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Robert and Diane Sigafoose
50 Monk's Hill Road
#04-50
Singapore 0922
Republic of Singapore
TWENTY YEARS ON THE
MISSION FIELD
This year marks the twcntieih year of
service that Bob and Diane Sigafoose
have been involved in missionary work in
the foreign field. Bob and Diane have had
a fruitful ministry over these twenty years.
They have started 15 churches in four
countries which are still very active and
which have all continued to start other
congregations as they have grown. Bob
has performed more than 303 baptism's
personally and many more have been
baptized by the Nationals of these four
countries. During the past twenty years,
Bob & Diane have only taken a furlough
five times for a total of 48 months. These
furloughshave beennecessaryto bring you
reportsof the growthof the missionwork
and provide time for the family's needs.
It has been the desire of Good News
Christian Mission to obey the command to
"go into all the world and preach the
Gospel" and Bob and Diane are certainly
representative of that effort. They have
been a driving force to open new fields,
new areas, new avenues, and allow others
to build thereon for the glory of Christ.
The mission board offers their sincere
appreciation for 20 long and difficult years
of service for God.
THROUGH THE YEARS
Throughout their twenty years of
missionary endeavors, the Sigafoose
family has often been asked how and why
they became involved in missionwork and
what their progression has been. At this
most momentous occasion, the mission
board thought it appropriate to put into
print a concise history of the development
of Good News Christian Mission. Thus, in
this issue we present our history in word
and picture.
In 1965, at the age of 32, Bob became
acutely aware of a void in his life. Things
were O.K., but not just what he had desired
in life. Diane had accepted Jesus as her
savior in the spring of 1965 but Bob
persistently held out until August. By the
fail of that year they realized that God was
exercising some real influence in their
lives. Soon they sold their house and were
off to Bible College with two young
daughters and a deep conviction that God
had a plan for them in the full-time
ministry.
Bob's first exposure to new church
evangelism came around 1969 or 1970
when he became involved with the work of
establishing a Christian Church in Pekin,
Illinois. Those weekly efforts were the
beginning of a life work in establishing
new churches that took them half-way
around the world. Their daughters did not
have the opportunities of growing up in the
U.S. and they have missed being involved
in the lives of their relatives, (especially
now that they arc grandparents).
In 1970 Bob was called to work in
Singapore as quickly as possible by four
missionaries from our churches who were
LL- 1^
having a meeting at that time. Financial
supportwas slim, but the Sigafoose'swent
anyway. Their stay was short livedat that
time however, due to the lack of a sponsor,
which was required by the Singaporean
government.
InApril 1971theLordopenedthedoorfor
a visa togo toIndonesiaand BobandDiane
soon found themselves in the city of
Bandung on the island of Java involved in
language study for one year. Then they
went to the city of Salatiga to begin their
work with the Indonesian people. Within
one year a church wasstarted inthevillage.
From that, another, and then another. In
three years four churches were started.
The mission on the island of Java was
moving and several missionaries from the
Christian Church/Church of Christ came to
lend their help. Continued to Page 2...
.. .Continuedfrom Page 1
They were encouraged to try to open other
areas of Java; however, none were
successful.
When local government officials become
aware of the concentration of Christianity,
Bob and Diane were called in and told they
had been there long enough - they had
enough churches and church leaders to
carry on. Too many churches were being
established loo fast according to these
officials. There were 13 families now
residing and working in this area.
The Sigafoose's gathered all of the 13
missionaries together to ask for their help
in deciding how best to handle this new
development. It was the decision of all the
missionariesthat boththeSigafoosefamily
and the Lew Cass family should look for
another location outside of Indonesia to
work because they had the most experience
in new church planting. However, these
two families were to be close enough to be
able to go back into Indonesia in the likely
hood that all the missionaries were forced
to leave.
At this writing only three families remain
in Indonesia and have applied for
citizenship in order to stay. There are
currently about 35 churches within a 30
mile radius in this central Java area.
As agreed, Lew Cass and Bob Sigafoose
sought a visa to Bangladesh, but to no avail.
During that time, Bob was able to secure
sponsorship in Singapore and applied for a
visa. He was told it would take some time
for this to be cleared. It actually look two
years. Governmental "red tape" overseas
has been a horrendous nightmare for both
Bob and the mission board to deal with.
