Good news for the Siawi people

[Linda Krieg]

Wow, how thankful I was when a picture of an 18 passenger Caravan airplane on the ground in Siawi appeared on my Facebook page! (Thanks, Jason Stuart, for sharing it with me.) And yes, I did immediately scrutinize the photo to see how many of my Siawi friends I could identify. How well I remember the very first time a Caravan aircraft landed on our little grass strip (and I do mean "little"-even for a PNG jungle airstrip)-it was back in the 1980's, since my original coworkers, the Lindseys and Cuthberts were there.

We were in shock, as we saw that huge airplane coming in for a landing, absolutely convinced they'd never get back off the ground because of the short length available to them. While the plane did dig up the airstrip a bit (which they immediately offered to repair), they assured us that this plane is capable of landing on very short airstrips. It came back a few times in those days, carrying companies that were searching for gold, I think it was, in our area. (Nope, no gold in "them thar' hills.")

The reason the Siawi folks were so overjoyed at the MAF's plane landing in their village was that it offers possible access to the outside world. No, they can't afford to actually ride on the plane, but those that might later charter a flight into Siawi might need carriers or help in some way-providing wages. Also, they might get an opportunity to order some supplies from out in town to come in on the plane. Only time will tell, since this landing was just a training flight for a new MAF pilot, but it does signal that Siawi airstrip is again open to flights as far as MAF is concerned. They do commercial flights, as well as serving various religious groups, so who knows what the future holds? (Correct answer? God!)

Other good news is that, while I've not yet received news of how the Siawi church conference went, I did receive letters from four young Siawi men asking for prayer. Having known these young men since they were just a bulge on their mothers' belly, they are very special to me. It was a joy to see them come to know my Savior and become children of God, and now it is with thankfulness that I see them wanting to serve and honor Him in their actions.

One young man is in a quandary and looking for advice. A young lady (and fellow believer) caught his eye and his heart, and they wanted to get married. Problem is-wedding decisions aren't made by the guy or the young woman. Nope, that is the job of the maternal uncles on each side, and her uncles did not want this young man to marry their niece. They had other plans for her. (Note that there are undoubtably unsaved as well as saved men among those "uncles," which include more relatives than you or I would denote as uncles.)

After waiting a while, the young couple decided to just go for it, and "get married" anyway. How is that done? No, they didn't go to a justice of the peace or find a minister to marry them. That's not how it's done in Siawi. You just start living together. And if that is done without the blessing of the uncles involved, fireworks are almost certain to erupt.

This young Christian couple's question: have they sinned by getting married against her uncles' wishes? Me? Answer that question? And no, your easy answer of "Absolutely not!" isn't really as easy to proclaim as you might think. You see, culturally, they are living in sin. According to the Scripture are they? Scripture says, "Honor your father and mother," not "Honor your mother's brothers." So uh, maybe they haven't disobeyed God's Word. Though they definitely haven't lived "at peace with all men," since they have caused discord in the village. In case you are wondering, I'm not stepping into the middle of that discussion, except for reminding them that since they've been living together, the deed is done. And that they have a responsibility to try to resolve this in a peaceful way. And assure them of my prayers-and yours, as they seek resolution. (That assurance means you are on the hook to pray for Jeffrey and Elizabeth.)

The other letters? One was from a young man asking for prayer for him and his wife and 2 children, that they'd not fall into sin, but would faithfully follow God's Word. He really confused me when he gave his name as "Ismael," but with my former coworkers' help, I figured out who he is. His tribal name isn't important, nor his wife's name-which I can't remember (!). Could you please uphold this couple in prayer too, that they'll be faithful to God's Word and teach and live it well before their children?

Another young man is one who was considered for ordination as one of the first elders of the church, back in 2010. He said, "No, I shouldn't be considered, because I'm not married yet. You don't know how my future wife will do spiritually, or how I will do as a godly husband." Since that time, he did wed a young professing believer, but he is asking for prayer because they are having marital problems. Also, he wants prayer that he won't fall into sin. Will you uphold Ofamo and his wife in their walk with the Lord?

The last was from a young man named Jack. He asked for prayer for himself and his wife, too, that they would stand up strongly in the face of trials and troubles. He has also been asking me to send him a memory card for his phone, with the Old and New Testament on it. While a missionary friend has told me about a way to get the Siawi scriptures in a form that can be put on a cell phone and accessed just like I do with Bible.com versions on my phone, alas, I've not figured out how to actually do it. It is a special program developed by SIL (I think). I've looked at it, but it goes beyond my computer expertise, so I'm waiting for Stephen to come visit his parents (who live in the other half of my duplex) with time to invest in helping me get this done. Now I'm thinking maybe I need to try to find a way to speed up the process, since Stephen doesn't seem to have any plans to come back for the foreign field any time soon. Again-we need to be praying.

Well, that should load you up with enough prayer fodder to get you through the holidays. As we rejoice at the opportunities and blessings the Lord has given us, in our ever so comfortable civilization, let's not forget the needs of our Christian brothers and sisters, hidden away in jungle byways around the world.

How I love and appreciate you, as you stand with me and the Siawi believers!

Linda

Linda_Krieg(at)ntm.org
232 Brazil Court, Sanford, FL 32771
Ethnos360 Hdqts: 312 W 1st St, Sanford, FL 32771
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