Q.U.O.T.A.

2011-11-17T13:21:00.000+08:00

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

2011-09-13T23:05:00.001+08:00

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

2011-09-13T07:09:00.000+08:00

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

2011-09-13T05:29:00.000+08:00

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...

2011-01-24T21:45:00.000+08:00

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....

2011-01-16T16:10:00.001+08:00

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

2011-01-08T11:52:00.001+08:00

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.

Belated April Q.U.O.T.A

2010-12-14T09:59:00.003+08:00

Apologies for the few who might have been following this blog. Some of us (read: I) are finding it hard to get out of "old school"... I am not a blogger, it seems.... Most of my time is taken up with people on a non-digital plane.... But I am trying to catch up.... here's our QUOTA from April 2010

February saw ACTI finish an intensive 6-week residential cross-cultural training program with 10 trainees and 3 young teens - 1 family and 2 single ladies from Sarawak; 1 single lady from West Malaysia; 3 single lady pastors from Hong Kong; and 2 young men from Singapore. All from ethnic Chinese backgrounds, but 4 distinct cultures... all learning together…with varying abilities in English, all fairly fluent in Mandarin, but with mother tongues which were: Foochow, Hokkien, or Cantonese.

A great bunch to work with! We were also privileged to have Joey here to tutor the children as well as to help in a number of other areas.

Joey spent several weeks at the Batam Ministry House helping with computer, internet and English skills. Andrea joined her end February, was a few days in Jakarta with a group reaching the extremely poor with the gospel by living among them, then also explored art school opportunities in Yogyakarta. Joel stopped in on his return to Vancouver from a working holiday in New Zealand. So, for a few days we were again a family all together in Asia.

In March, Janet and Henry attended meetings in Bali with World Team leaders from various parts of Asia, then took a 5 day holiday with the girls. Henry was in Kalimantan to teach at a pastor’s seminar end of March.

18-30 April is another Step Aside For Encouragement program (S.A.F.E.). Please pray over the next 2 weeks as we help Christian Workers who have been worn out and perhaps "burned" in ministry. We cannot share all the details; however, over the next 2 weeks we hope to be of use in the Master's hands to touch these souls.

Last week was great! We had 2 groups of overnight missionary guests, Henry had 2 meetings with other missions leaders, we had a day out with Dave and Phyllis Enns, and we visited missionaries from Java (formerly in Kalimantan) who were in the hospital recovering from hemorrhagic dengue. We helped serve food at an evangelistic outreach, and cleaned the ACTI premises for the SAFE program. This morning Henry borrowed the church van and drove Janet, Phyllis and 10 Indonesian ladies to a restaurant where a good friend hosted them for her 50th birthday celebration.

The Indonesian Fellowship has picked up in the interest shown from the ladies. Some are allowed a day off once a month, so Janet is teaching handwork and computer skills. (A few are on Facebook if anyone is interested in communicating with them once a month or so – contact Janet for info).

The Batam House ministry is struggling with direction and lack of funding. We are praying that more ladies will benefit from this ministry, and more churches in Singapore will utilize this for their domestic workers. Wendy and her husband, Eman, are heading up this ministry.

2 weeks ago we were invited by an Indonesian Christian fellowship to have dinner with the Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore. We made some good connections and ate some of the most delicious Indonesian food ever!!!!

QUOTA April 2010 page 2

2010-05-27T20:10:00.000+08:00

QUOTA November 2009

2010-05-27T20:09:00.001+08:00

*Nov 1-13 we host another S.A.F.E. (Step Aside For Encouragement) program aimed at helping missionaries gain a better understanding of God’s love and care for them. Long-term cross-cultural ministry has to be one of the most difficult vocations ever. Personal stress is multiplied due to the cultural differences, spiritual warfare is intense, people get wounded emotionally and worn out physically… and when they return home, often the church does not understand the stress that they face.

