from this lookout spot, with nearly 120 degrees of ocean view spread out in front of us.

Ready to Move

Seven days after starting out, the Van Der Deckers returned to “civilization,” a place with showers and beds and overhead fans. They had accomplished their goal and found great joy in working with the Mouk church. They hope to begin building their house this month. Pray for their adjustment and for their ministries.

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Sun, 16 Sep 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Learn How the Wantakia Team Determined Which Village to Work Inhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/learn-how-the-wantakia-team-determined-which-village-to-work-inhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14719Which Village?

Our team had decided to pursue work among the Wantakia people group who live in Papua New Guinea’s central mountain range. There hadn’t been any missionary presence in this particular group for more than 18 years, and the gospel had never been proclaimed in the heart language of the Wantakia people. The next step on the journey to a mature church in Wantakia was to execute a People Group Assessment Survey and decide which village would be most strategic to move into.

Who Will Go?

Who Will Go?

We made plans to hike to every village, record population information, assess linguistic ‘purity’ (were they speaking dialects or are other languages present?) and language vitality (were the children learning and speaking the vernacular or the trade language?). We also planned to assess inter-village social and leadership dynamics to accurately gauge the people group’s receptiveness to new missionaries coming to do this work. All this information would help us make a more informed decision before we moved in and built bush houses.

This was first contact for our team! My flesh screamed, “Jack, you have to go on this survey, no matter what!” In reality, however, I was still learning the trade language, and my coworkers were already linguistically competent enough to do the PGA. I just wouldn’t have been capable enough to communicate. To have forced my way onto the survey team would have meant asking my team to wait a few months while I finished language study.

Making the decision not to go on this trip meant giving up my own half-baked, romantic ideas of tribal “first contact” and trusting my teammates to do the job without me. But I was planning to work in the jungle with these men for the next decade or two, so if I couldn’t trust their judgment with the survey, what would that say about our team?

A Decision Is Made

A Decision Is Made

I’m continuing to learn to think with a team perspective. I’ve come to appreciate the rare blessing of great teammates who maintain quality communication. In continually keeping those channels open and honest, they, too, put the team first.

And yes, my trust was well-placed. The first people group assessment survey was followed by a second one. By then, I was able to join them. Ultimately a decision was made, and our team moved into Wantakia.

The most important thing I’ve learned is to ask the question, “What is best for the future church in Wantakia?” When our whole team approaches tough decisions with that mindset, it’s much easier to humbly come to consensus.

Pray for the missionary team to the Wantakia people.

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Sun, 09 Sep 2018 06:00:00 -0400
How Do Missionaries Determine Who to Work With?https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/how-do-missionaries-determine-who-to-work-withhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14712Where Should a Missionary Go?

How do missionaries know where to go? There are literally billions of people around the world without access to the gospel message in their heart language, let alone discipleship. So when missionaries are determining what people group to work with and where to locate, they don’t just throw a dart at a map. First, they pray. Then, they research.

People Group Assessment

People Group Assessment

This research, or “people group assessment,” allows church planting teams to minister effectively and strategically.

Some of the research happens before the missionaries even arrive on the scene. The missionaries research online, seeking answers to questions like:

  • Is there any gospel influence among the people?

  • Are any evangelical mission organizations working with, or planning to work with, these people?

  • Are the people multilingual? What is their heart language?

  • Is the use of their heart language increasing or decreasing?

  • Is the population expanding or shrinking?

  • What outside influences would impact the people’s ability to hear the teaching? (For example, in one location a company was building a major processing plant for natural resources. This created jobs for the people, a good thing. But many of the people now had much less time and willingness to hear the teaching.)

Researching on the Scene

Now, it’s time to visit the people. Of course, when missionaries show up in a village, obviously outsiders, they need to start with why they’re there.

Jim, a missionary in Asia-Pacific, explained it to the people like this: “In our first visit last year, we introduced ourselves and explained how our organization sends teams to live among people groups in remote areas to study the language and culture, translate the Bible and teach from God's Word.”

A key factor in working among a people group is the people’s openness to having missionaries come there to teach. If the people are not open to it, we don’t go there.

More questions follow. Some of them are basic logistics questions. If the missionaries locate there, how would they get in and out with their families? And where would they get supplies?

Prayer

This has been just a glimpse of people group assessment. But a key factor in determining what people group to work with and where to work is prayer. Missionaries need God’s wisdom. And it is God who gives the increase (I Cor 3:6).

Will you pray for the missionaries involved in people group assessment, that God would give them wisdom?

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Sun, 02 Sep 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Working Together to See Them Reachedhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/working-together-to-see-them-reachedhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14702The Cubeo/Guanano Connection

There is a Cubeo village that lies sandwiched between Guanano villages in Colombia. Those Cubeo are multilingual and speak Guanano almost as well as their mother tongue. Barry and Denise Spor have been working among the Guanano for quite a number of years with their partners, Lindy and Carol Drake. Barry said, “Right near our jungle house here lives 30-year-old Roberto, a single man and captain of his Cubeo village. Roberto was born and grew up during the time that we were learning Guanano and the Guanano church was born. The Cubeo missionary team also moved into his village for a short time back in the 1990s.”

A Cubeo Church Plant?

A Cubeo Church Plant?

“Our fellow missionaries with the Cubeo have had a desire that we here in the Guanano church start a Cubeo church plant by evangelizing Roberto.” Up to May of this year, Roberto seemed to be trusting in his own goodness for his salvation, even though he had heard the gospel. Roberto’s aunt, a Cubeo believer in the Guanano church, will be right there with him as he listens to the lessons. The missionary team hopes not only that Roberto will understand the gospel and believe but also that he will be able to be positioned to re-teach in his own village – in the Cubeo language — from which the Cubeo church will be born.

And Then Go Further

“Furthermore, this will be practice for those in [the village where we live] to do the same style teaching in new Guanano villages and expand the edge of the Church in the near future. Pray for the Bible teaching team as we have to prepare to teach three to four lessons per day for a total of 54 lessons that cover the thread of salvation.

“Roberto from all visible evidence appears to have understood the gospel and received Christ as his Savior! Roberto says that over years of exposure to Bible teaching, he never heard about his sin nature. …  The story of Abraham and his near sacrifice of Isaac was a game changer for him. He understood that God saw him like Isaac, all bound up with no way to escape death without divine intervention.

“Please continue to pray for Roberto as he takes these first steps of obedience to a new Master in his own life.”

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Sun, 26 Aug 2018 06:00:00 -0400
God’s Word Goes Forth in Papua New Guinea Schoolshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/gods-word-goes-forth-in-papua-new-guinea-schoolshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14663In the Bush

Yesterday was a special joy for us here in support services. Most often, the teaching and church planting efforts of our missionaries occurs at a distance from us, somewhere out in the bush, and we only hear of the results rather than see them.

In the School

In the School

But yesterday was a celebration of the conclusion of the Foundations in Christ chronological Bible teaching for elementary kids in [the local school for Papua New Guinean children].

We do not yet know the impact or the fruit of the teaching, but what a joy to hear that over 100 children have now heard the complete story of Jesus and His salvation!

What a joy to hear that they had sat attentively and listened well, participating well throughout the teaching, hearing them answer collectively and excitedly the questions asked of them about who Jesus is and what He has done for them, and hearing the report that parents had come to the headmistress saying how their children’s behavior has been changing because of what they were learning! Bel bilong mi i stap hamamas tru! (My belly [heart] is very happy!)

In the Neighborhood

The Foundations in Christ chronological Bible teaching has also been taught to our national workers here on the center as well. Discussions have been going on as to where to go with teaching this fall.

Please pray for the fruit of all of these teachings here [at the center], in the children [at school] and in the bush. God’s Word is powerful, and God’s Spirit stirs the heart. Please pray for much fruit from the hearing and believing of God’s Word!

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Sun, 19 Aug 2018 06:00:00 -0400
The Wana People Are Reaching Three More People Groups!https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-wana-people-are-reaching-three-more-people-groupshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14608The Wana Reach Out

Some years ago, the missionary team ventured into the Wana people group’s location in the Asia-Pacific Region. Ed and Jeanne Casteel were there to see the church established and have watched as the church has grown and matured.

The Wana church has decided to send missionaries to three other people groups near them in order to follow Christ’s command to go and teach all nations. These are not Westerners; even so, as Ed said, “The Wana missionaries who are reaching into other language groups are going through the whole culture and language acquisition (CLA)  process just like we all had to do – only with all the updated techniques.”

The Writing Begins

The groups into which the Wana are heading are the Banggai, the Da’a and the Lauje peoples.

“The original Ethnos360 missionaries (among the Lauje people) have either retired or are now working in other ministries. Because the church was not ready to be left on its own, it was decided that we needed to put another missionary team (consisting of one Wana family) in there. The New Testament translation has been completed, but there is Old Testament translation that needs done, plus the chronological lessons need a revision. Along with this, the team will be working on leadership discipleship.

“All three of these teams are about at the same place in ministry, which is finishing up their culture and language study and getting ready to enter into Scripture translation and Bible lesson development,” Ed said. “As we met with the teams, they all felt that, if they had practice developing lessons in their own Wana language first, it would be a big help to them in developing lessons in the language groups they are working in.

… And They’re Off!

... And They're Off!

“They will be using the 70-lesson series of the Building on Firm Foundations books and developing these lessons into each respective language they are working with. We are asking that they at least come up with a rough draft of all the [initial] lessons before they begin teaching. Of course, as they begin to develop these lessons, they will be working with language helpers so those helpers will also get taught through [the evangelism phase] in the process.”

Pray for the Wana missionaries as they step into their roles as teachers. Pray that they will be bold and clear in their speaking.

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Sun, 12 Aug 2018 06:00:00 -0400
A Story of an Accidental Death Illustrates the Lawhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/a-story-of-an-accidental-death-illustrates-the-lawhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14600They Themselves Are Sinners

The missionaries who wrote this article are teaching chronologically from “Creation to Christ” and are now at week 11–the Law.

Up until this point, most of the people have grasped and accepted that they are descendants of Adam and because of that, they are separated from God. But the fact that they are sinners because they sin hasn't been as clear — until the Law. Obeying the law (or trying to obey the law) will never pay for sins. The One to come, the “Satan Defeater,” will pay the eternal payment for sin. And that payment is the only acceptable payment. God has provided good culturally appropriate examples to drive home some of these spiritual principles. Here’s one.

The Payment Is Made ...

The Payment Is Made ...

Years ago, we heard a story about a group of men, including two brothers. They headed out to help cut down the big trees in a patch of jungle in preparation for making a garden that belongs to another man in the village.

The younger brother was killed by a falling tree. The older brother was, of course, sad and angry. Because this wasn't their garden, the older brother asked for payment for his younger brother's death. With the help of the village elders, a payment was settled upon – a shotgun. Once the shotgun was handed over in payment for the death, his anger subsided, and the wrong was righted in his mind. And in the future when he was tempted to get angry again over what happened to his younger brother, his wife would say, "Remember the shotgun. The shotgun was the payment. Don't be angry." And, the older brother could respond, "Yes. That's right. Yep."

… And Relationship Restored

Can you guess how we used the story to illustrate the teaching?

When the shotgun was given, the older brother's anger was appeased, and the relationship was restored with the owner of the garden. When the “Satan Defeater” gives the eternal payment, God's anger is appeased and man's relationship will again be restored with God.

Will you pray for the missionaries who are teaching from Creation to Christ? Often during these critical times, the enemy brings many distractions. Pray for stamina for the missionaries and for the listeners that many would track with and respond to the Bible teaching.

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Sun, 05 Aug 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Prepping to Teach 30 People, But 150 Showed Uphttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/prepping-to-teach-30-people-but-150-showed-uphttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14593Using Your Experience

After years in a church planting ministry among the Tala-Andig people in the Asia-Pacific Region, Josh and Belinda Moffit are putting their experience to good use as church planting consultants. But their ministry doesn’t stop there. They’re excited about the opportunities God has given them to minister to those right where they live, as well as those in the surrounding cities.

Using Your Space

Using Your Space

“Several months ago, we were approached by a group of pastors who wanted to use the chronological Bible lessons that we have developed in the local language, Bisaya,” Josh wrote. “We talked about the logistics of the training that we are offering, and we suggested keeping the group under 30. When we showed up for the first of 12 training sessions, there were about 150 people.”

Can you imagine? You’re expecting about 30 people to show up and 150 show up instead! Talk about a problem! Consider the logistics they had to sort out. And I should point out that this wasn’t taking place in the building next door. The 12 training sessions took place every Thursday night for three hours in a city about three hours away from where they live.

Despite the complications, the Moffits wrote, “We are encouraged that there is such a hunger for Bible materials in the local language.”

Using Your Opportunities

Twelve weeks later, because the Moffits responded to the invitation to teach, they saw 104 graduates from the training sessions.

God’s character and purpose are clearly on display throughout the chronological teaching lessons, helping to bring clarity and cohesiveness to God’s story, beginning with Creation and ending with Revelation. And now, several of the graduating pastors are teaching these same lessons in outreaches or in their churches.

Pray for God’s Word to go forth, and pray for the Moffits, not only as they minister as church planting consultants but also as they continue to offer training sessions to local pastors and believers.

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Sun, 29 Jul 2018 06:00:00 -0400
The Bible and Cadbury’s Chocolate?https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-bible-and-cadburys-chocolatehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14587Why Chocolate?

Ahh, chocolate! To some, this is almost the “food of the gods.” But how does chocolate compare to the Word of God? The Bible is our spiritual food from God, isn’t it? Let’s take a trip to West Africa and visit with Paul and Marina Briggs in Ivory Coast.

“Cocoa originated in Central America, but Ivory Coast in West Africa is the largest producer of cocoa beans, growing around 40% of the world’s total,” they said. “Yet, ironically, very few Ivorians, especially in the north of the country, have ever tasted chocolate. Many hundreds of Loron people work on cocoa plantations in southern Ivory Coast, and some even have their own cocoa orchards, but most have never experienced the delight of a Toblerone Peak or a Hershey’s Kiss or a bar of Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut.” Few have tasted and seen how good chocolate can be. But what does this have to do with God’s Word?

The Bible and Cocoa

The Bible and Cocoa

The Briggs have recently received their first shipment of chronological Bible lessons in the Loron language. They wanted to have all the lessons on basic evangelism in one professionally produced book.

“Each book [comprises] over 300 pages of chronological Bible teaching, and the content was written and developed primarily for Loron people who live on coffee and cocoa plantations in southern Ivory Coast (and also other places) who have little or no possibility of receiving Bible teaching in their own language.”

You’ve got it. These people who live and breathe cocoa on these plantations have never tasted and seen how good chocolate can be, but more importantly, they have not tasted or seen how good God and His Word are.

Lorons Taste the Word

Paul and Marina concluded with this request: “Please pray that the Lord will use this new resource to help widely scattered groups of Loron people to come to an understanding of their need of the Savior, and that through reading or listening to Scripture and Bible teaching in their own language, God will draw Loron people to Himself and that many will taste and see that the Lord is good.”

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Sun, 22 Jul 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Disciples Teaching Disciples in Six Different Languageshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/disciples-teaching-disciples-in-six-different-languageshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14579It Wasn’t Babel

What happens when people from six distinctly different language groups gather together? How do they communicate? And why would they bother joining together in the first place?

