Josh and Kerry Leise

Josh called Saut the other day to find out how things were going in Papua, Indonesia. He and Mendi have been staying in our house and watching the work while we’ve been gone these past seven months. It sounds like the people are still faithful, including Demi and Beti. Hana is doing well but Olesa has been sick a lot. I can’t wait to see all of them.

Saut said he cleaned our windows, which have no glass on them, so perhaps he means the window pane or the screens? Anyway, we are trying to be at least mentally prepared for the potential disaster our house and belongings could be in when we return in three and a half weeks. (did I just say 3 1/2 weeks?!) We have heard that there is no water coming to the house, so that will be a lot of fun! I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fires to put out.

On Wednesday we learned that Abu, our cat left behind in Indonesia, died. She was such a comfort to us, having no children. Abu seemed to be an unusual cat since she loved to cuddle in our arms.  She was only about two years old. She will be greatly missed.

Yesterday morning I was awakened by the thought of three little girls. Three little girls of whose history I don’t know, but I know they are being raised by Anthoneta, a relative of theirs. After walking alone to our Bible study in Papua, Indonesia, dripping with perspiration, the girls would often choose their favorite song to sing, “I Surrender All”.  They would add some harmony to it and it would sound beautiful, coming from their young hearts.

As I lay there in bed thinking about Yolanda, Belandina, and Mei my heart yearned for their souls and for the soul of their foster mother. None of them have made a profession of faith but they have all heard the gospel numerous times at our church. What will happen to these precious little girls and the woman who loves them dearly?

After breakfast, prayer, and Bible reading I stopped to check my e-mail before exercising. A friend of mine had just joined the Papuan Prayer Pact and had chosen to pray for…Anthoneta.

Why not take a few minutes to join the Papuan Prayer Pact and ask God to make a difference in someone’s life today?

Approaching the End of Furlough

Time seems to have flown by this furlough. The time has been fruitful, refreshing, and needed. We still have about five weeks left here in America. The bulk of this time will be spent gathering the materials we have yet to purchase and visiting with our family and friends. We will have been in well over 40 churches, mostly already financial supporters. To say that we have been busy would be an understatement!

Our 8th wedding anniversary was spent in the beautiful state of Alaska. We were already up there visiting three of our supporting churches. All of them were such a blessing and encouragement to us. Pastor Roach allowed us to stay in a beautiful cottage for several nights, and Bible Baptist in Fairbanks sent us on an interesting boat ride. We really enjoyed the whole experience.

We will be boarding the plane to Indonesia on July 30th! We are anticipating the moment of reuniting with the people again. The same house we left will be awaiting us when we arrive since we have already signed another three-year contract on it. Two men have been staying there for us while also leading the church there.

Several people have shown interest in coming to Indonesia. There are some who are coming to visit us, others who are possibly coming for a missions trip, and there are some who are seeking God’s will about where to be a missionary. We are still praying for a teammate with a vision for the Indonesian people in Papua. Thank you for your faithful prayers toward that end!

“The concern for world evangelization is not something tacked on to a man’s personal Christianity, which he may take or leave as he chooses; it is rooted indefeasibly in the character of the God who has come to us in Christ  Jesus. Thus it can never be the province of a few enthusiasts, a sideline or a specialty of those who happen to have a bent that way. It is the distinctive mark of being a Christian.” - Dr. James S. Stewart

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 had a great time in Alaska. The three supporting churches we visited were a tremendous blessing to us. They lavished us with gifts and treated us like royalty! Thank you so much! We arrived in Anchorage and Bible Baptist Church in Fairbanks had a car waiting for us which we drove to Fairbanks. On the way, we had a perfect view of Mt. McKinley, but since we were in a  hurry we didn’t stop to get the camera out of the suitcase. Bible Baptist also sent us on a beautiful boat ride. We stayed with a sweet family there in Fairbanks for a couple of nights and then drove back down to Anchorage.

