Ismail is a strong believer and continues to grow in his faith everyday.  There is a change in this man’s life.  He comes up to my porch just about every night to catch up on how my day went and we talk about his day.  Josapine is a believer as well.  There has been a change in her attitude as something that only God can do.

Sepinus has put his faith and trust in the Redeemer or “the Getting-Back-Man”, as we call him.  Gabriella is from another language group and we are not sure about her salvation.  Sepi starts our services with prayer.  This morning he prayed, “Oh Great Creator Being, your strength is big.  You are the one that has no beginning, no middle and no end.  We are not like that but You are.  We are going to hear from Your Word today.  Help us with our thoughts as we are taught.  We used to ask You to send your Holy Spirit to protect us and cover us, but we just learned that He is IN us.  Thank you, Great Creator Being.” Sepi continues to suffer from a degenerative eye condition. 

These two continue to come to the teaching.  Karen is also from another related language group so she may or may not have understood all of the teaching.  They both have given a pretty clear testimony to faith in the Redeemer.  We are glad that they continue to be excited about coming to the teaching.

Vincent continues to be a solid believer.  I read all lessons to Vincent before I go down to the teaching so that he can help me correct anything that I have off.  He is a faithful man.  I have not heard a solid testimony from his wife yet, but several of his children are believers. 

These guys are great!  They are Brian’s tribal mom and dad.  She is a spit fire for the Lord.  She is not ashamed in any way to tell someone about God and tell correct other believers if they are not saying something correctly.  She helps Holly with the ladies meeting every Wednesday night from 8 pm to 11 pm.  Bonipas is a believer as well but his age keeps him from coming to some of the meetings.  He comes up to my house at least every other day, or I go down to his and we talk about the lesson that he missed out on.  He says he is going to beat Brian to heaven.  J

Herman used to be a leader in other religious group.  Now that he has heard the teaching and understands more of the Bible, he has placed his faith and trust in the Redeemer.  He reads Scripture for us most every Sunday morning.  We are not sure of his wife Rosa; she is interested, but she has not given a clear profession of faith.

She has such a sweet testimony.  She hardly ever misses a teaching time.  We have used her testimony in earlier updates.  Her husband passed away back in 2006.  He was the first man to bring another religious group in here to Mariama.  Now they are so happy to have heard the truth from God’s Word, and she is teaching her children.

Sangi is still unsure what he believes.  He does come for some of the teaching sessions but he is riding the fence right now.  His wife is quiet, but interested, and I have not heard a solid testimony from her yet.

Patrik has lots of questions and loves to talk about the things in God’s Word.  I believe that he has put his faith and trust in the Redeemer, but he does not come to the Bible teaching much.  We have our best talks when I go to his house and check up on him.  Keep praying for this family.

These guys are a great, young, little family.  These two are both believers.  We handed out books full of all the pictures of the Creation to Christ teaching so that the families can sit down with their kids and teach them around the fire at night before they go to bed.  It’s fun to go by Donald and Carolyn’s house and hear that being done.  Their son, Kingsly, is a boy that we wrote about in an update that walked across the whole village (unafraid of evil spirits) to go see his grandpa at night.

Genatin was also a very strong leader in the other religious group before we came.  He is the one who said, “What are these guys going to teach ME about the Bible?”  Today, he has a beaming testimony for what Christ did for him.  He continues to help us in the office.  His wife has been a bit slow in coming to salvation as Christ being the ONLY way but she is now a believer too.  There has been a radical life change in this family.

Henry is a processor.  He thinks about something for days and days.  Henry is a strong believer today.  He is one of those guys that will not be swayed.  I asked a group of Christian men a question the other day.  It had them all stumped.  Henry just thought and thought and then clearly articulated what the Bible said about my question.  Those are fun moments.  Skola is a believer as well.

This guy reminds me so much of one of my Grandpa’s.  He sits with his glasses perched on his nose as he listens carefully to the Bible being taught; then he often stands to admonish and encourage others.  My Grandpa was a godly man and in heaven right now.  It will be good for these guys to meet someday.  I know that they will have a lot to talk about.  He and his family missed quite a few weeks of our second phase of teaching as they work deep in the jungle about 7 months out of the year.  But when he came back recently, he wanted me to print off the lessons so that he could read them for himself.  He’s a jewel.  He has an older son as well, Sabastian, that is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Tia is from the neighboring language group so she was not able to understand the teaching very well.  Dennis has been slow coming, but with a mom like he has, you would have to really fight to ignore this talk from God’s Word.  His mom is Krara and she was one of the first believers here in Mariama back in April of this year.

She is a gem.  She is an older lady with quite a few grandchildren.  She has taken one of the books that we printed out with the pictures of the first 3 months of teaching.  You can find her quite often sitting with one or two of her grandkids going over a few stories in the book as the kids look at the picture.  She was in our first literacy class.  This lady studies the portions of God’s Word that have been translated so far.  It is awesome to see!

This is a sad story really.  Bilson is a great guy that clearly understood the Bible teaching.  But he has no interest at all to come to any more of the teaching.  His second wife Esra is the same.  I still stop into his house and chat with him often because I so want this guy to put his faith in Christ alone.  Keep praying!

Monika is Bilson’s first wife.  She has had many talks with Holly about what she was brought up believing.  She is still fighting the fact that salvation is Christ alone.  She may be a believer but she still struggles with what she has been taught all her life about God’s Word from another religious group and what she is hearing now.  Keep praying! 

Brian may be a believer but as totally lost interest in learning more about God’s Word.  Our people have had a season of harvesting a tree bark in here that they sell.  This source of money has distracted a few of them and I am afraid Brian is one of those that it has distracted.  Others find it easy to do this work deep in the jungle and then get back for the teaching.  Brian has not been one of them.  Keep praying for Brian and Dora.  Dora is quiet, but has come and listened and may be a believer.