God. That’s the simple answer. It was all because of God and their desire to serve Him. That’s why 30 Bible teachers from six languages came to the Dom village and became the students, ready to sit under the teaching of others, ready to learn in Tok Pisin, the trade language of Papua New Guinea.

It Was a Workshop

It Was a Workshop

“The ‘Chronological Teaching Method’ was the topic,” wrote James and Judy Burdett. “We use ... chronological teaching to present the gospel to the unreached. … This workshop was for the purpose of instructing and enabling Papua New Guinean men and women of God to share the gospel effectively to the lost of their communities.”

Though the workshop took place in the little community church where James and Judy Burdett minister, they were not the teachers. The disciples have become the disciplers. The Dom church is leading the way. Believers are crossing cultural and linguistic boundaries to see others reached with the gospel message.

It Was a Blessing

It Was a Blessing

“We were blessed to have been a part of this in small ways, working in the background providing food and materials,” the Burdetts wrote. “What a privilege for us to be a part of it. Please pray for these new teachers that they would take to heart all that they learned and put it into practice.”

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Sun, 15 Jul 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Comparing Adam and Eve to Batterieshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/comparing-adam-and-eve-to-batterieshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14570God’s Word vs. Animism

The missionaries studied the culture and language to the point of fluency. The missionaries can speak with authority regarding the Scriptures because portions of it have been translated into the people’s language. After all the pre-evangelism steps have been taken, it is time to begin teaching the chronological, foundational lessons that have been prepared for this time. This is the time that the truths of God’s Word will crash headlong into the decades of animism and traditional beliefs.

Is God Solar Power?

Is God Solar Power?

There is a people group hearing for the first time the truths about God, Satan, the angels, Creation, the Fall. Things we take for granted, dare I say?

One of the first weeks, the teaching included God making Adam and Eve, the two trees in the garden, Lucifer’s fall and the fall of man. The missionary was teaching on “Adam and Eve's need to be connected to God. God is the One that gives life.

“To illustrate this he had a battery connected up to a solar panel. You might think that sounds a bit complicated for people who live so far from civilization, but believe it or not, there is a huge set of solar panels and a large set of batteries that [had been] installed here, so they understand well the concept of charging batteries with solar panels. Sure didn't take long for them to understand that the solar panel represented God and the battery represented Adam and Eve.”

“God Is Stronger.”

God is Stronger

“It's been fun to hear their comments as we see the light bulbs turning on in their minds,” the missionary said. “[One man] was recounting how before his family went to sleep one night, he said, for all his family to hear, ‘Satan, you aren't as strong as God. God is stronger.’”

After teaching on the plagues in Egypt, the missionary said, “Who's stronger? Yahweh or the spirits?" And the resident witchdoctor, who continues to be interested, declared, “Yahweh. Not the spirits.”

Pray for missionaries scattered around the world as they present these Bible lessons to people groups hearing truth for the first time. Pray that God’s Word would penetrate deeply into their hearts, bringing them to their Savior.

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Sun, 08 Jul 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Missionaries Start Teaching in Genesis, not John 3:16https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/missionaries-start-teaching-in-genesis-not-john-316https://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14562Taking on the Form of Christianity

“During the first leadership conference in Manila in 1975, a key discussion centered around problems in tribal evangelization. It was all too easy for tribal people to misinterpret the missionary's message and merely add Christian works to their own beliefs, with no conviction of sin nor understanding of God's holiness. There was a need to exercise greater care in a scriptural foundation for the presentation of the gospel,” wrote Ken Johnston in his book The Story of New Tribes Mission.

Teaching as Jesus Taught

Ken also wrote in his book about Australian missionary Trevor McIlwain and his experience in “corrective evangelism.” Mission leadership wanted to hear about Trevor’s approach to evangelism, namely, to lay a solid foundation through teaching in the Old Testament before introducing the message of the cross in the New Testament. Trevor continued to develop this chronological, panoramic approach to evangelism.

This wasn’t a new approach. After His resurrection, Jesus Himself taught two people as they walked together on the road to Emmaus as recorded in Luke 24:27: “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”

 Creation to Christ

Over the years Ethnos360 has adapted and refined our use of this approach while staying true to the message of Scripture.

When you read missionary letters talking about “the chronological teaching,” “Firm Foundations,” “Foundational Bible Teaching,” “Creation to Christ” or even “the chron,” you’ll know that’s what they are talking about, the message of the Bible from Creation to redemption.

Please pray for the many missionaries who are teaching from Creation to Christ. These lessons often last for several months, and the enemy does everything he can to distract the listeners during this time.

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Sun, 01 Jul 2018 06:00:00 -0400
An All-Sufficient Savior in the Valleys of Lifehttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/an-allsufficient-savior-in-the-valleys-of-lifehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14555From the Mountain Top...

“One year ago, upon our return to the United States, the Agutaynen church was doing well and on top of the mountain,” wrote Stephen and Ginger Jordan, missionaries to the Asia-Pacific Region. “As a church family, we asked three men to step into a temporary leadership position.” What a day of rejoicing that was!

...to the Valley

...to the Valley

But now the church is going through a valley.  

In May, the eldest member of the Agutaynen church family, Grandpa Rudy, passed away.

Less than two weeks later, Edmund, one of their church leaders, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He passed on to Glory earlier this month, less than a month after his diagnosis.

“We rest in the comfort that Edmund loved Jesus Christ and believed in Him as his Savior,” wrote the Jordans. “To us, Edmund was a friend, a brother in the Lord and a co-worker for God’s glory. … Through his life and teaching, God used Edmund to lead many of his family to the Lord. … We will greatly miss him.”

An All-Sufficient Savior

An All-Sufficient Savior

It’s not just the missionaries that miss him. The Agutaynen church grieves the loss of one of their church leaders.

Please pray for the family members grieving the loss of their loved ones and for the Agutaynen church. They are definitely going through a valley experience. Pray that they will recognize and understand the all-sufficiency of their Savior and that their lives will shine as a bright light in a dark place.

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Sun, 24 Jun 2018 06:00:00 -0400
What Does it Take to Develop Leadership in a Church? https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/what-does-it-take-to-develop-leadership-in-a-churchhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14548Thriving Churches Need Disciplers

What does it mean to have a “thriving church”? According to Ian Fallis, strategist for the Advancement Team of Ethnos360, a thriving church is simply “a body of disciples making disciples.”

But to have disciples means there must be teaching, mentoring, well … discipling. Someone has to be the teacher, the mentor, the discipler. Philippians 4:9 shows us Paul’s method: “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things.” In II Timothy 2:2, Paul enjoins Timothy that “the things you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

The Church Is Born

In 1987, the gospel was presented to the Banwaon people of the Philippines, and the church was established.

One of the chiefs of the village where the gospel arrived wanted the missionaries to go and tell his people in another village. The missionary said, “I’m teaching here. But you’re a believer now. You have heard the story. You go and teach them.” With a little help, that’s what happened. Albert and Lynne Castelijn arrived a few years after this but made this comment: “In this way, we feel a wonderful precedent was set of the Banwaon people taking on responsibility and growing as a fledgling church.”

Disciple to Leadership

Disciple to Leadership

Who would lead the Banwaon church? Who would choose the leaders? Since the qualifications for leaders had been taught and modeled and since the church was maturing and observing men and women functioning as leaders, the leadership for the church was chosen by both the church body and the missionaries. Even so, those chosen were hesitant to take on these positions of leadership. After reviewing the qualifications from Scripture, they responded with this statement: “We’re not sure we can do all that!”

In December of 2017, the Banwaon church officially recognized 12 men and one woman from two separate churches and appointed them as elders and deacons and one deaconess. Albert said, “These godly people have already been functioning for a number of years, using their spiritual gifts to teach, encourage and build up the church.”

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Sun, 17 Jun 2018 06:00:00 -0400
When it’s worth doing poorly ...https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/when-its-worth-doing-poorlyhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14541If it’s worth doing...

“If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly,” Aaron Luse said from the podium, sounding very authoritative.

I did a double-take. I must have misheard, I thought. But  I hadn’t. I knew I hadn’t. And then Aaron went on to explain such a contrary-to-the-accepted-norm statement — and it actually started making sense. He admitted that it wasn’t his idea but one that another missionary sold him on. And trust me, you’ll be agreeing with Aaron after you read this. It really does makes sense — at least it does in the light of discipleship.

… it’s worth doing poorly...

... it's worth doing poorly...

“We were meeting as a group of believers and beginning to teach the Patpatar about prayer,” Aaron said. “We wanted them to really remember these prayer requests, so I would write the prayer requests on the chalkboard, and I could write fairly fast.

“But a fellow missionary challenged me. He said, ‘If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly.’”

Does that make sense to you? It didn’t make sense to Aaron immediately, but he came to see that the missionary was right.

“I knew I could do it better. I could go up and do it faster. But was it worth doing? Was it worth the time and effort to see them start to take that over? Was it worth the effort so that they, at the same time, could be writing it in their journals? Is it something that we wanted to start with them that they could continue?”

The answer to all those questions was an emphatic “yes”! They wanted the Patpatar to own it, but in order to own it, they needed to be the ones up there writing it on the board. Even if initially they did it painstakingly slowly. Even if initially they did it poorly.

… if you want a thriving church.

... if you want a thriving church.

If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly. This concept would trickle into discipleship and become part of leadership development among the Patpatar.

Both discipleship and leadership development are about more than just being taught. It’s a process. There’s hands-on involvement. And sometimes there’s just practicing until you get it right — whether you’re reading or writing or teaching.

If the end result that we desire is a thriving church, then we need to step back. We need to let them do it poorly. Because that’s how they learn. That’s how we learn. That’s how we mature, not just as people, but as a church. Pray for the Patpatar church. It isn’t perfect, but it’s a maturing, thriving church.

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Sun, 10 Jun 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Discipling the Pal Men so They Can Disciple Othershttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/discipling-the-pal-men-so-they-can-disciple-othershttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14521The Pal Men Are Leading ...

Written by Chris and Maggie Hostetter, missionaries to the Pal people of Papua New Guinea

Sludgin’ through the mud up and down treacherous mountain trails, dreary rain dripping from my brow, my cheap mobile phone barely lighting my path. It was miserable. And it was wonderful.

Had you peeked in on me an hour earlier, you would have seen me sitting amidst a sea of men, women and children cramming themselves into a small home in order to worship God together and hear His Word. Wednesday night Bible study is led by many different Pal men in four different villages, and what a joy it was to fellowship with the Pal believers and listen to these growing men read God’s Word to the people and teach a little.

… As They Continue to Be Discipled.

... As They Continue to Be Discipled

The next day I had the privilege of meeting with just these Christ-following men and encouraging them in the work they are doing. Seventeen men gathered and we (my coworker Axel and I) spent hours with them in discipleship, training them as teachers and leaders. These men are growing in their walk with Christ and each day their light shines a bit brighter. They are growing in love, faithfulness and obedience. They are also growing in their ability to teach God’s Word, to encourage their brothers and sisters in Christ and to biblically handle problems that come up in the church and in the community.

God Will Complete His Work in Them.

God Will Complete His Work in Them.

The day that we can hand all responsibility over to these men to shepherd God’s flock in Pal is not near. But there is no doubt that we are cruising towards that day. I’ve experienced few things in this life as exhilarating as watching God at work in the lives of the Pal believers. It is muddy at times, in our lives and in theirs, but He is strengthening them. He is growing them. He is preparing them to do His work. He is engifting them and enabling them. And He will see His work through to completion.

Pray for Chris and Maggie Hostetter as they minister among the Pal people, and pray for the Pal church as they grow in the Lord.

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Sun, 03 Jun 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Taking Ownership of Their Churchhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/taking-ownership-of-their-churchhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14498Ownership

One of the goals of seeing a thriving church for every people group is the development of leadership among the believers. Part of that process is getting the leaders to begin … well, leading. They need to become “owners” of the church, both of its physical and its spiritual sides.

Back in October of 2016, the project was put forward to get land and a building for the Agutaynen church. In the words of Stephen and Ginger Jordan, “The goal is to provide a good, low-maintenance, all-season structure in which the church can meet on its own land.”

Update on the Church

In the early part of April, the Jordans wrote, “Upon our return to the village last month, we have had several meetings with the believers to discuss their future church building. Yes, their future church building. We want them to be very involved in the process, which includes finalizing the plans and the many details involved.

“The believers are very excited, and things are moving forward. Two weeks ago, the believers chose to get the land surveyed to make sure we knew exactly where the property lines were. Within four days, a surveyor came to our village and laid down new property markers. Thankfully, there were no surprises as to where the property line is.

Fill Dirt Delivery

“Then yesterday, Stephen met with several of the believers, and together they decided that we need a well on the property for making hollow blocks and for all the cement work that will take place during the construction of the new building. This morning, we were informed that a well digger will be coming next week to dig the well.”

A Bright Future

As the church matures, more and more will be left to them for decision-making and leadership. Pray with the Jordans as they continue discipling the leaders of the Agutaynen church. A note of praise springs from the Jordans’ lips: “Agutaynen church project — 100 percent of the goal has been reached! Praise the Lord for His provisions through His people!”

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Sun, 27 May 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Thankful to Be Boredhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/thankful-to-be-boredhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14490When Boring Is a Blessing

“What comes to mind as you think of desk work?” wrote Jerry and Joyce McDaniels, Ethnos360 International Literacy Coordinators. “Boring, behind-the-scenes work while staring at a computer? Well, we are using adjectives like blessed, wonderful, impacting, joyful.”

Boring has become a blessing.

When the Trips Slow Down

After committing themselves to several years of long and frequent trips, boring really does feel like a blessing.

During those trips, Jerry and Joyce trained consultants to use a new literacy software called Literacy Starter. In the process, they helped write literacy curriculums in 28 languages. Imagine, 28 more language groups being able to read!

“That thrills our hearts since people will have full access to God’s written Word in their languages because they can read,” wrote the McDaniels. “Imagine the effects of God’s Word on the church, families and communities!”

That training won’t stop, but it will slow down. Their focus will be redirected to projects that could be considered boring, but they are projects that the McDaniels call “blessed desk work.”

Blessed Desk Work

Jerry and Joyce are seeing the fruit of their labor. But the work is not done.

“Those we have been training are beginning to do their own first literacy projects,” wrote Jerry and Joyce. That means there are many questions to answer. Also, the Literacy Starter software has been refined and developed further since its debut, and now the instructions need to be revised and finalized.

But the changes don’t stop there. Though the heartbeat behind literacy remains the same with the advent of Literacy Starter, the methodology is quite different. This means the literacy manual used in our training centers and by missionary teams must also be revised. It also means that Jerry and Joyce have a lot of boring — I mean, blessed! — desk work ahead of them.

Pray for the McDaniels as they work through the revisions and for literacy programs across the globe.

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Sun, 20 May 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Leadership According to God’s Timetablehttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/leadership-according-to-gods-timetablehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14483Discipling to Leadership

Discipleship and leadership development go hand in hand. Those who are discipled and begin to take on the role of leadership in a church then begin to disciple others. The discipled become the disciplers.

Walk back with me to the late 1990s to visit with Bob and Debbie Clark, living in a Tugutil village in the Asia-Pacific Region.

“Based on our interaction with the church, we selected five men and designated them as elder candidates,” said Bob. “We let them and the church know that we would be observing how they functioned and interacted with the wider church body over the next year. We asked them to take turns teaching for Sunday worship services and midweek Bible studies and work together to oversee the discipleship needs of the church. After a year our plan was to ordain those we felt were ready to take on the official role of leading the church as elders.”

