We asked for prayer a little while ago in this post, for Joel's sister~Sarah and her husband, Derek Grant. They are currently working with Scott and Jennie Phillips in the Dao tribe in Indonesia. Derek and Sarah are still learning language but the Phillips have already begun teaching the Bible Chronologically to the Dao people. Here is a recent update...please keep them in your prayers!! Thanks so much! You can catch up on their story by going to Derek and Sarah's blog.
Families from 13 different Dao hamlets in Indonesia have faithfully gathered every week since mid June for evangelistic Bible teaching, but Satan is doing all he can to hold on to the Dao people.
"As far as we can tell almost every Dao person within a day's hike has been attending daily since we began telling them the 'Creators Talk," wrote missionaries Scott and Jennie Phillips. "The majority of the Dao people are still very excited about what they are hearing and have voiced to us that that they will do whatever it takes to be able to hear the rest of the 'Creator's Talk."
However, last Wednesday as the people were gathering to hear the morning lesson, three women -- Papanee, Wadamena and Dagomaniwo -- decided they no longer wanted to attend the teaching. Early in the morning they gathered their belongings in net bags and told their husbands and others they were leaving for the day and not coming to the teaching.
After the teaching session the women's husbands and others asked the missionaries for advice about how they should handle the situation.
"We reminded them of some of the different Old Testament stories they had been hearing about how there were people groups where some had taken God's message seriously and others had left God's Word behind," Scott and Jennie wrote. "We talked with them about how every individual can decide individually what they want to do with God's Word but we will all individually have to face the consequences for our actions when it is all said and done."
Daokagi told the group, "We have heard about Adam and Eve in the garden. We have heard about how the serpent first came to the woman and told her that God's words were not true and that the fruit was more important than listening to what God had said. She was deceived and as a result so was her husband. Her children also had to pay the consequences for her bad decisions, as do we as their descendants.
"Now just as Satan deceived Eve, He is trying to deceive us Dao people and our women. We must not make the same bad decisions. The Dao women as well as us men must put God's Word first and listen to His message."
As the three women returned to their houses later in the day, several people took it upon themselves to go to those women and share their thoughts on the matter. The three women have decided to rejoin the teaching and others are catching them up on everything they missed.
"It is evident that God is working in the hearts of the people here and that they are taking it upon themselves to look out for one another as a community and encourage each other to keep on faithfully coming to the teaching," the missionary couple wrote. "Lord willing it will not be long before many of the Dao people have stepped out of the darkness and have placed their faith in the finished work of Christ."
But the forces of evil are working too.
"It is once again evident now more than ever that Satan does not want these people to hear what we are teaching them," the missionaries wrote. "Not only is there spiritual warfare going on over the Dao territory but as of [Monday] we have been informed by the people that local tribal warfare may be starting again as well."
A large group of men from an area about two days hike away came to the village looking for Sigapiya, who has been faithfully listening to the Bible teaching. In April, Sigapiya was attacked and beaten by another clan and his wife was taken. On Sunday the war party that attacked him and stole his wife returned with more men to do what they failed to do the first time -- take Sigapiya's life.
Sigapiya was out of the village for the weekend and heard of the war party when he returned for the Bible teaching Monday morning. Upon hearing of the war party's attempt, he gathered his things and immediately left with two other men from his clan.
As he left he told those attending the teaching that his intent was to gather a group of men from his clan in case there was another attack, and then they would all return within a few days so he could continue to hear the teaching.
"We along with the Dao people desperately need your prayers more now than ever," the Phillips wrote. "Pray for Sigapiya, that God would give him wisdom in what to do about the war party pursuing him, and pray that God would make a way for him to return to the teaching."
"As far as we can tell almost every Dao person within a day's hike has been attending daily since we began telling them the 'Creators Talk," wrote missionaries Scott and Jennie Phillips. "The majority of the Dao people are still very excited about what they are hearing and have voiced to us that that they will do whatever it takes to be able to hear the rest of the 'Creator's Talk."
However, last Wednesday as the people were gathering to hear the morning lesson, three women -- Papanee, Wadamena and Dagomaniwo -- decided they no longer wanted to attend the teaching. Early in the morning they gathered their belongings in net bags and told their husbands and others they were leaving for the day and not coming to the teaching.
After the teaching session the women's husbands and others asked the missionaries for advice about how they should handle the situation.
"We reminded them of some of the different Old Testament stories they had been hearing about how there were people groups where some had taken God's message seriously and others had left God's Word behind," Scott and Jennie wrote. "We talked with them about how every individual can decide individually what they want to do with God's Word but we will all individually have to face the consequences for our actions when it is all said and done."
Daokagi told the group, "We have heard about Adam and Eve in the garden. We have heard about how the serpent first came to the woman and told her that God's words were not true and that the fruit was more important than listening to what God had said. She was deceived and as a result so was her husband. Her children also had to pay the consequences for her bad decisions, as do we as their descendants.
"Now just as Satan deceived Eve, He is trying to deceive us Dao people and our women. We must not make the same bad decisions. The Dao women as well as us men must put God's Word first and listen to His message."
As the three women returned to their houses later in the day, several people took it upon themselves to go to those women and share their thoughts on the matter. The three women have decided to rejoin the teaching and others are catching them up on everything they missed.
"It is evident that God is working in the hearts of the people here and that they are taking it upon themselves to look out for one another as a community and encourage each other to keep on faithfully coming to the teaching," the missionary couple wrote. "Lord willing it will not be long before many of the Dao people have stepped out of the darkness and have placed their faith in the finished work of Christ."
But the forces of evil are working too.
"It is once again evident now more than ever that Satan does not want these people to hear what we are teaching them," the missionaries wrote. "Not only is there spiritual warfare going on over the Dao territory but as of [Monday] we have been informed by the people that local tribal warfare may be starting again as well."
A large group of men from an area about two days hike away came to the village looking for Sigapiya, who has been faithfully listening to the Bible teaching. In April, Sigapiya was attacked and beaten by another clan and his wife was taken. On Sunday the war party that attacked him and stole his wife returned with more men to do what they failed to do the first time -- take Sigapiya's life.
Sigapiya was out of the village for the weekend and heard of the war party when he returned for the Bible teaching Monday morning. Upon hearing of the war party's attempt, he gathered his things and immediately left with two other men from his clan.
As he left he told those attending the teaching that his intent was to gather a group of men from his clan in case there was another attack, and then they would all return within a few days so he could continue to hear the teaching.
"We along with the Dao people desperately need your prayers more now than ever," the Phillips wrote. "Pray for Sigapiya, that God would give him wisdom in what to do about the war party pursuing him, and pray that God would make a way for him to return to the teaching."
1 comment:
Hello, Kate!
My name is Ivan, i am a friend of David and Erin James.
Hope you're having a good day.
Have a question for you...Erin told me that you're great with blogs and know the whole lot of info about them, so i am just wondering if it is possible to set a musical background on the blogsite....
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