Hi, I'm Clyde Morgan.
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Adventist Frontier
Missions seeks to establish
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church-planting
movements among people groups
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with no Adventist presence.
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We've been working on
mission frontiers for more than
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20 years.
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We've learned that sometimes
planting churches is just
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the beginning of the story.
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In 1989, John and Belinda Kent,
together with their three sons,
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left New York city
to take the gospel to
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the Iwam people.
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The Seventh-day Adventist Church
asked AFM to try to reach this
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remote tribe in
Papua New Guinea.
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As you'll see, the Iwam's
extreme isolation continues
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to present
challenges, even today.
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I have no idea what
God saw in Belinda and I.
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There we were, working in
New York City, with absolutely
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no real intent of
becoming missionaries.
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We'd thought about
it from time to time.
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The farther we came,
the more primitive it got.
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The less clothes
people seemed to be wearing.
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The farther and farther
apart the villages were.
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The three boys and I
got on the mission plane and
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as we left Wewak that
morning I just saw the miles of
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nothingness underneath me.
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It just really hit me
where we were coming to.
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You know, I just began to
question, "Lord, are you really
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calling me and my
wife to come out here?"
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What if
something happened to us?
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What if something
happened to the kids?
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How would we get out?
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I just was so
afraid of so many things,
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but most of all,
I was just afraid of
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what was ahead of me.
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When John and Belinda Kent
arrived in Papua New Guinea,
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they moved into the Adventist
Missions headquarters in Wewak.
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About three weeks after
arriving, John decided to
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attempt to make arrangements
to make contact with the Iwam.
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John flew to Imbunti,
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a tiny government
center on the Sepic River.
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I knew very little of Tok Pisin,
I didn't know anybody at all
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in Imbunti.
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And I just remember getting
out of that plane and spending
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two days walking
around that place.
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It was just so hot and stifling.
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Just trying to find, you
know, somebody that could help.
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By the end of the second
day, I was both one scared boy
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as well as one that just
really was longing for the Lord
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to make His will known.
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The evening of the
second day that I was in Imbunti
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I went out to walk along
the riverbank and I was just
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pouring my heart out to the Lord
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just saying, "Lord I
really believe that You called
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us to come here. But I have to
have evidence. I really need to
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know that You're here right now,
because I just really don't know
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what to do. And I don't even
begin to know how to figure out
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how to get another 180 miles
up the river to make contact
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with this people. "
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And as I was walking along
the riverbank, there on the
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side of the river, was a
little house and a bench and
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a couple of men
were sitting on it.
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And I began to talk with them
and one of them just asked me
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what my name was, and what
I was doing in the country,
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and I, you know, asked him what
his name was, and I told him
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I was working with the SDA
Mission, that we were going
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to be living out here. We
hoped to be living out here
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on the May River.
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When I told him that, his
eyes just grew really large.
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And he said, "That's
exactly where I'm from!
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And I'm an Adventist. "
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John was surprised because no
one, including the mission, knew
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there were any Adventist Iwam.
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He talked to Ben and listened
as Ben shared his story.
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A couple of years before
the Kents arrived, God began
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working on Ben's heart.
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A travel nurse had invited him
to a Bible school that he could
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attend so he could learn
more about the Christian God.
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He wasn't even a Christian yet,
but he went downriver to another
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village and attended a
three- week Bible school.
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The following year, he left his
village again and attended the
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same Bible school.
During the second time through,
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he gave his heart to
Jesus and was baptized.
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After meeting Ben, John traveled
upriver to make arrangements
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for his family to
move to May River.
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The very first time
I came up the river,
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I'd met Ben at Imbunti and he'd
come ahead here to May River
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to prepare the way.
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And I returned after I made
the arrangements, he had a boat
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and a motor and
everything waiting for me.
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On that trip up from
Imbunti, I was just so green.
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I had no idea what it
meant to live and work
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here in the jungle.
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I'll never forget climbing
into the boat that morning.
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I had on a pair of shorts,
a tee shirt, and my lily white
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New York City skin.