A Change in the Plans

A Change in the Plans

But then things changed. Drastically. And the missionaries needed to remain flexible, accepting the way God moved and changed their direction.

“Before that year was up,” Bob continued, “religious rioting in that part of the country forced the missionary team to be evacuated from the area. Not long after that, we no longer had a flight program in the region. … As a team we relocated to a safer area and brought out several Tugutil believers to that town to continue Bible translation. After a few years there, part of our team retired, and some of us took on additional ministries. We never lived full-time among the Tugutil again, only making 2 to 4 week-long visits a few times a year.”

Though it was still the desire of the team to see leaders functioning in the Tugutil church, these challenging turn of events meant it would take a lot longer than originally planned.

At Last

At Last

But at last God allowed the Tugutil Church to have ordained leaders. “It was a long time (more than 10 years!) before our first elders (two of the five original candidates) were ordained, even though as far as we knew some of them were functioning well as leaders for several years,” concluded Bob.

Now there is a thriving church among the Tugutil people. The elders have discipled others who in turn have begun outreaches to other communities. Regardless of “bumps in the road,” God has moved the Tugutil Church to maturity.

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Sun, 13 May 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Use Your Teaching Skills in Missionshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/use-your-teaching-skills-in-missions-1https://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14472Amber loves to teach.

She impacts young lives as a teacher of missionaries’ children, while at the same time plays a vital role on the church planting team.

Do you know a teacher? Share this video with them. Are you a teacher? Learn how you can use your teaching skills in missions.

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Sun, 06 May 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Discipling Missionarieshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/discipling-missionarieshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14458Transitions Are Tough

It takes a strong support base to keep other missionaries on the mission field. And now there is one more family on that team here in Sanford at the home office of Ethnos360. Brion and Annette Kendzora joined the team here in Sanford late last year, after over two years in Colombia and battling a deluge of sicknesses.

Brion said, “It took us awhile to see what God has been doing through all of this. To be honest, at times, I had my doubts. But the Lord has been so gracious to us and is teaching us to trust Him. … What does it mean to trust the Lord with ‘all your heart’? This is something we continue to learn every day. God knows why we are here. We just need to continue to trust Him even though the path is, a lot of times, foggy and unclear.”

Missionary Coaches

Missionary Coaches

Brion and Annette’s ministry is to work with new missionaries. Some of them have just completed the entire Ethnos360 training; others are volunteering for six months to four years. The latter group requires a two-week training course that the Kendzoras will help to teach each year.

  “We are learning all about our new position and how to best care for these new missionaries,” Brion continued. “It is our goal to have healthy, thriving missionaries that can serve Christ for many years to come, reaching out to the least reached people groups of the world.”

Young Is Different?

Young is Different?

The Kendzoras face a bit different demographic when it comes to the ages of those working at the home office. They said, “There is much excitement about us being a young family serving at the Ethnos360 home office. … God has us here at the home office for a reason, and we are confident that He has big plans for us here. Without a strong home base, we cannot function as a mission.”

Pray for the Kendzoras and their three children as they fit into the ministry to which God has led them. They have the potential to touch many lives who will be going to the many unreached people groups of the world.

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Sun, 29 Apr 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Fear and How to Conquer Ithttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/fear-and-how-to-conquer-ithttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14448Not Special nor Radical ...

"’Really? Wow, that's amazing. But I could never do that! Good for you!’ As I sat and talked to the nurse at my recent doctor’s appointment, this was her response to me when I told her we plan to move [overseas] next year for missions work,” shared a student from Ethnos360’s missionary training center.

“Sometimes I think people can get the impression that we are ‘special’ in some way. Those ‘radical’ people who really must have a special call from God. Thrill-seeking adventurers always ready for a challenge and laughing in the face of adversity.

“Well, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: I'm afraid.”

… But Questioning

... But Questioning

“But lately my biggest fear is myself.

“Here in the training, we hear a lot about attrition, and our trainers try to help us come to terms with some of the reasons why missionaries sometimes throw in the towel. I get fearful that I'm going to get to there, and I'm just going to lose it.

“Am I going to be so culture shocked and stressed that I'm not going to be able to function, not able to leave my apartment, going to spend five hours a day on Facebook, not able to go to the market? And maybe I won't even be able to learn the language, wait, the languages, plural. And what if I actually hate the heat, the desert, the slow and ‘inefficient’ way of life or (dare I say it?) the people?”

Trust and Choose Wisely

“But let me show you what God showed me through other people. One veteran missionary told me, ‘Peace is the possession of adequate resources.’ He knew peace because no matter what life's circumstances are, he was the possessor of God's abundant resources.

“In class a teacher reminded us that God made us sheep. We are not lions or bobcats. Not fierce and strong. We are weak, foolish, stupid, fearful sheep. Sheep who must stay under the shadow of the Shepherd.

“Emailing with my brother, who is in the thick of church planting ministry, he reminded me that in the midst of feeling the asphyxia of culture stress, our aspirations must be traded for choices. And it is conviction, laid down deep in the heart through the Word and the Spirit, that will enable us to make those choices amid difficult circumstances.”

Pray for new missionaries who will be heading out to their fields of ministry. Pray that God would give them His peace, grace and mercy to trust and choose wisely.

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Sun, 22 Apr 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Now the Menya know the end of the story!https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/now-the-menya-know-the-end-of-the-storyhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14432Checking their Understanding

In addition to the formal teaching times to the Menya people, the Chappells and Osborns met with the people to get an idea of what the people were understanding and to help solidify the teaching, all the while pointing them back to the Word.

They Listened to Satan

They Listened to Satan

One of those families they met with was Francis and Rita. It was clear that even in the early stage of teaching that the ground was being prepared for the gospel message. They had taken to heart the recent lessons about Adam and Eve and the fall of mankind.

When Joseph Osborn asked Francis and Rita about Adam and Eve’s sin, Francis explained to Joseph how they disobeyed God’s direct command in the Garden and listened to Satan instead.

No Choice but to Sin

And Francis was very clear on the impact of their sin. “Because of this, they corrupted our nature. We’re done. Now we don’t live rightly. Their corrupted nature is still in us. If we do religious acts or anything else, we don’t become righteous. The reason is that they have already corrupted our very nature. We can’t escape this — our nature. We still have it.”

Rita echoed Francis’ reply, “We still have it. Their sinfulness remains with us — we can’t escape it.”

Though they are finding themselves helpless in their sin, they also know that hope is coming. Joseph followed up by asking them who can fix this corrupted nature that we now have.

Rita knew the answer, but not the specifics — at least not at that time. “God Himself must fix our nature. Only He can do it,” she said.

And then last week happened. Rita heard the specifics. She heard of Jesus’ finished work on the cross. And she didn’t have to be told twice. In faith, Rita responded.

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Sun, 15 Apr 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Deadly Chicken Souphttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/deadly-chicken-souphttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14420Rustic Travels

In the late 1950s, Sophie Muller, a blue-eyed, single woman with a background in journalism and art, traveled the rivers and jungles of Colombia, spending several days each month in each village. There were no planes, no hotels, no restaurants.

Travel meant sitting on the rough wooden bench of a dugout canoe for days on end, often followed by a trek through the dense jungle. Sleeping arrangements were a hammock hung under palm-thatched huts alongside the villagers. And food consisted of whatever the people were eating that day, which could be anything from smoked fish to tasty wild boar to palm grubs or chicken foot soup.

A Thwarted Attack

A Thwarted Attack

There was that one day though, when the witch doctor cooked up a chicken soup for Sophie with a little something extra added. The villagers watched as the unsuspecting Sophie ate the soup laced with the most potent poison known in the jungle, a poison known to kill a person within five minutes. And the witch doctor had added enough to kill five grown men.

The villagers watched and waited for the inevitable — but it didn’t happen. Though Sophie experienced some vomiting, she did not die. And that didn’t make sense. But questions as to the potency of the poison were quickly dispelled when some of the village dogs found Sophie’s vomit and did what dogs do, after which they promptly fell over and died.

God’s protective power was evident, and the witch doctor who had prepared the soup turned from witchcraft to God. Sophie became known as a daughter of God and was allowed to travel safely in the jungle wherever she wanted.

An Open Door

An Open Door

What Sophie couldn’t have known was that God would use her testimony to pave the way for others to follows. Others such as Mark and Joyce Cain.

“Sophie opened the way for us to go in there and reach [the Guahibos],” Joyce said. “We were accepted as a team into the tribe because of Sophie’s stamp of approval.”

God used Sophie to open the doors wide. Read how God continued His work through the lives of Mark and Joyce Cain. Read how they’ve had the joy of seeing those they have discipled become the disciplers. And, please pray for the continued work among the Guahibos.

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Sun, 08 Apr 2018 06:00:00 -0400
The time of mourning for the Menya people is over.https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-time-of-mourning-for-the-menya-people-is-overhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14413The Time of Mourning...

Wes cut his dreadlocks.

 The Menya people of Papua New Guinea grow dreadlocks to mourn the death of a loved one, cutting the locks off when the “heaviness” has lessened. In order to relate to the Menya people, missionary Wes Chappell, who had lost his two cousins four years prior, grew dreadlocks.

 Wes was mourning the death of his cousins, but he was also mourning for the Menya people. Many have died without hearing the gospel.

 ...Has Come to an End.

Has Come to an End

After completing language study, Wes was able to clearly tell the people that he is confident where his cousins are now. He told them that the time was approaching to share that message with them in their heart language. That’s when he cut his dreadlocks.

 Since then, the team has translated some portions of Scripture, prepared Bible lessons, and prepared literacy lessons for teaching the people to read in their own language.

 Now Wes and Penny, along with teammates Joseph and Elizabeth Osborn, are teaching the Menya people the message of salvation, starting at the very beginning.

Bible Teaching Has Begun!

Bible Teaching has Begun

And it really is the beginning. Before starting to teach in the book of Genesis, the team illustrated the reliability of God’s written Word over oral traditions using the old “telephone game” where one person reads a complex message and verbally passes it to the person next to them, and on down the line. At the end of the line, the spoken message was very different, but the written message hadn’t changed. Other teaching included some basic geography to help the people understand where the events of the Bible took place and where those places were in relation to Papua New Guinea.

 They are only in the first month of Bible lessons, and God’s Word is truly touching hearts.

 Today as we celebrate the Lord’s resurrection, let’s pray for the Menya people that they would soon be able to celebrate along with us as brothers and sisters in Christ.

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Sun, 01 Apr 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Passing the Baton of Discipleshiphttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/passing-the-baton-of-discipleshiphttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14391Discipleship—The Continuing Saga

Discipleship in the context of the local church – that sounds like a familiar phrase. Ah yes, it was a book we were required to read in our training! Yet it is such an important part of seeing thriving churches in all people groups.

Wes Goddard has been ministering among the Paí Tavy Terá in Paraguay for several years. He is a third-generation missionary in Paraguay. He watched as his parents and grandparents discipled the ones with whom they worked. He is keeping up the family tradition as God intended it to be done.

Discipleship Is Catching

He has worked with many of the believers among the Paí, and it is paying dividends. One lady named Juana has watched him and now is doing the work of discipling herself. She has gone into the community where her sister lives and has passed out audio Bible players and is trying to find out a good time for Bible teaching to start there.

Wes routinely co-teaches with a Paí believer named Elvio. The two of them were going to pick up some people for the Bible study when a lady approached them. Wes said, “A Paí lady came out to the entrance and spoke with us. She was very angry with us and upset about God’s Word, indicating that God’s Word is a threat to the Paí culture. Pray that God would enable her and others like her to understand that God’s Word is what they need, and that God’s Word is in fact very good.”

Discipling to Freedom

Wes has also been discipling another Paí named Jorge. Wes and the two co-teachers go to another Paí community to share the truth about God and His laws. Pray with them that they would be able to express clearly what God desires for the Paí nation – freedom through His Son.

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Sun, 25 Mar 2018 06:00:00 -0400
The Disciples Become the Disciplershttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-disciples-become-the-disciplers-1https://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14374A Heart for a People

This story begins in the lowlands of northeastern Colombia. A Colombian church with a heart for the unsaved Guahibo people group in their region made multiple attempts over the years to minister to the Guahibos. Unfortunately, linguistic and cultural barriers left the outreaches ineffective at best.

The Dots Connect

Meanwhile, across the country, God was working in the hearts of José and Janet, Guahibo believers discipled by missionaries Mark and Joyce Cain.

After teaching and discipling for more than 15 years in their home village and in nearby villages, God put the desire in José and Janet’s hearts to go and share the gospel far from their home area.

As José and Janet and the others on the Guahibo missionary team met with the Colombian church, the pastor told them, “We have been praying for a number of years that God would send people who are equipped to teach God’s Word in [the Guahibos’] own language.”

Imagine José and Janet’s joy at hearing those words! José said, “In these days of making this survey trip to check out the possibility of teaching the gospel and plant a church, I see that God answered our prayers.”

And imagine Mark and Joyce Cain’s joy at seeing those they discipled becoming the disciplers.

Discipleship Continues

It goes to show us that discipleship done well progresses to a new generation of discipleship.

It’s exciting to watch this partnership coming together and to hear how José and Janet are working at the edge of the Colombian Church to reach these still unreached Guahibos with the good news of the gospel.

Thank you for praying for these Guahibo missionaries.

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Sun, 18 Mar 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Allowing God to Choose Whom You Disciplehttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/allowing-god-to-choose-whom-you-disciplehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14353Same Goals -- Different Starts

Two families traveled from the Americas to Oceania: one came from Mexico, and one came from the United States. Both the Hernández and Long families arrived in Papua New Guinea (PNG) with the same goal — to see an unreached people group presented with the gospel. But first, they needed to form a team.

The Beginnings of a New Team

There was anticipation, many questions and a whole lot of waiting before the pieces fell together.

The families met face to face and began talking about God’s leading, their goals and plans. And it became evident that this was the beginning of a new team!

One small obstacle stands in the way of completing the team formation: the leadership team wants them to have three families to make up the team. How long will it be until they can begin learning culture and language, begin translating, begin discipling? And what about right now? What are they to do?

New Opportunities

God already had the answer. He already had people for these couples to disciple. It’s just not the where nor the who they had planned on discipling.

The Lord opened up the doors for both families to work at Numonohi Christian Academy, the school for missionaries’ children at the mission’s field support center PNG. That’s the where.

The who is the children. Claudia will be teaching Spanish, and Karissa will be teaching English. Is this what they had planned when they left their homes to reach the unreached? Most likely not, but God has given them this opportunity to disciple missionary kids for now.

Pray for the two ladies as they are involved in this ministry to MKs. Pray for the families as they seek God’s direction for the completion of the team.

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Sun, 11 Mar 2018 06:00:00 -0400
Despite Persecution, The Mengen Continue to Ask for Bible Teachinghttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/despite-persecution-the-mengen-continue-to-ask-for-bible-teachinghttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14331A Hunger for God

For many years Lourens and Marie Laureti, missionaries among the Mengen people of Papua New Guinea, have been praying for a neighboring Mengen village. And now, they are seeing God stir up a hunger in that village. The people are asking to be taught.

But It’s Not All Good News

“They have been traveling down to our village regularly with requests for teachers to come and teach them,” wrote the Lauretis. “I hear weekly from them, requesting a date for teaching to start. They even started to build a teaching house and houses for potential teachers as well as making gardens.”

