ETONESIAN CHURCH OF CHRIST IHSSION Box 3 Jlo Merbabu 7^

Vermilion, Illinois
61955 Indonesia

Boyolali, Jateng
July 1979

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christj

/ June 4 was a special day for uso It marked our Sth year in Indonesia, It 'also marked the beginning of our last year in this country ui^ess God intervenes. Our plans are to stay until June of but vje have been given notice by the
;ovemment that vze have only one year left Worse yet, al2 missionaries ,jeen in the country for more than 5 years are being given notice that no further
visa renewals will be granted follovdjig this current one,

/ such notice, believing that if God x\rants us to stay here He will see to the approvals. Three of our families, Winegamers, Harpers, and Joyner have been given
a final visa extension of only 6 months, I'lacLeans, Frees, and Comer are in process and we should Imow within about 2 weeks whether or not they were given limitations
also.

/ asking for a reversal and vdll also apply for a renevjal just as if there were no

being allowed to come in so the cbp^ a^, not clos^. The task has ;5ust become \greater and more urgent. We have been told thkt a reversal of this decision /(especially for those of us who have already been notified) is a near impossibili y? /but the Lord deals viell in impossibilities. So if it is His will that vie stay, ; then there is no way this goveminent can stop Him, We are filing letters of reques

So, what will we do during this last year (if in fact it is our last year here)? Some of the answers must go back to what has happened already and will
simply build on that,

now leading in worship services and mid--week Bible studies. When there are sick or shut-insj they make the visits. We still feed them they idJJ. feed the flock, 2o We will continue vri.th the DiscijiLeship Course, It's moving a lot slower than vie figured. The material is difficult, the style is different and a lot of
social occasions have slowed us dov/n.
year.

le

We will continue to teach and train the leadership every week.

They are

But we vjill finish-it within the remaining- -

3o We vri.ll really push hard the New Testament doctrines and concepts. To do this we vaj.1 be using an !Didonesian translation of the book Scheme of Red.emption
by l^Iil3.igan,
months,

We have just ordered it to be printed.

It will be ready in four

llie minimum order vjas for 1000 books at a cost of $4000,

Next to the

pu-chase of the Bibles, this may be the best investment vje have made. As socMi as that book is available we*11 start through it page by page. We won^t begin to get done in a year, but our hope is that v/e will have whet their appetities. If there

was one book that I could recommend to you, it vrauld be Sch^^e of

needed as much in America as i t is here,

It's

teachers, youth leaders, and v/omen's group leaders. Of the objectives we've listed so far, this is the farthest from reality. We haven't gone beyond the first stages
yet. Louise has been a full time school teacher for our kids, and that probably

4 We vriJLl begin a teacher training course for children's Sunday School

if we don't take it, before the year is up, we'll wish we had. Family life is a very high priority to us and the tension of this year will really put a strain on us. So next month (probably about the time you're reading this) we're going to
run av/ay for a v/eek,

won't stop. Her time for further village work is limited, so teacher training may have to be done by me. That means it will need lots of your prayers! 5. We X"ri.ll take a vacation. It v/on't be a long one - a week at most - but

6,

We will expand into new areas.

Me leam more by doing than by studying,

and we v/ant the people to be doers of the Word, We viant them beir^ ev^j^elists. Plans are under way to send 2 men to Sumatra to give in-depth teaching to a group of new believers up there. Other villages in this area want teaching, so we'll get those started too. Only tliis time, the missionary vdll be in the baclcground if at
all,

7 We vdll get the Christian library established and several people trained to run it. Those who can read, love to, and those v/ho can't enjoy listening to someone else read. Included in the library vdll be all the materials we've had translated into the local language. That means a mountain of script correcting
and typing,

S,

We will pray and vdll need your prayers more than ever, because it is

only as God grants strength, idsdom and guidance tliat anything lasting can be done.

Tho -villagers and this nation need your prayers. Please covenant with us to pray daily for God's leading and love to be made clear to these people and to all of us
who serve them.

