Dear Friends,

Janice and I send you folks warmest greetings for the holidays. We are fine here in Jakarta. Over the past couple of months we have faced quite a few problems in the ministry here, however, the news is not all bad. Let me share with you the bad and the good.

Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? II Corinthians 11:28-29. The words of the apostle Paul vividly explain how a missionary feels when you see men you have worked with for long periods of time just make a mess of their church and their ministry.

One of the best men in the Bible school recently dropped out of school. Sadly, he told a bunch of lies to extract money, and then disappeared. This young man had been a wonderful story of God's grace, yet in a moment of weakness, several years of training were tossed aside, to pursue worldly desires. I would like to tell you we have only had one casualty, but there have been several students this semester that have left or were asked to leave for various reasons. It is not like this has never happened before in my ministry, as many of the students that I have worked with over the years have searched for greener pastures or decided they were not called to minister. However, it has been especially hard this semester as most of the students that left were quality students that were not only trained, but actually serving in our churches.

Then there is Pastor Hadir of the Sunter Jaya church and Pastor Yusuf at the Cibubur church. You folks have often prayed for these men and I trust that you will continue to pray for their situations. Pastor Yusuf is in a building program that is facing many problems. However, come to find out, one of the major problems involves his own family. This problem does not involve a moral failure, but unresolved conflicts between Pastor Yusuf and one of his sons. Facing conflicts from the community and then with the addition of this internal conflict, the whole ministry is in danger of being destroyed.

Pastor Hadir and the situation at the Sunter Jaya church has come about due to conflicts in his marriage. His wife, Vera, and he have a darling little son named Steven. Last Sunday, his wife told my wife that Pastor Hadir has been hitting her as they are unable to peacefully resolve their marriage conflicts. Tragically, there are several young families in this ministry and it is obvious that they are not going to remain unless Pastor Hadir begins to love his wife as he should. Admittedly, Vera is quite a handful, but Pastor Hadir needs to change his behavior toward his wife and family. I trust you will pray for these situations, and also pray that I will wisely handle these problems.

Now, for the good news. Lord willing we will graduate at least eight students from the Bible school next week. All of these students are involved in ministries here in Jakarta. However, several of them will be leaving Jakarta to start new works.

During the past two months the students at our Bible school reported 60 professions of faith and 2 baptisms from their various ministries here in the Jakarta area. Also, two of our students started a new ministry out of one of our churches in West Java. Over the past month 13 people have professed Christ through this new ministry.

Most of our churches here in Jakarta are doing really good. As the Christmas season approaches, they are busy with special services geared to evangelism. This year the fasting month is well past, so the churches are finding it much easier to have more evangelistic services. Pray that the churches will be able to reach out to many new folks during this month.

Lord willing, Janice and I will be heading off to Batam island to be with Pastor Andar and his church for their Christmas services. Then we will be back to Jakarta to be with the Cipulir church on Christmas morning. Later on Christmas day, our missionary co-labors will gather here at our house for a big Christmas meal. I still need to get Janice a Christmas present and she isn't interested in computers or stamps, so that means I will have to go shopping over the next couple of weeks. Is there anything worse than trying to get the right present for your spouse?

For your faithful prayers over these past two months, we are truly thankful.

In Christ,