Spotlights – Spring 2017
By Emily P. Meyer
Indonesia
When eyeballing a world map, one can see Indonesia, the world’s largest Island country, in between Thailand and Australia. It is an archipelago nation with more than 17,000 islands in its territory. However, only 1,000 of the islands are uninhabitable. Java is the largest of the islands and is where about 70 percent of Indonesia’s population resides.
That’s where SLM’s National Director for Indonesia, Purwoko Arsito and his wife, Heny Setyawati, live and operate. From Surakarta City in Central Java, Purwoko and Heny head out to distribute Bible courses around Indonesia in places like churches, prisons, and schools. They have been with Source of Light since 2009 and are grateful for the use of their Risograph, which prints all the modules they distribute in Bahasa Indonesian, which is the predominant native language.
There are over 784 people groups in this country, 26 percent of which are unreached. Through Purwoko and Heny’s work with distributing Bible courses, efforts are being made to reach the lost and multiply future generations of believers by equipping Christians with resources to help bring about kingdom growth.
Pray for a new truck or van to help in keeping Purwoko and Heny’s work with SLM efficient and also ask the Lord to help them continue to reach many people on Java Island as they continue to get the Gospel and discipleship resources to natives in their own language.
Canada
When thinking of Canada, pictures of snow-packed winters, all things maple, mounties with red coats and tan hats, and beautiful vistas come to mind. Regional Director of Canada, Joe Homontowski, and his wife, Penny, have invested their lives since 2005 beyond these postcard images. Their home base is Saskatoon, which is the largest city in the province of Saskatchewan, hosting a quarter of a million people. This wealthiest province of Canada, with just about a million people, has more in common with the state of Texas than being a cattle and oil producing region, as it is also the same size geographically.
Joe and Penny work diligently to run a discipleship ministry accompanied by SLM Mailbox Club lesson distribution throughout Canada. The Homontowskis minister through song and sermon at various churches and are also heavily involved with both weekly and annual AWANA events in addition to teaching Sunday school at their own local church. To help bolster the ministry that these missionaries have in this massive portion of North America, monthly postage support and prayer are needed.
Being away from their three boys’ families as well as Penny’s parents, whose homes span across 4 different states, is a huge sacrifice for this couple. Their biggest personal prayer request is for the various needs of these family members. Pray, also, that the Lord would help the students the Homontowskis work with to be faithful to send in their lessons, that each of their 600+ students would grow closer to the Lord as they do their lessons, and that more would trust Him as their Savior. Join them in praising the Lord for a recent increase in lessons received.
Chile
With the longest coastline, the largest swimming pool, and the driest desert in the world, the country of Chile has much to boast about. There are 26 people groups represented in this nation, with eight percent of them considered unreached. The church does have a presence in Chile, but its missional focus is not strong.
For 38 years, Guillermo Salazar has served as SLM’s National Director for Chile alongside his wife, Vicky. From their town of El Quisco, they have worked diligently to distribute SLM Bible courses across the country to the churches and institutions most in need. They utilize SLM’s core courses, The Mailbox Club, which includes children’s courses, and doctrinal courses.
One of the greatest spiritual needs for this country that the Salazars have seen is for more theological and academic preparation. Native churches have had limited vision for discipleship and missions. Individuals who might be interested in utilizing SLM’s resources have faced challenges because of limited financial resources. Pray that the churches which the Salazars reach out to will become more in sync with the charge of the Great Commission and expand their ministries.
Also, pray specifically for personal support for the Salazar family as Guillermo has been told that he will no longer receive a salary for being the chaplain in the high security prison in Santiago. This has been their main income and both of the Salazars also have significant health challenges they are facing as they go about the Lord’s work in this country.
Liberia
Along the Western coast of Africa, rests the diamond, coffee, and cocoa producing Republic of Liberia. Though this nation exports luxurious items, the 4.2 million residents have endured extreme hardships such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, poor sanita – tion, 15 years of civil war, and most recently, a deadly epidemic with the Ebola virus. Ethno-religious violence, caused by friction stemming from Islamic extremists, remains an ever-present issue.
Even so, missionaries, Nelsen and Annie Cyrus, have seen the bless – ing of the Lord in this land since the start of their service in 2013. The Cyrus family calls Cotton Tree home. Their town is tucked into the Lower Margibi County and is their launchpad for ministry as it is here where Nelsen serves in the roll of the National Director for SLM in Liberia.
With SLM’s support, this team is able to distribute Bible lessons to students at multiple schools, churches, outreach organizations, various denominations, and other people throughout the community. Discipleship and discipleship training are at the core of the Cyrus’ work in this country.
To strengthen the ministry that SLM is doing in Liberia, there are needs for a vehicle, support for local staff, ministry tools for training, a laptop and projector, as well as a small gen – erator. When praying for how to help meet these material needs, also ask the Lord to continue to use Nelsen, Annie, and their teammates to bring people to His saving knowledge in this beautiful country, where the suffering abounds.
