We had a party with some of the other little girls (and a boy) here on the base on Saturday. Belle had requested a fairy party, so, of course, I had to try to pull it off. It’s slightly harder to stick to a theme when there is no Hobby Lobby or Walmart to run to and buy supplies, but we did our best. And she loved it!

We made fairy wands out of felt stars (thanks to Molly and Momo for sending the felt!), glue on jewels, ribbons and sticks (that my wonderful husband fetched for me in the rain right before the party!)

Table of fairies working on their wands

My two fairies hard at work

The finished products

Happy fairy with her wand

Daddy leading the “fairy games”

They competed to see how far they could walk with the Fairy Disc on their head

I sprinkled them with “fairy dust” (glitter) before competing in each event

They took turns throwing a ball through a hoop at farther and farther distances to see who could make it through the hoop the farthest away.

Then they played musical “pixie pads”

Lucy was the last fairy standing (sitting, actually.)

Opening gifts

Lucy was pretty excited to see what Belle was opening

Blowing out 5 candles! side note: I have come to terms with the fact that I am terrible at making birthday cakes. I realize this may be the ugliest cake you have ever seen, but Belle thought it was beautiful. It was pink and sparkly, so of course it was beautiful! I consider myself pretty crafty and pretty good at cooking, but for some reason, making a decent birthday cake eludes me. Maybe we’ll start doing birthday pie around here.

Let them eat cake!

Belle’s actual birthday was the day after her party, and we decided to make it kind of like Christmas. We set the gifts out and let Belle see them and open them first thing when she woke up.

We had gotten packages from both grandparents with gifts for Belle, and we had some things for her, so she got lots of gifts on her birthday! Everyone was pretty excited…

especially Lucy!

When I asked Belle earlier in that week what she wanted to eat on her birthday, she said doughnuts and ice cream! So we had doughnuts for breakfast after the presents were open (I was actually singing Christmas songs as I made the doughnuts…it really felt like Christmas morning)

Belle helped decorate the doughnuts with pink icing and sprinkles.

All three cute kiddos. Definitely a blessed mama on this mothers day!

Belle and Lucy in their matching outfits. I found this pink sheet while at a second hand store a while back, and when I came home with it Belle was so excited and said “ooo…now you can make me and Lucy dresses!” So I made them birthday dresses out of the sheet!

Belle showing how big she is now by picking up her little sister!

It was a fun couple of days celebrating our sweet girl!

Matt. 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

As we spend time with nationals in Papua New Guinea and with missionaries who have been engaged in the discipleship process for decades, we see the consequences of not completing the task that Jesus gave to his own disciples. We see the results of groups coming to Papua New Guinea as missionaries, but not making disciples. There may be many factors that contribute to this failure, but a few are obvious and easy to identify.

False Gospel
The most egregious error is certainly groups who come to PNG claiming to proclaim the gospel while in reality preaching a salvation based on works. This is evident in many areas. There are plenty of church goers who are relying on their attendance or their good works to save them. This is particularly prevalent where we are now–close to an established town with numerous established churches.

Ineffective Gospel
In some cases, whether the gospel was accurately presented or not, it is clear that the truth was not accurately received. This is often do to a teacher’s incomplete knowledge of the culture or language of his audience. In remote areas where most people speak a tribal language in their day to day lives, a teacher using Pidgin is unlikely to be understood clearly (yet this practice is not uncommon.) Additionally, without understanding the cultural context, it would be difficult for a teacher to appropriately explain the truths of the gospel and contrast those truths with current beliefs. It easy for tribal animists who have been trying to appease spirits for generations to add one more spirit to their collection. So, frequently a christian message is mixed in with tribal beliefs.

Just the Gospel
Normally I would agree with someone saying “the gospel is enough,” but in the context of this discussion, things are different. If we assume a missionary avoids the first two pitfalls I have mentioned and preaches the gospel accurately in a way that is clearly understood, what happens if he or she then leaves the very next day? If he leaves a small group of believers without a Bible and without any further teaching, the limited Christian testimony there is will quickly die out. It is likely that traces of Christianity would be mixed in with traditional beliefs.

In Papua New Guinea, we live in the middle of this mess. Near towns we can see plenty of churches filled with people who have no understanding of the gospel and in remote locations we see traditional beliefs oddly coupled with a few Christian practices. For this reason, our goal is to invest the time necessary to fully understand a tribal language and culture before ever preaching the gospel. Then, our hope is to disciple believers and translate the Bible so that a self-sustaining church can survive and thrive after we are gone.

After watching Hoax’s story, Sharon Jacobs, asked this:

“I thought Christianity was a new teaching where you are? Hoax said that both he and his parents went to church…people are exposed to Christianity there?”

This is a good question and one that I though could use some explanation.

In the second half of the 1880s both the Lutheran and Catholic churches established missions in Papua New Guinea and since then hundreds of other organizations have put their stamp on PNG as well. Now, the groups with the largest influence seem to be the Roman Catholics, Lutherans and Seventh Day Adventists (each with different areas of greater influence.) According to a census in 2000, Papua New Guinea is 27% Catholic, 19.5% Lutheran, 11.5% United Church and 10% 7th Day Adventist with other denominations bringing the total to 96.5% Christian.

