The Spanish translation should be ready about a year from now. Missionary Marvin Robertson in Spain is supervising the translation project. He has another excellent translator working with him, a native Spanish-speaker. They both review and revise each other’s work, so I believe we are going to have a superb translation that will incorporate the strengths of each into a great result! The original formatting is being utilized with errors removed, thanks to the perfectionist skills of the supervisor of the project!

The translation work is off to a good start. The OT Bible History Guidebook is about translated through Genesis with 38 pages completed. The NT Bible History Handbook is translated about through the Gospel of Matthew with 52 pages complete. We are putting these translated pages together for a Spanish sample of the books into a spiral to display at some Spanish conferences. We can also send a PDF sample by email to anyone interested. If you know missionaries or pastors in Spanish-speaking countries, please send us their names and email addresses, and we will send them updates about the translation project.

Please pray for Missionary Marvin Robertson and his wife, and for Maria Esther de Alvarez and her husband who are Mexican missionaries to Spain. These godly missionary families are putting their heart and soul into this work along with their many other ministries. We all share the burden that these books and materials can be a blessing to Spanish-speaking pastors, church institutes and Bible colleges. We have already received requests from total strangers expressing interest!

This has been a good year for the ministry of these study materials in the Philippines. We printed a total of 6000 books, 3000 OT Guidebooks and 3000 NT Handbooks in Manila to stock there for the Philippines ministry. Over 50 Filipino Bible institutes/colleges are using the materials. Scores of pastors have obtained the books for a study resource and give glowing reports of how the books are a blessing and help! One Filipino pastor hosting a large conference purchased 300 of these books to give to pastors attending the conference, most of whom would find it difficult to purchase themselves. The stock of 6000 is down to 3533!

Another hard-working pastor mentors about ten nearby pastors one day a week who have little in resources and no Bible college training. We gave them a good price they could afford and they are thrilled to death. The few stories that get back to us make goose bumps run on my spine! Five students in an African country are finding blessing through these materials. Who but God knows what all is going on in the 35-40 countries where sets of the materials have gone!

Last night I preached at the Graduation Fellowship Week of Sydney Bible Baptist College. After the service a lady came up to meet me. She had taken the OT course. At the beginning she feared that she could not possibly take the quizzes and exams required in the course! But she gradually fitted in and did quite well. She was so thrilled at what she had learned about the Old Testament and said it would not have happened without the quizzes pushing her on!

Please continue to pray for Kathleen who feels that she is losing ground with the Alzheimer’s. The medication has not yet demonstrated any identifiable benefit, but the Lord knows and we are asking for His perfect will.

“I feel that a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is timely since you have been experiencing these changes for a considerable period of time,” said the neurologist as he sat on his haunches by Kathleen’s chair and kindly patted her arm as he spoke comfortingly. He proceeded to arrange for her to begin taking the medication prescribed for such memory disorders.

Two things impressed me from that time of “bad news!” First was Kathleen’s seeming complete acceptance of a most distressing fact. Of course, there were months of preparation knowing that this was always a possibility, but the reality was troubling. Kathleen handled it with a calmness that helped my feelings of distress.

The second impression that really moved me was the caring attitude of the neurologist, probably an immigrant from the Pacific Asian region. Many doctors would just blurt it out with little explanation and then say, “Any question? OK, see you next session!” I thought how important it is for us as messengers of divine truth to always deliver those messages, some of judgment and some of blessing, with a genuine caring attitude that moves the recipient of that message.

The medication can maybe stabilize the symptoms and slow the progress of the disease. The doctors say the chances of that happening are about 50-70 per cent. We are praying that Kathleen will benefit from the medication. However, our trust and hope are in the Living God, the Faithful Creator Who is in complete charge of this case. He has allowed us to have each other to help one another, no small blessing at 80 and 74 years of age. We also live next door to a loving and caring daughter along with her family, which seems almost unbelievable to fathom.

The two grand daughters (22 and 24) planned a sleep-in “slumber party” for grandmother two days after the diagnosis. It was an absolutely delightful evening for both of us! Our plate is piled high with blessings. A loving pastor and church that exceed all imaginations are of constant comfort to us. The day after the diagnosis Kathleen said she wished our pastor would just tell the people the diagnosis and explain that they should not be surprised or offended when she repeats salutations or questions! He did that at the Sunday business meeting of the church while we were gone speaking in another church.

