Furnas Ed Louise 1971 Indonesia

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    Ed and.Louise Furnas are preparing to join ^ e Cass v ^Winegaj^er Fish and Sigafoose families in the Xinistry yo f theSTlsles o f th e P a c i f i c Christ^flw Mlgaion to I n d o n e s i a . ^They hav^ a one-year-old daughter, Karen~ll^ise.

    Bot h Ed an d L o u i s e a r e 1970 g r a d u a t e s o f L in co l n C h r i s t i a nC o l l e g e Ed m a j o r e d i n M i n i s t e r i a l S c i e n c e ; L o u i s e i n C h r i s ti a n E d u c a t i o n Ed h a s a l s o

    c o m p l e t e d asummer

    p rog rami n

    l i n g u i s t i c s a t t h e Toron to I n s t i t u t e o f L i n g u i s t i c s To r o n t o ,C a n a d a

    Ed s e r v e d a s y o u t h m i n i s t e r N o r t h Te r r e H a u t e C h r i s t i a nChurch d u r i n g h i s f r e shman y e a r a t L i n c o l n I n March o f 1970ythey became members of thei^sj^s of the Pacific Christian Mis

    having l e f t a 2: t^^r minis t ry with the Success Chris t ianC h u r c h , P a r i s I l l ^ i f i e4 , t o e n t e r t h i s new f i e l d o f s e r v i c e

    They p l a n t o l e a v e f o r S i n g a p o r e e a r l y i n 1971> w h e r e t h e yw i l l u n d e r t a k e a c c u l t u r a t i o n a n d l a n g u a g e s t u d i e s A f t e r as t a y o f tw o m o n t h s t o a y e a r i n S i n g a p o r e t h e y w i l l e n t e r I n d o

    n e s i a T h e i r p r i m a r y t a s k w i l l b e v i l l a g e e v a n g e l i s m a n d t h et r a i n i n g o f i n d i g e n o u s C h r i s t i a n l e a d e r s Ed w i l l a l s o t e a c hf i e l d l i n g u i s t i c s t o t h e o t h e r m i s s i o n a r i e s on a l i m i t e d b a s i s

    They a f e commended t o t h e b r e t h r e n b y -J ^ as -w a rd K a n aa ij :)fir^yegS^ T nf P H ?T?rtTnmT^ CpTT^^H^the MarlOnChurch of Christ , Marlon Indj^fm the elders of North TerreHaute Chr i s t i an Church, Terre Haii te In yreti; .and_the Alexa n d e r C h r i s t i a n F o u n d a t i o n o f I n d i a n a p o l i s I n d i a n a - .

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    F o r w a r d i n g A g e n t s f o r t h e F u r n a s f a m i l y a r e Mr. a n d M rs .H a r o l d Eas tham, Bo x 3 i V e rm il io n , 6 I9 5 5 . They a r ee a g e r t o r e c e i v e a d d i t i o n a l s p e a k i n g e n g a g e m e n t s a s s o o n a sp o s s i b l e Ed an d L o u i s e c a n b e r e a c h e d d i r e c t l y a t L i n c o l nC h r i s t i a n C oll eg e, L in co ln , 62656.

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    NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM.... BRINGING LIGHT INTO DARKNESS

    September Newsletter

    /fVGreet ings from Bandung,

    ^ Again we can report to you victories for our Lord, ^Pata]^i_the_head ol the_^large family which we had mentioned in our last letter, has^ustbeeyi bapfeifiedr^^ta,

    Jlhristl And the entire family is showing an i^ .^a^g interest in the I^d. ^chofthis growth and interest, can be attributed Chinese-Indonesia Christian,who has talked several times to the family as a mio^ and ^so to Paulus, an Indonesian Bible College student, who works for Bro. Fish and is living in the villagewhere this family lives. Ive have been providing Christian literat\ire to Patah s18 year old brother Iso, who works for us part-time. In the evenings, we havetalked to Is o and another Indonesian about Christ and they are both showing a desireto learn more. With t h i s i n i t i a l liaptism within the family, we are even more^confident that the Spirit will soon win th e entire family to Christ.