Please pray with us as we host this 2 week program, that we will be channels of God’s healing and blessing to the 1 family from Singapore (served in Philippines), and 1 single American lady from Cambodia who will attend. As the name implies,we want this to be a SAFE place for them. May His Name be glorified as these tired servants are encouraged and refreshed.

Life has been super full these last 2 weeks and we are a bit tired... sorry for the late notice on this......

A number of other friends will be helping in various ways:

Dave and Phyllis Enns will help with some of the cooking.

2 other couples will be helping to teach some sessions, and we have 2 volunteer baby sitters

Thanks so much for standing with us in this .

In His Strong Arms,

Henry

September 2009 QUOTA

2010-05-27T19:57:00.002+08:00

May 29: we headed back to Canada to re-connect with a number of supporters and spend a little bit of time visiting our family…We had saved up for this, as our furlough account does not have enough to cover expenses, but it was well worth the trip. Due to a number of complications our Warkentin family reunion did not happen. However, our children, with the help of some dear friends and relatives, put on a 30^th Anniversary Tea for us.

For those whom we were not able to connect with, we sincerely apologize. Thank you for your patience and understanding in this.

Back in Singapore:

ACTI:

I wish we could say that all is well, but last week I had to cancel our training course as we only had 2 applicants out of about 10inquiries. Some stated they would come in January instead. But the lack of applicants has caused our Board of Directors to seriously consider drastic changes. As we pray for direction for the training centre and personally, we do remember that God is in control. We continue to be busy with a number of things, including helping other missionaries with various tasks. Thank you for praying with us.

Indonesian Domestic Workers:

A bit of a struggle to find the pulse of our present group. 10 to 12 ladies attend, of whom we can only confirm that 2 are true believers; 8 are from another religion. Janet is alone in this ministry, as even the ladies who are believers are not mature enough to be of much help. Pray for strength and encouragement for Janet in this.

Batam Ministry House:

We ask for prayer for Linda, one of the ladies working at the Batam House. She has encountered some personal problems and needs to make a stronger commitment to follow the Lord in the situation. The future of this ministry also needs prayer.

Kalimantan:

I (Henry) continue to dialogue via e-mail, text messages and Skype-Out with our Denomination Leader in Pontianak. As the PPIK church continues to grow and reach out, we are reminded of the great privilege we have to be a part of God’s work in Kalimantan. It certainly is a very different world from what most of you are accustomed to, a world (culture) that we have come to enjoy, and miss! We wish we could get over there more often.

In His Strong Arms, Henry & Janet

World Team:

-7575 Danbro Cres., Mississauga ON L5N 6P9 Canada

-1431 Stuckert Rd., Warrington PA 18976 USA

-PO Box 217, Ringwood East, Victoria 3135 Australia

2010-05-27T19:48:00.003+08:00

October Update.....

2008-10-02T00:40:00.005+08:00

Henry's Eye Problem: My eye problem is just part of the aging process... vitreous degeneration.

So, I put up with the "floaters" that come across my vision quite regularly, and I have been

sidelined from Floor-ball till this past week. The season is almost over, but it has been great to be

with our team… even though we did not do so well in the league this year.

ACTI Trainee Visa: Once everything got sorted out, we were able to get everyone into Singapore

but one trainee. Norbu came in from Nepal 3 weeks late, but we were expecting that anyway...

However, a man from India was not accepted. This man showed a lot of grace and humility. I

talked to him on the phone a few times a week, as we looked to the Lord for an answer. There is a

chance he may be able to come next year. Pray that he, Ami, will continue to grow in the Lord.

Trip to Pontianak: From 2 to 5 September, Dave Enns and I were in Pontianak for an important

meeting of the PPIK church denomination. Over 200 delegates gathered to hear reports from the

past leadership team and to elect a new team. There were a few glitches, but all in all it was a very

encouraging time for us. Please pray for Lajim, the new leader of the 158-church denomination.

