Bruce and Mary Damon have been missionaries to Hong Kong and then Macau for over 20 years.  Bruce hales from Pastor Mark’s home church (First Evangelical Free Church in Rapid City, SD), and are the first missionaries that SHEFchurch supported.

 bhdamon@efcaim.org

September 7, 2007

Dear Prayer Team,

Last month we asked you to pray again for "open doors for visiting our non-Christian families."  This has been a regular request since our April letter, and this month we must repeat it.  As we've shared before, the problem is partly with our core group being too busy and partly with lack of interest on the part of the Merciful Love families.

Just a while ago Mary tried again to make an appointment with one of our seven non-Christian families.  When Grandma Yau first brought her 5-year-old grandson to our Sunday meetings in April, she told us she wanted to know Jesus.  But for the past several months she has not returned.  And tonight she had reasons that she did not want us to visit her, either.  We are disappointed and very concerned.  Only God can open the door for us to this home and this lady's heart!  Please pray that we can complete the goal of helping Grandma Yau come to know Jesus.

The one visit we have been able to make, to another family, was brief and did not include a chance to share the gospel.  Mary and Mrs. Chu went together to visit Grandma See and meet her new grandson!  They brought baby gifts, and took some pictures.  We ended up using one of the photos in our Merciful Love craft time, to make a card to celebrate the boy's one-month birthday, a big occasion in Chinese culture.  Grandma See was quite touched by our honoring her family in this way.  So we are thankful for the way that God used even this simple visit.  All the more, then, we pray for more opportunities.

Thank you for your prayers for Mr. Lei in his desire to be a better Christian father.  In late August, before 18-year-old son Ka Ho had started classes at Macau University, Mr. Lei reports that he and Ka Ho had improved their communication during daily lunches at home.  Mr. Lei would appreciate your continued prayers for him and for his son.

Praise the Lord that an English study for several students from August's Outreach English Camp has been going well.  One student prayed to receive Christ last Sunday night!  Please pray for Melissa Lathrop and Pearl Chu as they follow up with this girl and continue the evangelistic study for another two weeks.

Praise the Lord has well for the renewal of the Adult Education Center's rental contract for two more years, until October 2009.  The landlord insisted on a 30% increase in rent, which will be a challenge.  But the stability of remaining in the same place is a great blessing (to say nothing of saving the costs of relocation).  Please continue praying for the work of the special committee in charge of planning Evangel AEC's future direction.  Its second meeting is being held this month.

The date of our next Home Assignment has been set for next April.  Lord willing, we will return to the US for three months in order to visit all of our churches that we missed in 2005.  We are looking forward to seeing supporters that we haven't visited since 2001!

May God supply all your needs as He is supplying ours. 

Yours in Christ,

Bruce and Mary Damon

July 11, 2007

Dear Prayer Team,

This summer we are having more visitors from Hong Kong and the United States than usual.  Most of them are Free Church teams who have been sent by their home churches either to help us in some area of ministry for a few days, or else just to "see the Free Church work" in Macau.  We are glad for all the new interest in Macau and our work.

Part of the draw to  Macau for Hong Kong Christians is the upcoming 200th anniversary of the arrival of the first Protestant missionary to China, Robert Morrison, who arrived in Macau in September 2007, and is buried here. 

Another reason is our new missionary couple, Thomas and Esther Chan.  Their goal of starting the third church plant has aroused a lot of interest among the 48 Evangelical Free Churches in Hong Kong.  The Chans have been leading a weekly Bible study for new believers since May. Some of these people they have led to the Lord themselves, and others are unchurched believers whom they have met one way or another.  Praise the Lord for the rapid progress at this church plant.  Pray for Thomas and Esther as they work intensively with these nine new believers.  Making disciples of Jesus Christ in Macau is not easy.  There are many social problems such as gambling which often pull new converts down.  Pray as well that the Lord will guide the Chans as to when and how to begin worship services in their home.

An exciting reason for hosting United States visitors this year will be our two-week English day camp, being held again for the first time since 2004.  The dates are July 30th through August 10th.  A team of five is coming from a Free Church in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, to lead the camp, which will be held at a government high school.  Three language helpers will also come from an EFC in Hong Kong.  We plan to minister to 36 campers, mostly teenagers and college-age youth.  Please pray for all those involved in Macau, Hong Kong, and the US as we make final preparations.

Pray also for the Lord to work in campers' hearts during the two weeks. 

Amid the flow of visitors, we continue seeking the Lord for His plans for Merciful Love Family Fellowship.  We are thankful for how He has been using Bruce's weekly discipleship training sessions with Mr. Lei, now including Kevin Hui as well, since they resumed last month.  Recent topics on "emotions" and "anger" led to a new depth of personal sharing.  Mr. Lei was able to immediately apply what he learned to a specific situation at home with excellent result; it was the Lord's perfect timing.  Please pray for Mr. Lei in his desire to become a more Christ-like father to his two  sons.  He is already a good father by the standard of the culture, but he would like to have better communication, especially with his 18-year-old, Ka Ho, who enters Macau University this fall.

Please continue to pray for our need to develop regular visitation to our families-regulars, newcomers, and occasional attenders for a total of at least nine, almost all nonChristian. Time is one obstacle for both sides of the equation; another is a seeming lack of interest on the part of the families.  Yet we are convinced of the value of personal contact outside of Sunday morning.

Thank you for all of your prayers for us.  You make a difference.

                     Your co-workers in Christ,

                    Bruce and Mary Damon

December, 2006

Have you ever noticed how many of the New Testament epistles begin with a prayer for grace and peace?  It is evident that these are blessings that God intends us to experience abundantly in our Christian lives.  May the grace and peace of Christ be with you in a special way this Christmas season as you celebrate His coming to earth as our Savior.

