October Prayer Letter and Recent Happenings

Below is our prayer letter from October.  We've had some difficulty getting the email version out due to internet issues on our island.  Quick updates/prayer requests since this letter was originally sent: In the original mailed version of the letter we mentioned our daughter would be traveling in December to Canada.  That trip has at the moment been cancelled due to an oversight on the part of her coaches.  The Olympic Committee had already purchased her plane tickets and acquired her travel visa but will be able to still use her ticket for her to attend a later competition in the summer.  It was a big disappointment for our girl so please keep her in your prayers.   We had a great time with Pastor Frank Bailey and a deacon from his church, Mr. Zipperer, here for a week.  The 3 days of revival meetings during that time were a blessing for us and our church here on the island Within hours after their departure, several of our children came down with severe flu (possibly food poisoning) symptoms, resulting in a trip to the ER.  Please keep the kids in your prayers as they are still recovering and 2 others are feeling sick now as well.  Our church youth group will be performing Maranatha! The Lord Is Come for our annual Christmas program.  This year both Kaleo and Kyler have parts in the play.  Please pray God will use this program to reach many hearts.      Kasalehlie!

Greetings from Pohnpei!  What an exciting last few months we’ve had here in the islands!  And what an exciting few months we have coming up!  SUMMER MINISTRIES A huge thank you to those of you who gave to the camp ministry.  We have tried to contact each of you individually to thank you but as some we did not have full names or contact information, I pray that you see this letter and know how much God used you in the lives of our young people here on Pohnpei.  This summer’s camp was one of the largest in number that we’ve ever had.  We had nearly 150 campers attend and the decisions made during the week were overwhelming!  Approximately 10 came to know Christ as their Savior among the many decisions made.  Please continue praying for these young people as the struggle is a big one for them to live for Christ. We were especially excited that some of our own kids’ friends from their swim team were able to participate in the camp and ask that you continue praying for these young people and our children to continue being a testimony and witness to them. Our week of Vacation Bible School was another exciting week out of the summer.  We had approximately 90 children attending by the end of the week, including some of our younger kids’ swim team friends as well! Many decisions were made for Christ during this week too and many of these children are still attending our weekly Bible Club where they can continue learning Scripture.  We praise God for these children!   Another highlight of the summer was having a good friend of ours, Crystal Javaux spend much of the summer with us.  She was a great asset to the VBS ministry as she headed up the crafts.  We’re looking forward to her and her husband Mark visiting us again in December. Many of you were praying for Brandy Hadley as he came for the summer to ministry as well.  Brandy had a full schedule of preaching through the summer and was able to lead many to the Lord through his ministry here.  He truly was a blessing to many of our young men on the island who are struggling in their Christian life. BIBLE INSTITUTE We’re off to another great year of the Baptist Bible Institute of Pohnpei.  We have a few new students this year as well as returning students.  Please pray for these young people as they train for the ministry as well as those of us teaching them.  I am teaching some classes this semester as well as Pastor Rick VeraCruz, Pastor Sonny Padock, and Missionary Gabe Eiben.   FAMILY Another homeschool year is underway.  Kaleo is a senior this year and is trying to survive Physics and Pre-Calculus.  He’s also very busy with youth group, his swim training and lifeguarding,  and has a role again in this year’s Christmas program.  Kestra is in 7th grade (yes, we now have TWO teenagers in the family!) and is now a part of the youth group.  Kyler will be 12 in December and is in 6th grade.  He loves fishing and swimming and would much rather be in the ocean than in school.  He also will be playing a role in the Christmas program. Katrianne is in 4th grade and continues to love art and playing the piano.  She amazes us continuously with her artistic talent!  She’s also our little animal lover and loves her chickens as if they were her children. Kaylinn is in 1st grade this year and loves pretty much anything more than school.  She keeps us well entertained daily.   Our family is looking forward to a visit from a pastor and deacon from one of our supporting churches in November.  We love having visitors from the U.S. and especially love having supporters come and see the ministry here first hand.  Consider this an open invitation to those of you who would like to visit us here in the islands! Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. Without you, we would be unable to continue the Lord’s work here and we truly are grateful for all you do for our family and ministry here.    Because of Calvary, Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn Printable Version of this Letter

Kihleng Family Prayer Letter, March, 2016

Kasalehlie!

Greetings from Pohnpei!  We’re well into 2016 now and God is doing great things here on Pohnpei.  A quick update on the drought situation here ~ as many of you already know, our island and the surrounding area have been facing drought conditions that are predicted to continue through summer.  We were completely out of water in our area for about 2 weeks.  It was definitely a trying time but God always provides.  We currently have water turned back on and have had some rain, but please continue to pray as limited water could occur off and on for the next several months.  We do have a water catchment that is full at the moment and praise God for that blessing!