    e have already mentioned in past letters that we plan to direct most of ourevangelistic efforts through Indonesia Christians, whom wewill help liy giving them

    _ 1f t p We believe this has^ tw^adv^aggs; 1. The average non- ^Christian person here will most likely be more receptive to the Gospel message i fpresented by one of his own people. 2. The Christians here, v^o are often seriously

    lacking in fundamental Bible knowledge and would s t i l l be considered babes in Christwill grow in knowledge and leadership ability i f they are actively engaged inevangelism. t seems that most of the Christians with whom wewill be working andsharing are to be found within churches of ^jPentec^tal backgroiind. PentecostalChurches are roughly divided into two gre^ups-here Highly structured.JKith strongties to a central government and those which are independent with leadership in thehands of the local elders. The law here prevents us from establishing churches ofa new denominations . But i f we can help receptive leaders of the independent

    . ^ . . . . rr, . ^ _ _ J X r>V.-r.-i C+.- i t

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    Pentecostal churches study God s word and the New Testament pattern of Christianity,these men can instruct their own congregations as well as establish new ChristianChurches after the New Testament pattern. Already we have met those iftiio have, withthe guidance of th e Holy Spirit , s tudied the Bible conscient iously and are now

    Vpersuaded that the church as i t existed in the days of the Apostles is the highest\ i d e a l we h a v e . P r a i s e GodI

    In view of this situation, we are interested in any quality materials onPentecostalism, faith healing, the gift of the Holy Spirit, demon-possession,speaking in tongues and simple bu t fundamental Bible courses, which you canrecommend or send to us. If you send such materials, one copy is enough as theyw i l l i e t ra n sl at ed i n to the Indonesian language before being used.

    o vford yet on Op: shipme^n^ifrcm-Ame^ca. Our forwai^ding agent hadtried to ship i t via Houston liut they are taking orders of not less than one shipload until the-r-gl^rikeis-over. So, we will just wait and pray that the s tr ike wil ls o o n e n d

    The n e c e s s i t y o f master i io b v i o u s

    bhA Indonesian/^lRnguage-is becoming more and moreLouise was asKSgo^^n^^^^^^^i^^or^~TH^ tLrea headman, how his wife

    was feeling because she had been having stomach aches. Later in language study,she realized she had Veen using a word for stomach which i s an Indonesian swearword but our quality dictionary didn t say that. Another time, she was tryingto t e l l th e woman who helps with cooking and laundry that we had things coming fromAmerica which would make th e work less time consuming. Her reply was that there i sno neecj to have lots of onions shipped from America because you can buy them here.For some reason, I don t think she understood. Our lessons themselves are going^pretty well, Vje are working on making our lessons a two-way channel.

    ^--si5^ae]^es._us_lajiguage and we give him Chi ist i^ l i terature and ta lk to him aboutHe is fanatically Mos3^-m though so only time ivd.ll t o l l i f we are influenc

    ing hi m fo r Chr i s t .

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    Vi a Bro, Lew Cass, we learned t h a t Ron and Ellen Ritchey 's visa cleared th eDjakarta Immingrations office August 4> so they may be coming anytime now. Welook forward to seeing them again an d having them to jo in the work here.

