We are off to Indonesia tomorrow morning. Our plane leaves at 10:30 AM from Milwaukee. Approx. 40 hours later we’ll arrive in Bali, Indonesia. We are planning on taking the helicopter back to our home in the Moi tribe on January 30th.

Thank you for praying with us and faithfully standing behind us while we were back in the States. The Lord has done a real work in our hearts and has healed Karen completely from the fatigue she was so heavily dealing with one year ago. Our last doctors check-up 1 ½ weeks ago confirmed what Karen was already feeling. She is 100% better! Thank you, Lord.

Our good friend, Jeff Sullo (see our blog), is traveling back with us. It’s his first time overseas. He’ll stay with us for 6 weeks and desires to be a blessing in any way he can. Already in the last couple of days he’s been one.

Please pray for safety as we travel. There’s at least seven inches of snow and more falling.

With you in Spirit,
Rich and Karen Brown
Atalee, Alyssa and Ashlynn

No sacrifice is too great,
Rich and Karen Brown
Atalee, Alyssa and Ashlynn

We hope this finds you well.  In our last update we alluded to the fact we were in town, but without explanation.  We are still in town and would like to share what’s been going on with us.

After eight months without a break and facing many health issues among the Moi in the last months we felt we needed to get some rest as a family.  The past couple of months interior Karen had been showing signs of stress in the form of exhaustion and frequent headaches.  Despite this we kept moving ahead with our ministry among the Moi. 

Starting in late November a sickness was sweeping through the Moi people.  We couldn’t figure out what it was.  People would be very sick for a week and then finally recover on their own.  Medicine had no seeming effect and some of the people were relapsing.  It was a very stressful time because it seemed so many were sick and some close to dying.

When the Panambunans returned from their month and a half away and our coworkers in town ministry, Bert and Diane, were coming in to work on our airstrip we felt we could go out a get a break.

After being out in town for less than a week Atalee and Ashlynn came down with the same sickness that the Moi were getting.  After six days we were advised by a missionary doctor to have their blood checked.  After doing so they showed positive for second stage cerebral malaria.  We treated them right away and within 24 hours they were playing happily outside.

This was the "break through" that we needed in order to figure out what was going on with the Moi.  We called our coworkers interior and let them know that the Moi had been suffering from a malaria epidemic only recently brought in.  They immediately treated those who were sick, including three of the believers.  They have recovered and are now doing well.

Because the Moi have previously been secluded they have had little to no malaria though the elevations are low enough for the malaria carrying anopheles mosquito.  Now some people are beginning to travel to malaria infested areas and are bringing it back to Moi land.  We believe this is the reason for the sudden rash of malaria throughout their land.  The missionary doctor here in town believes more Moi will die until they begin to build up immunities in their systems to malaria.  Please be praying for them and for our coworkers as they continue to treat new cases.

As for us, we are still in town as Karen is not yet normal.  She continues to feel tired first thing in the morning and has to push herself to make it through the day.  Because of this we decided it would be best to take more time in town, so that she can recover fully and we can return interior as soon as possible.  Right now we are planning on a month.  We have housing provided by the missionary community here, which is such a blessing.  Our Helimission pilot Tom’s wife, Rosa, has even offered to home school our girls in the meantime.  This will be a huge blessing.  The missionary doctor will be testing Karen’s blood and later do a thyroid test in order to help rule out other possibilities.

Please be praying for us during this difficult time.  We are seeking much counsel and praying hard.  We believe wholeheartedly that God’s loving hand is in this all and that He has a wonderful plan.  Pray that we don’t forget that or lose sight of what He’s doing.  I can assure you that we do at times, but He’s faithful!

I want to close with this thought.  After Elijah’s victory on Mt. Carmel he flees from Jezebel and loses sight of what God was doing and believes he’s the only follower of God left in Israel saying, "I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away."  In His ’still small voice’ God encourages Elijah and tells him, "Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." 1Kings 19:18 God was doing so much more than Elijah realized.  Today is no different!

From what I shared above, you too can see God’s hand at work.  Through us going out, our girls getting sick and taking a blood test we were finally able to figure out the mysterious sickness that is sweeping through the Moi people.  If we were still interior we would probably still be wondering.

Again, thank you for your prayers and for faithfully standing with us to see God glorified.  God is good, all the time.

In His Care,
Rich and Karen Brown
Atalee, Alyssa and Ashlynn

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope this finds you well. In our last update we alluded to the fact we were in town, but without explanation. We are still in town and would like to share what’s been going on with us.

