My mind is still full with memories of the fellowship we just experienced with church leaders, elders and deacons from churches that have resulted from the ministry of our teams in all of West Kalimantan. Around 125 gathered for four days of teaching and discussing aspects of the maturing church and biblical leadership. Along with three special teaching times each day, there was time for reports of what God is doing in the outreach areas. Churches continue to grow and reach out as a result of these godly co-workers’ faithful and tireless efforts.

The meeting schedule was 7-10 am, 12-3 pm, and 6:30-9 pm each evening. Because the leaders were from several tribal groups, teaching was mostly done in the Indonesian language so that everyone could take part. I never cease to be amazed at the clear teaching of God’s word that comes for the sincere hearts of the tribal leaders. What wonderful partners these disciples have become in the planting and establishment of churches.

The church leaders decided to send six men to meet with us in the city at the end of this month. The purpose of these days together will be planning strategy for reaching out to the rest of Kalimantan with the gospel. There are still lots of tribal languages that do not have adequate access to the truth of God’s word and the salvation available through trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and His willing sacrifice to pay our sin debt. Please pray for this time of planning as we grow in our partnership with these maturing believers.

Our airplane was grounded because of an engine problem. The new engine was already for shipping and has now arrived in Singapore. It is currently somewhere between here and there at this time. This made it necessary for us to make the long trip overland. Darcy took this opportunity to travel home overland also, so I was able to spend the first night in our village helping her get the generator and other things working. It was a long hard trip but we praise the Lord for making it all possible.

Thank you so much for standing with us in prayer.

Joyfully in His Service,

Ron & Nita

Projects are being finished up this week as the time winds down before we leave for Singapore. You probably won’t hear from us again until after we get back to Indonesia the first part of May.

Yesterday, Darcy and Oke completed their first comprehension check for the book of Revelation. As usual, there were some surprises as to what was hard to understand and what was easy for Oke to give back accurately. This week Darcy will have one more drafting session with Pa’ Yut and No’ Yut to finish up the first draft of Luke.

Darcy has arranged to spend some time in a remote village during part of May to do a second comprehension check for Revelation.

Soooo, we continue checking things off our list and praising the Lord for the thrill of seeing God’s Word, little by little, come to life for the Semandang people.

Please continue to pray for the kids studying through the chronological lessons. Around 200 kids in two different villages are working their way through these evangelistic lessons. They are beginning to be able to answer the questions which confirm their sinful condition and need for a Savior. Many of them are from unbelieving families. They take their pictures home and retell the stories for their parents also. I know you will be praying for the impact of God’s truth.

Also pray for the group of church leaders who regularly gather to study through the book of Romans. This is the first time for them to have this powerful message from the Apostle Paul in their heart language. They are thoroughly enjoying it and will pass it on to their churches and clan Bible study groups.

Pray also for Pa’ Andre as he steps out in faith to repair the dam and replace the turbine with a more efficient one designed by a friend from the USA. This will cost him over $2000, but he is trusting the Lord to be able to proceed soon. I remember this young man from the time he was a high school student in town. He helped us with projects around the mission home and was always interested in things he could do with his hands. He is a faithful part of our church here and hopes to provide electricity for a large group of families through this project.

I can’t say we are exactly looking forward to our trip to Singapore but we are confident that the Lord will use it to keep us healthy.

Upcoming meetings:

Immediately upon our return from Singapore Ron will spend 5 days in Jakarta meeting with the field leadership team. Pray for wisdom and unity as they plan for the ministry across the field.

Right after that, Ron looks forward to joining several others to meet with a group our church leaders from all over the province. The meeting will be interior so the trip could be challenging. Pray for mutual understanding and insight into God’s purpose for the continuing growth and outreach of the churches here in WestKal.

We very much appreciate your part in our ministry as you pray for us. God is definitely at work and deserves our richest praise.

Joyfully in His Service,

Ron & Nita

Email: ron_berglund@ntm.org

Last night the grandfather and grandmother of Tomas (Ke’ & Ne’ Tomas) were here visiting. This dear couple have been tirelessly involved in the outreach ministry of our church here. They were excited to tell us about the progress in the outreach in the Tanang Paoh area. It used to take 13 hours to walk there but these days the trip is made in three or four hours by motor cycle over very muddy, nearly impassable roads. After several concentrated visits over the past years to train leaders in ministry, this group of around 300 people are finally ready to ordain leaders. Two men will be ordained as pastors and two as deacons who are already functioning in those capacities. The church is planning a special Bible Conference the end of this month to not only celebrate Easter, but also to carry out this ordination. It is a long process to train people from the simple jungle life style to the depth of understanding God’s Word needed to handle the responsibilities of a growing church.

Lest you think, "that’s impossible", remember we serve a great God of the impossible.

