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Robert and Diane Sigafoose

50 Monk's Hill Road
#04-50
Singapore 0922
Republic of Singapore
Serving in Singapore
Forwarding Agent:
Delmer Rhodebeck
1429 Norwood
Granite City, IL 62040
(618) 877-7120
C
1429 Norwood, Granite City, IL62040
Dear Friends in
The beginning \of 1992 /looks as if there
will be a lot or^ork^or us in the coming
months. Our goals are demanding immediate
scheduling. Pray that our Lord will
provide wisdom and guidance in our
endeavors in South East Asia.
MALAYSIA
In December, we were able to send in a
truck load of furniture and chairs for the
church in Malaysia. Trying to get the
items across the border was a very
difficult task, as the Malaysian
government asked for a heavy duty on
everything. We finally managed to send
the truck load for about $400 U.S. It was
much cheaper than purchasing the same used
items in Malaysia. Christians in Singapore
donated the used furniture, clothes, and
church chairs.
There are plans in the making for John
Millasoh, the national minister in
Malaysia, to go to the Philippines. He
will be getting intensive church
leadership training with a group, under
the direction of Charles Littell. It
should prove to be very beneficial for
him. John needs everyday "on the job"
training, especially as he is very weak in
New Testament doctrine and in
administration. Bob will be going up to
Malaysia the end of January to help John
plan for the work in Malaysia while he is
in the Philippines.
Bob has already made several trips to
Petaling Jaya (where one church is
located) to help with the setting up of
the church. He also is involved with the
teaching and training of local leadership.
He is planning to go one week out of each
month. At the moment, the church building
is on the second floor of a shop house.
Attendance runs between 15 to 18.
Malaysia has a strong Muslim government.
It is a prison offense to even talk to a
Muslim about Christianity, so we must move
very carefully. They are not allowed to
have a large group meeting in a house. If
there are more than three people sitting
around a table with no food on it, legally
they can be arrested. Therefore, we must
look for another suitable place near
John's home to rent and hold Sunday
worship services. The cost of renting a
building will be about $350 U.S. just for
the monthly rent plus another $200 U.S.
for the upkeep and supplies. We are
setting up a three year program for the
work in Malaysia. We are anticipating
that it will cost us $35,600 U.S. for the
three year program. We hope that the work
will become self-supporting during that
time. Do pray for us that we will find
the finances to have a Christian Church in
Malaysia.
SRI LANKA
We have to inform you that we have had no
correspondence from our Sri Lankan
churches for more than a year. We have
not had the money to make a trip to Sri
Lanka for more than five years. Lord
willing. Bob will be planning a trip to
Sri Lanka in February to sort out the
situation there. Please pray with us that
the flame is still glowing.
SINGAPORE
Because of the continual decline of the
U.S.Dollar and the climb of inflation here
in Singapore, we find it increasingly
difficult to stay here. Our rent has
increased from $377 U.S. to $659 U.S. in
just three years. In the past, Diane
taught English as a way to contact people
for the Gospel. Now, her teaching has
become a necessity in order for us to stay
here. Some Singaporeans financially backed
her for an English Second Language School
project. Everything went beautifully,
until November 1, when the Government
Education Department decided to change the
rules on us. We had to move from our
school premises and start all over in a
new location. We decided to put the idea
on hold as we would have had to shell out
about $10,000(Singapore)a month for rental
and salaries waiting for a new approval
(which could take up to two years), plus
the fact we could not do any teaching for
income during that time. Diane has gone
back to private teaching to support our
work in Singapore. Her scheduling is
quite heavy from Monday through Friday at
the present time. However, she may have
to add a day or two in the future. We
will wait and see.
The Government will be tearing down our
church building in the near future. They
have drawn up the plans for a condominium
community and marina in the area around
our building. We may have an opportunity
to buy back some land after it has been
replotted. If this happens, we would be
expected to build a new, several story
building to fit in with the rest of the
new environment. The cost of such a
church building would be around $3 million
U.S.
DIANE'S MEDICAL CONDITION
Some of you may not have been informed of
a fall which Diane suffered here at home
on September 15, 1991. The fall resulted
in a serious head injury. Stitches and
hospitalization were required. Needless
to say, her responsibilities were
prohibited for several weeks. After four
months of constant supervision, both by
the doctors and by Bob, she is able to
resume her teaching duties as of January
1st. She will be allowed an occasional
outing, but most of the time, not alone.
