Odd place, familiar struggles
The setting is foreign and the tasks are different, but the struggles missionaries face are the same ones you face, and the victories are found only in God.
Missionary Gary Smith wrote that it is so easy to get caught up in the goals of his work—translating, teaching, discipling—that he can forget that the power for everything comes from our gracious God whom we serve. And Gary finds that he can let those tasks—those good and important tasks—get in the way of a healthy walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those problems are nowhere near as foreign as you might expect when someone lives in a Dinangat village in the jungle in Papua New Guinea.
Gary’s wife, Esther, struggles with homeschooling their children. “Esther does a great job,” wrote Gary, “yet her lingering thought each week is, ‘Am I the right person for this job?’” Children who sometimes fuss and complain, and dealing with learning disabilities, make that struggle harder.
Yet homeschooling allows Gary and Esther to remain in the tribe and focused on the ministry. Esther has risen to the challenge. “She is the right person and is doing a fantastic job,” wrote Gary.
Another struggle is language learning. “This is not unusual for any tribal missionary, but for me it almost knocked me out of the ministry. It was such a struggle that I almost threw in the towel,” Gary wrote.
“But each of these struggles have become victories,” wrote Gary. “The children seem to be growing and learning during homeschooling and the child with learning abilities is catching up with his peers. In my weakness in language learning God has been strong.”
Seeing the Dinangat people trust in Christ and grow in Him is the Smiths greatest joy. They may struggle but God gives the victory. Pray for Gary and Esther and the Dinangat believers who are maturing in Christ.