Dear Co-Laborers,
Greetings from the two of us. We trust that you have had a very blessed Christmas and that your new year has gotten off to a good start! We were very blessed to be able to spend Christmas day with our parents. We had a nice Christmas dinner here followed by reading the Christmas story together and then exchanging gifts. We missed Geoff and Tina but enjoyed seeing some pictures from them as they shared Christmas with their little church in the mountains of Peru.
Our Wana people ALWAYS look forward to this time of year. It was a mass exodus from the provincial capital as all the school students along with some of our Wana families headed back to their respective Wana villages to spend Christmas and New Years with family and friends. They were all planning to return to the city this past weekend as school resumes this week. Two of our Wana co-worker families were not able to return to their villages this Christmas due to health problems. We would ask for your prayers for “Miyanto Kaku” as he has been having an heart arrhythmia problem which the cardiologist is trying to get a handle on. Also “Annie Bowa” has been having lots of physical problems as well with pain in her legs and lots of fatigue. The doctors have not been able to get a good diagnosis for her either.
With the new year now in full swing I am busy getting things ready for returning to Asia Pacific in March. Our team will be involved in another church wide Bible conference in Wana in which we will be studying from the book of Philippians. With this I am working on outlines for this book which we can leave with our pastors and teachers to use. We will also be making consultant visits to a number other of our missionary teams. One of our missionary teams (which includes three of our Wana families) who works on the island to the east, has finished their language study is is getting ready to begin translation and teaching. We will be working with them to help them identify the main cultural themes, key terms they will use for translation, and also getting them prepared to begin lesson development and teaching. This is an exciting time for them and for us too as we see many of our own Wana families who have been sent out begin cross-cultural ministry. We will appreciate your prayers for this team and for three other teams whom we will also plan to visit on this trip. We will also appreciate your prayers for the preparation that is involved for all the above and for the finances, as I am needing to trust the Lord for another $2000 to make the trip. My plans are to depart the USA on March 14 which is just two months away!
Another event coming up is a missions conference down in Shreveport, LA, which is the last of February and first part of March. After this trip I will be home for about 10 days before departing for Asia Pacific so it shaping up to be a busy next few months!
Jeanne and I want to again take this opportunity to thank you so much for prayers for us. Your part on the team has been greatly appreciated as we work together to expand the reach of the gospel in Asia Pacific. Your help has been used to see many people come to know the Lord as Savior and to then see them also taking the gospel to other areas. Thanks so much!
Blessings,
Ed & Jeanne Casteel