October 27, 2006    Let it rain!

Dear Family & Friends,

Praise God, for He alone has brought this week of rain showers and cooler weather....i.e. the long awaited rainy season
seems to have arrived....and with it the cleansing of the air from the awful smoke....how awesome to see clouds and
breathe clean air....ah, the simple but wonderful things God gives us each day.... we are so thankful....but still praying
for Java, where the rains have yet to reach.

The end of Ramadan was quite eventful here in Pontianak, much like Christmas in N. America...stores were crowded,
parking impossible, and roads clogged. Decorations were everywhere, and popular TV shows were full of lively music
and dancing, mixing religion with youthful-culture as never before...a new strategy to draw the nation's young people
deeper into "majority" religious practice, with deeper study also being implemented on a wide scale (so, by default,
leaves other faith groups out). In other words, the local, folksy religious practice of years ago is now being intensified
on a national scale with both entertainment and ideology. Quite the opposite of our privatized faith which has been
separated from our culture!

Also intensified is the constant overpowering presence of loudspeakers during the closing of Ramadan, called Idul Fitri
here. Added to the firecracker bombs (felt like Baltimore harbor during the writing of "The Star-Spangled Banner", for
you Americans), it was a 2 day, 48 hour blitz that allowed sleep only for the hearing-impaired! Needless to say, for
the next 3 days we didn't see the usual crowd of kids playing on our street - they were sleeping! Our students used
the 5 day break for ministry interior and for catching up on their papers...we closed the school for the two day holiday,
of course.

Well, enough of the cultural report....we are on the backstretch of the semester now, so please do pray for the
students to keep their energy and joy during these last 6 weeks. We also have two sets of visitors coming in
November, including Opa Williams, founder of the school, who's only 96 years old!! Our denomination's church workers
in 6 provinces are also coming here for special training for two weeks.

You may have heard that Janet & I have decided to come to Vancouver for Christmas (Dec. 15-Jan. 6), which
we are very much looking forward to! Will be great to see our kids, and even Chris will be there from S. Africa, before
her schooling starts down there in mid-January.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS FOR RAIN...GOD HAS GRANTED OUR REQUESTS, PRAISE HIS NAME!!

Thanks too for all the great emails and encouragement...we so value your friendship!

Love and Blessings in Christ,

Dennis & Janet