June '14

Just look at this handsome little man!

 Our friends from the University of Oklahoma (not State!)

What's been happening:

Hello again from Surabaya! We are so happy to have our FOCUS team here from OU (Not OSU, contrary to what the sign reads in the picture above…). The students and I got a good kick out of that, though. They have been working very hard at building relationships with young people here and sharing truth with the lost or encouraging other believers. We’re so proud of them! The team from Texas has been working hard as well, but in a nearby city. They have been spending a lot of time with our friends, Adam & Eve. One has already professed faith already and has been dunked! PTL!!!

A while back Jon met a young man, “Noah”, through a mutual friend (Angie) who is going back to the States indefinitely. She has been very influential in Noah’s life as she has shared with him and studied the Scriptures with him. As we met with him at a roadside coffee shop last week, Noah professed faith in JC! Even before this profession he had already been leading two groups on his campus where they study the scriptures together. Needless to say, I am really excited to continue on with the discipleship process with this special young man. Please pray for Noah! His father is the leader of a m0sque, and as powerful as his testimony can be, he is likely in for some really daunting persecution. Even so, he is so hungry to study the Word and pass on what he is learning to his friends on his campus. Pray for us that we will have wisdom from above on how to go about this unique discipleship process.

What's coming up:

 

Ellie is on her way to camp as I type this letter! This is her first year to go to Camp Miki where dozens of other MKs will gather together, study scripture, learn about God, and have tons of fun. She will be a week away from Mom & Dad. Please pray that she would be safe, have sweet fellowship with her friends, and have a special encounter with the Lord.

Our family will be travelling out of town to our annual meeting in one week. We will be leaving behind our volunteers for several days. Please continue to pray for them, as they will be participating in three different culture exchanges while we are gone.

Please pray for Jon as he continues to meet with Noah and his friends.

Blessings to you and your family,

The Guffys

Things to Remember:

·       Pray for our Indonesian partners as they search for new work. We have officially closed our English course and they are looking for a consistent income.These folks are such faithful servants. My prayer is that they could start their own non-profit ministry that could support them and provide them an outlet for reaching the lost. Pray for God's will in their lives.

·       Please pray for Ellie while she is at camp. Pray that she will be safe and that she will come back a changed little girl.

·       Please pray for Noah as he grows in his faith.  Pray that he would continue to hunger for God’s word.

·       Pray for our summer volunteers from OU & Texas.  Pray that God will speak through them and that they would have many more opportunities to share truth.

This is "Noah". Pray for him!

Our friend, Angie, with two other students who are studying with us.

Update: 5-14-14

What's been happening:

Greetings from Sultry Surabaya! The weather is turning hotter here as the cloudy, rainy days are becoming less & less frequent. We are hanging in there, but praise the Lord for air conditioning!!! Hot season is officially here.

Yesterday I (Jon) took Drew to a nearby city to meet with an ex-pat Speech Therapist who has graciously agreed to see him periodically. She told us that he is making great progress and that we just need to continue to work with him as we have been. Thank you for your prayers for little Drew. He is now wearing “big boy” underpants during the day. Dad is really stoked about that!  Please keep praying for Drew. Pray that he would continue to progress in his development both physically and intellectually. But most of all, pray that he would grow in wisdom and discernment. Thank You!

What's coming up:

 
Raegan and Jon will be taking a trip across the island to meet with our future partners. We are so excited to get to know them better. Pray that we would be an encouragement to them. Please pray for our kids while we are away too and the families they will be staying with.

I mentioned in our last newsletter that we will be hosting a summer team from OU for two months. We will also be welcoming a team from Texas for the month of June. Primarily, they will be focusing on building relationships with college students. Please begin to pray now that God would introduce them to young people who are ready to hear the Good News and that they would be able to communicate it clearly to their friends.

Thanks for the many ways you support us, but most of all we appreciate your prayers for us! May God’s Kingdom come to Surabaya!

The Guffys

Requests:

·       Pray for our Indonesian partners as they search for new work. Pray that they would find a job that would allow for continued involvement in Kingdom work.

·       Pray for our kids this week while Jon and Raegan are away from home. Pray for safety and peace for our children and for those who will be caring for them.

·       Continue to pray for Drew to grow in wisdom, discernment, and in his ability to communicate.

·       Pray for our summer volunteers from OU & Texas.  Pray that God will use them this summer and He will be glorified through them this summer.

