From:
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 3:44 PM
To: '
Subject: Prayer Update 4/11/05 Answers to Prayer!
Monday, April 11th, 2005
Dear Family
and Friends,
In my last
update I mentioned a prayer request in regard to my return to
This gave
rise to some serious concern among many non-profit type organizations,
including CTI-Mongolia and other Christian ministries in the country. We were
told that the government officials were holding strictly to these terms, and
would not allow any new visas or work permits to be granted until this
requirement was met.
I was
greatly encouraged to hear from several of you that have been praying for
this situation. I know that some that have brought this prayer request to their
churches and prayer groups, asking the One who holds the heart of the king in
His hand, that He would grant us favor in the eyes of the authorities in
When
further appeals to our local labor department officials were denied, our
director Tim set up an appointment to meet with the Minister Labor for the
nation of
On Friday
afternoon, Tim and several of our staff met with the Minister of Labor.
Discovering that she spoke English, Tim was able to speak directly with her
about our situation. The Lord truly prepared the way. Not only was she familiar
with English teachers, but she has actually started her own college with
foreign teachers.
Understanding
our situation, she agreed that it would be impossible to have a 95% Mongolian
staff ratio for this type of educational/service-oriented organization. She
told us that CTI-Mongolia should be considered an educational organization,
falling under the 70% foreigner / 30% Mongolian staff category.
Not
stopping there, she went on to call our local Labor Department office, and
actually ended up speaking with the very official that had been giving us so
much difficulty! Clarifying that CTI-Mongolia is not required to hire
additional Mongolian staff, the Minister of Labor arranged for a meeting on
Monday to discuss these issues with all the Labor Department staff.
We are so
grateful for the way that the Lord has again demonstrated His power in this
situation! I have not heard any further reports from the Monday meeting, but it
looks like the Lord has cleared the way for my family and I to obtain work
permits for our time in
Please do
continue to be in prayer as the remaining details are worked out on the work
permit issue. While we are grateful that CTI-Mongolia will not be hindered by
the new law, a number of mission organizations and Christian ministries still
face difficulties in obtaining new staff. It seems that the primary issue is
that there is no specific provision for service-oriented organizations.
You may
also remember the prayer request for wisdom as I work to obtain some computers
and software for
Apparently
deciding to upgrade a large number of computers, the Minnesota Public Library
was selling a number of their older desktop computers. When it looked like they
would go for a surprisingly low price, I put in a bid, and got a computer (PIII
800mhz,128m Ram, Win2K Pro, Office 2K) for $46!
The seller
only accepted local pickup for shipping, so this factor seems to have limited
the bidding on these computer systems. - Much to my advantage, since we could
pick them up at a library branch an hour away.
Another
group of 10 computers is scheduled to finish their auction on Wednesday, so
Lord willing, I hope to purchase several of these for my family to bring to
I just
"happened" to come across these computers the day the auction ended,
they just "happened" to be in our local area, they just
"happened" to be exactly the kind we need in Mongolia, they just
"happen" to have licenses for the software we need, I just
"happen" to have gotten one to inspect before I leave for Oklahoma in
a few days, there just "happens" to be another batch for auction the
next week, my family just "happens" to be able to take them to
Mongolia when they come in June.
No, I don't
think it just "happened." I think that God may be orchestrating
something here, something I could never have done on my own! In situations like
this, I am reminded that God's blessing is the most important asset I can have.
The Lord
continues to bless these remaining days at home. Just today I was able to
confirm plans to travel to
Yesterday
we were invited by friends in
It was a special
joy and encouragement for me to talk with several young men that are growing up
with a heart for ministry and a desire to whole-heartedly serve the Lord.
That
evening we visited another small church in
These next
few days will likely entail much packing and preparation as I leave our farm on
Wednesday evening. This time at home with the family has been a special one
with many rich memories not soon to be forgotten.
Praise
Points:
- Praise
the Lord for the answers to prayer in relation to the work permits! The way
that God has opened the door brings further encouragement as we take this next
step of faith for our family.
- I am
grateful for the Lord's hand of guidance in finding a source to potentially
purchase some computers for CTI-Mongolia at a low cost.
Prayer Requests:
- Pray that
God will give wisdom in how I spend my time in the next two days. Much packing and completing of projects needs to be balanced with
spending time with the family.
- Also pray
for safety as I drive to
- Pray that
the Lord would prepare the way and allow me to be a blessing and encouragement
to the team in
Pictures:
My sister
Rachelle surprised Isaac this morning by decorating his office in
Isaac and I just before I left for
Who says you
need a ladder to reach the spaghetti noodles?
One of the
recent projects of the younger Wallers was to design
a boat to take advantage of some standing water in our yard.
The farmhouse at sunrise last week.
"I'd
like to see what the other guy looked like!",
These and many other unsolicited comments were patiently endured by Matthew
after he accidentally bumped his eye on Samuel's knee.
For those
of you who might be interested, I created our family prayer card from the four
pictures above, using some free software called "The GIMP". I was
quite impressed with the program! You can find it at http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html
Thank you
so much for your prayers!
In Christ,
- Adam
"And
let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint
not." - Galatians 6:9