October 10 2018 Prewitt Update

October 9, 2018

Prewitt Update

So much has been happening! My mother has been visiting Heidi and I here in Malaysia, mostly for birthdays. First, she turned 80 on September 16. Then her adopted grandson, Deam, turned 26. And finally, I turned 47 yesterday. But though that was the pleasant reason for mom’s long visit, far more wonderful things have been happening.

And the biggest one is that I am making so many new friends. In the last month or so I have made friends from Kenya, Cashmere, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia, besides of course from Malaysia and Indonesia. And on a Sabbath walk four days ago I met no less than three brand new people, two of which are now actively involved in studying the prophets or helping those who are studying the prophets.
And those who have heard me tell of Aub, the man that was studying religions seven years ago, you will be glad to know that he is now employed by our Indonesia branch, iEAT-extension, as our organic gardener instructor! And his daughter Boni has taken a good interest in all that we are doing.

And those who have heard me tell of Rozie, well, the good news is that if we are faithful unto death, the Lord will give us a crown of life. But as of today, no evidence of his continued existence has turned up.

And Ree, whom some of you may remember as the man that Heidi met while shopping, has helped me do research for our next local church plant, a Malay speaking congregation. (Our English-speaking church is about at capacity, so it is a good time to plant another.)

Regarding Publishing…we start a new canvassing program this coming Sunday (October 14) in Seremban, a large city with one small SDA church. And already we have sold over 11,000 copies of the Great Controversy and Ministry of Healing in our two years of knocking doors. Remember, these are doors in areas were only one door in 5000 has an active Adventist, so that is a great widening of the opportunities of people in this region of the world.

And regarding our most recent travels….we made a visit to the UK for PEACE (that stood for Pan-European Center of Evangelism before politics made the name mean something else. But I never could remember the something else.) And there I made the acquaintance of several of the most precious searching persons I have yet to meet, one of which recently made the blessed and dangerous decision to get baptized.

But perhaps the best thing that happened there was that I met persons who can help translate the prophetic studies I have written into the languages of several countries where access to such things is not available. But more about this at the end of this update where I ask for money.

Then we made our first trip to Kenya. There we spoke for Kenya ALIVE, a revival movement largely composed of young professionals. I always enjoy meeting young professional persons who are faithful Adventists and who are bending their energies at doing God’s work. I encouraged them to reach out to the large and nearly unreached Somali group in nearby sections of Nairobi.

Back in Malaysia we continued our big projects of starting a primary/secondary school in Sabah that will open (see the end-part regarding needs) and our second Borneo Youth Conference (not mentioned at the end, but still shy about $1,000 from the needed budget). And now our June recording spot on Jesus4Asia’s mission update might be showing soon on 3ABN, so we are hoping that will generate something for expanding work in Thailand also.

OK, in short, it is all systems go. I am putting heavy responsibilities on men and women who have been studying here only two or three years and they are carrying them like persons who have been administrators for that many years. And I don’t see any reason to back down and to make smaller plans. One of these, a young lady who was a camper last December, is now taking significant responsibilities organizing Camp II.

A few weeks ago, one of our courageous young ladies returned form Germany where she was recording a series of 45 prophetic studies in the Malay language. These are in post-production (video editing) now and soon will be ready for usage all around this nation. And again, see the end regarding needs.

After our experience with prison this summer (have you read Joshua’s incredible story at Bibledoc.org about it? If not, you should. Three thousand people already have) some changes came to our work. The mission and Aenon were both concerned that our education program could perhaps involve other mission efforts in legal hassle. So to alleviate such possibilities, the Institute of East Asia Studies has taken steps to register as a legal organization in Sabah that will promote holistic wellness through sales and educational programs. And our campus here at Aenon will start renting these facilities from Aenon so that, if trouble arises, the paper trail will show clearly that neither the mission nor Aenon were involved in the administration of our program.

Oh, and the two young men that were in jail so famously…are both planning to do more mission work publicly less than a week from now. Their experience damped no zeal on their own part.

So just who are the administrators then? They are our teaching staff and a handful of students who are legally able to own a corporation in Malaysia. And they are full of faith and courage.

Meanwhile, on the writing front, I was privileged to work with Hart Research on their recent Three Angels’ Messages Project. By now Adventist schools around North America are getting ready to introduce Adventist children to the very messages that make us who we are.

And on another writing front, I have entered the fray over abortion. Both by an article and by a sermon, I have put myself on record as advocating that Adventist hospitals not be an option for people seeking abortion services.
And on another writing front, I have been helping draft Sabbath-school materials for the system that will be replacing Grace-link. My particular duties in that involve coming up with hundreds of activities for use in the lessons. So my creativity is being strained. That must be good for me.

Our next must-take trip will be in December (we leave every 90 days). Then we will visit Germany and perhaps Belgium and Serbia. I guess I think the whole world needs what the same truth that the whole world needs. So I am pleased when I can present in a new place. And there is a subject that is swallowing up every other, that of the Messiah and His Righteousness. And this subject seemed entwined with the need to fill one’s lamp before drifting off to a fitful sleep.

In January we employ a Bible worker in Sabah that will focus attention especially on groups that receive scant attention. Funding for this Bible-worker salary is already received for seven months. As I ought to have another newsletter seven months from now, I am not asking for help with this salary.
And now to the needs I am asking about:

1. Renting a new building for our Malay church plant will cost about $400/month. I think the combined church budget offerings of the likely participants is about $200/month. So that leaves an initial deficit of about $200/month for probably about ten months until more members means less need.

