My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)

Our transition back to life and ministry in Indonesia was rocky at the start, but we have been first hand witnesses to God’s strength and guidance. After our return in April, we jumped right back into ministry and have been so blessed to see God at work through these past few months.

WorldLead

In July, the teachers of our school started participating in WorldLead curriculum provided by our church via video. It has been incredible to see God work and move in our staff through the material they have received through these videos. Please continue to pray for their growth and for our leadership team as we seek to disciple our staff first and foremost.

Back to School

In July our students went back to school. It has been a thrill to witness 121 elementary students coming to school each day where we seek to grow their character and disciple them. During our opening chapel, the teachers did a drama about how God wants to break every chain and free us from our slavery to sin. It’s been incredible to witness our students grow both academically and spiritually through this year so far.

We also started a new school this year in the southwestern region of our island. We have been grateful to see God’s provision and through out the process. Please continue to pray this school grows to be a positive impact and influence in the region.

In August, as a celebration of Indonesian Independence Day, our school joined a city-wide parade. Our students made drums out of garbage and marched in a drum line! I was so proud to see their commitment to caring for creation that God has given us.

Our ministry to villages thru village schools has continued as well. In July I went with Ezra to a village school. We thank God for His provision and hand in helping these kids in villages get an education.

Culture Exhibition

Throughout the months of July and August our village participated in a cultural exhibition for cruise ship tourists coming through our area. It has been an amazing opportunity for Erdy to minister to extended family through helping them sell their woven cloth and by translating for Western guests. We pray that Erdy’s ministry to our village will continue to grow and that he will be able to reach many of our extended family who are still heavily engaged in animistic religious practices.

Uma Library

Our ministry to kids in our village has started back up after several months off due to our time in the states. We are thrilled that once a week kids are coming to our home to hear a Bible story! Please continue to pray that God would send more and more kids, and that their parents would be willing to allow them to join us.

House Update

Thank you for continuing your prayers and support for our house. We are working hard and praying we can get into it before the end of the year. This week they are finishing up the floor tile and will begin to paint. Please continue to keep this project in your prayers, that God would oversee the building, that our home would become a light and a place of peace, that people would be drawn to the light of Christ in our home, and that He would provide the funds to finish it.

What’s Coming

As we look to the months ahead there are many things we are excited about and would love to partner with you in praying through.

We are looking forward to the Christmas season as an opportunity to invite the kids in our neighborhood to participate in cookie decorating and hear the story of Jesus’ birth.

Next year we plan to extend our school to middle school (grade 7). Please pray for us through this process as we prepare facilities, faculty, staff and permission from the government and community.

At the end of this month there will be local elections for the mayor and Governor of our province. Please join us in prayer for these pivotal elections.

Ezra’s Corner

Hi friends! I just turned 3. I loved having a birthday and I keep asking my Mama for more birthdays. I missed all the dirt and mud here in Sumba! Every day I play with my cousins and friends and I love to make a mess. I also love dancing, chocolate milk, being FUNNY and playing with my little brother. Sometimes my Papa takes me to the rice fields and I help him look after the fields. I’m a great little helper!! I can’t wait to go to school next year. Mama brings me once a week and I get to play with all the big kids. I miss eating pizza in America but I LOVE fish and egg and rice. I ask for it almost every day. A few weeks ago, Mama and Papa brought me on a boat! Click here to watch the video.

Noel’s Corner

Hi ! I’m getting big too fast, says Mama. I’m 10 months old now and I love to crawl around and stand up as much as I can! I have six teeth and my Mama keeps giving me mushy food every day. I eat so much!! My favorite thing to do is play with my big brother Ezra. He makes me laugh. I like to play with my Papa too, he is so fun. I have so many cousins, aunties and uncles here, I love getting to know all of them and especially looking at their faces. Almost every day Mama takes me on a walk around the village. I love the cows, chickens, horses, but most of all the dogs!! They are so funny. Last month Mama and Papa took me on a hike in a village. Click here to watch the video.

Growing up in South Florida, I have always considered myself well versed in handling natural disasters, particularly hurricanes. Yet somehow, God always has a interesting way of humbling us.

On Easter Sunday morning, April 4,  I woke up to the sound of rain pattering our tin roof. It had been pouring rain all night long, and I was surprised that it was still down pouring like this. Curious, I opened my phone to windy.com, the only weather forecast site I’ve found which forecasts our area.

To my surprise, I saw a tropical cyclone sitting just east of our little island, dumping rain on us. I’ve never heard of tropical cyclones in this part of the world, and no one here had either. Within hours, the power had gone out and news infiltrated my social media that the nearby dam had been breached. Water was flooding into neighborhoods all around us. Fortunately, our house is located on the top of a hill, but just 300 yards from our home water filled the streets and the homes up to the tin roofs. People ran for their lives.

It was an Easter Sunday full of tragedy and crisis as people sheltered wherever they could find dry ground. But this was just the outer bands of the cyclone, and it was heading our way.

There was very little time to prepare for the intense winds coming, and with no warnings or alerts from the government, the majority of the population had no idea a major wind storm was headed their way. We managed to run to the store and buy a pan of eggs and a box of instant ramen, but that was all we could manage to fit in for preparedness. No time to shutter windows, move in outside furniture, or cut loose branches from the trees. On Monday evening, neighbors who had bamboo houses shuttered into our cement-walled home, and we prayed. As the night came in and the winds started to blow, we continued to pray. Many of you prayed us through that night, and I can’t thank you enough.

After eating our ramen and eggs, we bundled up and waited. It was cold. It was very loud. Wind whistled all around our house and we could hear trees and debris being thrown around outside. No one slept, but we all kept looking up at the roof to make sure it would hold. I had a bag packed with important documents and my shoes next to it, ready to grab and run if the roof or walls gave way. It was the scariest night of my life.

After 10 hours of howling winds and banging trees outside, the winds finally calmed. We nabbed a few hours of sleep, aware that the next days ahead would be full of relief efforts and hard work. As the sun came up, I stepped outside and saw the demolition of trees down everywhere. Pieces of roof were lying in the middle of the road, some houses badly damaged. But God spared us, and God spared our home. Again.

Relief Efforts

The next two weeks were full of relief efforts. Our school worked with a neighbor setting up a community kitchen to cook meals for people who had been forced from their homes. We were the lucky ones, so we invested our time and efforts bringing supplies to impacted families and homes. 

Two weeks later, our power came back on, and now that it’s been 3 weeks since that fateful Easter Sunday, life is starting to get back to normal. Most people have been able to repair their homes and return, although those badly damaged by the flood are still cleaning up. The dam breech cut off critical irrigation supply to much of the area, so now farmers are grappling to find other ways to make a living.

Erdy and his team spent the last week installing 3 pumps by a river in a local village that relies on rice patties for food and income. Since their irrigation canals have dried up, this pump delivers critical water to irrigate the rice patties and keep these people alive. My school and team have spent the past week reaching out to students and parents who were impacted by the disaster, bringing supplies and also providing trauma healing for the kids who endured the crisis.

The road to recovery and rehabilitation for our small island is still long and we have much to do, but I am amazed and blessed by the many ways God has provided for us over these last weeks, and the many, many prayers He has answered. I thank each of you deeply for being a part of our journey here and lifting us up in prayer over these past weeks. It’s your prayers which have carried us.