Week 2

Dear Friends and Family:

Well the 2^nd week of teaching has come and gone and there is so much to talk about. First off our family.

Nina and Beau are doing well, hanging in there and great troopers about being in the village for night teaching sessions. Beau has a hard time sitting still, but loves the skits and playing marbles (with rubber nuts) chasing dogs and chickens with the Yembi kids. Nina has been having a great impact on her sisters and mothers in the tribe, all of which feel much more comfortable asking her questions than me.

The teaching has been rolling. We have continued with 80-90% of the village attending, with every night seeing an increase. A neat thing to watch has been the young men of the village. Nearly every one of the young guys from 17-30 is showing up and are the center of the excitement, interest, questions and understanding. This has not been lost on the women and older men of the tribe, and has prompted many who were on the fence to keep coming night after night.

The core of those guys right now are, Rueben, Job, Rodney, Joel, Roger, Stanley, Robert, Paul, Dennis, Fidalis, Kevin, Silas, Jerome, Lawrence, Roy, Desmond, and Siril (their pictures, and the rest of the tribe, are still on http://www.flickr.com/photos/yembiyembi/). This is a big deal in our tribe because the leadership structure will always be the older men, and these guys are being groomed now, to step into the leadership that will hold this village for the next 20 years.

One of the inevitable side affects of having a village that has so many people coming and going (from other tribes as well as our own) has been losing people to travel. Micheal, Kelly, Lucas, Max, and Peter had to leave for different reasons like buying a bride for their family, selling some bark to a spice dealer, and attending a government course. We were all sad to see them go, but we are praying and hoping we get them back before Sat and the start of the 3^rd week of teaching, and if you have their picture (or even if you don't) be praying as well.

One of the upsides to the absences came last night as we were preparing to teach. Andrew (from the Toucan Clan) stood up before the teaching and told everyone "Some of our fathers, brothers and sons are not here tonight. So tonight we have to shut the children's mouths well, keep the noise out, and listen well. Who will tell this talk if it is not us." Last night we had great attendance and the people were locked on.

Some highlights to pass on.

On Monday night we taught on the creation of Man, and what God gave us that separates from all other creation, there was almost complete silence as we laid it out. Then as we taught on God knowing what Adam was going to be like, and desiring to be friends, good friends with Adam, Robert (my father in the Ostrich clan) asked if God knew them. As we explained that 6,000+ years ago He knew their names, knew they would be here now, and loves them like Adam, there were whistles (Yembi's way of saying OHHH man) and exclamations of surprise that the creator of the world knew/knows THEM.

Because we end the teaching at 7:30-8:00 at night we usually end up staying around for an hour or so answering questions and going over the main points to those that aren't getting it. After we leave my office helper Job told me on Tues morning "In-law (our reference for each other as he married my sister) don't think that when you white guys leave we stop talking. People are bribing me with cigarettes and food to come over and talk about what they heard, and to explain and give them clues to the next lesson, my jaws hurt with too much talk".

Finally again Kerobim.

He continues to be at every teaching session. His intentions are unknown, but as we taught through the sun moon and stars and the creation of Man he was listening intently and tracking well. He is fighting a loosing battle as his wife, 3 sons and nearly all his good friends are regulars (Roy his oldest son is usually 15 minutes early for every teaching session, unheard of in this culture). Keep praying for him, there is a battle going on in his head.

Next week is probably the biggest week of the teaching we will have.

Sat- Creation of Eve

Sun- Fall of Lucifer and the Angels

Sun- Start of the fall

Mon- Implications of the fall

Tues- Results of the fall and the promised Redeemer.

Wed- Adam and Eve removed from the garden

Many Yembi's are starting to see that this talk is not going where they thought it would go (ie. everyone to heaven, God is a distant grandfatherly figure, warm and fuzzy). The Fall of mankind through their ancestor Adam is going to be a jolt to their system, especially as they realize who's sons and daughters they actually are.

Thanks for your prayers, e-mails of encouragement, and support, we are kept afloat by all of it.

