sigafoose robert diane 1983 singapore
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/11/2019 Sigafoose Robert Diane 1983 Singapore
1/8
JAN
28 983
^
i wiiii
Go therefore and make disciples
h o f
n tions ..
Box 67, Collinsvine, Illinois
6^ 23 3
BOB and D IANE S IGAFOOSE
Dea r Fr iends
in
Chris t .
It has been an
exhausting
joy to be back in
the
States once again
to
visit
al l
of
you here.
We have t rave led many miles already and
look forward to t ravel ing many
more during
our stay.
Visits to
our
supporting
churches
have
been
thrilling ones, especially
when
we
share
ideals,
work, and
goals
to those during
class time
and also to
those w ee
ones
in
children s worship.
They
get so
excited
when
we
talk about living
in
a country
so
fa r
f rom
home
We count it
a
blessing
to
be able
to
share
with
you, to
let
you know
that
God is
still
working. Through your
prayers
and
your
financial support , the church is wonderously
growing in areas allover the world. We know
that
fo r a fact as we labor in Singapore . . .
your efforts
are not in vain
There
are
family
members we have
not seen,
but
hopefully
that
will be done by the end of
our
stay in
the
States.
it has been a special privilege to spend
time
with our
two
girls
and have
treasured
every
second of it.
Some
of you may not know tha
Debbie
developed
acute
pericarditis
in
October. During her hospital time in
inten
sive
care, the-doctors
also
found
she
had a
hea rt mu rmur l ab el ed
mitro
valve prolap
se . The valveproblem does not concern the
doctors at this time, hoping
medication wil
dear up
the
infection
around the
heart. We
ask
you to be in
prayer
concerning this
dif
ficult
time.
Debbie is
working and
even play
ing
volley ball,
so she
is
much
improved.
Laurie is finishing her
final
year at Artesia
Christian College.
She is still undecided a
to her future, as there
a re s ever al
areas o
service
to consider.
Her graduation
date
i
May
11th.
In
Chris t ian Love,
-
8/11/2019 Sigafoose Robert Diane 1983 Singapore
2/8
1 7 rT j : :: r
The c o s t o f
living
in Singapore h a s sky
rocketed
b e c a u s e
o f
the
c o s t o f
hous ing
a n d
transportation.
it is necessary
to raise
an
additional
800.00
permonth
support.
Some of the support may
c o m e
f r o m t h e
c h u r c h e s
t h a t
h a v e
n o t
Excerpt from Singapore
Times , Apri l
21.19
S'pore fourth most
expensive
city
NEW YORK, Tues.
Singapore
ha s
been
rank
ed fourth among
th e 10
most e xp en si ve c it ie s in
th e
Asia-Pacific
region,
according
to
Business
I n t e r h a t i o n a l s
1982
world
wide survey of
executive
living
costs.
Th e
magazine's
survey
l is ted Tokyo
as
the
most
expensive, with
a cost -o f-
l iving index rating of 137.
Second is J a k a r t a with
an.index of 120
an d
Taipeh
t hi r d
with
113.
S i n g a p o r e ,
on 110
points, c a m e ahead o
Sydney 108), Melbourn
106),
Seoul
101),
Hong
kong
100 , ^ngkok
85
an d
Auckland
(80).
B u s i n e s s
I n t e r n a t i o n a
s ai d i t
bas ed i ts
survey
on
th e c o s t of
c e r t a i n
food
i t e m s ,
alcoholic b e v e r
ages.
household
supplies
p e r s o n a l
c a r e
i t e m s
tobacco,
utilities, clothing
domestic help, ^recreation
a n d
e n t e r t a i n m e n t a n d
transport.
AP .
helped
us before,
but much o f i t w ill have to
come
from
our
friends
who have
so
faithfully
been beh ind
us
all
these
years. While we are
busy
reporting
to our c hu rc he s a n d
Bible
Coll eges , wil l you pray that
our needs
might
be m e t ? Can we
count
on you?
