Recently, I spoke with some Americans who are in the same type of work as our family. They have lived here for five years, and for the majority of that time, they have been only able to obtain a residency visa for five months at a time. Now the most they were able to get recently is a one-year visa. I have spoken with other families who live in this city, and they have had similar experiences. Living in this city has been difficult for many. Some have had to buy property, and others have had to leave the country. In my ignorance, I thought it would be reasonable to apply for a two-year visa after living here for one year, so I prepaid my residency tax for two years, expecting there would be no issues. When we went to the Immigration Office, I was immediately told I could not apply for more than one year, and I wasn’t supposed to pay my taxes in advance. Thanks to your prayers, we got the visas we requested anyway. The lady was very nice to our family and got special permission because it was more convenient to give us the two years than to reimburse our tax money. Praise the Lord!
Thanks to your prayers and support, the Help Them Hear project is underway. A contract for the project has been signed, and the first payment has been sent. The entire project will take the rest of this year to complete, but we should have one-fourth of the New Testament done by June 30. All of the book of John has been completed and is now published on our website, YouTube channel, and integrated with our online Bible.
Another major project that we are most excited about was finished just days before the writing of this prayer letter. Three years ago, a group of messengers to this country had been praying that someone would be able to produce a video that presents a clear Gospel presentation for the people of this country. It just so happened that this group of messengers came to visit us without knowing we were almost done with the project for which they had been praying. When they found out what we were doing, they were excited to hear about a work that would be an answer to prayer. It’s amazing to see how God put this together using our team. God moved the heart of one team member to pursue the idea. Our team leader was moved to come up with a script. God gave us a connection with a Christian media studio that was willing to translate the script and provide professional voice recordings of the script. God used me to put it together and produce a video that we are anxious to share with all our native friends, especially those who don’t speak English! See the Gospel presentation video online.
We are so honored to have churches whose prayers are effectual and fervent! I love being on the front-row seat of watching God answer your petitions for this country! Continue to pray for wisdom and strength to keep making greater progress with the language. After a year of being here, I am familiar with many words and phrases. I can easily communicate enough to do basic things, but I am praying for an opportunity or a relationship that will advance my language to the next level. My wife is enjoying her gardening. My daughter S___ has a private language tutor and has been teaching herself to play the violin. Last week, my oldest son was burdened to pass out Gospel tracts to each of our neighbors and did so. God has given us more relationships since my last prayer letter. Pray for me, as I am burdened to spend more time in prayer for this country. Thank you for your faithful support! I pray for you often.
Missionary #6506
