Bo Ung Mara Gomu SALT

SALT team leaves for village.

Have you ever felt something is successful, and judged whether God has been at work, by the number of people who attend? I fell into this sort of thinking over the last SALT trip. We had 7 people graduate from the Bo Ung Mara Gomu SALT course this weekend. This was far short of the numbers we had hoped for. One denomination had 40 of their pastors and leaders booked into the course and not one of them came! We are still not really sure why. Many others said they were coming and did not.

We know that God has a plan for those that did come - to use what they learned to bless others in their villages. One Lutheran pastor was so excited to see the impact of the Gospel when he taught in his own heart language. This is one of the aims of SALT - to equip the pastors to use their translated Scriptures. In fact, this pastor's personal reading skills improved greatly during the course because he had to look up and read out loud many Scriptures passages related to the many Christian worldview topics. The outreach times were definitely a highlight and the Lord worked in many hearts and minds.

Our team had a few challenges. When we were in the village we ran out of water! Also, several on our team got sick for a short time. Unfortunately, there were many deaths in the surrounding villages during this two week period, so there was much sadness for some families.

Compensation ritual in which one family-group pays for man's death with money trees and cassowary birds.

The bottom line is that we leave the end results to the Lord. I know God will use all our efforts for His good purposes. In fact, another SALT course is planned for the same people group, but in a different area, next month.

Please pray with us that the enthusiasm of those who came to the first course will be passed on to other pastors and leaders in the area and that many more will come and receive this excellent discipleship training.

Blessings to you all! -- Dave Wake