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I had no sunscreen, and we
began that long journey up here,
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hour after hour.
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By the time I got here to
May River, eight or nine hours
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later, my skin was just
absolutely burned to a crisp.
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The farther we came,
the more primitive it got,
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the less clothes
people seemed to be wearing,
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the farther and farther
apart the villages were.
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And I just remember as we
came I just began to question
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"Lord, are You really calling me
and my wife to come out here?"
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When he arrived in May River,
John not only found a people
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eager and
waiting for missionaries,
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he discovered there
was already a small house
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they could live in.
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On the way back down the river
to get Belinda and the boys,
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John had his first
real encounter with
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tropical mosquitoes.
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Within moments I was just
enveloped with mosquitoes.
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Those mosquitoes just
ate me up all night long.
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I was just covered with them.
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And they were eating
and biting my sunburn.
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I just remember by 4
o'clock in the morning,
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I just started praying,
"Lord, I thought You called
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me here, I thought I was
enough to do this. Lord I'm just
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asking You to do one thing:
Please get me back to Wewak. "
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I'm on the
first jet out of here.
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I just cannot take this.
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But, as I prayed, the Lord
brought me to a state of just
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repentance, you know, repenting
for my American pride and
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just my ignorance of not,
you know, taking the time to ask
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what I really needed to come.
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I just remember when I
finally get back to Wewak
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after that trip, the very
first thing I did was go to the
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to the first trade store I could
find and I bought the biggest
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mosquito net I
could possibly find.
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The first trip up, John was
already up here with our cargo
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and the three boys and I
got on the mission plane.
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As we left Wewak that
morning, I just saw the miles
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of nothingness underneath me.
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It just really hit me
where we were coming to.
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And as we got closer, at
that time, no one realized that
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in the morning, May
River was always clouded over
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and we'd left a little early.
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So as we got closer to May River
there was a bunch of clouds
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and the pilot was trying to
find a hole through the clouds.
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We circled around
and around and around.
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It was my first time on a little
plane and I just grabbed Matthew
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my little baby, closer to me,
as we finally found a hole and
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came through and settled on the
airstrip. The pilot had a lot of
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flying to do, so he just kind of
unloaded our stuff and our dog
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and three boys and I and just
said goodbye. I remember shaking
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his hand and said,
"Please don't forget us here. "
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He said, "Oh, we won't. "
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and I said, "Did John hear us?"
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And he said, "Yeah John heard
you. He'll be here in a boat. "
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John came to the airstrip and
picked us up that day after the
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mission plane had left us.
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We came down here and the
canoes he'd hired from Imbunti
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to bring our stuff up, they
unloaded everything from the
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airplane and then they took off
downriver. I remember standing
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here on this river with the
three boys and John and just
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watching them disappear around
the bend, just waving at them.
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It was like the last shred of
civilization was disappearing.
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It was the most
lonely feeling in the world.
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Both John and I just
turned to each other and said,
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"Well, this is it. "
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I just felt a lot of fear. What
if something happened to us?
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What if something happened to
the kids? How would we get out?
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The tiny little 400-square-foot
house we had, the whole front
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was open; it was screened in,
but open. It was right on the
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path to the health center,
and every day people walked by
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and they would just stand there
and just put their faces on
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the screen like this and
just watch every move I made.
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And sometimes, there was
this tiny little bathroom,
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like a 2' by 2' cubicle that
had our tiny little shower and
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toilet and sometimes I would
go in and sit on the toilet just
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to get away from the stares.
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When the Kents moved to May
River, they found Ben sharing
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what little he knew about God
with a group of about 10 people.
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He didn't know
English very well.
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All he had was a King James
Bible, an old King James Bible
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that he could
barely read or understand.
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He was doing his best, but
he knew that he didn't really
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adequately grasp the
message or how to share it.
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So when we arrived
here, Ben just, he really was
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a brother to us.
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Even though in so many ways
we were separated by a chasm of
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culture and language.
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He bound himself to us because
he just wanted us to learn
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Iwam culture, Iwam
ways so that we could share
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the gospel effectively.
