April 29, 2004

UB Historical Society Meeting. The UB Historical Society will hold its annual meeting July 29-30 in southern Ontario. You are encouraged to take part in this event, which will include a tour and banquet. Read more about this meeting.

Roseville, Ontario. Roseville UB hosted its first-ever dinner-theatre as an outreach event. About 85 people were present for the event which helped open or build connections with several unchurched or unbelieving families. The ladies of the church converted the church hall/basement into a classy Italian restaurant. The main course was spaghetti with several hors dourvres and desserts. A team from Emmanuel Bible College (Kitchener, Ontario) presented a drama called "The Gospel According to Jessica." The drama is about a girl from the streets seeking refuge from the weather in church. She asks many questions of the pastor, just out of seminary. He struggles to demonstrate the love of Christ while the church secretary shows unconditional acceptance.

Huntington College. Christianity Today magazine named Huntington College one of "The 50 Best Christian Places to Work" in a report of its second annual national workplace survey. Huntington College placed third in the mid-size Higher Education category. Other finalists in this group, which includes colleges and universities with 151-300 employees, included Dallas Theological Seminary (Dallas, Texas), Belhaven College (Jackson, Miss.), The Master's College (Santa Clarita, Calif.), Westmont College (Santa Barbara, Calif.), and Simpson College (Redding, Calif.).

The focus of this year's survey was to find Christian companies where leaders strive to create a climate of trust. Best Christian Workplaces Institute (BCWI), which administered the survey, polled more than 10,000 employees from 107 organizations in a variety of industries. The process began by soliciting self-nominations from interested organizations that had more than 15 employees and a Christian mission. Employees in these organizations were then asked to complete an online survey examining their company's practices. One hundred twenty-two Huntington College employees participated in this survey.

An independent panel of judges weighed together the averages from the employee scores, the participation rates of every organization's employees in the survey and information from the management profiles. The finalists in 12 categories are listed in the May 2004 issue of Christianity Today. For complete details of the survey, see www.christianitytoday.com.

Grandville, Mich. David Leraaen, associate pastor of of Homefront UB, sent this report: "As a brand new church (we began having regular Sunday Services in September, 2003), we wanted our first Easter together to be something truly memorable. We wanted to invite our congregation and our community to celebrate the resurrection of Christ with us. So we hosted an art exhibit!

"We invited local artist John Katerberg to exhibit eleven of his original oil paintings depicting the life of Christ. The exhibit opened to the public on the two Fridays and Saturdays preceding Easter Sunday, complete with tour guides, refreshments, interactive children's activities on Saturday, and an opportunity to meet with the artist as he worked on a new painting. Especially featured were the three paintings that comprise the artist's Passion Series, which graphically depict the crucifixion of Christ. Though conceived and painted long before its release, the images in these three paintings are reminiscent of scenes from Mel Gibson's film, 'The Passion of the Christ.' With the paintings still adorning our entry way and main hall, we hosted two Easter Sunday morning services, with 329 people on hand to celebrate the joy of the resurrection.

"This Mother's Day will mark the first anniversary of our "Sneak Preview" service at Homefront Church. Now less than eight months after beginning regular Sunday services, an average of 170 people attend each week, and most call Homefront home."

Macau. Here are some more updates from Jana Hoobler.

• Of new arrivals David and Melissa Kline, Jana writes, "This is an answer to years of prayers that God would send more long-term workers to join us. Praise the Lord for David and Melissa. Pray for all of us as we come together as a team and seek how we can best serve God together."
• Attendance has increased at the Friday morning Women's Bible Study. In early April, Jana and Jennifer Blandin traveled to Shanghai with five of those women. One of them was from Shanghai and invited them to stay at her home. Jana writes, "I was able to have a lot of quality conversation with the ELP students with whom I traveled. I also just enjoyed seeing a new part of China and being in vacation mode."
• "At the end of May, I will step down from being field director of our work here. I will remain on the team, with a focus on teaching and evangelism, which are the things I love to do. Please pray for our team and for me personally through this time of transition. Pray that God will also use this time to take our local churches one step further in their independence from missionary leadership."

Macau. David and Melissa Kline arrived in Macau at the beginning of April. David sent this report on April 23.

"Things have been going real well here. We are so busy with setting up our apartment, studying Cantonese, getting together with old friends, getting to know our new jobs, and spending time with the other staff.