5
C h r i s t i a n
M i s s i o n b o a r d
n T : 9 1 1 li'AMMir'j
Ms ;
I l V d
lOVlSOii
S; 1
5jO
UnilMJJOQ
s s s i p p v
t.-r2c9
SIONJUI '311IASNI
l IDj
Z9 m
-
8/11/2019 Sigafoose Robert Diane 1983 Singapore
3/8
IMW
3 98
therefore
and^
make disciples
ox 67,
Collinsvil le,
Il l inois 62234
Greetings I
Many
thousand
miles
have
passed
s ince
we l a s t
re p o r t e d t o you. A f t e r
we
t o o k L a u r i e t o s c h o o l f r o m h e r C h r i s t
mas b r e a k we then went on to t h e West
c o a s t . The warm fe l lowships and hos
p i t a l i t y
more
than made up f o r the
heavy r a i n s which f l o o d e d
many
p a r t s
o f C a l i f o r n i a . On
our
way back, we
s p e n t some t ime i n
Albuquerque with
the Cass
family .
On February 5 t h Bob
performed the
wedding
ceremony
of
M e l i s sa C a s s a n d R u s s D o r c a s .
^-Thile
t r a v e l i n g through Texas,
we
s t o p p e d t o v i s i t
a
Doctor f r i e n d o f
ours
t h a t we knew b o th m ed i c a l l y and
p e r s o n a l l y i n I n d o n e s i a . He g r a
c io u sl y o ff er ed
h is s ur g ic al a b i l i t i e s
t o
remove
s e v e r a l
c y s t s from Bob s
eyes
f r e e
g r a t i s . t was a t o r t u r o u s
t r i p home a f t e r
t h a t
s u r g e r y because
o f d r i v i n g w i t h p a i n f u l s w o l l e n e y e s ;
b u t
committments made it n e c e s s a r y
to
h u r r y
home.
I n
M a r c h
we
travelled
t o t h e E a s t
C o a s t . Along w i t h church
committments
in
Ohio, Kentucky,
Virginia , and
North
C a r o l i n a
we managed t o
v i s i t some
of
Diane s
family
which
she had
not
seen f o r more
th a n fo u r
y e a r s .
Throughout all o f
o u r
t r a v e l i n g
t h i s
f u r l o u g h
t h e Lord has
given us
good
weather . We were
p r a y i n g
f o r
a
mild
w i n t e r e s p e c i a l l y
i n th e
c o l d mid
w e s t
so
perhaps your mild w i n t e r
was a
p e r s o n a l
answer
t o
t h a t p r a y e r .
for
u s .
We w i l l
be
r e t u r n i n g
t o Singapore
on
t )ur IMMEDIATE n e e d s a r e :
T r a v e l
to
return
t o
t h e
field
. . .
2000.00
Housing
3 months
d e p o s i t
p l u s
one
m o n t h s
r e n t
i n a d v a n c e . .
3200.00
O u r
next i m m e d i a t e
n e e d is a
trans
p o r t a t i o n v e h i c l e
on
t h e
f i e l d .
We
s h o u l d be
a b l e
t o g e t
a used
one
f o r
about 6000.00.
OTHER PROJECTS
. . .
Teaching
m a t e r i a l s
f o r
all a g e s .
We a s k t h a t
t h e r e
be enough
w o r k b o o k s
o r
m a t e r i a l
f o r a n
a v e
rage c l a s s o f te n members.
VES
m a t e r i a l w i l l be
a c c e p t
ed if
they
a r e f u l l packs and n o t
u s e d .
S t a n d a r d q u a r t e r l i e s a r e
a l s o
good .
-
8/11/2019 Sigafoose Robert Diane 1983 Singapore
4/8
Idols destroyed in 2 homes
(The following art ic le was In a newslet
te r recent ly received from Singapore .
Lee
Ee Tat was
one
of
the
f i r s t
Singa
poreans
to
help Bob Diane vhen they
f i r s t arr ived in
Singapore.)
Las t
month,
two
fami l ies
came
to
know
the
joy and
peace
of Jesus
Chr is t and
had
i do l s removed from t h e i r
homes
by
th e ch urch .
When Sow
Leng, the wife
of Area
Leader
Lee
Ee
Tat became
a
Chris t ian in
1973.
her grandmother
strongly
opposed
and
t r i ed ways and means to stop her . Las t
month,
af t e r
10 years
of prayers , sh e
to o h as d e c id ed t o f o l l ow J e s u s and des
t roy
a l l the ido ls a t
home.