As we move forward on this “seniors’ journey,” our daily prayer is that the Lord will continue to use us to be a blessing as long as He leaves us on this earth. It’s not always easy to understand just how He is going to accomplish this, but we are looking to Him. “O satisfy us early with Thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days!” Psalms 90:14

One of the exciting things happening at our growing church is the ordination this Saturday of a young man who was saved, trained and sent out to start a new church in Newcastle, a city two hours drive north of Sydney. He graduated from Sydney Bible Baptist College and served as an intern in another church for a year as well as another nearly two years in our church. Please pray for Charlie and Janet who are well-prepared and doing a good job in the new ministry.

We printed the Cast Your Bread autobiography books for Australia here in Sydney at a large commercial printer. They had just purchased a large press that looked like an assembly line. The books were delivered to us at home, and when we opened the boxes, lo and behold the pictures were all too dark to comply with normal marketing standards. The printer was having teething problems with the new press.

 

The printer agreed to pick up the defective 500 copies and to reprint. I suddenly thought of a good use for the defective books. So I asked the printer for permission to keep the books and send them for free distribution in the Philippines. The pictures were discernible but inappropriate to sell here. The printer gave permission and I shipped them to the Philippines door-to-at a total cost of $175!

 

Two hundred and fifty of the books will be given to Filipino pastors attending a large conference in October. The other books have been or will be given to pastors and students. The brethren there were thrilled to get the books. I had no intention to send the autobiography to the Philippines, but the Lord had a unique plan to make it happen!

 

We’re excited! The translation of the New Testament Bible History Handbook into the Spanish language has now begun! Please pray for the brethren working on this project. We have no present plans to convert or title in Spanish the DVD lectures for the course, only to translate the NT Handbook along with the workbook and supervisor’s manual. Page 21 of the Handbook in Spanish is displayed.

 

Friends in the Spanish-speaking world have assured me that our book would fill a niche and be a blessing to pastors and especially Bible colleges. With 21 Spanish-speaking countries, please pray that the Lord will do some wonderful things with this Spanish book and study course. Our main target for the Spanish materials will be Bible colleges and institutes. Pastors will also find the Handbook a great resource for their personal study.

 

Spanish Translation

 

The 35^th anniversary of Faith Baptist Church in Regents Park in March was a blessed event of rejoicing. It was followed by lunch at the church and the book launch. Pastor Zaydan interviewed me and it is listed at the close of this newsletter.

 

We were shocked when the church sold 180 book at the launch! An older, godly pastor phoned me recently to tell me how he had been blessed by reading the book. He was crying and commented that every pastor ought to read it. We were encouraged that God could recycle our trials and blessings to bless others!

 

Both Faith Baptist churches in Blacktown and Regents Park are running our Bible History courses this year as also is Sydney Bible Baaptist College in an evening class. One lady wrote, “I can’t tell you how much I am enjoying the N T History course. They are the most amazing lessons I have ever listened to or studied. The combination of detailed Biblical notes together with history, pictures and maps of the Land is so informative and leaves one wanting more. I find it incomprehensible the amount of time, energy, and devoted study you have sacrificed in writing these books. I pray the Lord will give you both more strength to keep up this lovely blessed work for our sakes and for the sake of others to follow.”

 

A Filipino pastor recently wrote: “I can’t tell you how much your books have been a blessing to pastors here.”

 

We share these testimonies with you because you have been a vital part of our lives and ministry by your concern and prayers. We feel so unworthy to be a part of any of it but we rejoice with thanksgiving that God uses the weakest of vessels to accomplish His work.

 

Please pray for the beginning of the new school year in June in the Philippines. We are asking God to open doors in new colleges and institutes for the materials. May God bless each one of you!