As we look back on 2006, we are grateful for God's great grace toward us.  That He counted us worthy to return to serve in Macau was a precious gift of His grace.  In addition He has given us the wonderful privilege of a new church-planting ministry. 

Thank you for praying for our church plant, the Merciful Love Family Fellowship.  Please continue to pray for Mrs. Tang and Grandma See, our most faithful non-Christian attendees.  We have visited individually with both ladies and have discovered that both have a ways to go before believing in Jesus.   Grandma See doesn't yet think she can ever believe, due to family pressures to remain Buddhist.  However, she was anxious to know whether we would still welcome her and her grandson. (Yes :-)) Mrs. Tang seems a little farther along the path to faith, though she says she has to digest it more first.  She has even been inviting other non-Christians to come to our meetings!  We don't recall every seeing a non-Christian become an active recruiter in our previous church plants!  However, her son Wa Ho, the most severely autistic of any of our regular children, continues to need our prayers for his ability to participate happily on Sunday mornings or in just about any activity at school or at home. 

We are thrilled to see the grace of God at work in Mr. Leis progress as a leader in the church plant.  He has led our Sunday Bible studies several times now.  He appears to be well-suited for this role, and so Bruce will continue to train and encourage him.  Mrs. Lei has been showing the strain of constant service to others at home, at work, and in our church plant.  Please pray that the Lord would make His grace and peace real to her through our core group meetings and her regular times with Mary.

Another of God's gracious gifts has been the addition of Melissa Lathrop to our Macau mission team.  Thank you for praying for her language learning, an important but often frustrating part of missionary life.  Her teachers, Mr. & Mrs. Lam, describe her as a very motivated student.  Mary is amazed at how much she manages to use her limited vocabulary on the job.  But we are also thankful that Melissa has found good English fellowship at a new International Church that was launched in August by Baptist missionaries.

An important prayer request concerning Melissa would be finding a furnished apartment to rent beginning in January.  She has been house-sitting for Joy Turner who returns December 29th.

Joy will return to teaching English at Evangel Adult Education Center.  Praise the Lord for the much-needed boost she will give to the work of EAEC.  Many part-time non-Christian teachers have left the center this year due to being hired by Macau's new hotel/casino complexes, or to having to work more overtime in their day jobs to cover for others who have followed the lure of inflated salaries into the gambling industry.  Truly our Education Center is facing a crisis of labor and finances.  Please pray that the spiritual outreach of EAEC may grow in 2007 in spite of temporal hardships.  More Christian teachers are an essential factor.  Please also remember the Christmas evangelistic meeting for students, and their families and friends, on Sunday afternoon December 17th.  The attendance goal is 100, but not many have signed up yet.   You might pray that some of the short-term team of 30 Hong Kong Free Church laypeople who come to assist in this event will be called to return as short-term or long-term teachers!

Thank you, and may you have a very blessed Christmas.

October 8, 2006

September 2006

Last week we got a piece of news that seemed too good to be true—Melissa Lathrop’s work visa has been approved!  This was a full two months earlier than we had expected.  Just when we had resigned ourselves to the Macau government’s stricter laws on overseas workers (including “volunteers” or missionaries), they showed some delightful flexibility.  Melissa plans to arrive in Macau sometime in September.  Praise the Lord and thank you for your prayers!

As you pray for Melissa this month, please pray for the many farewells and the arrangement of her affairs for a one-year absence.  Please pray for us as well, to be able to prepare well to make her transition to Macau ministry a smooth and happy one.  She will be able to flat-sit for our coworker Joy Turner for the first few months of her stay, but by the first of the year, other housing will need to be found and outfitted for her.  Pray for the local couple who are available and willing to do some language tutoring, but who are not experienced with the special phonetic system used only by foreigners and language teachers.  Melissa will be attending and helping with our new church planting project, but she will also need regular Christian fellowship in English. 

 The new project, Merciful Love Family Meeting, is developing well after four weeks.  So far three new, non-Christian families have visited, all with preteen autistic sons.  More have expressed interest.  The format of interactive Bible stories and activities for children and parents  followed by a brief Bible study for just the adults, has been well received.  While Mary’s friend Mrs. Tong finally decided to stay at the Gospel Center, Mr. and Mrs. Lei and their son Ka Hei are a loyal and committed core group. 

One weakness of our new group is that the necessity of keeping the Sunday morning adult times brief and simple means that deeper teaching and fellowship require some extra thought and planning.  Mr. Lei, who works varying shifts and therefore is frequently free in the mornings, has begun meeting weekly with Bruce for discipleship training.  As part of his training, he will lead the adult Bible study for our meetings once each month from October to December.  This will be a “trial run” to help determine whether or not his gifts lie in this area.  Mrs. Lei works fulltime during the day as well as being “mom” at home in the evenings, so finding time for concentrated Bible study is more difficult.  However, Mr. Lei has expressed his willingness to help out in the evenings as his schedule allows so that his wife can have some fellowship time with Mary each week. Pray that Mary and Mrs. Lei can find a good time and place to begin soon.

After being back in Macau for six months, we finally feel back into full gear as missionaries.  Thank you again for standing with us during our extended Home Assignment.

Love to you in Christ

Bruce and Mary Damon

July 2006

Three weeks ago the leaders of the Macau EFC Gospel Center heard a presentation of the vision of a church for families of mentally handicapped children.  It was important to us that we have their blessing
and approval, as we hope to maintain close ties with the Gospel Center.  The response was immediate: "We will support whatever you want to do for these families."

Two days later the plan was also presented to our colleagues on the EFC Macau Mission Council.  They not only approved the proposal, but said we could start as soon as we thought best.

