Hey friends,

Sorry for not keeping you all in the loop more the last couple weeks. It’s been a very busy, stressful, emotionally draining few weeks. The last couple months have been busy draining with lots of medical emergencies and trying and trying to navigate different situations that have come up.

2 weeks ago while Petut was at the hospital our co-workers asked him if he had any talk for people who are praying for him, or for his family in the tribe and so our co-workers took a short video. I plan on translating the video soon for all of you to see but for now I will paraphrase what he said in the video.

“To all of you in Africa and America who have been praying for me thank you. Before the Gospel came into Dem I was not a happy person, I was in darkness, but then God sent 4 families to come and tell me His word. They taught me from the beginning all the way to the end about what Yagwe and His son did for me. I believed and I am so grateful. My body is sick, my time on earth is coming to an end but I know that Yagwe is preparing amazing things for me in heaven. He has them ready for me, so whenever I die I will go up and receive all the many amazing things that Yagwe has prepared for me because He is very good. I am so thankful.”

We know many of you have been praying for Petut but we no longer need to pray for Petut and his health as he passed away last week late Wednesday night. Just last Monday Petut told our co-workers the Curries that he would like to remain in town another couple weeks to get the fluid build up in his abdomen drained one more time and then he would like to fly back to Dem-land to die. The doctor had just told our co-workers he thought Petut would make it a few more months and so we were making plans for him to stay a couple more weeks in Sentani, get fluids drained one more time, then fly back in.

On Wednesday morning we got word that Petut wasn’t doing well and so our co-workers went and picked him up and took him back to the hospital and it was clear he didn’t have much time left. We worked hard at trying to arrange a flight for the Thursday morning to get him into Dem-land to die. The missions planes can fly a dead body but due to regulations and permissions its extremely expensive so we were trying to get him in ASAP.

We were able to get a mission flight scheduled for first thing Thursday morning but Petut went to see his Savior Wednesday night around 11pm. Thursday he was buried in town and we are thankful for our co-workers and friends in town that were able to organize and handle all the details of a funeral and finding a burial sight and everything else.

Our family was already planning on heading to town on Friday for a short break but Thursday we spent going around in the tribe to cultural mourning locations and the difference between the way the Dem mourn the death of someone now, to how it was before the gospel is unbelievable. Before the gospel, the Dem would mourn for 2-3 weeks, never leaving their yards or houses as they cried and talked to the spirits as they feared where the “spirit” of the person who died went.

Now they mourn for 2-3 days. I was talking to Petut’s brother in law and he told me, “J, we dont need to mourn long. We are sad he is gone but we know where his soul is, we know that he is with Yagwe, in a great amazing place. Before we didn’t know where the souls of the dead went so we were scared of death, scared for our friends who died but now we know the truth and so we just cry/mourn a little and then we are done.”

The Lord has done amazing things in the Dem and His Holy Spirit is working and moving everyday. Like most things in life that you see everyday or things that become “normal” they tend to loose the amazingness (If that’s a word) but then things like this happen and remind us just how incredible the change is in Dem that we get to experience and see first hand.

At the funeral Tirinut stood up and said,

“Petut was my very good friend, I cared very much for him and when he got sick it was very heavy on my heart, and now that he is gone I am sad, but I’m not sad for Petut, I am sad for his wife, and for his family but not for Petut. My friend was very sick and in a lot of pain but now the moment he died, his spirit went up to the amazing place. His body is so good right now, his body isn’t in any pain, he is looking at the amazing things that Yagwe has prepared for him and he is so good right now. So all of us here need to remember, while on this earth we have hardships, thats because of our sin, but the hardships we face here on earth are just temporary. Some things are very hard but what Jesus did for us was much harder. He died for us, and Yagwe’s talk is so big and true so listen to His word, read His word, follow His word and the day that we die and leave this earth we will be with Jesus, with no more hardships, in an amazing place with Him forever. So Im sad my friend is gone, but I will see him again.”

There was many things like this said at the funeral that I cant share them all right now but the power the Gospel has made on a land that was so full of darkness and now a language group have changed from darkness to light is incredible to witness firsthand.

So thank you all for praying for Petut and his family. His wife flew back into the tribe the next day when we flew out on friday. Petut is no longer in pain and we who are Gods family will see him again (or meet for the first time) one day.

*Side note- Many have asked about finances for our team account and these medivacs. Thank you! Many have given but if anyone else would like more info on this please email.