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...