4/20/2014

What's Been Happening:

Happy Resurrection Day! Our family had a wonderful day with several friends celebrating our Savior. The kids had a resurrection scavenger hunt, and, of course, hunted Easter eggs.  It was a great day.

We returned from Singapore with a new visa. Thanks for praying for us during our time there. We were advised by a surgeon not to have anything done to Ellie’s wrist for now. The kids had a blast riding the metro and all the busses. Jon and Raegan survived…

Jon met with “Franky” again a while back with a friend.  That friend was able to share his testimony with Franky and was able to answer many of his questions. We hope to have more meetings with Franky soon.

Drew continues to make slow progress with his speech.  He surprises us from time to time with new words and sentences that we have never heard him say before.  Please keep praying for his progress.

What's Coming Up: 

We are finally feeling like we are settling in again.  It has taken us a while to feel like we are in a routine with so much about our visa and work status up in the air.  Now we need to find more time to regularly get out and meet new people, get into their lives, and share with them.  Please pray for opportunities for that to happen.

Also pray for our college volunteers coming this summer.  Five students from OU will be coming for several weeks to share with local university students.

Once again, thanks for your prayers! May God richly bless you.

The Guffys

Requests:

·       Pray for our Indonesian staff as they search for a new source of income. Pray that they would land somewhere that will allow for continued involvement in Kingdom work.

·       Pray for “Franky” that God would continue to speak to him and that we would have more opportunities to meet with him.

·       Continue to pray for Drew to grow in wisdom, discernment, and in his ability to communicate.

·       Pray for our summer volunteers from OU.  Pray that they will be prepared to be used by God and see Him move in amazing ways this summer.

Easter Egg fun!

Update: 3/29/14

What's been happening:

Remember Ricky from our last newsletter? Well, he called his wife back in Afghanistan, and after sharing his testimony; she is now a believer as well. Thanks for praying! Please continue to pray for his mother and father who have yet to believe. It is still risky for him or his wife to make their new lives known to others around them. Please remember them.

Jon has agreed to take a position with a local English course run by a like-minded family. They have agreed to provide a visa for one year. However, the down side is that our beloved and faithful staff at our old English course are having to find other employment.  It breaks my heart that we won't be able to support such faithful servants any longer. Our existing English center is too small and the government requirements to teach English are so particular that it is not likely that we will be able to staff our English course with native speaking English teachers. Larger English courses are somehow able to get around these requirements (which is why I am able to teach at this new course).  Please pray that our existing staff will be able to find employment that will provide for them financially, but also continue in ministry.

Jon recently had an opportunity to meet with a young man named “Franky”. This man has had several dreams in which he has met Jesus. He is very interested in learning more and is currently reading a borrowed Bible. He was invited to believe but stated that he is afraid of what might happen to him.

What's coming up:

Our family has to leave the country on Monday.  We will hopefully return with a work visa.  Please pray that we will receive the visa on time and return to Indonesia without any problems.  Ellie will also have a small procedure on her wrist while we are there. 

Jon will be meeting with Franky next Saturday (April 5^th). Pray that Holy Spirit will break down the barriers and objections that the Enemy has set up in Franky’s heart.

Requests:

·       Please pray for a safe and uneventful week in Singapore. Pray for Ellie to heal quickly and that we will return with a work visa.

·       Pray for our Indonesian staff as they search for a new source of income. Pray that they would land somewhere that will allow for continued involvement in Kingdom work.

·       Pray for “Ricky” and his family.

·       Pray for “Franky’s” heart to be softened and for our meeting next Saturday.

·       Continue to pray for Drew to grow in wisdom, discernment, and in his ability to communicate.

Once again, thanks for your prayers! May God richly bless you.

The Guffys

 A bird wandered into our garage and it let us hold it.  Drew loved it!  Unfortunately it died the next day (of course after I had already bought a cage for it).

This is Drew doing exercise.  Can you guess who he has been watching?

Who doesn't love a good mud pie?

Update: 3/8/14

We can't believe she's already 9!  Isn't she beautiful?  If you say a prayer for Ellie, pray that she would continue to grow in her relationship with the Lord, that she would set an example of kindness and gentleness for her younger siblings, and that she would develop a heart for the lost.

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This is what has been happening:

As you can see in the photo above, Ellie turned 9 on March 1^st.  We had a small party and invited some of our friends.  She loves the movie “Frozen”, and that was our theme. 

Raegan and the three older kids just returned from Jakarta.  They were there all last week for a homeschool conference.  The kids had a blast seeing their friends and Raegan enjoyed spending some time with other moms.  Jon and Drew had a good week, but were certainly happy to have everyone back!