    Words from the boss Karen hqis had no apparent problems adjusting to ournew home, but Ed an d I must learn to change and grow in many ways. Natural ly, t h i smeans our marr iage must mature as wel l . I t s wonderful t o f e e l God's support an dlove during th is time of transit ion. Regardless of where one l ives , we believe agrea t witness fo r Chris t i s building a home l i f e dedicated to h is glory. Thus, wehope t ha t ou r neighbors wi l l desire to know Jesus as we do because of the happinessthey see in our lives. We _ye mqved in to the .nicest. .of .neighboxhppdsl The f i r s tday here, d was somewhat disturbed to find a Itoy s i t t ing on to p of our t i l e roofplaying bongo drums...but l a te r we learned he was the son of the R.T, headman . Ween joyed t remendous ly th e opportuni ty fo r a glimpse o f t r ad i t i on here when inv i tedto at tend the circumcision celebrat ion for the R.T. ' s youngest son. Anotherneighbor sent over a dr ink of coconut milk, brown sugar and t ap ioca roots to t e l l

    j;:;? us we had been a cc ep te d a s good neighbors . V hen I rec ip roca ted with s o f t cookies ,a novelty here, sh e sen t back duck eggs and soggy soya bean cakes I Hal I t wasthe thought behind her smile t ha t counted Yet another day, Karen disappeared. Wewere so w orr ied , o n ly t o f i n d t h a t she ha d wandered t h rough our n e i ^ b o r s house,

    to h is backyard f ish pond. An embarrassing but effective way to make fr iendslSince then, Ei has often ta lked to t ha t gen tleman about ou r differ ing customs andreligions. Most of our neighbors are strong_jjoslems but they have given us helpfula dv ic e, s mall g i f t s playmates for Karen'.. . they've given us the open door offr iendship. Pray with us tha t we wil l be responsible stewards of th i s opportunityt o s h a r e G o d ' s l o v e .

    Yours i n Chr is t ,Ed, Louise and Karen F u m a sD j l . Tjiwulan 3Bandung, Java , Indones ia

    I s l e s o f t h e P a c i f i c C h r i s t i a n M i s s i o nM r. a n d M r s . H a r o l d E a s t h a m

    For-warding AgentsBox 3Vermj.lion, IHliT-ions 61955

    Forwarding S e c r e t a r i e sH a r o l d a n d J e a n i e Eas thamBo x 3Vermilion, I l l ino i s 61955

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    U. S. Pos tageNon-pro f i t Org,

    POSTAGE PA I D

    Vermil ion , 111.41955

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    NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM.... BRINGING LIGHT INTO DARKNESS

    O c t o b e r N e w s l e t t e r

    Dear C h r i s t i a n Loved Ones, /f7/d

    I s n t i t wonderful t o have th e blessed Word o f God c o ns ta n tl y w i th us? Thesepast few weeks Thre come to appreciate God s sustaining promises In a new,^ fresh-way. In spite of the warnings we had received concerning culture shock , I wasn tprepared for the homesickness which began flooding in while Ed ha s been gone toSumatra. Many times I ve wondered, Id l l I ever be able to adjust to t he l on el in es s

    of separation from those a t home? A recent reading of Hudson Taylor s Tiiography(which we highly recommend) confirmed the answer in his comments on John 4. I f weconstantly open ou r hearts to the power of God through prayer and Bible study, wewil l never th i r s t , never have any unsatisfied needs. Our loving Heavenly Fatherw i l l always be suff ic ient fo r every longing. Praise His Holy Name