There are still dizzy spells and memory
lapses that come and go and headaches
which need complete bed rest. ENT and EEC
tests show no permanent nerve damage, just
needs time to heal. Doctors have assured
us there will be complete healing, even
though it could take up to a year to do
so. Singaporeans have been wonderful in
providing us a car most of the time as
Diane has not been allowed to go by public
transportation. We still covet your
prayers concerning her complete recovery.
CHINA TRIP
We praise the Lord for our privilege to
participate in bringing the gospel to a
small part of China.
Our "missionary," Madam Tay (Grandma Tay,
we call her) will be 81 years old this
April 8th. Last October, she made a trip
to her province in China. Two years ago,
she visited there and spent weeks going
from village to village teaching the
gospel. A lot of correspondence has been
going on for the past two years as a
result of that visit. She finally
received an invitation to return as there
were many people who wanted to be baptized
and there was no one to do it. She could
not find anyone to accompany her, so she
went alone.
A five hour plane trip and a seven hour
trip by land on a mini-bus took her to
Xiamen (Amoy). She was given a list of 40
young women and 40 young men who wanted to
become Christian. However, as she
proceeded to baptize the young women, the
boys were called up for national service
and had to leave. Since then, plans were
made for a visiting minister to baptize
the boys in December during their leave.
As women's emancipation was not prevalent
in China, the presentation of the
Christian message by a lady was made even
more effective. Let us pray for the
blossoming of faith in our Lord Jesus by
the 80 young followers who were baptized
in Hwee Ann, Amoy, China. Grandma is
still teaching at the prison here in
Singapore three days a week
A CAR
As we have told you many times before,
cars are very expensive in Singapore. In
fact, some of the highest in the world.
Because of the nature of our evangelizing
(one on one) we need a car to reach people
all over this island.
A Singaporean has offered to give us a car
- a 1979 Ford Escort worth $6,500 U.S.
However, the government requires that any
vehicle more than 10 years old must pay a
tax. In this case, the tax on this car
amounts to $4,500 U.S. This tax must be
paid before the last day of April, 1992.
This is the only chance we have to be able
to have a car for transportation.
Is there anyone to help us in this
situation?
PRAYER NEEDS
1. DIANE'S HEALTH
2. A CAR
3. THE WORK IN MALAYSIA
4. THE WORK IN SRI LANKA
5. YOUNG CHRISTIANS IN CHINA
Blessings in Christ,
Non-Profit
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Granite City, IL 62040
Permit No. 51
Good News
Christian Mission
1429 Norwood
Granite City, IL 62040
Address Correction Requested
OLETA MONIGER
MISSION SERVICES, BOX 2427
KNOXVILLE, TN 37901
Serving in Singapore
mi
Robert and Diane Sigafoose
50 Monk's HI!! Road
#04-50
Singapore 0922
Republic of Singapore
Serving in Singapore
Forwarding Agent:
Delmer Rhodebeck
1429 Norwood
Granite City, IL 62040
(618) 877-7120
J-?
1429 Norwood, Granite City, IL62040
Dear fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
What an exciting life we lead as
Ambassadors of our Lord. "As though
God were making his appeal through
us." (II Corinthians 5:20) Things
have been happening so fast for us
here in Southeast Asia. It is and
has been a time of wondering what
God has in store for us.
Our families are doing fine. Debbie
and Damon, in South Dakota, are well
and our two grandchildren are
growing so fast. Amber, six years
old this month, started to school.
In Mitchell S.D. they say that one
year old Austin Robert looks just
like his grandfather Bob. Laurie is
in her second year of teaching in a
primary school in Waco, Texas.
AN IMMEDIATE PRAYER REQUEST!
OUR VISA IN SINGAPORE EXPIRED AS OF
AUGUST 31! As you know, we must
renew our visa each year. We have
been given a one month extension,
until September 30. When we asked
why the delay, they said, "Your case
is pending." Part of the problem
may be that we do not make enough
money to live in Singapore,
according to the government. It was
necessary for us to rent out two of
our bedrooms to meet our financial
obligations. With the value of the
dollar depreciating every day and
the cost of living increasing almost
daily we do not have enough money to
live in Singapore. According to a
CNN News broadcast, the dollar has
depreciated 40 per cent in the last
five years. But our income has
increased by only 10 per cent in
those five years.
We pray that by the time you receive
this letter all will be settled and
we can stay one more year. Every
year we go though this turmoil of
not knowing if we can stay one more
year or not.
THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYERS!
We want to thank you all for your
prayers on behalf of Bob's father
who has cancer. He has now finished
the chemotherapy treatments. The
doctor says, "everything looks
good," and will do another thorough
examination about the last of
September.
