On the first day of our camp meeting, a raft slowly made its way down the river to our shore. The raft, made up of four canoes strapped together, was arriving from Aketa Village, about an hour upriver, and carried a group of Sabbath keepers, along with their tarps, food, cooking pots and sleeping mats.
Our missionary team had never met them before. Our first contact was when one of their leaders called Jason to ask when the program started. Now, Jason met them at the river’s edge and welcomed them to the mission property. Our caretaker, Aba, showed the group where they could camp, and they settled in for the weekend.
They practically doubled our attendance that night. Even though many of them didn’t seem to understand the English presentations or the English songs, their smiles showed their eagerness to participate. They did have a chance to understand the preaching each morning when our local elders told their testimonies in Gogodala. They all bellowed with appreciative laughter when an elder described fleeing the police before giving his life to Christ.
During Sabbath School, the children paid rapt attention to Bible stories and new songs. I wish you could have seen their earnest faces!
At night, the Aketa campsite was buzzing with discussion late into the night. They talked about our worship services, how we kept the Sabbath and other new ideas they encountered. One young leader told Jason he felt they were on a spiritually higher stair step after the weekend and were excited to learn more.
Finally, on the last day, their group sang a traditional Gogodala goodbye song as they slowly motored away up the river.
This group’s attendance was a surprise and a miracle. When we first arrived in PNG over two years ago, Jason and our friend Nasa traveled to Aketa and met a man who seemed interested in learning more about the Bible. He invited them to come back, offering to gather a group of those who would be interested. But, when Jason and others tried to follow up with him, he seemed to be avoiding them and was never ready to meet. Another elder at the Kotale church tried to reach out to his contacts in Aketa, but none of them came through. Seeing a dead end, Jason turned his attention to other villages.
Even so, the Kotale church did not forget Aketa Village. Since all efforts to reach them seemed fruitless, they decided to pray for Aketa every Sunday morning when they met at dawn. God answered! Someone entirely off our radar decided to tell his relatives in Aketa about our upcoming weekend event — and 45 people came!
I am so glad God is in charge of His work and never forgets anyone. When He opens a door, no one can shut it! We will be visiting Aketa soon, and I want to see what God does there. Even more, I look forward to seeing what relationships continue to grow while we are on furlough this April through August. Please keep us in your prayers.