Pastor Roach allowed us to stay in his beautiful “Bunkhouse” for several nights and we really enjoyed the quiet, restful time on our anniversary. Josh took me to a special Italian restaurant and we ate a delicious meal there. And now for the photos! (I made them smaller than I actually wanted.)

We’ll be flying to Alaska tomorrow morning. We plan to return to Belton, TX June 17th. Six years ago four churches in Alaska starting supporting us and they have been such a blessing to the ministry. We are looking forward to seeing the folks up there again, not to mention the beautiful view!

Our two supporting churches in Houston were a blessing this past weekend. It is always an encouragement to meet people who are interested in the people of Papua, Indonesia. I even met a pastor who has read this blog!

Unbelievable! I knew it would fly by, but this is ridiculous. This time of reporting to our faithful supporting churches, reuniting with family and friends, coming “home” to Belton, TX where my parents live to write thank you notes, do laundry and pack all over again is coming to an end. Such mixed emotions! What a time we have had with friends and family. It has been good in spite of the trying time we experienced. Eight more weeks to go! (We will have been in the States for a total of seven and a half months.)

It has been encouraging and exciting to see Josh with fresh ideas for ministering to the people of Papua, Indonesia. We’re trying to make a schedule of serving the people that will hopefully be more effective and also not lead to burn-out and exhaustion. Pray with us as we put our schedule together for our second term.

One of our biggest needs is finding materials for teaching the people. Ideally, we would have doctrinally sound materials already in the language of Indonesian, but if we can’t find what we’re looking for, it must be translated, which is a huge, time-consuming task. It will be well worth it in the long run, though.

We have been encouraged to hear a few people tell us they are planning a trip to Indonesia in the coming year. Naturally, we are so excited! Pray that God will work on their hearts and give them a burden for the Indonesian people and other needy countries around the world. We are still praying for a teammate with a vision to reach the people of Papua, Indonesia.

Yesterday we had a man from Bible Baptist in Clyde, TX donate six MP3 players to the ministry! Thank you so much for your help in this area!

There are a couple of things we are planning to use on our next term. We’ve mentioned using MP3 players so the people can hear teaching over and over in order to understand the concepts better. Cell phones will also be needed to keep in contact with the people. The details of what we are looking for are listed below.

-MP3/MP4 players- Any working model is fine, but better if they don’t require a
computer to charge.

-Cell Phones- Working quad band GSM (example: AT&T or T-Mobile)

Jungle Camp

Our first furlough continues to unite us with family, friends, and some new supporting churches. We are thankful for the warm welcome and encouragement we receive along the way. Last month began in central Texas and then brought us up to Iowa for a Missions Conference. During that time we also had the privilege of visiting with my parents again. My mom was actually able to attend one of the services where I was preaching. It was so good to have her there.

Another exciting and helpful activity that we were a part of was “jungle camp” at Baptist Bible Translators Institute. We attended this school back in 2003-2004 and were delighted to return and see our friends there. It is always a blessing to see the eager students preparing for the mission field. Jungle camp consisted of a week in the woods sleeping in either a hut made from cedar trees or a tent. Among other things we learned survival skills such as identifying edible and medicinal plants.

A teammate is high on our prayer list. There are countless ministries waiting to be started in Papua, and while we would like to do them all it simply isn’t possible! We are praying for someone who shares our vision for the people. So much more could be done with just one other person to help train the nationals. Thank you for your prayer support in this!

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’re on the road again for a couple of weeks. The first week was spent in Iowa at a good Missions Conference. We made some good friends that we will miss. It’s great meeting new people but saying good-bye is always difficult! Now, we’re spending a couple of days with Josh’s parents, so it’s really nice to see them again. On Wednesday we’ll stop in Missouri to visit some friends and then spend some time at BBTI. It is always a blessing to see the Cobb family and everyone there in Bowie, TX.

A few people along the way have asked what preparations should be made for heading to a foreign mission field, so if I get time I might consider doing a series on that. I need to compile something anyway since we get so many inquiries about it. We’re just hoping someone will decide to come to Papua, Indonesia and serve with us!