Dear friends and partners,

Greetings to you from different parts of our journey. We have another month ahead of us before we return home and we marvel how the Lord provides. As you probably all know, we lived in various parts of the world and traveled extensively upon the face of our -earth. Sometimes we ask ourselves, where is our real home? During the past years we have made several comebacks. First, we returned to the place of our origins only to find out after years living abroad that we are by law foreigners in our native country. How appreciative we are to our adoptive country, the United States, that showed us new life and identity in Jesus Christ.

25-50-65-10-5 - those are not speed limits but some important anniversaries in our lives. Twenty-five year's ago we immigrated to the United States. We and our sons spent the first October week in New York City. Together, among other sites, we visited Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the landing place of millions of people from Europe. No matter what anybody says about America, it is still the greatest country. In NYC we also stopped in Hotel Wollcott on the 31st Street at Broadway where we spent as fresh immigrants our first days in America. We paid then (1970) three dollars per bed... It has been recently refurbished and it operates as a hotel again. We were a little saddened to learn that they are sold out for weeks ahead. We shared stories of days long gone with our sons and together we celebrated Klara's 50th birthday.

During our returns to the States we always notice some changes. In a Miami hotel, we could not even pick up the remote control for TV. Everything was glued or bolted to the furniture. It is true that many things are worsening, but it is not the sole case of America. Actually, NYC is now much cleaner, safer and fun place to be for tourists. You can hear all kinds of languages and English is often not predominant. Even street evangelization is not an uncommon site. The battle for the soul and morals is intensifying everywhere. The more places we see, the more evident it is. The solution? Our Lord is honoring prayers of His faithful servants.

Another country which is close to our heart is Ecuador, which looks like a speck on a map of South America. Only a few countries in the world have such contrasting variety of natural beauty. For two September weeks we were privileged to be a part of the HCJB World Radio conference celebrating the 65th anniversary. The presentations of Quito and the ministries of different World Offices were a tribute to the great history and future tasks of HCJB World Radio. Representatives from other countries and continents came together to present their ministries.

As we arrived to Quito we were placed with our host families. Some of us were matched with former friends. The morning meetings were dedicated to prayers and worship. Our conference guest speaker, Dr. Neil Anderson, challenged us in many ways. At noon we lunched in different missionaries homes with other interesting visitors. In the afternoon we attended business meetings.

For dinner we again met at different homes. This was not an easy task for hosting families, since Quito is badly affected by a severe drought. The country experienced power outages, and preparing two meals a day required some late evening cooking and planning ahead. During our stay we had the opportunity to visit, fellowship and share our hearts and minds.

We were touched to see the hardships caused by the recent war with Peru. Inflation, higher prices and new taxes present some serious problems. Most cars have on their windshield a sticker with a dove for peace. In reality it means that a special tax was paid to finance the war. The tax even for a missionary vehicle is about $2,000. It seems, if the outside world stops supplying arms and money to continue the war, the war is much shorter. In every war there is someone who pays for it.

Again, we were reminded about the need for prayers and safety of the Lord's people. The peace, stability and well being of Ecuador is essential for the ongoing mission work.

We were able to see the transmitter sites in Pifo and the power plant in Papallacta. Since our last visit, the road pavement has been extended to - Papallacta. In 1990 we were trapped in a mud slide. With the new road the hazard is lesser but not over. To get there you must cross a pass at 13,500 ft elevation. The downhill ride, now on a good road, causes some drivers to lose control over their vehicle.

In Papallacta we were warmly greeted by two families who live and work at the site. This remote location is the powerhouse of HCJB broadcasting. We realized the importance of many trades in mission field.

HCJB is in process of building the Parcachola dam. To reach the construction site it takes about 1.5 hours by motorcycle. The new dam should be 18 ft high and 90 ft wide. With the third dam the water shortage will not hinder the supply of power to the transmitters. The hydroelectric plant is vital to the operation of the ministry of HCJB. Only with plentiful energy we can broadcast the gospel through out the world.

Several families of engineers live in Pifo, the technical center of HCJB broadcasting. Just as a side event I met with Martha Brunner, who was a HCJB missionary nurse for ten years. Because of the nature of her work, she ended up raising twenty twin babies who would otherwise die. Their mothers were able to take care of only one child at the time.

There was a time when Martha had seven babies in diapers. She has served in Pifo for more then thirty years and during that time she arranged adoption for fifty more babies into American Christian homes. Seventeen of Martha's children graduated from US colleges. Some of them are helping her in health care, nursing and at the school she started. The local school had, at that time, sixty children in the classroom and no teachers. Her children would grow up without education as many locals did. So Martha started a school as well. Today the school has over 500 students and many more would like to attend. Yes, it is true, that one person can make a big difference in the world we live in. We are told about some great women in the Bible, and we are excited to know of some great women of our days. We met two more excellent women at Shell Mera. One of them is a linguist and the other works in health care with native people in the jungle. It is amazing how well the Indians know their anatomy.

