tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74921547717318707942024-03-13T05:28:17.578-07:00THE KIHLENG FAMILYUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger116125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-60366434057185412152023-06-03T22:41:00.000-07:002023-06-03T22:41:04.146-07:00June, 2023 Prayer Letter<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6Z-mkcrTY5_M0IJWosdTMN95cvBZm92ajFKasxvtl0JHBXLd_ZZQZb050-UIWJyAy1tG2dMMzMLpa1KaQrdJPjskhn0XnghQd-jXK4DgYhoSPLjOUO-FGtX8RhFcei-lVvm2u8GMjQvN1rAuyQrwt0KhGA73GIwO4ivwEKL3K_Do1pVWNPtOeUOvUQ/s2048/IMG_7388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1542" data-original-width="2048" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6Z-mkcrTY5_M0IJWosdTMN95cvBZm92ajFKasxvtl0JHBXLd_ZZQZb050-UIWJyAy1tG2dMMzMLpa1KaQrdJPjskhn0XnghQd-jXK4DgYhoSPLjOUO-FGtX8RhFcei-lVvm2u8GMjQvN1rAuyQrwt0KhGA73GIwO4ivwEKL3K_Do1pVWNPtOeUOvUQ/s320/IMG_7388.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Easter Sunday, 2023 (Missing our Kestra who is currently in Thailand)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #842725; font-size: 20px;"><strong>Kaselehlie! Greetings from Pohnpei!</strong></span></p><p class="p1">It has been some time since our last prayer letter and we have a lot to update you with. We are thanking God for a blessed 2023 so far and pray you all are doing well also. </p><p><span style="color: #842725;"><i><strong>Furlough Plans</strong></i></span></p><p>We have heard rumors that the covid-19 mandates here are being lifted. With that in mind, we are moving forward with furlough plans for this fall. We are tentatively planning to be in the States from September through December, once camp, VBS, and other summer activities have been completed. We will be contacting our supporting churches in the months to come as we work on our schedule. Please be in prayer that all goes well with planning and we are finally able to make definite plans. We look forward to seeing everyone in person and sharing what God has been doing in Pohnpei.<br /></p><p><span style="color: #842725;"><i><strong>Summer Ministries</strong></i></span></p><p>Our summer camp is always one of our biggest ministry projects of the year. Plans have been underway for quite some time now and we are looking forward to an exciting week of youth camp. Planning for when to schedule camp has had it’s challenges this year as we are looking at a very unusual summer. Because of covid hitting the island in the early part of the school year, closing the schools for quite some time, summer break will be shorter than usual. Camp will be in July this year as school does not get out until the end of June. Vacation Bible School will be shortly after that time. This year’s youth camp will cost each teen $15. If you are interested in sponsoring a teen for the camp, please contact us soon to let us know. Donations can be sent through our mission board. </p><p>The church is doing well, though we are facing a situation with many families moving to the United States in recent months. We ask that you pray with us for those that have relocated, that they will be able to get established in a good Bible-believing church right away and stay faithful to the Lord. Praise the Lord, we have seen several salvation decisions recently, including an elderly man that members of our church have prayed for for some time now. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #842725;"><i><strong>Family</strong></i></span></p><p>Many of you have asked about Kaleo’s progress with his back situation. We are thankful he was able to receive a diagnosis from his MRI in Guam. He has arthritis in his spine. Some dear friends on Guam were able to get him in to see a chiropractor there. After several weeks of adjustments, Kaleo saw significant improvement and was able to return home and to work nearly pain free. Since that time, he has done very well with only a few issues with back pain. Thank you to all who prayed for him.</p><p>Susan’s mom began facing some health situations with her heart and was hospitalized a few times. In March, funding was provided for Susan and the two younger girls to go and visit her parents in North Carolina. During their time there, Mom Stevens was hospitalized twice more, and we made the decision for Susan to extend their stay a little longer to help out there. Thankfully, Mom is doing much better now, but we ask that you please keep her in your prayers. Susan and the girls were able to arrive back on Pohnpei at 1:00 AM on Easter Sunday and were able to join our Easter Sunday services. </p><p>Please keep our daughter Kestra in your prayers as well as she is currently living in Thailand on an Olympic training scholarship. We miss her very much here on Pohnpei but are thankful for the opportunities she has been given. Kyler, Katrianne, and Kaylinn are our only school-age children at this time. Kyler is finishing up his senior year of high school, while Katrianne is a sophomore and Kaylinn is in 7th grade. All are busy with youth group, church activities, sports activities, and homeschool. <br /><br />Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We are praying earnestly that all furlough plans will come to fruition, and Lord willing, we will be able to see many of you in person this fall. </p><p style="text-align: center;">Because of Calvary,<br />Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</p><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;">Click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIPe2n4gco0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> for our March, 2023 Video Update </p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/June-2023-Prayer-Letter.pdf" target="_blank">Printable PDF version of this Prayer Letter</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-74196574324660294282022-11-24T22:29:00.001-08:002022-11-24T22:31:23.523-08:00<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE4Peq4ec1h6cX10lFfhw_8T-QYdVf5RMuCq6d7cisSK7yUDZ0KIGtZ2K13dqF5jgbuxrn8FoSEGNZDVV8NLnsAuMt5BRzrBfRgGaD-nqvAxOJO2zFiDStEZACbB7eQBuTdYmKGR1gA0vOeKJt7fB1-QNj4YIt8DZJ5aoVYdRZFlnhARTj8VuVcXxWVw/s4032/IMG_4795.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE4Peq4ec1h6cX10lFfhw_8T-QYdVf5RMuCq6d7cisSK7yUDZ0KIGtZ2K13dqF5jgbuxrn8FoSEGNZDVV8NLnsAuMt5BRzrBfRgGaD-nqvAxOJO2zFiDStEZACbB7eQBuTdYmKGR1gA0vOeKJt7fB1-QNj4YIt8DZJ5aoVYdRZFlnhARTj8VuVcXxWVw/w400-h300/IMG_4795.JPG" title="Ambassador Baptist Church baptism service" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ambassador Baptist Church baptism service</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; text-align: center;">Kaselehlie! Greetings from Pohnpei!</b><span style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; text-align: center;"> </span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; text-align: center;"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours! We are long overdue on a prayer letter, so we have a lot to update you all.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>These past few months have been a whirlwind of activity along with many changes in plans. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Furlough Plans</span></i></b></span></p><p class="p5" style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I’ll start with furlough plans since so many have been asking.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Much has changed here on the island over the last several months as Covid-19 at long last hit the islands.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Micronesia had two and a half years to prepare and watch the rest of the world through the pandemic, but there was still a good deal of panic and overwhelm.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Yes, our entire family got covid as well, but thankfully, fairly mild cases and we recovered well.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Just as the island began to recover from the covid surge, severe influenza hit the island, and yes, our entire family got that as well.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The flu actually was considerably more severe in the islands than the strain of covid that arrived here.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Hospitals were overflowing, and many people were seriously ill.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Even now many are still struggling with the aftereffects of this illness.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Everyone in our family is still coughing, and attendance at church continues to be quite low with so many out sick.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Due to the new and extended covid requirements and restrictions here in Micronesia, we have had to once again postpone our furlough, since the restrictions would affect us traveling with our younger daughters.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>From what we are understanding, these restrictions and requirements will be lifted by the middle of next year, and so we have begun to tentatively plan a furlough for the end of summer once summer camp and VBS is completed.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This has been a very difficult decision for us to make.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We have to keep reminding ourselves that God’s timing is best.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Pastors, we are anxious to visit your churches and give updates in person and are saddened that it is not possible for us to do so at this time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Ministry Update</span></i></b></span></p><p class="p5" style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our summer ministries were a bit different this year.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Camp went very well, and we were excited to see over 100 youth in attendance.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We thank those of you that gave to financially sponsor campers.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We originally had 11 teens from our church sign up for camp.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>After we were informed that a Sunday school class in South Carolina had pledged to sponsor 25 teens, we were able to take an additional 14.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Of those 14, 6 accepted Christ at the camp.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Please continue praying for these young people.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After camp was completed, we began our final preparations for Vacation Bible School.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We had an exciting carnival theme, and our daughter Katrianne had worked hard to create some amazing backdrops for the platform area, complete with a huge cardboard ferris wheel.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Kids in our area were excited to come see what it was all about.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The first two days were fantastic…and then covid hit the island.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Immediately the government shut down the entire island, and we were unable to finish out the week. We are still hoping to use all the material and hold a mini VBS in the near future, but so far we have not been able to.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The remainder of the summer was pretty much spent in lockdown and it was quite some time before we could even have in-person church services again.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>As I already mentioned, attendance is still quite low due to illness and even those that have been able to attend in person are coughing a lot. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">November is our annual Missions Month at Ambassador Baptist Church.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The church decided to do a week of missions conference this year instead of spreading it out over the entire month, though all services in November will still have a missions focus.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Our missions conference will be held the last week of November and we are looking forward to spending time with the pastors and their families on the island that our church supports.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p4" style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Medical</span></i></b></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thank you for your continued prayers for our son, Kaleo.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>He has continued to deal with constant pain, which has lasted an entire year now.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Our insurance company here along with his doctor have referred him off-island for medical testing and care. He left for Guam on November 15 for his consultations, MRI, and whatever else is determined will need to be done.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Please continue praying for him as the doctors there work to develop a treatment plan for him.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>He is very blessed to have a job that is encouraging him to take the time off, with pay, to take care of his health. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">While Susan was in Guam in the summer, she was able to get some much-needed dental work done. She was able to have a wisdom tooth removed as well as another tooth that was giving her issues.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We thank those of you that gave financially to this.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>She was able to get all of the more urgent things done, with plans to have the rest of her wisdom teeth out at a later time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thank you for your prayers and financial support. Your prayers are much needed through this time.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We especially thank those of you that have reached out with emails and messages of encouragement and let us know you’re praying for us.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This means more to us than you could possibly know.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Thank you. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because of Calvary,</span></span></p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></span></p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="p6" style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/November-2022-Prayer-Letter.pdf" target="_blank">Printable version of this letter</a><br /></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-3173228116281679022022-05-31T22:33:00.004-07:002022-05-31T22:34:55.574-07:00May, 2022 Prayer Letter<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW14pRjx3eoFPvKPIH1TgRBGHPJNEPUahPLBkdfbAC2DyRfWQ7xv9g1vJ7DztgFqt8ECGyeKUXvn79rMzlLMPziOUUqQ7qwIzNgFUGPFOhOZ_H6XV7mS11Ea-VG6mLR0ITFXlotqYBVlO5GOH-VnDNPzuzEnM23BX_mYWnTfsAtAhQwukVyQ4nUlf73A/s3520/IMG_3399.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1980" data-original-width="3520" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW14pRjx3eoFPvKPIH1TgRBGHPJNEPUahPLBkdfbAC2DyRfWQ7xv9g1vJ7DztgFqt8ECGyeKUXvn79rMzlLMPziOUUqQ7qwIzNgFUGPFOhOZ_H6XV7mS11Ea-VG6mLR0ITFXlotqYBVlO5GOH-VnDNPzuzEnM23BX_mYWnTfsAtAhQwukVyQ4nUlf73A/w400-h225/IMG_3399.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Easter Sunrise Service</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; text-align: center;">Kaselehlie! Greetings from Pohnpei!</b><span style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; text-align: center;"> </span><span style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; text-align: center;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We have had an extremely busy few months and more extremely busy months up ahead. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Ministry Update</span></i></b></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ambassador Baptist Church is doing well and we are praising the Lord for regularly seeing new visitors. We’ve sadly had to say goodbye to so many families recently though as so many have moved to the States. Good jobs here on Pohnpei are scarce and most jobs pay very little, and as a result, many have left the islands to try a different life in the US. We are so sad to see loved ones move away. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With the summer months just around the corner, we have our regular summer ministries in full-blown planning and preparation mode right now. Summer youth camp is scheduled for the week of June 27. It’s a little later than usual in the summer as we had some schedule conflicts with schools in the area. We are looking forward to a fantastic week of camp this year and are praying that God will bring many young people to Him through this ministry. In past years some of you have wanted to help sponsor a camper. Camp cost this year will be $10 a person. While it sounds like a small amount in comparison to camp costs in the US, this can be a huge financial burden on families here. If you are interested in sponsoring a teenager for camp, please let us know. Donations for camp can be sent to:</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ambassador Baptist Church</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">P.O. Box 2072</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pohnpei, FM 96941</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vacation Bible School will be in July as usual, another fantastic week of ministry that we are excited about. It’s been encouraging to watch our own kids go from their excitement as a child participant to now their excitement over assisting in running the VBS. Our kids are a great asset in seeing that the week of VBS runs smoothly and we are truly thankful for their help in the ministry. