Imi is on my right here reading the Word of God

Imi continues to amaze me!

It was Sunday night and time to meet with the ladies again.  It had been a long week and yet I couldn’t skip this meeting!  I was leaving the following Thursday to head out to Wewak as the first step in a long trip to the US to speak at a Christian school.  So I couldn’t very well miss the last meeting with the ladies for a couple weeks – and God sure blessed me as a result of my going! 

 

We had talked about baptism in the lesson that morning – the last lesson of the week from our first week of Acts teaching.  I asked the ladies if they had questions on what we talked about and so we spent most of the evening talking through the real reason and meaning of baptism.  It was so cool to sit back and watch Imi respond to some of the other ladies that were still a bit confused about the meaning of baptism – and that it didn’t help in terms of salvation – only Christ did that.  I was just an observer as this new believer taught the other ladies!  Wow!  So so cool to see the answers coming from an Uriay woman, and not the white one!!! 

 

Then we started talking about prayer requests.  The ladies knew that I was going to be making a whirlwind trip to the US to speak in a Christian school where a friend of mine has been teaching them throughout the year about tribal ministry, specifically about Wabuku and myself.  The ladies had woven little string bags for me to give the kids – I bought them but they knew why they were making them.  They knew what I was going to do but I didn’t ask them specifically to pray for flights and the speaking times and such.  We were talking about things going on there in the village – who was sick and other things that needed to happen in the days ahead.  But then as we prayed, Imi started praying for me and the kids that I would speak to.  She asked God to undertake in my journey – to get me there and back safely.  She asked God to give me wisdom in what to say to the kids and then she went on to ask Him to work in the kids’ lives so that they too might one day become a missionary!  I was humbled, amazed and even convicted that I hadn’t asked them specifically to pray for those things!  The Spirit of God is at work in Wabuku.  He is speaking to believers and challenging them to get involved in what He is doing – in and outside of Wabuku!  Why hadn’t I asked these ladies to pray for flights to go off on time?  Why hadn’t I asked them to pray for me and the kids?  Dumb on my part and yet I’m so very thankful that the Holy Spirit works in spite of me!  I’ll have an opportunity to return and share with this lady just how God answered her prayers.   Praise the Lord His Spirit is at work and growing these young believers up in the faith!!!