Week #6

Dear Friends and Family:

 

Week 6 for us in Yembi Yembi has been getting back into teaching and gearing up for the final month which will end with Jesus death, burial and resurrection.

 

Last night we taught on the first four laws that God gave to Moses and the Israelites. As normal we had 70-100 for the start, but about 10 minutes into the lesson the bulk (another half) of the village showed up. The neat part was that as we taught the number of people that came did not translate into a louder crowd (which is normally how it works).

 

As always there are ones that are tracking….incredibly well, and ones that are not.

 

Pray for Donald, Kerobim (Manu), Alan, Ana (Lulu), Apronia, Elmina, Gotfrit, Jackson and Janurarias (Sandemel). These ones are having a hard time tracking, not showing up, or out right opposed to what is happening.

 

Vila, Sylvia, Sita, Sophia, Scola, Roy, Nik, Mikelma, Max, Martin, Kevin, Joel and Iginais are there (most of the time) and are tracking, but we are not sure to what degree. These guys really need your prayers.

 

Then there is Roger, Edward, Anastasia, Job, Silas, Paul, Dennis, Lawrence, Kelly, Kerobim (Kafisa), Nikola, Alexia, Edita, Ilen, Stanley and Mariana, that are doing really well, tracking, understanding, and believing that this talk is true.

 

Last week one of my fathers (Robert) said to me " Oldest son,  I was reading the story of Pharo and how he saw with his eyes the strong of Yawe but his heart was strong like Cains. I put my thoughts (thought to) to Yawe that my heart would not be strong like that, that I would be able to see, understand, and scale to be true (believe) his talk".

 

With the death of Leo and Tino still in their minds, Job my brother-in-law, said this to everyone in his house as they tried to persuade him to help them kill and burn the feathers of a chicken to ward off death from the black power men, "Death is with us all the time, but no man on this ground holds me in his hand, only God will say when my time is done, when his fingers close then I will go, but not before."

 

Last night after teaching the first 4 commandments and why the commandments were given, my brother Rodney said this, "Who is able, who that walks this ground is able to keep all of these (10 Commandments) all the time, not us ones of dark skin, not you light skin ones, this cannot be the way, there must be another way".

 

It was the highlight of my week to do the preparation for the lesson on Jesus birth and to look back on how faithful God has been to us these last 3 months, and trust in that faithfulness as we get to the most important part of the teaching. We have about a month to go, and as of now are slated to finish the teaching the last week of April. Please don't let up on the prayers and petitions for these people, they are getting it, the light is encroaching on all they believe and hold to, and it is making a difference.

 

Right now the river is high and we are looking at the village going under in the next few days or so, if the rains don't stop and the river keeps rising. If the river floods and the village goes under (the houses are on high poles, but the teaching house is a dirt floor with benches) then the teaching house will go under and we will have to move to higher ground. Pray that we could stay where we are, keep the routine, and keep the momentum going for the teaching.

 

Our team is in good health, (minus lingering effects of Malaria in a few of us) and good spirits for this final month, pray that we could keep up with the work load, with the 100's of people that could use some discipleship and catch-up time, and keep our eyes on God through this whole thing.

 

Thanks guys, keep it up we sure appreciate you all,

 

Brooks for Nina and Beau

 

The pictures of all the Yembi's are still at http://www.flickr.com/photos/yembiyembi/ and there is a blog of all these e-mail and other links at http://bringingthesecrettalk.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video Update

A brief video of the first teaching of the Gospel to the Yembi Yembis.

Week #5

Dear Friends and Family:

Well, we finished week five plus one day of teaching and we are now looking at a 2 week break and then back to finish the teaching which will culminate with the death, burial, and resurrection.  The last lesson we finished with was the lesson of how God saved the Israelites through crossing the Red Sea.