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Three months after their
arrival, Ben got very sick.
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They treated him for
Malaria, but he didn't improve.
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When the time came for John to
go get supplies for the family,
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he took Ben downriver
with him to see a doctor.
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When we finally got to Wewak,
two days later, I took him to
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the hospital and they
looked at him, and conditions in
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third world hospitals simply are
not the same as other countries.
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They checked him and said, "Yeah
we think it's malaria, too.
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Just keep treating him. "
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And so we returned here to
May River and two or three weeks
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went by and Ben
continued to deteriorate.
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Some way, I think on our radio,
we discovered a government
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plane was going to be
flying out here to the airstrip,
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four or five miles upriver.
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And so I went to Ben and I said,
"Ben, I would really like to
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send you out to the
hospital. I'm very concerned for
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your well being. " So Ben agreed
and we took him upriver in our
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log canoe, put him on
the airplane and sent him
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out to the hospital.
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"May River, May
River, calling May River. "
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We were home one afternoon
and the radio came to life.
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We went to it and the mission
president was on to say that
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Ben had died in the hospital.
00:11:21.84\00:11:23.48
We only later found out that
he probably died of leukemia.
00:11:23.51\00:11:28.82
There was nothing that could
have ever been done in this
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country to save him, but
it was a horrible shock to us.
00:11:33.64\00:11:37.74
My wife and I, we just stood
right beside that radio and just
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tried to
comprehend that he was dead.
00:11:41.82\00:11:44.79
My first thought was,
"I have to go tell Kiku. "
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As I walked down the hill,
I didn't know how in the world
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I would tell Kiku that her
husband had died and left her
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alone with three little girls.
00:11:52.97\00:11:54.34
But the news had already gotten
out. As we were walking down the
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hill, you could hear the
talk place back and forth,
00:11:57.88\00:12:01.25
up and down the river people
were already yelling at her.
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We got down here to this little
house, she'd already heard
00:12:04.85\00:12:06.85
the news before I had a
chance to say anything to her.
00:12:06.89\00:12:09.20
She immediately just ran
down, the river was lower
00:12:09.24\00:12:12.98
but the banks were real muddy.
She just threw herself into
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the river bank. Their
sign of mourning is to plaster
00:12:16.16\00:12:18.36
themselves with mud.
00:12:18.39\00:12:19.64
Within just a short time,
we were surrounded by scores of
00:12:19.67\00:12:23.06
screaming, wailing,
grieving, Iwam tribal people.
00:12:24.95\00:12:29.72
It was in so many ways,
like being transported back
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a thousand years in time. The
men of the village converged on
00:12:32.40\00:12:37.01
Ben's house and began to
tear it apart. His half brother
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crawled up into the house with
an axe and began to whack at his
00:12:42.36\00:12:45.17
head with an axe to show the
spirits how sorry he was that
00:12:45.21\00:12:49.31
Ben had died.
00:12:49.34\00:12:50.31
I just looked into heaven and
said, "Lord, what in the world
00:12:50.32\00:12:53.91
is going on?
00:12:53.94\00:12:55.29
What in the world are You doing?
00:12:55.33\00:12:57.54
How in the world could You
possibly allow the one and only
00:12:57.58\00:13:01.10
Christian among
these people to die?"
00:13:01.14\00:13:04.02
After a time, the
whole village basically moved
00:13:05.72\00:13:10.76
across the river.
00:13:10.79\00:13:12.06
Day after day, we went over into
that hut and sat there as the
00:13:12.09\00:13:15.69
Iwam grieved and
mourned and wailed and chanted.
00:13:15.73\00:13:18.90
It was just a really
dark and desolate time for us.
00:13:18.93\00:13:22.99
A time of just questioning God,
wondering what He was doing.
00:13:23.02\00:13:27.22
The truth is, the reality
is, that God, He was at work,
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even though it felt so dark
and dismal during that period.
00:13:31.48\00:13:35.10
We've actually come to see
that as a result of Ben's death,
00:13:37.17\00:13:41.25
we became bound to the people
in a way that I think could have
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never happened otherwise.
