April & May 2009

Dear Pastors and Friends:

We have just returned from a visit to the Island of Palau where our son and his family are working as missionaries.  We decided to go and see about them when we heard that Tony, the middle son, was sick. We had not seen them in six years. The three boys were in their teens when we saw them last and now they are young men. Although it is only three hours flying time, there is quite a bit of ocean between us. When the plane landed on their new tar-sealed runway it felt like we were on an island in the middle of the ocean. Hot and steamy.

We arrived at their house after dark and it was "dark" No lights. I found out the next day that they were living in the jungle. It wasn't far from the main road but it still looked like the jungle to me. The house was big and open. There was a large green parrot walking on the front porch, several cockatoos of different colors in a cage in the back of the house and a 4 to 5 foot crocodile in a cage underneath the front porch. They told us that he belonged to the owner of the house and they only fed him once a month. When I went down to look at him, he acted like he hadn't been fed in a long time. I decided to examine the cage to see how strong it was and took myself back to the safety of the house.

Their church is doing wonderful. We met all the church members and they had special preaching and singing for us on Wednesday night. I was very impressed with the work. I could see that my grandsons were a big help with all the different outreaches. Andy is working with the youth. Tony visits, drives the van and picks up people, and Joshua was the preacher for Sunday night services. We had a wonderful visit with them after 6 years and it was such a blessing to see their work and to see how the Lord is using them. Andy and Joshua have been called to preach and they hope to serve the Lord either as pastor or a missionary. We brought Tony back to Saipan with us and he has already been a blessing to us.

Our work on Saipan has been a little slow these past two months but we have had 6 young people saved during January and February. We also have a 50-year-old man and his wife who have accepted the Lord but have never been baptized. We are planning a baptism for next week.

Thank you all for your prayers and financial support. We know that some of you are having hard times financially and we want you to know that we are praying for you. I believe that the Lord is standing at the door ready to come for us. I keep listening for the sound of the trumpet. May God be with you and bless you.

                                                                                       In His faithful service,

                                                                                       David & Dottie McClure