When we shared this good news with Mr. and Mrs. Lei, it didn't take long to decide on August 13th as the first Sunday for our new group.

Praise the Lord for this green light to launch church planting among the many needy families of the mentally handicapped in Macau!  As we proceed with preparations for the new group, please pray especially for the
following:

1.      Mary's preparation of flannelgraph Bible stories, songs and other activities that will effectively include the parents as well as the children in learning each week's Bible truth.

2.      Bruce's training of Mr. and Mrs. Lei to share leadership of the group with us from the beginning, including some teaching responsibilities among the adults.

3.      The designing of a good flyer to use in inviting prospective families to the meetings.

4.      Continued smooth relations with the Gospel Center as we begin meeting Sunday mornings in a separate location (the new Macau Mission apartment where Bruce has his office).

5.      Mrs. Tong, who currently attends the Gospel Center with her handicapped daughter, and who needs to make her decision about whether or not to join the new service.

6.      New, unsaved parents and their children to begin attending our services soon.

7.      Our physical and spiritual health, and the protection of the Lei family from Satan's attacks, as we go through the final steps of preparation.

After this new meeting has started, Bruce will still speak once a month at the regular Gospel Center service.  Mary, however, will stay with the new group every week.  Bruce's role will not be as full-time pastor of the group, but as part-time trainer, participant and supervisor.  Mary, the Leis, and eventually other parents, will do much of the regular ministry.

So, Bruce will still be looking for an opportunity to start another house church or cell group church where he could play a similar part-time role.  Please pray for God to reveal His will for Bruce's complete work assignment in our new term to both him and the Macau Mission leadership.

 May we all walk in His will each day.

Yours gratefully in Christ,

June 2006

After spending a considerable amount of time taking care of some often frustrating, yet necessary, administrative details, Bruce has begun the research on church planting in Macau that he has been assigned by the Evangelical Free Church Macau Mission.  As he conducts interviews to find out what other church planters are doing in Macau, he is looking in particular for those who have experience working with house churches led by lay people.  If such a strategy could be implemented by the Macau Mission, our need for both finances and seminary-trained pastors would be greatly reduced.  Faster growth of Christ’s church should result.  But research must be followed by planning before any implementation can begin.

Meanwhile, the two of us have been meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Lei of the Gospel Center to develop the vision of a church for families with mentally handicapped children.  The Leis have responded with enthusiasm.  They really want to win other parents like themselves to Christ, and they believe this will be an excellent way to do that!

Thank God with us for this open door we have with the Leis and Mary’s ministry to reach this largely unreached segment of Macau’s population with the Gospel through a church specifically designed for them.  Please pray that we, together with the Macau Mission leaders, will be able to discern the best way to go through this open door.  May this new church plant get started soon!

Please pray also for the overall church-planting strategy to be used by the EFC Macau Mission.  May God show us how to use our limited resources in the most effective way.

During our recent Home Assignment we spoke in many of our churches about our need for more workers on the field, whether from America or Hong Kong.  We appealed to everyone to “pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth workers,” based on Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 9:35-38.  God is answering those prayers!

Even before we returned to Macau, Iris Ling was preparing to be sent from Hong Kong.  She is now adapting very well to her work as Principal of Evangel Adult Education Center.  Sarah Gong was also in place at the Gospel Center before we got back.  Although not a missionary sent to Macau, she is still one of the workers that God knew we needed and therefore “sent” to us. 

Another example of God’s provision of new workers is Melissa Lathrop.  Although her original arrival date of May had to be delayed, we believe that, with your prayers, she will arrive within a few months.  The new application for her visa appears to be headed for success.  And now, besides Melissa and the others just mentioned, there is a church-planting couple from Hong Kong who have just been accepted by the Hong Kong EFC Missions Board.  They hope to arrive in Macau by early next year.  Please thank God with us for Thomas and Mei-Ling Chan!

All these new developments are tremendously exciting, but require us to adapt to new situations and strategies at a dizzying pace.  Please pray that God will continue to supply our daily needs for strength and grace.  Praise Him for His goodness, faithfulness and power!

April 2006

What has it been like to come home to Macau after our longest absence (10-1/2 months) since arriving on the field? Certainly different from December 1993, when we first arrived and knew no one, nor knew our way around the city!

We flew into Hong Kong around midnight March 2nd. It was close to 3 AM on the 3rd before we reached our home and were greeted first tentatively, then with great enthusiasm, by our cat. The familiar sounds of traffic and the local Karaoke restaurant downstairs lulled us to sleep for a very short night.

Any thoughts of a gradual adjustment to jet lag were soon abandoned. Notations in our datebook for the month of March include eight special mission or church meetings either here or in Hong Kong, 35 children's therapy appointments for Mary, numerous visits to government departments regarding mission administration details for Bruce, and at least a dozen "welcome back" meals for one or both of us!

Some serious pastoral matters awaited us as well. Our first day back included the Buddhist funeral rites for a young man who had attended the Gospel Center's young adult fellowship several times along with his older sister, but who had chosen not to respond to the gospel. Just that week, Ron had concluded he had no hope, and took his own life. Please pray for the grieving Cheung family, and especially for Ron's sister June, who has drifted away from faith in the past few years.

We were also greatly saddened to hear of a crisis in the marriage of one of our outstanding laywomen. Currently they are working at repairing the damage, but it has been a very traumatic experience for them both. Pray that God might use even this to strengthen their relationship with each other, and bring the husband to Himself.

Another church member, A-Ping, has been experiencing great heartbreak over her younger son. 16-year-old A-Daat has dropped out of school after years of struggle academically. The choices he has been making as to how to fill his time or find meaning have not been wise or healthy ones. A-Ping's faith has showed itself tremendously strong during this time, but it is hard for her as the only committed believer in her family.
Please pray for the Liu family, and for our desire to be a support to these close friends.