    SUMATRA SURVEY

    There i s definitely a need for a missionary here, and even more so fo r Christian l i t e ra tu re . In most churches, especially th e smaller ones, only the preacherhas a Bible. The Batak church i s the exception, but from what everyone ha s said,th e Batak church i s just a social club here. . . , Ed wrote to m a few days ago. Afterreceiving reports of a great need for and probable increasing receptiveness to th eGospel in cer ta in Sumatra areas due to s igni f icant indus t r i a l and socia l changesthere, Ed l e f t Oct. 20 for a three week survey of Pakanbaru, Dumai, neighboringcoastal and transmigration areas, and some is lands between Sumatra and Singapore.Acconpanied by an Indonesian who i s serving as his interpreter and introducing himto Christian acquaintances of the area, Ed wil l ut i l i ze many survey questions fromthe kook P ro fi le f or Victory by Max Randall, Prof, of Missions at Idncoln ChristianCollege concerning such topics as decision-making and family patterns, industrialand educational trends, religious aff i l ia t ions and influences, these will be usedin interviews with religious and secular leaders. A similar t r ip to the Palembangarea i s planned before long. wiH. give a detailed report in our next newsletter.Please pray for us as during this f i rs t year of study and survey, w t ry to decideExactly where and with whom God would have us labor, and also for others here whoare facing similar decisions. Another matter of concern here i s the discussionamong our men of th e pros and cons of working through Chinese and/or Pentecostalchurches to reach Indones ians wi th New Testament Christ ianity. They want to u t i l i z emethods most conducive to a rapid dissemination of th e Gospel, and certainly needGod s guidance as they work these th ings ou t t o g e t h e r.

    i

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    OUR MOSLEM FRIENDS

    As soon as possible following Ed s return, we want to resume formal languagestudy. Pak Husein, our tu to r for months, quit September 30 . Perhaps th is waspar t ly because his discussions with Ed concerning Islam and Christ ianity were makinghim uneasy, although a l l conversations were quite friendly. Husein claims to wantto find the t ru th , and certain aspects of Christ ianity, such as love and the assur

    ance of forgiveness to a l l repentant believers, appeal to him. Yet he seems afraidto invest igate to the point where he w i l l know he ha s to change, because of coursetha t could mean family and social diff icul t ies , ive s t i l l have a s l ight contact withhim, and hope we ca n h e l p hi m more.

    Iso, one of our household helpers, on the other hand, i s actively investigatingIslam and Christianity, t ry in g to decide which i s correct. As you know, his brother,Patah, was baptized September 19. were so sure tha t since Patah i s the head ofhis family, the other members, who had been studying with him, would also acceptChrist. However, persuasion of neighborhood and family has thus far caused them tor emain nominal Moslems. For a few weeks, I so seemed quite su.Tlen an d withdrawn,refusing to discuss Patah , Chrdstnani ty or much of anything else with us . But Karenwas accustomed to Iso showing her pictures from a Bible s torybook writ ten in Indonesian, so she continued to follow him saying, Mau (want) wook a t Jesus , unt i l he

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    opened up to her and to us, Is o i s a good boy, torn between confl ict ing loyal t ies .Please pray for him, earnest ly, an d also for Patah, t ha t he might have su ff i c i en tf a i t h t o be t r u e t o h i s newly found Sav iou r.

    Our personal knowledge of Is la m h as been enriched during Ramadan, th i s Moslemmonth of fast ing vriiich precedes the Islamic New Year s Day, November 19 . Truebelievers

    mustabstain

    from eat ing anddrinking

    betweensunrise and sunset , but

    every evening sirens go off in a l l th e c i t i es to announce permission to eat a bi gevening meal. As f irecrackcrs go off more and more frequently we know excitementi s bui ld ing i n a n t i c i pa t i on o f th e b ig ce lebra t ions ,

    PERSONAL

    Ron and Ellen arrived safely October 22, How good i t i s to have them hereThank yo u fo r prayers i n t h e i r beha l f .

    V e have no t as yet received any news on th e shipment of our personal effectsfrom t h e S t a t e s Since P r e s i d e n t Nixon invoked t he Ta ft -H a rt le y la w we pray ourgoods w i l l be s e n t soon ,

    i e give a big thank-you to Duane Terrell of Terre Haute for auditing andapproving our mission books, as they were kept from January 97^^ unt i l June1971. He i s a CPA and a member o f North Terre Haute Chr i s t i an Church, E n s homec o n g r e g a t i o n .

    Thanks to those of you who have sent some o f th e m ate rials we requested onPentecostalism, fa i th healing, th e gi f t of th e Hly Spir i t , demon-possession, speaking i n tongues , I ve look forward t o rece iv ing them.

