Where is Home?

Most cross-cultural workers find it difficult to answer this question. “Where is home?” Quite honestly, the longer one is away from their “former home” the more difficult it is to really feel “at home” when they return to what “used to be home”.
The more people pours themselves into the lives of others in a foreign culture, the more that culture becomes theirs. So, when they return to “home" it is no longer “home”. (I hope that all made sense to you!)
Though we have been back in Canada for over 3 months, we have found it very difficult to settle in and feel at home. Several deputation trips have given opportunity to visit a lot of people, but have also kept us from settling down and getting some rest.
At the same time, God has given us a number of friends who have lighten the burden in various gracious ways. We praise God for everyone He has used to help us in our transition back to Canada for this Home Assignment.

“Where is Home?” is also the title of a power point presentation that we have put together, to help both missionaries and their supporters to understand the challenges of living and ministering in a foreign culture. As more people begin to understand the issues at stake, hopefully more missionaries will feel “understood” by their friends and family.

We are thankful for:
- Friends who continue to support us in prayer and finances
- Friends who have encouraged us in various ways and lightened our load financially
- Provision of a car for the months we are in Manitoba
- Several weeks of accident- free deputation trips
- An extended summer and a warm fall

We need prayer for:
- Some time to get a rest
- Provision of finances for our return to Singapore
- Provision of affordable housing to rent in Singapore
- CYNDA – on the Logos Hope, that she will adjust well to the new circumstances and challenges of living with other culture on board ship
- RICHARD and ADAM, the two Singaporean business men who are helping us set up World Team in Singapore

Kalimantan Church commissions 1st Overseas Missionary!
We praise God for His grace to our indigenous church denomination in Kalimantan.
In September they commissioned 20-year old CYNDA KAYOCI to a 2-year assignment on the Logos-Hope, a ministry ship of Operation Mobilization.
In 2010, we helped Cynda (pronounced: Chin-da) come to Singapore for schooling and we were encouraged to see the maturity of this 3rd generation believer. Her grandfather was one of the first believers in the village where Janet was born, and her father is a pastor.
As we explored options for her future she became interested in OM’s ship ministry and working cross-culturally. Seeing her love for and the way she worked with people, we were excited about this development.
Especially encouraging is to see the PPIK denomination eager to help her with some of her financial support. You can be part of this special endeavor by praying for Cynda. Also, if you would like to take part in helping financially, gifts can be sent to OM. (See www.om.org)

Looking ahead....

As we go through this transition between our ministries at ACTI (2000-2011) and
the new ones coming up, we are reminded that this is God’s ministry, not ours.
While ACTI will continue on with others at the helm, that chapter is now closed for
us. Our future roles will be similar, but will most likely take us to other World Team
Asia fields, to help train new recruits as they begin their ministries. We will continue
to work with Indonesian Domestic Workers, but more in the area of creating awareness
of needs, and helping several churches get ministries started. As well, we will
continue to visit our church leaders in Kalimantan. We are thankful that they still
want us to visit, give leadership training, and exchange ideas with them.
We praise God that an initiative to facilitate ministry to cross-cultural workers in
South East Asia has begun with the recent establishment of World Team Singapore
Ltd. Two Singaporean businessmen have offered to sit on our Board of Directors
and are eager to have us return to continue training cross-cultural workers, give
member care help to workers on several fields, and to help Singapore churches in
their understanding of missions-related initiatives. We anticipate returning to South
East Asia in March 2012.


As we look back at 30 years in S. E. Asia we thank God for His faithfulness to us in so many ways. Looking ahead, we know He will continue to be faithful and our prayer is that we will
remain faithful to Him. We also give Him thanks for each one who has partnered with us at various stages of this journey.
Thank you for your love and concern.

Our Calendar:
November: a few days of rest, ...in some churches
December 3–January 15: In B.C. to visit supporters & celebrate Christmas with our children and Janet’s extended family.
January – end February:  In Manitoba
March: Back to Singapore

Update for June 2011

Once again trying to get caught up with the updates...

OUR May TRIP to Kalimantan...IN SHORT…
We got to Pontianak, picked up a rental car, met with a few of the PPIK leaders, got things ready for trip up country, drove 200 km to Anik through 4 heavy thunderstorms (stopped in a few places on the way), met with the head of the GPPIK church and his wife.
From Anik to Ngabang where we visited several families, then to 3+ hours to Serimbu (our old village…about 50 km from Ngabang). Sunday was feasting and thanksgiving celebrations in Serimbu. We met people, ate a lot of good food, shared in church, visited many old friends, had some good conversations with several young men who had recently made a decision to return to the Lord and the church.  All in all a great time of fellowship and encouragement.