So why are we here?

Months ago I had a conversation with a guy who told me that Papua New Guinea is a Christian nation filled with good people. He also explained that his grandparents used their magic power to help the Australian and American forces defeat the Japanese.

Hoax has been told repeatedly by “christians” that he will go to hell unless he goes to church on Saturday.

In Mibu, the believers told me about their lives before missionaries from NTM came. They went to the church building on Sundays and depended on their traditional spirit beliefs the rest of the time. They engaged in sorcery, animal sacrifice and all sorts of rites to appease the spirits despite their “christianity.”

Another missionary’s language helper here at Sobega is a Sunday School teacher. At a mumu (cookout) he warned said missionary to move inside while eating because he had noticed some other people trying to put a curse on the missionary’s food.

Hopefully you can see that there are some problems with the Christian message here in Papua New Guinea. More on this here.

Want to start at the beginning? Click here.

Here’s what we covered:

Jesus’ Actions – I read Hoax a number of passages to demonstrate the following things about Jesus:

• He taught with authority.
• He cast out demons.
• He healed the sick.
• He forgave sins.
• He had power over the natural world.

Jesus’ Teaching – I read a number of passages to demonstrate the following things about what Jesus taught:

• He preached repentance.
• He raised the standard of the Law and demanded perfection.
• He promised judgement for unbelievers.
• He said we must be born again.
• He said he came to earth for sinners.
• He compared himself to the bronze snake Moses made.
• He called himself the resurrection, the way, the truth and the life saying he was the only way to God.
• He foretold his death and resurrection.

Then, at the beginning of our last lesson, I read Romans 3:10-20 to summarize much of what we had covered so far: we are all wicked and deserving of God’s wrath.

Arrest, Trail. Crucifixion – I read the accounts of Jesus’ arrest and trail before the Jews and then Pilate. Then I read about the beating and crucifixion of Jesus followed by his burial and resurrection.

Hoax’s Reaction – As we talked about these things I asked Hoax what he was thinking and he gave me a very church-appropriate answer. I asked him specifically what Jesus’ death accomplished and he explained to me that Jesus died to “help us.” At this point I was discouraged. I was not upset that he had a decent answer, but instead because I did not think Hoax completely understood the gospel. To me, it felt like he was reciting a rehearsed answer picked up from his “church” attendance. So I pressed him. I repeatedly asked him “Why?” “How?” and “So what?” until he exposed the roots of his thinking. Finally Hoax explained that he believed salvation depends on believing in Jesus and living a good life (especially going to church.) He did not make a clear connection between Jesus’ death and the punishment that we deserve for sin. While he could say correct things about Jesus, he was not relying exclusively on Jesus’ payment for salvation.

I spent thirty or forty minutes explaining the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice and the fact that trusting in our works in addition to his sacrifice means that we are not trusting entirely in that sacrifice. I gave numerous illustrations of the fact that we cannot be trusting in one thing completely and exclusively if we are trusting in two things. Additionally I explained that our “good works” actually accomplish nothing in achieving righteousness. I was pretty sure Hoax was grasping the difference between his beliefs up to this point in life and what I was now saying. I was convinced that he understood the distinction, though, when he asked me if these other missionaries around here agreed that we just had to believe the one thing for salvation–not two. Conveniently, the Butlers were returning home at that moment and so I suggested that Hoax ask Josh himself. I called Josh over and Hoax asked Josh if he agreed with me that we only have to believe Jesus died to take our punishment. Wouldn’t you know it, Josh agreed.

After Hoax thought about this for a few minutes he said that he had been trusting in two things (Jesus and living rightly,) but now he saw that only one thing gives us life. He said that now he understands only trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice gets us to Heaven. He said he was very happy to know this.

My Reaction – Over the past few months as I’ve been sharing with Hoax I have been struck by a number of different things. First, I have been regularly surprised by how clearly I am able to speak Pidgin when talking with Hoax about the Bible. I do not think I speak as well at other times and I am confident that God is working to enable me. Second, it is encouraging to see the effect that teaching plainly from God’s word has here in PNG. I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to see this in America, but I think there is something remarkable about seeing the power of God’s word here in a place that has for so long been in such darkness. Third, I am overwhelmed to be a part of what God is accomplishing in Hoax. Before ever speaking about Jesus, I was confident that Hoax would trust in his sacrifice because I could see that God was moving. I have witnessed first hand the grace of God as he has used his word to reveal truth to Hoax and draw Hoax to himself. Praise the Lord for his grace and love. Finally, I am humbled to be just one part of the team that God is using to build his church in PNG. Thank you to all of you who have partnered with us in this undertaking–I trust that you are rejoicing with us.

“Laura” sporting her day bonnet

and her sleeping hat

Everett loves shoes. He loves to put on any shoes he sees lying around, no matter whose they are. He loves to get his shoes and bring them to me to put on him. But probably most of all he loves to put on the girls’ princess shoes!