    I f you have any specific matters we can share with you in prayer, please l e tu s k n o w.

    Please read Ephesians 35H-21Ed, Louise an d Karen FumasD j l . Tj iwu lan 30Bandung, J av a, I nd on es ia

    I s l e s o f t h e P a c if i c h r i s t i a n M is s i on U, S . Pos t ageMr. and r^rs. Harold Eastham ^ Non-profit Org.Forwarding Agents POSTAGE PAIDBox 3 Vermil ion, 111.Vermilion, I l l inois ^1955 ^ 955

    P e r m i t

    . NOV 2 2 97?

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    NEW TESTAMENT EVAN6ELISM....BRINGING LIGHT INTO DARKNESS

    November Newsletter ^D e a r C h r i s t i a n F r i e n d s :

    This i s a strange and wonderful Christmas season fo r us. As Christ ians, weoften take for granted the fac t t ha t God became man. Now we find ourselves in a

    land where by fa r the majori ty o f people find t h i s impossible to bel ieve , l-tfhywould God want t o so a s s o c i a t e Himsel f w i t h s i n f u l man? We have a l r e a d y seen t h ewonder on people 's faces when the answer i s given, Fo r God so loved the worldt ha t He gave Hi s only begotten Son, t ha t whosoever believeth in Him should notper i sh , but have ever las t ing l i f e , May we be f i l l e d again with wonder a t thelove o f God expressed i n th e incarna t ion . Can we do too much fo r Him? Can we dot o o much f o r s u c h a S a v i o u r ?

    We were given a Christmas presen t very fe w missionaries rece ive . Ed's paren tscame t o v i s i t us from November 13 - 23. I t wa s a wonderful r e u n i o n . V/ould youremember our fami l ies i n your prayers t h i s Christmas? Separat ion i s d i f f i c u l t ,b u t C h r i s t s l o v e w i t h u s .

    SUMATRA SURVEY:

    I nd on es ia , a s emphasized in i t s motto, Unity in Diversi ty , i s a grouping ofpeople o f diverse o r i g i n s and h i s t o r y. This became a l i v i n g r e a l i t y fo r me as fo r19 days, from Oct. 20 to Nov. 8 , I had th e opportuni ty t o see f i rs thaudr th e progi-essof th e churches i n th e province o f Riau, Cent ra l Sumatra. From th e animis t ic ,i l l i t e r a t e Saka i nomads t o th e American church a t Rumbi, t h e Cal tex O il Companybase , I found th e power o f God a t work.

    Jfy adventures were many. In on e o f th e t r i b a l a r e a s I wanted a p i c tu r e o f tw oSakai hunte rs . As I r a i s e d my camera, they r a i s ed t h e i r spears , fo r f ea r I wouldcapture t h e i r s p i r i t s i n my l i t t l s box. On our t r i p t o th e i s l ands near Singapore,we had t o t r a v e l fo r 23 hours oti top o f a small r i v e r boa t . Seeing beau t i fu lt r o p i c a l bi rds among lush fo l iage , with the d i s t an t sounds o f na t ive drums an delephants was su ff i c i en t compensation fo r severe s un bu rn , d re n ch in g s of suddens torms, mosquitoes, and unbel ieveably sp icy food. The sh ip ' s cap ta in , a new Chr is ti an , even offered t o help me i n a fu ture i s land minis t ry.

    In t h i s area of t ap ioca farms, pineapple p l an t a t i ons , an d swamp, over 400persons have confessed th e name o f C h r i s t i n j u s t th e l a s t tw o years This i n i ns p i t e o f Moslem oppos i t ion , which i n th e town o f Kulyim alone fr ightened away 30i n t e r e s t ed fami l ies . Ye t even Moslems are becoming fol lowers o f C h r i s t , a f t e rcla iming t o see repea ted vis ions such as a cross i n th e sky. As many as 10,000persons i n Riau are l i s t e d as Chr is t i an , but l e s s than 5,000 ever a t tend church.Obviously many claimed Chris t ian i ty in 1965 fo r p o l i t i c a l reasons, an d s t i l l nowmany do ho because o f such th ings a s m a rr ia ge .