Dave and I have a very good working relationship with this man, going back many years. We look

forward to working with him and his new team.

Trip to Papua: From the 3rd to 16th October, Janet and I will be in Papua (formerly Irian Jaya),

Indonesia as part of a Field Ministry Evaluation Team for World Team (other team members

include John and Gloria Wilson, Tom and Debbie Seckler). Please pray for wisdom for our team, as

we seek to help this field in evaluating their ministries. Also, Papua is known to be a hotbed for

Malaria. We will take as many precautionary measures as we can, but we do appreciate prayer in

this regard as well.

Presently at ACTI: Please pray for stamina, and joy in ministry. Pray for protection from the evil

one. Pray that we will be effective trainers and will influence these trainees through our lives as

well as through the classroom times. Because we are short-staffed, we are both carrying a much

heavier work load than we would like to have. We are quite tired as we pass the half-way mark of

our term with the new trainees. As can be imagined, no matter how mature our trainees are (they

are all upcoming missionaries, after all), yet there are a lot of little things such as personality and

cultural differences that can cause conflict and stress. This group will graduate on Oct.23. The

last month will be a challenging time for everyone,

so please pray that each one will finish well.

Present trainees (from left to right):

Sung Eun & Young Soo & So Yoon from Korea,

Norbu from Nepal, Pauline from Malaysia,

Janice from Singapore, Chiu Yun from Taiwan.

Indonesian Maids Ministry: Janet continues to minister every Sunday (as well as a lot of prayer

and counseling by phone & text messages during the week). This ministry is facing intense spiritual

warfare, and we covet your prayers for Janet and the ladies she serves them here. Over half of

the 20 or so ladies now attending are of another religion. Some are very close to knowing Christ,

but there are a lot of barriers… cultural, religious, and family….that are keeping some of them

from making personal commitments. We are seeing God answer prayer as He takes some of them

through crises where they must rely on Him. Please pray for strength and wisdom for Janet and

for a breakthrough in the lives of these ladies.

Immediate Future: Oct 30th Janet and I will fly to Thailand to be part of the World Evangelical

Alliance Missions Commission Summit. Though ACTI is a small school, it seems we are on the

cutting edge of what the WEA would like to see happen in missionary training. We feel so

privileged to be a part of what is being done to help prepare workers for cross-cultural ministry.

This conference will help to sharpen our focus even more. Following the WEA meetings we will

take a much needed break in Thailand.

Projects and Finances:

Kalimantan Ministries Fund: We have now run out of funds for traveling back to Kalimantan

for ministry. Recently we were given the go-ahead from World Team to raise US $15,000 over

the next 3 years for Kalimantan ministry. As we work together with the indigenous church there

our financial partnership is becoming less. However, funding is still needed for travel from

Singapore, as well as for a few areas of leadership development. Each trip costs about $250 per

person. If you would like to assist in this aspect of our ministry, please designate your gift:

Kalimantan Ministries.

Batam House: We are also looking into another year of ministry with the Batam House. There are

needs for monthly salary for the 2 ladies who are in charge of the house, and also funds for

assisting Indonesian ladies readjust back into Indonesian life, especially if they have been treated

unfairly. There are 2 churches here in Singapore that are interested and excited about this

ministry.

Pray also that we will find people to teach / train these ladies in life-skills in order for them to be

able to have some type of work to fall back on when in their home villages.

Personal: Over time, our support account has slipped from “healthy” to “in need of nourishment”.

While thanking our financial partners for many years of faithful service, we ask you to pray with

us for a few more partners in the financial aspect of this ministry.