Diane is still improving with
medication and time. She still
has some bad dizzy spells and head
pains.
CAMBODIA
A country torn apart by war,
Cambodia has been in a state of war
since 1975 when the Americans were
using that country as a base to
fight the Vietnamese. Then later
Vietnam attacked the country and
took over control of its government.
There was little or no Christian
witnessing in the country before
1992. During the war the Cambodians
were Iving in refugee camps along
the Thailand border. There they
heard the gospel for the first time.
Many Thai Christians and American
missionaries from the Christian
Churches/Churches of Christ taught
the refugees about Jesus. These
Christians are now returning to
Cambodia. In April of this year
many of them returned to Battambung,
a town in north west Cambodia. The
United Nations gave each family a
piece of land plus materials to
build a house. These became small
villages of refugees, one hundred
seventy nine houses in all. LaVerne
Morse and Bob taught for three
weeks, every day for five hours a
day in one of the homes of this
village. (In fact, there were so
many people in the house that the
floor broke through and we had to go
out and but posts to prop it up).
After the first week, 53 came
forward for baptism. At the end of
three weeks of teaching, another 100
from that same village accepted
Jesus as their Savior and were
baptized. Today, out of those 179
houses, 151 of them have Christians
living in them. At last count there
were 382 Christians in the village.
The leader of this group is a young
man who graduated from the Chiangmai
Bible Institute. He is married and
has four children. He requested the
United Nations to send- his family
back with the first group to be
resettled in Cambodia.
There are five other villages with a
nucleus of Christians from the
Christian Churches/Churches of
Christ. We could only visit one
other village because of time and
inefficient transportation. The one
other village that we visited had 15
Christians. But on the last day of
our visit 96 were baptized from that
village. The last Sunday that we
were in Battambung, 196 were added
to the Lord Jesus Christ through
baptism. Total number of baptisms
in Cambodia during our teaching
visit was 445 souls.
We look for great things to happen
among the Christians and the
non-Christians in Cambodia. About
three thousand people are being sent
back from Thailand each week. The
Lord is opening the door and it is
time to spread the gospel message.
Three young Cambodian men will be
returning to Cambodia very soon.
They, too, have just finished their
training in Chiangmai Bible
Insti tute.
Pray with us for the elections which
are to be held in May 1993. Whatever
tTie outcome "of the election the
United Nations will pull out and
leave the people to fend for
themselves. The battle of war is
going on even today even with the
United Nations there. There are
land-mines everywhere. A central
market place was blown up just after
Bob left. (Bob has been invited to
return next year to teach and to
share with the people of Cambodia).
SINGAPORE
The work in Singapore is pretty much
the same. The leaders in our
congregation are able to take care
of the work themselves. We are still
working in the local church whenever
we are in Singapore. But that seems
to be less and less as Bob spends
one week of each month with the new
church work in Malaysia. Six weeks
of July and August were spent in
Cambodia and Thailand. The church in
Singapore is our sponsor, for our
visa, which enables us to live and
to work in Singapore. They have
been a source of encouragement for
the church in Malaysia. Our church
gives financially each month and
also sent a variety of material
goods for the people in Malaysia.
We do so much appreciate your
support, both in prayer and in
finances. It takes all working
together that we might bring some to
Christ. Paul said, "To the weak I
became weak, to win the weak. I
have become all things to all men so
that by all possible means I might
win some. I do all of this for the
sake of the gospel, that I might
share in its blessings" (I
Corinthians 9:22,23) .
MALAYSIA
The news from Malaysia is great! A
building was rented to be used for
church services. This is a new
building and has no furnishings at
the present time. Our first meeting
was held on July 5 with about 30
present. People sat on the floor
using only light from the windows.
Since then we have installed three
fluorescent lights and a few used
chairs. On August 23, the
temperature was over one hundred
degrees in the building."
Twenty-nine people a'ttended that
worship service. Some still had to
sit on the floor. We praise God
that He is raising up His Church in
Malaysia!
We are very much in need of finances
for the church in Malaysia. It is
our plan to financially assist the
church in Malaysia until August
1994. We pray that on or before
that time, the Lord willing, it will
be completely self-supporting. The
churches in Singapore are giving
some support and some of the people
and churches in the United States
are helping, but we are still in
need of additonal support for the
work there.