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Furlough Plans</span></i></b></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With the President’s announcement to reopen the borders this summer, we are starting to work on plans for a long overdue furlough. We are tentatively planning to leave for the US in September. This will be an approximately three month furlough, so we have a lot of ground to cover in a very short time. Over the summer, I will be reaching out to our supporting churches about scheduling. We are looking at starting with the west coast, then working in the northern/New England churches, and finishing out in the southeast before returning back to Pohnpei. As you can imagine, furlough has a great deal of expenses involved. If you would like to help with some of our furlough expenses, any contributions can be sent to our mission board, Global Vision Ministries, and designated for “Kihleng Furlough”. We are not bringing our entire family on this trip. Our three older children will not be accompanying us this time due to work and school commitments. They will also be taking care of the house and all while we’re gone and helping out with the church in our absence. Katrianne and Kaylinn are excited though about seeing the US after so long, reuniting with old friends and making new ones, and of course seeing Grandpa and Grandma. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another need I would like to mention is some dental work that Susan is needing to have done. She has been dealing with wisdom teeth issues for a couple of years, but the “covid restrictions” here on island have prevented anything from being done to help. She will be seeing a dentist end of June on Guam. Our dentist here has recommended she have her wisdom teeth removed in Guam or the States and have it done as soon as possible. This is an unexpected expense of course, though at this time, we are not sure what the cost will be. Our insurance will cover up to $500 of the dental bill, but it looks as though the initial visit, exam, and x-rays will cost around that before the actual extraction is even scheduled. Again, if you would like to help with this expense, please send any contributions through our mission board and designate for “Kihleng Dental”. </span></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Family Life</span></i></b></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thank you so much to those of you that have been praying for Kaleo. He is doing so much better now, though he does have some issues still with his back from time to time. We are so thankful though to see our prayers answered in this way. He has decided to not pursue going off island for the MRI at this time since he’s finally seeing improvement. He is loving his new job with the National Olympic Committee as the Swim Development Coordinator. He loves working with kids so he thoroughly enjoying the job. Kestra is in her senior of high school, though will have some classes through the summer before officially graduating. Kyler is a junior. Both Kestra and Kyler were honored to recently receive an Olympic training scholarship from the International Olympic Committee. Through the scholarship program they will both be representing the Federated States of Micronesia in the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest next month. We ask that you please keep them in your prayers as they travel and that they will have opportunities to be a witness to teammates and others they meet on their journey. Another request is that they won’t have any issues returning to Pohnpei in July as they are a huge part of running our VBS ministry and they are hoping to be back without issue in time. Katrianne is finishing up her freshman year of high school and is busy with her piano and art. We are thankful for the talents God has blessed her with and are praying she will always use these talents for Him. She is excited about traveling in the US and hopes to have a chance to play a grand piano after years of only practicing on a digital piano. We recently discovered another church on the island has an acoustic upright piano and they are allowing her to use it to practice some. She’s been thrilled to have that opportunity. Kaylinn is finishing 6th grade and looking forward to her older sister graduating and leaving for school so she can take over her room. It’s hard to believe this is her last year of Sunday School and Vacation Bible School before moving up to youth group. She loves playing her ukulele and piano and playing with the kittens that we are desperately trying to give away.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I mentioned in our last letter that we were looking for the end of the rainy season to be able to put in the last section of the retaining wall behind our house. Well, we are still looking forward to the end of this seemingly eternal rainy season. Usually by February things have dried up and by March the winds and rains are completely passed. Not this year. Here in May, we’ve had only a handful of sunny days. It’s also made it difficult for planning church activities and often even our services are interrupted by the rain, wind, and accompanying power outages. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We are looking forward to seeing so many of you on our upcoming furlough and many of you meet in person for the first time. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because of Calvary,</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/May-2022-Prayer-Letter-.pdf" target="_blank">Printable PDF of this Letter</a></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-48575654631826757612022-02-07T13:36:00.002-08:002022-02-07T13:36:20.216-08:00February, 2022 Prayer Letter<p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1z-QPcPY-uFakNb_4OfjAmx8sBtGMIl6HnO9ClfltJ5aD7xDWDEq-E7XWyDr2CL1es_k_yBHpuwP9K8D3GDpjlCPS0CLtkOSX4MZj6YD3bpdACTVCsuLkzZl3eUxdEPJ6UO8F_GRHDmpQiq3IBuyunpVNa5MWqNL4qNDAOsYS3k8VLJHd-Dsv0ec1Ig=s5615" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="3821" data-original-width="5615" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1z-QPcPY-uFakNb_4OfjAmx8sBtGMIl6HnO9ClfltJ5aD7xDWDEq-E7XWyDr2CL1es_k_yBHpuwP9K8D3GDpjlCPS0CLtkOSX4MZj6YD3bpdACTVCsuLkzZl3eUxdEPJ6UO8F_GRHDmpQiq3IBuyunpVNa5MWqNL4qNDAOsYS3k8VLJHd-Dsv0ec1Ig=w400-h272" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Our family would like to extend a belated Happy New Year to all of you. 2022 had us hit the ground running with many activities and events. We are so thankful to be able to return to a more normal schedule with the church now that the majority of Covid restrictions have been lifted here on the island.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Ministry Update</span></i></b></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Ambassador Baptist Church continues to do well. We had a wonderful week of Missions Conference in November. What a sweet time of fellowship with the other pastors on the island and their families. Our theme for this missions month was “Here Am I, Lord; Send Me.” This is a theme we plan to emphasize throughout 2022 with our church. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">As we went into December, we were busy with many holiday activities, including our church Christmas program. We are extremely limited with what we have been able to do in preparations for that for several reasons; one, our church piano (digital is all we can use here in this climate) has not been working for some time, and two, we currently have limited location for rehearsals. Thankfully though we were able to hold rehearsals at our house and then we were able to order and receive in time a new digital piano to use for the church. This has been a huge blessing as we’ve missed this in our services as well. The Christmas program went very well and even one person mentioned to us afterwards that it really touched his heart and he had tears the entire program. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">New Year’s is always an adventure here on Pohnpei. We held our annual New Year’s Eve service and activity and had a wonderful time with our church family. It was such a sweet time of preaching, testimonies and singing, as well as some fun games, and of course good food. We ordered about 600 glow sticks for the kids as well (though the adults and teens also joined in on the fun!) and everyone joined in for the traditional Pohnpeian way of bringing in the New Year with a LOT of noise. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">January has brought more church activities and has kept us very busy. Susan and I have been able to take some time together to sit and discuss goals and plans for the ministry here for this new year. We have a lot of dreams for the Lord’s work here and now we are praying for God’s guidance as we look into making some of these projects a reality. We appreciate your continued prayers for the ministry here. </span></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Family Life</span></i></b></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">It has been a blessing to have Kaleo back on the island with us once again. We do have some prayer requests for him though. In late October and early November, he began having some back discomfort. It progressed into severe pain and was accompanied by fever and just an overall feeling of illness. After having some tests done at the hospital, his doctor felt it best to admit him. He was in the hospital for about a week while they tried to figure out what was wrong. To make a long story short, they did determine that it is nerve related, caused by an infection in his system. But they said they cannot fully determine what is wrong and how to treat it without him having an MRI and further testing off island. With the current border closure, that is not really an option at this time. So Kaleo has had to live in continuous pain since then. He is back to work at a restaurant on the island, where Kestra works as well, but there are some days he can barely get out of bed and has to miss work. It has been a bit of a discouragement for him, and for us as we have no idea of what the cause is. We have recently learned that they are allowing some to go off island for medical treatment and return after. At this time, we are just praying for guidance as to what he should do. He really does not want to leave, especially so soon after finally getting back home. But we do hate to see him in pain so much of the time. We ask that you keep him in your prayers.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The rest of the family is doing very well. Kestra is finishing up her senior year and keeps very busy with schoolwork and work. Kyler is doing well with his junior year; he just turned 17 in December and has been given several opportunities to go scuba diving with friends recently. He jumps at any chance to go diving, but sometimes him mom gets a bit nervous watching the videos of his close encounters with sharks. Katrianne continues spending the majority of her time at the piano. She has recently passed her piano performance exams and has been busy working with her piano teacher selecting pieces for her next performance exams. She is thrilled that we have a piano at church again and has been spending time with Susan learning hymn playing. Kaylinn keeps busy with her ukulele and piano playing as well. She’s counting down the days till she finishes sixth grade and can move up to youth group at church. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">We are looking for the end of the rainy season to be able to put in the last section of the retaining wall behind our house. What we need is about one full week with no rain, no scheduled church events and activities other than regular services, no family emergencies, and no interruptions. Anyone in the ministry, especially anyone in the ministry in the tropics, can agree with us that this is an incredibly difficult week to find, but we are trusting God will enable us to complete this soon. Our goal is to be done and celebrate the completion by March, marking four years since the mudslide, but of course God may have a different timeline planned than we do. My wife recently overheard our children talking about the early days after the mudslide, when we were basically camping in our house, with mounds of mud everywhere, open for critters of all kinds to come inside, having to evacuate constantly, cooking outside, and spending our days shoveling dirt. She was surprised to hear them all agree that they miss those days and what fun it was! Our kids can be such a blessing to us, reminding us sometimes that what we may see as bad times, they were able to see the good that came from it. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">FSM Border Closure</span></i></b></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The FSM government recently announced the extension of their emergency orders, officially extending the border closure through the end of May. We were hoping this would not be the case, but sadly, it is. We made the difficult decision to cancel and get a refund on our previously purchased plane tickets or risking losing them entirely as they can no longer be extended after February. At this point, we have no idea when a furlough to the United States will be possible. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">We do thank each of you for your continued prayers and financial support. We thank each of you that gave extra for a Christmas offering for our family. Your love and care for us here on Pohnpei means so much to us and we are truly grateful. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Because of Calvary,</span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/February-2022-Prayer-Letter.pdf">Printable PDF Version of this Letter</a></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-16797575506028671292021-10-22T19:18:00.003-07:002021-10-22T19:20:21.703-07:00October, 2021 Prayer Letter<p style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fn_cYgdgys4/YXNwexGez2I/AAAAAAAABlo/R3hKpOMxsvo5ySZV2x3GLpJnIuPJ7iTCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s828/Camp%2B2021%2B2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="828" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fn_cYgdgys4/YXNwexGez2I/AAAAAAAABlo/R3hKpOMxsvo5ySZV2x3GLpJnIuPJ7iTCwCLcBGAsYHQ/w425-h200/Camp%2B2021%2B2.jpeg" width="425" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Youth Camp, 2021</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span><b style="color: #004e7d; font-family: arial;">Kaselehlie! Greetings from Pohnpei!</b><span style="color: #004e7d; font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="color: #004e7d; font-family: arial;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ministry Update</span></i></b></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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. </span></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Family Life</span></i></b></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">House Project</span></i></b></span></p>
<p style="color: #004e7d; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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 <a href="mailto:rkihleng@hotmail.com"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; color: black; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">rkihleng@hotmail.com</span></a> 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. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 6px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">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. </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Because of Calvary,</span></span></p>
<p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/October-2021-Prayer-Letter.pdf">Printable version of this letter</a><br /></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-43243739968824938722021-05-24T16:23:00.003-07:002021-05-24T16:33:04.965-07:00May, 2021 Prayer Letter<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IUiG3MqAD1Y/YKw05fk8NXI/AAAAAAAABkY/5qzzPa4wUH0f20yV5iFsZIdXO9YZhh9lACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMG_0710.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IUiG3MqAD1Y/YKw05fk8NXI/AAAAAAAABkY/5qzzPa4wUH0f20yV5iFsZIdXO9YZhh9lACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_0710.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moon over Pohnpei harbor, taken April 27th.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Kaselehlie! Greetings from Pohnpei!</b> </span> </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 4.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><br />
