Shiwdat's Newsletter October 2005

Dear Co-laborers in Christ
 

We pray that the peace of God will guard your hearts and mind through our Lord Jesus Christ. You have been in our prayers daily as we commit ourselves to the Lord and allow Him to fulfill His purposes in lives on the mission field.

A lot has happened in the short time since we returned to Suriname. On September 8, my brother-in-law's father passed away. That kept us busy for a few days. I had to speak several times in the evening as family members, friends, and neighbors gather together to comfort the bereaved. We used the time only to comfort the family but to share the Gospel with those that do not know the Lord. As a matter of fact, we use every opportunity to make Christ known among the people, whether it is the celebration of birthdays, marriages, anniversaries, or the mourning of the loss of a loved one.

On September 10, Nathan was sick with very high fever and vomiting. I was scheduled to speak on the following Sunday morning but I had to cancel my appointment and find another speaker to fill in for me while we took him to the hospital. Since it was difficult to get a hold of a doctor on the weekend, the Lord provided a couple of people who were able to give us a prescription to purchase some medication for Nathan. He was so miserable but thanks be to the Lord that after using the medication, the fever went away and he was back to his sweet, smiling, active self. Nathan is a continual blessing to us and is a "door opener" for the gospel of Christ. People are amazed of hearing how God after about 20 years has provided us with a son. We are thankful to Him each day for His special gift to us. Pray that God will protect, sustain and keep Nathan healthy.

We have a lot of work ahead of us with regards to the extension of our visas to live and work in Suriname. I have spent an entire week trying to visit the government offices with the purpose of extending our visas. We had applied for an extension before we went to the US last year, but because of our absence we were told that we need to start the whole process all over again. Presently, it is more difficult to renew our visas since the government has added more stipulations. We have to fulfill a long list of requirements before we are considered for a two year visa extension. It will take about a month to gather all the required documents to submit with the application. We will also need to file taxes in Suriname. We have never done this in the past. Pray that we will be successful in gathering all the necessary documents, getting the application in, and receiving a favorable answer from the immigration.

In addition to our ministry among the Hindustani, I have been appointed to serve as interim-field director of World Team in Suriname. After a time of training and coaching, I will become the field director in October 2006. Nadira has been given the responsibility for doing the book-keeping. With our present field director leaving for the US for six-months, we have been meeting with him for several days to talk about the transition and our new responsibilities. Please pray that God will prepare us for the task and the challenges that are ahead of us and that we will have a servant heart in the midst of the transition and additional responsibilities and that God will empower us to serve Him well.

Thanks a lot for making it possible for us to return to Suriname. Take care and God bless you.

In His Hands,
Gurudatt, Nadira, & Nathan