 

Richard and Kathleen Hester

 

Pastor Zaydan’s interview with Pastor Richard Hester at the launch of “Cast Your Bread:”

1. What events or trials did God allow in your early life that helped shape you to become who you are as a missionary today?
   Answer: I don’t remember any traumatic event or special difficulty that shaped my life. What I do remember is lots of hard work that engaged all the family and a consistent, loving Christian home that shaped my values and character.
2. What doctrinal issues did you struggle with after your conversion and how did you eventually leave them behind?
   Answer: Teachings about divine healing being a full half of the Gospel for every Christian, the gift of tongues being the seal and evidence of receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, women preaching and the losing of one’s salvation-these teachings and others engaged my eager mind to understand and prove their accuracy from Scripture.
   Annoying doubts about these teachings plagued my thinking. These issues were settled shortly after I left that atmosphere and enrolled in Bob Jones University. My doubts, the Scriptures I was pondering-all suddenly came together so clearly! For the first time I knew my feet were on solid ground! What a blessing it was to KNOW that I was forever saved and accepted in the Beloved! The other issues soon came into submission to the complete Word of God, and I was free!
3. What year did you graduate and start your first church, how long were you there and why did you leave?
   Answer: Graduation and the launch of Temple Baptist Church in El Dorado, Kansas took place in 1954. God interrupted our plans for a long stay in Temple Baptist Church with a heavy, unshakeable burden to go to Lebanon as missionaries. Our stay in El Dorado was less than three years. We were heartbroken to leave Temple Baptist Church but we were persuaded and confident by the Spirit that He was our Guide in this new assignment.
4. Why Lebanon for your mission field, and out of all places, why Tripoli in the North?
   Answer: I was exposed to mission work in the Middle East Mission Prayer Band at the college which I attended. Also, I wrote several research papers on themes related to the Middle East like the Armenian massacre around 1900 in Turkey, the pillars of Islam etc. When the burden came to become foreign missionaries, the only consideration was the Middle East and then Lebanon. Why Tripoli, the second largest city of Lebanon, a fanatical city 85% Muslim? We felt a burden to go to a place that had little or no Gospel witness, and Tripoli fit that criterion as a large city with only one Gospel witness and one liberal Protestant witness. It was also the centre of North Lebanon with its hundreds of towns and villages with no Gospel witness.
5. Learning Arabic is always difficult. How were you able to learn Arabic and preach in it within one year?
   Answer: We had no magic formula, just five disciplined days and evenings weekly studying and practising for one year. God blessed us with a Lebanese lady teacher who was strong in Arabic and knowledgeable in English. Plus we were determined to learn the language so we could better understand the people and be able to share the Gospel with them from our hearts to their hearts.
6. What were the main difficulties that you encountered in understanding the Lebanese culture?
   Answer: Probably the main help in understanding the culture was learning Arabic in its society. We would ask our teacher constantly why that word meant what it did. We gained the rationale of why the Lebanese did some things differently from our way of doing or thinking. Often we found that we could benefit from much of what we learned.
7. How would you summarise your ministry in Lebanon?
   Answer: It was very difficult and discouraging at times because of the scarceness of results compared to the effort expended. However, the many lives that were touched with the Gospel of Christ made it a blessed and rewarding experience. The continuance of that ministry today in two churches and a conference centre in the mountains brings great joy and thanksgiving for what God has done!
8. What event made you finally leave Lebanon and how did the Lord change your direction to Australia?
   Answer: A combination of several brushes with death in the accelerating civil war helped bring us to the conclusion that the Lord would have us leave Lebanon for a respite until conditions might improve enough for us to be able to minister in Lebanon. But after leaving Lebanon, God used its tragedies and losses to strip us of any hope that Lebanon could be healed for a long time. Other circumstances forced our sights upon Australia where we could continue Arabic ministry. That ministry would not only reunite us with some former church members who had immigrated to Sydney but would touch many other Lebanese immigrants, some of whom we had known in Lebanon.
9. Your ministry in Australia has been very diverse. Having hindsight, why do you think God brought you to the land down-under and what rewards did you find here?
   Answer: God brought us here to experience our greatest and most rewarding years of ministry among our beloved Arabic people!
10. You have invested your life in many people. In other words, you have cast your bread upon the waters. How did you find it after many days? What do you hope to find in the future?
    Answer: The stories of that lifetime investment, its rewards and how they are being found is the exciting story of our autobiography, Cast Your Bread. Needless to say, every time we walk into Faith Baptist Church, we are overwhelmed with the sense of those rewards and God’s faithfulness upon our weak efforts to “cast our bread upon the waters.” Heaven is drawing closer and we look forward to an eternity where God will show us the exceeding riches of His grace upon ever so weak and unworthy servants, but servants dedicated nonetheless to His Matchless Glory and Grace!