</span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Lots happening on our side of the world! It’s hard to know where to begin. So I’ll start with the predictable Covid-19 update. Our borders here in Micronesia have remained closed from February of last year until this month. On May 13 and 14, however, the US Coast Guard provided two humanitarian flights to repatriate 43 FSM citizens, along with US and Australian diplomats and a CDC doctor. This has been an extremely long process to get to this point and as you can imagine, emotions and differing opinions run high. As of the writing of this letter though, the operation has been successful! Those that arrived have all gone through quarantine and tested negative for Covid-19 upon their release. We’re excited that this is one step closer to borders reopening. A flight from the Marshall Islands is planned for May 31 and from there, the government will determine when the borders can actually be open again for commercial flights. The US Ambassador, along with her husband and daughter, arrived on the first of these flights, and we were able to enjoy a nice evening of food and fellowship with them and several other families once they were released from quarantine. As you can imagine, transitioning from a busy city life in the US to this little island is a huge transition for their daughter and it was a fun-filled evening for her to get to know some of the young people here on the island. Our kids have now had the unique opportunity of developing friendships with the Chinese Ambassador’s daughter and now the US Ambassador’s daughter. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Ministry life continues as usual. We’re continuing to meet in the outdoor structure for church services and as I mentioned in my last letter, we most likely will not return to our indoor building due to the size of the congregation. Over the next year we will need to look more into converting the outdoor structure into an enclosed church building as the humidity and heat is not good for our sound system, electronics, and church supplies. We are having Sunday school classes meet in the former church building and have plans to divide it into classrooms soon. We have not yet restarted our Wednesday Bible Club but plan to over the summer. Both the Bible Institute and the Jail ministries still remain on hold. The jail though has let us know that we may be able to begin services there again soon but will only be allowed three people to come at a time from the church.</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 4.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Summer Ministries</span></i></b></span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 4.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><b><i></i></b></span><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Our youth group is now back to our previous schedule and we are proceeding with plans for summer Youth Camp. We understand that plans could change at any time but for now we are planning for camp the week of June 14. The young people are excited and looking forward to a great week, especially since last year's camp was cancelled. We are praying the camp can go forward as planned and that we will see many lives impacted for the Lord during that week. Our young people are suffering as I'm sure many are around the world. The isolation and changes due to Covid has affected them in so many ways and we are praying God will truly use this week of camp in their lives. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">We’re also planning to go forward with Vacation Bible School this summer. Our current plans are to hold it in July, but of course, as with everything right now, we know that is subject to change due to the ever-changing Covid restrictions. Our kids though are already making plans for that week, selecting skits and planning decorations. Now that most of our children are older and can be involved with the planning and carrying out of these activities, VBS has become very much a family ministry project and something we look forward to every summer. We ask that you please sincerely pray for these two summer ministries to be used greatly of God to reach the young people of Pohnpei.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 4.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Milestones and House Project</span></i></b></span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 4.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Over the past several months we have passed some interesting milestones in our ministry and family life. In February we celebrated 20 years now on Pohnpei. It really is hard to believe it’s been that long already since God brought me back here with Susan and little Kaleo. Another milestone was in March when our church celebrated it’s 18th anniversary. We held the first service of Ambassador Baptist Church in U, Pohnpei on March 16, 2003. Our church celebrated 18 years with a special service, a meal together, and then a praise and testimony service. We are so thankful for all God has done with this ministry these last 18 years. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">March 17th marked three years since the mudslide that damaged our home. It’s been a long and slow process to recover our home but we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Right now we’re working on the kitchen. Our kitchen cabinets and supplies arrived in April, and we’ve been working to install the cabinets and create countertops. It’s been a challenge to work on a project like this while still having all our ministry responsibilities and continuing with homeschooling the kids and so things have moved slowly. We’re heading into week six of no usable kitchen - we’re back to an outdoor sink and the kids have commented that it reminds them of life after the mudslide again. But Lord willing, we will be able to finish this project up in the next week. We are truly thankful to all of you that have given financially to this project and prayed for us through all of this. Once we finish the inside projects we’re working on, then we will finish up the last portion of the wall. It has been a long process and at times a bit stressful, but God has shown Himself faithful through it all, and we have learned so much through these difficulties. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 4.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="color: #004e7d; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Family Life</span></i></b></span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 4.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 5px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">We are finishing up another year of homeschool. It has been a challenge to maintain a normal schedule with all the projects we’ve had going on with the house, but we are nearing the end of the year. Kestra will be finishing her junior year, Kyler his sophomore year, Katy is graduating from eighth grade, and Kaylinn will be heading into fifth grade. Kestra has been working to develop her photography skills and enjoys studying the Korean language and culture. She is hoping to major in East Asian Language studies in college and minor in Photography. Kyler enjoys all things ocean related and goes SCUBA diving every chance he gets. He’s considering staying on the island after finishing high school and studying Marine Science at the College of Micronesia. We’re praying God will direct these two young people as they finish up their high school years and seek His will for their future. Katy continues to develop her art and music skills. She is studying music via video calls with a teacher in Australia and also spends all her spare time drawing and painting. Kaylinn is all about having fun at this stage of her life, though sometimes Katy is able to convince her to play ukulele with her. Kaleo is still in New York City and is working at a YMCA there teaching swimming. He looks forward to when he can finally come back to Pohnpei, but for now is enjoying his job there. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Of course furlough plans for us are still on hold with the border closure. The plane tickets we had purchased before are still good through March of next year and we are praying the borders reopen by then and we can make furlough plans again. Meanwhile, 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 <a href="mailto:rkihleng@hotmail.com"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; color: black; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">rkihleng@hotmail.com</span></a> and we can schedule a time to call. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">We thank you all for your continued prayers and financial support. We pray that someday soon we can see you all again in person. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: justify;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Because of Calvary,</span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/May-2021-Prayer-Letter-.pdf" target="_blank">Printable PDF of this Prayer Letter</a></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-48464747093368932782021-01-11T16:13:00.002-08:002021-01-11T16:13:33.597-08:00January, 2021 Prayer Letter<p style="color: #bc1e00; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 2px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--muUcNNTOG4/X_zpVejRc0I/AAAAAAAABiA/8p8gc4qYqRQtR6XRxzUNQ7e4dnuwW39EQCLcBGAsYHQ/s724/Christmas%2BCard%2B2020%2B.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="724" data-original-width="529" height="568" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--muUcNNTOG4/X_zpVejRc0I/AAAAAAAABiA/8p8gc4qYqRQtR6XRxzUNQ7e4dnuwW39EQCLcBGAsYHQ/w415-h568/Christmas%2BCard%2B2020%2B.png" width="415" /></a></div><br /><b><br />
</b><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Kaselehlie oh Parakapw Mwuah! Greetings and Happy New Year!</b> </span><span style="font-size: 12.5px;"> </span></span><p></p><p> <span style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; text-align: justify;">As we enter this new year we see around the world sickness, political unrest, heartache, and so much more.</span><span style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; text-align: justify;">We are so thankful that our God is still in control and knows what tomorrow will hold. These difficult times only confirm to us that our mission to serve Him and spread the Gospel is more important now than ever before. </span><span style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; text-align: justify;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">As I’m sure most of you are, we here in the islands continue to face restrictions and changes due to Covid-19. Micronesia is still in complete lockdown with the borders having closed in March and remaining closed until now. There were efforts to bring some citizens into the country last month but the plans were cancelled at the last minute. As you can imagine, this has been difficult for the many separated families affect. Our son Kaleo is still in the States as well and it doesn't look like he will be allowed to return any time soon. Unfortunately, Micronesia is no longer on the “Covid-free list” as we have our first confirmed case, though the one and only case is currently isolated on a ship in the harbor. We had just began to see a more relaxed approach here on island with things reopening and returning somewhat to normal and the FSM President has declared that we can continue without more restrictions as long as the case is contained on the ship. Thankfully, we are now back to our regular service schedule, though we are still sharing our services online. Our youth group is once again meeting for youth fellowships and we are starting back to our Sunday school classes, though location has been an issue since we are still holding all services/meetings outside. Hopefully we will be able to resume Bible Institute classes in the near future as well. One blessing that we have seen as a result of moving our services outdoors is a large increase in attendance. The larger space has allowed for that and we now know that we will most likely not ever return to holding services in our former building. We are actively making plans for a future, much larger building and Lord willing, we will see these plans become a reality at some point this year. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">As I mentioned in our last later and video update, in spite of restrictions and changes, however, we have seen a good deal of growth in the church. We have seen several saved and baptized recently and we have seen such a sweet spirit among our church people as we have banded together through these unusual times. The month of November was our annual Missions Month and what a blessing those services were! It was exciting to hear what God is doing in the lives and ministries of each of the pastors/missionaries that our little island church supports. Missionary Gabe Eiben was our speaker for our missions banquet and it was a blessing to have his family join us as well. We will be sharing some photos of the banquet and services on our blog at <a href="http://kihlengfamily.blogspot.com"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">kihlengfamily.blogspot.com</span></a>. In December we held a small Christmas program with our Sunday school children, some of the youth, and several of the adults in the church. We were unable to do a large cantata as we have in the past, but we pray that the little program we were able to put together was a blessing to those who came. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together working on it and presenting it to our community.</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">While we have seen some exciting things in the ministry in recent months, this year has also brought some extreme heartaches. On the morning of November 6th, we awakened to the devastating news that our dear friend Pastor Don Eckert went home to be with the Lord after struggling for several weeks with Covid-19. Pastor Eckert served many years in Guam and has been a tremendous godly influence on so many of the Micronesians that have attended school there. The impact he has had on our own kids as well has been a great one and his passing really affected our family. He is truly missed. One of our family’s fondest memories of him was the time he spent with us after the mudslide. He was a great encouragement to us during that time and we will never forget that time with him. Another great loss was the home going of Mrs. RuthAnn Arthurs. The Arthurs were missionaries here on Pohnpei for many years, running the Christian radio station. They were always Grandma and Grandpa to our kids. RuthAnn was at the hospital for the birth of several of our kids and has been a tremendous mentor and friend for so many years. On November 27th, RuthAnn entered the presence of our Savior and her suffering is no more. We’ve also seen the passing of several of our loved ones both in the U.S. and here on island. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Though it has been a time of sorrow, saying goodbye to loved ones, we are also celebrating some births as well. Our assistant pastor and his wife recently welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. We are thankful for a safe delivery and a healthy mom and baby. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">As uncertain as things are right now, we have no idea when we will be able to reschedule our furlough. For now we are unable to travel in or out of Micronesia at all. This is a bit of a frustration of course, but we know God has a plan in all of this. Thankfully the airlines has assured us that our tickets will be good for a full 2 years from our original travel date, which will be until March, 2022. Lord willing, we can schedule a furlough by that time. Meanwhile, we are working on a video presentation of our ministry and will send to each of our supporting churches since we cannot be there in person. We will also upload the video to YouTube. If pastors would like a phone call with me for a personal update on things here, please feel free to email me and we can set up a time for that. I know videos and phone calls are not the same as our family presenting an update in person, but unfortunately, until the travel ban in our part of the world is lifted, that is all we are able to do. We look forward to the day when we can once again travel freely in and out of the islands. We also have a private Facebook group, “Friends of the Kihleng Pohnpei Ministry” that you are welcome to join for more frequent, informal updates. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Our family continues to do well. The kids are a bit restless without our usual activities but we are also enjoying the extra family time. Kaleo is currently in New York City with my sister’s family there. He was able to find work there for a time, but Covid intervened once again and his department was shut down. He has continued to look for work but has been unable to find anything since. Susan and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary a few days before Christmas. I am thankful for the years God has given us together and look forward to many more to come. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Know that we are earnestly praying for you all in the United States in these uncertain times and will continue to do so. We also thank you all for your continued prayers and support of our family and ministry here. </span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/January-2021-Prayer-Letter.pdf">Printable PDF of this Letter</a></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-52177971474516299772020-07-05T00:11:00.001-07:002020-07-05T00:22:11.339-07:00July, 2020 Prayer Letter<div style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Kaselehlie from beautiful, rainy, and hot Pohnpei!</b></span><span style="color: black; font-kerning: none;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As I’m sure most of you know by now, furlough has had to be postponed for now. Having to cancel our meetings with so many of you was a difficult decision and a sad one to make. But as the Covid-19 situation around the world progressed, we know it was definitely the right decision. It was not long after our decision to cancel our flights that the Federated States of Micronesia closed it’s borders, which would have left us stranded in the U.S. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As we’ve watched the events of the past few months unfold in the United States, we have kept you all in our prayers constantly. It has been heartbreaking to see these events happening, but we are thankful that God is still in control. All we can do is trust in Him in this time of uncertainty. We are also thankful that the swift decisions of our government leaders here in Micronesia has prevented any cases of Covid-19 from arriving here in our country. How have things changed for us here since the borders closing?</span></div>
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<li style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">All schools closed on the island. Since we homeschool, this didn’t really affect us; however, we did take an extended “spring break”. For about a month now though we have been back at it, working our way through this school year. </span></li>
