Rickson and Kestra had great meetings in Greenville. They were in two different churches, Faith Baptist Church and Good News Baptist Church. They had a great time seeing a lot of our friends from the islands as well.

Today Rickson decided to drive up to Columbia to visit with some Pohnpeian friends whose mother had just passed away. Praise the Lord, Rickson was able to lead both the man and his wife to the Lord. Please pray for this couple that they will grow in the Lord, as well as for the time they are facing with the loss of their loved one.

Kyler is doing well today with his teeth. He is starting to eat solids a little bit. He went back to school today and enjoyed being back with his teacher and class. Next Thursday he will be going in to have his damaged teeth removed. So please keep this little guy in your prayers as well.

Tomorrow we will be driving down to Richmond Hill, GA (near Savannah) for the evening service. This church has been supporting us for about four years and have been such a blessing to our family.

Hope that you all are having a great week!

Our life is constantly taking unexpected turns. Kyler had a bit of an accident yesterday. He was reaching for something on his nightstand while sitting on his bed and missed and caught his mouth on the edge of the nightstand. Wow! What a mess! We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at the Pediatric ER at MUSC to see what to do about his teeth, which were at that point pretty much just hanging in there. He didn't need stitches but he will need to see the dentist about his teeth first thing Monday and will not be able to eat solids for awhile. His mouth has swollen quite a bit and the gums are very bruised. He has cuts on both lips. He's quite a sight! I tried to take a picture to post but he wasn't too happy about that so maybe when he's in better spirits. So, Rickson and Kestra will be the only ones going to Greenville this weekend. The rest of us are staying behind. Pray they have a safe trip and good meetings and also for Kyler's quick recovery!

Tomorrow we will be leaving for Greenville. We're looking forward to being able to spend some time with many of our friends from Pohnpei. Susan has been fighting a cough for some time so please pray for her that this will clear up soon. Have a great weekend!

Our Little Kyler and Katy

Our Latest Update Mailing Sent

Kasalehlia! I know I am long overdue on getting this letter out and I apologize for that. Furlough has kept us much busier than we ever imagined and I need to give you all an update on our travels.

We have kept a fairly full traveling schedule up until Christmas. The Lord has given us opportunities to be in many of our supporting churches as well as several churches new to us. We truly enjoy being able to share what God is doing in the islands and are thankful for the opportunities we’ve had to present our ministry in so many churches.

We thoroughly enjoyed being able to spend the holidays with Susan’s family here in Charleston. The kids especially enjoyed Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma. We were certainly surprised to experience a Christmas here with weather nearly as warm as in Pohnpei! Christmas day in Charleston was nearly 80 degrees!

As many of you probably already know, I was able to go back to Pohnpei this month to check on things with the ministry there. I believe this trip was really needed to encourage our church people there. It was good to be able to see everyone again and to ensure that the work was continuing there in our absence. God has blessed us with some faithful church members who have dedicated much of their time to overseeing the ministry while we are on our furlough.
Our children are enjoying their time here in the States but are truly homesick for their island. They are experiencing cold weather for the first time and are sure hoping to see some snow while we are here. It has also been a good experience for them to be in an American school for part of this school year and we are so thankful for the teachers God has given them this year.
We continue to have a busy schedule for the remaining of our furlough. Below you will find our itinerary for the remaining of our trip. We have only a few services open between now and the time we leave and are hoping to fill some of these as well. We will be flying out of Charleston, SC on March 31st and then will be in California for three weeks before heading to Hawaii for one week, and then on to Pohnpei. We will actually arrive on Pohnpei on April 28th. Furlough is always an exciting time, but our heart is in Pohnpei and we are anxiously looking forward to getting back home.

We have tried to schedule as many meetings as possible during our time here in the States. Our goal was to get into as many of our supporting churches as possible to give an update of our ministry as well as to present our ministry to several new churches as we have had the need to raise some additional support. I have mentioned in the past that with the current economical situation, the cost of living has risen dramatically in Micronesia, added to the fact that our family has grown considerably since originally leaving for the islands. Therefore, our support level is currently at only around 81% of what we need. For the few supporting churches in which we were unable to schedule a meeting with, I would like to mention that we have a DVD of our ministry that we have shown when giving updates. If you would like a copy of this DVD, please notify us and we will mail one to you. I believe this presentation gives an adequate visual presentation of what God is doing in our ministry. The DVD also includes photos of our new home, which many of you have given financially to help build.

We do thank you all for your continued prayers and financial support. We thank God for the ministry in which He has placed us and for so many faithful prayer warriors to support our efforts in the island. For those of you who may be near a church where we will be presenting an update of our ministry, we would love to have the opportunity to see you. Feel free to contact us at anytime while we are in the States via email at rkihleng@hotmail.com or our cell phone at 843-697-8701. We look forward to hearing from you! May God bless you all as we begin this new year.
Because of Calvary,
Rickson, Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, & Katrianne