I'Jhen I
became
a
Chris t ian
Sow
Leng
sa id
my granny was
the
one who really
t r i ed to s top ime. So what I did
was
to
give her some t racts and
prayed.
She would read
those
t r a c t s
according
to
Sow Leng, but she also
reads
a
lo t of
o ther mater ia l s
and
i s knowledgeable
bu t
skep t ica l .
In sp i te of
her
skept icism she kept lo t s
of gods around the house
ki tchen god,
l iving
room
god
and
par t ic ipa te
de l i -
gent ly
i n a nc es tra l worship .
Late l a s t
year she
f e l l f rac tured a
thighbone and was hosp i ta l ized . In^
the
hospi t a l she
would
become
hys te r ica l
and
had
to be se da te d a s
wel l as
phys i
ca lly re stra ine d.
Sow
Leng bel ieves
th t
th e
r e a s o n f o r h e r
b e h a v i o r
was
mainly because
o f
f ea r and
her
r e a l i z a
t ion tha t her gods cannot
do
anyth ing .
When
she was
discharged a
month l a t e r
she
was
a
changed
person.
She
no
longer
bothered w ith the dai ly r i t u a l of
an
ce s t r a l
worship
and even
mentioned
about
want ing to become a Chr i s t i an .
All
th is had
come
about
in God s
good
time
according to
Sow
Leng^ The
family s
washing
lady
was a recent
Chris t ian
and
she
would give her
t rac t s
to read.
The
family had also engaged a pr iva te nurse
and sh e was a l s o a Ch r i s t i a n .
Then one night las t month, in one of her
frequent v i s i t s .
Sow Leng
asked i f she
would
l ike to accep t Christ as Lord
and
Savior. Her grandmother said yes and
together t hey p rayed. But Sow Leng
want
ed fu r the r
conf i rmat ion
she
wanted to
s e e th e
i d o l s
r emoved .
Tliat eventual ly
came to pass when in
the
cou r s e
o f
a
chu r ch
visit a
member
o f th e
v i s i t a t i on team
suggested tha t it would
be good
to have
the
idols
removed and
her grandmother
agreed.
And so Sow
Leng
got
he r conf i rmat ion and i s even more
convinced t h a t
her God i s a prayer
answer ing God.
CINDY LIN,
of MA 2 had been
praying
for
her
mother
fo r
a
long
t ime.
One
day
in
January ,
in
the course of a conversa t ion
her mothe r b eg an
ta lk ing about
the prob
lems in her
l i f e . Taking
th i s
opportun
i t y Cindy s ha re d w ith her abou t
Jesus
and found t h a t
she
was
ac tua l ly l i s t en
ing and
rece iving
ll she had
s a i d .
Encouraged
and
r e jo ic ing
Cindy went
to
her home fe l lowship and shared her joy .
Lee
Ee
Tat , Cindy s area leader was
pre
sen t
a t tha t meeting
and suggested
tha t
th e
chu r ch
st ff
visit
h e r
mo t h e r .
So
it was ll ar ranged.
On
the
eve
o f
the
planned v i s i t Cindy
prayed hard ,
r e a l j i a ^ .
The
nex t morning, Cindy went to work
f u l l of
exci tement and expec ta t ion .
That
morning, with the church .members
p r e s en t he r
mother decided to
en t r u s t
her
l i f e to Chris t and to
accep t Him as
Lord and
Savior .
She
a l so
reques ted
th t t h e idols t
her home b e
r emoved
t ha t same
morning.
\^en
they
were
re
moved, she found t h a t
the heavy head
aches and
pains
she had been having were
ll gone. She was f i l l e d with joy .
So now Cindy s
mother i s cons tant ly
t e l l i ng
h er fr ie nd s and
r e la t ives
about
the goodness
o f
the
Lord.
-
8/11/2019 Sigafoose Robert Diane 1983 Singapore
5/8
:Ut5
Box 7
ColUnsville,
Illinois 6 4
Greet ings from Singapore I
We
o f t en
wondered J u s t
how f a r
one o f ou r walk ing t r e k s
i n c l
uded , so th e
o t h e r
day
we
de
c i ded to
f i nd
ou t
by
u s i ng a
pedome te r
t o
add
up
ou r
mi l e s .
