July 2006

Home Going of A Friend
It is with mixed emotions that we begin this letter. As you may remember from previous letters, our fellow Taiwan missionary and friend, Malcom Feistel, was diagnosed with colon cancer a year ago. After a long battle throughout which he not only maintained a great testimony for the Lord; but was also able to lead several people to Christ, our Lord saw fit on Thursday, June 22 to take him home to his eternal reward. We are glad that he is no longer suffering and is in a far better place; however, our hearts ache to lose a good friend, mentor and a missionary who had labored in Taiwan for more than twenty-five years and was very proficient in the language. The people, especially in the works that the Feistels started, are endeavoring to go forward; but there is a void that only the Lord can heal in time. Additionally, this has left us with an even greater burden because the care of Dali Faith Baptist Church, the Feistel’s newest work, has now been turned over to us. Please pray for healing and for wisdom in making adjustments so that we can shepherd both Lighthouse and Faith Baptist Church and help them go forward to reach the lost and grow in the Lord. Please continue to pray for more laborers for this harvest field.

Lemons and Oranges
That’s what a lot of folks at this year’s youth camp jokingly said when they saw the teens from Faith and Lighthouse wearing their colorful t-shirts. We were excited to be taking our largest group of teens (“oranges”) ever from Lighthouse (21) and were also glad to be taking a good group of “lemons” from Dali. It was a hot and humid camp but, praise the Lord, typhoon-free! Everyone had fun and the messages from missionary David Homer challenged the teenagers to give themselves to the Lord and do their part in reaching others with the gospel. One teenager from Faith Baptist said, “I learned that I cannot be a secret Christian. I want to tell my family about Jesus even though it will be very hard.” Praise the Lord for this decision and for others who also surrendered themselves to serve the Lord.

More Fruit!
Andy was privileged to be able to attend and share a testimony at the memorial service for Malcom Feistel in Springfield, Missouri on June 26. While he was gone to the US for less than a week, Lisa filled in for the English class and was able to lead Ginger Jo to the Lord. She had not only been attending the English class, but also the ladies’ meeting for over a year but had been very skeptical. Please pray for her three daughters and husband to be saved and for Ginger to withstand the trials that will come. Also, the Sunday night after teen camp Sally Gwo and her young son, Tiger, prayed to accept Christ as Savior. Several times before Sally had stopped attending services when approached about salvation, but this time she was ready and willing to take the step of faith. We are so thankful for these decisions and realize that just as with natural fruit it is important to care for them and protect their “freshness”. Please join us in praying for “fruit preservation” and for more fruit to be harvested in the fields of Taiwan!