Dear Friends,

We are grateful to the Lord for the wonderful time we had with family and friends in the US over the past 6 weeks.  We were very busy but enjoyed seeing the girls experience all the new things for them like snow, sledding, friendly pets, being flower girls, seeing Santa (neither of them were impressed and both ran from him), lots of new foods, and seeing their breath for the first time(this one brought many giggles one cold winter morning).  We were mostly in northern Michigan and Indiana with Andrea’s family.  We were able to help with wedding preparations for Andrea’s sister and enjoyed getting to know her now, husband Craig.  We also had a week in Tennessee with Tim’s family and boy did the girls enjoy time with their cousins.  We’re very thankful for the opportunity for them to be reacquainted with family and friends and make many new memories!

It’s always interesting for us to step back into US culture and this time was especially interesting.  We had not been in America for Christmas since 2001, so as you can imagine we really enjoyed gathering together with family to celebrate our Messiah.  One night as we were driving home from a Christmas play Andrea asked me what the tribal people might deduce from looking at the decorations people have in their front yard.  It would be impossible to gain a clear picture by looking at our decorations what in fact is the “reason for the season”.  We found ourselves cheering whenever we came upon the manger scene, symbols of the “new born King”.

We are excited to be back in Indonesia looking forward to getting back into the village some time in Feb.  We really need you to be praying with us for God to bless the survey trip planned for February.  The plan is for several guys from the local churches we have been interacting with over the past year, to travel down to the Jelai area and do a visit through the area asking the Lord to direct regarding where He would have us locate our team.  Based on the Lords leading we will plan to move into that particular area.  The Lord reminded us recently, “all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” His authority, His power is the basis for His commission to go and make disciples of all nations.

We’re excited and nervous to be making this transition back into the jungle.  After a year of ministering and living in town, all of us are pretty used to living in a cleaner environment with so many options in food choices and electricity, regular English and Indonesian Christian fellowship, internet and medical access.  Thankfully the Lord has made humans very adaptable and we will trust Him to prepare us for life in the jungle again.  We’re in the midst of preparing, downsizing, canning meat, and asking God to give us hearts of contentment, passion, and patience as we leave our current “comfort zone” and are stretched again in tribal living.  There is a lot of excitement as well and gratitude that the Lord has opened the doors for us to live and serve Him interior again.  All in all we know it’s only by His grace and enabling that will allow us to walk one day at a time in faith that God can and wants to use us with all our weaknesses and failings to be a part of His bigger plan of making His Truth known in this dark world.

Thank you for your prayers for our time in the States, I know many of you were praying we would remain healthy and praise the Lord that happened.  We were all very healthy and had traveling mercies in all our plane, bus, and car trips!  The Lord is using you in our lives and we thank you.

After His Glory,

Tim & Andrea