The trip from Serimbu to Ngabang and Pontianak was without incident – which we were thankful for. The day before no vehicles could pass as there was major flooding on the main road. (Motorcycles could get through if they paid to be taken over the flooded area on a makeshift raft! No raft big enough for cars or trucks! ☺ )

In Pontianak Henry met with GPPIK church leaders to discuss strategy for the coming year and Janet joined the leaders of the ladies ministry as they planned a special seminar for wives of pastors and church leaders. We were also able to visit some “pre-believers”, especially one family whose father is struggling with cancer.

ONE EVENING IN PONTIANAK…
I (Henry) was able to meet with some of the denominational leaders from our churches. I asked them what they thought about the condition of the denomination as a whole. They stressed need for a lot of wisdom.
Though believers are not poor, they are not supporting the denomination. With the coming of Credit Unions, people are not saving money, but rather borrowing to buy motorcycles…. With monthly payments taking a large portion of their wages, people are giving less to the church… More must be done to encourage the leaders, better communication is needed.
One pastor shared that another denomination invites its pastors to the city every month for a pep talk and the imparting of a vision. All expenses are paid from an outside source. But the pastors are excited to run with the vision, and their churches are growing. Though PPIK cannot afford to do this every month, they would like to try it at least every 3 months. They hope to be able to gather about 150 leaders together, but will need about $6 per person to help with food and other supplies. Each pastor would pay for his own transportation and an offering would be taken towards paying for the next meeting.
Communication and a sense of belonging are missing. We are praying that these planned meetings will be a catalyst in the Lord's hands to bring about some much-needed change in the lives of the leaders… change that will filter down and infect the lives of church members as well. Financial gifts marked "Kalimantan Ministries" are tax-deductible.
They were also challenged concerning sending a missionary from GPPIK. One young lady, a 3rd generation believer, is applying to go on the OM ship Logos-Hope. If you are interested in supporting a national, she is someone we would highly recommend. Contact us if you want more details. (Her grandfather was one of the first converts from the ministry of Janet’s parents. He was also on staff at the Berea Bible School).  You could also contact Operation Mobilization directly and specify a gift for "Cynda Kyoci" from Indonesia.

SCHEDULE for JUNE/JULY…
1-3 – packing and sorting, as well as visiting several key people in Singapore
4 – lead a seminar on how to teach churches that their missionaries need member care
5 – afternoon… fly to Denpasar, Bali for 1½-day holiday, followed by 5-day World Team Asia Area Conference, followed by 2-day orientation for summer interns to Indonesia…
16 - 30 – wrap things up in Singapore
26 – Henry to preach at Bethesda Pasir Ris Mission Church (where we live) on the Discipline of Serving
July 1 – 12 tie up loose ends, prepare to leave for Canada.
9/10 weekend sleep-over for Indonesian domestic workers
12 – leave for our 6-month home assignment


Again, we rejoice in God’s goodness to us in allowing us 10 years in Singapore to train missionaries and each Indonesian ladies for Christ. We look forward to what He has for in the near and distant future, and we appreciate your prayers for us in that regard.
In His Strong Arms,
Henry and Janet

WORLD TEAM OFFICES…
CANADA: 7575 Danbro Cres., Mississauga, ON L5N 6P9 1-800-610-9788 wt-canada@worldteam.org
USA: 1431 Stuckert Road, Warrington, PA 18976, 1-800-967-7109 wt-usa@worldteam.org
AUSTRALIA: PO Box 217, Ringwood East, Victoria 3135 61-3-9879-6377 wt-australia@worldteam.org

Update for May 2011

Once again I'm a bit behind in posting prayer letters to the blog. For the faithful few who might be following us on this blog, thank you for your patience (then again, you might be receiving the emails anyways..)   So please read this in retrospect.. :)

May 1-16 … among other various activities we will be trying to get most of our belongings sorted and packed away in a room in the church. (The end of June we will have these things transported to a storage company to keep there till we return next year.) We are also finally trying to get some old video 8 tapes put onto DVD’s and scanning slides onto our computer to bring to Kalimantan. There are dental appointments, new assignments related to our employment pass, people to counsel, books to read, the list goes on.  At times I have felt like we were spinning our wheels in the sand a bit, but a recent seminar on “Transitions” has reaffirmed for us that God wants to do something significant in our lives and He is using this ‘time’ to unsettle us so that He can align us to what He wants to do next.

Here’s a quick run down of our proposed trip to Kalimantan:

17^th - fly to Pontianak, get settled at a guest house, pick up a rental car,

18^th - meet with a few of the PPIK leaders, get things ready for trip up country

19^th - drive 200 km to Anik (will take about 5 hours, as we will stop in a few places on the way) 

       -meet with several leaders to discuss strategy for the next year.

20^th  - from Anik to Ngabang (1 hour) later in day, visit several families

21^st  - travel to Serimbu (our old village… about 50 Km from Ngabang, may take about 3 hours +)

22^nd - thanksgiving feast in Serimbu… meeting a lot of people… eating a lot of good food….. for certain Henry will be asked to preach…. We will be there to encourage the believers in their growth…

23^rd - travel back to Ngabang ... meet with a few families,  drive back to Ptk (about 5 hr)

24^th - meet with several PPIK leaders to discuss strategy for the next year.

