Josh and Kerry Leise

You’ve been reading bits and pieces about this new teen club, Pahlawan Kristus. Now find out the details of how it began and what the curriculum is really like, including photos. To see this new series go to our children’s ministry blog, Passionate Pengasuh.

Recently, the door has opened for me (Kerry) to teach someone else’s children in my home. This is a dream come true for me since teaching is my passion. It will be several months before the next semester begins, but during that time I will be choosing and preparing the curricula for the three boys.

I’ll be writing about this new adventure on my other blog, Passionate Pengasuh, which is especially for the subject of ministering to children. I won’t use their names, of course, for the sake of their privacy, but I’m sure I will have a lot to write about. I will probably learn as much as they will over the next couple of years!

MARCHING ON!

What a blessed time we had with Pastor Mike and Ginger Dailey, Kerry’s parents. During their three-week visit, he preached five times while I interpreted, and Ginger taught Sunday School with Kerry interpreting for the children. The church was so encouraged and refreshed by them. Several gave testimonies regarding this. We miss them a lot!

Wius, a young man who just graduated from a Bible college in Jakarta, is now back to serve in his homeland, Papua. He has already been a blessing and a help to us here. Recently, we have seen four of his relatives come to Christ and he is discipling them.

The children’s Sunday School class now has 30 children on the roll! With Wius here, we soon plan to split the class since we have material for both older and younger children. Last Sunday 12 teenagers showed up for the teen club and 5 more have recently registered. May God guide us as we train the future leaders of the church!

Thank you for your prayer and support for the spiritual growth of the church, unity as the building is being completed, and for wisdom, guidance, and strength as we march on!

“If we cannot believe God when circumstances seem to be against us, we do not believe Him at all.”

–C.H. Spurgeon

The Leise Letter is sent to all of our praying friends, family, and supporting churches. It gives an overview of the past month or so. If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter send us an email. You may also choose to just read the text here. See the Newsletter category for more Leise Letters.

We have averaged about six in attendance for the teen club this year. One young lady has memorized 30 Scripture verses, saying 10 at a time! She has earned three pins so far. They are starting to understand that salvation is by grace alone and not of works. I continue to pray that they will receive Christ one day.

Over the last couple of weeks three new teenagers have signed up. Eventually, they won’t all fit in that little room in our house. When the new building is finished we can meet there, though.

A couple of Sundays ago when my parents were still here we surprised the teens and took them to Papa Ron’s Pizza, a place they had never been. In fact, I doubt that any of them had ever tasted pizza before. They seemed to enjoy being in the restaurant. The waitress asked what church we were from, so the group told her about the club. Several of us were wearing the t-shirts.

Recently, four of Wius’ relatives received Christ! He plans to disciple them, using a room in our house. Saut talked with Wenius after Wius brought him to church. Then, after Wenius received Christ as his personal Saviour he brought Kondius to church and Wius gave him the gospel. Wius also led Atis and Otto to Christ. Please pray for these four young men as they grow in Christ!

The new church building is steadily coming along. Demi (Demitrius), a faithful man in our church, is the builder and he is doing a great job. Please continue to pray for him specifically for strength, health, and wisdom. Usually at least one other person has been helping him, normally one of the men of the church. As you can see in the photos the main thing that remains unfinished is the floor, which we plan to cover in white tile. Soon we also plan to purchase more chairs and a nice pulpit. Another project is putting a room on the back for someone to stay in. We are so thankful to have been blessed with the money for this already! Thank you for praying for good attitudes as decisions are made and as the people work together.

My parents, Mike and Ginger Dailey, had a great flight from Texas to Bali, an island in Indonesia about 1500 miles west of us. We took the 5 hour flight from Papua on Tuesday, February 2^nd, and met them there. They arrived smiling and even had some energy to talk with us for a while before settling in to their motel room. They had a good night’s sleep and were ready to go the next day…and every day after that! We shopped and ate at nice restaurants in Bali. It was a wonderful, needed refreshment for all of us.

All four of us arrived in Papua on Sunday morning just in time to drop off our luggage and head up the hill to the church. After the service we went to eat at our usual restaurant but it was packed and we ended up waiting over an hour and a half for our food! I still had to take care of the usual preparations for the teen club that afternoon and then teach, so we were all exhausted by the end of the day.

We did a lot of sight-seeing and even had a quiet lunch at the beach one day, which we had all to ourselves. The highlight for us, other than the pure delight of having them in our home, was Dad preaching five different times while they were here. The church, especially the young potential leaders, was so encouraged by his preaching. Several people gave testimonies of how renewed in their spirit and full of zeal they were. God’s power was truly evident.

The last Sunday morning they were here Mom taught the children in Sunday School and I interpreted for her. Then, Dad preached again with Josh interpreting. They both did well. Including the children, 44 people showed up! Neighbors whom we have been trying to reach came and also others who hadn’t been since we started meeting in the new building.

The photos are a must-see! They are in different categories, but if you look at them soon they should be marked new. There are also a few in a specific folder called “Mike & Ginger Missions Trip”.

My parents made it safely to Bali just before midnight last Wednesday. They have experienced very little jet lag and have been feeling great! We had an overnight flight from Bali to Papua, which was exhausting for all of us, as we arrived just in time for the Sunday morning church service! The people were delighted to meet my parents and Mom and Dad enjoyed the beautiful view from our church building.

Wius finally made it here to Papua on Friday, after a mix up in his airline ticket. He preached Sunday morning and did very well. We are so glad to have him here.

Tomorrow morning Josh and I should be flying to Bali, Indonesia* to meet my (Kerry’s) parents. My parents are leaving the USA on February 1st (stateside time). They will arrive on the 3rd at midnight in Bali where we will pick them up at the airport. We plan to spend some time in Bali for a little relaxation and recovery from jet-lag for my parents. On Sunday, February 7th, all four of us should arrive  in Papua just in time for the Sunday morning service at our church. We are so excited, I can hardly type!

Wius, a young man from Papua, has spent the last four years studying at a Bible college in Jakarta. He is now graduated and ready to return to Papua to serve the Lord. He and Saut are good friends and they are looking forward to serving the Lord together here in this church. We are looking forward to having another helper here!

*Since we’ll be in Bali for the next week, we might not be answering e-mails for a while.

Blessings in the Battle

God once again showed Himself mighty to this group of believers at the ends of the earth. An anonymous local donor gave about $10,000 for the new church building in which we are already meeting! That kind of money goes a very long way with the fairly inexpensive building materials here. Another man who attends our church talked to the head of the electric company, which resulted in the church getting electricity, which we thought  improbable! Needless to say, the young believers are very encouraged.

If you have been serving God for any length of time you are well aware of Satanic attacks. There have been threats concerning the land on which the building stands, which have not  amounted to too much at present. Also, I have been experiencing personal oppression for quite a while now. While God’s power is evident here, it is also obvious that Satan is doing everything he can to thwart God’s plan to save the Papuan people.

Kerry’s parents will be our very first guests to visit us here in Indonesia for a few weeks in February! They are excited to come and see the ministry here, and we are anticipating their arrival with much delight! Kerry’s dad will be preaching for some special services and I will be interpreting for him.

Thank you for your prayers regarding these recent battles and blessings!

View recent church building photos here!

“There are some things that can be learned by the head, but…Christ crucified can only be learned by the heart.“

–C.H. Spurgeon

The Leise Letter is sent to all of our praying friends, family, and supporting churches. It gives an overview of the past month or so. If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter send us an email. You may also choose to just read the text here. See the Newsletter category for more Leise Letters.