As an active Seventh-day Adventist couple, Orion and Keren Lawrence work for Adventist Frontier Missions in Papua New Guinea. Below, Keren shares an update on how pictures rolls are assisting them to share the gospel of Jesus. The picture rolls project is funded by Adventist Laymen’s Services and Industries. — Editors.
“Today, Orion will tell our mission news,” the local church elder announced.
Orion ducked under the curtain as he entered the church from the front. “Good morning, and happy Sabbath. Today, our mission story comes from the United States of America!”
Everyone in the May River Station Church in the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea listened as Orion shared with them the story of the dedicated people from the Adventist Laymen’s Services and Industries (ASI) who sacrificed and gave money to have beautiful picture rolls printed and sent to them.
As he unrolled the picture roll, he also held up the storybook, explaining that anyone who can read English can read the storybook and then teach all Adventist doctrines from the picture rolls. We looked at many of the pictures, and everyone admired the waterproof, tear-resistant paper before we rolled it back up and returned it to its protective tube to complete the Sabbath morning “mission news.”
Local church leaders were especially interested in reading the storybook and using the picture roll to explain what Adventists believe. An eye-catching picture, combined with a solid Biblical lesson, will be a great help to them in preparing sermons, prayer meetings, and evangelistic outreach.
We helped to transport nine sets of picture rolls into the May River area. They have been distributed to church leaders and branch Sabbath Schools in our area. The people here long for a deeper understanding of the gospel; they long to know how to read and understand Scripture. They see the United States and other Western countries as sources of information and training and are eager to accept whatever comes to them from the outside. The picture rolls and the accompanying storybook will help them learn to teach others about our doctrines. The waterproof paper, in a sturdy plastic tube, will help the rolls last for years.
Our people are river people, and although they are careful with their things, from time to time, most items will be dropped into the water or placed too near a window or leaky wall during a hard rain. The durable rolls should weather those challenges just fine.
We thank the continuing support of our donors for this initiative.
The original version of this story was posted in the May 25, 2020, Adventist Laymen’s Services and Industries project update newsletter.