"First, we have a three-bedroom apartment on the second floor of a 24-floor building. It has lots of windows that make it bright during the day and beautiful at night because of the lights from buildings around us. We have received our washing machine and bed and are still waiting on furniture, a desk, and a futon for anyone that is brave enough to stay with us. To get an idea of the size of everything, the kitchen is the size of a normal American bathroom, even though this kitchen is nice because it has cabinets. The bathrooms are small and tile from head to toe. The one thing really different about these bathrooms is the water heater takes a shower with you. I mean, the water heater heats the water as you use it and it hangs in the shower on the front wall. The bedrooms are small but very adequate and for Macau standards have tons of built-in storage--what a blessing!

"The next thing that has been taking a lot of time is language study. We have been focusing on sounds and tones. Cantonese is made up of 7 tones for each sound in the language. As you can imagine, tone-deaf Americans struggle a little with this language. We have been doing pretty well, since Melissa knows quite a bit from her previous year-and-a-half in Macau, and from my three short trips, I survive. To give you an example of what can happen, consider two words written with English phonics, touh ngo and touh ngo. As you can see, the sounds are exactly alike but in the first word the tone for the second part of the word is low. This means hungry. In the second word, the second part's tone is high and this means diarrhea. You can imagine the fun that the people here have listening to us try to speak.

"This weekend we are heading for Hong Kong for two days for a staff retreat/building time. Russ and Nellie Birdsall will be leading two sessions and time set aside to fellowship with each other. Then when we return, we have a couple of days before a short-term team comes from the states. We will be taking them around Macau to show them the sites and make sure they see what we do in our daily ministry."

Haiti. Luanne Brooks, a UB missionary serving in Haiti with OMS International, sent this report on April 24.

"Sometimes I feel like one of the most blessed people in the world. God has given me the rare opportunity to share his love in places where many cannot go. Thank you for sending me. Thank you for being my support.

"I'm sure you are all wondering what Haiti is like now after the change in government. Let me share with you my first impressions upon arriving. First of all, we had to go to Port au Prince to clear immigration, because it is not up and running yet in Cap Haitian. As we flew closer to Cap Haitian, we could see that there had been some flooding. But what was not under water was green and beautiful. I had tried to prepare myself for what I might see when I arrived. But I was still saddened by the shape of our little airport. All of the buildings were either destroyed or severely damaged. We had to wait for our baggage in a large concrete building that was missing one entire wall. I was prepared for the worst as we drove through the city, but was pleasantly surprised that it was pretty much the same. Cap Haitian was stillwellit was still Cap Haitian. We had to take an alternate route home, because the severe rain and flooding had washed out part of the main road back to our compound.

"I was welcomed home by all my friends. Everyone has either stopped by or called me. They are genuinely happy I am back. On Wednesday I stopped in to the clinic for a few minutes to say hi before I returned home to unpack, and it was a virtual love fest. There was a flood of tears. To be honest, most of them were mine. I was welcomed home like I have never been in my life. It was wonderful.

"Yesterday some of the French army stopped by the compound. They were here to meet us and assure us that they were looking out for us. They took our names and phone numbers. They were so young. God bless them. They have a very hard job to do.

"I returned to work, part-time, on Thursday. I was immediately given a man by the name of Sannafer. Sannafer is very ill. He is malnourished and completely emaciated. He has tested positive for tuberculosis. He was brought into the clinic in a wheel-barrow by his children. He was unable to walk or even stand without complete assistance. He was literally knocking on death's door. He was first brought to the clinic on Wednesday and was told by the clinic staff to go straight to the hospital. But he did not have any money and so he could not go.

"The clinic staff treated him on Wednesday and sent him home with some money for food, telling him to return and be treated at the clinic every day, but truthfully, they really didn't expect him to make it through the night. Well, he did come back and on Thursday, I gave him a liter of IV fluids, a antibiotic injection, some vitamins, and medication for the TB. He was so weak, he could not hold his cup. Yesterday, he came in and was able to walk, with only the assistance of two sticks. We helped him into the bed and repeated Thursday's treatment.

"He told us that he was a Christian many years ago, but turned his back on the Lord. He now realizes that the Lord never turned his back on him. He has rededicated his life to the Lord. Gras a Dieu (Thank the Lord). His three young sons also asked the Lord into their lives on Thursday. Friends, that's what we are here for.