    At leas t half of those who attend church belong to Batak (Lutheran) congregat i o n s , which a re q ui t e i s o l a t i o n i s t . Th e Catho l i c s have s e v e r a l l a r g e schoo l s i nP ak an ba ru a nd a membership o f s eve r a l hundred. Sl igh t ly smaller i s the GPIB(Calvinist) Chujich which l ike the Batak group has only one minister in the wholeprovince. Young Pentecos ta l g ro up s h av e j u s t over 200 members t o t a l . Fina l ly,t he r e i s a smal l g ro up w or ki ng i n Chinese communities t i e d to a n ce s tr a l r e li g io n s ,a nd a l s o t h e i n t e r d e n o m i n a t i o n a l A me ri ca n C hu rc h i n Rumbi.

    Because o f v i s i t s wi th over 20 church l e a d e r s i n n i n e towns and on e jung lea r e a , I wa s i n v i t e d t o preach e i g h t t imes . I was appAUed a t th e obvious B i b l i c a li l l i t e r a c y, which l eads to some conclusions concerning the t r i p :

    1 . The primary need i s in tens ive , bas ic Bible teaching an d t r a in ing in thechurches . In one meeting I was amazed t o l e a rn t h a t the en t i r e congregat ion,including th e preacher, had n ev er h ea rd of th e Holy S p i r i t . At present there areno miss ionar ies a t a l l i n th e a r ea , though a fe w n a t i o n a l s could soon hfeilp withnecessary t each ing . The GPIB, P e n t e c o s t a l , Chinese , an d e ve n A me ri ca n groups havea l l requested Christ ian teachers . I 'm now going thr ough B ib le correspondence

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    cour ses which cou ld be t r a n s l a t e d and s e n t t o i n t e r e s t e d pe r sons t h e r e

    2 . Here i n Bandung some o f our miss ionar ies are i n the process o f guidinge n t i r e independent ly governed churches in to New Testament Chr i s t i an i t y throughcorrect ive Bibl ica l teaching. However because of s t r i c t denominational controlsover a l l th e churches in Riau (except the Chinese group), i t would eventually benecessary fo r new i nd e pe n de n t c o n gr e ga t io n s t o be es tab l i shed . Legal r e s t r i c t i o n smake such an a c t i o n extremely d i f f i c u l t .

    3 . Chr is t i an l i t e r a t u r e i n th e Indonesian language must be made readi ly ava i lable . This was s t ressed even by th e head o f th e a r e a s Department o f Religion,C h r i s t i a n s e c t i o n . Las t month we mentioned t h e extreme s c a r c i t y o f Bib les . Someconcerned Caltex O il people offe red to bu y severa l hundred Bibles once theyrea l ized t h i s s i t ua t ion , an d a l so offered us f u r t he r help*

    . In the short t ime I was t he r e , I made many wonderful f r iends i Over 14churches an d groups asked us t o re turn and work with them^ so th e des i re t o do soi s great . But during th i s next seven months of formal language study, we wi l lalso consider working in other a^eas The Lord will guide our futiibe as we allpray t o g e t h e r f o r wisdom.

    te resumed language study December 1, IS hours a week under a Mr. Nazarudin.I t s good to have help again

    Our shipment may have l e f t L.A. November 21^ e have only a verba l guaranteeof extension on our deadl i ne o f DocGmber 4 , but f e e l qui te a t peace t h a t God i st a k i n g oa rc o f t h i s m a t t e r .

