Prayer Letter Archive

16-August-07

Dear Ministry Partners,

It hardly seems possible that "Summer" has only one month left. Time sure has been flying by. This morning we woke up to news that there was a bad earthquake in Peru, South America where our kids serve as missionaries. We did get news via email this morning that they are all okay although they did feel a lot of shaking up on the third floor of their apartment building.

Our last letter Jeanne and her sister Janet had just gone down to Phoenix to be of help to their mother as she had just gone through glaucoma surgery on both her eyes and wasn't seeing to get around very well. While there it became obvious that she was going to need a number of weeks for follow up before her eyesight would be back to normal. The three of them decided together that it would be best if she could be near one of us kids during this follow up time so on July 30 Jeanne brought mom here to Nebraska to be with us so we could help her through this time. She just had her first checkup with the eye specialist here last Wednesday and everything looks real good - it is just going to take some time, and then too she will need to be fitted with a new eyeglass prescription.

We also want to thank you so much for your prayers for our Wana co-workers, the Kaku & Panius families. The middle of last month the two men left the provincial capital to go and visit all of our Wana churches in the "interior." While there catastrophic rains began to fall in which there were flood waters down at the coast as high as 10 feet. Many coastal people lost their lives in the floods and others who fled to higher ground were killed in landslides. Our rivers and streams up in the mountains were flooded and there were many landslides but we are thankful that none of our folks were killed during this time. Both fellows were about a week late in getting back to their families but we are thankful to report they are home safe and sound at this time.

Our team is still making plans to print the Wana New Testament in October. This has kept us all extremely busy as after the final revisions are being made on computer we must once again proofread it all and then as soon as a book is proofread it is being formatted which includes inserting some pictures to go along with some of the passages. We will appreciate your prayers for the concentration this takes as well as for all the tired eyes caused by reading from a computer screen all day long.

This week and last I have also been in the midst of making travel plans to go back to Indonesia next month. My visa entry permit was granted in Jakarta on the 3rd of August and now awaiting my application forms and passport to be sent in so it can be stamped into my passport. Today and tomorrow the Indonesians are celebrating their 62nd independence day so I am waiting to send in my forms after the holidays so my forms do not get forgotten in a big pile on someone's desk :-) My plans are to leave home on the middle of September and I will be gone for about six weeks. We have many things planned for this trip including Central Indonesia leadership meetings, working with our tribal co-workers on lesson development, the national church plant in our provincial capital, Wana tribal church leadership meetings, and the printing of the New Testament. I will also appreciate your prayers for the finances this trip will entail as I need to trust the Lord for approximately $2000 for just the international and domestic air travel alone.

Jeanne and I also want to take this opportunity to thank you once again for your prayers this past month. We appreciate your partnership and being a vital part of our ministry - for getting the gospel and the Scriptures to the Wana tribal people. Thanks so much!

Serving together,

Ed & Jeanne Casteel