<li style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">We were required to close our Bible Institute classes. We had just concluded exams for the current block of classes and just closed out the semester there. Lord willing, we will be able to have classes again in the fall, though at this point, we do not know for sure what the restrictions will be.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">In person church services stopped. Because of our extremely slow internet out in the area we live, we are unable to do live videos of our services, but we have been recording each service and uploading on Facebook on our church page. After two months of the borders being closed here, there really is no way for the virus to have arrived here on island. So we began holding church services in person once again on June 7. We are meeting for services outside with chairs kept far apart in order to follow our state’s policies. We have decided to continue recording the services and sharing online as many Pohnpeians in the U.S. have let us know they are enjoying watching services in their own language. Last week I was even able to talk with a young lady on Guam who has been viewing our services, and lead her to Christ. </span></li>
<li style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Our jail ministry has had to be put on hold for the time being as well. We are collecting items to deliver to the prisoners from time to time to let them know we haven’t forgotten them and are praying for them. We do not know when we will be allowed to resume services there again.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Our youth ministry was unable to meet in person for a time as well; however, we started meeting again this month.</span></li>
<li style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">All sports activities and gatherings on the island have stopped. Our kids have missed their sports practices and being with friends of course. We have had to get creative to do things on our own but one thing we’ve enjoyed as a family is going for walks and run in the evening together. </span></li>
<li style="font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Our usual bigger summer ministries as of now are on hold. We are not allowed to hold our summer youth camp or VBS. This is extremely disappointing as these are two of our biggest highlights of the summer. We are looking at options for some sort of substitutions but we’re not really sure at this point what that will look like. </span></li>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As you can imagine, a lot of people were left stranded outside of Micronesia when the borders closed. As the government works to prepare to bring them back, many are expressing fear that Covid-19 will arrive here in the islands. Please keep these islands and people in your prayers as it’s very likely we are only at the very beginning of the Covid-19 situation here in our part of the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Among those stranded in the U.S. of course, is our son Kaleo. He has been staying with Susan’s parents in NC since his college closed in early March and we are extremely grateful for them housing him during this time. He finished the semester out online and now that things have began to open up again in NC, he has been looking for a job there in order to save money for the fall semester. He was originally to come back to Pohnpei in May, but of course is unable to. He’s submitted quite a few job applications but so far hasn’t found anyone hiring. We ask that you please pray he finds a job soon. He’s looking at several options for the fall semester but of course, every one of them is dependent on his being able to work through the summer to save the money he needs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">With the extra “down time” because of the quarantine here, we’ve tried to tackle more of the projects on the house. We’d like to finish the retaining wall this summer. That project was at a halt due to the supplies we needed not being available on island at the time. But now it looks like supplies are becoming available again and we can continue with this project. We’ve also started work on laying the flooring and painting. We’re hoping to get what we need to complete the kitchen this summer as well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Many of you have already discovered our ministry/family private Facebook page. If you would like to get more frequent, “informal” updates, prayer requests, and photos of our life and ministry here, please request to join the group “Friends of the Kihleng Pohnpei Ministry”. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">We thank you all for your continued support and prayers through this time. This year has proven to be a time of uncertainty and quite a few surprises. I’m so thankful that in the midst of it all, we still know Who is in control! </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Because of Calvary,</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/July-2020-Prayer-Letter.pdf">Printable Version of this Letter</a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-85214546824687981562020-01-23T16:44:00.002-08:002020-01-23T16:44:45.202-08:00January, 2020 Prayer Letter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Kaselehlie oh Parakapw Mwauh! Greetings and Happy New Year! </b></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; color: black;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">We have much to be thankful for as we enter this new year. God has blessed in so many ways in the past months, we can’t help but feel more than a little overwhelmed. </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">House/Mudslide Recovery Update! God has worked many miracles in all of this and it would be difficult to put it all into words. In November we were honored to have 4 men from churches in the States come to work on building our retaining wall. We had given up on getting a local company to do it for a reasonable price and are so thankful that it worked out for David Smith from MI, Buddie Callahan and Jerry Lovegrove from TN, and Larry Pruit from NV to come and build the wall. It was amazing seeing these men work and what they were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. It was also amazing seeing God work in many “impossible” situations during that time as we faced supply shortages, equipment malfunctions and often lack of, and so much more. It was also such a blessing to have these men stay in our home and be such an encouragement to our family and ministry. And we are praising God that the wall is up and we can once again feel safe living here during heavy rains. I can’t even begin to describe how good it is to finally be able to sleep comfortably at night knowing that the wall is there. We still have some more work to do on the wall before it is complete but as one of the men put it, "we are safer than we have been in a very long time”. We are so thankful for God's protection through all of this as well. October and into November we saw some extremely heavy rains and the week before the men arrived we had to evacuate the house a total of 4 times in just one week. We had a good bit of dirt come down the mountain but no damage was done to the house. Thankfully, God held back the rain the entire time the men were here working. They literally jumped into the project from the time they got off the plane and continued until the time they left. Mr. Buddie was scheduled to leave the day after the others; however, his flight was cancelled and there were limited seats on the remaining flights that week. We were thrilled to be able to have him stay longer and celebrate Thanksgiving with us. He also went ahead and installed our back door and window. No more plywood across the back of our house! The house itself has a ways to go before it’s back to “normal” but at least now we can safely begin work on it. We will still need to install the flooring, lights and ceiling fans, and put in a kitchen as well as a few other projects. </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">We were also blessed to have Mark and Crystal Javaux over Thanksgiving week and are thankful for the work they did at our church, bringing and installing projectors and painting. Since the Pohnpeian hymnbook is no longer in print, it is very difficult to get copies and we have very few remaining at our church. With the projectors we are able to project the Pohnpeian hymns onto the platform wall for everyone to see. It has made a huge difference in our congregational singing!</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Pastor Jim Davidson of Maranatha Baptist Church in Shelby, NC, which is our commissioning church and the church we attended through college at Ambassador, was also able to come to Pohnpei for a couple of weeks. The Eiben family, also missionaries here on Pohnpei are sent out of Maranatha. We were very blessed to have Pastor Davidson speak in our church and also speak at our missions banquet. It was truly an honor to have him here. He also spent some time working with the men on the wall construction. </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Of course because of the mudslide/house situation, we have had to postpone our furlough. Now that the house is stable and no longer in danger of further mudslides, I feel more comfortable with leaving the island for a time. Due to the tremendous cost of traveling with the entire family at such a short notice, we have decided I will come with just our son Kyler as well as our church youth/song leader, Kimo Aron in March. I will be there until early May and then we will plan a longer, full furlough the following year with our entire family. Our current plan is to fly to the east coast from Pohnpei in early March. We would like to visit as many of our supporting churches as possible during that time. If you would like us to personally bring an update to your church, please contact me at <a href="mailto:rkihleng@hotmail.com"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; color: black;">rkihleng@hotmail.com</span></a>. Also, if you are interested in helping with the cost of these three plane tickets, please contact me concerning that as well. </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The church is doing well. We have had to say many goodbyes to families that have moved to the States for work in the past year. Just our youth group alone has bid farewell to nearly 30 young people that have moved to the US or other places for their family’s work, school, or other reasons. But in spite of so many leaving, we have continued to see growth in the church. We’ve had several new families that have started attending, including a couple that had joined the Islam religion. After meeting with me several times, I was able to lead this man to the Lord and he began coming to our church. It took his wife a bit longer but she has also accepted Christ and is coming faithfully. This couple has been a blessing to see in their growth and their eagerness to bring others to church. We have also seen a huge growth in our children’s ministry in recent months. We have a large group of children that are now coming regularly from some of the jungle villages above where we live now that we are able to offer rides on our church truck. We are thrilled to have these children coming, but it has presented some new and interesting challenges for Susan and the other ladies that work with the children’s ministry. Many of these children have never been in church before and it is an entirely new experience for them. Please keep these children in your prayers and also Susan as she works with them. The children’s ministry was able to present Ron Hamilton’s “A Peanut Butter Christmas” for the church in December. They did a fantastic job and we pray that it was a blessing to the families of these children that came to see the performance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The Bible Institute is also doing well. We have approximately 15 students this semester. We just began the new semester on January 20th. It is always a blessing to see these young people’s enthusiasm for serving the Lord and using what they learn in the ministries around Pohnpei. We were blessed to have our very first Bible Institute graduate back with us for a short time before returning to his island of Nukuuoro where he has a growing ministry. He was able to be with us for our missions banquet and also speak in one of our services.</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Our family is also doing well. We had an exciting surprise for Christmas. Our son Kaleo came home from New Hampshire, a complete surprise to me and the kids. Kaleo had let Susan know and they had a good time thoroughly surprising us all. Kaleo was blessed with a plane ticket given as an anonymous gift and we are truly thankful for this gift. We had a great time with him home and said our goodbyes once again last week. Lord willing, I will be able to see him some while I am in the States in March. We are hoping to coordinate my return ticket to come back with him in May. He will be spending the summer giving guitar and ukulele lessons here on Pohnpei to help save for his next year of college. Our four children here on Pohnpei are also doing well, keeping busy with homeschool and their various activities. Kestra is in 10th grade and her current “hobby” is studying Korean. She seems to have a talent for picking up the Korean language and we hope she will be able to use this skill for the Lord someday. She also enjoys playing the guitar and ukulele. Kyler is in 9th grade and has an ever-growing love for the ocean and marine biology. He’s currently working on his open water diving certification and loves to spend as much time as possible out on the reef. Kyler also plays guitar and ukulele and we are enjoying watching his musical talents develop. Katrianne is now a teenager, in 7th grade, and loves spending time with her friends. She and three of her close friends in our church were a huge help with the children’s Christmas program in December. Katrianne has a natural gift for music and can play the piano and ukulele by ear. Her talents amaze us and we love seeing her be able to put these musical abilities to use for the Lord in the ministry. Kaylinn is nearly 10 (and reminds us of her upcoming birthday regularly). She is our social butterfly and thrives on playing with her cousins and friends from church. She has also been learning to play the ukulele and loves playing duets with Katrianne.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">We do thank all of you for your continued support and prayers. We thank each of you as well that have given towards our home repair since the mudslide and we also want to mention what a blessing it is to receive birthday cards from so many of you. It is something our kids especially look forward to. So many of you may never fully know the blessing you have been in our lives, especially through some of the challenges we have faced these last two years. Your words of encouragement, gifts, and prayers are what have kept us going. Thank you!</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Because of Calvary,</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/January-2020-Prayer-Letter.pdf">Printable PDF Version</a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-35874108043098653602019-06-09T04:27:00.004-07:002019-06-09T04:27:55.505-07:00June, 2019 Prayer Letter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Kaselehlie! Greetings from beautiful but rainy Pohnpei! </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">March 17th marked one year since the mudslide. One year since our life drastically changed. We are truly thankful to those of you that have followed our journey and prayed for us and with us along the way. Your prayers are much needed and we could not have made it through this past year without them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I know many of you are wondering how things are now with our current living situation so I’ll try to update as best as I can. We are so thankful for how far things have come since the early weeks and months after the mudslide. As you probably know, we went without power for a bit and without water for a much longer bit. We basically “camped out” in our house for several months. Fortunately now we are a good bit past that stage though we are still far from “normal”. We’ve had multiple delays in getting the back dug out and a retaining wall put in. Until that is complete, we cannot do too much by way of repairs on the house itself since there is still a risk of further damage. It would be a waste of time and money to replace floors, doors, and windows only to have them destroyed again if another storm should happen before the back is repaired. It would take too much space in this letter to explain all the delays, but living in a smaller, developing country limits the companies that can do the work. And the companies that are capable of doing the work, have an already full schedule with prior contracts. In recent weeks, we have finally received some good news with one company that is a strong possibility of doing the work; however, we are still hung up on government paperwork as new permits have to be obtained, which can be a long process at times. We thank each of you that have given financially to this project. The responses from our supporters has been overwhelming and we know we are truly blessed to have each of you in our lives. How can you pray at this time? <b><i>Pray that permits would be issued quickly, rain will hold off till the work is done, and that we can complete the digging and put up a strong retaining wall to prevent this type of disaster from happening again. </i></b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The ministry is going well. We never want our focus to be drawn away from the Lord’s work here, in spite of the trials we’ve faced with our home. In March we held a week of revival services with Evangelist Randy Chovan. Brother Chovan has been with us several times in the past but this time we were blessed to have his wife here as well. The week of meetings were a great blessing. We saw between 400-500 in attendance each night and the altar was full at the closing of each service. Many decisions made for Christ and we saw many accept Him as their Savior. <b><i>Please pray that God continues to work in the lives of those that came to know Him through that week. Pray for growth and discipleship through the months to come. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">One of the challenges in any ministry is saying goodbye to families. This year we have seen several families in our church move on to the States for work. Their absences are strongly felt here. But we have also had several new families join as well. Due to the ever increasing growth in our church, we continue to realize the desperate need we have for a new building. We are hoping to see that become a reality in the near future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Just ahead of us we have our summer youth camp and Vacation Bible School ministries. These are always an exciting highlight of our summer. Youth Camp will be held June 17-22 and our theme is “Here I Stand”. Please keep the young people of Pohnpei in your prayers. These teens face challenges and temptations that so many of us cannot even imagine. We pray God will greatly use this week of camp in their lives. Our Vacation Bible School will be July 15-19. We’re looking forward to a fun, western theme this year as we teach the children about the saving power of the Gospel. This is a ministry that often brings in many unchurched children in our area and often even entire families. <b><i>Please keep both of these ministries in your prayers. We're looking forward to seeing what the Lord will do in the lives of these young people this summer.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Many of you have also prayed for our son, Kaleo with his recent illness. Just before the revival meetings Kaleo had to have a wisdom tooth removed. What we thought would be a basic procedure turned into quite the ordeal. There ended up being some complications resulting in bone damage and a serious infection which led him to being admitted in the hospital for a time. Several weeks passed but he just couldn’t seem to shake the infection which seemed to travel throughout his body. After passing out three separate times, he was once again admitted. The recovery process was long and difficult, including a setback due to a reaction to one of his medications, but we are thanking the Lord that he is fine now and back to his normal, active self. The FSM is sending him along with three other swimmers to the World Championships in Korea next month, which is also the the qualifying competition for the Olympics. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Thankfully, our other children have not had any health issues lately. Kestra and Kyler are looking forward to youth camp this summer as well as Katrianne as this will be her first summer old enough to attend. She is very excited about the opportunity to go this year. Kaylinn is looking forward to a whole week of fun at home with Mommy while the others are all at camp. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Other ministries of the church continue to thrive. We just finished yet another semester of the <b><i>Baptist Bible Institute of Pohnpei</i></b>. We’ve lost several students this past year due to various reasons but hope to see some new students this upcoming semester beginning in August. The <b><i>jail ministry</i></b> continues on Tuesdays. Our church rotates Tuesdays with two other churches on the island. The <b><i>Wednesday children’s Bible Club ministry</i></b> has suddenly seen a drop in numbers as a large group of the children “graduated” and are now entering the youth group. Susan and Kaleo were sad to say goodbye to so many of their regulars in Bible Club and Sunday school but praying for these children to continue to thrive and grow in the Lord in youth group. With Kaleo most likely leaving for college soon, Kyler has stepped up and began assisting with Bible Club. He is proving to be quite good with kids as well and enjoys using his ukulele talents during singing time. He’s also being given full-time “game duty” as all the kids agree he comes up with the best games.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I know many of you are wondering when our next furlough will be. The original plan was to schedule furlough around the time of bringing Kaleo to the States for college. However, the mudslide situation has changed that. I am currently unable to leave here until things are resolved with the house. Once we have more progress made, we will update you on furlough plans. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Thank you to each of you that continue to pray for us, our family, and the ministry here on Pohnpei. A special thank you to each of you that have helped us with our home repairs and kept our family in your prayers through this difficult time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Because of Calvary,</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/June-2019-Prayer-Letter.pdf">Printable PDF Version of this Letter</a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-41836370018672385192018-10-23T16:06:00.001-07:002018-10-23T20:27:19.976-07:00October, 2018 Prayer Letter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Kaselehlie! Greetings from Pohnpei!</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The last few months have been quite the “roller coaster” for our family with our housing situation and I know many of you have been anxious for an update. First though, I want to thank God for His faithfulness. I also want to thank all of you that have given to help us with this project financially and for the many prayers that have been lifted up on our behalf. You cannot even begin to know how much of an encouragement you all have been to us. In this letter we’ll try to summarize our current situation, but we also have created a video update that may help give a better perspective. That can be found at <a href="https://youtu.be/PEcGnhPB6wQ"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>https://youtu.be/PEcGnhPB6wQ</b></span></a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Since our last letter, we were finally able to find a company to do the digging, which is the first step of the project and has proven to be extremely difficult to get done. You may be asking, why the difficulty? We have run into every setback imaginable. The company was eager to get started and brought their equipment out right away and began the work. Within hours the government sent officials to stop the work, stating we had to have a permit. Both this company’s employees and I all explained that we are only digging out the mudslide but they insisted we could not do any more work until we applied for and received the permit. Knowing that could take weeks, possibly even months, I immediately began that process. Thankfully, they waived the court hearing and we were able to get the permit within days. However, we lost valuable clear weather days during that time. They were able to complete about a day of work before the heavy rains set in again, stopping all work once more. This went on for several weeks. Once they were able to resume work again, the equipment broke down, needing a new part. Approximately two weeks went by waiting for the new part to arrive. Finally they were able to start again, only to be stopped by more heavy rains after about a day or two of work. We’ve continued to have heavy rains the following two months, preventing any more work from being done until mid August when we saw one full day of dry weather, allowing them to make some remarkable progress during that brief time. The rains picked up again the following day so work was halted for nearly another month. We know God has a reason for these delays, and while frustrating for us, His timing is best. The digging was finally complete just a couple of weeks ago.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile, we had to continue to adapt to a rather different way of life because of the house being buried. Every time it rained, the house would flood. If it rained extremely hard, as it has a tendency to do here at times, the house would flood extremely fast! It takes everyone in the family working together to get the water outside before it gets to the 3 rooms that we have cleaned out for us to live in. During all this time, our “kitchen” was still a camp stove and water hose with a makeshift sink on the front porch. We were able to get the septic tanks pumped and cleared of the mud and also restore running water to the house, so we could have working bathrooms again. We have air purifiers and dehumidifiers running round the clock to help with the mold and mildew. We are using these in the rooms that we have fixed for now. Now that the digging is finished, we no longer have the flooding issues and after 7 long months, we can finally start to make progress on clearing out the inside of dirt and debris. Currently, we are working on the next step of putting in a retaining wall. We are praying for little to no rain until that’s completed as we are highly at risk of another mudslide until that is done!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Though life is a bit different from normal for us at home, family and ministry life must go on. We have had quite a summer, another roller coaster for us all. Susan, Katrianne, and Kaylinn were able to fly to NC to be with her parents for a time and were able to be there for their family reunion. It was a fun time for the girls as they had not met the majority of Susan’s family. During the time they were gone, Kaleo and Kestra traveled with the FSM swim team to Papua, New Guinea for the Oceania Swimming Championships. They did very well with their swimming and we are very proud of them. During the month of June, we also had our annual youth camp at Black Coral Island. We had a great number of young people join this year and saw 23 young people come to know Christ. Our youth group nearly doubled in size and they came back with a strong desire to grow in the Lord and be a testimony for Him. They spent nearly 3 hours the Sunday night after camp sharing their testimonies and tears with our church family. One testimony in particular that stood out to many was from a young girl in our youth group, Sellyann Kustin as she shared how she wanted her life to be used for God. Sellyann is my first cousin’s daughter and is also one of Kestra’s closest friends. Little did the church and teens know at that time how our faith and testimony would be challenged in the coming days. That following Friday, Sellyann was walking on the road in front of our church and home, carrying her small niece, when a drunk driver spun out of control and hit her. She was able to throw the baby to safety just in time but she herself received fatal injuries. She entered the arms of Jesus a few hours later. Kaleo and Kyler were at the church when the accident happened and helped in the aftermath. Kestra was able to be at the hospital with Sellyann as she took her last breath on this earth. You can imagine how this has affected our church, youth group, and entire community. Many tears have been shed. It has been hard on everyone. And yet we’ve seen a closeness and sweetness among our youth that had been severely lacking. We ask that you please pray for these young people. Pray for their spiritual growth. Pray for them with the temptations and difficulties they face every day in their school and home life. Pray for those that witnessed the accident that will be testifying in court in the near future, having to relive that day all over again. Pray for them all as they’ve realized in such a tragic way the importance of being ready to face Christ at any moment. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We had our annual Vacation Bible School as well, just a couple of weeks after the accident. It was difficult to plan and prepare under the circumstances, but God worked through it all and it turned out to be a fantastic week. We had approximately 100 kids in attendance by the end of the week! We had quite a few decisions made throughout the week though I do not have a specific number. We are excited that we are still having so many of these children attend Sunday school and Bible Club at the church and have had some families begin to come as well. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Kaleo and Kestra had yet another swimming competition in July. The Micronesian Games is held every 4 years and includes all the countries and island states of the Micronesian region. They were able to represent Pohnpei in the open water swimming competition, held on the island of Yap. The state sports office decided at the last minute to send me along as an assistant coach, which was a huge answer to prayer as we were unsure of the safety of the athlete’s accommodations but did not have the funding available to purchase a ticket to Yap. With the state sending me, all expenses were covered for the trip. The three of us, along with some other athletes were able to stay in the home of one of the missionaries there on Yap and I had the opportunity to preach in two of the Baptist churches on the island while we were there. It was a great experience to visit an island I had never been to before, to visit and assist in the ministries there as well, and to be able to watch my children compete. I had the honor of presenting the medals for one event, allowing me to present a bronze medal to Kestra for her 3rd place win in the 2.5 kilometer swim. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On the day we were to return home from Yap, we received word that another church member had unexpectedly passed away. Ioanis Aron, who lives directly next to the church and has been faithful to our services for many years, suddenly collapsed and passed away shortly after. Unfortunately, we were not able to arrive on that flight as the flight was full and we were bumped to a flight two days later. Again, another difficult time for our church family and community. Please keep the Aron family in your prayers as well. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As you can see, our family, ministry, and community has faced some trials in these past months. Please continue to pray for the work here. Pray that God will continue to use these difficulties in people’s lives and that many would come to know him as a result. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We do thank each of you that have given to our house repair project. We are close to the amount needed for the project but still are short of the full amount. If you are able to give towards this project, any funds can be sent to our mission board, designated for Kihleng House Repair. The address is Global Vision Ministries, 7800 Northside Drive, North Charleston, SC 29420. If you have any questions about the project, the funding needed, or are interested in participating in the team coming, please contact Tom McGann at 843-514-2826. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Because of Calvary,</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/October-2018-Prayer-Letter.pdf">Printable PDF Version of this letter</a></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-87589782184424915812018-05-07T19:47:00.001-07:002018-05-07T19:54:32.834-07:00May, 2018 Prayer Letter and Photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #008cb4; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>Kaselehlie!</b></span><span style="color: #008cb4; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-kerning: none;">Greetings from Pohnpei! </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">On Friday morning, March 16, an unusually dark and rainy day for Pohnpei, my wife and I were reviewing our new prayer letter to send out. We were excited about the building project for the new church building. We wanted to tell you all about the land fill progress and how the area was nearly ready for the foundation. We wanted to share with you the details of the project and how you could partner with us in making this happen. But as we began to notice the intensity of the rainfall and began hearing disturbing reports from around the island, nearly everything was put on hold for the day. We assumed by the following day, the storm would pass and life would go back to normal. Sadly that was not the case. On Saturday morning, we woke to the sound of falling trees and realized two trees had come down on our house. Throughout the morning, we continued to keep an eye on the hill behind our house as the rain continued to come down heavier than anything we’d ever seen before. As we began to see shifts in the soil on the hill, by 11 AM we made the decision to evacuate. Just after noon, we received word from our neighbors that a mudslide had torn through our home. As the rain came to a halt later in the afternoon we made the drive back to our village to look over the damage. Nothing could have prepared us for what we found. The mudslide, along with trees and boulders had taken out the back doors as well as a window. Mud and water had flowed through the entire house, destroying anything in it’s path. The dining table and chairs where my wife and I had been sitting as we discussed our new prayer letter, was now replaced with a hill approximately 8 feet high, a water catchment, and a mango tree. Many of you have followed our journey since then on Facebook, but we have also updated our family blog with photos from the storm damage and aftermath. It has been a long and trying 7 weeks but one thing remains the same. God is faithful! He protected our family. We are all safe and for that we continuously praising God. Many mudslides and heavy flooding occurred around the island and there were lives lost. Please pray for these families that lost loved ones in this storm. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">What is our current situation? We have been able to clean out and recover two rooms in the house and moved back in approximately a week and a half after the storm. As of the writing of this letter, we still have not been able to find a company that will come and dig out the house, so that has remained the same. As a result, every heavy rain brings more flooding and damage. Two days ago, the ceiling caved in on the back of the house because of this. </span></div>