    As an Indones i an g r e e t i n g says , For your presence an d prayers o f

    . . b l e s s i n g , our family gives thanks ,

    E d, L ouis e- and I dx-un FmadbDjl . Tjiwulan 30Bandung, Java , Indones ia

    I s l e s o f t h e P ac i f i c C h r i s t i a n M i s s i o n U. S . P o s t a g eand Mrs. Harold Eastham Non-Pro f i t Org.

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    I s I b s o f SAW:

    NEW TESTAMENT EVANGELISM.... BRINGING LIGHT INTO DARKNESS

    Ffe O^ ^December Newsletter [

    Greet ings to -each o f yo u i n - t h e name o f our Lord Jesus C h r i s t ;

    In our l a s t l e t t e r we mentioned t h a t our new language t eacher, Pa k Nazarudin,began tu tor ing us 18 hours a week as o f reoember 1 . Since t h a t t ime most of our work has been studying. Although t h i s i s time-consuming, we f ir m ly b el ie ve t ha ta working knowledge of th e language i s essent ia l i f we ar e to communicate the Gospeli n i t s p u r i t y. I t s even necessary t o be ab le to fol low yoiir i n t e r p r e t e r s t r an sl a t i o n s somewhat unless th e missionary knows persona l ly t h a t th e i n t e r p r e t e r i swell-grounded in Bibl ica l teachings. Last September t h i s point h i t home with mewhen I preached fo r a s ma ll c o ng re g at io n . After reading my manuscript th ree t imesthe i n t e rp re t e r said he would have no t rouble . But af terwards he sa id t ha t al thoughthere were many t imes he d idn ' t understand my words> th e Holy S p i r i t gave him someth in g e ls e to say. Uo wonder the congregation's I 'eaction was qui te inappropriatefor the words I t h o u ^ t they were hearing Language study ha s other benefi ts a l s o . . .

    Louise was recen t ly i nv i t ed by Nazarudin 's wife to a t te n d an English conversa t ion c lub , he ld by about 12 wives o f Bandung univers i ty professors . In a d is

    cussion o f t r a d i t i o n an d symbolism with in th e Sundanese wedd ing ceremony, she wasespec ia l ly in te res ted by t h e i r strongly negat ive fee l ings about th e polygamy here .Obviously, t h e i r purpose i s t o improve t h e i r English and not to discuss re l ig ion .Nevertheless , sh e ho pes t h a t i n addi t ion to deepening her knowledge o f customs hereshe can a l so in t roduce some-of- these Jdoslem l a d i e s t o Jesus through a persona lfr iendship with them. She's r ea l ly looking forward to fur th er conversat ions. Thewomen were qui te gracious an d seemed appreciat ive of the f ac t t h a t sh e i s t ry ingto unders tand Indones ian l i f e and people, and especial ly t h a t she ' s learning tospeak I n d o n e s i a n .

    I t ' s so easy for the missionary to content himself with preaching, but never )make s u f f i c i e n t e f f o r t t o l e a rn how t o co nm un ica te. P eo ple respond to love , an dlove i s preceded by understanding. This means we must know t h e i r words, idioms, n

    problems, ambitions, personalities. I t means we must eat their food, frequent the Uplaces they do, share their lives. We s t i l l have many unanswered questions and Lmany decisions to make about how to relate to people, about how to cross the 7barrier of cultural differences. Acculturation i s diff icul t . . . i t often means letting tgo of familiar things. . . . i t means trusting God more But i t will mean souls led /t o C h r i s t .