 

 

Cast Your Bread, the new autobiography, is in stock and available in the USA from Temple Baptist Church, P.O. Box 823, El Dorado, KS 67042. Phone: 316 321 3803 or Email: templebaptistkans@sbcglobal.net  In Australia it is available from MissionaryOutpost@gmail.com or phone 02 9622 1148.

Jodi, the church secretary and the person responsible for our Missionary Outpost book ministry, wrote: “The first Sunday we sold 48 of your new book after the service. The lady at the table could hardly pull them out of the box fast enough! I had a free day, so I took the opportunity to read your book.  I laughed, I cried, I was challenged, I was encouraged, I was overwhelmed to learn how God prepared you and used you for what He wanted you to do for Him.”

Kathleen has not done well the past few months and has lost considerable ground with the memory issue. Her old physical symptoms have been volatile and unstable which further exacerbates the memory problem. I have put off writing because I just didn’t know what to say. We both felt that in light of the recent loss of ground that the MRI might document something of what was happening and that a diagnosis might be forthcoming. Then a regime of the powerful drugs would be put in place to hopefully slow the progress of the diagnosed disease, whether alzheimer’s, dementia-related or whatever.

To our surprise and thankful delight, the MRI was normal and the neurologist didn’t believe there was yet sufficient evidence for a diagnosis beyond Mild Cognitive Impairment. Thank you for your prayers. God’s grace is sufficient, and we want to trust Him for each day. I say “want” because some days our faith is weak. Thank God Kathleen can still drive although we have stopped her driving at night because she tends to have her “down times” more at evening time. Also, she still cooks though she struggles because she doesn’t remember the recipes and doesn’t remember where items are in the kitchen without some frustrating searching and whatever help I can give. But she’s really amazing and we are so thankful for all God has given us these years and for His present mercy! She can talk about it all with people and has big laughs about the embarrassing situations that occur because of memory!

The Sydney Bible Baptist College has begun a new year of ministry with several new fulltime students. Three daughters of a man and his wife who were both former students enrolled and are living in the dorm!

Faith Baptist Church in Regents Park will be celebrating their 35^th anniversary on March 11^th and launching our new autobiography as well in the afternoon. Pastor Zaydan will be inviting local pastors to come along for the book launch. I’ll give a report on the occasion in our next newsletter.

Cast Your Bread

 

Autobiography – 300 pages

From Home on the Range

to

Home Anywhere with Jesus

 

Lives and Lessons

of

Richard and Kathleen Hester

from

Over Sixty Years of Preaching Ministry

Spanning Three Continents

 

Fears and Faithfulness of First Church

 

Aspirations and Anguish of Lebanon

 

Trials and Triummphs of Aust ralia

 

Other books by the author include:

Old Testament Bible History Guidebook

New Testament Bible History Handbook

 

These books have gone to over 35 different countries. The Philippines lead the list with

its many churches and Bible colleges and institutes that use the books and companion DVD lectures to great blessing. Most students in these churches have limited financial resources. So Missionary Outpost would like to help make these books available through donations from this autobiography.

For every Cast Your Bread that is ordered in the USA, some needy student will be helped to own a valuable resource book for the Old or New Testament. For example:

♦Make a donation of $15 or more and receive one Cast Your Bread FREE and help one  needy student! Shipping is included and costs you nothing.

♦Donate $25 or more, receive two Cast Your Bread FREE and help two students!

♦Donate $37 or more, get three Cast Your Bread FREE and help three students!

 

If churches order 10 or more, for their bookstore, they may have them for $7 per book plus shipping.

 

Send order with check made out to Temple Baptist/Missionary Outpost to:  Temple Baptist Church, P.O. Box 823, El Dorado, KS 67042 ,

Ph. 316 321 3803 or email: templebaptistkan@sbcglobal.net

“What are some priorities on your heart right now?” was the question of my sending church’s pastor. I thought a moment and replied:

Number One: Restoration of a Dorm at the Campsite near the Cedars of Lebanon

 

I built this two-story dorm in 1969. It was stripped bare during the long Lebanese civil war and was taken over for many years by shepherds for a winter refuge for goat and sheep herds. Doors, windows, electrical wiring, toilets, camp beds and anything that could be removed except the concrete shell were stolen or destroyed. The space is needed for the camp ministry, and it is a burden on our hearts to see that building back in the ministry for which it was built!

