December 2019

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The Philippines has not Completed the Reprint of Our Books

This exciting development will ensure that the ministry of our books and survey materials will continue in the Philippines into the future after we are gone

Hester Transport Ministry

It was “Sign up- for a Ministry Day” at our church. I thought the display was neat and asked for a picture.  A few minutes later the “Hester Transport Ministry” was involved in a serious car accident on the way home from church. The wonderful young man taking us and his two sisters  were all uninjured. Ambulances took Kathleen and me to a hospital and after an all-night waist it was confirmed that Kathleen was fine with no injuries and that I had a fractured sternum. Five weeks on My injury is healing well but I’m pain to go which has moved to the back, shoulders and neck. No doubt, God spared us from what could easily have been much more serious for all involved. Some people asked me what happened and how I was doing. I told then I just had my 99th birthday. They thought I was serious, then I explained that I felt like I was 99 years old! 

Health Checklist after 87

I am so thankful for the two cochlear implants that keep me in the world of sound. How much I understand depends on several factors. With a mini-mike attached to the speaking in the church allows the voice to be placed directly into my dead ear cochlear. Another factor is the pitch of his voice. I understand 80% from some and 20% from others. A one-on-one conversation at close range is about the same. The mini-mike connected to the computer lets the computer read emails, the Bible and other text to me. Using the phone is near impossible without someone with me to fill in the gaps.     

Sight: There has been a dramatic decrease in the limited sight of the one seeing-eye this year. The laptop I used the past several years for sermon notes and scriptures in huge print no loungers an option. Macular degeneration is very active on the the central vision and glaucoma if affecting the peripheral. The specialist believes the deterioration will continue. However, he thinks it feasible that I will not lose all sight, say, in five years. 

Touch: My fingers are losing the ability to know where they are on the computer keyboard which is a big loss with my dependence upon the computer. Please don’t feel that I am discouraged, I’m not. I just know that you will pray for us as you have so faithfully done, many of you for over 60 years.

Prayer and Praise Points

  • A dear man in our church named George is dying with cancer. He is four months younger than I and a dear friend whom I find difficult to lose. He is the father of our former pastor and will leave three godly children and wife who are such a blessing to the church. His earlier life experienced the dregs of sin and even included time in a famous prison for political involvements. However, he had a godly mother who believed God and he came to the Lord in our Sydney church in the eighties. He was a prolific reader and grew quickly in the Lord after salvation. He has written some beautiful Arabic hymns. Please pray for his wife and family during his final days..
  • During our daughter Melody’s visit we went through my library and gave it to young men . My first library was lost in Lebanon and some of the Australian library was contributed by a Minneapolis widow whose husband had wanted to go to the mission field but could not. Some of the resource books she gave me 43 years ago are going back to Minneapolis for my grandson who, after finishing a double major in physics and astro-physics in the University of Minnesota, decided to enter seminary and strengthen his Bible knowledge. 
  • Then we went through two large file drawers packed with sermon notes in the large print. As we started to dump them into the trash bin, I suddenly broke out weeping uncontrollably. I told Melody I didn’t know why I was crying and she said, “It’s OK, Dad, I understand.” I guess it hit me that it was an end of an era and the beginning of a new era to get across the finish line to that glorious hope that nears.
  • We thank all of you for your love and concern for these unworthy servants. May the Lord give you a blessed Christmas and fruitful New Year.