CHURCH UNITY

On a brighter note, we are happy to announce to you that our village church is now legally recognized as a church. On the 17th of April a big celebrati^ was
held to commemorate the uniting of the Church of Christ here in Boyolali with the

Bandung Church of Christ. Our official name is Gereja Jemaat Kristus Indonesia
di Boyolali (Church Body of Christ Indonesia in Boyolali,

VJe're thankful for the legal body that had already been created in Bandung to which this group has been united^ Wg are also thankful for the men who worked so hard to make this a reality here. We as foreigners did not have the right to complete the legal steps but these humble village men had the courage to do it. ^^ay
God bless and lead them as they shepherd His flock.

is the non-profit status, but many other essentials would

build on. Ordained leaders would not be accepted by

Full goveranent recognition as a church has a nurnber of

reco^ition. As a legal church, they can ov^ land and even be g^ven gov t W to
a legal church body. Most important though, the legal status provides

to

thS'nLrfor eva^;iism. Thfright to evangeli.e has been

P
y

the government, but without this legal structure it would This is a repeat of a pattern that has taken place in several other

the advantages exceed the dangers. Incidi^tally, even though w

a denomination, local autonomy was built into the by-laws.

iSLi^ nations. So while we don't like the idea of

end result looks pretty nice even though it was a

considered^a^den^^^
regularly
much

own benches (and do they ever look homemade) and to help fix "P ;the b
-work-never showed up,..sound familiar?! We are now using

In preparation for the April 17 dedioation, eve^one was asked to mke the^^
j.-j -

but I'm very thanlcful that the people are not

real job of the church - isn't it?
until our next letter.

prefer that their time and efforts were people oriented. After all, th

th^f^ the

We have a bit of family news, but due to lack of space that will have to wait
said to us in so many ways, ^*I am in control, t^st in Me. . Y are ha-ving problems and testings too. He has the s^e message fo y .
blessings upon all of you. .

Over and over again during these past ^ y l l

you to un^rstand that you are more than victor in Christ Jesus. We pray for His
Yours in His care and love,
jJS 'Ji. " "'

Ed and Louise Fomas and girls

Indonesian Church of Christ liission

Box 3

Vermilion, Illinois 61955

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OCT
. EHMlfflSIAM CHUHCH OF CHRIST inSSION Jl , Merbabu 7S Box 3

I9?9

Verndlion, Illinois ,

Boyolali, Jateng
Indonesia .

61955

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ's work,

How often have you had to admit that you don't know what's going on? : Well, vje admit it! Almost daily we're hearing some' new report that is completely
different from all the others
going on I

V/e don't knov/ what to believe nor do x^e know vjhat's

know, I'll go back one year,

So you will know vjhat we

August of last year the government issued 2 decrees that could have limited

who already has a religion. There were loopholes though and that was no re^^
problemo

evangelism here#

The one said that no person or group.,CDuld_evangelize a^persai

national leaders and were to be done with that job in 2^^ years.(early 81), Those
would be no further problems.

The second stated that missionaries were" to begin immediately training

decrees were protested and so silently slid into oblivion. We thought that there

In April, I began our yearly visa renev/^ which expires every June 4o Before that renewal v/as ready, two of our group were told that their renewals would be for 6 months and could not be renewed. Early in June, I went to the capital (Jakarta) to find out what the problem vjas and to see where we stood. The news was that eveiy-one who had been here 5 years or more v/otild be forced to leave i-dthin the next year. In spite of that, we were jgiven a one year extension hich was marked .^'nonrenewable", Based on that, we should jjo, in Ameidca by next June,

has backed down; the next, they hatve firmed their position. New missionaries may still come in; then they may not. They will be allov/ed to stay 3 years or 5 years or they too v/ill be out v/ithin a year, im^rs, nothing solid, Ftoally last

Since last June until nov/, the rumors have been rampant. One day the government

vjeek we had some reliable nevjs that the non-renewable clause will be ignored ,and v/e may reapply as usual, Hovjever, v/e will be given only 6 months at a time from now on, "This is not the final word. The govenimenf has said that this is only

temporary condition until they have decided a nev; policy. That puts us back in limbo, V/e had planned to stay until 19^52 so v/e don't feel the tension as much as those who should be on furlough right now but are aftraid to leave for fear that
they won't be allowed back in. If it's the Lord's will that we missionaries bo

to pray for us and this country and for the open door for evangelism to stay open,
VILLACS: S

allov/ed to stay, no government on earth can chango that. So, v/e ask you to continue

Monday leadership meetings had been divindling but for the last few weeks we|ve had a strong emphasis on i^rayer and it's having a positive effect. The meeting is
3 part ~ the lesson for the week, discussion of problems and prayer.
answered,

mind set is for one person to lead and pray but we're teaching group prayer. So far it has gone v/ell. Almost every problem we've placed before the Lord has-been
Tliis in itself is not unusual but the fact that they are praying togeW^
about these problems is the important thing.