00:13:46.11\00:13:48.18
One day, I'd gone home -
I'd paddled back across the
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river later in the
afternoon. I was climbing up
00:13:53.29\00:13:58.29
the log ladder
into that mourning hut.
00:13:58.32\00:14:00.20
When I overheard the
village leaders talking,
00:14:00.24\00:14:04.51
they were
gathered around the fire,
00:14:04.54\00:14:07.41
and they were
saying something like this.
00:14:07.45\00:14:10.05
They were saying
"That John and Belinda,
00:14:10.09\00:14:12.66
they're not missionaries. "
00:14:12.70\00:14:14.77
And then they went on to say,
00:14:19.04\00:14:20.32
"No, they are our
brother and our sister. "
00:14:20.35\00:14:23.50
The Iwam's complete acceptance
of John and Belinda was a
00:14:24.85\00:14:28.10
powerful confirmation
that God was at work.
00:14:28.13\00:14:31.19
Out of the crucible of pain,
turmoil and darkness surrounding
00:14:31.22\00:14:34.69
Ben's death, the
Iwam church was born.
00:14:34.73\00:14:37.61
Our first baptisms here
were actually the fruit of Ben's
00:14:37.64\00:14:42.12
initial labors.
00:14:42.16\00:14:43.34
Those ten people that
were baptized the first time
00:14:43.38\00:14:47.33
were the people he initially
began to work with here.
00:14:47.36\00:14:50.46
With a core of new believers
baptized, John and Belinda began
00:14:50.49\00:14:54.49
the long process of
sharing the gospel with the Iwam
00:14:54.52\00:14:57.15
and then discipling some of
the new believers into leaders,
00:14:57.18\00:15:00.05
training them to
carry the work forward.
00:15:00.08\00:15:02.20
During the evangelism process,
John and Belinda realized that
00:15:04.40\00:15:08.03
in addition to learning
the language, they also had to
00:15:08.06\00:15:10.77
understand the Iwam culture.
00:15:10.80\00:15:12.48
There's a system here, taboo
kandre, they call it, that makes
00:15:12.51\00:15:18.15
it very difficult for some
relationships for an elder, say
00:15:18.18\00:15:23.98
I had an elder, it would be
difficult for him to go speak
00:15:24.02\00:15:27.54
in a certain way, to admonish
another church member who was
00:15:27.57\00:15:32.28
his taboo kandre.
00:15:32.32\00:15:33.32
So we had to learn that after
a while, it was important for us
00:15:33.35\00:15:37.90
to have a variety of elders
from different clan groups
00:15:37.94\00:15:41.47
so that they could
adequately cover the spiritual
00:15:41.50\00:15:43.95
needs of the people.
00:15:43.98\00:15:45.69
We found out that they
were just very gentle, open,
00:15:45.73\00:15:50.15
a little shy of us.
00:15:50.19\00:15:51.87
But anything they could do
to help us, and pretty soon they
00:15:52.87\00:15:57.92
grew on our hearts and I just
had a burden to help the ladies.
00:15:57.95\00:16:01.82
So many of them had not been
to school, never had a chance
00:16:01.86\00:16:05.40
for school, but yet they
were bright and intelligent.
00:16:05.44\00:16:07.81
So I just decided, I hadn't even
begun to teach my own kids how
00:16:07.84\00:16:12.42
to read and I didn't
really know what I was doing.
00:16:12.45\00:16:14.52
But we decided to try. We had
this little old book the mission
00:16:14.56\00:16:18.34
had put out on literacy
and I just took that and I just
00:16:18.38\00:16:21.41
gathered a group of ladies
and we met two afternoons a week
00:16:21.45\00:16:24.89
in the little school house
we were using for a church.
00:16:24.92\00:16:27.35
I just started to try and
teach them to read in pidgin.
00:16:27.39\00:16:30.82
We got Bibles for them,
my goal was to teach them to
00:16:30.86\00:16:34.75
read the Bible for themselves.
