Home is where the heart is
Their new home is under construction in a Hewa village.
And John and Jessi George and their family are excited about joining the ministry to the Hewa people.
They will be partnering with the Kopf family, which is already living among the Hewa tribe and has been working with them for a decade.
“Are there believers among the Hewa? Yes. Do some of them meet regularly each week for a church service? Yes. So—why would we join this work?” John asks.
He says that the long answer made short is that God has called the Georges to join the team endeavoring to make Hewa converts into disciples.
And John says there is further angle on their decision. “The more we became aware of the Hewa people and their way of life, the more clearly we realized that within their own language group, there are many different Hewa dialects, some of which can’t even communicate with each other well.”
John explains that even though portions of the Bible have already been translated into one of the Hewa dialects, it will not be applicable to some of the dialects groups because they cannot understand it.
A special burden for these other Hewa people has been growing on the hearts of John and Jessi George. “So now,” John writes, “we are in the process of getting our house built in the Hewa tribe.”
That process is intensive and requiring.
“Our goal was to slab as much lumber for the bush house as possible. I was very optimistic going into this … However, it didn’t take long for the cruel mountain terrain to knock me down a few notches. We seemed to face one set-back after another … like our trees falling down the side of the mountain rather than onto straight ground, as well as a broken chainsaw. This is a pretty big deal when there is no Home Depot for hundreds and hundreds of miles,” John shares.
In spite of all the obstacles, the men managed to press forward with the work and were able to produce many house posts, floor joists, studs and rafters.
How did they do it? John says the answer is very clear to him.
“It is easy to see that we were never without God’s help and protection. There’s just something about carrying chainsaws, axes and other sharp instruments across log bridges over fast-moving rivers that makes you realize just how dependent we really are,” John says.
In the end, nearly all the needed lumber was produced, the septic hole was dug, the house site was cleared of stumps and roots and some holes were dug for house posts. John feels grateful for his team of helpers and for many Hewa men and women who cheerfully pitched in to help.
The next trip John makes to the village, he hopes to frame their house, put on a tin roof and staple tarps to the sides. After the George family has moved in, work will continue on slabbing the siding of the exterior walls.
“In the meantime,” John says, we will happily call our tarped abode ‘home.’”
Because God has drawn the Georges’ hearts to embrace the Hewa people, He is making this house in the Hewa village their home.
Pray for the John and Jessi’s family and other missionary families who will be investing their lives in this ministry to the Hewa people. Pray that God will prepare Hewa hearts and open them to receive His Word with gladness.