We thank the Lord for your faithful prayers for us.

Sunny Point: We officially turned back the building process to Sunny Point church last Sunday. I don’t know if I mentioned it, but about a year ago, the leadership of the four churches decided to set up a project funds, with the first project being the Sunny Point building. We set up the funds shortly after we had purchased the property. The administration of the funds is basically in the hands of the national church. We basically exhausted the funds this week. There was a bit over $1000.00 left, which we turned over to the Sunny Point church. Sunny Point church has several men who are skilled in various types of labor for the job. They can do the work and save the cost of labor. Otherwise there is not enough funds for the water supply to be finished.

Our hope is that the church will soon be in the building. The building is now secure, with windows and doors which lock. There are 20 six-foot benches in the church, a table and a pulpit. The cement work is almost totally finished inside. The electrician, Orlando Venlo, who is a member of the Efraimzegen church, is busy installing the electrical outlets and lights. The main other item to be done immediately is to get the toilets installed, rain gutters put up, and water from the roof to be directed into a large tank (4000 liter) which we already purchased. Then the water needs to be put to the toilets and a sink. The water supply from the government is not reliable, and virtually everyone in the area relies on catching rainwater. Any government water which comes is a bonus.

There are a number of other things which need to be done as well. The grounds need to be cleared, and eventually a wall needs to be put up. We normally put up a mesh so that bats cannot roost under the rafters above the ceiling. If not, you can expect bat droppings to drop - eventually on the congregation! And of course the building should be painted. But these things can be done gradually after the congregation is inside the building. My prayer is that they will be inside the building this month before we leave for the USA on August 1st.

Andoe Kampoe: The situation has not been encouraging. We continue to see people make professions almost every time Liz and I go out there soulwinning. After more than six months of services, the people remain friendly but do not come to services. The Saramaccan believer who accompanies us told me that the men do not come because they do not want to leave their witchcraft. And we know that there is a great deal of witchcraft in the camp itself. However, the number attending church has actually dropped. Last service, there was only Zr. Mauke and three small children in addition to seven of us from the main church who drove in two vehicles. It is hard to justify committing two senior pastors and a lot of travel time and cost with such a minimal response. We will be coming back to the USA for a three month mini-furlough in four weeks. It will be very difficult to cover this outreach in our absence, as I will not be available to help in the preaching rotation, and the majority of soulwinning has been done by Liz and my self. So we would appreciate your prayers over the situation.

Bible Institute: We had a very enjoyable closing lesson and time of fellowship for the Advanced Bible Institute. I called up some who had not been able to attend this year because of scheduling conflicts. They were able to come to enjoy a bit of food and fellowship. As I look back, we have had a very good program over the last three years and covered a number of important topics. We have captured virtually everything on DVD as well as in book form, and everything is in place to have both the regular and the advanced Bible Institute continue in the form of correspondence. I am pleased that there are around 6 students taking the basic course in the Winti Wai church, and a few others from the other churches. I anticipate several will work to complete the Advanced Bible Institute as well.

Mini-furlough: We are now getting prepared for our time back in the USA. With our current schedule, I will be speaking in 5 colleges, with formal block courses in Crown College and Baptist College of Ministry. I will give a mini-block course at Indiana Baptist College, and will be speaking also at Fairhaven Baptist College and Ambassador Baptist College this year. I think that we are scheduled in about 30 churches as well, and I will be participating in a week long meeting on translation, which I am looking forward to as well. Most of the lessons must be prepared ahead of time. With block courses, the pace is too fast to be able to prepare new lessons each day.

Thus now we need to get three months of radio and TV programs set, pay for all our regular costs for the months we will be gone, etc. It is a busy time, especially for Liz, who does the financial arrangements.

Prayer requests:

1. Our spiritual growth
2. Health and strength for the tasks - we do not take this for granted!
3. Safety on the road. We had a tragic reminder of how vital this is. A son-in-law for one of our leaders was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident last week.
4. Sunny Point church moving to their building
5. Andoe Kampoe situation
6. Preparation for mini-furlough