25^th - visit some pre-believer friends

26^th - fly back to Singapore.

How to pray for us:

Pray for safety on the road (uneven asphalt roads with almost no markings, the odd huge pothole, no street lights, 2 way traffic on a road barely wide enough for 2 cars to pass each other, motorcycles without lights, pedestrians walking on the highway without reflective clothing … and some of the big buses and trucks go in excess of 100 kph)

Our meetings with church leaders will focus on how we as missionaries can help the church in the next year or so, brainstorming about a few seminars, as well as getting caught up on what is happening in Kalimantan Barat in general. We desire to encourage and challenge our leaders in their roles as well as to pray with them about the future of the church.

Pray that we will have wisdom in giving advice to leaders, to families, to young people.

Kalimantan Barat has become perhaps the most densely “Christian” area of all Indonesia. Pioneered by western-based mission agencies in the 1950’s - RBMU (World Team), CBFMS (World Venture), WEC, Go Ye Fellowship, The Christian & Missionary Alliance,  and later on NTM - this province soon became the target of other groups from Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, the USA and Canada. There are now 105 different church denominations, many of them new within the last 20 years, and most of them “planting” churches in small villages where churches already exist. Sadly, a lot of pastors in our denomination (PPIK) have spent a lot of time defending their territory, and over time have lost a vision for reaching outside their village with the gospel.  While there are still villages in remote areas with no true church, most denominations stick to the main roads. (Since we left Serimbu in 1995, only two other denominations have gone into that area, because it is far from most roads.)  What the churches need is a vision for sending people to other parts of Indonesia where there are still unreached groups. This is the challenge before us.  Please pray with us that the leaders of PPIK and other denominations will see that the distant fields are white with the harvest, but are in need of workers....

Behind the times

It is kind of embarrassing to find yourself a few months behind in letting people know what you've been up to. Honestly speaking, I don't often think about writing on this blog.  I do send out Quick Updates On The Armstrongs to anyone on my e-mail list... but till now the blog thing has been just a little bit too much to do.. most days are full enough without it....

However... things may be changin...

In November we had the opportunity, along with Dave and Phyllis Enns, to participate in  a Family Seminar in Pontianak. It was a great time of interaction, not to mention the chance for a pictures with a few good friends, many of whom we have known for 30 years!  We are so blessed!

August 2010 update....

August: opportunity to catch up with some great people from our village (Sepangah- Meroba-Tepo) who now live in Jakarta. We were blessed to see how God has cared for and used these young people, how He has led them in their marriages and raising their families.

 We were in Jakarta to attend the wedding celebration of the daughter of good friends, and in the process were able to spend some time with one of Janet's childhood friends whom we had not seen in many many years. Some other Pontianak connections were made there.  All in all it was a very blessed time.  We thank God for wonderful friends in Indonesia!

November / December 2010 Highlights

Kalimantan trip highlights
We spent most of November in Kalimantan, several weeks of almost non-stop activity. From visiting many church leaders and Chinese shopkeepers, to traveling over 1000 km on narrow, winding, busy roads, we thoroughly enjoyed this ministry marathon. It is a joy to see the church continuing to mature as they face various challenges. We had the privilege of hosting Kyle Lichti, grandson of fellow missionaries Jack and Ruth Wilson, for a few weeks.

Indonesian Fellowship highlights
22 Indonesian ladies attended as we celebrated Christmas together on Dec 12.
The Lord brought one new lady that day. Her father had passed away the day before (in Indonesia) and she asked her employer’s permission to go to a church somewhere to get some comfort. She has worked in Singapore for 8 years, and does not get a day off. Please pray that she will be able to attend our fellowship for the 2 hours on Sunday mornings.

At Christmas we are again reminded of why we are here… to reflect His Glory in our lives and to shine as a light to those around us who do not yet know Him. Singaporeans do not do much for decorations, so Janet has a friend who brings her son every year on a “field trip” to see a home decorated for Christmas! ☺

Family
We missed our family again this Christmas. Plans are for us to be “home for Christmas” in 2011…though S.E. Asia has really become our home over the years. We have now spent 22 of the last 30 Christmases here, and we kind of miss that winter – Christmas atmosphere. (Janet does NOT miss the cold, though!) The Lord provides in other ways, though, and we recognize His sovereignty in placing us here in the tropics.

Future plans
This has been the biggest question of all – “What are we planning to do now that we are no longer with ACTI?” We continue to ask the Lord for direction for the near and distant future: our place of ministry as well as where we will live are key concerns at this time. While we feel He may be calling us to more Indonesian ministry, part of that is continuing to minister to Indonesian Domestic Helpers in Singapore.