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| Youth Camp, 2021 |
Kaselehlie! Greetings from Pohnpei!
As we head into the fall months, I’m sure many of you are experiencing cooler weather. Here on Pohnpei, of course, it’s hot and muggy as always. Along with fall here, though comes a flurry of preparations for upcoming events such as our annual Missions Month and then the many Christmas activities we have at our church.
Ministry Update
Our summer ministries were a blessing as always, though in many ways, very different from past years. Though Micronesia is still Covid free, we’ve seen a lot of changes on the island. We were extremely thankful to be able to hold youth camp this summer. It was a great time for the youth that were able to attend. We had a much smaller group than usual, but it was a still a blessed week with many decisions made, including salvation decisions and more. Vacation Bible School was another exciting week, though again, with a much smaller attendance than usual. Despite having no current Covid threat here, many people are still hesitant to gather in groups like before. God still worked greatly through that week though, and we saw some salvation decisions among the children there. One of the highlights of VBS for me, as a father, is seeing my own children get involved in this ministry. Kestra helped out with arts and crafts as well as served as our VBS photographer. Kyler headed up games and skits and did an outstanding job with the skits along with his cousin Deshawn. Katrianne took on the project of “set design” and decorating as well as overseeing the arts and crafts. She outdid herself with the decorating by turning our church platform into an underground bunker. The kids also loved her craft projects that doubled as object lessons correlating with each day’s lesson.
We have finally been able to start the jail ministry once again. It’s been quite awhile waiting for the government to give us the okay for that so it was exciting to be able to start that again. The church is also doing well. We continue to have a larger attendance since moving outside. Eventually we want to enclose the outdoor structure and put in air conditioning but for now, what we have is working fine. We’re back to full children’s ministry classes. We have seen quite a few salvation decisions and been able to hold several baptismal services in recent months. Recently I was asked to come witness to a man named Robert who had been sick for some time. When I arrived at his home, I was surprised to find a fairly large group of family members had gathered to hear what I had to say. Robert made a profession of faith that night and passed away just about a week later. I’m thankful I was able to meet with him before he passed.
Though the church continues to celebrate growth, we have had some unexpected sadness as well. Recently we said our earthly farewells to one of our founding members, Edmond Samuel. Not only was Edmond a next door neighbor and good friend, but he was vital in the starting of Ambassador Baptist Church. He is truly missed here, but we are rejoicing he is with our Savior.
Family Life
A big highlight of our summer was Kaleo coming home! After two years away, it was so good to finally see him again. We had nearly given up hope for him returning any time soon when suddenly God just worked out all the details practically overnight. Though the borders here continue to be closed, the government began allowing approved FSM citizens back into the country if they could prove they were residents or returning college students and had a previously purchased ticket. It included a considerable amount of quarantine at government facilities as well, both in Guam and then again on Pohnpei. After not hearing anything back after he submitted his paperwork long ago, we suddenly got a phone call here on Pohnpei from the health department saying they were trying to get in contact with Kaleo and needed him to be in Guam within four days to begin quarantine there. At the time, Kaleo was living in New York City and working at a YMCA in Manhattan. It was a bit panicky with the time frame given, but he was able to pack up, get his Covid testing done and make it on a flight to Guam just in time to enter quarantine there. We are extremely grateful to my sister and brother-in-law who let him stay with them in NY until he was able to come home. We are enjoying having him home again. He’s currently working at a restaurant here on island and hopes to finish his schooling online.
Another homeschool year is underway for the Kihleng kids. Kestra is a senior this year. She has a tremendous interest in the Korean language and God has gifted her with a talent for picking up languages. Kestra has befriended an elderly Korean couple here on the island that will be helping her with the language. They even gifted her with a very nice Korean Bible and were impressed that she could already read some of it to them. She hopes to study Korean in college. Kyler is a junior and continues to have a passion for ocean diving and all things ocean-related. God has also given him a gift for working with children and in the area of music and those have been a huge asset to the ministry. We are thankful that he is willing to use his talents for Him. Katrianne is a freshman and spends much of her time at the piano. She also has been able to expand her artistic talents a good deal this summer and school year and we are amazed at her creativity. We’re also thankful for her use of her talents with the ministry. Kaylinn is in 6th grade and is dying to be old enough to join the youth group, but mom would like to keep her a little girl just a bit longer. She loves playing the ukulele and is starting to pick up piano as well. She’s pretty sure she would do just fine without school but mom and dad have a different idea on that.
House Project
I know many of you are wondering where we are with the house project. The house itself is pretty much finished at this point other that some small details here and there. We had wanted to finish the wall by now but between ministry commitments and rainy weather, we haven’t been able to do the last of it. We have what we need to complete it; it’s just a matter of finding the time to actually do it. However, with what is finished, we feel pretty safe as it is. We just want to add that last bit of protection by extending the height and length of the current wall.
Furlough plans are once again postponed. Not by choice but out of necessity. The government here has once again extended the border closure, this time carrying it into 2022. The plane tickets that we did have purchased are good until March. By January or February we are hoping to have more of an idea of if/when the borders will open in 2022 at all and whether we should re-book the tickets or get them refunded. We are working on a ministry video to give a more visual update on life and ministry here, but I know that is not the same as our family updating you all in person. We hope and pray that God will allow us to come see each of our supporting churches in 2022, but at this point, we just cannot make any definite plans. We also tremendously miss having guests from the States come and visit us here on the field. As I mentioned in our last letter, if any pastor would like to talk with me and just hear firsthand about how things are going here, I am always available to schedule a call. We have a US number through Skype so there are no international fees. Feel free to email me at rkihleng@hotmail.com and we can schedule a time to call. I’ve enjoyed the chats I’ve had with those of you that have scheduled a call with me.
We are truly thankful for each of you who pray for us and support our ministry here. It’s difficult to put into words what you all mean to us. And being away from you all for so long now makes us miss you all even more. We thank you for your faithful support and prayers.
Because of Calvary,
Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn
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