00:16:35.31\00:16:36.59
There was just a wonderful thing
to see them begin to learn, to
00:16:36.62\00:16:39.73
see their craving for knowledge.
00:16:39.76\00:16:41.33
And then to see that develop
into leadership as they began to
00:16:41.36\00:16:45.87
lead out in church services.
00:16:45.91\00:16:47.60
Often in the beginning,
with nothing more than a prayer,
00:16:47.64\00:16:50.22
and when they prayed they would
be so quiet and their heads
00:16:50.26\00:16:53.46
would be down and their eyes
would be looking at the ground
00:16:53.50\00:16:55.58
because they were
ashamed and embarrassed about
00:16:55.61\00:16:57.93
being up front.
00:16:57.97\00:16:58.94
As time went on, weeks went on
months went on, years went on,
00:16:58.95\00:17:02.37
their confidence in the Lord
grew. Soon we had men and women
00:17:02.40\00:17:07.06
that were able to lead out
in various aspects of the church
00:17:07.09\00:17:11.04
services and it was just, it was
an incredible day, I remember
00:17:11.08\00:17:14.45
that when Anie, who at
that time was my right-hand man,
00:17:14.48\00:17:19.93
when he gave his first sermon in
the church, that was just a real
00:17:19.97\00:17:24.02
blessing. It made
me so proud and happy.
00:17:24.06\00:17:26.56
In 1991, the Kents were joined
by another missionary family.
00:17:27.61\00:17:31.31
David and Holly Lackey came
to May River to help meet the
00:17:31.34\00:17:34.17
Iwam health needs.
00:17:34.21\00:17:35.66
May River had been a government
center with a clinic, but
00:17:35.69\00:17:39.37
because of a lack of
funding, the clinic was not
00:17:39.41\00:17:41.52
fully operating.
00:17:41.56\00:17:42.67
David and Holly, both nurses,
used their skills to build up a
00:17:47.22\00:17:50.97
health ministry that served
the health needs of thousands.
00:17:51.01\00:17:53.56
Their outreach, both at
the clinic and in surrounding
00:17:53.79\00:17:57.14
villages up and down the river,
were key to opening hearts
00:17:57.18\00:18:00.19
to receive the gospel.
00:18:00.22\00:18:01.88
When I look back, even
considering all the hardships
00:18:03.82\00:18:08.17
of living in a place like
May River, I would never change
00:18:08.20\00:18:11.00
those years. It was some of the
best years of our lives, seeing
00:18:11.04\00:18:16.74
the Lord work and
seeing so many miracles.
00:18:16.78\00:18:20.14
It was a real blessing.
00:18:20.17\00:18:22.48
In 1995, Adventist Frontier
Missions began handing the Iwam
00:18:22.51\00:18:26.77
churches over to the
Sepic Adventist Mission.
00:18:26.80\00:18:29.12
The Kents moved from May
River, and the Lackeys followed
00:18:29.16\00:18:32.61
a year later.
00:18:32.64\00:18:33.77
At that time, there were
150 baptized members and about
00:18:33.80\00:18:37.58
300 people meeting every
Sabbath in four churches.
00:18:37.62\00:18:40.82
Not only did the May River
Project impact the Iwam people,
00:18:42.55\00:18:45.49
other tribes began
asking for missionaries to come
00:18:45.52\00:18:48.11
and live with them
and teach them about God.
00:18:48.15\00:18:50.41
One example is the Drupas tribe.
00:18:50.45\00:18:52.91
We got a message from a tribal
group that live in the bush.
00:18:54.32\00:19:00.74
They said, "John we really want
a missionary to come be with us
00:19:00.78\00:19:05.07
like you are
living among the Iwam.
00:19:05.11\00:19:07.70
We really want to
know God's word. "
00:19:07.73\00:19:10.29
And we were so busy here,
of course we didn't really have
00:19:10.32\00:19:13.33
anybody to send, we didn't have
any indigenous workers here that
00:19:13.37\00:19:16.84
we could send at that point.
00:19:16.87\00:19:18.23
So I just really wasn't able
to do much with that request.