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<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b></b><span style="font-kerning: none;">We are praying desperately for an answer to getting the house dug out. We have finally found one company that has agreed to take on the project, but we are still waiting for them to give us a timeline. </span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b></b><span style="font-kerning: none;">Other than moving out the mud and mess inside, there is little we can do to repair the inside until the house is dug out. We spent a great deal of time scrubbing and cleaning, only to have the house flood again. </span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b></b><span style="font-kerning: none;">After the mudslide is removed from the back of the house, we will need to build a retaining wall to prevent this in the future. As of now, we do not even know 100% if this will even be possible. Please pray for God’s leading in this. We want to be able to remain in this location, but of course safety is of utmost importance.</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b></b><span style="font-kerning: none;">Doors, windows, flooring, appliances, kitchen and bathroom cupboards, furniture, and more will have to be replaced. We don’t even know where to begin with this at this point.</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b></b><span style="font-kerning: none;">As the water pipes into the house are broken and buried under the mudslide, we have not had running water in the house since the storm. This makes life “interesting” for a family of 7.</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b></b><span style="font-kerning: none;">We also no longer have a kitchen. We have been able to set up a camp stove and makeshift sink outside to make do for now. </span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b></b><span style="font-kerning: none;">The septic tank is also buried and filled with mud. As you can imagine, this along with no running water makes for a less than ideal bathroom situation.</span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b></b><span style="font-kerning: none;">Mold is a huge concern. Finally being able to remove the mud and trees from inside and board up the back of the house has helped considerably but we are still dealing with extreme dampness from the humidity and flooding. </span></li>
<li style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Hoefler Text"; font-size: 12.5px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b></b><span style="font-kerning: none;">A HUGE praise is that Andy Brett from Charleston, SC will be coming this month to help!</span></li>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">How can you help?</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">1. Pray! We desperately need prayer! Each day brings new challenges, some we never dreamed we would be facing. And in the midst of the house challenges, we are continuing on with ministry responsibilities with the church and Bible institute, which often leaves us very little time to work on the house. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">2. Give if you are able. The cost of repairs and replacements are going to be huge. If God leads you to give towards this project, donations can be sent to our mission board designated for Kihleng Storm Recovery. A huge thank you to those that have already jumped in and helped our family financially through this difficult time. I would also like to mention that we do not want our current housing situation to take away from the building project for the new church building. If you would like to give towards this project, donations can also be sent to our mission board, designated for Kihleng Church Building. God began this project and we know that He will provide for it to be completed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">3. Come! If you have specific skills in construction and would like to be a part of the recovery project, or even come to work on the new church building, please get in contact with us at <a href="mailto:rkihleng@hotmail.com"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>rkihleng@hotmail.com</b></span></a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In spite of much of our life currently being put on hold due to the storm, we have a huge summer schedule ahead of us that we are looking forward to. We have several youth rallies scheduled, summer camp, a missions team coming from Pennsylvania, some Bible college students coming to help with ministries, Vacation Bible School, special meetings at two of the other churches on island, and more. It is a packed but exciting couple of months ahead! Please be in prayer for these ministries and that God will work in hearts this summer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In closing I would like to thank those of you that have prayed for us, given financially to us, sent notes of encouragement, as well as to our dear friends here on island that have offered their time to help with cleanup, fed us, prayed with us, shed tears with us, and been such a blessing in our lives through this time. I believe God is going to work mightily through this situation and receive all the glory. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Because of Calvary,</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, Kaylinn</span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/May-2018-Prayer-Letter.pdf">Printable Version of this Letter</a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-35221729054108342492017-04-02T18:43:00.003-07:002017-04-02T18:45:41.622-07:00Spring, 2017 Prayer Letter<div style="color: #008cb4; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 2px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>Kaselehlie!</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Greetings from Pohnpei! 2017 has gotten off to a great start these past few months here on Pohnpei and we are looking forward to the great things God will be doing throughout this year!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>CHURCH HAPPENINGS</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">One of our highlights over the holiday season was our annual Christmas program. This year we did the cantata <i>Maranatha! The Lord Is Come</i>. Kaleo was once again able to be a part of the play and Kestra was excited to have the opportunity to join in with the youth choir now that she is a part of the youth group. Even Kyler was able to be a part of the play this year as he played the part of Kaleo’s character’s son. Katrianne and Kaylinn were a part of the childrens’ choir. The program was a great blessing and we were thrilled that the kids’ swim coaches all came to see the performance. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">January was a landmark month in our church staff as our youth leader, Resio Aron, married his sweetheart Terisa, who is Calvary Baptist Church of Pohnpei’s Pastor Willam Joel’s daughter! We’re thankful for God bringing a godly young lady into his life who will be a great help with the ministry here. Please keep Resio and Terisa in your prayers as they begin their life together. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We were blessed this year to have our friends Mark and Crystal Javaux here with us over New Year and into January. They tackled quite a few projects around here and we hated seeing them go! Mark was able to work on our church sound system that we were able to purchase a couple of years ago (thanks to the generous donation of First Baptist Church of Colchester, Illinois who provided the funding for the system). We’ve only used the very basics of the system with our limited knowledge of sound technology, but within an hour or so, Mark had it all set up with numerous wireless microphones that we didn’t even realize had come with the system! He also spent some time teaching the men of our church how to operate the system so we can continue using it without him here. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Another landmark in our church in 2017 was Ambassador Baptist Church selecting our first deacon. Siosy Aron has been with the church since the very beginning; in fact our earliest Bible studies before the church officially started were held at his home in the jungle. We are excited about where God is taking this ministry and are thankful for godly men in the church such as Siosy.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>FAMILY UPDATES</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sadly, the year had some painful beginnings as my Aunt Rita, one of my mom’s sisters, passed away in January. We will miss her greatly but know she is in a better place and no longer experiencing the pain and suffering she has been for the past year or more. Please keep the family in your prayers through this time.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Through some friends and family members, plane tickets for Susan, Kaleo, and Kestra were provided for a brief trip to the States to visit Susan’s parents. We were able to work the tickets out so they left on the same flight as Mark and Crystal. They were able to visit several of our supporting churches while on the trip and really enjoyed getting to see so many of you along the way. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>BIBLE INSTITUTE</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We began another semester of the Baptist Bible Institute of Pohnpei in January and are now nearing the end of the school year. We will be having another graduate this year, our third overall from the Bible Institute program. She is planning to leave the island after graduation to continue her education at Harvest Baptist Bible College. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>SPECIAL REQUEST</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">For several years many of you have prayed with us concerning a new building for our church. We believe at this time God is giving us the burden to move forward with this project. Some of you may remember from our ministry DVD the outer, open-air building that we use for special meetings. We have decided to go ahead and convert this into an enclosed building to use for our sanctuary. Please pray with us as we begin this project and if you and/or your church would like to be a part of this project, please contact us to discuss ways to help with this building project. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A special thank you to those of you who sent special Christmas offerings to our family and ministry here. Some were anonymous gifts and we hope and pray you see this and know how much it meant to our family and ministry. Thank you!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We wish you all a blessed spring and upcoming Resurrection Sunday. Thank you for your prayers and financial support. God continues to work here in the islands and we are truly honored to have each of you as a part of the ministry here. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Because of Calvary,</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, and Kaylinn</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Spring-2017-Prayer-Letter.pdf">Printable PDF of this letter</a></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-75693867856875376862016-11-14T16:34:00.003-08:002016-11-14T16:34:28.651-08:00October Prayer Letter and Recent Happenings<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="article no-image" style="border-spacing: 0px !important; border: medium none; color: black; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; max-width: 600px !important; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-top: 20px; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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<span style="font-size: small;">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:</span></div>
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<li>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. </li>
<li>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</li>
<li>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. </li>
<li>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. <b> </b></li>
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<strong><span style="color: #027f7d;">Kasalehlie!</span></strong></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">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! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><strong>SUMMER MINISTRIES</strong></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">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! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><strong>BIBLE INSTITUTE</strong></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><strong>FAMILY</strong></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">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!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Because of Calvary,</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></div>
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<b><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/October-2016-Prayer-Letter.pdf">Printable Version of this Letter</a></b></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-87244656115719678782016-03-10T17:23:00.001-08:002016-03-10T17:23:15.933-08:00Kihleng Family Prayer Letter, March, 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vnDNxjYvxPQ/VuId893vK3I/AAAAAAAABY8/xcW8T4ePNnYVCZhSou1RQ2Sg-6zYE3X-g/s1600/Kihleng%2BPhoto.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vnDNxjYvxPQ/VuId893vK3I/AAAAAAAABY8/xcW8T4ePNnYVCZhSou1RQ2Sg-6zYE3X-g/s320/Kihleng%2BPhoto.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Kasalehlie!</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">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!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>BIBLE INSTITUTE</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>CHURCH MINISTRY</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>FAMILY</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">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! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>VEHICLE UPDATE</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">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! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">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! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Because of Calvary,</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></div>
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<a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/march-2016-prayer-letter/">Printable PDF Version</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-12873474383492643562016-02-17T16:18:00.003-08:002016-02-17T16:18:41.295-08:00Praying For Rain!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qCAHWrZHEnE/VsUNySR1FHI/AAAAAAAABYo/U3pddSnafAU/s1600/Praying%2Bfor%2BRain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qCAHWrZHEnE/VsUNySR1FHI/AAAAAAAABYo/U3pddSnafAU/s320/Praying%2Bfor%2BRain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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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. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-72633211363309343242015-06-03T00:00:00.000-07:002015-06-03T00:00:22.173-07:00June, 2015 Prayer Letter<div style="color: #008cb4; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 4px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Kasalehlie!</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I know it’s been some time since you’ve heard from us as we are past due on an update. 2015 has already proven to be a challenging year for our family and our ministry. As many of you may already know, just after Thanksgiving, my mom began having some serious health problems. Much of January, February, and March were spent caring for her and taking her to different doctors to see what could be done. On April 4, 2015, just after 5 AM, my precious mother slipped into the arms of Jesus and is finally free from the pain that constantly plagued her the past several months. It was a very different Easter Sunday for us this year as our annual Sunrise Service was turned into a funeral service. I am thankful that my 3 siblings that live off island were able to arrive earlier in the week and spend those last days with her, and all 7 of us were able to be together to say our temporary farewells, looking forward to the time when we will all meet again in the presence of our Lord. Thank you to those of you that sent cards and messages and for your many prayers on our behalf.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><b>Typhoon Season</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">2015 has also set the record in typhoons. One after another have swept through the South Pacific, leaving devastation behind. In March, Susan and Kestra made a short trip to Saipan, but then were stranded in Guam for a time because of a typhoon. Just after that, another typhoon devastated the islands of Chuuk, Yap, and Ulithi, leaving behind millions of dollars worth of damage and many people homeless and starving. The US has now stepped in with financial aide as well as many other nations working to rebuild and help these people recover. Another typhoon, though less intense, hit these same islands again in early May. It is rare, however, for typhoons to hit the island of Pohnpei. We were all a bit surprised then when Typhoon Dolphin headed our way. It was a bit of a nerve-wracking night as the wind howled and rain beat our roof, but thankfully, we had little damage other than a small mudslide and a large mango tree coming down behind our home. God truly protected us as the tree could have done some serious damage had it fallen just a bit lower on our hill. The island is gradually recovering from the damage done, though sadly, one life was lost in the storm as well as some critical injuries. We were without power and water for 5 days, though some parts of the island were without power for 10 days. We were especially thankful though that our power was restored in time for our summer intern to arrive ~ and I’m sure he is thankful as well!