Hope this e-mail finds you well wherever you are at. Life in
Yembiyembi continues to roll along, but with significant changes
happening in the villages. The teaching program has continued on with
a "crossers meeting" (the believers call themselves "the crossers"
because they have crossed from Satan's side to God's) every week as
well as a Sat night men's meeting, and Wed afternoon woman's meeting.
Some things that have been happening recently that have never happened
before are: singing in the believers meeting, testimonies by new
believers, public prayer by men and women, and a wholesale changes by
some of the believers to drop old customs and beliefs.
One of the neatest things though was the opportunity to take two of
our new believers on a survey trip to a different tribe that is being
looked at for allocation of new missionaries. The new tribe called
"Biem" has a similar background to Yembiyembi (Animistic/Catholic
Syncretism) and the opportunity for our 2 guys (Peter and Job) to
share (in the trade language) what they had come out of and in a
limited way share that there was is much more these guys needed to
hear, was awesome. Most nights they were up past 2 in the morning (a
everyday occurrence here, but still very painful for me) talking and
explaining to the Biem people what would happen if the missionaries
were to come, and asking questions about their belief system. It was a
really neat opportunity and a great growing time for Job and Peter as
they were able to think back on the massive changes that have come
into their lives over the last 4 years and more specifically the last
7 months.
Sometimes I am leery of writing out these quotes only because the
back-story on the individual that gave it is not able to be given. The
people that said these things are growing and changing right in front
of us in ways that we could not have imagined last year, but this
growth comes with sacrifices. Remember that roughly 50% of the
Yembiyembi village is still not saved, and around 10% of it is
adamantly opposed to what is happening in the tribe
The first night when Peter and Job arrived back from their trip to
Biem their canoe strings were cut sending their canoes way down river,
many of the believers have unbelieving spouses or a parent that are
putting massive pressure on them to stop coming to the meetings and
return to "normal" Yembi life. In the last 6 months some of the new
believers have had babies and the pressure to perform customs or
rituals on these newborn children has been….immense. Pray for guys
like Silas, Roger, Paul, Dennis, Andrew, Job, Gloria, Prisca and
Regina, that in the face of these challenges they would stay strong.
Trials challenges and opposition are not a bad thing, they actually
have an incredibly purifying effect on the body of believers
(half-hearted people usually jump ship fast), but we need to continue
to hold them up in prayer through these so they would come out
stronger on the other side.
After hearing that we will have to fly in a plane and boat across 5
hours of open ocean to get to Biem island for the survey some of the
women in the tribe started to wail for Job and Peter thinking they
might die. Job had never been in a plane or on the open ocean but
stood up in his house that night and said this: "Don't cry for me, I
don't feel any fear in my bones about this trip. I sit in one man's
hand and if He closes His fingers then I know it is my time, but He
holds/controls the waves of the sea and of the air (wind) so I don't
feel any fear".
One of the Biem Islanders asked Peter in a meeting if he had left his
beliefs that he was brought up with. Peter said this "I have. I
realized that I had been eating talk that was mixed with maggots, some
of it was good, but some of it was making me very sick. I was not
ready for the time of death, I was on a path that men had created that
was full of lies. Now I don't swallow (believe quickly) talk from
anyone, black man, white man, priest, village elder, none of them. I
hear their talk, I scale it (evaluate it) and if it is true talk I
down it (believe it), if not I throw it away, I only believe what is
true".
In the ladies meeting last week my mother Gloria stood up to talk to
God (pray) in public: "God break our heads in this meeting (open our
minds to understand) so that we see with clear eyes your talk, we
don't want our thinking to be cloudy. Keep your eyes on our 3 who are
on the big salt-water lake (the island survey to Biem), bring them
back here to us, that is the end of my talk".
My brother in-law Dennis whose wife (Vila) was sick said this: "Many
are asking me to make the offering of the spirits (killing then
burning a chicken in the house to satisfy whatever spirit is causing
the sickness), but I will not go down the path of man's talk
(untruth). I know who can make her better and I will only ask Him".
Then he asked if Tony would pray with him right there for Vila. She
has slowly been coming back to health this last week.
Next week we cross into another first for the believers here as we
step into the book of Acts. We are still working like crazy to finish
the necessary scriptures portions of Acts, and laying the foundations
for Romans (to be taught soon after Acts), so pray that the Lord gives
us good health and allows us to stay ahead of the teaching with
translated materials. Already in the translation of Acts we have seen
the believers that are working with us really respond to that book, we
are hoping the same holds true for the rest of the believers.
Last night in our men's meeting we were talking about a man from a
neighboring village who had been bitten and killed by a poisonous
snake when a 4 and half foot Death Adder came slithering right between
the legs of my brother-in law into the middle of our meeting and swung
around back to where me and my fathers were sitting. Nina and Beau
were asleep but heard the yelling and hooting as the men scattered and
climbed up poles to get away. We finally pinned it down with a shovel
as it went in and out of the stools and leaves that everyone was
sitting on. No amount of coffee can wake you up like having a
poisonous snake slither right under your chair. We had a good laugh
after it was over, though I was checking my boxers to make sure I
could continue.
Beau continues to grow like crazy, he is starting 2nd grade in 2 weeks
and is preparing himself mentally for the coming battles with his
mother. She in turn is listing her bribes, methods of inflicting pain
and other "motivators" to get him through.
Thanks guys, we love and appreciate you all, thanks for your continued
encouragement support and steadfastness in keeping us out here. We are
members of a greater team and we are thankful that you are part of
that team.
Your friends,
Brooks, Nina and Beau
P.S. The immensely spiritual job of taping any college or pro football
games (USC, Michigan, or the Chargers makes you extra spiritual) and
sending them to this address is there for the taking J.
Brooks Buser
P.O. Box 625
Wewak E.S.P.
Papua New Guinea
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