We need to make clear that none of these unhappy situations in any way reflect poorly on the ministry of the Gospel Center's current pastor, Sarah Gong. She has quickly earned the trust of the people, and has spent much time personally contacting individuals to encourage their participation in the life of the church. One example of a positive result is the high number of those who brought visitors to last night's evangelistic meeting, with at least one clear decision for Christ. Mrs. Lee was invited to the meeting by her sister, who happens to be the mother of the first missionary sent out from the Gospel Center, Kevin Hui.

As you might imagine from the list of all that has been going on since our return, our newest church planting project is still only in the planning stage! Praise God for opportunities that are already looking promising, such as starting a fellowship/evangelism group for special-needs families. Please pray for a smooth yet definite transition away from the Gospel Center over the next several months.

As always, we are very grateful for your prayers and support which contribute much to the work in Macau. We welcome any prayer requests you might wish to share with us, so that we might be full partners in His service.

Yours in Christ,

Bruce and Mary Damon

January 2006

Happy New Year in Christ!  We are still in Rapid City, South Dakota, focusing on raising some additional financial support and hoping to leave for Macau by the first of March.  God has already used a number of people to give some one-time gifts that we have applied toward our 2006 support requirement, and we have also received three monthly pledges totaling $125.  Our remaining need, therefore, is for $325 in monthly pledges.  Please continue praying with us that this amount will come in by February.  We believe this request honors God, because it is for the sake of our coworkers there, and of those who need the gospel in Macau, as well as for our own hearts’ desire to return in a timely manner.  Thank you for believing and praying with us!

Now it is time to recount some of God’s major answers to your prayers in 2005:

  1.  Mrs. Tong, one of Mary’s “moms,” prayed to receive Christ one week before we left for Home Assignment in April.  She is doing very well spiritually at the Gospel Center.

  2.  The summer saw two new missionary candidates come forward for Macau.  Iris Ling from Hong Kong (career), and Melissa Lathrop from the US (1-year short term) are currently raising their support and hope to arrive in Macau this spring.

  3.  A local female pastor, Ms. Gong, was hired for the Gospel Center beginning December 1st.  A special note—lady pastors have been common in the Evangelical Free Church of China for many decades, but are expected to work under an ordained male pastor.  Rev. Stephen Kwok, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Evangelical Free Church Overseas Missions Board, is currently serving as Acting Senior Pastor for the Gospel Center from a distance.

  4.  Permission was given by our EFCA-IM leaders on December 7th for us to return to Macau by early March (assuming we are fully supported).  The required extension of our Home Assignment had been very difficult for us, as well as for the Gospel Center and others in Macau, but God has been faithful to all of us.  He even used our unexpected absence to speed up progress at the Gospel Center!

            And so, looking back on the year 2005, we can see that our ministries in Macau experienced God’s wonderful provision and deliverance.  We believe He will continue to do this in 2006 “as you help us by your prayers” (II Cor. 1:11)

                              Gratefully in Christ,

                              Bruce and Mary Damon

October 2005

Thank you for praying for us since our last letter in July.  While we still do not fully understand God’s purposes for our extended time in the US, we invite you to rejoice with us in His faithfulness during this time.

A visit to Macau the first week of August, to meet with the church and other friends personally to explain the change in plans, was encouraging and affirming to us.  We were very moved to be able to share in the Lord’s Supper and feel an especially strong sense of “communion” with the people.  Another highlight for Bruce was seeing the junior high youth fellowship still thriving.  One for Mary was finding out how avidly Mrs. Tong, converted just before we left in April, has been reading the Bible on her own.

On our arrival back in Rapid City, we moved from the home of our gracious summer hostess Delores Puckett, to a rental property she found for us through one of her neighbors.  (Note our new address above.)  Amazingly, our new home is not only fully furnished but has everything down to dishes, linens, and food in the pantry! 

Another example of God’s abundant provision has been an opportunity to minister to some Cantonese speakers here in Rapid City.  At a picnic sponsored by International Students, Inc., we met 20-year-old Tim Huang, who had arrived in June to study at a local college.  To our surprise and further delight, we learned that Tim’s mother had also recently immigrated to Rapid City, having married a local man in March!  Yin has very limited English so was even more excited than Tim to find some Americans with whom she could converse freely.  Mary took her “garage saling” this morning, a new cultural experience she greatly enjoyed!   Please pray for us in our efforts to help them come to know Christ.  Tim has already expressed definite interest in learning more.

A special blessing for Mary began two weeks ago as an opportunity to do some volunteering and observing at a local center for Children’s Rehabilitation.  Then yesterday morning she was officially invited to become a regular, part-time/temporary employee, to help fill in for some therapists with overlapping maternity leaves!  She would have been perfectly content to do this without pay; however, it is true that her small salary will be welcome to offset the unexpectedly high cost of living in the US.

Unfortunately, our current support level is still below what we are required to have raised before our return to Macau which, Lord willing, we hope will be in early 2006.  With increases for the new budget year, we are now lacking around $450/month.  Would you please join us in looking to the Lord for this financial need?

May He provide all your needs as well.

September 2005

Thank you for being  one of our faithful prayer supporters for the work of establishing God’s Kingdom in Macau.  Some of you have also become our financial supporters.  In either or both ways, your support has been instrumental in giving many people the chance to hear the Gospel in Macau since 1994.  This has occurred both through our church plant, the Gospel Center, and through our social service ministry, Evangel Adult Education Center.  Even though Mary and I are currently in the U.S. for an extended Home Assignment, the work in those two ministries is being carried on by dedicated local Macau Christians, as well as by our fellow missionaries from the U.S. and Hong Kong.

