CURRENT MINISTRY

Ed and Jeanne Casteel serve with New Tribes Mission in the country of Indonesia. They have been ministering to the Wana tribal people on the island of Sulawesi for the past 28 years. During that time, five churches have been established with approximately 1150 believers. In addition, they have been involved in Scripture translation and Bible lesson development together with their coworkers Steve and Linda Rosengren. At this point the entire New Testament translation has just been completed, published, and in the process of being distributed. Their team is now working on translating many Old Testament portions. Along with this they continue to work on curriculum development. Numerous Bible lessons and commentary have been completed with others in progress.

In June of 2000, the Casteels, along with their coworkers, had to be evacuated from Indonesia due to political and religious violence in their area of Indonesia. It remains tense still today. Since being evacuated, they have also faced a number of health issues. Due to the complexity of all these problems, New Tribes Mission is allowing the Casteels and their coworkers to continue on with their work and ministry based in the USA. They make periodic trips back to Indonesia for translation checks, leadership training, and to encourage the tribal believers. Ed is also involved in field leadership and serves as one of the church planting consultants in Indonesia.

While here in the States, they are busy working with their many translation projects. They have two Wana Tribal missionaries living in the Provincial city of Palu, Sulawesi who act as their language/translation consultants. They are set up with computers and internet service which enables the Casteels & their coworkers to email Bible lessons and Scripture portions back and forth for corrections, help, and advice. When a book of Scripture or a set of Bible lessons are finished they are then photocopied into booklets and handed out to the tribal church leaders. As previously mentioned the entire New Testament will be printed in October with a formal dedication planned for the Spring of 2008. The next Scripture translation project will be to revise and check many Old Testament passages which are also used in the teaching program.

The Casteels appreciate your prayers as they continue on with their ministry. They are determined to see the completed Scriptures and Bible Lessons make their way into the hands of the Wana tribal believers.

You can be a part of Ed and Jeanne's ministry. They would appreciate your prayers, and your financial support if you feel led in that way. You can reach them at ed_casteel@ntm.org. Their business address is NTM, 1000 E First St., Sanford, FL 32771-1487. To donate online, you can use this link: online donation form