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><b>Summer Intern</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Ambassador Baptist College student Ethan Ryan arrived on May 17 to spend much of the summer with us for his student internship. We’ve enjoyed getting to know him these past couple of weeks and look forward to seeing God use him this summer in the ministry here. We’ll be keeping him busy with church projects, preaching opportunities, jail ministry, summer camp, VBS, Bible Club, and more! You can follow his summer adventure at his blog at <a href="https://ethaninpohnpei.wordpress.com/"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">https://ethaninpohnpei.wordpress.com</span></a>. I’ve enjoyed reading his perspective of life here as so much of what is “foreign” to visitors seems so normal to us that we usually don’t even think to mention it. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><b>Baptist Bible Institute of Pohnpei</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We reached an exciting landmark in our Bible Institute ministry. This past weekend we held the first graduation ceremony for the Baptist Bible Institute of Pohnpei. This is a dream come true as we saw two godly men graduate, both of whom are leaving this summer to return to their home island to plant a church. We are extremely honored to be a part of Pastor Ray Ezekias and Nucker Leopold’s ministry on the island of Nukuoro. Please keep Pastor Ray’s family in your prayers as they are leaving with missionaries Jack and Melinda Peeler to begin construction on their new home and future church. Kyle Boylston will also be spending approximately 2 months with them to help them in the ministry there. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><b>Summer Ministries</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">With the arrival of summer brings our usual summer ministries. Our youth camp will be held June 29-July 4th. Please pray that we have a good sized group of kids out for camp this year. For many, it is extremely difficult for them to raise the money they need for camp as often the unsaved parents are not supportive and the young people have to raise the funds themselves. If you wish to sponsor a camper ($20 per camper), please send to our mission board address listed in the header of this letter and designate for Kihleng’s Summer Camp. We also ask that you email us at <a href="mailto:rkihleng@hotmail.com"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">rkihleng@hotmail.com</span></a> to let us know so that we can plan accordingly. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Vacation Bible School will be held July 13-17. We will be posting a supplies needed list on our blog once we have finished compiling that. Any help with craft supplies and prizes would be greatly appreciated! We’re looking forward to a great week of VBS! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Thank you to each of you for your prayers and support. We could not be here without you. It means more than you can know! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Because of Calvary,</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/June-2015-Prayer-Letter1.pdf">Printable PDF Version</a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-68911205398665008812014-12-08T01:20:00.000-08:002014-12-08T01:20:30.914-08:00December, 2014 Prayer Letter<div style="color: #008cb4; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; margin-bottom: 4px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Kasalehlie! </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Merry Christmas from Pohnpei, Micronesia! These past months have been a blur since we’ve been back on island so we’re a bit behind in getting out an update! We literally hit the ground running from the second we stepped off the plane and have been going ever since. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><b>Summer Recap</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Right off we dived into planning, organizing, and running our Vacation Bible School program, which we held just weeks after arriving home. In spite of short term planning, God still gave us a great week! We saw quite a few kids come to know Christ throughout the week as well as other decisions. It’s been exciting to see these kids continue to be faithful to church, even when their own families will not come with them!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Just after VBS was the 2014 Micronesian Games, a sporting event held every 4 years in the South Pacific. Our island hosted the Games this time and it was especially exciting for us since Kaleo competed in the swimming events. We’re proud of our boy and enjoyed seeing him earn a bronze medal in the Men’s 100x4 Freestyle Relay!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The following week was our annual Youth Camp, which we again held on Black Corral Island, a small island several miles off the coast of mainland Pohnpei. Another exciting week as we saw 13 young people come to know Christ! Many more decisions were made for Christ throughout the week and seeing these kids grow in Christ has been a joy these past few months. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">So yes, three major events just within the first 6 weeks of being back on island! We thought perhaps we’d have a chance to “rest” a bit after that, but of course things rarely work out as planned. For a moment here, I’d like to share a bit of my heart with you, our praying friends who have invested in the ministry here. Never in our nearly 14 years on Pohnpei have we experienced spiritual warfare as we have since we returned from this furlough. Satan has used gossip, jealousy, hatred, prejudice, and false beliefs to attempt to tear our church apart. This was kept hidden from the Boylstons while we were gone and then from us during our first weeks after our return; finally, in desperation, some church members met with us and the Boylstons to reveal the issues. It was a very difficult time for us as we had to confront the root of the problems; people were hurt and some left the church in anger. But during the same time, God was working. We could literally SEE Satan attack and God overcome, time after time. At the same time as people opposing us and threatening us, we were seeing miracles right and left. After nearly every service for a time, someone would meet me after to ask how to be saved. One night a young lady showed up on our porch in tears saying she needed to be saved. Several young men we have been burdened for made tremendous decisions at camp and have showing a miraculous change since! In spite of opposition, our little church building is often filled to overflowing for services and the alter is full. Through much prayer and anguish, we began to see hearts soften, past hurts forgiven, and enemies become friends. Please keep praying for the ministry here, for true revival and growth!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><b>Bible Institute</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our Bible Institute got off to a great start this school year and we are excited about this great group so eager to learn. The Boylstons have worked hard to put together a scholarship program with the funds that have been donated for students and as a result, students have been able to return who otherwise would have been financially unable to. This will be a landmark year for the Baptist Bible Institute of Pohnpei as at the close of this school year we will have our first graduation and send off our first graduates into the Lord’s work. One of our students is ready to leave after graduation to plant a church on his home island! Seeing the fruit from this ministry is exciting!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px; text-decoration: underline;"><b>Family</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It’s been a readjustment back to island life after being gone for 10 months but we are gradually getting back into a routine. It’s tough developing a routine though when you can never predict the craziness of life here! Basically we’ve been on “power rationing” since we returned and only have had power at scheduled times. Often the same with water (though we’re not really sure why on the water). Working home life, homeschool, and ministry around the power “schedule” is quite a challenge! Thankfully, the island now has 3 new generators and are also installing solar power and promises that by the end of the year the power hours should be a thing of the past! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The kids were more than thrilled to be home again! They missed their friends and their pets while we were gone. The school year has gone fairly well in spite of the power challenges. Kaylinn started K4 this year and of all our 5 is the first to NOT enjoy video school. She’s our social butterfly and would much rather have live interaction. Katrianne started 2nd grade and is doing well. She loves school and art and joined the swim team this year. Kyler is in 4th grade and keeps life interesting on a regular basis. He loves the outdoors, swimming, and annoying his older brother. Kestra is in 5th grade and thrives in school. She’s usually ahead of everyone with school tasks and begs for extra projects. While she loves reading and studying, she also enjoys sports and the outdoors and has excelled in swimming this year. She’s also a huge help to mom around the house! Kaleo is a sophomore in high school, though school is usually the last thing on his mind! He’d rather be playing the guitar or piano, swimming, or hiking in the jungle. He had the opportunity this month to attend with several members of his swim team a youth training program at the FINA World Championships in Doha, Qatar. It has been especially tough on mom having our boy go so far away, but it has been a great learning experience for Kaleo.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Susan and Kaleo took on a new project since we’ve been back and that is a Wednesday night Bible Club for the children of our church. This has been a desire for some time and they decided to just jump in and do it! The Boylston’s three sons also help out. They have been averaging about 22-25 kids per week! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Thank you to each of your for your prayers and support. God is definitely working in these islands and we ask you please keep our family and the ministry here in your prayers. It means more than you can know!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Because of Calvary,</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></div>
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<a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/December-2014-Prayer-Letter.pdf">Printable PDF Version of this Newsletter</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-90711576603563689072014-06-22T00:07:00.000-07:002016-03-10T18:24:19.275-08:00We're Home!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit Nathan Fry</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">We're Home! </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>(Update by Susan)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It's so exciting to be able to update you from Pohnpei finally! We had a long but fairly uneventful trip back and we're happy to say that everyone is adjusting well. Many of you have already read our updates on Facebook but going to repost here for those of you that missed it. <span style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify;">I could literally write a book on the last couple of weeks, but I'll spare you all the details (that you most likely wouldn't find as interesting anyway) and summarize our coming home:</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Two full days of flying. With 5 kids. Not much else to say there. You can imagine how "fun" that was.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jet lag. Need I say more? It's starting to fade now but still lingering a bit.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Heat and humidity. Wow! It's easy to forget about that aspect of island life after being away for awhile.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Lack of supplies. Shopping is quite the adventure here. Yeah, I kinda miss Walmart.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Missing Starbucks as well.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Mildew. Our house is full of it after not being air conditioned for 10 months. Going to take awhile to get things back to normal but we're getting there. It's a long process of taking everything out of drawers, cupboards, and closets, washing them down, washing everything inside, and putting things away.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Crazy pool schedule. Our oldest son will be competing in the <a data-mce-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronesian_Games" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronesian_Games">Micronesian Games</a> next month. Kaleo jumped right into the heavy swim schedule the day after we arrived as well as rushing to get all the paperwork/physical/blood work done to enable him to compete. He started back to working at the pool too so more hours there. He's pretty tired and sleeping whenever he's not at the pool.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A car wreck. Yeah, after driving in city traffic for 10 months without incident, I was in a car accident a week after getting back on this tiny little island with no traffic lights and only a 2 lane road. A car hit me from behind when his breaks failed; thankfully no one was hurt. Unfortunately, we are required to go to court over it.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Catching up with ministry. We are jumping head first into summer ministries such as Vacation Bible School and youth camp. We can always use your prayer! (And please take a look at the <a href="http://kihlengfamily.blogspot.com/p/special-ministry-needs.html">Special Ministry Needs</a> section of our blog as we have some specific ways you can help out! We are still adding some VBS and camp needs but for now, the ink toner is a BIG need with all the printing for summer ministries that we have ahead of us!)</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Enjoying catching up with friends and family. A given, of course. We've missed everyone SO much!</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A new puppy. Yeah, our kids were given a new puppy as a welcome home gift. So in the midst of unpacking and cleaning, I am also cleaning up puppy messes! Yay! (yes, that is sarcasm).</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Beach day. Everyone needs some time out for fun. So we took off from the crazy the other day and spent the day at the beach with the Boylston family. </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Enjoying the beauty of the place we love more than anywhere. Maybe I am a little biased but this island is without a doubt to me the most beautiful and amazing place in the entire world. I wouldn't choose any place else to live!</span></li>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">So yes, we are thrilled to be home! Thank you for your prayers! We wouldn't be back here without them! </span></span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-68438359850498466012014-06-03T06:41:00.000-07:002014-06-03T06:41:04.813-07:00June Prayer Letter ~ Heading Home!<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Heading Home!</b></div>
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It’s hard to believe that our furlough is coming to an end and we are finally returning to our beloved island! We thank you for your many prayers and notes of encouragement as we’ve traveled to so many different states and churches. Sadly, we were unable to visit all of our supporting churches as it’s just not possible in such a limited time. We will be sending a copy of our presentation DVD and some of our new prayer cards to each of the churches we were unable to visit for an update. </div>
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Our family will fly out of Charleston, SC on Tuesday, June 10th to return to Pohnpei. We are counting down the days of course, but it is also bittersweet as we once again have to go through the difficulty of goodbyes. Please keep our family in prayer as we make this long trip as well as through the time of readjustment once we are back in Micronesia. </div>
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We have quite a summer ahead of us! In addition to readjusting to island life, we have Vacation Bible School, summer youth camp, and the Micronesians Games this summer so we will literally be hitting the grounds running once the plane lands! We are hoping to hold our VBS the first week of July and youth camp the first week of August. The Micronesian Games are being hosted on our island this summer and we are looking forward to it being a huge outreach opportunity. We are making plans to distribute tracts and literature to the 1500 plus athletes, coaches, trainers, and officials that will be on the island for the Games as well as the thousands of spectators expected. Please pray that this will be an effective outreach for the Lord.</div>
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<b><i>Home on Pohnpei</i></b></div>
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We are especially thankful for the Boylston family and their ministry on Pohnpei. Without them to oversee the church and Bible Institute, we would have been under a great deal more stress while in the States. God has really used them to keep things running smoothly and we look forward to getting back to work with them and pursue the original goal of Bible translation. </div>
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<b><i>College Students</i></b></div>
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Continue praying with us for our college students who are attending Ambassador Baptist College. Many of you have helped aid them financially with their school bill this past year and we are truly thankful for this. Both Brandy and Okalani were able to finish out their first year at Ambassador without an outstanding balance. Brandy is working at the college through the summer and Okalani will be staying with Susan’s parents in Charleston until school begins and is currently looking for a job there. Please pray the Lord will provide just the right job opportunity for her. If you are interested in assisting these two young people with their college tuition for the upcoming year, donations can be made to their school bill at <a href="https://www.ambassadors.edu/Students/Payments.php">https://www.ambassadors.edu/Students/Payments.php</a>. Their full names are Brandy Hadley and Lillyuokalani Yamada. </div>
