Greetings from Cape Town as we head into 2008 with beautiful sunny and warm weather! We sure do not miss the shoveling of snow and the hazardous traveling in the Chicago area. We had a restful Christmas season and have gotten back into the busy swing of ministries. In our last edition, we featured one of our two primary ministries - assisting at the Evangelical Bible College (see their new website at www.ebcollege.org or go to www.ebm.org and click on the front page article ). This e-newsletter will feature our efforts in church planting in Atlantis, as we are partnering with South African teammates Nicolaas and Ursula Perrang. We are truly grateful for your continued prayer and financial support of our efforts here in South Africa. The Lord is good.

Pray for continued growth and unity for the Atlantis church plant.

Pray for the safety of our family as we travel considerable distances to both the Evangelical Bible College and to Atlantis. With four boys involved in activities, we travel lots with them as well. Accidents here are a lot more common occurrence, and we trust in God's sovereignty.

Praise God for the salvation of three people in the church plant: Ardie, Tarryn, and Ryan (see photo). Pray that God would continue the good work He has begun in each of them. Ryan was saved at our first ever Family Camp as we joined the efforts of Grace Baptist Church in the Parklands weekend retreat.

Praise God for 10 ladies at Laura's first of her weekly bible studies in Atlantis studying the book of Colossians. Mike had just as many at his first Sunday night bible study looking at the birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and return of Christ. We are so thankful for teammates Nicolaas and Ursula whom you will learn about below.

Not only has Laura begun training to oversee the library at the Evangelical Bible College, she also came up with the idea of providing Christian resources for the people of Atlantis! So, she grabbed Samsonite luggage sitting in storage and filled it with Christian literature written in both Afrikaans and English language which she then encourages people to "check out" and borrow. Her "library" includes devotionals, fiction, and books for kids. The initial response has been very encouraging - many are reading! If you would like to participate with us, we would like to add some Study Bibles and good Christian magazines- let us know if you would like to contribute to "Laura's Library."

We are so grateful for the offer from Grace Baptist Church in the Parklands to have the people of Atlantis join their annual Family Camp. This was a great retreat, as a relaxed time of fellowship allowed the people of Atlantis to get to know each other as well as the believers of Grace. There was good fun, swimming for the kids, and solid teaching from the Word of God. The group was challenged with four messages from the book of Jonah. Each of us was encountered with the question, "what is holding us back from following Jesus?" We are also thankful to the Evangelical Bible College who provided a vehicle making transportation possible for our Atlantis group.

We are so blessed to be serving alongside Nicolaas and Ursula Perrang and their two children, Keren and Jason. They are well respected in the town of Atlantis, and they have previous pastoral experience. We thought you would appreciate hearing from them their testimonies. And they were gracious enough to do it in English and not Afrikaans!!

Ursula Testimony

As a young girl, I had to look after elderly people who needed attention. I had responsibilities children my age did not have. In my own eyes, I saw myself as a good person. At the age of 11 years, I attended a weekly Bible class for children. The teacher told us all about God and how Jesus died on the cross for our sins. It was there that I realized that my good works were as filthy rags in the eyes of the Lord. I knew I needed to be saved from my sins. I stayed behind, and my teacher explained to me the way of salvation. I confessed my sins and asked Jesus to cleanse me with his precious blood and live in my heart. I had assurance that I was made new. My teacher took me home that day and told my family about the commitment I made and showed me in practical ways how I should walk and make my life shine so that Ephesians 2:10 would also become a reality in my life, "for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

After my conversion, I attended church regularly, went to youth meetings and also gave children's bible classes at church. As a grade 12 learner, I studied hard and expected to pass. When I failed, I became disappointed in God. My life was miserable and I was not committed to serve God as in the past. I felt like a failure in life and that life was not worth living. I was always saying, "my God my God, why have you forsaken me?" One evening alone in my sister's house, I prayed and cried out to the Lord. While kneeling down by the bedside with tears flowing down my face, I read Psalm 32:5, "I acknowledge my sin to you and I do not cover my iniquity. I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and need forgiveness for my sin." I knew that blaming God for my failures was a sin and only was I to blame for my failures. I confessed my sins and asked God's forgiveness; I realized that unforgiveness is a sin and it can destroy your life. That evening I knew God forgave me. A friend of mine came to visit, and I told her that I have recommitted my life to the Lord. We prayed together. Since then, I have experienced growth and stability in my life.

Nicolaas

I can't thank the Lord enough for His great mercy towards me. I once was lost but now I am found to be His forever. At the age of 16 years, the Lord saved my soul. One evening at a Gospel meeting, while listening to the Word of God, the Holy Spirit convicted me of sin and my lost state without Christ. Separated from God by sin and guilt, I needed to be restored to fellowship with him. I heard from the preacher that only the blood of Jesus could take away the guilt of my sin. That night I put my trust in the Lord Jesus to save me. I confessed my sin before the Lord and asked Him to come into my heart. I believed, according to Romans 10:9. From that time, I became new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

After my conversion, I experienced a great need to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. I began to read the Word of God any prayed a lot in private. I met regularly with other believers to learn from them. After two years of following the Lord, one evening while I was reading the bible, I read that "the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest." While I was praying regularly for laborers, it was if the Holy Spirit was asking me, what about YOU? From that night I realized that the Lord wants me also to be in his vineyard. After many struggles with the Lord, and many excuses, I finally said yes to His calling. Today, after many years, I looked back and want to live out 2 Timothy 1:8-9, "therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord . . . but share in suffering for the Gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace, which he gave is in Christ Jesus before the ages began."

The Budlers: Mike & Laura, Joshua, Jacob, Nicholas and Lucas
15 Bournemouth Bend, Parklands, Republic of South Africa 7441
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