Thanks so much guys, we appreciate you all,

Brooks for Nina and Beau

P.S. all these e-mails and links to other stuff are on the blog http://bringingthesecrettalk.blogspot.com/

MNN Article

Mission Network News wrote an excellent article on the Yembi Yembi mission. You can read about it HERE.

The First Three Days

Well the first three days of teaching have come and gone and it has been a whirlwind of excitement, hard work, and a testament to God’s moving.

The first day of teaching we had roughly 80% of the village there by mid-point through the lesson. About 40-50 stayed just outside the teaching house watching to see if the spirits were going to start materializing and killing people, or if anything unusual was going to happen. By the end of the first day, when no one had died and no spirits had been seen, most settled in to see what exactly this “talk” was.

On the second day we taught on God’s attributes of eternality, omnipotence, and omnipresence. To close the lesson we ended with our first skit (God always present with a Yembiyembi man as he went about his daily routine) and the teaching house (which has a dirt floor no walls and the YY’s sit on every side) turned nearly dark because of the crush of people pushing to see. It was an eye opening event and showed us what a powerful tool skits can be in the coming days.

Last night we taught on the Trinity, creation of Angels and Lucifer, and God’s creative power and contrasted it with the sorcery/black power/magic that they know of. We had probably 90% of the village there, but even more exciting has been the faithful attendance of 4 out of 5 of the existing “church” leaders, two of which are very keen about the “talk”.

Next week the schedule will be as follows:

Saturday-Days1-3 of Creation

Sunday –Day 4 of Creation

Monday-Day 5 of Creation

Tuesday-Day 6 of Creation, Man and Woman, and what it means to be made in the image of God

Wednesday-Adam being placed in the garden

Of all the days Tuesday is going to be the most ground shaking for the Yembi’s. Most believe that at death their “being” splits into 2 or 3 parts (depending on the person you talk to), part goes to the land of the dead (the spirit world), part goes to heaven with God, part to Rome (Catholic influence) to become a “white skin” or evaporates into thin air. I don’t need to explain the hurdles we will have to cross and how the meeting of the two worldviews is going to be explosive. Pray that God would give us wisdom as to how to teach and gently raise the light level.

After each day’s lesson we hand out written copies of the lessons so that they can review them on their own (our literacy class graduates eat these up), and on Tuesday we handed out the first translated verses of Genesis 1:1-25. There are lots of stories of how God’s Word is impacting, it would take too much time to tell them all, here are a couple.

We have representatives of 6 other language groups (people that don’t speak Bises but other tribal languages) in the teaching as well (Yembiyembi is very tied into the surrounding area through marriage and trade) and one of them is a 20 year old girl named Kordia. She has been attending the teaching but can’t understand large portions of it because she doesn’t speak Bises. So at night she sits by the fire with her uncle, who graduated from the literacy class 2 weeks ago, and he reads the lesson to her and catches her up on all the questions that she couldn’t understand. Kordia was supposed to go back to her village today, but has told her uncle “this talk is sitting well with my bel (mind) I’m not leaving until I have heard all of it.”

One of Tony’s brothers (Dennis from the Toucan Clan) stood up on the first day of teaching and said; “This talk is going to come, I am not going to miss a lesson, and anyone that downs this talk (talks badly of it) or tries to stop others from hearing, will get spun (beat up) by me.”

And finally Kerobim…

The first day of the teaching Kerobim said that “anyone who goes to the teaching would die.” My language helper Job (He and I put together the lessons in Bises) was walking by Kerobim’s house when he heard what Kerobim was saying. Job went into Kerobim’s house and sat down beside him and said, “Father, (Job is his clan son) the talk you are against-ing (fighting) is coming from God. I now know (Job is clear on the fall and what being born “In Adam” means) that your mouth is being used by the great evil spirit, and the path you are on is not fighting New Tribes Mission, or the white man, but you are fighting God. Be careful because the path you are on is one of deception and great pain, don’t be fooled, open your ears”.

