Shad and Sarah Deal Making Him known in Indonesia 
So what has been going on with the Deals lately?? This past month or so has been quite a blur, and we have been involved in many different things. Here is a quick recap of what we have been up to…
"Beach ministry…" At the end of June, we had the privilege of joining several other missionary families for what we referred to as a “beach ministry”!! Over 20 of us, packed into three vehicles and four motorcycles, headed to the beach about a 5 hour drive away. For three nights, we enjoyed our simple accommodations, great food, warm weather, and of course the ocean! It was a great time of fellowship and relaxation for all of us, and we praise the Lord for opportunities like this to refuel and recharge with our partners in ministry!! Oh, yeah, did I mention Shad was one of the ones who drove his motorcycle?? It was hard not to be worried about him, but he and the other drivers did a great job and enjoyed the long ride. Praise the Lord for safety!!
SOCTeam…As members of our orientation team (abbreviated as SOCT) here in our area, we have been busy mostly with preparing for new missionaries who will be arriving in Indonesia at the end of July. This preparation entails, among other things, fixing up five of our empty houses for these new families to live in. Shad is busy Monday through Saturday, overseeing our national carpenters and other workers as they do repairs, painting, etc. This is extra exhausting for him because his entire day is spent speaking and explaining things in Indonesian! My schedule includes helping to organize and buy furniture and misc. items for the houses in order to allow our new missionaries to have some time to adjust to this new culture and language before taking on the task of buying all the necessities. I am also still involved as a national language consultant for our region, which includes giving language evaluations once a week, writing up reports on people’s progress, being available to offer assistance to our missionaries learning Indonesian, and helping to brainstorm and develop ideas for how to make our current language program better.
Oh, Baby… Just yesterday we returned home from a three day stay in the capital city of Jakarta. I had a very positive visit with the doctor there and was able to be injected with the Rhogam shot. We were also able to see our little boy via ultrasound again, which is always a treat!! It appears that he is growing very well, and our doctor would like me to come back around 34 weeks to await baby’s arrival in Jakarta. This was a bit sooner than we had hoped (only 6 weeks away!!), but the doctor is pretty certain that my due date is almost two weeks sooner than originally estimated, meaning that we shouldn’t wait much longer than that to come.
Big Boy Braden… Yes, our firstborn is certainly growing up!! Among other things, he is using a lot less diapers and exploring the world of the big boy toilet (actually, it’s a potty chair…). He has enjoyed wearing his big boy underwear and eating the gummy worms he receives as a treat for his deposits. We are so proud of how fast he has caught on, and are praying that maybe, just maybe, he’ll have this routine down before little brother comes on the scene!! Braden has also just begun to swim with floaties in the pool, and loves to kick his way across the deep end of the local pool (with mom and/or dad close by, of course!!). As we watch our little boy grow, we praise the Lord that although obedience is still a struggle for him at times, he obeys well most of the time and responds well to our correction. Our prayer is that God would use us to continue to soften his little heart so that he will be prepared to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior when he is old enough to understand his need for salvation. 
Pray that you all are enjoying the summer! Thank you for your love, support, and prayers for our family as we serve our Lord here in Indonesia!!
Oh, and one last thing… today we celebrate four wonderful years of marriage!! How fast the time has gone!! We are so thankful to be able to live, love and minister side by side as husband and wife for HIS glory– may there be many more anniversaries yet to come!!