We wen t t o town on b u s i n e s s ,
a n d that half hour business
t r a n s a c t i o n co s t us nea r l y
s ix
mi le s i n
walk ing
p l u s unnum
bered b u s miles. .. .a total of
ne a r l y
s ix hou r s be ing away
f rom home.
It was
an ave r age
day .
We
a re
happy
t o
be back
in
Singapore Churches
a re much
a l i v e and growing
by
l e a p s and
b o u n d s . Demand s o n
our
teach
in g
a re beg inn ing to p i l e up
a l r e ady . Get t i ng
s e t t l e d
i n
aga in
has been qu i t e an expe r
ience
with the rst
f ew
weeks
o f
J e t - l a g , p lu s
ge t t i n g
used to th e
hea t
aga i n , we pu t
in some
very d rag gy days .
How
ev e r ,
t h a t i s now
beg i nn i ng
to
wan e a n d we c a n see mo r e clear
ly some
o f th e
r e s p o n s i b i l i t
i e s fa c in g u s .
At
th e t ime o f
t h i s
wr i t i n g , ou r v i s a
has
been
t u r n ed in
to th e
immig r a
t i o n
a u t h o r i t i e s , bu t has
n o t
been
g ran t ed
a s
ye t .
We we r e able to
rent
a h o u s e
app rox ima t e l y
13 k i l ome t e r s
from th e main
p a r t o f th e c i t y
and main
chu rch
work ing a r e a .
It
was
c he a pe r th an
any
o t h e r s
we looked
a t
and f e e l ve ry
f o r t u n a t e
in hav ing
it. The
80B
and DIANE SIGAFOOSE
er ings for
t h i s
needed expense
as
we l l
as con t r i b u t i o n s from
i n d i v i du a l s . We f e e l wi thou t
t ha t help a t th a t p a r t i cu la r
t ime o f
need ,
we would not
have been ab l e
to
r e t u r n to
t h i s
exc i t ing
area
of
se rv ice .
We are
ex t remely g r a t e f u l
to
t h o se
who have
such
a
v i s i o n .
Na t iona l s
he r e have loaned us
money
for the
f i r s t primary
expenses .
We
had
to
borrow
2,000
U.S.
At
the
t ime
of
th i s
wri t ing,
we
have
repaid
1,000,
but s t i l l
need 1,000
more . We
have
a s su re d th e s e
loving folks we wil l
pay
back
the rest as s o o n as we p o s s
i b l y
cou ld .
To show
you
how the
Lord
does
t a k e c a re
o f us
i n sma l l
ways ,
we
wi l l
share
an
i n c i d en t
with
you. When
we
were t rying
to
get
set t led into a
banking
-
8/11/2019 Sigafoose Robert Diane 1983 Singapore
6/8
pay th e fe e as
t h e r e
would
n ev e r
be
t h a t
much money
in
the
b a n k
a c c o u n t that we
used
eve ry penny eve ry month .
Af t e r minu te s
o f a rgu ing t h a t
we wou ld e v e n t u a l l y have
more
money,
we
s a id ,
no,
we
never
would . The g i r l l e f t us
sit
t i ng
f o r a
few m in ute s o nly to
r e t u rn l a t e r to s ay , 0 . K .,
you r
a c c oun t has been wa ive r ed
. . . y ou
do
no t have t o have
th e
minimum i n you r a c coun t , no r
do you have to pay a
month ly
fee . Well , we were in
awe
How th e Lord is go ing t o
change a r egu l a t ed banking
computer ized
system
i s beyond
us , but
He
i s
We were t r e a t e d t o a t im sum
lunch
on
Sunday. Tim
sum i s
Ch i n e s e
h o r s d * o e u v r e s . It was
qui t e a
unique exper ience as
they brought around c a r t
a f t e r
cart
of tidbits. You we r e to
choose wha t e v e r s u i t e d you r
fancy.
Unfor tuna te ly , we did
no t
know
what
our fancy
was
a t
t h a t moment . Shr imp
p a s t a ,
shrimp ba l l s , shrimp f r i t t e r s ,
and
shrimp
cakes were
some
o f
th e first i t em^ we
t a s t e d .
