Tied up in sin
One by one, Mengens lined up to sign a contract like the Israelites of the Old Testament who promised they would follow all the commandments perfectly.
"We warned them," missionary Dave Wright wrote. "If they broke one of the commandments [then] they were guilty of them all, which gave God the right to punish them in the eternal fire."
Almost every Mengen in the classroom came forward to sign their names.
As Dave started teaching the Ten Commandments, Mengens started to tie knots on their sin-debt ropes.
Sin-debt ropes are used as an illustration to show how your sins can start adding up. Each knot on the rope represents a sin and the finished result can look overwhelming.
"By the time I finished teaching the third commandment, [they were] furiously tying knots in their sin-debt ropes," Dave wrote. "Quite a number were beginning to feel shame for priding themselves that they could follow [the commandments]."
A tribal party in another village took most of Dave's students away for more than a day, but a few devoted elderly students remained.
"[They] were blessed by the additional lesson of showing [man's] sin before a holy and righteous Lord," Dave wrote. "By the end, they were beginning to see."
At the end of the week, attendance was still low, but the remaining faithful students encouraged Dave to continue with the teaching. Before long, Mengen villagers returned from their party and decided to stop and listen to the remainder of the lesson.
"I took the opportunity to … review … all of the pictures from our first lessons [to the] current," Dave wrote. "I wish you could have been there to see our people grasp the central themes of the lessons thus far. God is definitely at work behind the scenes."
Please pray for these Mengen villagers who not only have a hard time attending the lessons consistently, but who are also struggling as they see their inability to remain sinless.
"We warned them," missionary Dave Wright wrote. "If they broke one of the commandments [then] they were guilty of them all, which gave God the right to punish them in the eternal fire."
Almost every Mengen in the classroom came forward to sign their names.
As Dave started teaching the Ten Commandments, Mengens started to tie knots on their sin-debt ropes.
Sin-debt ropes are used as an illustration to show how your sins can start adding up. Each knot on the rope represents a sin and the finished result can look overwhelming.
"By the time I finished teaching the third commandment, [they were] furiously tying knots in their sin-debt ropes," Dave wrote. "Quite a number were beginning to feel shame for priding themselves that they could follow [the commandments]."
A tribal party in another village took most of Dave's students away for more than a day, but a few devoted elderly students remained.
"[They] were blessed by the additional lesson of showing [man's] sin before a holy and righteous Lord," Dave wrote. "By the end, they were beginning to see."
At the end of the week, attendance was still low, but the remaining faithful students encouraged Dave to continue with the teaching. Before long, Mengen villagers returned from their party and decided to stop and listen to the remainder of the lesson.
"I took the opportunity to … review … all of the pictures from our first lessons [to the] current," Dave wrote. "I wish you could have been there to see our people grasp the central themes of the lessons thus far. God is definitely at work behind the scenes."
Please pray for these Mengen villagers who not only have a hard time attending the lessons consistently, but who are also struggling as they see their inability to remain sinless.