Bits and pieces do no good
On Monday, an old computer lay in pieces in front of the Akolet people in Papua New Guinea who gathered to hear the missionaries’ presentation.
Adam Martin was sick with malaria, so his wife, Julie made the presentation to once again express how important it is for people to attend evangelistic Bible teaching beginning Jan. 4.
Julie pointed out that computer parts do not make a computer if they’re not put together. A computer in bits and pieces, or with pieces missing, does no one any good.
Julie stressed that the Akolet people have bits and pieces of the Bible, knowing the names of some Bible characters and parts of some stories, but because their exposure has been so spotty, and not in the Akolet language, the understanding they’ve taken away from it is like the computer bits.
Julie finished her talk and sat down. No one moved, so Julie said again that her talk was finished.
Missionary Ryan Warner, who is still learning the Akolet culture and language, stood and emphasized in Melanesian Pidgin how important the teaching will be.
Still no one moved.
Finally, someone spoke.
"We’re all just waiting!" Sukek stood and said. "This teaching that you’ve come to give us, we’re all waiting and ready to hear it. We’re just waiting for Jan. 4, then we’ll all come."
"Remember what Adam and Ryan said in the men’s house?" Kola said, "We men remember what Adam and Ryan said in the men’s house a couple of weeks ago. You women need to hear it too. We’ve decided when and where the teaching will happen, and we all need to go to this! Men, women, kids, all of us."
"I’ve got something to say," Wankap said. Why do the [missionaries] keep insisting that we don’t know God’s Talk? Week after week, they keep telling us this! Why?
"Because we don’t know it! If we did, do you think we’d still be lying and stealing from each other and gossiping and doing all of these bad ways? We don’t know God’s Word, and we need to know it. They keep insisting because it’s true. So let’s all go to this teaching. We need it!"
"Something inside me tells me not to go," said Roy. "This Bible teaching, I really want to go to it, but something inside me tells me not to. I’m afraid that if something is incorrect with what they tell us, God will judge me when I die. And if other people go to this teaching, God might judge them too."
Gili immediately spoke up. "They’re serious about this, guys. They don’t just translate things carelessly. I’ve seen how they do it."
Gili has been working with Adam Martin to translate Bible lessons into the Akolet language. He explained a bit about the process of Bible translation, then said, "They’re extremely careful to make sure that God’s Word is clear and accurate."
Ryan then assured Roy of the same thing. He said, "We’ve trained for this for years. We know what we’re doing. We take very seriously the need for God’s Word to be clear for everyone to understand. Whether or not they choose to come to the teaching or to listen to it, it’s their decision. They have the choice for themselves what to believe or not believe."
Julie then spoke up and said, "If you are trusting man’s thinking, you should definitely be worried when you stand before God, because it’s just man’s thinking. But if you’re hanging only on God’s Talk, then you have nothing to be worried about.
"We missionaries have no concerns about when we stand before God one day. If we make a mistake in our work, we know He will show us and help us fix it. But as for us, we’re just hanging on God’s Word. What will you all hang on?"
Then Sale emphasized, "You guys, we need to hear this teaching. We all need to go! So Jan. 4, let’s all be there."
Please pray that the Akolets will faithfully attend the teaching and will understand the full message of the Gospel.
Adam Martin was sick with malaria, so his wife, Julie made the presentation to once again express how important it is for people to attend evangelistic Bible teaching beginning Jan. 4.
Julie pointed out that computer parts do not make a computer if they’re not put together. A computer in bits and pieces, or with pieces missing, does no one any good.
Julie stressed that the Akolet people have bits and pieces of the Bible, knowing the names of some Bible characters and parts of some stories, but because their exposure has been so spotty, and not in the Akolet language, the understanding they’ve taken away from it is like the computer bits.
Julie finished her talk and sat down. No one moved, so Julie said again that her talk was finished.
Missionary Ryan Warner, who is still learning the Akolet culture and language, stood and emphasized in Melanesian Pidgin how important the teaching will be.
Still no one moved.
Finally, someone spoke.
"We’re all just waiting!" Sukek stood and said. "This teaching that you’ve come to give us, we’re all waiting and ready to hear it. We’re just waiting for Jan. 4, then we’ll all come."
"Remember what Adam and Ryan said in the men’s house?" Kola said, "We men remember what Adam and Ryan said in the men’s house a couple of weeks ago. You women need to hear it too. We’ve decided when and where the teaching will happen, and we all need to go to this! Men, women, kids, all of us."
"I’ve got something to say," Wankap said. Why do the [missionaries] keep insisting that we don’t know God’s Talk? Week after week, they keep telling us this! Why?
"Because we don’t know it! If we did, do you think we’d still be lying and stealing from each other and gossiping and doing all of these bad ways? We don’t know God’s Word, and we need to know it. They keep insisting because it’s true. So let’s all go to this teaching. We need it!"
"Something inside me tells me not to go," said Roy. "This Bible teaching, I really want to go to it, but something inside me tells me not to. I’m afraid that if something is incorrect with what they tell us, God will judge me when I die. And if other people go to this teaching, God might judge them too."
Gili immediately spoke up. "They’re serious about this, guys. They don’t just translate things carelessly. I’ve seen how they do it."
Gili has been working with Adam Martin to translate Bible lessons into the Akolet language. He explained a bit about the process of Bible translation, then said, "They’re extremely careful to make sure that God’s Word is clear and accurate."
Ryan then assured Roy of the same thing. He said, "We’ve trained for this for years. We know what we’re doing. We take very seriously the need for God’s Word to be clear for everyone to understand. Whether or not they choose to come to the teaching or to listen to it, it’s their decision. They have the choice for themselves what to believe or not believe."
Julie then spoke up and said, "If you are trusting man’s thinking, you should definitely be worried when you stand before God, because it’s just man’s thinking. But if you’re hanging only on God’s Talk, then you have nothing to be worried about.
"We missionaries have no concerns about when we stand before God one day. If we make a mistake in our work, we know He will show us and help us fix it. But as for us, we’re just hanging on God’s Word. What will you all hang on?"
Then Sale emphasized, "You guys, we need to hear this teaching. We all need to go! So Jan. 4, let’s all be there."
Please pray that the Akolets will faithfully attend the teaching and will understand the full message of the Gospel.