Kerobim has been coming to every meeting, he has been quiet and he has been listening. Don’t get me wrong he doesn’t promote what we are doing, but he has not been an antagonist to us thus far. KEEP

PRAYING!!!

Guys that should do it. I am sorry about not updating you sooner, our home computer took a dive the day of the teaching, and we have tried to get this older one up to speed to do e-mails. Thanks for your patience.

Remember if you want a picture of one of the Yembi’s to pray for they are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/yembiyembi/ and all these update e-mails as well as other links are on our blog http://bringingthesecrettalk.blogspot.com/

These are the opening shots in a 2-3 month battle that is not going to be won without a fight, so keep praying for your people, and the particular material they are going to be hearing that day.

Thanks guys, we appreciate you all,

Brooks for Nina and Beau

P.S. I hope you mourned on my behalf as the Chargers went down to the Patriots…..those guys were lucky we were at less than 50% health.

P.S.S. Because we lost our laptop computer, if any of you sent me your e-mail address to be added in the last month, resend it so I can add you to the list.

48 Hours

Dear Friends and Family:

Well, we are 48 hours from starting the teaching and so much has happened
since I last wrote that it would take too long to write, and too much of
your energy to read it. Suffice it to say that God is doing some incredible
preparation on hearts here, and the biggest talk in the village is the
"secret talk" that is coming on Monday night (The Yembi's are calling it the
"secret talk" because it has taken so long to get to them).

Our teaching schedule for now is Mon,Tues,Wed,Sat,Sun evening starting at
5:00 and ending around 7:00. Things change very rapidly here, so that
schedule might not survive the first week, but that is the plan for now.

Monday at 2:00 in the afternoon our entire team (Suttons, Shonteres and us)
will be meeting together to pray, then we will be heading down to the
village and at around 4:00 we will hit the meeting drum (it is the culture
to give everyone an hour or so from the time of hitting the drum to the
start of any meeting).

Monday we will start with an introduction to what we are teaching, "Why
this talk is important?" "Where did God's talk originate?" "How did this
talk come to us?" and "Why it is so important to hear the whole talk?"

Tuesday is Genesis 1:1 and starting on God's attributes

Wednesday is the creation of Angels, Lucifer, the earth and the sky.

During the teaching there will be constant tension on their present
worldview, and the God of the Bible. Be praying that He would give us wisdom
as the two come into collision and the Yembis meet for the first time the
One who has no beginning, who can not be bought off, who sees all thoughts
and actions, and who loves them deeply, but cannot allow sinful people to be
with Him in heaven. It is going to be a rough ride for many.

Keep praying for Kerobim Manu. Last week he stood up in the Catholic
"church" and blasted the other "teacher" for NOT joining the literacy class,
and for putting it down. Kerobim graduated with no absences and near the top
of the class last Saturday and although he is not on our side by any
stretch, it was nice to have him backing the literacy program (which we will
have a graduation for the third class in a few more weeks).

Remember we have the website http://www.flickr.com/photos/yembiyembi/ that
has all the pictures of the Yembi's on it.
Some of the people that we have talked to in recent days (I know some of you
have the pictures of them) that are very excited about the coming teaching
are; Sylvia, Micheal, Sabina, Job, Roger, Robert, Stanley, Sophia, Joanna,
Malkiol, Lukas, Prisca, Alex, Angela, Andrew, Donald, Bosco, Max, Hellen,
Herman, Bill, Nancy, Siril, Regina, Josie, Jacinda and many many others.

In the last few days the rumors have really started to fly about what is
coming in the teaching. Some Yembis believe we will be showing them the
road that the cargo comes from, some that we are going to bring dead loved
ones back to life during the teaching, some think we are dead loved ones
come to save them from whatever death has in store, and some believe we will
be calling the spirits of the jungle out to bring death and destruction to
the tribe.

In all this remember that we (yourself included) are in a spiritual battle.
Yembiyembi is a very strategic place in the Sepik (A province of Papua New
Guinea) and if this tribe understands clearly the gospel of grace it would
have a powerful ripple affect through the entire region. So neither you or I
should be surprised if we hit opposition early and often through the
teaching, the key will be to keep praying through all of the distractions.