But it’s not all good news. Even now, just for asking to be taught, they are facing persecution. People have been cut with knives and their houses broken into.

Despite the persecution, they’re still asking to be taught — but there’s another problem.

The Sad Truth

Lourens and Marie share a sad truth: “We are not sure how and when we will be able to teach them, as we do not have enough laborers. … The only thing I continually tell them is, ‘Let’s wait and see.’”

And that’s hard. Lourens admits that “this has been draining for me and is heartbreaking!”

Pray for more laborers. Pray for hearts challenged to the work of missions. And pray for those currently being trained at Ethnos360 Bible Institutes and the missionary training center, that they would stay the course.

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Sun, 04 Mar 2018 06:00:00 -0500
Volcanic Eruption Alters Outreach Plans https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/volcanic-eruption-alters-outreach-planshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14319A Volcano Interrupts Plans

Back in May of last year, we told you about the Biem Church’s desire to go beyond their own village to reach more of their people group on a small island north of the mainland in Papua New Guinea. The Busers and the Chens were part of the missionary team that saw the first Biem Church planted.

Unfortunately, those plans to reach out to the islanders using only Biem believers never came to pass. Why? A volcano interrupted everyone’s plans.

“On Friday, January 5, smoke started pouring out of an opening on the southeastern side [of the island]. This was only God’s grace as the bulk of the population resides on the northwestern side,” Brandon Buser said. “This smoke was seen by a village on the mainland, and they sent two boats to help the islanders. The Biem also sent a boat over to help out. These three rigs, along with numerous canoes, began the work of shifting the entire population over to [another island], six miles away. We were told that by the end of the day the entire population was moved ... and the timing could not have been better as later that night, near midnight, the mountain erupted violently.”

Taken by Surprise?

Taken by Surprise?

In man’s view, this was a heavy setback to the outreach. But was God taken by surprise? Of course not. We must remember that God’s ways are not our ways, and He has His purposes in this natural disaster.

Did this affect the Biem Church? Yes, it did. They had planned to go over and take the message of salvation to that group, but that is no longer possible. And it looks like it will affect the people of Biem and the church more than they originally thought.

Another Evacuation on the Horizon?

Another Evacuation on the Horizon?

Brandon continued, “The current status of [the island] is that it’s completely uninhabitable, with no word yet as to the future of the islanders and where they will reside. There are discussions at the government level of evacuating the islands due to increasing fault activity. One thing we are certain of though is that these things are in the hands of our good God.”

“It sure feels like at times that God may be scattering the Biem Church in the same way that He scattered the Jerusalem Church in the New Testament,” Wayne Chen added. “We are trusting that God will unfold His plan to us in due time. Meanwhile, please be praying for the Biem people and the Biem Church as they go through this season of uncertainty.”  

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Sun, 25 Feb 2018 06:00:00 -0500
December 3, 1986 — a Very Important Datehttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/december-3-1986-a-very-important-datehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14305A Very Important Date When ...

There are some events that are just so significant that you even remember the date it happened. Like your birthday or your anniversary. (You’d better remember that one.) What happened on July 4, 1776? Or December 7, 1941?

For the Mouk people of Papua New Guinea, one date in particular stands out: December 3, 1986.

The Mouk People Heard

That was the date that the Mouk people heard the gospel message for the first time.

More accurately, December 3, 1986, was the date that they heard the culmination of the gospel message — the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

As chronicled in the video Ee-taow!, it took three months of Bible teaching to lay the foundation, as Mark Zook taught chronologically through the Scriptures. The Bible teaching addressed foundational truths: Who is God? Where did people come from? What is sin and why do we sin? Can I follow rules to get rid of my sin?

A Very Important Word

Mendo, one of the first Bible teachers, recounts that initial teaching in Gigina village: “We heard teaching [twice a day, five days a week] from the first of September until the third of December 1986. When we first heard it, we Mouk realized that this was big talk. And we realized it was a very important word for us…”

It was, in fact, the most important word. God’s Word and Spirit worked powerfully among the Mouk.

“We became believers. And we praise God very much for His mercy and His grace that came to us, the Mouk people, here in the middle of the jungle. A grace and mercy that our ancestors did not have and did not know about.”

Today the Mouk churches send their own missionaries to three neighboring people groups who speak different languages.

Ten months from now, during those busy days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, remember that on December 3, 1986, the most important word broke into the lives of the Mouk people. And it changed their lives forever.

When did you first hear the gospel?

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Sun, 18 Feb 2018 06:00:00 -0500
The Reality of Rejectionhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-reality-of-rejectionhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14281Why All the Excuses?

Queen is worried about the people in her village. She can’t understand why some find excuse after excuse not to attend the Bible lessons. She wonders why they don’t grasp the importance of what is being taught.

“Not everyone is going to believe, are they?” she asked missionary to the Nahuatl Katie Moore — and Katie couldn’t disagree.

The Reality of Rejection

The Reality of Rejection

For Queen, who has been working with Katie on comprehension checks of the Bible lessons, the importance of these lessons is clear.

This clarity was reinforced as they worked through the lesson about Jesus and Nicodemus and read where Jesus said, ”Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

The reality of the cost of rejecting God’s Word, of not being born again, was hitting home for Queen.

“Surely some here are rejecting the Light,” she told Katie. “We don’t know how long we will last here, and once we die, we can’t change our minds. Now is the chance for believing.”

The Time Is Now

And now is nearly here.

“By next week our team will be presenting the death and resurrection of the ‘One Whom God promised long ago for saving,’” wrote Katie. “We are asking God to convince hearts and minds of the truth and to bring many to come to know Him.

“Some, like Queen, seem to clearly understand and be burdened for those who might be missing their chance.”

Pray that many Nahuatl will clearly understand the gospel message, and agree with Queen that “now is the chance for believing.”

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Sun, 11 Feb 2018 06:00:00 -0500
Teaching Continues Despite Firehttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/teaching-continues-despite-firehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14269Fire Showed the Mouk’s Priorities

A fire broke out in the men’s house, not far from where Dave Yunker was teaching the Mouk believers in a small village in Papua New Guinea. Fires are never a good thing — even worse when there are no firemen nor fire stations to respond.

Dave was sure that the fire signaled the end of the teaching for the day. He was ready to cancel the teaching so that everyone could help fight the fire. But the church leaders thought differently.

“You Keep on Teaching.”

“No, you keep on teaching,” the church leaders told him. “We'll take care of this. It's more important to hear God's Word.”

And they took care of it. A few men were sent over to take care of the fire.

“I continued teaching. These guys were up the hill fighting fire. The rest of the congregation was listening to God's Word being taught,” Dave remembered.

“It showed me where their priorities were … that they were more interested in spiritual food, God's Word.”

Hungry for Spiritual Food

Dave went on to compare the Mouk’s hunger for spiritual food with the account of the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4.

Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman about “water springing up into eternal life.”

In the same story, Jesus told the disciples, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

Dave explained, “[Jesus] was talking on a spiritual plane. And I think that's where the Mouk were. Their minds were on the spiritual.”

Praise God for the work He has done and continues to do in the lives of the Mouk people, as evidenced in their three outreaches today. Please continue to pray for the Mouk’s discipleship of the Lusi, Kove and Anem peoples.

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Sun, 04 Feb 2018 06:00:00 -0500
God Builds Character, not Comfort Zoneshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/god-builds-character-not-comfort-zoneshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14259Comfort or Character?

When God has plans for us, they are definitely for our character building, not for our personal comfort. Francois and Nadia Hattingh have experienced this “building” recently.

After 20 years of ministry mostly in Mozambique, God has moved them to continue their ministry in South Africa. From isolation in the Mozambican bush among the Mwinikas to Cape Town, one of the biggest and busiest cities on the continent, this move has been … character building.

The Change

Francois said, “During our 13-year stay in that community, we saw an unreached people group transformed. We saw six churches planted and two more communities being taught the Word.  We saw an unwritten language written, and literacy classes being taught by the Mwinika to the Mwinika. We even saw the first Mwinika missionaries move out to plant a church in a neighboring people group! … To see a new church born among an unreached people group is and will always be one of the greatest privileges of our lives!”

God in His wisdom has lifted them from what had become their “comfort zone” and placed them where He would continue His mission with them: to make disciples and take the gospel to all nations. Now, He has put them where they will multiply their efforts by training others from their experience.

The Challenge

Nadia said, “He has broadened our horizon to include more people and places than just the Mwinika in Mwinikaland.  From Cape Town, we are involved in training missionaries and cross-cultural workers to be able to reach more people that haven’t yet heard the gospel in a way they can understand.

“Although we see ourselves still as very much part of the Mwinika team and what is happening there, we are now also part of the new training team working from South Africa.  [There] are four families on this team that will start the first Integral Vision (NTM in Africa) training program in this part of the world that will prepare not only the missionary but also the church family that will send him/her out. We hope to see the first class launched in May 2018!”

Pray for the Hattinghs as they begin this new, character-building ministry in South Africa.

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Sun, 28 Jan 2018 06:00:00 -0500
Engaging on the Edge of the Church in Africahttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/engaging-on-the-edge-of-the-church-in-africahttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14247Stretching the Loron with Responsibility

The Loron church in West Africa is going through growing times as it begins to push the edge of the Church into new areas. Paul and Marina Briggs have had the privilege of working with the Lorons and now are itinerant, traveling to West Africa from time to time from Northern Ireland.

One of the stretching times for the Loron church took place at the end of last year when a dozen Loron church leaders and Bible teachers attended an intense, one-week missionary training course to help them understand their role in reaching the unreached.

The Literacy Push

The Literacy Push

Literacy is an important part of establishing a thriving church for every people.     

The last time the Briggs were among the Loron people, Marina taught literacy classes every weekday in their village for about five hours per day. She also travelled some afternoons to classes in other villages to guide and encourage the literacy teachers there. A literacy workshop to train new literacy teachers will occur when the Briggs return to West Africa this month.

And here is why the literacy classes are important: the Loron translation team has just completed a revised version of the Gospel of John in the Loron language and hope to meet with a translation consultant this month for the final check.

The Teaching Fans Out

The Teaching Fans Out

Loron Bible teachers continue to reach out to new locations with the gospel. Ongoing efforts include outreaches to three local villages and another village about 90 minutes away by motorcycle. Joel, one of the teachers, will travel to a large Loron village in Burkina Faso this month to follow up on contacts made on a previous trip.

Pray for the Loron church as they stretch out to the edge — and then push it farther out.

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Sun, 21 Jan 2018 06:00:00 -0500
Ongoing Training in Missionshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/ongoing-training-in-missionshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14225Specific Skill Sets

Training for ministry is ongoing. Each step of the way, there are specific skill sets that, when taught and grasped, make the missionary more effective. Translation is an obvious and necessary skill set on the church planting team, complete with comprehension checks. Katie Moore, missionary to the Nahuatl people of Mexico, knows all about that. And she tells a story of one of those times when the comprehension check showed they’d gotten it right.

Getting it Right...

Getting it Right

While working on a lesson about John the Baptist, Katie recognized that Bernie was tracking well with the details of the story — but she wanted to know what Bernie thought about something they had not yet discussed.

“When John saw Jesus, he said, ‘Look, the Little Sheep of God.’ Why do you think He might have said that?” Katie asked.

Bernie didn’t have to think long before she responded “Long ago the people took little sheep to the house of God,” she said. “The one in charge there laid hands on the animal, and all the sins of the people were put on it. Then it wasn’t necessary for the people to die because the little sheep had died instead. I say that is what Jesus will do for the people.”

Wouldn't you agree with me that Bernie’s comprehension was right on?

...To Glorify God

To Glorify God

That’s why training is ongoing. We train so that we can minister well. But why do we want to do ministry well?

It’s not so that we can pat ourselves on the back and say, “Well, we passed that comprehension check with flying colors!”

It’s so that we can see someone like Bernie comprehend what God has done and continues to do.

It’s so that we can see a thriving church for every people. It’s so that God will be glorified.

Pray with us for ongoing training for missionaries. Pray for the missionary team to the Nahuatl people as they continue to teach Bible lessons and the gospel will be presented to the Nahuatl the end of this month.

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Sun, 14 Jan 2018 06:00:00 -0500
Why Martin Still Serves Despite Hardshipshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/why-martin-still-serves-despite-hardshipshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14213Why Martin Still Serves

Martin is a missionary from the Mouk people group of Papua New Guinea. Though he has suffered hardships, Martin did not stop making God’s name known to the neighboring Lusi people. Watch this one-minute video to find out Martin’s motivation. And pray for the work of the gospel to the Lusi people.

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Sun, 07 Jan 2018 06:00:00 -0500
And the Corn Speakshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/and-the-corn-speakshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14202Refocus

All year we focused on engaging on the edge of the Church, showing you how the Church is pushing that edge farther out. As the year ends, let’s redirect our focus to the challenges of facing a new year, whether those challenges be physical, spiritual, emotional or relational.

Ears That Speak

Ears That Speak

Leila Cross knows about challenges. After spending the last year in culture and language study, a side benefit was finding a spiritual object lesson in, of all places, the kitchen. And it was about corn. Leila observed different processes of taking corn from its harvested state to any number of delicious dishes -- and each process was rough on the corn.

“I [could] imagine the corn saying, ‘Stop! That’s enough! It hurts too much! I can’t take it anymore! How much suffering do you think I can deal with? Why is this happening to me? When will the pain end?’” Leila wrote. “[And then] the Holy Spirit spoke [in] His still, small voice: ‘You are the corn.’ That simple analogy provided much food for thought, prayer and meditation.”

God’s Recipe

God’s Recipe

“I shouldn’t be afraid. God knows what He’s doing. He has a ‘recipe’ all planned out, and the result will be oh-so-unimaginably good. In the moment I perceive His finished work, all the delays and suffering will make sense and prove to be minimal, compared to the glory of what God has in store.” Let’s face the New Year with the same attitude as Leila.

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Sun, 31 Dec 2017 06:00:00 -0500
No Reason to Celebrate...Yethttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/no-reason-to-celebrateyethttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14196The Reason for the Season

It’s Christmas Eve. Lights are flickering on the tree, reflecting off the presents beneath it. There’s eggnog in the refrigerator and fruitcake on the counter. Christmas music adds to the idyllic scene. But it’s the reason for the season that makes all the difference. It’s a celebration of the birth of my Savior. But not everyone can say that.

Not Everyone Knows

Not Everyone Knows

Last year the Iski people of Papua New Guinea couldn’t say that. They didn’t know the Christ-child had come to earth to save them from their sins. They didn’t know the significance of Christmas.

But missionaries Jason and Nisae Williamson, André and Aurélie Tousch, and Seth and Rochelle Callahan had moved in among them. After years spent studying the Iski culture and language, the missionaries began teaching them foundational, chronological Bible lessons. The teaching began with Creation, and this past May, culminated with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

A First Christmas

A First Christmas

This year is a different story. There are believers among the Iski people, and for the first time they understand what Christmas is all about. It’s about the birth of their Savior. And that is something to celebrate!

We thank you for being part of writing this new story among the Iski people through your prayers. And we invite you to celebrate with us, to celebrate with the Iski church, to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Merry Christmas from your friends at Ethnos360!

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Sun, 24 Dec 2017 06:00:00 -0500
Romans Impacts the Lusi Peoplehttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/romans-impacts-the-lusi-peoplehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14187Romans and Ephesians...