Late r , we were encouraged
to
t ry
some glut inous
r i ce which
took courage
to
ea t . Hong Kong
nood les
came n ex t (which s u i t
ed us b e s t o f all f o l lowed by
coconut
pudding
and lychee
f ru i t Jel lo
for desser t
(of
a
so r t ) .
However
t he re i s a
good
l o c a l b r a nd o f alka seltzer
av a i l a b l e
t h a t we
r u sh
f o r
f rom t ime t o t im e
after t h e s e
Sunday ba t t l e s . Don' t th ink
f o r a
minu te we
have f o r go t t e n
th e
t a s t e o f
t hose
g r i l l e d
s t eak s ,
Bar-B-Qued chicken and
s t rawberry
shor tcake .
We wan t
to
t a k e this t im e to
t hank
all
o f
you
who
were
so
k ind to us
dur ing
our s ho r t
fu r lough i n th e S t a t e s .
How
we
app rec i a t ed t hose who
f e a s t e d
us w el l w ith food ,
p lus
en
cour agemen t and
let
us
s h a r e
o ur a dv en tu re s from S ingapo r e .
It is t r u l y
a wonde r f u l
exp e r
i ence
to
be
he r e se rv ing
th e
Lord.
Well-educated
and
more
easily trained
' 'SINGAPOREANS wifrk hard a n d a r e
proad of the ir
worh/'
said Mr
Jerry
Con-
stanttne,
genera
manager of Watt and
Akhermans, an engineering
repair
and
servicing company.
The Japanese, however, feel a Singapore
engineer needs more snpervislen than his
Japanese
counterpart, who will a lso do
more
work .
In Japan, 1 need employ only one engi
neer to look f tf te r the packing machine, the
conveyor
beltand the
biding.
HereI neMat
least two, said Mr Takuya Ninomiya,
managing director
of Orient Bulk
Terminal
whicb packs fertilisers for re-export.
Another
Japanese
senior executtve
said
the Singapore worker does not think beyond
his Job.
He
does
not
think
what will happen if he doe s
something
this
way
or
that . H is wo rk h aU t is also
not good.
For
example, he
will not
clear
U s t ab le b e
fore
he goes
home. Nex t
morning, he wastes Hme
eleanlng
his work area.
However ,
an
Asean
Industrialist had something
complimentary
to say.
Singapore
workers are
bet ter educated mid so
can
be tndned easily.
T he fa ct
t ha t
fliere
a re
vocational t raining pro
grammes
and money from
the Skills
Development
Fond
to train te
-
8/11/2019 Sigafoose Robert Diane 1983 Singapore
7/8
^3
was
a sure thing th t Matthew 28il9-20 Therefore
go
and make
disciples
of l l
nations,
baptizing
them
in the
name
of the Father and of
the Son
and of
the Holy
Spiri t
and teach
ing
them to o bey everything 1
have
commanded you , was not on Bo b
Sigafoose s
mind in
Aiigust
of
1965. A
persistant preacher
from the South
Side
CJhurch
of
Christ
in Danville,
Ill inois kept
Bo b
on
his
visitation l i s t ( Diane was already
attending
church and was
baptized in
May
of
that
year). But the last day the minister visited the Sigafoose home,
he was not so
poli tely
and not
so gently removed
from
the i r home. In jus t
a
matter of
days following the incident,
the
minister, along with an elder plus a pi lo t
were
killed
in
a
plane
crash on
their
way to Grundy, Va.
Needless
to
say
that tragedy
le ft i ts
im
pact
on
Bo b.
He took a long, hard look
at
his
l ife,
wondering
i f
i t was
being
used
for
^ purpose. He decided
i t
wasn t... .and
in Novemher
of
that same
year
was baptized
into Christ
.From
the haptistry to the mission field in five short years, he went.
Bo b and Diane entered Singapore in I970 and waited there eight
months for
a visa to
Indonesia
which
was the
goal of their vision.
Ohen
in May of I971, they were at last
granted a visa to
work
in that country. After settling in Central Java, the work of
establishing
churches soon
began
to grow. With a
tremendous team
effort, many,
many
soula
were added to
the Lord s church. Surely the Lord
must have wept
with joy. They
did.