"I am currently waiting for him to come to my house today, so I can give him his medication and a shot of antibiotic. I made some berry muffins for him and his boys. He will return here tomorrow and then to the clinic on Monday. Please pray for this family.

"I have started back in language study with a new teacher here in Cap Haitian. Her name is Lilibet. She speaks four languages and is a lot of fun. She teaches French at the Cowman International school. I have been meeting with her at her lunch hour and again for two hours after she gets out of school. Yesterday, she had me tell her, in Kreyol, how to make pizza and directions for driving from her house to the beach. My Kreyol is coming along. I can get the gist of most conversations and can make most people understand what I am saying. Please pray that God will give me this language quickly. For the safety of my patients, I need to be able to understand every thing they say, not just this gist of it."

Russia. Doris Grigorian sent this note on April 14. "Nikolai returned from a short stint in Omsk, West Siberia, at the Bible College where he previously taught in 2000-2001. He left in early February 2004 and returned on March 20. At the College he taught Romans, Christian Discipleship, and Russian Literature. He preached, translated, spoke at a young people's meeting, revisited several new church plants that were started over two years ago, and attended a new church dedication." The Grigorians are from the Roseville UB church in Ontario. They serve with European Christian Mission.

Montpelier, Ohio. Central UB is seeking a fulltime pastor. Email all questions, resumes, and church profile requests to Matt Hoffman at hoffmanm@hicksvilleschools.org

Future Missionaries. Dave and Jane Arends and family are currently in Colorado Springs for cross-cultural training at Mission Training International. They wrote on April 18, "It has been a fantastic course thus far and further deepening our call to serve in Belize, Central America. We recently participated in the mission's conference of Salem United Brethren in Chambersburg, Pa., where we received a very warm welcome. Their zeal for missions and outpouring of support was a great encouragement and example to us. We are currently at 63% of our monthly support need and are continuing to search for the supporters that God has planned to join our team. We hope to be on the field by the end of this June. We wanted to express a huge thanks to the folks at Otterbein UB in Waynesboro, Pa. (our home church) for all their love and support. We couldn't do this without them."

Byron Center, Mich. Jerry Caley, from the Banner of Christ UB church, sent this note on April 19: "Our church is three months into its new Faith Promise for Missions campaign. The goal for giving and fundraising events is $17,500. Already the giving alone is nearing $6000. In addition, under the leadership of our new Pastor of Discipleship and Youth, Josh Good, we have 25 persons going to Costa Rica in July to build a new church with Youth With A Mission. Nineteen high school students and six adults will be part of this two-week trip--a first ever 'out of the country' for our youth ministry."

DeWitt, Mich. First UB in Lansing has agreed to allow the DeWitt congregation to share its building, starting May 2, 2004. Ron Watterly, pastor of DeWitt, writes, "Our building has had problems with the roof leaking and our landlord has been slow in making repairs to the point that now we are having mold problems. We will hold services at 8:30 a.m. and join them for Sunday school at 10:00. The Lansing congregation will conduct its worship at 11:00."

Chambersburg, Pa. On March 21, King Street Church sponsored a Missions Night. Nancy Fritz of the Missions Commission writes, "This evening was a time to praise the Lord and thank those who were part of this outreach through prayer, financial support, or active involvement. Everyone experienced a wonderful time of sharing, rejoicing and recalling the wonderful things God is doing in Honduras and Belize through the efforts of short-term work teams.

"Approximately 60 men and women in the Mid-Atlantic conference area spent time in these countries in January and February. In less than two months, with a great crew of nationals, these workers began and completed a church at Mt. Hebron outside La Ceiba, Honduras. A number of team members were privileged to participate in a dedication service before returning to the States. A children's home in Belize was constructed and is now ready for the roof, which is expected to be completed by another team in May.

"Plans are underway for the 2004 Global Missions Celebration to be held November 13-14 at King Street Church. Since God is igniting a great interest in short-term mission trips, one of the major parts of this conference will be devoted to sharing information regarding opportunities, requirements, training, and plans for maximizing the efforts and results of short-term mission trip."

Ethiopia. Marshalee Brown, a member of Jamaica Conference, is a missionary in Ethiopia. She sent this report on April 24.

"It has been a huge adjustment here after living in Addis Ababa for a year. First it's the language barrier(Tygrina), then its not knowing anyone except the people on the team. Then its not trusting anyone, especially after your house was broken into and valuable and personal things stolen. Yes, my house was broken into two weeks ago and I lost a considerable amount of money, computer, camera, and all other electronics I had. I am still dealing with the paranoia and emotions that come with not knowing who was in your personal space going through your personal things.