Jon had a very unique opportunity last week. A colleague informed him of a refugee (Ricky) from a central Asian country, who had recently moved to our city.  He was very interested in becoming a believer.  He speaks very little English and no Indonesian, so the process was very slow.  But PTL, our conversation ended with him being dunked!

What's coming up:

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Please continue to be in prayer for our visa/platform.  Jon has a few options and they each have their own advantages and disadvantages.  We are not necessarily concerned that we will not be able to stay, but we just want to make a wise decision for our team and our effectiveness. (Sometimes people get really bogged down just maintaining the platform and have very little time to do the “main thing”).

Jon will continue to meet with “Ricky” and try to get him some materials in his mother language.  Please remember his family as well.  His younger brother was the first to share with him and is planning to share with Ricky’s wife and mother next week. 
Here's our prayer requests:

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• Please remember us as we make some decisions this week regarding our platform.  Pray for wisdom from above, not from ourselves.

• Please continue to remember Drew that his ability to learn and communicate would improve.
• Please pray for Ricky that he would grow in his faith.  Also remember his wife, mother, and two sons that they would be sensitive to the HS.

Thank you for praying!

The Guffys

 

Update 2/12/14

Friends and Family, Thank you so much for praying for us as we traveled. We started driving to Atlanta at around 4:00 P.M. on Wednesday, Jan. 29th. We left earlier than we had originally planned because of the travel catastrophe that was happening in the Atlanta metroplex. We made it fine to Atlanta and arrived at Jakarta at 8:30 on Friday night, Jan. 31st. We finally made it to Surabaya on Saturday evening, and PTL we had all our bags! We are now getting settled in and starting to feel at home again. Raegan has re-started homeschooling with the children and Jon is frantically running around trying to get our lives and our ministry back in order. We are still searching out options for a long-term visa. Your prayers are appreciated! Drew continues to make progress every day. I am amazed at how much he seems to be learning and applying. I believe this is a result of many people praying for him and us. We praise the Lord every day for the progress he is making. Please continue to pray for us that we would know exactly how to help him to learn and grow at his own pace and in his own way. The conference last week was a success! There were over 50 Indonesian “workers” attending. They all heard from experienced ch. planters how to reach the lost and train up leaders who will train others. Thanks for praying!

One last outing with our cousins, Haddon & Teagen.

 Please Pray… 1.) For continued progress with Drew. Pray that he would grow physically, mentally, and spiritually (especially in wisdom and discernment). 2.) For Raegan and the kids to settle into a daily schedule that is beneficial for everyone. 3.) For our visa situation. Pray that God would show us the kind of work we need to be doing and a visa/platform to do it effectively.

Great News!!!

Dear Friends, Thank you so much for praying. We have great news! We have been cleared to return to our overseas home. Our flight leaves from Atlanta on Thursday at 1:00 A.M., and arrives Friday morning around 8:30. We are experiencing excitement mixed with sadness. We are excited to return “home” and get back to work, but we are sad to have to say good-bye to friends and family yet again. We also wanted to let you know how well Drew is doing. We can feel the prayers that are being offered up on our behalf. Literally, on the day that I sent out the last update, Drew would not stop talking. He was a little chatterbox! We have never seen him like that before. Each day, Raegan and I notice something new in his progress and development. Praise the Lord! We have also heard encouraging reports from his speech and occupational therapists and from his pediatrician. We are confident that with continued prayer and lots of hard work, Drew is going to develop into a wise young man who loves the Lord and desires to glorify Him. We have two American friends in Indonesia (one Speech therapist and one Occupational therapist) who have agreed to help us as we continue therapy with Drew. The Lord continues to provide! These last two weeks have really been a wake up call for me (Jon). God has been showing me how lackadaisical I have been about praying for my children and how passive I have been in their education. God is lovingly showing me how I need to be a better, more intentional father. Please Pray… 1.) That Drew will continue to grow in wisdom and discernment and will love Jesus with all his heart. 2.) That we will obtain the necessary resources for Drew’s therapy and educational needs so he can get the tools to continue to grow and develop. 3.) That we all will “travel well”. We will be either in the air or in an airport for 32 straight hours. 4.) For sweet good-byes. Pray especially for our parents. Saying good-bye is always hard, no matter how many times we do it. 5.) Also remember a HUGE conference we will be having in our city Feb. 5-7.