(This update can also be viewed on the "Pccf 4 Jakarta" section of our website at http://www.pccf4unreached.org/)
This has been quite a month, as usual. A lot of good and bad has happened and unless I had jotted down notes periodically over the last month I would have forgotten some of the things I am about to share.
We presently have three cell groups weekly, one on the east side of town, one on the west and one specifically for believers from a Muslim background. We have changed the format of the two based on location. Before Esther was leading one of them and Yopi and Ina would lead the other. They would have a discussion Bible study over the previous Sunday’s sermon on Wednesday nights. We are still doing that but have slightly changed the format. Now they only do that every other week. On alternating weeks I lead a Bible study at the respective locations.
I have designed a basic discipleship class. Of course we all know that a class cannot fully disciple someone, but I believe at least part of discipleship has to do with a growth in knowledge. So over the last month I have started going through these practical materials. The first section is based on 1 John 5:11-12. We go through the verse phrase by phrase discussing some of the basic issues regarding the nature of the Bible, the nature of eternal life and the ways by which we can experience it and be assured that we have it. We have gone over 3 lessons so far and will cover the final 2 lessons at a retreat we have at the beginning of November. The entire course will take us through 10 verses that will cover 5 basic promises that God gives us as well as the 4 basic practices of the Christian life (prayer, the Word, fellowship and evangelism). So far the class has gone well and I believe some of the gaps in people’s knowledge about the basics of following Christ are slowly being filled in with the practical truth of God’s Word.
As I previously mentioned in our last update we have also have a Bible study on Sunday afternoons that is more theological in nature. It is designed for those that desire to go into the five-fold ministry or that just have a hunger for the scriptures. This month we have been going through the prophesies of scripture about the “last days”. It has been quite exciting to wrestle through the Word of God, and people have been quite intrigued to find out that God is the God that “tells the end from the beginning”.
For quite some time now we have been preparing to announce that we are sending one of our couples to Northwest China. During our visit from Pastor Ernest Reynosa a couple months ago we had a chance to share in detail our plan to sending Yopi and Ina out. On his return to the States he shared our plan with Pastor Larry Neville. After getting the go ahead from both of them we announced it to our church.
The plan is to send them out August of 2008. They will be living in the same city Esther and I were in for 3 years. It is about a 9 hour flight from Jakarta. They have 3 children and it will cost about $5,000 to relocate them. That cost includes plane tickets, a years rent for an apartment (which has to be paid up front) and 5 months of tuition that they will have to pay for in order study the language and will also provide them with a visa to live in the country. Because of this we have started to raise that money monthly. Between the church in Jakarta, Yopi and Ina and us, we will be putting about $500 away each month. This should give us the needed money for their relocation.
After they are there it will take about $500 a month to support them. We believe the church will be able to give about $200-300 a month. In order to supplement that amount we will also be giving to them out of our monthly support. Since Yopi and Ina are not able to take regular trips to the States to raise money, as missionaries usually do, we will be funneling some of our support to them. So in the future those that want to support the work in Northwest China will be able to send that money to Mission Global Harvest via “the Chapmans in Indonesia”. But we will give more info about that as the time approaches. For now we are just excited about what God is doing in, and through, the congregation in Jakarta. Yopi and Ina are a wonderful couple and we are so glad that God has connected them with Praise Chapel Jakarta.
The week after we made the announcement one of their sons was diagnosed with Dinggi Fever. It is a sickness that is similar to Malaria. He was in the hospital for more than a week with a fever that kept going up and down. At its highest, it was higher than 106 degrees. I don’t need tell you that it was a very tense week. But praise God, their son made it through and we are all very grateful for His faithfulness.
A couple weeks after that trial their family and the church faced another difficult time. They have a young live in nanny that used to be Muslim before she got saved a couple years ago. She went home to visit family on one of the biggest holidays here Indonesia. While home she told her family that she was a believer. Her mother was very upset ad locked her in her room and had a neighbor watch her. Then the mother went to gather the relatives and religious leaders of the village. They tried to get her to return to Islam. Her mother became so enraged she began to beat her and finally started trying to choke her. The neighbors had to pull her off the girl. Through all of this Annie (the young girl) stayed calm. This was a great testimony to all that knew her before she got saved because she was well know to have a very bad temper. Anyway after a few days her mom calmed down and Annie was free to leave the house. We thank God and those of you that prayed for her, for carrying her through this time of persecution.
Please continue to pray for her. She has decided to move back to the village. Pray that she attends the small church there and continues to grow in her faith. She has a couple friends that know Christ as well but gave into the pressure of their parents to return to Islam. They still believe but secretly. Pray that they will follow her example and confess their Savior once again.
I will be taking a trip to California in the middle of November. I will be visiting some of the Praise Chapel churches there for about a month. Then I will go spend Christmas with my parents and sister. I have not spent Christmas in the States for more than 6 years, so I am really looking forward to being with my family. On the other hand I will be away from Esther and the boys for about 5 weeks. I am not looking forward to that. So please pray for me, Esther and the boys. Especially pray for Esther as she will be running the church while I am gone
God Bless,
Chris, Esther and the Boyz!!!