As you know, the Education Center was re-located in April last year, greatly enhancing its outreach potential.  EAEC now has classroom capacity for 100 students, compared to only 35 before the move!  I recently received the report from Principal Joy Turner for the academic year 2004-05, and was happy to see that total registrations for the 12 months from August to July had been  1,568, with 15 students praying to receive Christ as personal Savior and 14 others registering an interest in learning more about Him!  We expect that the number of registrations for classes, as well as decisions for Christ, will keep growing over the next few years as the new facility reaches its full potential.

The re-location of the Center  involved an expense to the EFCA-International Mission’s Macau Field of US $18,000.  You perhaps remember seeing this figure in several of our prayer letters since early 2004, with a request to consider contributing toward it.  I am pleased to report that a total of $ 6,465 has been received for this project by our Home Office in Minneapolis to date.  Today I am writing this special letter to say another “thank you” to those who have already given, but also to ask the rest of you to again consider giving toward this worthy missions project.

Although the re-location has already been completed, with all the bills paid, the funds in the EFCA-IM Macau Field bank accounts are now very low.  This limits our Field’s ability to provide on-going support for Education Center’s operating budget.  In fact, as of  the end of this year, we will have used up virtually all our available funds for the Education Center.  Thus, any one-time gifts that are received toward the re-location project will enable our Field to maintain a higher level of subsidy to EAEC in 2006 than would be possible without them.

Since 1997 our Field has been giving a monthly subsidy of  US $1,500 to EAEC.  Our partner Mission in Macau, the EFC of China—Hong Kong Overseas Missions Board, has been giving much more than that.  We (the two partners) have been thankful to see the financial condition of EAEC greatly improve in the past two years, and we expect that subsidies can be reduced in 2006.  However, there will still be a need that will exceed our Field’s current ability to provide.  Thank you for considering a one-time gift of any amount to help the EFCA-IM Macau Field, so that it can help Evangel Adult Education Center operate smoothly in 2006.  Please send any gifts to:

You may designate the gifts for: Macao Education Center Project

May God supply all your needs as well.  Whether you give to this project or not, thank you for your on-going partnership with Mary and me for God’s Kingdom in Macau.

April 2005

The Gospel Center's evangelistic meeting on Easter Saturday night was not well attended by non-Christians. Only two were there. But one of them in particular was an answer to our prayers for "non-Christians who are seeking God." Miss Chan, a colleague of Mary's from the special-needs daycare center, has come to church services on and off for the past year as her schedule allows. When our EE team met with her, she told them that she couldn't believe in Jesus because her mother was deeply involved in Chinese traditional religion, being what we might call a "spirit medium." She feels she dare not be a disloyal daughter, fearing the opposition that would be involved in becoming a Christian. Yet she finds herself drawn to the peace she experiences just sitting and listening to the Word being preached!

Please pray for Miss Chan to be "rescued...from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God's beloved Son." (Col. 1:14) Please pray as well for Education Center Chaplain Pearl Chu's follow-up group which starts today, for interested students from the Center's "evangelistic barbecue" on March 19. She plans to start with some handicrafts that she uses as gospel illustrations, and then try and progress to regular Bible study after a few weeks. Pray that she would see some fruit from this effort.
 

Last month you prayed for Mary's friend Mrs. Tong. Since then she made great strides toward faith. The last barrier was her continuing concern about the seeming contradiction of being a believer in Jesus but living in the presence of her husband's idols at home. None of Mary's assurances were convincing to her, since Mary had no direct experience with this issue. So on Wednesday, April 6, Mary invited a mutual friend, Mrs. Cheui, to join the two of them for tea. Mrs. Cheui was a believer for five or six years before her husband agreed to rid their home of idols. Her testimony made the difference. After tea the three women adjourned to our home, where Mrs. Tong prayed to receive Christ as Savior! Rejoice with us for her salvation, and for the perfect provision of Mrs. Cheui, who will meet with her regularly for follow-up during our absence! At the same time, please pray for Mrs. Tong's immediate need for God's sustaining grace and peace as she faces her husband's displeasure at her decision.

As we write, our Home Assignment is very nearly upon us. We thank the Lord that our preparations are coming together on time. This is an even more wonderful answer to prayer than it first appears! Last Wednesday, our laptop computer, which had been working perfectly fine up until then, suddenly refused to turn on. Inside, along with other valuable documents, was the only copy of our not-quite-finished PowerPoint slide presentation!

That night we brought this need to our church's regular prayer meeting. The next day it still refused to work...until Mary brought it in to a repair shop! Immediately she had the repairman save our most important files on a "key disk." So while we were disappointed to learn yesterday that the malfunctioning part cannot be replaced before we leave, we were able to complete our PowerPoint presentation using the computer in Bruce's office at the church. Truly our God is merciful!!

Another answer to prayer was being accepted for a one-week retreat for Christian workers at a beautiful setting on Lake Huron, during the latter half of June. Previously we had been put on a waiting list, but now a place for us has been confirmed. We look forward to this guided retreat as an excellent source of the "rest and refreshment" we are seeking this Home Assignment.

Meanwhile, we are also thanking God for providing leadership for the Gospel Center while we are gone. No single person will oversee everything. The major tasks will be shared by Mr. Cheung and Pearl Chu, with an important role as well for a laywoman, Mrs. Cheng. She is the secretary of the Gospel Center Management Committee, but has agreed to take on the role of Acting Chairman while we are gone. This is the first time for one of our laypeople to exercise such a prominent leadership role at the Gospel Center. Please pray that God will supply Mrs. Cheng with the wisdom to handle, in consultation with Mr. Cheung and Ms. Chu, any difficult circumstances which might arise during our absence.