00:19:18.27\00:19:21.12
After a period of time, another
request came from them again
00:19:21.16\00:19:26.09
and they said, "John, you know,
we really want someone to come.
00:19:26.12\00:19:30.60
We've built a house
to worship your God in. "
00:19:30.63\00:19:33.51
It was just amazing. Here's
a group I've never even met a
00:19:33.55\00:19:36.62
single person from that group.
00:19:36.66\00:19:38.58
And so, you know, still I
wasn't able to get back there
00:19:40.37\00:19:45.19
didn't really have
the time to go visit them,
00:19:45.23\00:19:48.07
and I finally got a
third message from them saying,
00:19:48.10\00:19:50.88
"Please, won't
you come and see us?"
00:19:50.91\00:19:53.48
When we arrived, I just,
well really, I began to cry.
00:19:55.06\00:19:58.91
Because, here was this primitive
people group that had, they'd
00:19:58.95\00:20:03.50
never had a chance to learn
about the Christian God, and yet
00:20:03.53\00:20:09.45
not only had they built a church
to worship that God that they
00:20:09.49\00:20:14.50
didn't know in, they'd also
built a house for a missionary
00:20:14.53\00:20:19.56
from that God
that they didn't know.
00:20:19.59\00:20:22.98
It was just an amazing thing,
so that night before we went
00:20:23.02\00:20:28.78
to bed, I gave a message to the
villagers to gather their people
00:20:28.81\00:20:33.31
the next morning so
that we could talk together.
00:20:33.34\00:20:36.74
The next morning I
got up about 6 A.M. and
00:20:36.78\00:20:40.94
I went to wash in the river.
00:20:40.97\00:20:43.69
And again, I could just hardly
keep from crying as these people
00:20:43.72\00:20:48.91
began to just flood out of the
jungle, from up the river and
00:20:48.94\00:20:53.59
down the river and across the
river, and from up the mountain.
00:20:53.63\00:20:57.39
They just came walking out.
00:20:57.42\00:20:59.52
Ladies in nothing more than
grass skirts, living as they
00:20:59.56\00:21:03.00
have for hundreds
and hundreds of years.
00:21:03.03\00:21:05.76
Yet there the came to worship
the Lord for the very first time
00:21:07.37\00:21:10.80
to hear about the
Lord and to gather.
00:21:10.83\00:21:13.86
In late 2005, Adventist Frontier
Missions sent John and Belinda
00:21:17.25\00:21:20.72
back to Papua New
Guinea to see how the May River
00:21:20.75\00:21:23.15
believers were doing.
00:21:23.19\00:21:24.90
What the Kents
discovered was challenging.
00:21:24.94\00:21:27.22
In the intervening years,
00:21:27.25\00:21:29.22
the work has
admittedly struggled here.
00:21:29.25\00:21:32.54
The Iwam are located nearly 300
miles by road and by log canoe
00:21:33.85\00:21:39.96
from the Sepic
Mission headquarters, from
00:21:40.00\00:21:44.23
the nearest support.
00:21:44.26\00:21:45.64
And conditions here
simply have not been conducive
00:21:45.68\00:21:52.76
to the Sepic church being
able to provide the support
00:21:52.79\00:21:59.84
nurturing that the Iwam church
really that has been essential
00:21:59.87\00:22:04.71
for them to have.
00:22:04.75\00:22:06.20
The cost of visiting the
May River project is extremely
00:22:07.25\00:22:10.77
prohibitive. For example,
one visit alone to May River
00:22:10.81\00:22:14.44
requires the same amount of
money as the district director
00:22:14.48\00:22:17.16
uses in three months, visiting
other churches that are just as
00:22:17.20\00:22:20.29
needy, but are
closer to the mission.
00:22:20.33\00:22:22.29
Second, because it is so remote
and primitive, it is difficult
00:22:22.32\00:22:26.24
to find trained workers who are
willing to live at May River.