Ke’ Tomas himself is a product of that wonderful God. He was once a powerful witchdoctor in this area. He resisted the first efforts of people bringing the gospel. When his uncle became a believer, Ke’ Tomas asked him if he could have all of his witchcraft items since his uncle would no longer be using them. His uncle refused this request, and instead urged Ke’ Tomas to put his faith in the Lord for salvation. Ke’ Tomas and his good friend Ke’ Owen decided that they would begin to study the scripture with the missionaries and eventually came to understand their need of a savior and found new life in Christ. Since that time both Ke’ Tomas and Ke’ Owen have served faithfully as evangelists in the surrounding villages.

It was a delight last night to be caught up in his excitement over the newly translated book of Romans. This is the subject of several of the training programs around the Semandang speaking area right now. They have now spent several weeks teaching the book of Romans and have only gotten to chapter seven. Ke’ Tomas’ comment was, "there is sooo much for us to learn from the study of Romans." Can you relate to that joyful frustration?

Nita and I want to thank you so much for your partnership through prayer for the Semandang churches and the translation project.

Darcy continues drafting Luke and doing comprehension checking of Revelation. Pa’ & No’ Yut faithfully give their time each week to help with the drafting process and Oke comes from her village to help check Revelation. Her comments over lunch are incredible. She has read these portions in Indonesian but never understood them. She always gives us a good recap of the judgements that God is sending to try to convince people. Actually, I don’t think they are as clear in English for us as they come out in the Semandang translation.

Nita and I and Darcy will appreciate your prayers as we make our way to Singapore for medical check-ups. We are scheduled to be there a few days the last week of April. After that I will be involved in field leadership meetings and then some special meetings with our church leaders.

Thank you again for your partnership with us.

Joyfully in His Service,

Ron & Nita

2. The Field Leadership Team will be meeting in Jakarta the 4th-8th of May.

3. Our field needs will be represented for the new language families on May 9th. I am not sure yet who will be representing our regional personnel needs.
4. The Semandang Easter Bible Conference will include the ordination/recognition of two Elders and two Deacons.

5. Darcy is drafting Luke, checking Revelation, and also working on recommended changes from her consultant in Galations. We hope to have all three of these projects checked off by April 24th.

6. I am really looking forward to a special time of fellowship in one of our interior churches where Elders and Deacons will be gathering from all over West Kalimantan for several days on May 11th – 15th. The theme of these studies will be “Maturing Churches – What they look like”.

7. Nita and I appreciate your prayers for us that the ‘Joy of the Lord will be our strength’.

What a wonderful privilege we have to see the tremendous steps that are being taken these days by our tribal churches. When you consider the remoteness of where we live and the living conditions of tribal villages and especially as we recall what it was like when we first met the Semandang people back in 1973. Wow! Such changes. Steps of progress do not happen overnight. Here are just a few examples for your prayer and praise.

One of the Semandang churches with over 90 families and four men ordained as pastors has an additional 15 men and women who are being trained for ministry. Several active outreach areas are being carried out by this group. They reached out to a nearby village where new believers established a church, and leaders are ordained and taking responsibility for the ministry and outreaches from Selirang. Besides that, gospel outreaches from this ‘mother’ church are going on in several other small villages.

A few years ago, the believers decided to build a special building for a modern clinic in the hope of encouraging a medical team of doctors and nurses to help facilitate their active medical program. For some time now a team of medical workers have been making regular visits with the potential of eventually having some permanent staff that can operate this clinic. The plane came in yesterday bringing a group of doctors and nurses who will spend a week handling medical needs. All the churches have been notified and patients will come from all around. To appreciate what this means to the people, you must understand what it means to get to the closest medical facilities. This is so much different than the simple medical programs that we helped the churches begin years ago. Please pray for this church and the future of their medical ministry in the area.

The church also has a music team who have composed, performed, and recorded Christian music in the Semandang language. I think now they have made at least three music CDs. They are becoming very technically capable. Wow again.

One of the believers in the church in our village has built a dam in the small river and is producing electricity for several families. He is now in the process of improving it to make it more efficient by replacing the turbine. The new turbine will cost $1900 which seems like a huge mountain for Pa’ Andre. Others are trying to help him with the cost but it is still pretty overwhelming when the price of rubber has gone down so drastically. Please pray for this project and those responsible for it. I am truly amazed at what the Lord has enabled them to accomplish. I remember when Pa’ Andre was in High School in town and showing a specific interest in technical things. Wow again!!

As I said before, steps of progress like these did not happen overnight. We are so very privileged to have an active part is what God is doing here in Semandang land. In May, we have a plan formulating to meet with church leaders from all over West Kalimantan. I know that will be a great time of fellowship and learning for everyone.

Lots more could be said about the church growth, outreach, leadership training, computer course, English course etc. that are going on as the churches mature. WOW WOW WOW !!! God is doing great things.

Thank you for praying for the churches in Semandang and across Indonesia.

Joyfully in His Service, Ron & Nita

Our greatest personal prayer need is always for our daily lives and walk with the Lord. We need God’s grace for working together in a close relationship with other missionaries and our national coworkers.

We need energy to keep going in 90 degree heat and 90% humidity. We need God’s wisdom to know how be good stewards of the time and other resources He supplies.

How thankful we are to know you are standing with us.