We’re living in very interesting times at the moment. Who would have thought still about a month or two ago that today, people all around the world would be sitting in lockdown waiting for this epidemic to pass. Last year, as I was praying about 2020, I felt strongly in my spirit to plan things freely for January through March but leave all the spring and summer months open. So I obeyed the still small voice, and now I understand. I am so thankful to the faithful Holy Spirit who so clearly instructed me.
In this newsletter, I’d like to tell you a little about all we’ve done during the first quarter of this year. January was a very full month. I preached in Bad Nauheim, where I’ve been preaching regularly since 2018 and ministered in Sulzbach-Rosenberg at a church that has a very strong vision for missions. After that, I left for the USA where I had the privilege of attending the CfaN School of Evangelism. This was a very powerful time of teaching, connecting, impartation and fellowship with many evangelists from around the world. In February, I ministered in Mannheim at a women’s breakfast and then left for Indonesia, where we did a 3,5 week outreach, this time focusing only on Papua.
God’s timing for the Indonesia outreach was perfect. Had we left a day or two later, we would have landed in a 2-week quarantine and the whole outreach would have been cancelled. Had we flown out of Indonesia a day later, it would have been very difficult to get back home as Indonesia was getting ready for lockdown. We managed to get the last flights in every location all the way from Merauke, to Jayapura and on to Jakarta, Doha and Frankfurt. When we travelled back home from the “ends of the earth”, I felt a bit like Moses and the Israelites, who stood before the Red Sea and saw God intervene and part the waters for them step by step.
Our outreach in Papua started in Sorong where the main event was the ground breaking ceremony for our building project for the Children’s Home and Training Center. God gave us perfect weather which was important because we were outside. Many pastors, leaders and government people were present to witness the occasion. We’re now ready to start building, have enough funds to begin but still need a lot of investors who want to plant a seed of blessing into Papua and see a lasting change there. Please pray for the right connections. Should you know any investors, who might want to come alongside and help build something great for the kingdom of God in Papua, please let us know.
In Sorong, we also ministered in different events and places, and my high light certainly was our visit to the largest prison in the area. The room was full, and as I gave the altar call, 95% of those present lifted their hand and prayed the prayer of salvation. There was such a joy in the air as people danced and praised God for what He had done!
Our main target this time were two different tribes living far outside any civilization. The first one called Arfak, lives in the Arfak Mountains, Manokwari being the closest bigger city. However, in order to reach these people, we had to first drive for about 4 hours on remote “roads” where only a 4-wheeler could get through. We were very high up on the mountains (3000m) and when the road ended, we began to walk up and down on difficult terrain for about 6 hours. We stayed overnight in a small village, and continued another 6 hours the next day in order to reach the people we wanted to visit. The nature was breath taking and it was a new experience for me in many ways. Physically, I was at my limits as we ended up trekking on those mountains for about 6 hours every day. We heard that they never before had foreign visitors, let alone any women from outside, simply due to the strenuous hike. There are 7 small Arfak communities living in that area, and we visited one them particularly. We ministered both to children and adults, and had a wonderful time of worship and fellowship with them. I preached the simple gospel, and many hands were raised as I gave the invitation to receive Jesus for the first time. We also prayed for the sick and many said their pains were gone. As usual, we also entertained the kids, brought them balls and made the balloon figures, which of course brought great joy. To help and bless the community, we brought lots of useful items such as toiletries and food. On the way back, we stopped at all the remaining 6 villages, and their vast spiritual need broke my heart. I’m now planning an outreach there again with more time and ministry in each community. The people need to hear the clear gospel and receive basic discipleship teaching. Also their material need is great and so we want to go again, bless and help those who are forgotten by the rest of the world without means to help themselves. I’m so thankful to the team of nine, who went with us. Everyone was such a great blessing and God used each in their own gifting and capacity.
The other tribe called Kanume, we visited last year and so it was a wonderful time of reunion, fellowship, ministry, and sharing together. I could only marvel at everything God had done among them during the past months.
Last year, they still lived in very simple huts but during the past few months, the government has started building simple houses for the families. They now have five “modern” houses and eventually every family will have one. Another major development is a school project for the kids. My greatest concern and prayer to God was that He would send someone to teach the children. After our visit, an Indonesian lady had visited the tribe and ever since she’s been coming back and stayed for a week teaching the kids. This time, we also had two teachers in our team. They did a fantastic children’s program, taught school on all three days, and the kids loved it. Now one of them is praying about investing a certain time into those children. Let’s pray that God speaks clearly and opens the door for her if it’s her place.
We presented them the library and Bibles they last year asked for, and gave them many other things as well, such as clothes and sandals, household items, food, and all kinds of toiletries. Every family got a care pack. Especially the spiritual resources and all the Bibles were received with great joy and gratitude. Every family now has a Bible for adults and a children’s Bible. It was very special to get to witness it all with my own eyes. Thank you once again to all those who donated towards the library!
For my great joy, God has made a way and we’re now able to send one young man from that tribe to Bible school. This is a breakthrough! No one from this tribe has ever gone to Bible school. This is a major opportunity for that young man and a great blessing to the whole tribe.
Our time with the Kanume was blessed and exceeded my expectations in many ways. I was very happy and satisfied with everything our team did, and at the end I was able to say with confidence that our assignment among this tribe has been successfully completed. The library has been established, school has been started and the first person will be sent to Bible school. God has done wonderful things among and for this tribe, and we can now move on to the next people group.
Thank you for being part of what God does in the nations through our ministry. We very much appreciate you and your love for God’s purposes through us. Thank you for standing with us in so many ways and making it possible for us to preach the gospel, which is the only answer and hope to our world.
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