In all of the above ministry concerns we praise God for His grace, strength, and provision. Thank

you for taking the time to read this, and for your ministry to us

In His Strong Arms,

Henry & Janet

April 2008 Vancouver etc

2008-04-29T10:37:00.007+08:00

April 9th we left Singapore for Vancouver, BC, Canada, where we attended both Joel and Andrea's Grad Shows (an opportunity for them and their classmates to display some of their work and to try to make contact with some potential clients). We spent most of the next 2 weeks with them (on and off) as well as making contact with some, (not all, sorry!) of our friends and supporters in Abbotsford. (see pictures below) I'll admit there is always a lot of stress when we come back to Canada / US as we feel guilty for not meeting with everyone.... but honestly, if we were able to visit 3 different people or families each day, we could probably spend half a year in BC alone just visiting..... We praise God for the special people He has blessed us with over the years who have prayed for and financially supported us.

April 21st we had a wonderful time of fellowship with a World Team prayer fellowship (they meet in Abbotsford and Chilliwack). What a wonderful group of people; mostly retired missionaries who have spent most of their lives in cultures not their own. We were so blessed by these wonderful people!

March 24 - April 4

2008-04-03T08:41:00.003+08:00

March 24 to 28 saw us in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia at a Member Care conference. Opportunity to meet with many wonderful people who are concerned about the welfare of cross-cultural missionaries. As the conference brought out, missionaries are perhaps the most misunderstood and under-rated people in the church. Because they are away from their home church they are often forgotten and left to try to survive on their own in a foreign environment. Praise God for those who seek to minister to the "sent ones"!

March 28 to 31: I left the conference early to take a bus back to Singapore on the night of the 27th. Arriving home at 5:30 AM, I got ready to leave for Batam and Pontianak. At 7:00 I met with 3 other men from the church and by 8 we were on the ferry to Batam. Dave Enns met us there. The flight to Ptk was delayed till 2, so we spent the time getting to know each other better. The whole weekend was great as we helped our brothers from Singapore get to know our brothers from Kalimantan. Lots of cultural differences to compare.

March 31st: Back to Batam and to Singapore. Stopped to visit our good friends Wendy, Linda and Merry (former domestic helpers in Singapore... members of our Indonesian Fellowship) who are now living together in Batam. Janet came over on the 30th to visit them.

Now have just a few days to get everything in order... we leave for Canada on April 9th. Will spend 2 weeks or so in BC, but will not be able to visit even a fraction of our friends there. Priority will be to spend some time with our children. Andrea's art show (her graduation from Capilano College) is on the 14th. Joel's presentation is later in the week.

March 16 - 23

2008-03-23T08:20:00.005+08:00

A busy week with guests and such
Sunday 16th: Jan led a seminar at a Korean church for employers of Indonesian maids. It was very well received and we had a lot of good discussion.
Tuesday 18th: Jan went in for a bone density scan
Wednesday 19th: 2 young American ladies came over from Indonesia and are using our place as home base for a while.
Thursday 20th: Jan went to see a bone specialist to review results of scan. I helped our secretary get the latest edition of Asian Mission to the bulk mailing area of the post office.
Friday 21st: a very worshipful Good Friday service, later on we went to Dr. & Mrs. Poulson's place for a meal with their daughter & son in law. Great people who serve God and have touched thousands of lives here in many ways.
Saturday 22nd: early morning phone call from Vincent, a Malaysian friend who lives in Toronto. We first met in Kuching 11 years ago. He was on his way through Singapore so we spent the morning together. Later on, back to the airport to meet a fellow missionary and her daughter. 11 year old Haley had broken both wrists a few days ago and had just come all the way from Papua to get some medical help. A very brave little girl. It was a delight to be able to help these very gracious people with some logistical details. Of course, the excellent care at Mount Elizabeth Hospital makes the whole ordeal seem so more pleasant.
Sunday 23rd: A very Blessed Easter! HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! Later on today we will pack for next week. Tomorrow morning very early we board a bus for Kuala Lumpur and head to the member care seminar.

