'God is changing us'

"Before, we were bound by many rituals and superstitions. We used to give much of our time to these things. Some of us used to be sorcerers, and all of us were afraid of sorcery -- but no more."

That was one of the answers given when missionary Joey Tartaglia asked a group of Mibu believers in Papua New Guinea, "What specific changes has the Gospel brought about in your life since it came a few years ago?"

Others shared their thoughts with Joey.

"We were confused about where we came from. Some of us thought we came from vegetation like a tree or bamboo. Others thought we had our originations in animals, such as a snake or a cassowary. We thought these things were our ancestors, and we would show them respect, and not harm them for fear that we were harming a relative -- but not anymore."

"We also thought that money was sent to us from the graves of dead people -- but no longer."

"We wasted much time trying to procure blessings and ward off curses from the many objects of fear and worship in our lives."

"One thing we see now is that God truly cares for us because He answers our prayers. Recently one of the little girls here got carried away by the river and died. Because it was so flooded, we expected her to turn up on one of the coastal villages, in which case we would have had to pay big compensation money to the people there. But we prayed to God that we would find her body, and contrary to what we expected because of the high river, we found her body here in the mountains. And when Keteng’s wife died, God provided for us in that situation. And so even though bad things like untimely death still happen to us, we are seeing His care for us because He answers our prayers."

"Before the Word of God came, we, each of us, went our own way and did our own thing. We had no respect for authority. God is changing us."

"We have seen growth in our battle for purity."

"We have seen God be faithful to us in learning to deal with our anger, and speaking the truth."

Please pray for the Mibu believers as they grow in their understanding of their relationship with Christ and learn to follow Him.