Dec 22, 2006 Notes from the Hardistys

Thank you all for praying for the believers in the areas devastated by the last series of typhoons which past through the Philippines . Relief efforts are underway. Continue to pray as the assemblies seek to rebuild their buildings and the saints begin to rebuild their lives. May the Lord use this time of “testing” to build endurance in their lives for His glory. Join with me in praying that this will also open up opportunities for the spread of the gospel and the growth of the kingdom.

Thank you all for your prayers for us over the past couple of weeks. My sister Laurie entered the presence of the Lord on December 12^th. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her. We are thankful that the Lord allowed us to be there for her funeral.

We have now returned to Chicago after a week in Connecticut and 11 days in Wisconsin . It is hard to know where “home” is at this point. Seems we are waking up in a different bed each morning. But we are pleased to now be in Chicago for the next couple of weeks. The family will all be here for Christmas. Abby and Daniel will be driving down from Dubuque on Christmas Eve, Rachel flies in on Friday the 22^nd, and Kim and Larry and family are just a short drive away in Aurora . So it will be nice to be together one last time before heading overseas.

We leave Chicago on January 5^th for West Virginia , North Carolina , South Carolina , Georgia and Florida . We will hang our hats in Florida for the month of February. Keep us in your prayers as we travel.

Assembly Believers Need Prayer - Dec 2006 - Typhoon

The following is an excerpt of an email from Rose Brooks received on Dec 14, 2006.

We have five assemblies in Albay on the east coast of Luzon, where two super typhoon hit recently. Actually we have hed four strong typhoons in past few weeks all going through central Luzon.

All the five chapels were blown away leaving only some cement walls. Almost all believers' homes were blown off leaving only cement floors and posts. Being mostly farmers, all their crops were flattened or uprooted by very strong winds and buried by mud from overflowing rivers. One member died from a heart attack during all this.

All in all more than 200 believers in the five congregations are now homeless and without livelihood for 3 to 6 months.

Two fulltime workers from Luzon are making a fact-finding trip and bringing initial gifts. A second trip will be made shortly after this.