PRAISES AND PRAYER
REQUESTS BY EVANGELISTS

Arlin and Martius were delighted with a surprise party by their congregation in honor of six years of marriage. They also give praise for three young people who are studying with her and want to follow Christ in baptism. They are Wahyu, Lia, and Marni. There are three others who are almost ready to make the commitment. Another praise is a new monthly meeting every third Saturday evening. This is for all Christians in their neighborhood, regardless of what church they go to or don’t go to. They have met three times with 22 families attending. They feel it’s important to have unity in order to better witness to their non-Christian neighbors.

Bintang and Biya ask for prayer as they continue to try and reach new people and start cell groups in Pamulang. There is one victory Bintang writes about this month.:
“I grew up in Central Java and was taught to be polite; Javanese are generally quiet spoken and smile even when disappointed or angry. Here in West Java I’ve had the opportunity to counsel a woman who was crude and very rude to me. This woman has one child, her husband has a second wife and lives elsewhere. She was living with boyfriend; financially she was OK, not spiritually. Through patience and love, we were able to reach her. She has repented and is now concentrating on her son. She’s attending a large church where no one will notice her; she still needs to make a final commitment and be baptized.

Daniel is thankful for the young people he is discipling. He is teaching them from a book entitled “Victorious Followers of Christ”. His goal is for them to be strong in their faith so they will go out and disciple others. The lessons include a time for sharing, scripture memorization, and personal testimonies.
We were blessed, encouraged, and challenged by a four-day visit to Banda, Aceh, where our evangelists we call Samuel and Martha and daughter, Tabitha, live. We looked, listened, and asked lots of questions. We have lots of photos of areas where hundreds of houses have been built by different countries and foundations. There’s a photo of a huge ship blocking the road and a ship on the top of a home that’s still being lived in. Cows and goats are loose in the streets, and in people’s yards. A cow even visited us during a picnic at the beach. Everyone we came in contact with seemed friendly, which might seem surprising after reading the following, but looks can be deceiving.

We spent two days traveling to the areas where Samuel helped clean out buildings and established friendships during the first few months after the tsunami. He still has a few contacts there; some have moved to other areas where he also visits. It will be three years in December since the tsunami. There’s been lots of construction; many housing complexes for those who lost their homes. There are still people waiting for homes. It’s hard to imagine the total destruction and huge area the tsunami hit. We only traveled a short distance. There are areas much further away still being rebuilt. The government keeps saying the relief agencies must leave, but there’s still lots to do. The government is afraid of the “Christian” influence. Hmm? Foreigners have set up free computer lessons and free English lessons – Tabitha just finished a course, but the Acehnese are not using this service because they’ve been warned against the non-Muslims who are infidels and unclean. Relief workers with Christian symbols have been sent out of Aceh. These include crosses, doves, hearts on jewelry, t-shirts, caps etc. Packets sent to an orphanage from one organization was not accepted because there was a heart on them. The word kasih (love) is associated with Christian organizations. Praise the Lord for this. Even a young person playing a guitar is a Christian symbol or threat.

If you think it’s hard to witness where you are, you should try doing so in Aceh for a short time.
First you would find many rules and regulations not in affect where you live. The stores and restaurants are closed at afternoon and evening prayer times. On Friday afternoons, the streets are closed for about 1 ½ hours. Women must wear head coverings, apparently to say, “I am a Muslim.” The head covering is what is important, not as much emphasis on long sleeves and long blouses which is part of Muslim attire. There are no bathing suits allowed on the beach for men or women. We saw some ladies go into the ocean completely dressed from head to toe. Second, you would find that many Acehnese are not friendly to you if you are Christian. Generally, this is not noticed in Jakarta. In Aceh, Samuel and Martha have come face to face with real hatred. Their jamu health drink stand was closed down for a short time; people stopped buying from them, and children were chanting “najis” in front of their house. Najis is a really filthy insult; part of the meaning suggests something that would make a Muslim ritually unclean. When children were shouting “najis” at non- Muslims in the streets, it’s like saying you are excrement, best interpreted by the four letter Anglo-Saxon word we prefer not to use in a decent publication. The preachers in the mosques and TV are teaching this. They also say Christians are infidels, are immoral – free to have sex with anyone they want.

The question in Aceh, isn’t what approach or how do we witness, but first how do we overcome the hatred that has been instilled in their hearts.

We visited the family where the grown son has been in a comatose state for three years. Samuel & Martha faithfully visit the family and pray with them. Friends and relatives have given up on Agus and don’t visit. There has been improvement since Samuel and Martha’s prayers. Agus was on intravenous feedings; now they feed him blender food by mouth. He used to just stare into space, but he looked at Bob when he prayed for him.
While in Aceh, I asked Martha where she really wanted to live. She said, “Of course I prefer Jakarta, but I don’t want to be a Jonah. We feel called here.” Jan said, “your husband told me he wouldn’t have a ministry without you.” She answered, “I couldn’t minister without him; I’m so busy helping people, my prayer life isn’t what it should be, but Samuel prays faithfully and he fasts twice a week.” See September Indonesian Challenge for more about overcoming obstacles with love.

LAND CERTIFICATE
Please continue to pray for the land office to release documents for Land Certificate. The Director is still holding a file that must go to two more departments before we receive final approval.

ICM BUDGET
August giving was good, but we still have a little catching up to finish the year on-budget

NEW CAR FUND
We now have $7,745 towards a little Hyundai sedan, the Avega, pictured in last month’s newsletter. Praise the Lord. Still needed - $4,310.

FAMILY NEWS
Two of our grandchildren graduated from high school in June. Rene will be attending Oregon State University in Corvallis, 1 1/2 hrs. from home. Eric is in basic training in the Navy. Our youngest grandchild, Dylan was featured last month; he was born May 4, not April as stated.