However, the government vowed to oust
all
the missionaries from Indonesia by I98O.
Bot, ^ong with one of the co-workers, lew Cass, then decided to move to another area
in
Tduch
there
were
no
Christian
churches/Churches of Christ. While
the country of
ang
ladesh
was to
hecome their nert goal, it
was
not the Lord-s , at that time. So,
another
new
field,
namely Portugal, was
decided upon. In
1979,
along
with
the Lew
Cass
family,
oh
and Diane
went
to Portugal, staying
until
I981.
WhUe
-Hiere,
oh
helped with surveying
working out government red tape,
plus
establishing Portuguese
Bihle
Studies and starting
an
E^lish-speaking congregation.Kiis
was
all done so
as
to lay the
foundation
for new
missionaries to
come
and
stay on
a
pemanent
hasis, hoping hy
that time the
door
might
he
open
to
Bangladesh.
It
wasn t. Singapore,
then, seemed
the next logical
country
geograph-
i
-
8/11/2019 Sigafoose Robert Diane 1983 Singapore
8/8
< im P
see
the
need. We
feel
t
is
a good vision as Singaporeans can
enter
most all
of their
surcoiinding neighbors, including India and CSiina with the problem of a
visa
Not
only can Singapore
be
used as
a
base for sending out missionaries
,
but als o
used
as
a
base for our own missionaries
in
Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia They can live
here and work out of this country, going back and forth into Indonesia to l t up and
continue
to
teach national
leaders
and when the need arises Religion is now comp-
ulsary in the public school system
and
Ghristainity s
one
that s included
Bob has a
certificate from
the government
to
teach
Christianity
in the Schools.
However
at the
time of
this writing the
plans for this particular program has not been
finalized
Althou^
not
started
be
Bob
and Diane, there
is
a
Ghxncch
of Christ
in
Singapore, a
break-away
from
another group. They have welcomed
Bob
and Diane into the fold and very
of;fefiiJ_ar6_asked to
preach, teach and help with Bible
camps
or
in
any capacity they see
the need of support. Start ing the
first
of the year, iiiey
will
be working together to
start a new congregation in the area
where
the Sigafooses are living. Survey and planning
is
being
done
in the
meantime.
Bob
has also
been
asked
by
anothe
New
Testament congrega
tion to lead
them
as
their gi^wth
was down.
They wanted
somewone
who
could
speak
Englsih
with a strong Bible Doctrine, KLus working between the two congregations,
Bob
and Diane
have been holding Christian-living and Christian-family seminars. Because of the rapid
growth
of
Ghr^ianity here the new Singaporean Christian does not know the values or
principles involved
in living
as a Christian. Their deep-seeded ciature and customs are
having to change . While t is a very difficult task for them they are eager and willing
to stand
strong in
their committment for Christ Aside from the
work
load
of
their
teach
ing,
Bob and
Diane s home
has
been turned into a hotel .
Because Singapore
is a cross
road of Southeast Asia,
many
missionaries
travel
throughgoing to and
from
the
States
There
have been occasions for missionaries to bring their children to Singapore seeking
medical help and they need a place to
stay
for this reason.
Bob was bom on September 30, 1933 in Danville, Illinois His parents, sister and broth
er still live in that area.
His
former employers
were
the U.S. Navy ( 3 years), the U.S.
Postal Service
(
years and had been trained as
a
computer machinist for Caterpillar
Tractor
Go.
in
Davenport Iowa
at the time of his decision to give his
life
and service
fully to
the
Lord. Bob then
receceived
his training
from Lincoln Christian College
spec
ializing
in
Missions and Bible,
which
prepared
him
for the
field
Diane
was bom on February 3, 938 in the Danville area also although her parents now
l ive
n Nasville Tennessee
Bob and
Diane
were married
on June
l6th, I956 From this
marriage they
have
two daughters
Debora
who was schooled
at Lincoln Christian
College
and Artesia Christian
College
ard
is
now
married
nad
living in Mitchell,
South
Dakota.
Laura, gratuated from Artesia Christian
College
in May of I983 and is living in Gatesville, Texas teaching in a Day-Care
Center