We will not be able to see all of you on our Home Assignment this time. We do hope to call those we cannot visit. Of course, you are also welcome to call or visit us!  While we will be doing some limited traveling (so call before you drop by!):

3016 Wisconsin Avenue

Rapid City, SD 57701

(763) 222-3895--cell phone after April 19th.

bhdamon@efcaim.org

March 2005

Two years ago Macau and Hong Kong were in the middle of the SARS crisis.  Thankfully, that disease has not come back, although it was only very recently that body temperature monitors disappeared from the ferry pier and local government offices.  This month the Macau Gospel Center will use the video testimony of one Christian doctor's work on the front lines of the SARS battle in Hong Kong in March 2003 as part of our Easter evangelistic meeting.  In addition to this filmed testimony, I will give a gospel message and call to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Praise God that this meeting is coming together at all! This will be the first evangelistic meeting planned and run entirely by the Gospel Center, without support from Hong Kong short-termers--and in the midst of our Home Assignment preparations!  Praise God for this evidence of increased maturity and confidence among our laypeople.

Please pray for this meeting, to be held on Saturday evening March 26:

The goal of gaining "true conversions to Christ" has always been an elusive one in our past evangelistic meetings, including those held together with the Adult Education Centre.  For example, Chaplain Pearl Chu reports that none of the five people who expressed a desire for an evangelistic Bible study after our Christmas Eve meeting have so far "had time" to attend one.  But Pearl is organizing an evangelistic picnic for all AEC students, to be held on the 19th of this month, so she will invite the five (plus many
others) to that. 

For several months Mary has been having a weekly time of evangelistic Bible study with Mrs. Tong following her daughter's physical therapy session.  After Bible study, while Ka Kei naps at the daycare center, the Mary and her mother go for lunch at the teahouse downstairs.  Mrs. Tong has been asking good questions recently, such as, "Can I really talk to Jesus about all my troubles?"  Once she was so intent on listening to Mary explain something that she stopped lifting her teacup to her mouth and started pouring the tea on the table instead!

Due to an unexpected need to attend some meetings at our Mission Home Office in Minneapolis on April 20-21, we have moved our Home Assignment date forward by two weeks, to mid-April.  Naturally this means that we have to complete all preparations, including our first-ever PowerPoint presentation (a big task for the technologically challenged!) a little faster than anticipated. 

In our next letter, we will tell you more specifically how to pray for the Gospel Center during our absence.  The question of who will be in charge is still being decided.  We'll also tell you about the results of the Easter meeting, and the latest prayer requests from Joy Turner's and Pearl Chu's work at the Education Center.

Thank you so much for working alongside us in prayer.

January 2005

As we look back on 2004, we thank the Lord for answered prayer as reflected in the following items:

1. Move to much better facilities by the Education Center

2. Arrival of Pearl Chu as chaplain for the Education Center

3. Salvation of Ada, from the 2003 Christmas Outreach

4. Salvation and growth of Mr. & Mrs. Lei at the Gospel Center

5. New lay leaders emerging for the Gospel Center’s Children’s Fellowship, Children’s Worship, and Ladies’ small group.

6. At least nine decisions for Christ through the 2004 English Camp

7. Coming of Mr. Cheung as part-time volunteer pastor

8. Relief from overwhelming stress by October

9. Increase in personal financial support by January (our lack has gone down from $250/month to less than $100!)

 We are also thankful for good meetings at three spots on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  The Education Center’s Christmas Eve meeting saw 8 people request gospel literature to be mailed to them, and 5 people sign up for an evangelistic small group.  (Please pray for Pearl as she directs these follow-up efforts.)  Later that night at the Cathedral façade, several thousand people heard the gospel during a four-hour open air meeting.  From 11 pm to midnight, Bruce counseled a high school girl who had made a firm decision for Christ that night.  Candy, who is from a Buddhist home, asked non-stop questions and was already saying she wanted to become a fulltime Christian worker!  Finally, on Christmas night, the Gospel Center hosted about 60 people for its celebration.  Although it was not a specifically evangelistic evening, we were happy to see at least 20 visitors, all of whom participated enthusiastically in the festivities and listened attentively to Bruce’s gospel talk. 

With all these things to thank the Lord for, we can see that 2004 was a very blessed year.  This is in spite, as you know, of how difficult it many times was.

Mary and I are still in need of renewal and refreshment as we begin the new year.  Thank you for continuing to pray for our arrangements for home assignment from May to July.  Pray that we will be able to effectively present the progress that has been made in the past three years, as well as the needs that we are still facing.  May God use our home assignment to inspire prayer, raise up financial support for us personally as well as for the Education Center, raise up new missionary candidates, and give us renewed hearts for serving Him.  Perhaps that sounds like too much to expect from three months!  But we trust that with much prayer and careful planning, all these things can happen.

As part of the essential preparation for our home assignment an acting pastor must be appointed for the Gospel Center.  Mr. Cheung is willing to accept the responsibility, but the EFC Macau Mission leadership must decide whether he is suitable.  Thank you for praying that God will grant His wisdom for this big decision.

Wishing you a joyful new year in Christ,

November 2004

October 2004

We are enjoying fall weather here, a big relief from the hot, humid summer.  Mary and I are also enjoying some relief from the stress that was overwhelming us by the end of the summer.  Thank the Lord for Mr. Cheung, our volunteer part-time pastor, who has been giving us a break from some of our ministry responsibilities.  He has also been a very encouraging person to be around.

We ask your prayer that the Lord’s will be done in our long-term relationship with Mr. Cheung.  Would he make a good permanent, full-time coworker for Bruce at the Gospel Center?  Would this even be possible, given that he and his wife would have to join the Evangelical Free Church of China in Hong Kong and be sent back to Macau as missionaries?  Would it be practical, considering their nearness to retirement age?