As you read this, Bible translation consultants Wayne and Diane Baker are working with Rick and Anji Zook to check and finalize the translation of the books of Romans and Ephesians.

...Brings the New Testament to 36 Percent Completed.

...Brings the New Testament to 36 Percent Completed.

You may remember Rick and Anji from last week. Together they assist the Mouk to reach the Lusi people in Papua New Guinea. And the main way that they assist is through the complex work of Bible translation. Romans and Ephesians marks eight books of the Bible completely translated plus others in progress. That brings it to 36 percent of the New Testament!

Romans Is Impacting Believers.

Romans Is Impacting Believers.

Rick recalled the impact of teaching Romans to the Lusi people earlier this year. He paraphrased one Lusi man’s testimony: “Wow, this stuff is new to me because I've heard it in Mouk, I've heard it in Melanesian Pidgin. I'm now hearing it in my heart language of Lusi. These are things about the Christian life, about the old man, about our new life in Christ that I never grasped, that I didn't understand.”

Rick and Anji have a long road ahead of them as they desire to translate the entire Bible into Lusi. Pray for Rick and Anji as they continue to translate and for the Mouk missionaries as they keep teaching and discipling.

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Sun, 17 Dec 2017 06:00:00 -0500
The Disciples Become the Disciplershttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-disciples-become-the-disciplershttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14174Beyond Salvation

Beyond Salvation

Dani, a Manubu’ Bible teacher who was saved about 25 years ago, hasn't been satisfied with the status quo. The fact that he is saved is not enough. He wants neighboring villages to know Who God is and how He has provided a way for mankind to be made right with Him. That’s why he has been active in evangelistic outreaches for many years. It’s also why he’s now part of a team that’s reaching beyond the edge of their local Manubu’ church to *Kasil.

Beyond the Edge of the Church

Beyond the Edge of the Church

Watching a team of their spiritual children begin yet another evangelistic outreach beyond the edge of their church brings joy to Gene and Carol Trudeaus’ hearts. What’s better than seeing those you have discipled become the disciplers? That’s what the Trudeaus have been blessed to see the Manubu’ church become over the years. The Manubu’ believers are now the disciplers.

“The evangelistic phase of the teaching is 42 lessons, starting at Genesis 1:1, so it will take a number of weeks to teach through them,” explained Gene and Carol. And the Manubu’ missionary team is committed to doing just that. “Through those lessons they [the *Kasil villagers] will learn Who God is, ... [their] lost condition before Him and [their] need for a Savior as illustrated through substitutionary death in the Old Testament.”

Knowing the villagers of *Kasil are sitting under chronological and foundational teaching is exciting. But there’s a day coming that will be beyond exciting. That’s the day when they understand what it means when Jesus is referred to as “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.”

Pray for this and other Manubu’ churches as they continue to reach beyond the edge of their churches, and pray for the *Kasil villagers to grasp that the Lamb of God has taken away the sin of the world -- including theirs!

*A fictional name representing a real village.

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Sun, 10 Dec 2017 06:00:00 -0500
Prayer Requests from the Mouk Churchhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/prayer-requests-from-the-mouk-churchhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14162A Mouk Missionary to the Lusi People

“I'm thankful you have come so that we can share this and talk about the work that the Lord is doing of reaching out to other language groups.”

Patrick, a Mouk missionary, said this at the close of our interview with him. My co-worker Alan McDole and I recently traveled to Papua New Guinea to bring back the story of God’s work among the Mouk people to reach the nearby Lusi, Anem and Kove peoples.

Patrick Asks Us to Pray

Patrick Asks Us to Pray

We asked Patrick if we could also bring back prayer requests on behalf of the Mouk churches to share with you, our readers.

Patrick’s list of prayer requests are varied. Many are similar to what you might expect from a missionary from your own church. Other requests are more distinct to Mouk culture.

Similar but Different Prayer Requests

Similar but Different Prayer Requests

For example, Patrick asks that we would “pray that the mature churches in neighboring language groups would come alongside the Mouk to help reach out to the people groups around them.”

In the Mouk context, churches support missionaries primarily by meeting their physical needs and sometimes financially. This includes housebuilding, which happens frequently since they build from the perishable natural materials around them, and helping with their gardens. Thus, proximity is a factor in being able to support their missionaries well.

In other words, the Mouk can effectively support their own missionaries reaching the Lusi, Anem and Kove peoples because they are relatively nearby, only a day or three’s hike away. But there are other people groups farther away who need to hear the Good News. And the Mouk ask that we pray for nearby believers to reach them.

In other words, the Mouk are pushing out their edges of the church. But they have a burden for other people groups who are beyond that edge. And they ask us to beseech the Lord that other believers who are closer would respond to that challenge.

All of this week’s prayer requests are directly from Patrick on behalf of the Mouk Church. Would you set aside some time throughout this week and bring these prayer requests before God’s throne?

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Sun, 03 Dec 2017 03:00:00 -0500
One Bible Translation Completed, Another Just Startinghttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/one-bible-translation-completed-another-just-startinghttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14149One Down and More to Go

It is the goal of Ethnos360 to see a thriving church for every people. One primary focus is translating the Scriptures into the language of each people group. What better way to push out the edge of the Church than for believers to read the Word for themselves in their own language and see their role in taking the gospel next door or to the next people group?

Wana Translation Team

Bob and Debbie Clark have been ministering in the Asia-Pacific region for over 25 years, and during the last 14 years, they have had the privilege of working with the Wana translation team to achieve their goal of finishing the New Testament and portions of the Old Testament. Now, after many years of faithful labor, the project is finished.  

At the Starting Gate of Translation

In contrast, the translation project for the Saluan people is still in the early stages. Along with another co-worker, Bob had the chance to teach and review basic translation principles for the newly formed team that will translate for the Saluan church.

Saluan Translation Team

A unique challenge as a consultant for this team is the fact that none of them are native English speakers, and the primary translators don’t speak English at all! On the other hand, there are several Saluan believers who are eager to play significant roles on the translation team. Their expertise as native speakers will help the Scriptures sound very natural for their fellow believers.

A Prayer Push

Praise the Lord with us for the completion of the Wana translation. Please pray for the continued growth of the several churches and outreach areas scattered throughout the land of the Wana people.

Join us in praying for the fledgling Saluan team as they endeavor to apply translation principles that will ensure a clear, accurate and natural version of God’s Word in their language.

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Sun, 26 Nov 2017 06:00:00 -0500
Ministry with the Church as Part of the Churchhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/ministry-with-the-church-as-part-of-the-churchhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14140A Planned Move

Not long ago, we featured Chandler and Jamie Sharpe as they ventured to Tanzania to begin their ministry. They have been there over nine months and are beginning to see how they can engage with the church in Dar es Salaam in order to expand the edges of the church.. This is an important time for them. They have come to the point in culture and language learning  “that we are ready to make our first big move.”

Meeting the Hosts

Meeting the Hosts

There are two things that begin the next stage of their preparation to go into an unreached people group: a host church and a host family. Jamie wrote, “A few weeks ago, a decision was made … to place us in Mbezi Chapel, a local church body here in Dar es Salaam. We were officially introduced to the church and what a precious time that was.  … After our pastor prayed for us he asked us to stay up at the front so that everyone could greet us after the service. Never did the sound of ‘Karibu,’ which means ‘Welcome,’ sound so sweet. What an honor to be welcomed into a body of Tanzanian believers from whom we have so much to learn as we continue preparing to be a part of taking the gospel to those who are unreached.”

The host family is also from that church: Imani and Nela have agreed to be the host family for the remainder of the Sharpes’ culture and language study. They are looking forward to getting to know this family and sharing life together. Please pray that these two families would meld well together and would learn and grow together.

Readying to Push the Edge

Ready to Push the Edge

And the move? The Sharpes are going to move closer to their host family in order to develop friendships, or as Jamie put it, to be “able to share life together with a bit more ease.” As Chandler and Jamie become more and more immersed in Swahili and the culture, the step into the unreached people group is that much closer, and they will be ready to push the edge farther out. Pray that this move will be an encouragement to them and to their host family and church.

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Sun, 19 Nov 2017 06:00:00 -0500
Evangelism Is Only the Beginninghttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/evangelism-is-only-the-beginninghttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14128Clarity of Purpose

“Clarity is the quality of being understandable, of making sense. … I ask God for clarity on different things regularly,” wrote Barry and Denise Spor. As a church planting and development consultant, Barry wants clarity in what their goals are. “We want to see a church in each of these people groups that knows ... right from wrong, how to feed from [the] Word, how to reach out and start new churches and see them grow.”

That has been and continues to be the vision of Ethnos360: to see a thriving church for every people.

Time, Effort and Training

Time, Effort and Training

But seeing an infant church become a thriving church takes time. And effort. And training.

Take, for example, Barry and Denise’s co-worker Lindy who has started training Jhoni, one of the Bible teachers in the Guanano church, to help with the revision of the Bible lessons.

Barry says that since Jhoni is a Bible teacher, he is “familiar with taking the lessons, studying them and teaching from them. But this is the first time he is grappling with the content of the lesson and how to put it down in writing, making sure the thoughts flow logically and keeping the main point of each paragraph the main point. Learning how to do something for the first time is always rough, and we are in the rough stage.”

But Barry is quick to point out that Jhoni is highly motivated and enjoys studying the Bible with Lindy. With the Lord’s help they expect him to do well.

The End Goal

The End Goal

Barry is all too aware that evangelism and planting a church is only the beginning. He wants to bring clarity to the process with those with whom he works. He wants to see infant churches brought to maturity and then see them begin reaching out beyond the edge to other villages and people groups. And he recognizes that even involving believers in curriculum development by working on the Bible lesson revision is part of the process. Pray for Lindy and Jhoni as they work together on the revision.

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Sun, 12 Nov 2017 06:00:00 -0500
The Yao Believers are Now the Evangelistshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-yao-believers-are-now-the-evangelistshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14119The Yao Church

Anthony and Jennie Chee have ministered among the Yao people group of northern Mozambique since 2007. Chronological foundational teaching began in 2014, and from that initial teaching, the Yao church was born. The desire has always been to have the Yao continue the outreach to their own people. And that process has begun.

Pushing the Edge

Pushing the Edge

From the first group of believers has sprung the first crop of native-tongue teachers. Anthony said, “Our idea is to have them do the teaching, with us supporting in the background, and  …  if there is another group of believers, they will in turn train the next group of teachers, and we will be out of the picture altogether!”

But it hasn’t been an easy road to travel with the new teachers. They commented, “Since we started teaching God’s Word, there has been much opposition. … A few would even come to the teachings in order to disrupt the meetings and threaten those who are listening to the Word of God. But lately we sense that they themselves are thinking about what they have been hearing and asking probing questions for themselves.”

The Power of Prayer

“A person in the village who professes faith in Jesus Christ as His Savior is like a fish in a fishbowl. His every action is being watched by everyone, just waiting for an opportunity to discredit him. But at the same time, the changes wrought by God in that person’s life are an incredible testimony of the power of God at work.

“Please pray for the believers here. Pray for strength and perseverance in time of persecution and that they will continue to choose to do what they know is pleasing to God. Please continue to uphold the Bible teachers. Pray for the villagers, many of whom are afraid of stepping forward even though they believe God’s Word. Pray for us, for physical stamina and for Godly wisdom to encourage the teachers and to handle each situation that arises.”

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Sun, 05 Nov 2017 06:00:00 -0500
From Fear to Faithhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/from-fear-to-faithhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14110From Fear to Faith

The Higaunon people used to live in fear. They lived in bondage, worshiping their ancestors and sacrificing pigs and chickens to appease the spirits.

And then the gospel message changed all that. Fear turned to faith.

After hearing the gospel message, the newly saved Higaunons said, “All we could talk about was what Jesus had done for us and how we could now see the truth so clearly. … We were amazed at the darkness and depth of sin that we were in before. To think that we actually worshiped God’s enemy, thinking that we were on the right track! ... It was such a joyful time in our lives to be set free from the terrible bondage that the spirits had held us under through fear.”

Then they took the message out.

Burdened for Others

The infant Higaunon church became burdened for their fellow Higaunons in other villages. They wondered why it took so long for the gospel to reach them.

“It seemed to us that 2,000 years was a really long time to bring the message to our place, and we didn’t want it to be a long time before it reached other Higaunon villages,” the Higaunon believers said. “We began to discuss and pray about how we could take the message of salvation to the rest of the Higaunon people.”

They didn’t just talk about it. They did something about it. And as a result, there are churches in over 20 other Higaunon villages.

The Work Continues

The Higaunon church began where they were and expanded the edge of the church beyond their village into neighboring ones.

But the work is not done. Other villages are asking, “What about us? We want someone to come and teach us.” And the Higaunon church takes this responsibility seriously. Lance and Laura Ostman wrote that “one of the Higaunon church’s prayer requests is for more laborers.” Pray for more laborers from within the Higaunon church to expand the edge of the church.

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Sun, 29 Oct 2017 06:00:00 -0400
What Do a Flying Fox and Bible Teaching Have in Common?https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/what-do-a-flying-fox-and-bible-teaching-have-in-commonhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14099Pushing the Edge

What am I willing to do to see the edge pushed further out? How far will I go out of my comfort zone?

For Raymond, a believer in the Simbari people group of Papua New Guinea, that would mean "being a flying fox with God's Talk."

The Flying Fox

The Flying Fox

What did Raymond mean? David explained his comment like this: “The flying fox, also known as a fruit bat, is a large bat with a wingspan of more than three feet and is known for traveling long distances on a daily basis to do its work of searching for ripe fruit. Another way to rephrase it would be, ‘I want to be someone who serves God by taking His Word to wherever the needs may be, even if it means traveling great distances.’" Raymond’s comment was prompted because of his contemplating all the ministry needs from deep in the bush to out in the towns and cities.

You see, Raymond's life and outlook were impacted after working with David for two months of in-depth translation work. How couldn't they be after they had worked through 18 New Testament books that had been drafted into Raymond's native tongue?

Prepare for Flight

Raymond wants to be a flying fox with the Word of God in his own language. He mentioned, “This talk pierced my heart and I want to say even more thanks to God that now we have entered into this knowledge of God, and we feel joyful. So now I want to say thanks even though there is still a little more work we need to do to finish the translation.”

Prepare for Flight

Pray for the Oggs and the translation team as they finish the translation of the New Testament in order for the “flying foxes” to take that Word out to the unreached.

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Sun, 22 Oct 2017 06:00:00 -0400
It’s not Us and the Church. It’s Us with the Church.https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/its-not-us-and-the-church-its-us-with-the-churchhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14068How Did We Do It Alone?

“In June we took a vacation, enjoyed time with family, renewed our passports, did a few crazy things with our adrenaline loving kids and then headed home. For the last three months both of our partners have been on home assignment.” Michael and Amy Hutteman ask, “How were we able to accomplish everything?”

We Weren’t Alone

“It’s because of the very people we came here to serve. A few faithful Lauje families and their local churches have taken it upon themselves to step into the vacuum that was created when our teammates left. The believers have shown real initiative because they realize that the ministry is ultimately theirs, not ours.

“They have even told us, ‘This is not your job that we are helping. It is our job that you have come to help.’"

The Church Is Here

The Huttemans are definitely seeing local initiative. “The church in our home area decided to reteach the Story from its beginning to ensure that each generation has a solid foundation in the gospel.” But the translation needs revision first, and Michael is not yet fluent enough to undertake that task. So the elders are asking his help as they proof the existing translation.