After eight months without a break and facing many health issues among the Moi in the last months we felt we needed to get some rest as a family. The past couple of months interior Karen had been showing signs of stress in the form of exhaustion and frequent headaches. Despite this we kept moving ahead with our ministry among the Moi.

Starting in late November a sickness was sweeping through the Moi people. We couldn’t figure out what it was. People would be very sick for a week and then finally recover on their own. Medicine had no seeming effect and some of the people were relapsing. It was a very stressful time because it seemed so many were sick and some close to dying.

When the Panambunans returned from their month and a half away and our coworkers in town ministry, Bert and Diane, were coming in to work on our airstrip we felt we could go out a get a break.

After being out in town for less than a week Atalee and Ashlynn came down with the same sickness that the Moi were getting. After six days we were advised by a missionary doctor to have their blood checked. After doing so they showed positive for second stage cerebral malaria. We treated them right away and within 24 hours they were playing happily outside.

This was the "break through" that we needed in order to figure out what was going on with the Moi. We called our coworkers interior and let them know that the Moi had been suffering from a malaria epidemic only recently brought in. They immediately treated those who were sick, including three of the believers. They have recovered and are now doing well.

Because the Moi have previously been secluded they have had little to no malaria though the elevations are low enough for the malaria carrying anopheles mosquito. Now some people are beginning to travel to malaria infested areas and are bringing it back to Moi land. We believe this is the reason for the sudden rash of malaria throughout their land. The missionary doctor here in town believes more Moi will die until they begin to build up immunities in their systems to malaria. Please be praying for them and for our coworkers as they continue to treat new cases.

As for us, we are still in town as Karen is not yet normal. She continues to feel tired first thing in the morning and has to push herself to make it through the day. Because of this we decided it would be best to take more time in town, so that she can recover fully and we can return interior as soon as possible. Right now we are planning on a month. We have housing provided by the missionary community here, which is such a blessing. Our Helimission pilot Tom’s wife, Rosa, has even offered to home school our girls in the meantime. This will be a huge blessing. The missionary doctor will be testing Karen’s blood and later do a thyroid test in order to help rule out other possibilities.

Please be praying for us during this difficult time. We are seeking much counsel and praying hard. We believe wholeheartedly that God’s loving hand is in this all and that He has a wonderful plan. Pray that we don’t forget that or lose sight of what He’s doing. I can assure you that we do at times, but He’s faithful!

I want to close with this thought. After Elijah’s victory on Mt. Carmel he flees from Jezebel and loses sight of what God was doing and believes he’s the only follower of God left in Israel saying, "I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." In His ’still small voice’ God encourages Elijah and tells him, "Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." 1Kings 19:18 God was doing so much more than Elijah realized. Today is no different!

From what I shared above, you too can see God’s hand at work. Through us going out, our girls getting sick and taking a blood test we were finally able to figure out the mysterious sickness that is sweeping through the Moi people. If we were still interior we would probably still be wondering.

Again, thank you for your prayers and for faithfully standing with us to see God glorified. God is good, all the time.

In His Care,
Rich and Karen Brown
Atalee, Alyssa and Ashlynn

On Saturday morning we got word that Piyando and Baigowa’s 3 ½ month old baby girl, Ebando, died.  A bad flu like virus has been going around the past couple of months and has claimed the lives of at least four people. Along with Ebando another baby boy that Karen had helped deliver, only six days old, had died. The mother’s of these precious little babies are Karen’s closest Moi friends. Around the same time a lady in her late 20’s early 30’s also died, having never heard the gospel; she lived about a days hike away.

We are in town on break and our American coworkers, Stephen and Carolyn,  are on furlough until mid-May. Andy, our coworker in the tribe, said that these three deaths had happened all in less than 24 hours. Bert and Diane, on our support team in town, are currently in the tribe with Andy and Leike helping work on our airstrip. We are glad they are there.

This morning Andy shared with us that Piyando attended the Sunday morning believers meeting and has been “emotionally stable” the whole time. Last January Piyando and Baigowa lost their baby boy, Damiodi, as you may remember. Please be praying for them, that they may continue to trust the Lord through this very difficult time. Please be praying too for our coworkers as they continue to treat others that are sick.

We have found these verses in Isaiah to be so appropriate. “Look! I am creating a new heavens and a new earth…I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more. No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life…Poisonous snakes will strike no more. In those days, no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Isaiah 65:17-25 NLT

Until That Day,

Rich and Karen Brown
Atalee, Alyssa and Ashlynn