By the time you receive this it should be the year 2000! Imagine that -- it sure seems strange! We trust you had good Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays. So much has happened since we last wrote -- most notably that Denise and Sarah went to Massachusetts in early October for Denise's brother-in-law's funeral. We also moved to a bigger house that better meets our needs. Read on for more details about these events.

Denise writes...

In the midst of the happy occasion of moving (we have outgrown Doug's "bachelor's pad") we got the call that my brother-in-law died suddenly of an apparent heart attack at 41. We were all so surprised as Michael was in good health and took care of himself. I am very close to my sister and her family (they have three boys aged 11, 13, 15) so this has really hit me hard. It is painful to see someone you love go through something so difficult. Though these were some of the most difficult days of my life, I must say that I felt an exceptionally strong sense of prayer support during my time in Massachusetts. As the Lord brings it to mind please pray that my family would turn to the "God of all comfort" during this time of grief.

Back on Guam, I am thankful to the Lord for His provision of a new place that meets our needs perfectly. What I like best about our new house is that there is more room to entertain guests. Also, since I am home more with Sarah I enjoy the beautiful view of the Philippine Sea! Please note that our mailing address remains the same, but our phone number has changed: (671)472-4206.

I continue to do work for the mission, mostly at home but with occasional trips to the office. Recently I have been helping out in the Shortwave Bible School Department while some of the other ladies were either ill or away. I have corrected lessons and responded to questions or requests from students from Ethiopia, Uganda, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, India, Kenya, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, Ghana and England. It is encouraging to see the desire of the students to study the Word of God: some young-- others old, some pastors --others prisoners. To date, 1348 students have enrolled in this Bible course, 400 of them in 1999.

Doug writes...

I was unable to go to Massachusetts to be with Denise and her family because we were so shorthanded at work. In addition, I needed to move us out of our old apartment during that same time. I am grateful to those who helped me with the move. The thing I like best about our new house is the extra storage area and carport / driveway that allows us parking with plenty of room for visitors, Bible studies, etc. . . This was always a problem with our old apartment and is one of the larger problems with houses on Guam. When we were praying for God to provide a new place, this was on the top of our list. This Christmas we again see God as "Jehovah Jirah" (God provides) in a new way!

Doug (con't):

Praise the Lord that the digital audio project has seen some excellent progress in recent weeks! We have found a company that we believe God would like us to use for this critical part of the Asian broadcast system. Working with a christian who represents the company has been helpful in negotiating a system that is both cost effective and technically sound. I will be sure to give you more details in the next news letter since we expect to have two of the five transmitters using the digital audio system by March 2000.

Sarah "writes"...

I took a very long trip (21 hrs) to Massachusetts with Mommy. I thought we would never get there, and it was so hard to sleep with all the noise and activity. But once we arrived, I was glad to be able to bring joy to those who really needed it. I barely cried or fussed during the entire three weeks that I was there which made Mommy so very happy! Everyone was amazed at what a good girl I was. Someone even lent me a baby bouncer to jump on!

Mommy and Daddy are planning my first birthday party. I don't understand what that is all about but it sounds fun! I am very active and am trying to stand up and walk by myself. What I like best about our new house is that there is room for me to play. I "cruise" around the house holding on to furniture, Mommy, Daddy or whatever else is around. Here I am with my friends, Emily and Melissa, next to Frosty the Snowman...

Ministry Changes...

Many significant changes are set to take place in the TWR Asia-Pacific Region in the months ahead. KTWG, TWR's local AM radio station on Guam, is in the process of being turned over to a local board. In addition, in order to better meet the needs of our shortwave audience the production work that is currently being done on Guam for KTWR (our shortwave station) will be moved to other parts of the region. English production work will be transitioned to our office in Australia and the preparation of our foreign language blocks will be done somewhere in Asia. This means that many of the TWR missionaries on Guam will either relocate to another part of Asia or be transferred to another region of the world. The technical staff will remain on Guam to operate the shortwave site. Some of the administration and support functions for the Guam broadcasts may be taken on by the remaining technical staff. Please remember to pray for our co-workers who are looking for God's direction concerning these changes.

. Until next time,