Thanks for praying. I have three special requests this week.

First, the Sunny Point church building is going ahead slowly. The "big rains" have arrived. When I went to the site, I had not driven over dirt roads in the rainy season for a while. The road conditions for several days actually hindered larger trucks from coming with their heavy loads of cement and steel rods. The men found that digging the foundation for the building was bigger than they had thought (it is one thing to know the figures, and another to actually do the work). They had to chop through a number of roots from trees which had been removed. When they dug out the foundation, some dirt fell back in before they were able to put in the first layer of cement and had to be shoveled out by hand. The trenches filled with water which had to be pumped out into a drainage ditch nearby. The second layer is to go in today along with steel reinforcing rods. The following step is to bring a line of 6 inch stones to the level of the floor. Then they will fill up the ground to the floor level, and bring the stones up to the area of the roof around the entire church. So we ask your prayers for the work to go forward, and for the Lord to provide the necessary funds at the times needed.

Second, Liz has been doing better with a nephrostomy tube at home. There has been a big waiting list for patients to get treated by the only lithotripsy machine in the country. The urologist cleared her for surgery last Thursday, and I went to plead for her schedule this morning. Although it looked like no opening for a week, the nurse called for her to come tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. (9:00 EST). We would appreciate your prayers that the machine would successfully break at least one stone tomorrow. We will be most relieved when the kidney is no longer blocked. The doctor will remove the nephrostomy only when he is convinced that the right kidney is functioning normally without the need of the tube. Thus far Liz has been without fever since discharge; we are praying that this will stay so. She is eating better and slowly gaining her strength.

Third, Kalow Palata is going to the judge tomorrow at noon to get a payment for the injury to his back which occurred in the Army about 28 years ago. We are praying that the money will be made free and come quickly so that his son Gwatoes can go to Holland for a prosthesis. This legal situation takes a long time to complete. I am praying that ultimately Kalow will not have to work to support his family, but will have a monthly stipend that will care for the family. However, that portion of the legal action will be handled in the future. Gwatoes is feeling "phantom pain." He feels his fingers, for example, although the hand is missing. This is apparently actually a good sign that the nerve endings are still working, although it is annoying. So we would appreciate your prayer for that as well.

Prayer requests:

1. Our spiritual growth - especially during this time of Liz's illness
2. Our health - especially for Liz for relief of the stone obstruction, and a long term solution to her recurrent kidney stones
3. Safety on the road
4. Kalow Palata's financial decision by the judge
5. Continuing the Sunny Point building project
6. Continued independence of the churches. The results of the recent elections are not yet clear, and little is being done so we are waiting to turn in the necessary forms
7. Souls saved and discipled