"On the bright side, even though it has been challenging, I feel the presence and peace of God beside and in me everyday. Even though over the past couple of weeks I have felt the great urge to just go home, I know that I am at the right place and that God is with me no matter what I go through.

"Work at the Youth Center is going great. There seem to be so much that needs to be done! Please continue to pray that I will make God my priority while here and that He will give me peace in the midst of the storm."

The Philippines. Paul Coy, a former UB missionary in Macau, is getting married on May 29. His bride-to-be, Rita, is a fellow student at the seminary where Paul has been studying. She is a registered nurse, but pastored a church for two years before coming to the seminary, where she, like Paul, is studying for her Master of Divinity degree. The wedding will be held at Tabuyoc Church of the Nazarene, Pangasinan, Philippines.

Paul writes, "We are expecting around 1000 people, with most of Rita's village attending our wedding. Rita and I will stay in the Philippines until we both graduate in April 2006. After this we are planning to be assigned as missionaries in Asia. We are praying about China, but are open to anywhere God calls us. Please pray for our future and for our adjustment to marriage life."

Shirley, New York. Roy Scott is the pastor of a new church in Shirley called Omega Family Church. He is also pastor of Bethel African American Church in Somerset, N. J.

Van Wert, Ohio. Ryan Clark is the new pastor of Van Wert UB church. He began in mid-April. Ryan and his wife, Becky, are coming from Gordon-Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts, where Ryan is completing his MDiv. They have two children and a third on the way.

April 15, 2004

Hillsdale, Mich. On January 25, Hillsdale UB celebrated its 100th anniversary. State Sen. Cameron Brown delivered the invocation and Bishop Paul Hirschy gave the benediction. Nearly 600 people attended the two morning worship services. The first service concluded with the baptism of 12 people, while the second service ended by taking 37 into membership, which broke a record that had stood for a century.

On January 24, 1904, thirty charter members formed the church. Hillsdale UB connected its Centennial Celebration with the historic first flight of the Wright Brothers and their UB background. The Centennial motto is, "Soaring with Christ, we see the world from a different perspective." During the first service, Bishop Paul Hirschy was introduced to a man bearing the same name as the Wright brothers' father, who was a former United Brethren bishop. Milton Wright began visiting Hillsdale UB last fall. Each of those who were baptized or joined the church that day were given one of the new quarters depicting the Wright brothers conquest of the air.

Over the last five years, Hillsdale's ministry has averaged one conversion per week. Through the first quarter of this year, the average was two per week, partly as a result of the response to the Passion of the Christ film. The church purchased all the tickets for five showings of the film at the local theatre. Pastor Les Smith instructed the congregation not to buy the discounted tickets unless they also bought one for an unsaved or unchurched person. All 1,000 tickets were sold, and approximately half of those attending the five showings were not from the church. Each of the four pastors at Hillsdale took a turn at presenting an invitation at the conclusion of one of the showings, and a dozen people responded.

Pastor Smith preached a Lenten series on the Passion from Isaiah 53, the fifth verse of which appears on the screen at the beginning of the film. There was a definite impact on attendance for Easter, when nearly 800 attended the two services, a church record.

Sunfield, Mich. Sunfield's Community Easter Egg Hunt drew almost 100 children from the community, and the church was able to share with the children and their parents the true meaning of Easter. Three families came back the next day on Easter Sunday, and the parents in one of those families received Christ. The two morning services had a combined attendance of 322.

Some other news from the church:

• Judy Atherton, wife of Assistant Pastor Roy Atherton, has been diagnosed with cancer.
• This summer, the youth are taking a mission trip to Mexico with Teen Mania.
• Five babies will be dedicated in May, and they will also bring in 15 new members.
• In June, 30 people will spend four days working at the Laurel Mission in Kentucky. Pastor Mark Ralph will be traveling with Gary Dilley to Honduras so he can see the new kitchen built in El Carril by the Sunfield church.

Sherkston, Ontario. Grace UB is getting ready for week one of the Purpose Driven Life Campaign. Sheldon King writes, "We have been praying about this and deliberating over it a lot, and a lot of hard work has gone into preparing the campaign for the church. We have great hopes for the church and its spiritual growth and 'people growth' as well. This campaign will bring much change to the way we do things at Grace. We kick it off with the National Simulcast Video on April 18. The whole service will be a video of Rick Warren in his service for Saddleback's launch of the 40 Days or Purpose."

Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Hilltop Community UB hired a Children's Director in April. Erika Gloeckner has experience working with children, and she possesses a passion for helping children know the Lord. There has already been a healthy increase in attendance for Sunday school and the weekday children's programs.

Pastor Michael Tucker writes, "The church has successfully operated a preschool for several years, and now has announced plans to add a kindergarten class for next fall. Although the announcement of the new class is only a week old, the class is already full, and there are eight students on the waiting list. Plans to build an educational building are being discussed as the church anticipates that additional grades will be added to the school next year.

"New video projection equipment has been installed in the church auditorium since Easter. The church makes extensive use of PowerPoint slides each week for the worship. There are 80-100 slides used each week, and often video is incorporated into the service."

Harrisburg, Pa. Devonshire Memorial UB held a Family Life Conference this week. It began on Easter Sunday morning, and continued with services each night through Wednesday (with a buffet dinner before the Wednesday evening service). It was led by Home Fire Ministries.

Luanne Brooks had planned to be back in Haiti by now, but a mass was discovered which required a biopsy. That was done on April 13. Luanne wrote on April 13, "My biopsy results showed that I had a fibroadenoma. What that means is that I'm heading back to Haiti! I met with the doctor today and he just recommended yearly mammogram screenings.

"Pray for our ministry in Haiti as I head back next week. I will drive down to West Palm Beach on Monday morning April 19) and then fly out early Tuesday morning. Pray as I continue my language studies and find my place back in ministry again."

Cumberland, Md. Rev. Michael Mudge is planting a church in Cumberland, Md. It is called Bethany House of the Lord. He wrote on April 4, after ten consecutive weeks of Sunday worship, that they were averaging 33 people in attendance. "We are trying right now to solidify our core group, and we have not yet done any outreach. We plan to begin some public outreach in the summer. We had our first convert in February.

"My greatest joy has been in seeing the families that make up our congregation doing daily family devotions together. The nine children are doing great at scripture memorization. We have a growing ministry to the deaf, with five deaf people coming regularly and a deaf instructor standing with me at the pulpit to sign the worship celebration. Please pray for God to strengthen our core group and to draw others in and help us in planning our outreach ministries."

La Ceiba, Honduras. Roger Reeck, a UB endorsed missionary serving in Honduras with Wycliffe, gives an update on their ministry. "We have been very busy traveling around to villahes setting up our "Garifuna Bible Reading in the Schools" program. We have visited communities and churches seeking volunteers who will go in to each classroom, grades 4-9. We are thrilled with the response of the Garifuna Christian community. We have now produced 6000 study booklets for the children. These, along with boxes of Bibles, have now been distributed to 25 Garifuna towns. Some have started the program, but others will begin after Easter. Continue to pray that the doors will remain open and that the volunteers will remain enthusiastic. Most of all, our prayer is that God's Word will touch the hearts of the Garifuna children."

April 1, 2004

Macau. David and Melissa Kline are on their way to Macau. They sent this email to their supporters just before leaving on April 1.

"The last few weeks have been crazy for us. David has been busy finalizing business stuff and I have been hugging boxes for two months. In between all of our packing appointments, we have tried to fit in as much time with family and friends as possible. Now we can finally say that our packing has come to an END!

"We leave for Chicago in four hours and we take off at 8 pm Chicago time. By 11 pm Friday evening (US time), we will be standing in Macau!

"God has blessed us so much this year! Thanks for all your prayers. Thanks for all your financial support! Our support level is currently at 100%

"Please continue to pray for us and our ministry in Macau. Pray for our families as we leave today. Pray for our first few weeks in Macau as we are busy finding an apartment, dealing with Immigration, and meeting with old friends."

Flint, Mich. Donelle Raab, associate pastor of Richfield Road UB, sent this report about a mission work project which stretched throughout February. "Richfield Road UB sponsored a team of 17 people to Honduras. Members of the team went and returned at various times during the month of February. Gary Case and Grady Jones headed the effort. The team built a church in the village of El Naranjal about 45 minutes west of La Ceiba. The former church was 12-by-15 feet. The new one is 30-by-50.