 

Number Two: Maintain and Expand the Book Ministry in the Philippines

 

Results are very encouraging! We just received the following letter from a godly pastor who has a small Bible institute to train Christian workers and pastors:

 

“We are now using your book Old Testament Bible History. We are all so glad to have you teach us via your book and DVD set. I have told our class that you are my co-teacher in this particular subject. You are part of our faculty.

 

Bro. Hester, we really appreciate how much time and labour you have invested in this teaching ministry. For sure, yours is something that has affected and continues to influence more Bible students and laymen. We thank you so much.”

 

A veteran missionary first ordered 200 books for his college students and some pastors. Later, when ordering for more pastors and 12 other Bible colleges established by his graduates, he wrote:

 

“We are so excited about these materials.  I have been watching the DVDs and have enjoyed them immensely.  I could never thank you enough for all the effort you have put in to make this project a reality. I wish so much that I had been able to take this course when I was very young as I can see how it would be an invaluable help in my preaching and teaching.  At least this generation will be able to get this great Bible course. I believe your work will stand the test of time and will be used by future generations should the Lord tarry.”

 

Whatever profits are made from sales of the materials in the USA and Australia are put into funding for the Philippines especially. Frankly, it doesn’t amount to that much after subtracting the free book samples and the many free sets of the materials given to missionaries around the world. For the materials to be viable and within reach in the Philippines, we give every college or institute free sets of the DVDs for the 60 hours of OT and NT teaching lectures. The two textbooks are made available for students at 60% of our printing cost. This makes the books within reach of many students who have, for the most part, little financial means.

 

In some areas the students are not even able to manage that, so we have a Library Plan where we give the college/institute a one-time gift of materials and books for their library where students can study their lessons each week. For every three students in the survey courses, we give the library one textbook (both OT and NT). Also we give each school a CD with PDF files from which they can print their student workbooks and a supervisor’s manual which contains all quizzes, exams and answer keys for the pastor or teacher. This makes it considerably cheaper for us and we find that they manage to print off or photocopy the workbooks as needed.

 

We have just purchased a stock of ten thousand stamped DVDs for a cheap cost price. A cheap cost price is crucial in the Philippines since most of the DVDs are a gift to the schools. Each school gets 20 DVDs for both the OT and NT sets. We have also sent to the USA for their needs there. This week we sent 4000 DVDs (OT and NT) to the Philippines for the unbelievable shipping cost of $80!

 

I am sharing all of this so that you can pray with understanding along with us for the burden on our hearts to be fulfilled for the sake of Lebanese and Filipino souls as well as many other countries that are using the materials! We are excited and thankful to God for these opportunities!

July 26 celebrated 55 years since our 1956 wedding day. I chose to work the morning before our early evening wedding ceremony. Times were hard financially for the young pastor of a new church. We promised to love each other forever and to put the other first.

A dear friend recently mentioned us when she wrote in her column: “I myself have seen very few happy marriages in my lifetime. Those that I have seen (such as the marriage of friends of mine who are missionaries to Arabs living in Australia) have been the result of both husband and wife choosing to put the other person’s happiness first!”

Many times daily gratitude wells up in my heart and I blurt out to my wonderful Kathleen, “I love you” or “I’m so thankful for you.” The years have cemented those promises we made that evening before God and witnesses. Our relationship is so precious and comforting!

In our sunset years we are growing more dependent on each other and the Lord. Kathleen has been driving me everywhere now for 21 years and helping me with sight and hearing limitations. The list is endless: reading letters, magazines, labels, taking the phone to understand and take down details, addresses or names. All these things exhibit her devotion to her husband. Now she is becoming very dependent on the memory of her devoted husband: to accompany her to appointments, to direct her in driving to many destinations, and to remember many little details in public and in the home.

We want to be trusting of our wonderful Lord in our limitations. We want to be loving and patient with each other’s frustrations and fears as taken-for-granted abilities slowly fade. Before the wedding I wrote an idealistic piece: “You’re what I want.  I want you to always be sweet and understanding, never irritable and gripey.  You are just wonderful!”

