Over the past few months we have been asking you to pray that God might make a way for us to return to Enga Province, and we are pleased to report that God has answered your prayers (and ours). We are now back in the village of Immi! Although I (Adam) was able to make a brief trip back in February, this is the first time that Martha and the kids have been back in Enga for more than two years due first to our furlough and then Coronavirus travel restrictions. We praise God that we have finally been able to return together as a family.
The kids are on school break right now, and so they are enjoying some down time by playing games, going to the river, and spending time with their village brothers Lami and Sani, and their new village sister Samila. In the past, Martha would homeschool the kids when were in the village, but now she also gets a bit of a break (although she is also using this time to plan for the upcoming school year as she will be teaching sixth, seventh, and eighth grade English).
As always, it has taken a little bit of time to adjust to life in the village. This time out, we discovered that the batteries for our solar electrical system were really starting to get old and not hold a charge well. So the first night here, we were in the dark with no matches or flashlights (except the ones on our phones). But we figured out how to tweak the system to get the lights to stay on longer at night. We also have had no rain for our first ten days here (although it is raining as I type this). Our house water supply is 100% dependent upon rainfall, and so we have had to preserve water by bathing in the river instead of taking showers. Although the water in the local stream is quite cold, it is also quite refreshing as well, and so bathing in the stream is not so bad. On top of water and power issues, our fridge was not working at all when we arrived, which caused a bit of concern until we realized that the dial that regulates how cold the fridge gets was completely turned off!
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| The kids back in Enga with their village brothers Lami and Sani and sister Samila |
During our first week in the village we were able to complete the face-to-face portion of the consultant check for Revelation. We are now working through the book of Romans. Although Romans is fairly a difficult book, the message seems to be coming through quite clearly in Enga (although we are making a few adjustments here and there). After finishing Romans we hope to continue on with one of the other Pauline epistles that will still have to check face-to-face. Because we have been able to resume face-to-face checking, we continue drawing closer to completing the New Testament. Lord willing, we hope to have the New Testament recorded, printed, and ready for distribution next fall (after the national elections). Please pray that nothing will hinder our progress. It seems that Satan is already at work to prevent the completion of this project with tribal fighting erupting in the village of two of our translators and some other challenges as well, so we need your prayers!
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| Bella with her village sister Samila |
During our time in the village, Martha has been very intentional about making sure we spend time in the market area outside our house and “story” with people. So we have been going outside late in the afternoon and just talking with people. It is not uncommon for us to start talking to one person only to find that, within the span of a few minutes, we are surrounded by thirty or forty people. People have been telling us over and over again that they were very concerned that we had died in America due to Coronavirus (which would explain our long absence in their minds). We also had an interesting conversation about the Coronavirus vaccine (AstraZeneca). There are all sorts of rumors circulating in Papua New Guinea about the vaccine. One of the rumors is that the vaccine magnetizes your arm. One of the leading men in the village asked me if that rumor was true. So I told him that I myself had received the vaccine, and then I asked him if he had a coin. So he quickly got a coin and I rolled up my sleeve and told him to hold the coin up to my arm at the spot where I had received the injection. Then I told him to let it go, and as soon as he did the coin of course fell to the ground, thus dispelling the rumor about the vaccine magnetizing the arms of those who receive it. From there we were able to discuss more practical information about Coronavirus and who is most at risk of complications, so all in all it turned out to be a beneficial conversation.