Remember to pray for these key issues.

1. Attendance. Partial understanding is very dangerous, if they miss or step
out of the teaching it will keep them on their present path...which is
separation from God... and eternity in hell.

2. The lessons would resonate in them. Only God can bring about change, but
as we teach He can give us the wisdom to knock down, build up, and explain
all the areas that are not clear to them. We really need that wisdom.

3. Health for our entire team through the next 3 months. The list of things
that can go wrong health wise in the tropics is long, Malaria is the most
common, please be praying we would be healthy.

Guys that should do it, I am off to bed. Thanks for your patience, I don't
care for long e-mails, but this is a once in a lifetime event and I had to
let you know what was going on, our other e-mails will be much shorter than
this I promise.

We love you all, we are glad you are on this team, we would not be here
without you, thanks for standing with us.

Your friends,

Brooks, Nina, and Beau

NTM Article on the Yembi Yembi Mission

NTM reporter David Bell wrote a piece on the progress of the mission to Yembi Yembi. You can read it HERE.

Message from January 6, 2008

Dear Friends and Family:

Wanted to write you another quick one to let you know how things are shaping up as we close in on January 21st.

There are many encouraging talks, discussions, even teaching on various issues (maps, world history, military power of the modern world) that we have had with the Yembi's in the past 2 weeks. Much of this time is being committed to broaden their worldview, and to show them they are a very small part of a much bigger picture (more than they even can fathom right now).

Some updates on individuals (again all the pictures of the YY's are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/yembiyembi/).

Those of you praying for Max, Michael, Sophia, Andrew, Sita, Gloria, Donald and Rueben, be encouraged. These ones in the past days have really stepped up and are excited about what is coming on the 21st (all of them are also outstanding Literacy students, not a coincidence).

Keep praying for Kerobim Manu, he is very scared, nervous and concerned about the coming weeks. Kerobim is the current leader of the “Catholic” church in Yembiyembi, but is an Animist at heart. He is not tremendously respected (because of what he lives vs. what he preaches on Sunday) but he is greatly feared. He is also one of the best speakers (American or Papua New Guinean) I have ever heard. If he were to understand the gospel of grace someday, it would have a profound affect on every speaker of this language. Please put him on your list of people to pray for.

One other issue that we see coming is the issue of getting people to the teaching every day. Nearly everyone (even many from our sister villages) are excited about the coming teaching, and are more curious than anything to hear about the origins of death, pain, the first man, etc… But after that initial hype wears off we are worried that many will end up being sporadic or even drop out all together. As you pray for your people, pray that they would come to the teaching, but also that they would STAY for the ENTIRE time it is going to be taught. It is very un-Yembiyembi like to stay for something past 3 days, and for the teaching they are looking at 5 days a week for 2-3 months (with breaks, but not long ones), it is daunting to them, so be praying.

Finally I want to leave you with 2 very encouraging things that are happening/have happened. One is that we are having our 2nd literacy class graduation in less than 1 week (12th), and these guys can read very well.

2nd is a recent trip I had with one of my tribal fathers (Lawrence) to go night pig hunting. The pig hunt never paid off, but the time talking with Lawrence did. We were talking about death, what happens when we die, and what makes us different from these pigs we were hunting, does any part of us live after death. Lawrence is a sharp guy and came up with this “if the life that comes after is without finish, then this one is very short, and if this one is very short, then money, pigs, bush knives and canoes are not very important, only what straightens my path for death is important”.

Thanks guys for praying, keep it up, it has/is/will be worth it,

Brooks for Nina and Beau

P.S. We finished the first chapter of Acts yesterday, this is what verse 8 sounds like “ Put your thoughts to this, very soon God Spirit will come to enter you. When he comes, then great strength also he will give you, then you will speak carry/spread my good talk to the ground of Jerusalem, the ground of Judea, the ground of Samaria, and to all the ground where people speak languages”.