When Robert Westerveld was checking the Bible lessons for the Iqwaye and Gwase dialects he came across these verses from the Gospel of Mark. While many people were looking for Jesus, the Lord Himself wanted to go to look for other people. These people who were looking for the Lord already had heard the Gospel but were looking for Him especially because of the miracles He had done among them. They were not that interested in the Gospel Jesus had preached but were looking for a better life here on earth. The Lord knew this, wanted to focus on that which people really needed and because of that He wanted to go to people who hadn’t heard the Gospel yet.
This is very recognisable to Robert and Nicole. Whenever they are in Papua New Guinea, they always have to choose to focus on that which the people really need: the Word of God. People are often looking for them to help with other things. This summer they hope to contact people living in an area of the tribe they have not yet reached with God’s Word.
Lord willing Robert and Nicole and their youngest son Jorim will soon leave for Papua New Guinea. They plan to spend two days in Goroka (where they need to get everything ready) and then they will fly to Andakombi to the Yagwoia tribe. They are looking forward to seeing the believers from the different villages again. They will take with them booklets with the four translated OT books and audio Bibles with both the four OT books and the whole NT. During their time there they will work on the translation of Exodus and Joshua.
After spending more than two weeks with the Iwalaqamalje believers they plan to go to the other side of the tribe where they will spend time with the Iqwaye and Gwase believers. They will take with them 25 copies of each of three booklets with all the chronological Bible lessons and audio Bibles with all those lessons for both dialects. They also plan to work on more Bible lesson booklets for both dialects and contact people from the Iqwase dialect with a possible visit to the area where they are living. Robert and Nicole were glad to hear this week from one of the Gwase believers that they have started to meet regularly.