The discovery of some misplaced old love letters a week ago sprinkled some spice on our anniversary celebration with our grandchildren. In the letters I told Kathleen that she was the most genuine and sweetest girl I had ever met. I loved the way we could talk about the Bible and spiritual things. I wrote: “I have 1 plate, a knife, spoon and fork and only 1 cooking utensil.  But I’ll make out.  It doesn’t take much equipment to make vegetable soup. One can costs 27 cents; one can makes 2 meals (14 cents each). The theme for our marriage should be, ‘Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we shall not eat!’”

I never called her by phone which was a party line in her community: “I’d like to call you but there are 10,000 ears on that line, and I am broke anyway!” We courted every Thursday evening in her parents’ living room and she cooked me a big steak. Thursday was a wonderful diversion from the soup and baked beans! I wrote: “Let’s pray that the Lord will send us a cow, a fat one.  I wish I knew some butchers personally.  Somebody who would cut up this cow for us.” An interesting sidelight: “The bottom fell out at Sunday School this morning.  The attendance was 45 and the offering was $23. I don’t know where the people were!”

Shortly before our wedding I wrote: “I’m making a bed with a headboard that will have a place for a radio and a few books.  Then we’ll put drawers on the bottom sides of the bed.  It may not look like a million dollars but it ought to work like a charm.  Whatever that is? I’m going to fix a place under the stairs where the owners park their 2 cars, next to our bathroom to hang some of our clothes (it was a one room apartment above an unheated garage). Everything won’t be too stylish but I hope you’ll like it.  I really do.  I have so little to offer you but I hope you’ll be happy with it.”

Again: “I fear I have little to offer you in life being a preacher and having little money. So I hope you realize what you’re getting into.  I have nothing to offer but hard work and bushels of love.  Very true, you can’t eat it for dinner, though it would make dinner more pleasant if you had some (dinner).  There are lots of heartaches and disappointments along with the blessings.  I’ve never had to go hungry, or if I did it was because of something foolish-like that car (bought on payments). But we live and learn.  Mostly learn. So we’ll suffer together.  But I’ll enjoy it much more with you around, sweetheart.  That is, if you’ll let me kiss you.  I think it is by far the best that we have decided to wait for kissing each other until marriage.”

We were so happy then. We’re no less now. Many things have changed during these 55 years. We’ve collected stacks and stacks of blessings to share and remember together for time and eternity. “Happy anniversary, Kathleen, you’ve been the best and more than I ever dreamed of!” God is good and all thanks to Him for an exceedingly happy marriage!

The grandchildren loved the evening and the entertainment of the love letters. We wish all of you a happy home!

Sincerely happy,

Richard and Kathleen Hester

“He hath done all things well” was the testimony of the multitudes concerning the miracle-working Christ and this statement sums up perfectly our 26 days in Lebanon.

 

The Lord kept both of us from any kind of sickness, health incidents and stomach upsets. Kathleen coped well, thank God. The country was quiet and safe.

 

I can again thankfully say, as with the Philippines trip, that God gave strength far in excess of that which I ordinarily enjoy. I spoke 3-4 times each week at the three churches where I ministered. We were with people much of the time which required extra strength. God is to be thanked; I don’t know how either of us could have coped with it all.

 

We observed God’s obvious direction at every turn of the road. We reminisced how God had directed each step during our 52 year missionary pilgrimage spanning tragedy and triumph. We looked back to the 17 years we spent in Lebanon starting in 1959. We sat with our two daughters on the stadium steps of the camp conference center looking out to beautiful mountains and a deep canyon, praying and weeping together, remembering that, truly, “He hath done all things well!”

 

I preached my “farewell” message at one church but could not bring myself to preach it ever again, so much did I feel the strength of that bond with Lebanon and her people. Everyone just believed that we could surely come back again next year. I genuinely wanted (and still want) to believe them.

 

We humbly felt that God used us to be a blessing and an encouragement wherever we went, all credit to Him Who does all things well. Both of our daughters (and one husband) were there and were a blessing to us. Melody, our oldest, had not been back to Lebanon since leaving 35 years ago at 14 years of age. She did marvelously in Arabic, speaking to a ladies’ meeting and spending much time with ladies encouraging them in the Lord.

 

After a message the last week, I asked for any questions from the packed room. A man stood to his feet and said he was greatly troubled in conscience because of killing five people in the course of his security work. He wanted to know if he could ever enjoy peace and forgiveness. In that hushed room I could announce that the Gospel knows no bounds for him who will believe and accept God’s forgiveness. The man accepted Christ the following day and was a beaming witness at our last meeting along with his saintly wife who accepted Christ several years previously.