Lew Cass had decided to go to Portugal,
since he already knew the language. So it
was agreed that Bob and Diane would go
with him to work while waiting visa
clearance for Singapore. During the two
year interval, two Portuguese services and
one English service was started. They
grew rapidly, creating the necessity to rent
a hall in which to meet. By September of
1981 these services had grown to around
70 people each. Two families and two
single ^ople came to take over the work
and are still very active today.
IdU
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INDONESIA
INDONESIA
July 1981 Bob and Diane arrived in
Singapore with sponsorship through the
Boscombe Road Church of Christ. They
were the only missionaries of the Christian
Qiurches/Churches of Christ in Singapore.
Currently, one other family resides and
works there and another family is making
plans to go to Singapore in the summer of
1990.
The work in Singapore has grown and Bob
and Diane are now working with four
different churches, teaching and
preaching. Three Singaporean young
people - a single young man and a husband
and wife team, all in their late 20's - are
now attending St. Louis Christian College
in preparation for the ministry in
Singapore.
God has blessed the efforts of the
Sigafoose family as they have entrusted
their lives to Him. Bob has found many
areas of opportunity to reach thousands of
people with the message that God loves
and cares for them. Pray for their
continued ability to serve our Lord in this
developing part of the world.
SINGAPORE - HUB FOR
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Singapore is a very important area of Asia.
It is a tropical island approximately 14
miles north to south and 25 miles east to
west. It is set between the two great oceans
of Asia, the Pacific and Indian. The island
lies on the tip of Malaysia and is bordered
on the west and south by Indonesia.
Singapore claims to have the second
busiest seaport in the world. The island's
prosperity has been realized by the hard
work of a people who have made so much
of the opportunity that today the nation has
one of the highest per capita incomes in
Asia (which is still low by US standards).
The population is made up of several
nationalities. Chinese make up 76 per
cent, with Malays 15 per cent, and the rest
are Indians, Arabs, Eurasians and
Japanese. Singapore is a young society
60 per cent of the population are under 30
years of age.
With the influx ofpeople from neighboring
countries, has come the religions of these
countries as well. Buddhism, Hinduism,

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MISSION GOALS FOR1990
AND BEYOND
The Singaporeans can enter most of their
neighboring countries including India and
China without visa's. This makes it a
strategic location from which to send out
missionaries. Business is growing and
people will become financially affluent.
These are the people who are making new
laws and economic changes for many
countries in this part of the world. These
people need the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
During the time Bob has been in Singapore,
he has started three churches in Sri Lanka.
They need further strengtheningin the faith
to enable them to carry on alone.
Bob has made contact with several people
on Batam Island and will continue to
develop a church there. It is hoped that a
Qiristian Indonesian family can be moved
to the island to continue with this work.
These people need the Gospel of Jesus
Oirist.
m&rnm
Good News
Christian Mission
1429 Norwood
Granite City, IL 62040
Address Correclion Requested
Missionary endeavors to India, Burma,
Thailand, Malaysia, China, and Hong
Kong are possible from our Singapore
base. As funds become available, we will
make every effort to take the Gospel of
Jesus Christ to these people also.
FINANCIAL PICTURE
IN 1990
Our average yearly income for all the work
over the past few years has been about
$20,000. Many times work has been
restricted because of insufficient funds.
Even the purchase of an automobile on the
field has been limited to four of the nine
years in Singapore.
We have averaged an income of $36,212
per year for the last four years. The rate of
exchange has decreased our buying power
by 30 percent during 1989 and the rate of
inflation is currently at 10 per cent. This
has seriously restricted our funds. Since
we do not practice deficit spending, we
have had to curtail our outreach program
and even lower our standard of living at
times.
It is our desire to increase our income by
26 per cent in 1990 in order to expand our
outreach program. The time and effort
spent by Bob and Diane can best be utilized
in this direction while, once again, others
aresecured to maintain thedevelopments
they have established. Time is runningout.
We must move while governmental forces
are open and receptive.
Won't you consider being a partner with us
in this endeavor? If you would like more
detailed information about our plans or a
personal visit with the Forwarding Agent,
please write or call. We will look forward
to hearing from you. Please pray for the
efforts of Bob and Diane and the mission
board as we continue to serve our Lord
Jesus Christ. The harvest is indeed ready
but the workers are few. God bless you.
Non-Profit
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Granite City, IL62040
Permit No. 51
MISSION SER'v'ICE
BOX 2427
KNOXUILLE IN 37901