The Javanese

Vlhen it was all over and they knew hov/ and what to teach, I asked for questions or comments, Pak Porao said, "This is an easy leflson to teach and understand. But it s hard to live it I" We're all that way aren't v/e?I So often we think our task is to be evangelists and that's true in a way, Jesus wants us to be fruit bearers and the
greatest fruit is love.
center of love.

Last weeks lesson was from I Corinthians 13 (we're going thru a book at a time),

The seeds of evangelism are to be found vwapped in the.

The one who gets the fruit gets the seeds too.

The Rancah group has dropped dov/n drastically during the last year. The former . leader, Pale VJito has fallen av/ay and is involved again in spirit worship and black magic. He has a very forceful personality and has ordered people not to attend the services. Because they are afraid of him, they obey. Last v/eek in the leadership meeting several men prayed specifically for Wito, Sunday, he came to church! He has definitely not repented yet but there is progress, P,T,L, If he will genuinely
repent and return, I laiow the Lord can use him to bring the others back.
pray for such a change in him.

Please

The group at Tutup is neither growing nor failings I think the problem is too much dependence on the niissionary and not on the Lord, Because of that, I am deliberately pulling back from thera to force thern to be more actively involved. Of any of the groups, they have the greatest growth potential. Their village is the most strongly involved in magic and vath witch doctors. They have the best chance to confront Satan and therefore to make a povjerful impression on the other villagers.
Pray for the Spirit to lead them as we drav; backo

IN THE FAI-IILI

Louise feels like any day nov; she*s going to meet herself coming as she goes. Being a school teacher for 7 IcLds covering grades 2-5 is more than a full time job. She spends 8-10 hours each day in the school and in preparation for the next days work. Being a mother takes a lot of time too. Even though she has no time for the village womens v/ork, she still finds some anyv/ay, VJithin the next fev; weeks one of the village women vri.ll bogin replacing Louise on a regular basis. She will need instruction but it should be easier doing that than teaching directly.

The really positive benefit of this schooling set up is the social contact for

the kids and the emotional lift that it gives. Our girls are definitely doing better this year than last. Misery loves company. Hal
Last school year, Louise had to make a 45 minute drive to school each day but

this year we have given up 2% rooms and have it here at home. We have 11 IcLds from 5 farxiilies here each morning from S-12 All things considered, it really isn't too

noisy (or I'm going deaf).

The girls arc growing too fast to suit their parents,
outgrown clothes can be passed on, they are finished. Ha!

Karen is 4 ft, 9-^S

Jeanne is 4 ft. kl" and iiichelle is 3 ft. All 3 have colds this week but it isn't phasing their appetites, I'm just thankful that they're all girls so that
3y. the time liichelle is finished vdth them*

U3T I'iHTOTE rnsijs

We're still vjaiting on the book, Scheme of Redemption, Late in Viajj we paid

$liPOO for the translation and printing vdth a tentative promise of an early Sept.
delivery date. This vri.ll be the first full sized Restoration Movement book to be

printed in Indonesian,
villager,

Tlie translator/publisher is a personal friend and is going

over the book very carefullj'- to malce sure it is totally understandable to even a

We're grateful to the Lord and all of you for maldng this book possible.

We just got our August financial statement (they are available to you on request). You folks are really vjonderful. Do you realize, in 9 years of mission
activity, we have never had to make a special appeal for money?! bJhenever a need has arisen, the fmds have been there to meet it. Your generosity is overvrhelnang. Hay the Lord bless you and give you riches eternal.
Yours, in Christ, Ed, Louise and girls

Indonesian Church of Christ itission

Box 3

Vermilion, Illinois

61955
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