 

During one of the home visits we made with the pastor, a lady wanted to know if she could be delivered from a deep, nagging anger toward a relative who through careless behavior had accidentally killed her brother without ever demonstrating a tinge of remorse for what he had done. What a joy to announce that boundless love God demonstrated in forgiving us! That love makes it possible for us to forgive others even when they show no remorse! Let the whole world know, “He hath done all things well!”

The official dedication of the new spacious facilities of Faith Baptist Church took place on Saturday, March 5^th. It was a memorable day of remembrance of all that God has done to make the new church facilities possible.

Pastor Zaydan surprised us with a special tribute to our ministry. The video of it is on www.faithbaptist.org.au if you would like to view it. The Faith Baptist people are so appreciative of our labours among the Arabic people tp whom we dedicated our lifelong ministry and they never lose an opportunity to show their appreciation. They are precious people!

In recent months we have been praying about making a farewell trip to Lebanon. Such a trip is a big physical challenge and we felt that another year’s delay might be too late. We feel the successful trip to the Philippines has confirmed to us that this year is the time for Lebanon. Our plans will, however, be subject to the situation in the region, given all the unrest sweeping the Arab world. Presently Lebanon seems to be relatively unaffected by this unrest and desire for political and personal freedom. Lebanon is unique in the region and her many problems differ from those of other Middle Eastern countries

As of now, we plan to leave in May and will return via the USA after seeing our daughter and sending church. Actually, she will join us in Lebanon for a couple of weeks for her first visit to the land where she was born and raised until the age of 15. She is still fluent in Arabic. Our time in Lebanon will be confined to 3 or 4 churches that hold special interest for us, even though we are very much interested in all of them but do not have the time to visit more.

Thank you for your prayers as we begin preparation for this trip. Presently I am recovering from minor surgery for hernia repair. The printing of the books in the Philippines is now underway. The new school year there begins in June, so these next two months are an important time for the book ministry in their colleges and churches.

Your friendship and fellowship are a source of constant encouragement. May our Lord, His grace and His peace, be with you all!

 

The Philippines’ trip was indeed blessed above measure! The 90 minute departure delay at Sydney Airport was untypical of the trip! The trip could hardly have been better, thank God!

 

The issue of strength and health for both Kathleen and me was blessed beyond description! We both managed the busy schedule of the conferences. The long sessions (3-4 hours) rarely had any breaks! God kept us from any sickness, flu or stomach upsets. The strength for the task was so unusual and divine.

 

I spoke 9 times in 10 days in Manila-2 conferences, 4 churches and 4 Bible colleges. The people were so gracious and we made many lovely friends! I loved trying to speak my few words and phrases in the Tagalo language!

 

We sent the study materials via missionaries to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Burma, India, Kenya, Ethiopia and Lebanon. There may have been others. A Burmese student studying in Manila took 10 books and a set of OT and NT DVDs to put in the library of a Burmese Bible college of 160 students of which his father is the president. This all excites us to no end! One Bible institute in Cambodia already has 39 students studying one of our courses!

 

The Lord led us to a printer in Manila who is printing 6000 books (OT Guidebook and NT Handbook) for an unusually low price. He will also look after distributing the materials! A church in Manila is giving us a room in which to store the books indefinitely. An Australian friend gave a gift to help us further bring the prices into line with the capabilities of the students. There is much poverty there. All these developments are miracles from God, and we stand amazed in His presence! Initial responses to the initiative to get these materials into Bible colleges and institutes are abundant and exciting. Please continue to pray.

 

Seven people accepted Christ and many Christians appeared to be both challenged and comforted. We heard much good preaching and were personally blessed and challenged. The Filipino churches have a passion for missions even though their resources are so very meager compared to ours in the developed countries.

 

Also, many churches have a Bible institute program and some have Bible colleges. They realize how important it is to teach their people and get them involved in a structured learning program, something I find lacking in many churches in the west and in Australia. In 2008 I sent a free set of the NT study materials to all my supporting churches. I only know of 2 or 3 which have run the courses in their churches (one is my sending church). These Filipino churches are crowding around to see how they can use the materials and are testifying of great blessings for having used them to help teach  their people.

 

Thank you for standing with us in prayer for this trip. God has answered!