A shorter-term, simpler question is whether Mr. Cheung would be suitable as a substitute for Bruce for three months during our proposed Home Assignment next May through July.  Yes, the dates are set for our Home Assignment, but we are still waiting for God to confirm this plan by providing good temporary leadership for the Gospel Center.  Thank you for praying for God’s supply.

 Please pray also for our ability to prepare effective presentations to use in visiting some of our churches in the U.S.  We will not be able to visit all of you due to the shortness of this Home Assignment combined with our need for more rest this time than on previous trips home.  Our plan, however, is to start returning every two years for shorter Home Assignments, so we should be able to visit each of you by 2007 at the latest!

 Praise God for progress in two areas that we asked prayer for last month.  Ada, the new convert from the Education Center, has signed up to accompany Pearl Chu (AEC Chaplain) to the Gospel Center’s outdoor service and baptism this Sunday!  This will be Ada’s first time at a Gospel Center event.  Even more solid is what we see happening with Alex Chan from English Camp.  Alex actually requested a one-on-one Bible study with someone.  Bruce met with him last week for the first session, and discovered that he is already saved!  Now Bruce and a young man from our senior youth fellowship will be guiding Alex through a six-lesson New Believers’ course.  Praise the Lord!

 Alex’s profession marks the 10^th one from this year’s English camp.  Pearl and Mr. Cheung are working to bring more of those “new converts” into our high school youth group at the Gospel Center.  Please keep praying for their follow-up efforts with the remaining 2 boys and 7 girls.

 This Sunday, October 10^th, Mr. Lee will be baptized at Macau’s largest beach following our outdoor worship service there.  He has invited ten friends and relatives to attend the service and baptism, including his older son who has previously resisted anything to do with the church.  Praise God for Mr. Lee’s rapid growth since turning from idols to the living God in January!  Mrs. Lee applied for baptism as well, but we found she was not really spiritually ready, and she seemed almost relieved to be able to wait until next year.  In the meantime she and Mary are starting to get together more regularly for informal follow-up.

September 2004

Greetings as the school year begins in Macau.  All the students up through grade 12 wear uniforms, so the crowded sidewalks of our city change in appearance as soon as summer vacation ends.  In our church there is another obvious change this year—the departure of several college-age students who were home for the summer.  The students have continued to mature in the Lord while away, and were a blessing to the church over the past few months.  By next Sunday they will all be gone, and the congregation will miss them!

Than you for praying for our vacation in Hong Kong at the end of August.  We were greatly in need of renewal, especially spiritually and mentally.  After the week was over, we both felt it had not been long enough!  Yet, we did have some good time together and came up with a few ideas for reducing the stress in our ministries at the Gospel Center to a more manageable level.   Please continue to pray for us as we implement these changes over the next several months.

Please pray especially for Mary’s ministry on Sunday mornings supervising  Ka Hei.  This has gotten more and more difficult as her own spiritual life has lacked needed input.   One of the changes that will take place in October is that our weekly church prayer meeting will be moved from its current time slot of Sunday morning before the service.  Mary looks forward to being able to use that time to be able to pray by herself—in English!—or occasionally with a prayer partner, rather than having the pressure of an extended time of public prayer in Chinese immediately preceding the stress of dealing with Ka Hei. 

Ka Hei’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lee, are still in the process of applying for baptism.  Mr. Lee has been accepted, while Mrs. Lee’s interview is coming up soon.  We are hoping to hold a baptismal ceremony at one of Macau’s beaches in October!

Meanwhile we have had some encouraging answers to prayer.  For example, one of the ladies who joined a Bible study with Mary following last Christmas Eve’s evangelistic meeting, recently prayed with Pearl Chu to receive Christ!  God has blessed both the sower (Mary) and the reaper (Pearl).  Please pray that Pearl will also be able to lead Ada into a growing relationship with Christ, and with His church.

Another exciting answer to prayer has been the growing number of decisions for Christ by English campers.  Among the 27 campers who attended our shortened camp, nine are now known to have professed Christ as Savior.  One of these, Jackson, was hospitalized with a serious blood infection when Pearl led him to the Lord.  We are thankful that Jackson’s condition has since cleared up, but even more thankful that he had this extra chance to hear and respond to the Gospel.

Nine is an unusually high number of decisions in an English camp.  God has done a marvelous thing.  But we must honestly tell you that none of these nine is yet attending our church or youth fellowship.  Would you pray for our efforts, led by Pearl, to “bring them into the fold”?  Ironically, one camper who has not yet professed Christ, has been coming faithfully to youth fellowship over the past month!  So please also pray for the salvation of 16-year-old Alex Chan.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers.  They are bringing forth fruit and are vital to our service as your missionaries.

August 2004

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.”  This line from Hebrews 13 was an encouragement.  In the same chapter was the good reminder to “continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise.”  We had just finished a very busy week of English camp and were confronting some problems in the Gospel Center when I read these words.

The whole summer, in fact, has been unusually stressful.  Our workloads have been one reason, with me assuming some of Amy Tang’s former ministries, and Mary having extra children to see for therapy during the summer.  But a string of challenging situations at church has affected both of us too.

For example, during Sunday services, Mary cares for a 9-year-old autistic boy, the son of Mr. & Mrs. Lee who converted to Christ in January.  This summer his behavior has deteriorated; this makes Sunday morning even more difficult, and an emotional and spiritual challenge for Mary.  Between Sundays, I have encountered several relatively major crises at church, including serious conflicts between different church members. 

In addition, our personal financial support income has dipped slightly this year.  Learning our support requirement will increase $250 per month in January 2005 added one more temptation to worry, along with the continuing financial needs of the Education Center.  Thank you for praying God will supply these needs according to His will.