“Seeing these small movements of the local church is exhilarating! While we continue to press toward the finish line in our culture and language study, experience the loneliness of an absent team, struggle with the daily grind of keeping a family alive (much less, educating them along the way), and begin to take on more and more responsibility for the care of other ministry teams in our area, … it gives us hope.”

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Sun, 15 Oct 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Lightning and Boiling Water Don’t Stop Evangelismhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/lightning-and-boiling-water-dont-stop-evangelismhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14062A Rocky Start

The foundational Bible teaching among the Nahuatl people of Mexico got off to a rocky start.

It’s not that people didn’t come. People came. In fact, every seat in the meeting hall was filled. And each time they taught, around 30 people showed up.

But then not-so-good things started to happen — at least from a human standpoint.

Lightning and Boiling Water

To start it off, one of the village leaders who was attending was struck by lightning. That couldn’t be a good thing, right? But then he miraculously survived, and no one stopped coming to the meetings. In fact, even new people were showing up, they were hearing God’s Word in their own language for the first time, and it was coming alive to them.

But then trouble hit again. Pete and Liesl Hypki’s son burned himself badly with boiling water and had to be medevaced to town. Teaching was put on hold. It didn’t seem like a good thing on many levels. It wasn't only his son that was suffering, but also the teaching.

“I’m reminded that just as God is in charge of the work here, just as He will plant His church and care for it and grow it, … He is also in charge of our lives and our family,” Pete wrote during that troubling time. And indeed He is in charge.

God Is in Charge

“The teaching is continuing, despite temporary setbacks,” wrote Katie Moore, the Hypkis’ co-worker. “People are understanding and responding well. Many who are unable to come to the meetings are listening to the audio recordings of the lessons and the Bible at home.”

Pray for the missionary team that they will present the message clearly in a manner that continues to speak to the hearts of the people. Pray for wisdom as they personally visit each family represented at the teaching and have follow-up conversations with them. Pray for lives reached with the gospel message.

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Sun, 08 Oct 2017 06:00:00 -0400
How to Work at the Edge of the Churchhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/how-to-work-at-the-edge-of-the-churchhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14052Engaging on the Edge

Over the last several years Ethnos360 has embraced a paradigm shift in how it begins ministering in a new location. It’s called “engaging on the edge with the Church.” Instead of jumping into a village, refugee camp or “closed” country without connecting to a church or fellowship of believers, we first take time to build solid relationships with the church in order to work alongside the church in order to make disciples who will, in turn, make more disciples.

Practical Working on the Edge

A good example of this is what Tony and Maria Verlaan have been involved in from South Africa. The Tawara people in central Mozambique need to hear the gospel. There is a church among the Kore Kore in Zimbabwe who desire to reach into Mozambique to the Tawaras. But there was a problem. The Kore Kore believers recognized that they lacked the understanding and training for cross-cultural evangelism. The Kore Kore asked Integral Vision (Ethnos360’s global partner in Southeast Africa) for help.

Results of Working on the Edge

“God, in this situation, has graciously opened our eyes to the Kore Kore church …, so that together we can reach the Tawaras with the gospel and see a church established by the Kore Kore church with Integral Vision in the background, consulting and encouraging,” Tony added.

Summing up his views on the “new” way of reaching the unreached, Tony said, “[There is] an African proverb that we are trying to live out in ministry: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.’ Moving ahead of the African church is 'going fast', 'going together' is with the African church.”

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Sun, 01 Oct 2017 06:00:00 -0400
When Persecution Spreads the Gospelhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/when-persecution-spreads-the-gospelhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14028When the Timing Isn’t Right

“For years a village in the small mountain above the coastal village where we worked has been asking if someone could go live with them to teach Patpatar literacy and to share God’s Word,” wrote Aaron and Lori Luse from Papua New Guinea.  “This was the same village where many of Tokiung’s [a church elder] clan and distant relatives lived, and he has been burdened to move up there with his family.”

But the timing wasn’t right.

When God Repositions His Children

When God Repositions His Children

“[Tokiung] had been one of the few initial Bible teachers that had worked alongside me with the small Patpatar church, and if he had left then, it would have had huge ramifications on the local believers. Too, he and his family needed to be more grounded themselves … be fed and taught from the Word and surrounded with other Christians,” wrote Aaron. “About a year ago that started to change. Another elder and three deacons were appointed in the church, and others were being trained. I started stepping into the background more and more, and so did Tokiung, allowing others to step up to the plate and lead.”

But stepping into the background didn’t mean God was finished using Tokiung. God was repositioning Tokiung for the next task He had planned for him.

When Persecution Spreads the Gospel

When Persecution Spreads the Gospel

“Brother, they have driven us out of our home in the village ... but we are not worried about this hardship,” Tokiung called to tell Aaron. “Instead we are thinking about the book of Acts when the persecution came on the church and helped the Good News go out. So we have talked with the church, and our family is going up to [the village on the mountain] to tell them clearly about literacy and God’s Word.”

Talk about a godly perspective! Pray for Tokiung and his family as they reach out to this mountain village with the gospel message. Pray for the Patpatar church in Tokiung’s home village as they will miss his wisdom and guidance. And pray for Patpatar believers who continue to face persecution.

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Sun, 24 Sep 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Meeting the Kinghttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/meeting-the-kinghttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14016Getting Ready to Move In

When you are about to move into a little village full of people who speak a different language and have a different culture, and who have never heard the good news about Jesus, what do you need to do?

Introduction to the King

Introduction to the kIngActually, there are many different steps, and I don’t even know them all. But one of the steps is to talk to the traditional and government authorities to let them know that we’ll be moving in. And that is one of the things that we did when Dan Rabe, one of our leaders, was recently here for team meetings. Not only did Dan meet with the local government leaders, he also introduced our new teammates, the Pryors, to the “king” of the Vigués.

Introduction to the King of Kings

Introduction to the King

Technically, he’s not a king, but he’s the chief of all the Vigué people and even sits on that cool throne you see in the picture above! I have met him on multiple occasions, but Dan took the opportunity to introduce the Pryors to him as well. Pray for our team as we prepare to move in and build relationships in preparation for ministry. And pray for the Vigué people that they might someday know the King of Kings!

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Sun, 17 Sep 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Even the Teacher Was Encouraged by the Missions Teachinghttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/even-the-teacher-was-encouraged-by-the-missions-teachinghttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13998Casting a Vision for Missions

This summer, Neil Burleson “cast a missions vision” to some of the next generation of missionaries attending Interface, Ethnos360’s college-level, hands-on missions program in Papua New Guinea. Nineteen students from around the USA, Germany and New Zealand experienced missionary life first-hand during this six-week program.

First-Hand Experience and Bible Teaching

First-Hand Experience and Bible Teaching

And it certainly was first-hand. Neil recounted that the students “learned some of the local language, visited established national churches and remote bush locations, and heard the testimonies of many, many missionaries who work in both tribal and support ministries.”

God used these experiences and times of intensive Bible study about missions to confirm how He was working in their lives. Of the 19 students in the program, 16 of them expressed a desire to serve the Lord somewhere in missions.

Even the Teacher was Impacted

Even the Teacher was Impacted

Not only did Interface impact the students, but as Neil taught, he too was challenged and refreshed in his missionary service.

“For our family, not only did we get to cast a vision to these students, but the experience allowed God to renew our own vision for cross-cultural ministry! I told Becky [his wife] at the end of the program, ‘We've been challenging these students about what an adventure tribal missions can be ... and we get to wake up tomorrow and do it afresh. Let's make the most of it!’”

Please pray for these students that the challenge God has put into their hearts will bear fruit in the years to come.

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Sun, 10 Sep 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Ministering from Afarhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/ministering-from-afarhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13980In Africa...

“In Senegal this month, there are some young men and women who are studying 60 lessons on God’s story from eternity to eternity,” wrote Theo and Martha Enns. “Our Vision Intégrale* missionary teammates are teaching this as a three-week course, the third module in training Africans to be equipped in cross-cultural evangelism and church-planting.” The goal? To see Africans reaching Africans.

In Alabama...

In Alabama...

A continent away, Theo Enns sits at his desk, actively involved in the translation of the training modules into French. Where once he would have needed to live on location in Senegal to translate the training modules effectively, advances in technology have made it possible for him to do so from his home in Alabama.

At this season of their lives, Theo says, “We are enjoying our long-distance ministry to Africa, where we started so many years ago. In this way, we can still participate ‘as part of the Church, serving the Church, to expand the Church.’”

In a Changing World...

In a Changing World

We live in a changing world with changing opportunities and changing methodologies, but Ethnos360’s vision of seeing a thriving church for every people group remains strong.

And these training modules for the African church are part of seeing that happen.

Pray for Theo as he embraces the opportunity to expand the training modules. Pray also for the African church as they position themselves to reach out to their own people groups in their changing world.

* The French name used in West Africa for our Ethnos360 global partners.

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Sun, 03 Sep 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Never Say “I Quit”https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/never-say-i-quithttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13974Been There ...

Ah, retirement has finally come! Many people look forward to that event in their lives, while others hit that time and keep on going. Let me share with you an example of one who understood where she was in life — and has positioned herself to keep reaching the unreached.

Arriving in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 1960, Edna Trigg and her husband ministered among the Yagaria people group until 1981, training teachers, helping with the New Testament translation and teaching literacy. The Triggs then moved to one of the main centers and continued ministering to the missionaries and nationals alike by typing, overseeing Bible correspondence courses, handling radio communications with interior teams and anything else to be of help.

… Done That

After her husband passed away, Edna continued her ministries, until she retired from the PNG field in 2004. Edna had positioned herself for 44 years to reach the unreached. Was that all to end as she “retired”?

No, because she has continued to position herself to be used by God. When the Bible translator asked her to check the revised Yagaria New Testament, she accepted the challenge. And you know what? She is still proofreading other Bible translations, getting them ready for the printer.

Until Eternity

What a challenge! “Retirement” does not mean no more ministry. As retired missionaries embrace where God has them now, they continue to position themselves to reach out to a lost world, touching lives as long as God allows them to minister.

Pray for the Ethnos360 retirement complex with its staff and residents. God continues to use His children even when “retired.” Or as Edna put it, “One does not ‘retire’; you are given a ‘retread’ and just keep on working for the Lord!”

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Sun, 27 Aug 2017 06:00:00 -0400
A Missionary’s “Free Time”https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/a-missionarys-free-timehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13941“On the Side”

For many of us, our lives consist of daily work, be it part-time or full-time work. Many of us also set aside some time each week to participate in a ministry in our church – maybe on a weeknight or at some time on Sunday. Steve and Donell Trostrud, missionaries in Papua New Guinea, are faced with an interesting dilemma: what do missionaries do for a side ministry when their full-time ministry is … ministry?

Stepping Out to Minister …

Since the Trostruds minister in an administrative role supporting church planting missionaries, they want that side ministry to be involved in a spiritual outreach. And they've found a way.

What better way to reach the unreached than to train young adults to take the gospel beyond their immediate communities? Steve and Donell have become involved in the Young Adult Group Study (YAGS) at their local church, teaching through the Firm Foundations materials in order to disciple them to be the future leaders in the church, the community and even the nation.

Young Adult Group Study Members

… To Teach Others to Minister

The goal of the Trostruds’ off-hour ministry is to help others become able disciplers. They said, “The interest throughout Port Moresby for the Firm Foundations material is staggering. … Those who go through the study want to learn how to teach this way, so Steve held two separate weeklong evening seminars to train teachers to take this message onward. … The teachers are eager to go and make disciples themselves around Port Moresby and beyond.”

Steve and Donell are embracing God’s leading to minister in their off-hours, and in the process, they are positioning young lives to go beyond their normal comfort zones. Pray for the Trostruds both in their full-time ministry and in their off-hour ministry.

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Sun, 20 Aug 2017 06:00:00 -0400
The Road Aheadhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-road-aheadhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13935Embracing the Gospel

“It’s a privilege to sit under the teaching of this godly man, learning how to communicate our Father’s truth more clearly in a completely different cultural context,” wrote Imie Mark III, NTM Aviation mechanic.

Before you draw the wrong conclusion, this wasn’t a Western Bible teacher that Imie was talking about. He was referring to Bonn, a Papua New Guinean who in recent years embraced the gospel message after sitting under foundational Bible teaching. And now? He’s teaching those same lessons at the hangar to both missionaries and nationals alike.

And he’s having an impact.

Bonn teaching at NTM Aviation

Repositioning

Imie wrote that after hearing the teaching, “some of the folks eagerly accepted the initial teaching from creation to Christ, but the harsh realities of life in this area and long-held beliefs steeped in animism have left them with some tough issues still to be worked through.”

But that doesn’t deter Bonn. Imie writes that Bonn is “not only incredibly passionate about God’s Word, but also has an unquenchable thirst to see his people have the opportunity to hear and respond to the matchless gospel of grace.”

Even now he is positioning himself to continue doing just that.

The Road Ahead

“It won’t be an easy or popular road to walk,” Imie wrote.

Bonn is leaving a comfortable position working with NTM Aviation in order to partner with believers back in his home area to teach foundational Bible lessons in areas where church buildings exist, but the Church is absent.

Pray for Bonn as he travels this not-so-easy and not-so-popular road.

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Sun, 13 Aug 2017 06:00:00 -0400
The “Good” in “Goodbye”https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-good-in-goodbyehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13926Positioning by Saying “Good-bye”

The whole idea of embracing and positioning oneself to reach the unreached at times means having to say “good-bye.” Aaron and Lori Luse have gone that route just recently.

“After over 14 years in the tribe, we are saying good-bye to our Patpatar friends and family,” Aaron wrote. “In 2003, we moved into the village not knowing the Patpatar language and culture. Our goal was to learn from them and build relationships. We wanted to be able to eventually create a literacy program in their own language to teach them how to read and write. We wanted to be able to translate God’s Word into their own heart language for them to read. We wanted to teach the Bible and see a church established that could thrive.”

“They No Longer Need Us”

Ezra (deacon) Sira (elder) with Jubilee his wife, Tokiung (elder)

Goals have to be made and kept, and that is what happened. There have been accomplishments in the areas of literacy and translation, helping the Patpatar to read and write and then giving them the Scriptures to read.

In the area of the church itself, “there is a solid core of Christians growing as the Body of Christ. They have been taught through the major portions of the Bible and are standing strong in the truth. … Elders and deacons have been appointed. They no longer need us there full time.”

The Good-byes

“It is time for us to say good-bye. Our goal has always been to work ourselves out of a job. We have always wanted to see the Patpatar church established and standing strong without relying on the missionary — that is happening.

“In May, we gave away our house, said good-bye to the church, and moved out of the tribe. We also had to say good-bye to Madonna, our coworker for the last 8 years … .”

But, yes, there is a “good” in “good-bye.” The Patpatar are going to be embracing and positioning to continue the work among their own people and beyond.

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Sun, 06 Aug 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Bible Translation Motocross Obstacle Coursehttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/bible-translation-motocross-obstacle-coursehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13882Beyond the Last Road

“My road trip to get to the interior location for the second translation check turned out to be much more of an adventure than I expected!” exclaimed Bob Clark, translation consultant with Ethnos360. “The first two to three hours after leaving the city were fine, but the farther interior we came, the narrower the roads got. … Then the road ran out of pavement.”