Because the anticipation of Leo coming (his body) there has been a lot of outsiders in the village and most of them come to the teaching. This has had upsides and downsides, with adding about 70 more people to the teaching, but ones that do not have the foundation of the earlier lessons, it has been a mixed bag. One neat upside is that the outsiders have been asking the regular Yembi's (ones who do have the foundation from Creation till now) about the teaching and it is not unusual to walk down to the teaching house and see a man walking a small group of kids or adults through the pictures (we have pictures for nearly every lesson to help jog their memory).

Thanks to all of you that were praying for the village, and especially the ones that are scared that it wouldn't effect their attendance (with the two deaths of big men many are trying to blame the new teaching). The first day back we were missing quite a few older ones, but steadily we have gotten nearly every one of them back. There are still ones that are very suspicious and the years of animistic influence are too much for them to overcome at this time. Especially continue to pray for Kerobim and Donald, they are at the very center of creating much of this fear, and are not happy with many of the younger guys that do not agree with them and are "breaking customs" by not believing in the dead spirits.

Probably the most exciting time of my week is on Saturday night from 9:00 till 4:00 in the morning. Since the teaching started we have been meeting on Saturday nights with any men who want to come and "talk to understand" the teaching. This time has been great to clearly gauge where some of the stronger ones are at in the teaching, and to understand where we need to make adjustments, re-teach, and clarify. Like I said it starts at 9:00pm but usually does not end till 2 or 4am and each week has been steadily growing in attendance. The neatest thing is that the format is purely Q&A, so all night long they sit and ask any and every question they can think of about the lessons but most especially about the "bridge man". Because we have not taught on Jesus yet there are many times we have to say "Guys that talk is coming, I promise it is coming", but there are many questions we can answer and strengthen their growing knowledge in the process.

Here are some clips from last nights meeting…

Freddy (He married one of my tribal sisters, but is from another language group, he has been coming to the teaching since the beginning) said: "In-law, I watch this God and how he kills the ones of Egypt who do not listen to his talk, but he saves all the ones of Israel who listen to His talk and action it with sheep blood on the sides and top of the door. Like that it must be with me, I must hear this talk, and I must know what to do with it, just hearing will not help me"

Roger my brother said this: "I too see this God and how he deals with men who hear and throw away (sin) his talk, like Cain, and Lot's wife, and the ones of Egypt. And I remember that this is the one who sees me work in the garden, this is the one who sees my thinking in the clear all day long, this is a very scary thought to me"

Peter, another one of my brother-in-laws said this: " I lay in bed at night and think of my book (the record of sins that God keeps for each man), how big it must be that I could probably not carry it. If that book is talking against me when I die then there is no hope for me, it is too big to hide or talk trick (deceive) about".

I answered Peter and he came back with this: "For this bridge-man talk my ears will be sharp (listen well), He will give me the road to come back to God's side and to take that massive book away"

Guys these 4 comments don't do justice to hours and hours of talking about things like, when life begins, where skin colors come from, how does God talk to us today, what happens at death, and most especially what happens after death. All of these get discussed, but all are answered from God's word.

One other note is that we (Nina, Tara, and Courtney) started something similar with the ladies last Thursday morning and the turnout was…..incredible. Be praying for this meeting, it has the chance to impact the Yembiyembi ladies like few other things can.

As we go into the break let me give you three things to pray for in addition to your individual people that you already have.

 

1. Pray that the stories that have been taught would continue to be talked about through this break. Repetition is key for these guys, many do not get the meaning of the stories till it is told to them 2 or 3 times, and some have to hear 5-10 times, critical thinking has to be pounded into them. Be praying that they continue to talk and repeat the stories so they can work there way home to ones who have not fully understood them yet.

 

2. As they bury Leo in the next few days, that the outcome from that bolster the teaching, not scare people away from it.

 

3. That we would not lose any more people to death during the teaching. Few things can scare people like death, but to the animist it is the ultimate reality and there is no way (unlike in the West) to dress it up, hide it, or talk around it, it is simply too brutal and too real. Please pray that God would hold back the death for some of these older ones that are on the edge of understanding, and for the sakes of many in the village that would be terrified if another man was to die.

