Dear Friends and Family:
Well we are back in Yembiyembi and settling back into our translation and teaching routine. The time out of the tribe proved to be a great time for the believers as they taught themselves for 3 weeks and did a great job at it as well.
When we got back we heard that they met together on the first Saturday night but for the second and third teaching times they decided to move the teaching time to Sunday morning. This is a big step for these guys as it shows they have no fear of the backlash from the "other side" and what they could have done to them. Thankfully nothing came of it, and now 3 lessons into Romans the Sunday morning time has proven to be a huge blessing.
Nina is doing well and is continuing to pound 2nd grade into Beau's head, keeping us all fed, medicated, and clothed, leading the womens group (that has doubled in the last month), and discipling 6 ladies. Lately she has been doing battle with a couple rats in the house that chewed up 3 of her Tupperware which brought the wrath of God (through Nina) down on our house.
Beau is working his way through school, mud ball fights, shooting birds with slingshots, teaching his dog how to roll over, catching little bats, and how to trap fish in the river. He does well in here when there are activities and kids to keep him occupied, but is very excited for the day when Scarlett and Logan (our co-workers kids) get back.
I am in the middle of translating and teaching the book of Romans. We are presently 6 chapters ahead in the translation (teaching off of translated material) and hoping to get the book done in the next month and a half. There are always a ton of things going on in Yembiyembi, airstrip work, house maintenance, lesson writing, translation, but the biggest by far is the interaction with the dozens of people we see every day. As the believers are growing the discipleship that is taking place is far and away the most important job we have. As they grow and stretch they are applying more and more of what they learn to every aspect of their lives.
While we were gone a witchdoctor from another village came to Yembiyembi and offered to cleanse the house of anyone in the tribe for a small fee. With this house cleansing no one who lives in that house will get sick or die, but he threatened that anyone who doesn't ask for his "help" will be sick and die soon. My uncle Zaccheus stood up in the believers meeting while we were out and said this, "Everyone is free to follow their own thinking, but the footprints of this liar will not be around my house. Only God controls sickness and death. How can a man nothing (mere man) tell me he controls these things? This is a clear lie, we are not going down that path".
One of my best friends, my brother-in-law Job, was a little more…pointed when he stood up in the men's house (the meeting house of all YY men) and said this, "This is the fat layer (biggest) of all trick plans (cons). This man says he can keep us from sickness and death, do it and see if it works, but my hands will be clean from this liar. Before I would have doubted and been thrown around like dry grass (easily persuaded), but my thinking is clear now, God alone holds us in his hands. But those of you who don't have clear thinking, who don't know the root of our talk, feel the fear in your bones and do it, but I have no fear of this man's words".
Guys that is about it for now. We are still going through ups and downs, challenges and trials of living in Yembiyembi. God is doing a great thing in this village and the enemy is not going to just give up and go home, so please keep praying. Last Sunday we had 10 new faces in the group and there were 3 from sister villages that are here "tasting" what this talk is about. The believers are teaching in their houses every night and there is talk of the older believers teaching a new class from Adam to Christ that will be for the children and new believers who want the review.
But at the same time there is talk of the two unbelieving village chiefs (there are 5 of them) going out to town and taking myself and the other 3 believing chiefs to court just to get us to stop the teaching. There continues to be the antagonism and out right threats made against some of the believers, but they are not intimidated. Keep praying.
Thanks for your gifts, your letters, your prayers and your support, we wouldn't be here without you behind us.
Brooks for Nina and Beau