BIBLE INSTITUTE

We are drawing near the end of another year of our Bible Institute.  We have had fewer students this year but are thankful for their faithfulness and vision for ministry.  Our son Kaleo is also taking classes in the Bible Institute this year and has willingly taken on the job of picking up students needing rides.  

CHURCH MINISTRY

The church has continued to thrive since the revival meetings with Evangelist Jim Cook that we had in the fall.  This coming Sunday, March 13, is a special day for Ambassador Baptist Church as it is not only our church’s 12th Anniversary, but will also be our Charter Service.  Missionary John Boylston has worked hard to get all the paperwork done and passed through the court system to officially charter the church and we are so thankful for his commitment to this project.  We will be holding special services both in the morning and afternoon along with a church meal between services.   Please continue praying for the various ministries of the church ~ Sunday school, Wednesday kids Bible Club, Jail Ministry, and Youth Ministry. 

I was recently able to take a trip to the island of Nukuoro to visit and help our missionaries there, Jack & Melinda Peeler, and our Bible Institute graduate Ray Ezekias and his family.  The only way to get there is by ship, and I don’t mean a luxury cruise by any means!  The work there is still in it’s baby stages and needs your prayers.  They are desperately in need of building a living structure as they are currently living in tents.  They've been able to begin Bible studies with some on the islands and I am so glad I had the opportunity to see our Institute graduate doing what God has called him to.  

FAMILY

We’re also coming to the close of another homeschool year.  Kaleo will be finishing out his junior year, Kestra in 6th grade, Kyler in 5th, Katy in 3rd, and little Kaylinn working her way through K5.  The kids are all a very active part of our ministry as well as music and sports activities. Kaylinn just turned 6 this past month and is our little social butterfly.  She loves to meet new people and will talk to anyone and everyone. She does not really enjoy schoolwork but would rather be out playing.  Katy is our crafty/artistic child and is always creating something. She loves playing the piano and has also taken up raising chickens, though each chicken become her beloved pet.  Her pet rooster follows her everywhere and crows loudly when she leaves him too long.  Kyler is enthusiastic about life and spends a lot of his time just trying to figure out how things work.  He’s our deep thinker and can often ask difficult questions.  He loves swimming and will be competing in his first international swim competition next week.  Kestra is growing into a beautiful young lady practically overnight! She loves hanging out with her cousins and reading.  She will also be competing next week in the swim competition and hopes to do well.  Kaleo is a typical busy teenager with barely a minute of spare time.  In addition to school and taking Bible Institute classes, he is giving guitar lessons, helping mom run the Bible Club on Wednesdays, lifeguarding several times a week, active in the church youth group, plus daily swim practice. He will also be competing next week and will also be traveling to Fiji this summer to compete in the Oceania Swimming Championships and would appreciate your prayers as he trains in preparation and for traveling safety.  He is thankful for the travel opportunities his swimming has given him.  The FSM NOC has sent him on several trips now which have allowed him to visit Qatar, Manila, South Korea, Moscow, and Kazan all by the age of 15!   

VEHICLE UPDATE

A huge thank you to those of you that were able to help with our car purchase!  The car we had intended to purchase had sold quickly so we began the search for another vehicle that would work for us.  Unfortunately, there were very few available in the size we need as most vehicles shipped in are just small cars.  With the revival meetings just ahead, we desperately needed something and were finally able to find one, though it was considerably more than we had intended to pay.  We thank each of you that gave to this project!  

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.  God is working here in Micronesia and we are truly blessed to be a part of His plan for these islands! 

Because of Calvary,

Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn

Printable PDF Version

Praying For Rain!

As many of you already know, our little island is in a drought at the moment.  The situation seemed to have gotten bad very quickly with little warning.   A week ago our running water was shut off, as was most of the island's water supply.  As you can imagine, there was a bit of a panic on the island when the last of the drinking water was sold out last Thursday afternoon.  We had some rain over the weekend which allowed us a brief time of water again, though at a very low pressure and really muddy looking.  As of now, in town the water is shut off from 10 AM until 5 PM each day.  As a result, the drinking water companies are able to open again!  In our area however, there is no water at all.  We had a water catchment that had been damaged in a storm last year but we have since been able to repair the catchment and fill it during the time the water was on for a short period.  That is the water we are relying on for now.  However, without rain, this will not last long.  Please pray with us for rain!  We will keep you updated on the situation here.