Non-Profrt
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Granite City, IL 62040
Permit No. 51
Good News
Christian Mission
1429 Norwood
Granite City, IL 62040
Addreu Correclion Requested
Serving in Singapore
MISSION SERVICE
BOX 2427
KNOXVILLE, TN 37901
1351
Robert and Diane Sigafoose
50 Monk's Hill Road
#04-50
Singapore 0922
Republic of Singapore
Serving in Singapore
Forwarding Agent;
Delmer Rhodebeck
1429 Norwood
Granite City, IL 62040
(618) 877-7120
1429 Norwood, Granite City, IL62040
Dear Friends in Christ,
We want to take this opportunity to
thank all of you for your many
prayers for Diane during the past
several months. As most of you
already know, she had a very bad
fall in September last year.
Although she is still continuing to
improve, she was admitted to the
hospital on April 21st for two days
of extensive brain tests. Results
of that testing revealed no
permanent brain damage.
Post-traumatic problems of vertigo,
headaches, personality disorders
plus memory loss is much improved
with help from medicine. However,
a potentially serious problem did
show up on the tests; a lack of
oxygen to the brain. She will be
monitored closely for the time
being.
Bob is also recovering from a
slipped disc he sustained in
February. Very frequent visits
(every two days for over a month)
to an osteopath in Singapore and a
chiropractor in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia have assured him there
will be no need for surgery.
Our days are happy days, filled
with new joys because God has
blessed us with so many
responsibilities. Please pray that
our responsibilities will not be
diminished because of illnesses.
MALAYSIA
The work in Malaysia is very
exciting. Things are still going
well. John Millason, the leader of
the church has just returned from
the Philippines. He had five weeks
of intensive leadership training
with Charles Littell and his church
leaders in Davao City. At the end
of his studies, the church in the
Philippines ordained John into the
ministry of our Lord. John and his
wife Shanti and their three
children have now settled into
their new home. The past many
years of his ministry, John and his
family have been living in
squatters housing. Sickness and
disease nearly claimed their lives
several times. Now, in their new
place, they are happy, needles to
say, living by themselves for the
first time. The Millason's live in
a. new subdivision. In fact, it is
not completely finished at this
time. It is our prayer and plans
that we can start a church in this
new area. As people move in, we can
contact them about the church.
Several people are already coming
to John's house for fellowship,
Bible studies and counselling. On
my visit to Malaysia the first of
April, a Bible study was held in
John's house but we could not sing
or speak too loudly for fear that
the neighbors might call the
police. As you may remember,
Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim
country. Christian meetings of any
kind other than in a church
building are illegal. We are in
the process of looking for a place
for worship services. The
Malaysian church is recognized by
the government. They do have the
right to meet, but only in
designated places, not in a home.
We are looking into renting the
fourth floor of an office building
near John's home. The estimated
cost of rental is U.S. $500 per
month with an additional U.S. $200
per month for supplies and
operating expenses. A church in
Atlanta, GA has agreed to provide
the Malaysian church with $125 per
month. The equivalent of U.S. $200
per month from Singapore and
Australia has been pledged for the
personal support for John and his
family. However, U.S. $300 more
per month-is-needed._
The church at Batanng Berjuntai is
worshiping every Sunday afternoon.
The average attendance has been
around 30. Two visits ago. Bob had
the privilege of baptizing Sunitha,
John's daughter. That was a very
special time for all of us. The
church is over a three hour bus
ride from John's home. It is very
difficult for him to do weekly
visitation and take care of other
responsibilities which are needed
for the church to grow. They are
meeting in a rented building and
are mostly self- supporting.
SRI LANKA
Bob was able to make a trip to Sri
Lanka the latter part of February
(financed through Diane's work
efforts) . The civil war is still
in progress, although it does not
seem to be as intense as it was a
few years ago. The tourists are
returning to that beautiful island
country. The three buildings being
used for church meetings are still
intact. Two of the buildings are
houses, one in central Sri Lanka in
the town of Wellawaya, eight hours
by bus from Colombo. The other is
in the capital city of Colombo.
The third is a church building in
the village of Elle (30 miles from
Wellawaya) . Bro. R. K. Wilson is
still the overseer of the work in
Sri Lanka. Bro. Wilson's family is
living in Colombo. Little or
nothing in church work is being
done at the present time. There
are still the three meeting places
and the people are available. The
one Sunday that Bob visited and
worshipped with the Christians in
Elle, there were 30 in the worship
service that Sunday morning. The
church building in Elle is finished
and is a very beautiful building.
About the same number of people met
on_Sunday afternoon at Wellawaya.