A Motocross Obstacle Course

After the pavement stopped, they traversed narrow, winding, pothole-filled dirt roads before even those came to an end. The passengers, luggage and supplies — which included eggs — were then loaded onto motorcycles. That’s when the real adventure began.

Bob on the Motorcycle

“I remember thinking that someone who likes to skydive or feel that adrenaline rush from other dangerous undertakings would love the ride I was on,” Bob wrote. “Unfortunately, I am not one of those people, and between the lack of a helmet and knowing the precariousness of carrying my laptop on my back, I wasn’t eager to sign up for this ride again.”

Yet he knew that in just over a week’s time, he would be taking that same motocross obstacle course back to civilization. And he was okay with it. But why?

For a Greater Purpose

For Bob the trip was worth it despite the overabundance of adrenaline rushing through his veins. It was worth it because he went there for a greater purpose — to complete a translation check for portions of God’s Word translated in the Sekadau language.

Sometimes, in order to see unreached people groups reached, you have to go beyond the last road. Pray that soon the Sekadau will have even more of God’s Word in their own language.

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Sun, 30 Jul 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Language Learning is not Competition, but Communication.https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/language-learning-is-not-competition-but-communicationhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13876Not a Competition

Not a Competition

Sometimes missionaries are a strange bunch. They can actually get excited about an upcoming culture and language evaluation.

At least everyone on the Wantakian team felt that way. They all wanted to see what sort of progress they’d made over the past year.

But it wasn’t a competition.

Teamwork at its Best

“Our team is committed to seeing our team learn this culture and language, so we’ve been trying to help each other every chance we get,” wrote Jack and Lael Crabtree. “When one of us learns some new vocabulary or conjugation, we pass it on to everyone else.

“Lately, we’ve been giving each other practice language evaluations, where we sit down together with a Wantakian and take turns giving each other off-the-cuff communication tasks like: ‘try to convince this language helper why he needs to send his child to school,’ or ‘explain the process we will go through to translate the Bible into the Wantakia language.’

“After trying our best to tell our Wantakian friend [our task] in the tribal language, the Wantakian translates the story back to the trade language, and we hear how much we actually communicated. These evaluations have pushed our team to grow together and learn from each other (and provide stress inoculation).”

Embracing a God-Given Vision

Ebracing a God-Given Vision

That’s what you do when you embrace a God-given vision to reach the unreached. You bring your varying strengths and weaknesses to the table and work together as the body of Christ to see it happen.

Pray that the team to the Wantakian people will be able to do just that.

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Sun, 23 Jul 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Can you speak “computer”?https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/can-you-speak-computerhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13868An Obsolete Language?

An Obsolete Language

After ministering overseas to the Menya people of Papua New Guinea, Steve and Natalie Arn now work at the Ethnos360 head office in the information and technology department (IT). Steve is in the process of rewriting software that Ethnos360 has used for human resources and accounting. Unfortunately the current software is in an obsolete language, quickly losing its ability to be operated.

Steve said, "With thousands of missionaries worldwide, there's no way we could continue to function as a mission organization if it were to fail."

The Dilemma

He continued, "I can't help but recognize the similarities between learning a computer language and a tribal language. When I first started learning to write computer code, I had to start at the absolute basics and learn the basic building blocks of the language before being able to write more complex code. Whenever I hit a problem writing code or have an error I just can't pin down, I do a Google search.

“How do you Google for help on learning an unwritten language, though?  When we moved into Menya, ... we took baby steps, learned basic building blocks, and slowly grew in our ability to speak on more complex topics."

It Can Be Done

The Arns' partners with the Menya are continuing to learn the culture and language in order to begin the gospel presentation next year. Steve said, "These are exciting days for the Menya work. Please be in prayer for the Menya people, that their hearts would be prepared for the truth."

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Sun, 16 Jul 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Not in Pursuit of Adventurehttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/not-in-pursuit-of-adventurehttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13861Not an Adventure

David and Shari Ogg didn’t move around the globe in pursuit of an adventure — unless uprooting one’s family to live in a rustic location among a people with a totally different culture and language is considered an adventure.

However one views the hardships involved, the Oggs would say it was worth it. And so would one of the Simbari men working with them to translate Scripture into his language.

Thank You!

Thank You!

“I would like to say thanks to God for all the work of translating His talk into the Simbari language,” wrote one of the Oggs’ Simbari translation helpers. “Even though this work has been overwhelming for me sometimes and I have felt tired of doing it, the strength of God and the power of the Holy Spirit have been active in this work.”

He went on to thank David and Shari for being willing vessels of God to bring the gospel message to the Simbari people. He wrote, ““Before, I did not have the knowledge of God. … I am a fruit of the work that you did, and not just me but also many men and women who have trusted in the death and resurrection of Jesus and have become His children. We are all your fruit, and I want to say thanks for the work you have done.”

Not Yet Done

Not Yet Done

That’s the real reason behind the Oggs’ moving their family halfway around the globe: to position themselves where they saw the need. And it was definitely worth it.

But the work is not yet done. There remains Scripture to be translated, and the team presses on.

Pray for our Simbari brothers and sisters in Christ and for the team translating Scripture into the Simbari language.

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Sun, 09 Jul 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Positioning Through Tearshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/positioning-through-tearshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13854Nothing New

“We were living in the village ... long ago when the baby died, and that is when I began to believe, and I went on believing.” – Carolinadaté, an Ayoré woman.

Howard and Maxine Morarie served the Lord in Bolivia back in the 1950s with Ethnos360 (then known as New Tribes Mission). They and the Ostewig family ministered among the Ayoré people in a newly established village. Recently, as Maxine was translating some Ayoré testimonies into English and Spanish, she came across the sentence above that showed that missionaries have been embracing and positioning to reach the unreached for decades.

 Pain Brings Enlightenment

Pain Brings Enlightenment

The Ostewigs little son had died. Helen Ostewig clung to her Savior and so did not weep. This affected the Ayorés because their way of showing grief is by loud wailing. Some Ayorés were heard to say, “They must believe what they’ve been telling us — that one day, if we have faith in Jesus, we will live again. They must believe their baby will live again, and that’s why they aren’t crying.”

 The Result

The Result

Maxine said, “We had often wondered about the long-term effect on the Ayorés of seeing missionaries face losing a child, and yesterday, as I translated Carolinadaté’s testimony, I came upon the ‘fruit’! Carolinadaté … is with [the Lord] because a little baby boy died in the jungles of Bolivia.”

Pray for the Ayoré church to continue to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ.

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Sun, 02 Jul 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Changes for the Nahuatlhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/changes-for-the-nahuatlhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13848Permission to Change

Permission to Change

Peter and Liesl Hypki minister among the Nahuatl people of Mexico. Considering where they live, change is inevitable. Peter said, “Like anything in life, like anywhere in life, you have two options. To reminisce and to regret change, or to move forward with the knowledge of the past and the hope of what will be. … But in the midst of steps forward, we remember our hope and purpose is not fixed to our own five-year plan, but to a faithful God who calls us to obedience over comfort.”

 Stepping Forward

The Nahuatl team is moving forward. They need to get permission to do anything in the village, even small changes like enlarging the airstrip. More importantly, Peter said, “I’ll ask permission to begin formally, publicly teaching the Word of God – ‘What God Said,’ as it translates in Nahuatl – to the people this July.”

 Our Unchanging God

Our Unchanging God

“You cannot know how the world will change from one day to the next, or how you’ll find each place you leave behind. But you can know for certain who God is and what His Word says and who you are and who you can be forever, because of His grace and love. … He does not, will not change. His Word does not, will not change. His love does not and will not change. Pray with us that the Nahuatl will choose to hear this Good News.”

 God is mighty: The next day the Nahuatl agreed to allow Peter to begin teaching the Word of God publicly, for the first time ever, in their heart language. Pray for understanding for the Nahuatl as Truth is presented to them.

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Sun, 25 Jun 2017 06:00:00 -0400
A Message of Thanks from an Iski Believerhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/a-message-of-thanks-from-an-iski-believerhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13829The Saving Man . . .

The Saving Man . . .

Tiixqii udxu, asasra bahtma, or translated "one road, the saving man!" This is a phrase the missionaries to the Iski people spoke over and over again during the last three months of teaching.

  . . . Has Come to Iski-land.

Praise God that there are now Iski people who worship Him!

 Rejoice with the infant Iski church as they realize that they cannot be saved by their good works! Alvis said it well after the conclusion of the Bible teaching: "It’s big, I am not going to do any work to save myself, I will hide under the blood of the Saviour."

  Thank You for Your Part.

Thank you for your part

Cecila’s testimony along with her thanks stood out. "I’m so thankful to your families, to the grandparents who sent you with your children, with their grandkids. If they had not helped you and sent you, we would not have heard that, but they did.

 "Now we are all one clan, God’s clan, we are all brothers and sisters and we will see your families in heaven. Before we were worshipping Satan, now we want to worship God alone!"

 Are you the parent or grandparent of a missionary? Thank you for allowing them to answer God’s call on their life. Have you prayed for the teaching? Thank you. Have you given toward missions? Thank you. God is using your sacrifices to make His name known to peoples around the world.

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Sun, 18 Jun 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Having Your Mind Focused on Two Countrieshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/06112017-having-your-mind-focused-on-two-countrieshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13837The Return

Craig and Marcy Hammonds will return this month to their ministry in Papua New Guinea (PNG). A little while ago, Craig commented on an “ailment” that often afflicts missionaries: the “split-mind syndrome.” “As we are approximately eight weeks from getting on a plane to return to our home in PNG, I find my mind being pulled in opposite directions,” Craig said.

The Issue

The Issue

“We have been taught that transitions are a part of our lives,” Craig continued. “We have grown to understand that change is inevitable and is integrated into our lives.

“We say goodbye to friends and family when we leave for the field … when friends who have become family leave the field, or when we are the ones leaving. … And yet even in the knowledge that this is part of our life, I find that my mind still struggles to not be ‘split,’ to stay focused on what is in front of me right now.”

The Resolution

The Resolution

“Yet, as I struggle to keep my mind on the immediate task, I am reminded that … the grace of the Lord Jesus was sufficient for the Apostle Paul. It most certainly is sufficient for my challenged mind and me. His grace is the reason I am able to say ‘Yes, we will leave again and return to the mission field.’ And when we get there, His grace will sustain me. … His grace is able to keep me, even when my mind is ‘split.’”

Pray for missionaries as they make transitions and have those “split-mind” moments.

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Sun, 11 Jun 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Power Hungryhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/power-hungryhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13823Power Hungry

Chasing power. That’s what the Pal people of Papua New Guinea have always done. They’ve chased after power to make their gardens grow, power to control the spirits, power over sickness and death, and power to become rich and influential. But for the first time they’re questioning that power.

Transformed Lives

Transformed Lives

They’re seeing a different power, the power of the Holy Spirit and what He offers — and it’s nothing like what they’ve traditionally sought after. Instead of health, wealth and influence, they’re learning that the Holy Spirit offers a deeper understanding of God and communion with Him. He offers to empower believers to withstand temptation. He’s all about changed lives — and He’s changing the lives of Pal men, women and children.

 “And we get to watch it happen!” wrote Chris and Maggie Hostetter.

 More to Come

More to Come

 It's not just the Pal people whose lives are being changed. And it’s not just the Hostetters that get to watch such things happen.

 All of us have the privilege of watching this happen across the globe, not only as it happens in remote tribal villages, but also in indigenous communities living on the edge of civilization. Pray for us as we continue to position ourselves to best reach our changing world.

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Sun, 04 Jun 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Missions Week . . . at a Mission School?https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/missions-week-at-a-mission-schoolhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13816Missions Week

Robyn Green ministers to students at Numonohi Christian Academy (NCA) in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. She affirms that her students get daily Bible instruction, have heard the gospel, are almost all children of missionaries and are familiar with dozens of historical or contemporary missionaries.

 So why did they have a Missions Week at NCA? How does that prepare them to reach a changing world?

 Stepping Outside Comfort Zones

Outside your comfort zone

Robyn put it well when she said, “We [the staff] have a vision to encourage a lifelong passion for the multitude of ways that God is working across the world.” The idea of a missions week came about because of a recommendation to look at other mission organizations represented at the school, because of an observation that often MKs [missionary kids] don’t know what is available to them after graduation, and because of an increasing awareness among the students of world events.

 This year the focus was on Christian humanitarian efforts with their emphasis on five areas: clean water, hunger, disease, refugees and human trafficking. Robyn added that they “definitely made a point to emphasize that Jesus at times focused on both human suffering and the gospel, and that it wouldn't match with the Scripture to focus solely on the humanitarian work and not address the spiritual need.”

 Heightened Awareness

Heightened Awareness

And did it make the students more aware? Yes! They began to feel the weight of the world’s needs on their hearts and to recognize that people are hurting physically, spiritually and emotionally the world over. Robyn commented, “The needs are indeed great, [but we] have a God who does the impossible. I can’t wait to see how God does the impossible through NCA students!”

Pray for missionaries’ children all over the world as they find the path that God has laid out for them. And if you’re a teacher, consider using your career skills in missions to touch the lives of MKs.

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Sun, 28 May 2017 06:00:00 -0400
The Iski church has been born!https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-iski-church-has-been-bornhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13804God’s Word Taught ...

God's Word Taught ...

The Iski church has been born!

The missionary team taught the Iski people every day for 3 1/2 months. They wrapped up with a four-hour lesson on the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. The Iski heard how Christ's payment satisfied God's judgment of sin and opened the door for them to new life in Him. That afternoon they listened again via digital recordings of the morning lessons.

Testimonies of New Believers ...

The next lesson told about Christ going back to Heaven and promising to return again, followed by a time for thoughts from the community. Read some of the wonderful testimonies of these new believers:

“I believe that this is true. I was a sinner since I was born. I was born under Satan’s clan. Yesterday, I heard the story of the Savior who died for me, and I believed it. Jesus died and said to his father, ‘Why did you forsake me?’ I understand what that means, and I’m healed from my sin.” – Makoleta

“God suffered and carried my pain. Before, we heard the story of Jesus healing the blind man. I was blind, but yesterday my eyes were opened.” – Rudolph

“We have heard the stories and that we are separated from God. John the Baptist, when he saw Jesus, he said 'Here is God’s lamb.' Yesterday, we heard the story of the Savior who died for us. It was big for me. God had mercy on us and came down to save us. He took our sin. He took MY sin. He was separated from God for me.” – Avara

… and More Testimonies.

... and More Testimonies

“If I don’t believe, the separation between God and me will stay when I die, but I believe that this talk is true and that I am saved.” – Greg

“I heard the story of the Savior that died for me. God is love and sent his Son to save us, to save me. I understood that God died for me. God sent Jesus to save Boni. God bought me back from Satan’s clan.” – Boni

“It is true for me, the Savior came, a lamb without spot died for me.” – Bnaga

Please continue to pray for the Iski church as the missionaries continue to translate the Scriptures and disciple the believers over the coming years.

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Sun, 21 May 2017 06:00:00 -0400
“It Was Worth My Husband’s Death”https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/it-was-worth-my-husbands-deathhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13771A New Life

In the darkness just before dawn on March 9, 1944, Audrey Bacon called out for help. Joe Moreno heard her and fetched the doctor, who helped her deliver a little girl. Audrey named her Avis Marie -- the name her father, Dave, had picked out months ago, before he went missing in the “green hell” of Bolivia’s rainforest.

Lives Lived For God

Lives Lived for God

You may have read the story of the five men (including Dave Bacon) martyred as they tried to contact the Ayoré people. And perhaps you read how well the Ayoré church is doing today.