    I f thou fo rbear to d e l i v e r them t h a t a re drawn unto dea th , an d those t h a tare ready to be s l a in ; i f thou sayes t , Behold, we knew i t not ; doth not He t h a tpondereth th e hear t consider i t ? an d He tha t keepeth thy soul , doth He not knowi t ? an d sha l l not He render to every man according to h is works. - Pro, 2k' 11-12

    IS O

    From time to time we've mentioned th e progress (or lack of progress) of Iso,the bo y who works for us 3 days a week. After h is bro ther was baptized, I so became

    ly^^ t'hdrawn. He didn't want to make daily conversation, let alone discuss Christ.In one b r i e f period since t h a t t ime he showed more i n t e r e s t , but i t soon grew coldalso . Then about three weeks ago, I took a Sundanese New Testament ou t to Iso.(Sundanese i s hi s normal dialect.) He was very cold at f i rs t , thinking i t was justanother Bible i n Indonesian, but a f t e r a second g la nc e h e said, Perhaps t h a t i sin the Sjmda language? When I said i t was, he asked to se e i t l a t e r on. Thatevenirig iTi^begaff l ri Matthew and read for over--ourJtiour5l The next night, he readanothe^iJCQur tn e roJ-lowing day_eye^T^ fI]e ~ cont inued every n i g h t he has been here s i n c e . '

    Isaiah 55s 11 says, So s h a l l my word be t h a t goeth for th out of my mouth: i tsha l l not return unto me void, but i t sha l l accomplish t h a t which I please, and i tsha l l prosper in the thing whereto I sent i t . Continue to pray for Iso, t ha t aohe reads he w i l l allow th e Spi r i t to work the luii-arne of l i f e i n him through thepower o f God imt.o p- i lva t ion , t.hp Holy Gori j^ ture .

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    OUR SHIPl^ENTi

    Our personal goods are s t i l l i n California due to the dock s t r ike being resumedbefore i t could be shipped. Please continue to pray vrith us tha t th e s t r ike wil lsoon be ended so t h a t i t can be shipped. e would l i k e to thank Bob McLean o f th eCentinela Chr i s t i an Church i n Inglewcod, Cal i f , fo r h i s e f f o r t s i n put t ing ourthings in th e hands of more capable shippers . I t has now been t ransfered to SanF r a n c i s c o

    Happiness for us th i s Christmas came from such things as . . . . receiving alove]^ f lo ra l arrangement of baby orchids and candles from Moslem neighbors whowanted us to enjoy our f i r s t Christmas av/ay f rom America .

    . . . .watching Karen play with her blocks, salvaging ou r l i t t l e Christmas t reeaf ter she promptly knocked i t over, and hearing he r say, Jesus wil l come back somedayl Hallalulah, Pudji Tuhan (Praise e the Lord)

    . . . . shar ing f el lowshi p w ith members of Geredja Bethesda, the congregationwith which Bro. Charles V^inegarner has been working. The 3J.ttle building was

    l i t e ra l ly packed to over-flowing for Christmas services.Singing

    carols duringthe candlelight service was an especial ly meaningful experience for us. I f wed i d n t know th e Indonesian words, we j u s t used English. Despite di ffe rences o flanguage and customs, we fe l t such a closeness to those Christians as we praisedGod together. So great was t he i r praise t ha t af te r four hours they s t i l l seemedr e l u c t a n t t o go homei

    . . . .knowing God lov es u s. During th e p as t s ev era l months we have been assuredof God s love by the personal experience of His care as we learn to be a t homehere, as wel l as by the ever strengthenin- ox love we vdth you a t home.. .and a l so with the f r i ends we made i n o:r.nf:ap j.re. a Cri^i-i wc-be, t h i s in tang ib lebond of sp i r i tua l fellowship i s indeed a much than the mere }th,ysTcalmiles whioh scp.ni ciKc np pi oaout , r i a i se God f o r th e t x e s o f ai e oursin O h r J s t 1

    Ed , L ouise and Karen FiirnAsDjl . Tjiwulan 30Bandung, Java , Indones ia

    I s l e s o f t h e P a c i f i c C h r i s t i a n M i s s i o n U, S POSTAGEMr . and Mj-s. Harold East :?.am Non-Pro f i t Org.Forwardin ;; Agents POSTAGE PAIDBo x 3 Venn l. i.or., I l l i n o i sVermilion I l l i n o i s 6l 55

    A-xrx. I l l

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