From:
Sent: Saturday, October 08, 2005 7:01 AM
To:
Subject: Prayer Update 10/08/05 Phone Systems in Mongolia
Saturday, October
8th, 2005
Dear Family
and Friends,
Weeks seem
to fly by so quickly here in
Carefully
rolled out and then dried on a bed sheet, you could hardly tell the difference
in the final product. Some of the younger ones served the lunch in a fine
dining style comparable to an expensive catered banquet.
Not
everything has been fun and celebration, however. Isaac's lower leg has been
painful and swollen, keeping him in bed for most of the past week. It seems
that some type of infection had set in. We are grateful to know some skilled
missionary doctors here, and one was able to examine his leg and prescribe an
antibiotic.
Yesterday
Isaac began taking another antibiotic of a stronger type, and it seems that he
is beginning to show some signs of improvement. Please continue to pray that
the Lord would give him a rapid recovery.
You may
remember that our phone system had died a little over a month ago. We were able
to send it to the States, where we are getting it repaired, either for us to
use again, or for another branch of our organization.
Riding in a
taxi through the city on Thursday, I was telling Ideree that I am seeking the
Lord's direction for our phone system needs. Even before it failed, we were
talking about maybe upgrading at some point. We are currently renting 11
apartments, but the TalkSwitch only has 8 extension. It is a great little system, but starting to get
a little small.
The Lord
could have easily allowed the unit to continue working for a few more months or
years, but He allowed us to come to a decision point this summer. From one
perspective, we could have the unit repaired for $250, and have it shipped back
to us, but we would be in exactly the same situation, minus $250. I am
wondering if maybe the Lord has a plan or direction in this that is bigger than
just spending money on a repair.
In
researching some options for a possible replacement for the TalkSwitch,
I was encouraged to investigate what is available locally. It would be wise to
get something that is supported locally, with parts available for any repairs.
I was quite
impressed with the Panasonic repair shop that Ideree and I visited. We gave
them a cordless phone to repair, and they actually did component level testing
and replaced a IC chip for a total cost of $15! I
don't know if you could get a repair estimate for that price at some places in
the States. :-)
Following
the recommendation of the repairman, we visited the office of the main
Panasonic distributor in
Taking some
time to learn of our needs, he went on to describe a system that he felt would
work well for us, and gave me a product brochure. I asked if he might have any
older systems that might be available at a lower price, so he also gave
me a product brochure for the previous model.
Returning
to our apartment, I spent an hour or so researching these units on the
Internet. I also remembered an e-mail that a friend had sent me last week. He
does phone system installations, and had used Panasonic unit that might work
for us. Stopping to look up the part number on the Internet, I found to my
great surprise that it was exactly the model described in the second brochure from
the Panasonic distributor!
All of the
details have not yet come together, but it seems that we might be able to get a
good quality, locally supported phone system with double the capacity of
our TalkSwitch for less than the cost of the repair!
I sent some e-mails to verify the details on this, but it will be exciting to
see what the Lord does.
Another
answer to prayer came just as unexpectedly as Ideree and I were looking at
phone systems. As I was walking into one of the stores, I saw another tall foreigner,
and it turned out to be Ewen, the man that I have
been assisting with the Mongolian Bible software! I knew that he was back in
the country, but had not seen him since my return. We had a brief talk, and it
gave me all the more encouragement to move forward with the project.
Please
continue to pray for us! Your prayer support is so vital to this or any other
ministry. Without God's hand of blessing on our work, we would simply be
running around in circles.
Praise
Points:
- Praise
the Lord for how the church is continuing to grow in
Prayer
Requests:
- Pray for
a full recovery for Isaac's leg. We are grateful to begin seeing some
improvement today.
- Please
pray for the wife and three young children of Enkhbayar,
a Mongolian pastor of another church that went home to be with the Lord a
few hours ago. In the midst of the grief of Enkhbayar's
passing, many of the unsaved relatives want to have a Buddhist funeral, against
the wishes of his wife and a document he wrote before his death.
Pictures:
Rachelle
opens a gift while
Jim and
Esther Entner just came to
Having the
family here brings a new dynamic to local outreach. Quite a number of the
Mongolian boys in the area are getting to know David and the younger ones.
Soccer seems to be their favorite outdoor activity.
"It's gonna get worse before it gets better..." Remodeling
the classroom apartment has been Derrick's project for the week. (Or two.)
Derrick and company. Chinggis (left) and Dorjbat (right) have been assisting with the remodeling
project. These two young men are growing in the Lord and actively involved with
our church.
Thank
you so much for your prayers for the family and team in
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