But Mother’s Day seems an apt time to remember that the three widows left by the deaths of the men kept working as part of the team that reached the Ayorés. How did Dorothy Dye, widow of Cecil Dye, hold up under criticism that her husband was responsible for the deaths? How could Audrey handle being a single mom in a jungle? And how did Bob Dye’s widow, Jean, teach the missionaries’ children and learn the Ayoré language?

The answer comes through again and again in Jean Dye Johnson’s book, God Planted Five Seeds. God did far more than help them endure; He helped them thrive and gave them the opportunity to be the spiritual mothers of the Ayoré church.

Lives Given for God

Lives Given for God

Many years later, the relatives of those who killed Cecil Dye, Bob Dye, Dave Bacon, George Hosbach and Eldon Hunter became believers and apologized to Audrey. “We’re sorry we killed your husband. We didn’t know better,” they said.

Audrey didn’t answer immediately. How could she? And then she answered as would all three of the widows: “It was worth my husband’s death to see you come to know Jesus Christ.”

What’s the cause of Christ worth to you?

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Sun, 14 May 2017 06:00:00 -0400
The Volcanic Isle of Kadawarhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-volcanic-isle-of-kadawarhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13762The Biem Church’s Beginning

Wayne and Gail Chen minister among the Biem people of Papua New Guinea. In 2012, the gospel was presented on one island, and the Biem church was born. There are still two other islands where more Biem people live; neither one of the islands has had the gospel presented. But that’s about to change.

The Trip to Kadawar

The Trip to Kadawar

Five years ago, not one of the new believers from Biem had a desire to take the gospel to the neighboring islands. Recently, though, when the idea of “outreach” came up, the church decided it was time to go.

Wayne said, “Twelve members from the Biem church hopped in our small boat and made the 15-mile trip to Kadawar, another little volcanic island out in the middle of the ocean. The goal was to check on these neighboring islands to see if they have any interest in Biem missionaries coming to live and share God's talk with them.”

“Make a Decision Well!”

Make a Decision Well!

One believer stood and told the assembled crowd not to make a mistake about God’s way: “Please, please, please hear this talk so you can know and make a decision well.”

It was made very clear that the foreign missionaries won't be coming; it will only be the Biem believers.  While most of the community on Kadawar expressed a clear desire for Biem missionaries to come, there were dissenting voices too. Pray for the Biem outreach to Kadawar.

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Sun, 07 May 2017 06:00:00 -0400
New Tribes Mission USA Changes Name to Ethnos360https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/new-tribes-mission-usa-changes-name-to-ethnos360https://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/14457SANFORD, FL — New Tribes Mission USA is celebrating its 75th anniversary with the announcement of its formal name change to Ethnos360.

 New Tribes Mission was founded in 1942 by American missionaries Paul Fleming, Cecil A. Dye, Lance B. Latham and M. Robert Williams. They had a vision for reaching people groups with no access to the gospel: “By unflinching determination we hazard our lives and gamble all for Christ until we have reached the last tribe regardless of where that tribe might be” (Brown Gold Magazine, Issue 1, May 1943).

 With a determination to maintain the foundation of that vision in the face of shifting world dynamics, organizational leaders knew a name change was needed. And they believe that Ethnos360 is the name that anchors the ministry to that foundation while pointing it to its vision.

 “Ethnos” is the nations that Christ referred to when He commanded His followers to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) and “...that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all the nations…” (Luke 24:47).

 “360” represents the entirety of the globe—all 360 degrees. Ethnos360’s goal is to go wherever in the world is necessary to see a thriving church for every people.

 “Our vision is the same today as it was 75 years ago,” says Ethnos360 President Larry Brown. “As we move forward, we’ll draw from those lessons God has taught us in our 75 years of ministry to pursue new opportunities opening to us—opportunities to reach a changing world.”

 For more information on Ethnos360 and its formal name change, visit Ethnos360.org.

Ethnos360 Logo

 About Ethnos360

Ethnos360 is an international church-planting organization. Ethnos360 is the US branch of an international partnership of like-minded organizations.

 Ethnos360 works among people groups who have had little or no access to the Bible, mostly in remote locations in Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific Region. While providing practical help such as medical care, community development and literacy education, missionaries share Bible lessons that allow the people to choose for themselves whether to believe on Jesus Christ and follow Him.

 Those who believe are discipled, and trained as church leaders, teachers and missionaries themselves. The Ethnos360 missionaries’ goal is to equip people to lead their own church, while they provide support such as Bible translation and lesson development and advice.

 In addition, missionaries train people so they can continue to provide basic medical care, literacy instruction and other practical helps to their own people.

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Thu, 04 May 2017 11:24:32 -0400
Tragedy Brings Opportunities for Ministryhttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/tragedy-brings-opportunities-for-ministryhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13743Tragedy Strikes

In November of 2013, Typhoon Haiyan set its sights on the Philippines where a missionary family had recently settled on one of the small islands.

“The storm is hitting us right now,” they wrote shortly before cell service failed. “Water is pouring in through the walls and windows….”

It was two days before contact was reestablished with the outside world.

Love in Action

Love in Action

“The aftermath of the typhoon was one in which our mission did quite a bit of relief work,” wrote George and Ginny Olson. The Olsons remember that missionary family on the small island and how they played a vital role in assessing needs and distributing relief supplies. The Olsons wrote, “In doing so, they [the missionary family] became an integral part of the community and developed close relationships with many people.” God had positioned them perfectly and shone through their selfless efforts, softening the hearts of those opposed to their presence in the village.

God’s Love Shared

God's Love Shared

And now, after four years of culture and language acquisition, after four years of continuing to cultivate meaningful relationships, the missionaries are starting to prepare Bible lessons to share the gospel message with these people.

Please pray with them that lesson preparations would go smoothly and quickly. Pray that soon this people group will hear the gospel message.

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Sun, 30 Apr 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Bible Reading by Flashlight https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/bible-reading-by-flashlighthttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13731Stored Bibles

How many Bibles do you and I have stored in different places around our homes? How often do we have to take a cloth to clean off the dust and possibly mold?

The Hewa people of Papua New Guinea don’t have the luxury of multiple Bibles.

It’s Obvious ...

John and Jessi George minister among the Hewa. John said, “When new books of the Bible are translated we print new ‘Bibles.’” The “old” Bibles are traded in for new ones (plus a small fee). He continued, “So I have this box of ‘old’ Bibles sitting in the loft in my house. I just kinda like looking at them up there. … All torn up and faded and obviously used. Obviously carried over thick jungle trails, over logs and rivers and up mountainsides. Obviously read.”

Even by Flashlight

Flash Light

With having only half of the New Testament translated, the Hewa are swept up in reading what they have, often reading by flashlight.

John finished with, “I am often challenged and encouraged by my Hewa brothers and sisters to spend more time in the Word of God.” Pray as the translation work continues for the Hewa believers.

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Sun, 23 Apr 2017 06:00:00 -0400
The Iski people can’t please God. Their hands are tied.https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/the-iski-people-cant-please-god-their-hands-are-tiedhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13718Rules Won’t Save

Rules won't save

Like most people, the Iskis love setting laws and giving themselves instruction on how to be good and what to do when they fail. We (missionary Jason Williamson and his co-workers) taught them the lesson on Cain and Abel and then illustrated it with a skit demonstrating that they cannot do anything to please God.

Their Hands are Tied!

I tied the hands and legs of the people in the skit with rope to represent their sinfulness and inability to please God. The first man in the skit said, “Look at all the sinful behavior I have gotten rid of: I used to fight and kill people, I used to sleep around, I used to smoke and chew betel nut. But now I have left all of that so God is pleased with me.”

Their Efforts in Vain

“Look”, said the second man, “I go to the God's talk house (church) all the time, I wear nice clothes so God is pleased with me.” The third said, “I physically give myself pain, like tying sharp vines around myself, or kneeling on sharp metal objects. Because of this God has removed my sin.” Then we told the listeners to look at the three men’s hands and feet — can these people do anything on their own to please God? “No!” they all said.

All of their efforts have been in vain. Only through believing in the coming “saving man” can they be free and acceptable to God. Pray for the salvation of the Iski people as they continue to hear the Bible lessons.

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Sun, 16 Apr 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Ugly Roads Can Lead to Great Placeshttps://ethnos360.org/stories/story/ugly-roads-can-lead-to-great-placeshttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13709Ugly Roads

Two trips merged into one marathon trip that will take Joel McMartin away from home for close to three weeks. And he’ll spend at least four full days of that time driving over what his wife, Andi, can only describe as “ugly roads.”

Why do that?

Strategy

Strategy

It’s a leadership trip. It’s about missionaries, about relationships and about strategy.

The men will meet with seven different teams from various West African countries. They’ll review strategies. They’ll see what struggles the missionaries are facing. And they’ll take the time to pray with them and get to know them better.

Why do that?

Teamwork

Teamwork

We’re not islands unto ourselves. God made us to work together as a team. Part of being a team is providing guidance, direction and encouragement in strategy and struggles to those pressing on to finish the job.

And what job is that? One that is close to the heart of God, the task of seeing yet another people group reached with the gospel message.

Pray for the teams to be left encouraged and challenged to continue on.

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Sun, 09 Apr 2017 06:00:00 -0400
To Minister Effectively in Tanzania, Do as the Tanzanians Do.https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/to-minister-effectively-in-tanzania-do-as-the-tanzanians-dohttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13701A Totally New World

The Sharpe and Anyan families, including their five children in total, have arrived in Tanzania from the USA and Germany respectively. The heat and humidity, the new language, the new culture, the mosquito netting – nothing really feels “normal” yet.

Beginning to Fit in

The days have been full since their arrival in Tanzania. Orientation, beginning Swahili language learning, watching their little ones head off to preschool and starting to feel like they “fit” into the Tanzanian culture. The goal? To be ready to reach out to the Tanzanians with the gospel of Christ.

Getting Positioned

The Anyans and Sharpes have placed themselves in these stretching situations in order to position themselves to reach the people of Tanzania. As the culture and language molds the two families, the Tanzanians will be able to really see and listen to them, not as foreigners but as fellow Tanzanians. Pray for the two families as they continue to allow God to change them during their culture and language study.

Keep up with the team as they prepare to minister.

The Sharpes' Blog The Anyans' Blog

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Sun, 02 Apr 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Missionaries return after a year away.https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/missionaries-return-after-a-year-awayhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13695A Fading Dream...

As Chris and Maggie Hostetter’s year of home assignment progressed, they admitted their four years in Papua New Guinea seemed to dissolve from reality like a fading dream.

And suddenly, they were back in Papua New Guinea.

...Becomes Reality

Becomes, Reality

The first few weeks back were spent at NTM’s center surrounded by Americans in a comfortable house with modern conveniences. The fading dream remained just that. But a one-hour helicopter ride back to their home in the Pal village brought them from the dream abruptly back to reality.

“Crowds of people gathered to greet us and, as we saw faces and shook hands, their names slowly poured back into our memories,” wrote Chris and Maggie Hostetter. “We haltingly greeted and conversed with them, attempting to quickly erase thirteen months without hearing or speaking much Pal.”

Back to Work

Back, to, Work

“It is good to be back among our Pal friends and continuing the work here of seeing them grow in their understanding and love of Christ,” wrote Chris and Maggie. “We have jumped right into discipleship, teaching and translating, along with the continued schooling of our own kids.”

Pray for the Hostetters through this transition.

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Sun, 26 Mar 2017 06:00:00 -0400
'Before I was cold, but now, as I hear this teaching, I am getting warm.'https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/before-i-was-cold-but-now-as-i-hear-this-teaching-i-am-getting-warmhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13682These First Bible Lessons...

Seth Callahan, ministering among the Iski people of Papua New Guinea, shares some of the colorful word pictures he has heard from the people as they are hearing the first of many chronological Bible lessons. These lessons are laying the foundation for the presentation of the gospel.

...Are like a Sharp Machete

Iski, Village, Tribe

“It’s like we are a tree, and our ancestral stories are a vine that is wrapped tightly around us. Satan wants to kill us with this vine, but God’s Word is slowly pulling the vine away, so we can live!”

“Before, I was trying to clear my garden [live my life] with a dull machete, but now this teaching has come, and it is like a new file to sharpen my knife with. Now my work can go well.”

Pray That They Truly Understand

Others remarked, “This talk about Noah has killed my thinking.”

“Before I was cold, but now, as I hear this teaching, I am getting warm.”

Pray for the Iski people as the Bible teaching continues. Their animistic beliefs dictate that they “manipulate the spirits” so their lives will go well. Pray for clarity in the teaching so that they would understand that God is not a spirit to be manipulated, but rather their Creator and Savior Who is worthy of their worship.

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Sun, 19 Mar 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Who Will Reach the Guahibo People? They Themselves Will.https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/who-will-reach-the-guahibo-people-they-themselves-willhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13602A Clear Need

There is a church among the Guahibo people of Colombia — a vibrant church with all the tools needed to evangelize and disciple. But not very far away are five other people groups that are linguistically related but have no knowledge of the Savior. For years people have prayed that God would send missionaries to those five groups.

An Obvious Provision

Jose and Janet Perez with Children

After a recent survey into the needy area, the Lord touched the hearts of a Guahibo couple, José and Janet Pérez, to take the gospel to their own people. A Colombian pastor said, “We have been praying for a number of years that God would send people who are equipped to teach God’s Word in their own language to these groups (of tribal people).”

Taking Definite Steps

After 15 years of ministry in their village, José and Janet will be moving to begin a new ministry. All five people groups understand the Guahibo language, but only two of them can use the existing Bible translation.

Mark and Joyce Cain

With the national culture clashing with the Guahibo culture, there is added urgency to get the gospel to these people groups. Pray with the Guahibo team, Alberto and Nancy González and Mark and Joyce Cain, along with the Guahibo church as they begin this outreach.

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Sun, 12 Mar 2017 06:00:00 -0400
Does Acting Like a Christian Make You a Christian?https://ethnos360.org/stories/story/does-acting-like-a-christian-make-you-a-christianhttps://ethnos360.org/feed/mission-news/13590“Not So Sure”

Death is never easy. It’s harder yet when it is an unbeliever that has just died. And then there are those that missionaries John and Jessi George would say land in the “not too sure” category.

They just faced a death that falls into that category.

Knowing the Right Words

knowing, right, words, woman,

Though they hope she is with Jesus, John and Jessi  just don’t know. This has challenged them to think long and hard about how they communicate salvation to these villagers in Papua New Guinea.

“We still deal with those who claim to be believers, who can quote our chronological teachings from start to finish getting every word correct, but who show no fruit of the Holy Spirit in their daily lives,” the Georges wrote. “We have those who can give a clear [verbal] testimony, … but who stir up drama [and] dissension.”

Knowing Jesus

Hewa People, Trust, Jesus

Have they really understood or are they simply adding this to their animistic belief system?

John and Jessi shared how “one of the major tools in the animist’s tool belt is the use of ‘magic words ... to manipulate the spirits … to give them what they need to make life work.

“The question we must ask ourselves ... is do these people know Jesus or do they just know the stories we have translated and taught about Him? Are they trusting in the person of Jesus and His work on the cross, or are they trusting in the ‘magic words’ that we have so neatly .... bound together as a book?”

Pray that the Hewa people would trust in the person of Jesus.

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Sun, 05 Mar 2017 06:00:00 -0500