June 9th Update (Caleb's version)

June 9, 2008

I don’t want to go home…but I know I must. I do not know if this is the country God is calling to, but I can not begin to express the joy I am feeling as I experience this time in the “mountains”. There are certainly distractions but there is the constant spiritual refocusing of all the work that we are doing. The Lord, in His grace, has gathered before a select group of nine middle school kids who have had their hearts prepped by years of front line service to the Lord. This is the only life they have ever known, but I am not sure they have yet understood the depth of what it is they are involved in. I do not believe that they have recognized fully the inner workings of the spiritual lives. They see the outward works of their parents and they value such spiritual disciplines, but they are now ready to learn why. It is both challenging and rewarding to tell them what it means to truly live a life set apart for the Lord’s service. It is rewarding because the lights are going on, but it is challenging because the obstacles these kids face are so different from anything I have ever had to endure.

Because I do not have the distraction of the mundane or of daily trials of home life, I feel that my spiritual walk is fuller, my love is more effective, and my joy is more full. Yet I also believe that the Lord is allowing the Devil to sift us with other trials so that we can fully rely on him. The past few days have been like a Filipino road. It is primarily made up of rough stretches with very short somewhat smooth sections interspersed throughout. That said my hips don’t hurt anymore and I have not been beaten by any motorcycle riding pigs in days. I was beaten by another missionary and a MK High Schooler on Saturday in the Missionary Mile Race as part of our fiesta celebration, though this was more fun than humbling (I am not the extremely competitive one in this relationship). The real trials we have faced have mainly been health related. Sophie had a 102 temperature tonight along with her cough, Aubrey still has a nagging cough (but still felt good enough to pat her sisters rear to try to make her feel better), Leah is fighting off an ear infection, and I am beginning to lose my voice to my cough and runny nose (a somewhat difficult trial to overcome while teaching). Though this list may seem daunting we have put it completely in the Lord’s hands and we know that He is more than able. Yet we know that in His sovereignty He often chooses to display His providence through the multitude of prayers. We beseech you all, therefore, to pray for us.

As to the work we are doing the Lord is being extremely faithful. The morning devotional times are going very well. The first day of devotion not a single Middle Schooler brought their Bible. I gave them a soft reprimand (i.e. threatened with flailing), and they have not only brought their Bibles since, but they have all shared during morning devotions. During my teaching time I can see that I am telling them things they have never had ears to hear before. I believe that through all of your prayers, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the grace of God, these young men and women are beginning to understand why they need to live as strangers if heaven is truly their home. They are eating up the Pilgrim’s Progress Skit (thanks Sis), and they are seeing clearly the applications to the Christian life that they are acting out. We are also daily sitting in on Team Reports in which we hear from two teams of missionaries on the work God is doing on the front lines of Bible translation in the Philippines and surrounding areas. It is amazing to witness first hand the faithfulness of God to not allow His word to return void, and for the Middle Schoolers it is a wonderful illustration of just the life we are describing in our daily lessons. In addition to all of that focused time we are also being able to build relationships with the Middle Schoolers through daily game time, swim time, and activities. Today, we planted a garden on the conference grounds, and we have also sold multiple conference T-shirts as part of a fundraiser for the education of the children of Filipino Nationals who are involved in translation work. Tomorrow we will go on a tubing trip down the river (I may sit out depending on my health). Leah and I have also had multiple opportunities to establish friendships with Missionaries here. The two of us went on a trip to the rice terraces with several missionary families, and during the 3 hours in the bus we had a lot of time to connect with them. We also got to breathe some very interesting diesel fumes while traveling sideways for the entire trip (my intestine still are trying to go to the side when I walk forward). We have connected with multiple missionaries outside of that trip, and my global perspective of what is happening with missions is certainly being refined and sharpened on a daily basis.

Let me now end this exposition with the exact opposite thought that gave it birth. I can not wait to see you all again. I long for your fellowship and encouragement. I long to gather with you in prayer, and worship the Lord in praise side by side, but until then hold us up before the Lord in your prayers that we may all have the petitions we make of Him, and so that His work, that we seek to be a part of, would be effective. Paalam! (once again I had to check my dictionary before I wrote this word).