Page 114 - Heros of the Faith - Textbook w videos short

displayed before all of the Balangao people, showing them that God was supreme over these hateful spirits.
Many more came to faith. After a long village stay, Joanne went home on furlough with some hesitation. The
people didn’t understand how to pray, when to pray, or why to pray. She asked her home church and
supporters to pray for a breakthrough among the believing Balangao, no matter the cost. On Joanne’s trip back
into the Balangao territory, carrying supplies in to build a hospital, the aircraft crashed just before landing. The
people rallied around as she gave them instruction on how to treat her injuries and begged them to pray. This
was the breakthrough she had prayed for. The Balangaos learned what it meant to pray without ceasing and
how to ask God and trust Him for everything.

The Balangaos were experiencing new freedom in Christ. Joanne’s village father was raised up as a teacher,
learning first from Joanne and then teaching the scriptures to the people. They were so hungry for God’s word
and urged her not to stop translating because they were waiting. In the meantime, the people began to travel
to neighboring enemy villages, to take the Gospel to them. They even began to host Balango-style Bible
conferences in their village to teach people from many different areas about the God who was supreme.

Now the New Testament and has been completed in Balangao and the first edition sold out. Translators from
Balangao have been raised up from the village to take God’s Word to neighboring people groups. God answered
her prayer by preparing a people group for her coming so that she could take God’s word to them. Joanne
concludes her book in this way: “I’ve never quite figured out how to bring God glory. But I have learned to
surrender my dreams to Him. And he has made the reality of living according to His plan even better than my
greatest dreams.”

http://www.thetravelingteam.org/articles/joanne-shetler

Are you willing to follow Christ to go anywhere He leads you? Joanne was willing and look what God
did in the place she was called. An entire people group came to Christ! Like Joanne, please be willing
to obey the Lord no matter where he may send you!

Balanao Conversion Story – Joanne Shetler

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