 

Guys that should do it. Keep up the good work, it is no accident that the Yembiyembi's, some of the strongest toughest people on God's earth, are hearing and responding to His word, keep praying, keep asking Him to be working in the heart of the person or persons you are praying for.

Thanks guys,

Brooks Nina and Beau

P.S. we will try and send pictures over the 2 week break, so sorry we have been unable to this point. All our e-mails go out via radio (meaning they have to be very very small).

 

Resuming the teaching

Dear Friends and Family:

 

Well much has happened since we last wrote and we wanted to catch you up.  

 

Leo's (Kemua's) death has been a huge blow to the Yembiyembi's and their confidence in this life.  Consequently, many are very scared and very worried at this time. Some have openly stated that the teaching has "made clear (explained) the paths of death", and that is why so many are dying now. Some are reverting back to what they grew up with (that Leo's spirit is stalking the village looking to hurt people), and the fear that goes with that, which is not completely unexpected. If you or I were raised to believe something about the afterlife, something that our forefathers for many many generations had believed and passed down, it would not be wiped away in one clean sweep, it would take time, and bravery to stand up and believe in something that goes against years of their ingrained culture.

 

The neatest thing is watching these brave ones, these 40-50 who have heard, understood, and believe that this is the truth. And if it is the truth then EVERTHING else is a lie, and therefore nothing to fear. It has been amazing to hear stories (from other Yembi's) and watch in the back of rooms as these men and women (remember these guys are not yet saved, they simply have taken what they know, compared it to God's word and believe that the Word is true) stand up for what they have heard in the teaching. It is having an incredible impact on the people around them.

 

Part of that group, and ones that Nina and I have been able to spend some time with are Robert, Joel, Roger, Job, Silas, Kelly, Stanley, Joanna, Rodney, Paul, Lucas,  Prisca, Edward, Peter, Dennis, Vila, Zaccheus, Micheal and Ilen.

Continue to pray for these guys and girls, they are out in front leading the change that is starting to grip Yembiyembi. Many are not sure where this talk will end up, what will be required of them by God, what it will take to understand the bridge-crossing man (the man that will be the one to make a way for the children of Satan to walk across to the other side and become children of God), but they want to know badly.

Some ones to pray for that are really worried, are scared of  the teaching and are not doing too well: Donald, Kerobim, Otto, Sevi, Maria (Kalanges), Januarius (Bonambil), and John-Florian. All of their pictures are at this website. http://www.flickr.com/photos/yembiyembi/

 

This week we will be teaching some very very important lessons, so be in prayer about these and that we would get as many Yembi's as possible out to the teaching. Because of the fear in the tribe, it has scared some (especially the older ones) about coming back, pray that we could get them there, and get them listening well. The 3 key lessons for this week will be: Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac, The Passover, and the Red Sea crossing. These 3 lessons have some huge implications for the Yembi's, and if they grasp the meaning of them they will be so much closer to understanding Christ when he comes on the picture, so be praying for your people.

 

Leo's body has still not been buried (it is in the morgue at town) and will be coming in any day. We are hoping to get a solid week and a half of teaching in before that happens and the whole village shuts down again. There are 5 other people in the village that the Yembis are calling "one leg in" (meaning one leg is already in the grave, they are very close to dying), and a couple that have gotten much worse recently and could go any day. Be praying for these ones, some have been coming to the teaching, others are physically not able to come, or mentally not able to comprehend what is going on, but loosing any of them would be very tough at this time.

 

Not much else guys. Remember this is not a battle, it is a drawn out war with victories and losses, the one constant is God, and our prayers and petitions for His strength and power to move in these situations. Keep up the good work we are so very happy to have you standing with us in all of this.

 

Your friends,

Brooks, Nina and Beau