We also thank the Lord He is protecting us and the church.  He has supplied strength and help at critical moments.  In July we gained a volunteer part-time assistant pastor, Mr. Cheung, who now serves with us on weekends.   Mr. Cheung, 57, is an experienced pastor and administrator whom I got to know in a weekly prayer meeting for local Christian workers.  He has made a one-year commitment to our church.  Praise the Lord! 

Another kind of blessing came at the beginning of August.  Our one-week Outreach English Camp went very well, with 27 campers and 5 professed decisions for Christ!  We thank the Lord for the good work of the team from Faith EFC of Manitowoc, Wisconsin.  Please pray for the follow-up of the five campers: Ray, Yukari, Sandra, Ivy and Vanessa.  Pray also for seekers Keith and Alex, who have attended our services since the camp.  Pearl Chu, chaplain of the Adult Education Center, is coordinating the follow-up.  Her help is another gift for which we thank God.

We rejoice that Mr. and Mrs. Lee, mentioned above, have applied for baptism.  They have grown a lot in the Lord this year, and will probably pass their baptismal interview next month with a panel of missionaries and laypeople.  Baptism is a major event for Chinese Christians, signaling their formal break with past religious beliefs and practices.  It also often threatens their relationships with non-Christian family and friends.  Please pray, therefore, for Mr. and Mrs. Lee.  Remember their autistic son Ka Hei and his older brother Ka Ho has well.  May they one day follow their parents’ faith in Christ.

Finally, give thanks with us as we celebrate 19 years of marriage later this month!  We plan to spend a week at a missionary guesthouse in Hong Kong, to seek needed rest and refreshment at the end of our draining summer.  Please pray that we might return with renewed energy for and joy in our work.

May 2004

February2004

2004 started with a wonderful surprise for the Gospel Center.  On January 4th during a testimony service, a man announced that he and his wife had decided to believe in Jesus. They were also pledging to get rid of all the traditional Chinese idols in their home.  This couple, the Lei family mentioned in our November letter--first attended our church last summer through Mary's invitation.  Since then they have experienced peace and love that they had never known before.

The significance of this event to us is hard to exaggerate.  Never before in the 10-year history of the Gospel Center have a husband and wife converted together, or jointly rid their home of idols.  It is a special thrill for Mary to see this first fruit of her ministry with handicapped children.  Praise the Lord for His mercy to the Leis and His encouragement to us and to our church.  Please pray for the complete grounding of the Leis in Christ, and for the salvation of their sons--Ka Hei, 8, and his 14-year-old normal brother Ka Ho.

At the new home of Evangel Adult Education Center classes are finally in session.  Moving into the 3-floor facility and passing government inspections took from December 19th through January 30th.  This new Center, with seven classrooms rather than just three, can serve many more students than at the old site.  It is also better located and moreeasily accessed from the street.  We anticipate the coming four years of our lease to be very successful in terms of student enrollment.

Will they also be successful years in terms of evangelism, and of contributing new converts to the Gospel Center?  That is not as easy to predict.  However, we are excited that the Hong Kong Evangelical Free Church missions board is sending over a missionary to serve as chaplain of the school.  Ms. Pearl Chu is expected to arrive in May.  Perhaps this is God's sign that He will give us the spiritual fruit we long for in the coming four years as well.  Please pray for Pearl as she continues raising support among EFC congregations in Hong Kong.

We are thankful for some special contributions from the U.S. and Hong Kong.  Of the $18,000 needed by the EFCA-International Mission, several thousand has been received.  Please pray that the remaining need will be met. 

Thank you all, again, for praying for us and our work in Macau over the past ten years.  May God bless you, your families and your churches for your part in bringing the Gospel to this city.

November 2003

Greetings in Christ.  As we write this letter, carpenters and other workers are busily bringing the new Evangel Adult Education Center facility into its final form.  If all continues to go well, the Center will move there before Christmas.

As the picture [below] shows, the new location is a modern multi-story office building.  We have rented floors two, three and four, each one approximately 2,000 square feet in area.  The space for offices and classrooms here will be three times greater than at the old location!

We are applying to the Education Department for rent subsidy and relocation expense subsidy.  Due to EAEC's good reputation built up with the government since 1998, we are hopeful of getting approval for at least a share of our requests.  In U.S. dollars, the rent will be around $3,100 per month, with costs of renovating and equipping the new Center amounting to around $65,000.  Even with the anticipated government help, and the Center's existing relocation fund, there will still be a need for gifts from Evangelical Free Churches in Hong Kong and the U.S.  EFC Hong Kong Mission and our EFCA-IM/Macau field have each pledged specific amounts:

We would like to ask you and your church to consider helping us fulfill our two pledges.  If you do wish to give, just send your donation to the EFCA-IM headquarters and make a note that it is for either Evangel Adult Education Center relocation or monthly operating costs in 2004.  Thank you!

An exciting note from the Gospel Center this month concerns Mrs. Lei, mother of an autistic child, whom we wrote about in August.  One Sunday last month our Evangelism Explosion team visited Mr. and Mrs. Lei in their home.  Both of them listened intently to the Gospel presentation, asking many questions.  They said they are wondering if Christianity can help them and their son, admitting that their own traditional Chinese religion cannot.  Our team affirmed that Jesus will bring peace, hope, and power for living to all who believe.  This was truly good news to them.

Since then both of the Leis as well as their son have been coming regularly to our Sunday services.  Mary helps keep Ka Hei occupied in the children's church area to free his parents to participate in the adult service.  Praise God for this progress toward winning a whole family to Christ!  We will be sure to report it to you when they truly put their trust in Him.