Hi Carol (and Will),

Thank you for remembering us in your prayers!

It has been quite a time here. We live on our Bible college campus, in Yogyakarta. The quake hit at 5:45 am, just as I was about to take my morning shower. Our house pitched both vertically and horizontally, and it felt like the house would go down. Phyllis managed to run out, but I could not, and was only able to get out as the quake was tapering off. Our house has several ugly cracks, but we believe it is safe.

However, our girls' dorm is a two story building, and its roof collapsed, but praise the Lord every girl got out without injury. In fact, there were no deaths or injuries on our campus at all! It is nothing less than God's hand that spared us. All around us people died, even within 250 yards of our campus, but not here.

However, we have mourned the deaths of people dear to us, and we are just trying to move forward one day at a time. 

We have 3 churches that were either heavily damaged or totally destroyed. The chapel on our campus looked like it was okay, but then when we went inside we discovered it was not safe, so we have had emergency work done to that building.

Phyllis and I are again amazed at our Lord, who is once again bringing something good out of something bad. God loves to do that, and He loves to use His people to do it. This earthquake has literally changed the hearts and lives of many of our students. Right after the earthquake they were full of fear and focused on themselves. However, when they got off campus and saw the real victims, they got to work, and now they are full of energy and joy as God uses them.

We have set up two relief centers and are hoping to get up to three more up and running. Our local churches and our students have been extremely responsive to the needs of people around them. Their love for Christ and for others is showing, and it is a beautiful sight. Students are at work right now preparing 150 hot meals a day, clearing rubble, setting up tents for homeless people, and comforting the injured in the hospitals. We have two local churches that have sent out workers also, and they are doing many of the same things the students are doing.

We do need your prayers. Pray that God will continue to give strength and joy to our students and local church workers. Pray that as they witness to people that they will have the heart and mind of Christ, wise as serpents and harmless as doves in this Muslim environment. Pray for the needed finances to do the ministries God has set before us. We have a great God, and we believe He will move the hearts of His people all around the world to respond in generosity.

Thank you again for your prayers. Phyllis and I have come to love you both, and we knew that you would be praying for us. Thanks.

Larry

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