Back At The Books

Here it is the end of August already! We have had great joy in beginning another year of ministry with a new group of special children.
Carrie is now the Kindergarten Principal with duties to teach English and train the national teachers. It seems hard to believe that she has already completed 6 weeks of classes this term! After battling bronchitis/pnumonia for two weeks she is finally getting into a regular routine of business and lesson planning. She has been very well accepted by her peers and truly enjoys what she is doing in her small portion of God's Kingdom!
Phil continues to work with grade 7 students in the areas of Math and Science. He has been blessed with another group of really friendly students - 66 spread through 3 separate classes. Grade 7 has grown to 5 sections this year with a total of 109. Since his school had a later start he has completed only 4 weeks thus far. He again is experiencing having students that display great personalities and genuinely seem to appreciate what he is trying to accomplish. He also has accepted the role of mentor for a new teacher in his department who arrived in July from Chicago.
Continue to pray that the ministry we are in will be used to plant the seed of faith in those who are not yet a part of Christ's Kingdom and to strengthen the faith of those already a part of the Kingdom!

USA Sharing

From mid-June to mid-July we were priviledged to spend time back in the states. We enjoyed our time visiting with a wide variety of friends, colleagues, family, and new found acquaintances.

One of our goals in our visit was to share through powerpoint presentations our experiences during our first year overseas. It was exciting to be able to tell our story through word and photos to so many fellow Christians.

• Sharing was done with a wonderful group of friends at the home of Bill and Kathy in West Bend, WI. They were kind enough to open their home for a great morning brunch followed by an opportunity to share our story.
  
• Our next opportunity was a Bible Study time in our home congregation in Glendale, WI. Many were in attendance and felt inspired by the message given.
• The following week found us in Lockwood, MO visiting our cousins, Jan and Terry, where we shared with a great group of new acquaintances during a Bible Study time. The attached pictures are from this great group of new found friends!
• We finished the task in the St. Charles, MO area as we had a small Saturday morning group of Men's Bible Study in our son's home to share with. They were very attentive asking many questions about our experiences. We shared the next morning with a great group of people in attendance at a Sunday Morning Bible Study at our son's home church. They too have become a new circle of friends for us to relate to.

A big portion of our sharing centered around our Indonesia Church home's ambitious goal of providing many of the Arch books translated to native languages for the children of our land. This project is geared to spread to other Asian countries as well as the need for funds becomes known and contributions begin to pour in. These children's ministry books are an awesome way to spread the news of Christ's Salvation for all to gain!

Each place we visited, we left a CD about Arch Book Sunday and the three books we have already translated into Indonesia, thanks to Audra's home church which provided most of the money and our little church here in Karawaci. The Lord is showing us many ways to spread His Word without getting into trouble with the locals. They are so hungry for books, that many Muslims took our books during our SPH's Easter Egg Hunt. Keep all in prayer that these books will soften their hearts to hear the true words of our Savior!

If interested in receiving a CD about Arch Book Sunday, please contact us and we will work something out.
Shalom