Because of the lack of money for
Bob for travel funds and extended
mission work, he has not been able
to go to Sri Lanka to work with
Bro. Wilson, who needs lots of
training in discipleship,
administration and teaching. He is
not strong enough yet to be an
effective leader and needs a lot of
help and guidance.
Consequently, the churches in
Singapore have recently
discontinued their financial
support to the Sri Lankan churches.
What is our next a step? We're not
sure. Without the Singaporean
financial support, Bro. Wilson
will have to take a full time job
and will not be able to do anything
in the churches. Without extra
financial support for us, we can do
nothing except PRAY that God will
show us a way.
SINGAPORE
Richard and Josephine Wong, along
with Edmund Au have completed their
studies at St. Louis Christian
College and will return to
Singapore this summer to work with
our local churches. Richard and
Josephine graduated co-
Valedictorians with a 4.0 grade
point average. Edmund received
Highest Honors with a 3.9 grade
point average. Edmund chose to
complete the four year program in
three and one-half years requiring
many more credit hours of study per
semester. Plans have been
completed for them to return to
Lincoln Christian Seminary next
fall to complete their studies for
their Master's degree. We are
exceptionally proud of these fine
young people and are anxiously
anticipating their return to their
homeland.
Our church is going on as usual.
Three of our young men are now in
the army and cannot attend every
Sunday. One of our church leaders
(nearly 50 years old) came down
with a severe case of chicken pox
and has not attended services for
the past few weeks. Diane arranged
a birthday party for Madam Tay in
our home recently. She was 81
years old and is the eldest member
in our church.
Several of our young people have
married and have moved to new
locations around the outer area of
the island. We have tried to fit
them into New Testament churches
near their homes as it is too far
for them to attend our services.
We do have five new members. A
young man and his parents came to
accept the Lord and were baptized
into Christ. We, along with some
of our church members, helped David
and his parents break up and
destroy several thousands of
dollars worth of idols, maybe as
much as a hundred thousand dollars.
It is such a wonderful joy to see
faces which are not bound by Satan
anymore.
Another young couple who have two
small children have also become
part of the body of Christ. We
pray we will be able to continue to
guide and direct these new ones.
FUTURE PLANS
Bob has an invitation to go to
Cambodia in July, accompanying a
team from Thailand. He will be
teaching refugees and others who
will be settling down in Phnom Penh
for one month on the New Testament
church. Trying to find out about
visas and airlines from Singapore
to Cambodia has been very
interesting and time consuming as
Singapore does not have any ties
with Cambodia at the present time.
He may have to go to Bangkok early
to arrange this traveling schedule.
There are "lots of works" to do
yet. Please keep us before the
Lord as we try to use our time here
to the very best of our ability.
Serving in Singapore,
PRAYER NEEDS:
1. DIANE' S FURTHER RECOVERY
2. ADDITIONAL FINANCING FOR:
MALAYSIA AND SRI LANKA
3. GUIDANCE IN TEACHING THE
CAMBODIANS
From : FINE LINE FREIGHT CM) S/B FAX ; 603-7331246
TOt BRD. nSLMER
FAX. 1-6X8-4516932
tVMt JOHN MIlXAaON
35.J4LAN FJS 10/5, 8UBANG INDAH,
46000 FETALINC JAIA,
8ELANG0R
MALAYSIA*
Bro, Dolmer*
Greetings in Chrlst.As you alretfjly kncr,at present our
worship servicsy^etings are restricted to being held
in the house and this restricts growth among others
things and continous objeciicns from non^christien
neighbours*
Nearby, however,there are same shop lots available for
rental at US.6.500/ per month.Ve do receive new comers
daily to our present home/churoh.
Bro.Belmer,there is a great potential for reaching out
for new souls in this area.
John^Millason.
<< Interrupted Transmission
P0i
0;OIPM POl
This compelling request has just been received from Bro. John Millason.
The ability to do great things for Jesus has rapidly come to Malaysia.
The Mission Board earnestly needs your response to the financial request
of $500 per month for the next three years. Send your advise and
recommendations to me as soon as possible by letter, phone at (618)
877-7120 after 7:00 p.m., or FAX to (618) 451-6932. (See page 2 for
additional details).
Delmer Rhodebeck, President
Good News
Christian Mission
1429 Norwood
Granite City, IL 62040
Address Correction Reqncsted
Serving in Singapore
OLETA MONIGER
MISSION SERVICES, BOX 2427
KNOXVILLE, TN 37901
Non-Profit
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Granite City, IL62040
Permit No. 51