"Even though the new church wasn't completely finished, Richfield Road left money, and the people in the church in El Naranjal are finishing it. The last we heard, it is almost done. Gary and Grady worked hard to include Superintendent Francisco Raudales and the pastor of the church in the planning. The people in the village were encouraged to work with the team. The children were especially eager to participate.

"The team also sponsored a VBS with the help of the Bethel church in La Ceiba. About 250 children were reached, and 15 or so made decisions to follow Jesus. One boy asked for prayer for a congenital problem with his eye. The team, with the help of Pastor Jose Rivera, made it possible for that boy to be treated by a doctor in La Ceiba.

"Isa Rivera, a student at Huntington College, was an important member of the team working as interpreter."

Macau. Jana Hoobler, director of the Macau mission, sent these notes on March 31.

• "David and Melissa Kline will arrive this Saturday to join our long-term team. This is an answer to years of prayers that God would send more long-term workers to join us. Pray for all of us as we come together as a team and seek how we can best serve God together.
• "Attendance has increased at our Women's Bible Study on Friday mornings. Next week Jen and I are traveling to Shanghai with five of the women who attend. Praise the Lord for this special opportunity. Tiffany is from Shanghai and has invited us to stay at her home. Pray that God will use this time to draw these dear friends of ours closer to salvation.
• "We are currently searching for another secretary for the ELP. Please pray for God's direction in this process.
• "At the end of May, I will be stepping down from being field director of our work here. I will remain on the team, with a focus on teaching and evangelism, which are the things I love to do. Please pray for our team and for me personally through this time of transition. Pray that God will also use this time to take our local churches one step further in their independence from missionary leadership."

Huntington, Ind. Dr. J. Edward Roush, former US Congressman, Huntington College trustee, legal counsel for the UB Church, and member at College Park Church in Huntington, passed away on Friday, March 26. The funeral was held on Wednesday, March 31, at College Park church.

Van Wert, Ohio. Ryan Clark is the new pastor at Van Wert UB. He will begin in mid-April. Ryan and Becky are coming from Gordon-Conwell Seminary, where he is completing his MDiv degree. They have two children and one on the way.

Sierra Leone. The schools or Sierra Leone were blessed with the arrival of a container which includes a large number of schoolbooks obtained from a school in Michigan. At least five boxes of books were given to each of the three UB secondary schools (high schools). This photo was taken in the Bo Secretariat building.

India. The Vacation Bible School Project for 2003 was to help build a church and provide a place for children to worship in the tribal areas of India. Over $8500 was raised through the generous giving of children. Because of this, the following has happened:

• One church has been built, and the people are worshipping in it and praising the Lord for the facility. This church is pictured.
• A second church is under construction in another location.
• At least three pavilions will be built to house new church plants with the remaining money.

The funds have been a big blessing because there was a great need for people to see a church being built in villages that are predominately Hindu.

India. From February 16-19, pastors and delegates from our church planting region in India were able to attend a family conference organized by the UB people. Three guest speakers gave excellent teaching, and 35 delegates were encouraged and refreshed. Our couple in India were excited about this opportunity because of the increased challenges facing our pastors through persecution from the Hindus and the threat of a new anti-conversion law. The state's ruling party is threatening to pass a law that would prohibit a person from changing his religion, and would outlaw baptism. This has already been passed in three of the neighboring states. Despite the difficulties, through the church planting ministry 189 more people have accepted Christ as Savior, and out of these, 124 have taken the significant outward step of baptism.

Alice Springs, Australia. Steve and Bev Swartz, UB endorsed missionaries with Wycliffe Australia, are currently in transition. They began their work with Bible translation in 1975 and started working in earnest on the Warlpiri translation in 1978. That Bible was joyfully dedicated in 2001 in Alice Springs, Australia. The time has come for a change of pace. Steve will begin a leave of absence from Wycliffe this spring, and will be employed at Yirara College in an administrative position.

Their appreciation goes out to "friends and family who have prayed for and supported us, who have struggled our struggles and dreamed our dreams, who have laughed and wept and rejoiced with us and the Warlpiri people for these last 25 years that we have lived and worked in Australia. We owe each and every one of you more thanks and credit than we can ever give or repay. We know for certain that anything we have accomplished for the Lord here in Australia has been your accomplishment as well, and we praise and thank God for you all."

Steve and Bev Swartz can be reached at this address: 55 Patterson Crescent, Alice Springs, NT 0870 Australia.