2. Regarding translation: Malay is paid for. Arabic looks to cost about .07 per word for translation plus editing, so about $2,800 for the 40,000 word set of studies. For Farsi, I think we will pay about .04 per word including editing, so about $1,600 for the 40,000 words. I have volunteers to help with several other languages, but will yet need to hire editors to make sure the quality is good. So I think for Urdu, Indonesian, Kurdish, and Bangladeshi, it will cost about $800 each if I can get the main work done by volunteers. If I hire it out, more like $1,600 per language.

3. For the primary/secondary school starting in 2019 in Sabah (following all our counsels), the first year’s cost (aside from the teacher’s salary which is already donated) will be $42,400. That includes mostly one-time costs (putting up a two-bath, 2 class-room, two staff-residence room, 1700 ft2 building on already land purchased with this money too; and buying a vehicle that will be needed for canvassing and busing of students). By the second year we expect this school to be self-sustaining.

4. For the video work, what needs to be funded now is the advertisement of the videos that are nearly ready for use. We will advertise them in Malaysia. For this we would like an initial advertising budget of $3,000. On a pay-per-click basis we think we can reach quite a collection of persons with that advertising.

5. For our new program in 2019 in Thailand…I don’t know how much we need. The property situation there is in upheaval legally in some of the areas we were thinking of working. Nothing you give will be wasted. But I just can’t give a meaningful estimate now of the costs there. But if we have money on hand, we can be ready to jump on a good deal when we see it. That means, it seems, renting rather than buying.

So if this letter falls into the hands of persons who are willing to shoulder some of these loads of getting the work finished in the least reached parts of the world, the total of the above projects is about $53,500. So you could help with 1% ($535) or $25 (that would translate one full Bible study into a key language) or $2,500 (that is how much I intend to give, my earnings from the Hart Project after tithe and taxes) , or, yes, whatever you want to invest where thieves and robbers and rust do not cause problems.

Am glad I can invest in a safe market. Am glad I can offer you an opportunity to do the same.
For an American tax-deductible receipt, give through Jesus4Asia at this link:

https://jesus4asia.org/invest/projects-missionaries/eugene-prewitt/

And specify there which of the above projects you want the money to go for.

Also, J4A above always tells me who gives. But if you ask them to make the gift anonymous, they will gladly do it, and you may claim the reward from your Father that sees in secret.

For donations that need no tax deduction, you may give by banking to any of these accounts (all set up through a Transferwise “borderless” account):

AUD (Australian Dollars):
Account Holder: Eugene W Prewitt
Account: 498510530
BSB Code 082-182
Address: TransferWise; 800 Bourke Street; Melbourne, VIC 3008; Australia

BPD (British Pounds)
Account Holder: Eugene W Prewitt
UK Sort Code: 23-14-70
Account: 36749730
Address: TransferWise; 56 Shoreditch High Street; E1 6JJ; London United Kingdom

Euros: Account Holder Eugene W Prewitt
Swift Code: DEKTDE7GXXX
IBAN: DE95 7001 1110 6052 0291 45
Address: Handelsbank
Elsenheimer Str. 41
80687
München, GERMANY

Or for those who prefer, you may give through PayPal at [email protected]

Please note that donations to Jesus4Asia that do not specify a purpose will generally be given to Heidi and I as taxable personal income.

Someone says, “Aren’t you going to invite poor people to at least pray for the project if they can’t give?” Answer: Hmm. I think that all people who care about the truth will be praying work like ours when they hear about it. Still, I solicit your prayers. But regarding poor people, I wish they would give $1 or $0.25 or something. I think that two bits from one of them might be a great deal useful if it comes the way two bits did earlier.

Someone else says, “why did you send this to me? I am only 13 years old!” I answer, “You have power to let adults know about these needs. You have power and can use it to make a large difference even at 13.”

Be faithful,
Eugene Prewitt

PS How did I get on this mailing anyway?

Answer: Either you asked, or…you sent ME an email about something in the last year and I am returning the favor this way ?, or maybe I just met you somewhere in 2018.

FINALLY: Do you need an electrical engineer or a professor in the engineering of electronics (in the communication field) or a profession middle eastern cook? I have three new friends, natives of Yemen and Syria, that understandably, don’t hope to return to their home countries into the midst of an ongoing war. They all seem like highly intelligent and disciplined and faithful men. So if you could like to perhaps see their CVs with an eye to maybe assisting them in legally settling into some country that has freedom, let me know.

Donations to Date (11-01-18 6:05 AM)
From all verifiable sources (PayPal, Transferwise) $4853
From Jesus4Asia.com: $34,981.93 (after the transfer fees from stripe/paypal/etc.)
From Eugene Prewitt: $2,500.00
From Promises yet to come by January 31, 2019: $18,800.

Total All sources: $61,134.93, including three promises of monthly support due before January 31, 2019.

So still needed, including the added note from yesterday: Only about $2,800 more, and then for more advertising. The more we get, the more we will use. This is advertising the translated materials in the countries where the languages are used.

Items covered by these donations so far.

45,600 Land and Building for new school in Sabah
2,000 Vehicle for school in Sabah
7,500 Translation into Urdu, Farsi, Arabic, Malay, Bengali, Indonesian
4,500 Advertising
2,400  Camp
1,250 Renting a church building for our Malay church plant for six months.

 

PSS… if you have a project to do, like translation, or writing, or IT work, or etc., try freelancer.com and use this link. I have found it to be a decent way to quickly find willing workers at a decent price:

https://www.freelancer.com/get/EugenePrewitt?f=give