We still have high hopes for these guys and we are investing time in them every chance we get.  They both have articulated a clear faith in Christ alone.  Their lack of desire to learn more of God’s Word has us scratching our heads.  Keep praying!

These two are very quiet so it is a little hard to know exactly where they stand.  He shows a glimmer of desire to know more of God’s Word.  I think if he decides to step out and follow God, his wife will follow.  Keep praying!

These guys are a neat little family.  Silas is a staunch believer.  You could not talk him out of his faith if you tried.  His wife is soft spoken.  Their little boy, Owen, who is around 6 months old, got very sick one night.  Silas did not know what to do.  There was no medicine close by for this little baby boy so he prayed, “God, you are my dad.  We have listened to the stories of how you healed so many sick people.  Please save my boy’s life and take away his sickness.”  At that point Rita was not a believer but when she woke up the next morning and found Owen squirming around with no fever, she went to Silas and said, “This Great Creator Being that you talk to, I did not think that he was real, but now I know that He is real.”  That is the day Rita put her faith and trust in Christ alone.  They both desperately desire to know more of God’s Word.

There are people in this village that came to most of the first 62 Bible lessons but have shown no interest since then.  They say, “Yeah, you guys who believe in the Redeemer, you can believe if you want to.  I am just going to go my own way.”  Kristian is one of those guys.  His wife, on the other hand, is very confused because she has Kristian, her husband, telling her that they just need to go their own way and leave it at that.  Then she has her daughter, Gertrude, who lives with them and will not be silenced about the things of the Lord! She is an amazing testimony and she is working on her mom, Patrika.  Patrika comes to all of the ladies’ Bible meetings and is very interested.  Keep praying!

Silas left to go work in the city of Madang (a tourist town) about 1.5 years ago.  Gertrude has not heard any word from her husband Silas since he left.  It’s a sad deal since they have 2 beautiful little girls. Gertrude has heard and received Jesus Christ as her Savior, but her husband is ‘missing in action’, if you will.  Gertrude is a sweet lady and wants so bad for her husband to come home and hear this truth and help her raise her kids to know the Great Creator Being. Gertrude is a very solid believer.  She helps Holly lead the ladies meetings on Wednesday nights.

Jeffrey is the head of the other religion’s church here in Mariama.  He professes to be a believer.  His life has not yet yielded a lot of fruit, but he is definitely tracking and interested.  His wife, on the other hand, just cannot quite put it together.  To be quite honest, she doesn’t really care either.  Gertrude, Jeffrey’s sister who is a sweet believer, lives in their house with them and she tries to help Rebekah put it together.  Keep praying!

Lusian is the Government representative for our village here.  He has really shown great interest in the last month in hearing more and more of God’s Word.  He has given a clear testimony but with guys like Lusian, you sometimes wonder if his words are coming from his head or his heart.  His wife just gave a pretty clear testimony of her faith in Jesus Christ on Thursday in front of all the believers.  She said, “I didn’t want to come up front, but God told me to get off my bench and come stand here to tell you that I believe in the Redeemer.  He washed away my sins and I am His child.”  This was her first time to stand up and talk in front of all the believers.  Holly and I were both shocked and praising the Lord.

Kasper has never given a super clear testimony in what Christ has done for him personally.  He does continue to show an interest in the teaching but we are not real sure exactly where Kasper stands with his salvation.

Gilbert has never given a clear testimony.  Keep praying for him as he is at a cross roads in his life right now as he just got married and he is trying to work through how a married man carries himself.

These guys have shown interest in the beginning of the teaching but have never given a clear testimony to what Christ did for them personally.  Janet’s mother is a strong believer so we are praying that Krara, Janet’s mom, will have some say in her life.  Robin has some Christian brothers that continue to teach him.  Keep praying.

We have gotten clear testimonies from both Rudy and Matida.  But lately, Matida is making quite a few choices that don’t show much fruit as a believer.  Rudy still comes and brings his little boy to hear the teaching but keep praying.

Moses never misses a teaching lesson and has given a pretty clear testimony of salvation.  His wife Justina is as solid of a believer as they come.  These two just lost a little boy a little over a month ago and Justina was the one who taught this little boy the talk of the Redeemer.  She is doing well today even after her little boy died because she knows that little Asaya is in heaven waiting for her.

She is Moses’ second wife, and does follow him to the Bible teaching as well as attending many of the ladies’ meetings.  She shows a lot of interest but we are not sure where her heart is at.

God has done an amazing work in Filomin’a life.  She used to rant and rave all around the village all the time.  She still has a fire-ey personality but God has done a huge transformation in her life.  She also helps Holly with the ladies Wednesday night meetings.  She is and older lady that has a natural gift for discipleship.  Hugo, on the other hand, does not seem like he totally understands yet.  He has heard the talk but the light has not been turned on yet.  Keep praying!  His wife is certainly praying for him.

These two have both given a clear testimony of what Christ did on the cross for their sin.  Damien continues to be interested in the teaching.  Gendropa is also interested and wants to learn more about God.  Keep praying.  Gendropa is Filomina’s daughter so she hears about God over and over again from her mom.  J

Ben has us shaking our heads.  He knows ALL the answers and is a very gifted man in translation and lesson writing.  He was probably one of the first Mariama men to share clearly what Jesus Christ did for him on the cross, but his life does not show any fruit at all.  We had high hopes for this guy, especially after he made a public apology to the group of believers a couple weeks ago.  However, since then, he continues to make bad choices and we are left wondering what is really going on in his mind and heart.  Please, please, continue to bring Ben Wiap before God’s throne.  His second wife, Ersi, comes across as pretty clueless to things of the Lord.  However, her sister Gertrud is working on her.