18 Sep Update from Jana

Jana sent these items from Macau on September 13.

“Our ELP classes started in early September with VERY FEW students. This is discouraging for all of us. Pray that more of our students will return during the next couple of weeks. Pray for wisdom on how to handle the situation. Pray for a sense of peace that this is God’s ministry, and He’s in control. (To be honest, I’m feeling more stressed than peaceful right now.)

“Lamar and Karen Crumbley arrived safely, with their arrival nicely timed between two typhoons, so that their flight schedule wasn’t affected by bad weather. They’re getting settled in and finding their way around. Pray for them as they continue to adjust to Macau and develop relationships with our Chinese friends.

“English Bible Studies started again after the summer break. Several women returned. A few others are planning to come after their children get settled into their new school year. Pray for Tiffany, Miss Cheong, Carmen, and Pansy. All of them are non-Christians who have returned to our English Bible Studies. Pray that their lives will be changed as they study God’s Word.”

“Our ELP secretary, Michael, is taking come church-related courses this year. He thought that his class schedule wouldn’t affect his work schedule with us, but it ends up that there are a lot of time conflicts. He will decide by the end of this month whether to continue working for us with fewer hours or whether to just quit the job and focus on his classes. We’ve appreciated his commitment to our ministry on Taipa, and we want to encourage him as he seeks God’s will for his future. Either way, we’ll need to find another part-time secretary. Pray for God to lead us to the right person.”

“My financial support is now at 99% for this term. Much of this consists of one-time gifts, so I will continue to be in need of monthly supporters in the future. I also have teammates who are still in need of monthly supporters. However, I am thankful for God’s provision for this term.”

03 Sep Hendricks Family Settling Into Spain

The Troy and Julie Hendricks has arrived in Spain, where they will serve as missionaries with Send International. They are settling into an apartment in Azuqueca. They report, “All of our boxes that we sent air freight arrived safely. We are becoming very familiar and comfortable with Azuqueca. It is a wonderful, friendly town.

“Hannah and Ethan continue to adjust well. They will start school at a public school in Azuqueca on Monday, September 8. Next Monday, September 1, we will visit the public schools here in town to see which has space available for our kids. We have talked to parents from our church here who have recommended which school to request, but at this point in time there may not be space available. We really feel that attending public school will be their very best way to adapt to the culture and learn Spanish.

“Today, Troy went to Alca-Lingua to register for the intensive month-long language course. It begins September 2 and runs through the month of September. It is a very fast and very intense foundational course. He will take the train from Azuqueca to Alcala every morning, about a 13-15 minute ride. It is a 20-minute walk from our apartment to the train station in Azuqueca. Then from the train station in Alcala to the language school is about a fifteen minute walk. So the whole process of getting to language school should be a little less than an hour commute. Julie will begin formal language study in October, after the kids are settled into school.”

26 Aug Missions Conference at Camp Michindoh

The Michindoh Conference held a Mini Missions Conference for Children on June 21. It was led by Troy Hendricks, missionary to Spain, and Pastor Steve Smith of Lakeview UB (Camden, Mich.). It was held at Lakeview.

Rhonda Dilley challenged the children to participate in missions. They made mission-oriented crafts, and learned to play a new game called Soccette, which was likened to needing to learn a new culture. They also assembled nearly 100 shoeboxes to be given out by the Lakeview youth as they conduct a VBS at Laurel Mission. They were served lunch and then were treated to a concert by the 7th Street five-member band that combines rock, folk, and country sounds. The band is from First UB church in Blissfield, Mich.

26 Aug Doris MacDonald, Published Musician

Doris MacDonald, a longtime UB missionary serving with Wycliffe, collaborated on a Christian CD by singer Sharon Dennis. Doris played keyboard, did background vocals, and helped with some songwriting. The CD can be purchased at www.sharondennis.com.