In the spirit of our
Bruce Brief (which is usually anything but 'brief'!) we wanted to give you an
update on what is going on here and how God is at work. We have been greatly
encouraged and blessed by your notes, prayers, and encouragement--God has given
us a new appreciation for the body of Christ, and the way we share in His
kingdom, no matter how many miles apart we may be! THANK YOU for caring and
sharing in the ministry here!May 19th we were finally able to talk with Milton again, encouraging him to repent and return to walking with God again. Three days later, on May 22nd, Milton came to our house and talked for a long time. This is the gist of what he said that morning: "Repentance is coming to me. I was living in sin, doing what was wrong, and I found I couldn't live without Christ. I just can't stand living without Him anymore. I know He is calling me to come back to Him, I have heard His voice calling me. I know He is wanting to forgive me. So I left my sister-in-law and now I am returning to God and returning to my wife and my family. I am really hungry for God's word, and I want to do what is right. I am really sad over what I have done, and I realize that I've damaged many people, and damaged God's name."
Since that day, Milton has come to visit several times, and the fellowship with him has been truly sweet. Thursday night we had our first time of Bible study together. He is greatly humbled, and has a new appreciation for Christ's suffering and death for him, paying for his sin. He is amazed that his wife Delia has been willing to receive him again and to forgive him. He is thrilled to be back with his kids again, especially his littlest one, baby Sonia, who is just three months old.
Sunday (May 24th) Milton came to church, to join the group of believers, for the first time since before Christmas. He was embarrassed, feeling much shame for his actions, but affirmed his desire to return to God before the group of believers, acknowledging his guilt. I explained to the group that Milton can no longer be an elder, or have a position of teaching the Bible, but that he desires to return to the church to listen and to fellowship together. We went over 2 Corinthians chapter 2, where Paul encourages the Corinthians to receive the repentant one, so that this man would not be overcome by sorrow.
The group of believers, many of them Milton's family, were very quick to respond...each one taking a turn to talk. Kathy and I were a bit blown away by their response, as they loudly and clearly said that they were not ready to receive Milton; he could not return to the group; if he came to church, none of them would come.
In all the angry talking, God did reveal many heart attitudes. Last year, as we left the church for the 8 months we were in the USA, we realized that it would be a time of testing for the believers. And it does seem like God is using the present situation to reveal hearts...what was said, over and over, was that because Milton had done wrong, and caused them (as fellow believers) to suffer in the community, now they really want Milton to suffer. Many of them pointed out Milton's 'badness' and then listed their own 'goodness'. Many things were said, and much of it was not pretty! In the end, I told the believers that we would wait a month, with Milton not joining us on Sundays, but just coming to be taught another day of the week. During that time they could watch Milton, to see if he was truly repentant...also, that they could see what God would say to them, how He wants them to respond, and I would continue to teach them and Milton separately what God's word says.
Thanks for your continued prayers. We are thankful for God's revealing of heart attitudes, and greatly desire your prayers that I would know how to clearly teach these people over the next month! I believe that God is wanting to teach the group a deeper understanding of their own sinfulness, which will help them to be able to come to the cross of Christ in a new way, allowing them the humility to forgive. The way they are acting now is according to their traditional Awa customs...it would seem God is calling them to grow in their understanding of His grace and mercy. Last Sunday was a good day and I saw glimpses of hearts softening.
So many of you have
told us that you are praying for these very issues! Thank you. Recently we are
reading the book "The Prodigal God" by Timothy Keller, and are
encouraged by a clearer understanding ourselves not only of the sinfulness and
repentance of the younger brother; but also in the elder brother's superior
attitude. Both of the brothers were called to repent by a loving Father.Pray for our hearts, that we would continually be coming to our Father in repentance ourselves, and that our actions and teaching would be in alignment with His loving grace to all involved.
We are thankful for many answers to prayer:
-Milton's repentance and return to fellowship with God and his family; Delia's willingness to forgive him; and the opportunity for the rest of the believers to grow spiritually.
-God's continued grace
and work in Kimberly's heart, faithfully doing His work to teach and mature
her. (She has now taken off to work at camp in Missouri, her first solo trip
navigating the airports all by herself! We are missing her already! Click
here to see her camp letter.)-God's protection for Keilah in a car accident in mid-May in NH...she was fine although her car didn't come out of it very well after hitting three trees!
-Praise the Lord for the provision of a truck. We purchased a 2009 D-max 4-door pickup truck last week. Apparently it can seat about 25! :-)
In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy
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