Dear Friends,

Janice and I send you greetings from Jakarta. Actually, Lord willing, by the time most of you get this letter we will be in Colorado. We plan to leave Jakarta on the 31st of August for a short visit to the States. We will be going directly to Denver, Colorado where Janice's sister is hospitalized. Janice really appreciates your prayers concerning her sister, Arlene, and also for Janice herself as Janice is once again being asked to donate stem cells for her sister. Janice donated stem cells last November, and truthfully, it turned into a very difficult time for Janice both physically and emotionally. Please continue to pray for Janice and her sister.

Speaking of physical wrecks, you should see our house right now. Well, the roof is almost on, but the rest of the house is a mess. A month of dust daily raining down on our heads, continually moving furniture to avoid falling items, and the constant thump of having six workers over your head has just about worn Janice and I out. This week the workers will start on rebuilding the ceilings in the house which will create more messes. We won't miss the messes, but we sure hope they get it right as we won't be here to watch over the work.

Then there is the real work, our churches and the students in the Bible school. It has been a good month. We started the month at Sunter Jaya (Pastor Hadir) and they are doing better! Please keep praying for this church, Pastor Hadir, his wife Vera and their two little boys. The second week I went with Pastor Raso on visitation, where we witnessed to several different families. In one family, the children and mother professed Christ, and Pastor Raso told me he baptized four folks this last Sunday. (That's the church where there is a door, no steeple and lots of people.) On the third Sunday we were with Pastor Yohanes and the folks at Cijantung. Pastor Yohanes has had to have an operation on both his eyes, but it sure hasn't hindered his work. The work is just a joy, lots of folks who love the Lord. Then this last week we were with the Cipulir Baptist church for their 31st anniversary! Janice desperately tried to

keep them from dragging the songs as she played the organ – they still dragged along just like they did 31 years ago when she tried to get them to pick up the singing as she played an accordion. The choir sang off key – just like they did 31 years ago when they had their first singing group. But, as the young people presented a power point display of the 31 years, our hearts were touched as we saw skinny versions of present day stout Javanese folks who had come to know Christ many years ago. There were those little kids in the Sunday school that today are grown. And those baptisms – year by year folks have been saved and baptized in this church. Sadly, some of those have gone back to Islam, but most are either still with us, or they have moved to different areas and are faithful members in our other churches. Other churches, six of them have come out of this church, and presently the seventh one is growing on Batam island. Good things lurk in this church, young families that love the Lord, old families that have faithfully tithed meager and not so meager wages, a young graduate of the Bible school whose heart burns to serve the Lord where ever the Lord leads, poor Chinese families that have recently come to know the Lord because of a pastor with a loving heart to reach all folks, and a couple of old missionaries who have never lost the thrill of seeing God build his church!

The Bible school is doing good. I have worked hard to get ahead with my classes as I will miss several weeks. However, one of those weeks Dr. Smith of Global Missions will be teaching a class to all of the students, and Lord willing we will be back right after the mid semester break. This week I will be giving tests, but I sure will miss the students. We don't have as many students this semester, but we have a good group.

I would ask you to remember the work in Nias. There is real need for workers there. Also, over the last couple of weeks, I have moved two water filter units with their accompanying generators from Medan to Nias. Lord willing, we will be able to get these water units installed and operating within the next couple of months. Pray that these units will be a blessing to the ministry in Nias.

After our trip to Colorado, Janice and I plan to make a visit to Boston (kids and grandkids), Woodbridge (Jana) and Chesapeake (Great Hope Baptist Church). Lord willing, we will return to Jakarta on the 9th of October.

We do covet your prayers.