Two Weeks

A lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. Pops has held and attended numerous meetings with the Lamane church elders and others in the community and these have been mostly encouraging. At the first church meeting he was present for Pops refused to speak publicly with the idea of simply observing and trying to get a feel for how healthy the teaching and leadership is. He was very blessed and encouraged saying that the worship was good and that one of the elders delivered a very good message. Likewise the results of numerous Bible studies have been very uplifting and encouraging both to him and the local leaders--he has likewise taken a backseat at some of these meetings in order to get a better feel for how they are doing without his input and they have shown themselves well founded and versed in Scripture.

Another encouraging factor has been that a few individuals in the community have repeatedly stood up to negative elements there. In one disturbing but revealing instance there was apparently a public altercation at a meeting concerning mine royalties where someone publicly denounced the "disappearance" and squandering of royalty money. Other instances have involved repeated private confrontations concerning expenditure accountability and there has been subsequent public disclosure of these wrongs whenever they are not redressed. These events have thus shown that there are at least a few individuals in the community who are willing to work hard to maintain public honesty and accountability even in an environment where that is difficult.

However, on the other side of things, Pops has discovered that relations between the mine and the affected indiginous people have become very strained. This is largely due to complications that have evolved from/since the transfer of royalty money and from the fact that the mine has undergone National scrutiny caused by a local scandal that became public. Much of the money released to date has been spent on projects or items that local leaders say "will not last more than 5 years." This, combined with the expected increase of "partying" in several of the areas and a general attitude of lethargy and isolationism has been very disheartening for all of us. Pops can specifically use your prayers at this time that God would use him to help motivate the Lamane leadership to both exemplify Christ before their peers and to challenge those about them to do likewise.

One of the greatest desires and goals of Pops life and ministry with these people has been that they would use the example he has been to them in order to reach the communities that surround Lamane. While several of the communities in this area have had churches planted in them, some of these have faltered and many other regions are still completely awash in Animism. It has been no little disappointment for Pops to find that so many of the people he has worked with have grown complacent and unmotivated to reach out to their neighbors with the Good News of Christ. He has been encouraging and challenging them toward this end over the past couple of weeks but it is difficult to predict what results there will be--particularly due to the increased societal complexities that the mine and its windfall profits have brought.

Thank you all again for your continued interest and support. This trip has been a sustained challenge for Pops in spite of his preparation and experience. Please continue to remember him and the Tagbanwas in your prayers. God bless,

Tim Mewmaw