Andy & Natalie' Summer

Got this letter from our son, Andy and his wife Natalie. It is so encouraging to see what God is doing and the adventure they are engaged in!

Dear Friends and Family,

We leave in a couple days to spend a month in Central Asia in order to lead a team of East Asian college students who are all going on their first international mission trip. None of these students have been out of the country before and yet, with God’s help, these students are going from their own closed country to another closed country that may be even more hostile to the Gospel than their own. Praise God that he is opening doors for people to go and share his good news.

ASU COMES TO EAST ASIA
We just said goodbye to some friends from the US. Six weeks ago a group of 31 people came to our city to help further God’s work. All but one of these came from my (Andy) former university, Arizona State. It was fun to see some old friends as well as meet new friends. They trusted God, worked hard and God used them to bless what He is already doing here. One of the amazing things we saw happen this month was that some of the Americans met a group of freshman and sophomore East Asian students who had started their own house church so that they could meet and study the Bible together. These students were on a campus that we had previously not known any believers. God answers prayer and we were excited to see how he worked through our American friends.

For those who like to see numbers, here is what we saw God do this last month:
---500+ people heard about Jesus
---182 people heard the Gospel and were asked if they would like to accept Jesus into their lives
---51 of those people asked Jesus into their lives

PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOD’S WORD
Something that many people have been praying a long time for is going to happen. As many of you know in East Asia it is difficult to obtain a Bible. The only place that you can buy one is in the official government church. There may be one or two small churches in a city of 5-6 million, and they are usually not very easy to get to. I read yesterday that by the end of this year (2006) Amity Press will begin printing Bibles that will be sold in a number of bookstores, shopping centers and even university bookstores in this country. People no longer will have to go to the government church and register to buy a Bible. It will make it much easier for people to get their hands on his word. Praise God for this.

BABY SWAN
Natalie and the little baby inside are doing really well. The baby is growing and Natalie is healthy. When we return from our trip to Central Asia we will go to a western hospital just to have a check up and make sure everything is still good. Thanks for your prayers

PRAYER REQUESTS
Pray for our trip this summer
· the team
· language and ability to communicate
· for open hearts
· for Natalie and the baby, that they would be comfortable and healthy

Pray for the new believers and their future growth

Praise God for working in this country and the world

Partnering with you,
Andy and Natalie