00:22:26.28\00:22:29.21
A lot has been lost in those
intervening years. Again and
00:22:31.73\00:22:34.64
again and again during our
visit here, we've heard our
00:22:34.68\00:22:39.91
people say they feel they've
been left like animals without
00:22:39.95\00:22:44.09
a shepherd.
00:22:44.12\00:22:45.39
It's been heart
wrenching in many ways.
00:22:45.43\00:22:49.56
Before they left the project
in 1995, the Kents had obtained
00:22:52.92\00:22:56.50
Bibles and published a
songbook for the Iwam people.
00:22:56.53\00:22:59.01
On their return visit, the Kents
found the Iwam believers sharing
00:22:59.05\00:23:02.65
only a few tattered
Bibles and songbooks.
00:23:02.69\00:23:04.95
The rest of the materials they
had provided for the Iwam had
00:23:04.99\00:23:07.91
succumb to insect
and mildew damage.
00:23:07.95\00:23:10.26
The Iwam have no access to
new materials like songbooks or
00:23:10.30\00:23:14.58
Sabbath School quarterlies
in their own language.
00:23:14.61\00:23:16.89
Furthermore, without adequate
support from the mission,
00:23:16.92\00:23:19.55
new leaders are not
being trained to lead when the
00:23:19.58\00:23:22.16
current generation
of leaders is gone.
00:23:22.19\00:23:24.25
There's been a lot of loss.
We've lost among the Iwam, we've
00:23:26.61\00:23:29.89
lost two quite strong churches
that have been lost given to
00:23:29.92\00:23:37.18
leadership apostasy, many
of the members here are not
00:23:37.22\00:23:41.25
literate, and so when a leader
apostatizes, it leaves the
00:23:41.28\00:23:45.63
people with no way to
be nurtured in the Word.
00:23:45.66\00:23:49.05
And that's happened in at least
two of the villages we've had
00:23:49.25\00:23:51.56
leadership that has apostatized.
00:23:51.59\00:23:54.64
And then we had some fledgling
work that's been lost also.
00:23:54.67\00:23:58.97
On the other side of the picture
however, our hearts really are
00:23:59.01\00:24:03.05
encouraged. Out here at the main
church, the initial church that
00:24:03.08\00:24:09.00
was established, what's often
referred to as the mother church
00:24:09.03\00:24:11.78
there's a core of men and women
who are just clinging to their
00:24:11.81\00:24:17.28
faith, in spite of the fact that
they have almost no external
00:24:17.31\00:24:22.75
support, they continue to cling
to their faith in the Lord.
00:24:22.79\00:24:26.91
They come and they gather
out here in this little church,
00:24:26.95\00:24:29.35
week by week to nurture each
other, to encourage each other
00:24:29.38\00:24:34.23
to be strong in the Word
00:24:34.26\00:24:36.31
and in the Lord.
00:24:36.34\00:24:39.06
That's just a real blessing,
to see maturation of their faith
00:24:39.09\00:24:42.77
the way they've continued to
hang on, in spite of having no
00:24:42.80\00:24:50.43
support
whatsoever from the outside.
00:24:50.47\00:24:53.31
Adventist Frontier Missions is
working to support and nurture
00:24:55.16\00:24:57.90
the Iwam so that the
remaining churches stay strong.
00:24:57.93\00:25:00.68
One of the things AFM
has done is to bring in
00:25:00.71\00:25:03.10
Sam and Joanne Kiwah, a devoted
Adventist couple from another
00:25:03.14\00:25:06.28
part of Papua New Guinea.
00:25:06.32\00:25:08.03
The Kiwah's moved to May
River in 2006 and are currently
00:25:08.07\00:25:11.50
investing their lives in
encouraging and strengthening
00:25:11.53\00:25:14.03
the Iwam believers.
00:25:14.06\00:25:15.68
It's clear that though many who
once worshipped no longer are,
00:25:15.71\00:25:21.87
primarily because, in
many places, because they have
00:25:21.90\00:25:25.75
no leader, there's a
hunger here. Just a hunger here
00:25:25.79\00:25:29.91
for the Lord.