March 10 Post

2008-03-10T14:34:00.002+08:00

March 10 : Janet finished editing the Asian Mission magazine. ( you can find back issues at www.acti-singapore.org/press.html )
March 24 -28: Member Care Seminar in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.
March 28 - 31: A quick but important trip to Pontianak and beyond with some friends from our Singapore church. A chance to show off the world's best coffee shop (probably one of the world's dirtiest as well, but the coffee is excellent!)and introduce 2 great sets of people who live a mere 750 km from each other but have never met.
April 2 : Janet's birthday.
April 2: Core Management Team meeting for ACTI. We really need prayer. Applications are down. Support is dropping because applications are down. Is God telling us it is time to close down this program?
April 3 : Annual meeting for Singapore Centre for Evangelism and Missions
April 9 : We leave for Canada to attend Joel and Andrea's graduations from Capillano College.
April 21-May 16 : ACTI is running a one-month intensive course for Thais. Sadly, we will not be able to attend.

First Quarter 2008

2008-03-04T08:06:00.005+08:00

WOW! Where has the time gone? Our schedule has been quite full, and now that I finally sit down and start to write a blog I realize again that I need to set aside more time to reflect.... This blog was started on 4th march... and has become a daily journal as well as a look into the future....

January 1 -10 : Pontianak, West Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia... visiting friends, taking some time off because life has been much too busy. Great chance to get caught up on what's been happening with some of our Dayak and Chinese friends. Lots of good food and fellowship.
It is encouraging to see some of our friends' families where the children have grown up to be responsible adults who love God and are good citizens.
January 11-13: Batam, Indonesia... spent 2 days at the Harris hotel... a great chance to relax and read. Spent 1 and 1/2 days with the Korean trainees from ACTI as they visited several sights / churches in Batam. Were able to spend a bit of time with Wendy, Linda and Merry, helping them purchase some things for their home. Rev. Lee was a BIG help, driving us around. This man is an angel.
January 14 - February 1 : Korean course at ACTI. This was a tough month for us. How can you be an effective resident trainer when you can't verbally communicate with 75% of your trainees? Yet, there were some redemptive aspects to this time. It seemed that toward the end some of the ice was finally broken. Trainees were all good people with good intentions. I don't think they learned all that they should have while here, mostly due to the language barrier, but everyone was stretched and went away much more informed as to the intricacies of cross-cultural life and ministry.
February 2 - 19 : a bit of a blur.... some meetings to attend, some struggles with evaluating the short course in January. some writing and reading, visiting others in ministry. on-going ministry with Indonesian Maids (though this is primarily Janet's ministry, I help out in various ways.) Had several groups of people staying over... ACTI alumni, Indonesians, some friends from Bethany College of Mission, others...
February 20 to March 1 : Penang, Malaysia. First 4 days were a much needed holiday. We had a great room on the 24th floor overlooking the bay at Paradise Sandy Beach Hotel. Good friend Timothy Kim lent us his car so we could get out and around. That was great! Following this was our WT Asia LEAD meetings. Great messages from David and Rosemary Harley, former Int'l Director of OMF. So good to hear great Bible teaching from well-educated, yet humble and down to earth servants. Lots of sharing from fellow field leaders. God is doing some good things in and around us.
March 2 - Seems there is never a lack of things to do... why am I writing this at 12:30 in the morning? more to come.....
March 5 Good friends, Darrel and Sylvia Davis leave Singapore for Canada. Sylvia has been suffering kidney disease for many years. Finally, they were forced to return to Canada and wait on the Lord for the future.
March 6 Good friends, Dr. & Mrs. Wendell Geary long time medical specialists in Kalimantan who don't believe in retirement, stay overnight on their way back to the States. Another guest from Bethany College of Missions arrives late on her way from Cambodia to Batam.
March 7 : International night at SBC. Had to miss this wonderful event, just too busy and too tired.
March 8 : Our good friends Jason and Ruth Ann get married. A delightful, talented couple. An honour to be at this wedding.
March 9: Farewell for Emik, one of the leaders of our Indonesian Fellowship here., Evening spent with a very gracious Korean couple who have a passion for serving the Lord!