Dear Friends and Family,
Well we are finally home! I detect from some of the e-mails we've received lately that
some of you are concerned that we may have dropped off the face of the earth. Not so
although it does seem like lately we have been away more than we have been home.
Carolyn and the girls went away for about a week and a half to attend an Indonesian
wedding on another island. Ashley was one of the flower girls. They then took a boat home
but stopped off in Manokwari, (another coastal town in Irian Jaya), and I took a plane and
met them there. It worked out real nice because I had to go to Manokwari to attend some
meetings there
for a week and a half.
The first set of meetings was actually a conference with about 800 national pastors and
evangelists with TEAM mission. You can't help but feel humbled when you talk to them on a
one to one basis. Most of these men have given their all to reach their people with the
gospel. Many have lost family members in the process and actually have lived a life that
would remind you of the apostle Paul.
After listening to one man describe his personal struggles with loneliness and sickness as
well as the condition of the village where he is working, (prostitution, drugs, murder,
fighting, etc.), I asked him, "So in the middle of it all what really encourages your
heart? What is one of the delights in your ministry?"
He replied, "Nothing -- Nothing at all!" He had a pretty dejected look on his
face and frankly I really didn't know how to respond to such despair. However, before I
could say anything, he continued with a smile appearing on his face. "Nothing --
except that the Lord has deemed me trustworthy of living and ministering in such a
difficult setting!"
If I didn't know what to say to him before, I surely didn't now. This man has eternal
vision! He knows that while this life is hard and his ministry difficult, it is also short
and he has all eternity ahead of him to rejoice that the Lord deemed him worthy to suffer
for His name sake.
I hope that this encourages you to keep praying not only for us but also for the work as a
whole here in Irian Jaya. We still have a lot of "information gathering" ahead
of us before we will be ready to start placing people in tribal works. I will be going for
a week long trip into the Maniwo (X-ray) again on August 23 and there are other trips to
other parts of the island in the planning stages. We pray that not only will the Lord give
us direction as to where we should work but also give us
opportunities to encourage local pastors and evangelists in their respective ministries.
Thank you so much for faithfully praying for us! We can't say it enough how much we
appreciate you so much. The Lord bless you!
In Christ,
Stephen Crockett for Carolyn and the girls.