Our trip to Shell Mera, to the edge of the jungle, where the second HCJB hospital is located, was much closer to the actual war zone. In some places the roads leading to Shell Mera and especially some of the bridges, due to rain (22 feet per year) and mud slides, resembled destruction like after bombing. The road is hardly wide enough for one vehicle but at one point our bus met three other trucks. Altogether they were changing the tire on one of them. As we hung on the edge of eternity, we were breathless. Only the mountain bikers had the full joy to admire the high altitude rain forest, near vertical mountain precipices and valleys, the waterfalls, lush greenery and many orchids.

In Shell Mera the West side of the road is occupied by the air force and Mission Aviation Fellowship missionaries. The East side of road belongs to the HCJB and two more mission sites. We visited the Nate Saint memorial school and listened to the songs and verses the students had prepared for us. From the opposite side, we could hear sirens announcing landing and taking off of the planes and shouting commands at the boot camp of the air force base.

The Mission Aviation Fellowship pilots co-operate with the army quite closely and there were many opportunities to witness. On Sunday, the Shell Mera church was packed. Mission Aviation work has a tendency to get under your skin after you dare to touch a snake. When you see the airplanes taking off for the jungle, you get the fever to be part of their action and see, touch and smell the real mission field, if inescapable, even with some snakes.

To those who know the story of the five missionaries who were killed in 1956 by Auca Indians (video "Through the Gates of Splendor") we can report the following. The son of the killed pilot Nate Saint, Steve, is now with his family back in the jungle among Aucas to write another chapter in mission history. He replaced his recently deceased aunt Rachel Saint, who spent her life with those Indians.

The two weeks we spent in Ecuador were loaded with action. We felt like marathon runners. Finally, the last day, we were told: "Enjoy your free afternoon. See you at 6.30 at the bus." We had hardly three hours to pack. When we arrived to our hosting family after the final dinner, the house was lit by candles because of power outage. We were glad that we packed before the dinner. Very early in the morning we left for the airport. On the plane to Miami we slept almost all the way.

The next international conference in Quito is planned for the year 2000. 1 hope we will recover by that time. To say the final word, we truly admire the stamina and organizational skills of HCJB conference leaders, especially endurance of Jim Allen and his wife. We appreciate the great hospitality of missionaries in Quito, Shell and Pifo. We were breathless not only from high altitude and the pace we moved at, but excited about all what is happening in HCJB around the clock and around the world. We would recruit ourselves again because we have spent the greatest 5 years of our lives in the field with HCJB.

To all of you, who are not yet fully informed about HCJB ministries, we can only recommend that you attend the HCJB dinner in your area and then, if you can, take a life-changing vacation joining an HCJB tour. As you visit with the HCJB sites in Ecuador, you will never be the same. Your love for missions will be rekindled into great passion. Nothing equals the first hand experience. A number of visitors become working visitors and working visitors become full-time missionaries. If you are retired and full of energy, examine this great opportunity. Yes, there is a vigor in missions.

Ten years ago we started recording and broadcasting with TWR and HCJB radio missions. Now we are in the process of finalizing an additional hour of Saturday morning broadcast on Pilsen Czech State Radio. Please, continue praying for the best outcome and our Lord's timing. When we return back to Czech Republic in mid November, we are scheduled for another meeting with the director of Brno State Radio.

• A number of our Christian friends are under severe attacks. One of them recently had a car stolen from his garage.
• Another couple, as soon as they decided to become full time missionaries, the wife's health problems escalated.
• The house of our closest coworker, in charge of Pilsen broadcasting, was struck by lightning. Everything, what was plugged into the electrical outlets, was melted except our computer. This is the second time our HCJB electronic equipment was tested by fire. Both times it miraculously survived.

Our dear friend in Ecuador suffered a financial loss due to a con man who was posing as a foreign journalist. For a whole month he was helpful in department work, gained the trust, and at the end he caused financial loss to several people as well as a travel agent.

We are looking forward to see friends on our way to the West Coast. We paid a visit to our former pastor from Denver, again living in New Jersey. It was a happy reunion after eleven years and sad to find out that he was just recovering after a cancer surgery. The prognosis for recovery is good.

The list could go on. This shows us that the Lord's people are often the prime target of Satan's attack. The spiritual war is for real. We know how important prayers are to any Christian and for those who are in the front lines. We are grateful for your prayers and support on our behalf and the mission's work. Thank you for sharing your love in our call to bring Jesus Christ to searching hearts and encouragement to hurting lives.

In His Service

The Steiger's

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