Indonesian Summer

Tim’s heart is BIG for Sulawesi, but that is simply because God’s heart is BIGGER! He has worked, prayed, fasted and sacrificed tirelessly to see the Kingdom of God expand and grow and the church established in village after village for the past 17yrs. We have rejoiced in victory and been frustrated at setbacks, but through it all the Lord has been faithful and has brought likeminded Indonesian brothers and sisters along to join in the work. Many of these have been teachers and colleagues at the Bible School that we helped re-start in 2011, but the majority of the church planters going out have been former students.

Even with the slow steady expansion of the Kingdom of God across the southern west peninsula of the island, the southern east peninsula has proven much more difficult, resistant, and still contains greater obstacles. Infrastructure is not as good, so travel is long, rough, and slow. Villages and towns are much more isolated. So many places have never heard the Gospel or met a follower of Jesus. So when Tim had the opportunity to travel there with a team scouting places in Southeast Sulawesi to begin a targeted effort in prayer and relationship building, with the end goal of church/ministry planting he excitedly jumped on board!

The team faced challenges with weather, bad roads, vehicle trouble, etc. but they pressed on. They traveled the area with purpose keenly attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit for a week. They are both excited for the future of church planting in this area, as well as sobered by the immense challenge it poses.

In the whole area over the last 17yrs, two church have been established (but they are struggling) and two small church plants have started. One is in a remote area, south of Kolaka. Tim preached in a muddy alley in front of a village home, under a tarp, in dark and the rain. He was very discouraged that night, but all that changed when he later learned that after that night a group of people came to the pastor/church planter and expressed their desire to be part of the church. With the addition of these new souls the size of the church has doubled! Praise the Lord!

Out of the Ashes

In mid April tragedy struck a church in Mahalona, South Sulawesi and fire completely destroyed the church and the pastor’s home. The cause of the fire remained unknown. Praise the Lord there were no casualties as a result of the fire, but the loss of the structures was devastating to the pastor and the congregation.

The congregation began gathering under makeshift tarps, and the pastors family was taken in by neighbors. After prayer and discussions with the leadership of the Assemblies of God in Sulawesi, Tim shared on social media a “Hope Gives” campaign to help raise funds to rebuild the Mahalona church and parsonage since this is a very poor area, and the people are mostly subsistence rice farmers. We were overjoyed when the Lord provided some incredible partners and the funds were raised very quickly, and work to rebuild began right away!

This summer Tim tried to go visit Mahalona while he was driving back from Southeast Sulawesi, but the travel proved too difficult and it wasn’t possible. The pastor sent us a photo of the progress that we are sharing with you! Please keep the church and the community in your prayers.

2026 AP Leadership Gathering in Cambodia

I feel so honored that our family has been able to live out our calling and serve in Asia Pacific these last 21yrs. When all the leaders across AP gathered in Cambodia, each one of us was given an opportunity to share what God is doing, and about the challenges we are facing. Doris is an advocate for the Key Ministry Areas of Compassion-Health-& Education. She encourages, helps network, and advocates for other global workers all across Asia Pacific ministering in these ways. She gave reports and shared testimonies of these ministries and Asia’s Little Ones, and it was incredible to hear testimonies from every corner of AP from the other areas of ministry represented! When we gather with our leadership we always have a time of worshiping together, learning and sharing struggles. As we face challenges together, our leadership feels like a big family working together to advance the gospel more than ever before. Mongolia, Polynesia, and Thailand, etc… may be very different places, but there are commonalities that make us stronger when we work, play, and fellowship together.

Ministry in Cambodia: Kampot

While in Cambodia Doris also traveled to Kampot and visited “Train Up Children’s Home” which is an Asia’s Little Ones project. It was wonderful to celebrate and minister to the kids and staff at the home. This is the second time that Doris has been to Kampot. It was so exciting this time to celebrate the new home that the Lord has provided for them! The last one was full of black mold and not a healthy place for the kids. This new home is beautiful. It not only has a boys house and a girls house, it also has a library and study/tutoring rooms for the kids, as well as space for them to hold church services as well as community outreach!

Knowing the violent devastation of the country at the hands of the Khmer Rouge in my own lifetime, it is so encouraging to see a new generation of young people growing up to know the love of Jesus with such a bright hope and future. Because of the Buddhist context of Cambodia, as orphans these children are culturally considered cursed. Praise God our Lord declares them blessed to be His own heirs to the Kingdom of God! They are sons and daughters of the Most High! And praise the Lord for missionaries that were willing to go and spend their lives loving them! While Doris was there, she preached at their youth service, taught some new games and crafts during their activity time, and they celebrated God’s goodness with their semi-annual ice-cream party!