00:25:29.94\00:25:31.94
There's a hunger here to know
Him. There's a hunger here to
00:25:32.13\00:25:35.49
receive
instruction again in the Word.
00:25:35.53\00:25:39.28
A bright spot in the Kents'
visit occurred when they visited
00:25:41.47\00:25:44.09
the Drupas tribe to see how
the believers there were doing.
00:25:44.12\00:25:47.13
When we arrived here there
was a young man with the name of
00:25:47.16\00:25:50.02
Jacob Marleo that we took under
our wings. When he was a little
00:25:50.06\00:25:54.63
older, we sent him
off to our mission school.
00:25:54.67\00:25:56.82
Jacob, he's just
really, he loves the Lord.
00:25:56.86\00:26:02.07
And he's made it his commitment
to not waste the education that
00:26:02.11\00:26:11.31
the Lord blessed him with.
00:26:11.35\00:26:13.51
He returned here to May
River and spent some time here,
00:26:13.54\00:26:17.65
and is now gone back among
one of the primitive groups,
00:26:17.68\00:26:22.18
even more primitive than the
Iwam, to establish the church.
00:26:22.22\00:26:26.78
That's just a tremendous
encouragement to us to know
00:26:26.82\00:26:30.07
that there's an Iwam missionary
that's serving the Lord and
00:26:30.11\00:26:34.75
taking the truth about Jesus
Christ to a people group that
00:26:34.79\00:26:38.88
absolutely would never
hear about Him, would never know
00:26:38.92\00:26:42.60
about Him if Jacob wasn't there.
00:26:42.64\00:26:44.98
Jacob and his wife Josephine
have been living among the
00:26:45.01\00:26:48.43
Drupas people
for nearly 10 years.
00:26:48.46\00:26:50.53
The Kents travelled an
additional 70 miles into the
00:26:50.56\00:26:53.71
rugged interior of the
Sepic Basin to visit Jacob
00:26:53.75\00:26:56.33
and his family.
00:26:56.37\00:26:57.61
The trip took hours of slow
boat travel and several miles
00:26:57.65\00:27:00.54
of hiking through the jungle.
00:27:00.57\00:27:02.14
When the Kents arrived at the
village where Jacob is living,
00:27:02.18\00:27:05.29
Jacob came out to greet them.
00:27:05.33\00:27:07.53
He was overwhelmed that his
spiritual parents and mentors
00:27:13.33\00:27:16.02
would make such a
difficult journey to visit him.
00:27:16.05\00:27:18.46
During his time working among
the Drupas people, Jacob has
00:27:22.22\00:27:25.50
prepared more than
70 people for baptism.
00:27:25.53\00:27:28.00
Each Sabbath, over 160
people come to worship in this
00:27:28.94\00:27:32.38
primitive jungle church.
00:27:32.41\00:27:33.82
The Kents' visit here was
the first visit from anyone,
00:27:33.85\00:27:37.70
including the district
pastor, in more than 5 years.
00:27:37.74\00:27:40.57
This only emphasizes the
need for continued support and
00:27:40.60\00:27:43.80
nurture of these
isolated church members.
00:27:43.83\00:27:45.80
May River's remote location
proved difficult during the
00:27:46.84\00:27:49.81
initial evangelism
phase and continues to remain
00:27:49.84\00:27:52.69
a challenge today.
00:27:52.72\00:27:54.23
Please remember Jacob and these
dear people in your prayers
00:27:54.27\00:27:58.33
and support.
00:27:58.37\00:27:59.80
Adventist Frontier Missions is
committed to taking the gospel
00:28:03.13\00:28:06.12
to people groups like the Iwam.
00:28:06.26\00:28:07.72
People groups with
no Adventist presence.
00:28:07.76\00:28:10.14
Today, there are more than
6,000 such groups waiting to
00:28:10.17\00:28:14.13
hear the good news of
Christ's love and soon return.
00:28:14.16\00:28:17.12
I invite you to
join me in praying that
00:28:17.16\00:28:20.48
God will send out more laborers.
00:28:20.51\00:28:22.52