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Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support. We are truly thankful for those of you that have partnered in the ministry in Pohnpei. </div>
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Because of Calvary,</div>
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Rickson & Susan, Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, Katrianne, & Kaylinn</div>
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<a href="http://simplehealthsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/June-2014-Prayer-Letter.pdf">Printable PDF File of this newsletter</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-81007532831913851322013-11-21T08:05:00.004-08:002013-11-21T08:05:44.639-08:00November, 2013 Prayer Letter<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I know we are past due for a newsletter, but hopefully many of you have been following blog updates and our postings on Facebook to know that we are alive and well, just extremely busy! </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Furlough</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We made it to the States safe and sound after quite an eventful trip from Pohnpei (check out our August blog update for a more detailed description of the trip). While we were aware that there would be a great deal of adjustments for our family in transitioning back to life in the USA, it was definitely a challenging time. Our children are Pohnpeian through and through and experienced quite a bit of “culture shock” in those first weeks. Thankfully, we are all adjusting well now and settling into somewhat of a routine. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our travels so far have taken us to Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, and various cities throughout South Carolina. Each of the meetings we’ve been in have been a tremendous blessing to our family and our kids have made lifelong friends at every church we’ve given an update to so far! We thank those of you who have prayed for our safety in traveling and for our health as well. We’re happy to say the Kihleng family has remained healthy for the most part other than a few sniffles here and there. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We will be traveling some in the upcoming week and then taking a bit of a break for the holidays - a much-needed break, I might add. We have loved the missions conferences we’ve been a part of but it will be nice to stay in one place for a few weeks. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Pastors and supporting churches, if we are not yet scheduled to be in your church and you would like us to come and give an update on the work in Micronesia, please contact us at <a href="mailto:rkihleng@hotmail.com"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">rkihleng@hotmail.com</span></a> or via phone at (843) 276-7504. We’d love to share with you what God is doing in the islands!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Home on Pohnpei</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I’ve been able to keep in communication with the Boylston family as well as other church members back on Pohnpei. The homesickness we experience grows stronger of course each time we talk with them, but know that we are doing what God would have us to at this time and that the right people are overseeing things in the ministry back home. The church has done well. Things are running smoothly with church services and Bible Institute, in spite of regular power outages and vehicle troubles. We are thankful for the Boylstons and the work and love they are putting into the ministry there. Please keep them in your prayers!</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>College Students</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As we mentioned in our blog updates, we brought along to the States with us two college students who are attending Ambassador Baptist College. It has been a huge encouragement to see how so many have come together to help these two adjust to life in the States, college life, and help financially as well. As you can imagine, coming from a third world country, their finances are extremely limited and though they are doing what they can, there is still more on their school bill to be paid before they can take exams this semester. If you are interested in assisting these two young people in their training to serve the Lord, donations can be made to their school bill at <a href="https://www.ambassadors.edu/Students/Payments.php"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">https://www.ambassadors.edu/Students/Payments.php</span></a>. Their names are Brandy Hadley and Lillyuokalani Yamada. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><b>Continued Traveling</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We have a great deal of traveling still ahead of us and do ask for your prayers for this as well. We have meetings over much of the east coast as well as a trip out to California in the spring. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support. We are truly thankful for those of you that have partnered in the ministry in Pohnpei. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Because of Calvary,</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Rickson & Susan</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler,</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Katrianne, & Kaylinn</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-12218291589672843092013-08-06T07:26:00.000-07:002013-08-06T07:26:01.395-07:00The Kihlengs Have Arrived! :)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After three days of cancelled flights, delayed flights, rescheduled flights, and re-routed flights, we finally arrived in Charleston, SC on Thursday! That was one of the longest trips we've ever experienced! Thank God, though, for bringing us all here safely! </div>
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I had planned on posting more updates the past few weeks, but things just got too busy to barely breathe! It was a bit of a stressful time for our family with youth camp and then all the packing for the trip along with preparing for the Bible Institute to start August 12. </div>
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Goodbyes leaving Pohnpei were extremely difficult! It was hard on all of us, but particularly the children. Watching them say goodbye to their friends was heartbreaking! Please keep us all in your prayers as we adjust. </div>
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* I want to clarify on the updates here on this blog as I've had some questions. We will continue to do our ministry/family newsletter (prayer letter) every other month as always, but by subscribing to this blog, you will also receive more frequent, less formal updates posted here and sent to your inbox, generally posted by me (Susan). I just wanted to clarify the difference in the types of updates given. :)</div>
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Many of you may already know, but I wanted to mention again, that two of our Bible Institute students came along with us to attend Ambassador Baptist College this year. We will be taking them up to NC next week to get settled in the dorms. This was a huge step for them and they are truly attending school on faith! They have worked hard and saved as much as they can for school but will still need financial assistance. These are two young people that we have seen grown in the Lord and have a sincere desire to serve him in full-time Christian service. If you would be interested in helping in any way with their school bill, you may click <a href="https://www.ambassadors.edu/Students/Payments.php">HERE</a> to donate. Any amount would be of help to them! Their names are Brandy Hadley and Lillyuokalani Yamada. Also, please keep them in your prayers as well as they are dealing with cultural shock! This is their first time to the US and I'm sure you can imagine what a change this is for them!</div>
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Thank you for your prayers! I know the upcoming weeks will continue to be difficult times of adjustment for our family. We will begin traveling in September to give updates to churches so be in prayer for that as well. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-42218034644046038042013-07-08T17:25:00.001-07:002013-07-08T17:25:13.818-07:00Vacation Bible School 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
We had a great week of Vacation Bible School last week! We had about 50-65 kids come throughout the week with even many more the final day, though at this time I don't have the exact number we finished the week out with. Our theme this year was Regular Baptist Press's Investigation Destination - Following Clues to the King of Kings. The kids had a great time and we were encouraged to seeing our youth group pitch in to work together to make it a great week. We were excited to see 18 children come to know Christ as their Savior throughout the week! Please pray as we continue to work with these children. It's difficult for us to leave for our upcoming furlough (in just three weeks) with so many great things happening here in the ministry, but we know the Boylston family and others in the church will do a great job of following up with these kids and keeping things running smoothly. </div>
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Yes, it is just three weeks till we leave for the USA! It's hard to believe! We are facing many mixed emotions at this time and we do ask that you pray for us - leaving our life and ministry here is a difficult thing to do and it's most difficult for our older children. Saying goodbye to their friends here is tough. And yet we are excited about reporting back to our supporting churches and sharing what God has done here on Pohnpei the past 5 years! Seeing family and friends of course is exciting too! </div>
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Youth camp is next week and we also ask prayer for that! Will be giving you updates of that soon! </div>
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Enjoy the VBS photos! My sis-in-law, Cindy Welles, took these and we'll be uploading more in the near future as well. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-70263020664371004522013-06-16T01:49:00.001-07:002013-06-16T01:52:24.979-07:00June, 2013 Newsletter<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: -13.5pt; margin-right: -.25in; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: 5.0in; text-align: justify;">
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<b><span style="color: #0004ff; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kasalehlie from Pohnpei!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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We are heading into one of our busiest summers ever! With our
upcoming furlough just around the corner, we have a great deal of extra
responsibilities in addition to our regular summer ministries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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We had originally planned on holding camp in June this year; however,
because of the drought in February that cancelled school for so long, most
schools on the island had to extend the school year through June. As a
result, we're having to fit all our summer ministries into July! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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July 1st thru 5th will be our Vacation Bible School, one of our favorite
weeks out of the summer! For the past two summers we've had approximately
100 children attend this ministry program and are praying for an even bigger
attendance this year. We're praying for many salvation decisions and for
opportunities to reach the families of the children that attend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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July 15h thru 20th are the new dates for our Summer Youth Camp.
This is another important week out of the summer here on Pohnpei.
We have taken a close look at past summers and evaluated what worked and
didn't. Based on that we've made some changes in how we'll do camp this
summer and are praying that as a results, will see even more lives changed and
decisions made! Please be in prayer for this ministry as it's always been
such a great time for the youth of Pohnpei to turn their hearts towards God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0004ff; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Furlough</span></b><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Demi","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Andalus;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Demi', sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> July 30th is the date
that our family leaves for furlough in the Unites States. We have many
mixed emotions as the dates gets closer. While we are excited to see
friends, family, supporting churches, and more in the US, leaving behind our
home and extended family, our ministry, and life here is not easy. It is
especially difficult for the older kids as leaving behind friends and the
activities they have grown up with is tough. Of course we keep reminding
ourselves that it's only temporary, but it's still hard to say goodbye!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Demi', sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"> We will be in the
States until June, 2014. Pastors, if you have specific dates that you
would like to have us give an update on our ministry, please contact us at
rkihleng@hotmail.com. Our schedule is filling up fast! We're looking
forward to being in as many of our supporting churches as possible while we're
in the States. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0004ff; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Baptist Bible Institute of Pohnpei (BBIP)</span></b><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Demi","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Andalus;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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We've just completed our 5th semester of the BBIP. I'm sure all of
the students are enjoying a little bit of a break! It's been a great year
and we're going to miss our students while we're in the States on furlough. We're
thankful for John and Christa Boylston and the other pastors families on island
for being so willing to keep things going in our absence. We're working
hard to have all material, handbooks, and forms ready for the Fall semester
before we leave. It's been exciting seeing so many of the students
progress. Many have gone on to attend Harvest Baptist Bible College on
Guam and we have two students who will be leaving with us next month to attend
Ambassador Baptist College in Lattimore, NC. We have several students who
are only about 3 semesters away from graduating from BBIP, one of whom is
making plans to return to his home island of Nukuuro to plant a church there.
Our primary goal for starting the Bible Institute was to enable locals to
be able to plant churches on the outer islands so this is a huge answer to
prayer! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0004ff; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Boylston Family</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 6.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Boylston family has been settling well here on Pohnpei. We
have been meeting with them regularly for language study, which they are doing
an excellent job of picking up! Their kids and ours became friends
immediately and love playing together every chance we get. This, of
course, is another reason why our kids would prefer we skip furlough altogether
- they don't want to leave their new friends behind! Please keep the
Boylstons in your prayers while we are off island for furlough as much of the
responsibility of the ministry here will be handed over to them. I have
complete confidence that they will keep things running smoothly, but I'm sure
they will appreciate your prayers!<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #0004ff; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">New Mailing Format!</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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We are working to stream-line our mailings in order to be a better
steward of our time and money while still giving you all more frequent updates.
In order to receive future mailings from us, please go to </span><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Demi","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://kihlengfamily.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #2899d7; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">http://kihlengfamily.blogspot.com/</span></a></span><span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Demi', sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"> and sign up to receive our
updates. You will then need to confirm your subscription, but then you
won't miss out on any of our future newsletters, ministry, and family updates!
Over the next few months, we will discontinue mailing through the postal
service to reduce the cost of postage. For those of you that still would
like a printable version of our newsletters for posting on church bulletin
boards or other purposes, a printable PDF version will be posted on our website
as well. Thank you for your help in this as we work to stay in better
touch with those who support us through prayer and finances! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Franklin Gothic Demi', sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">We look forward to seeing so many of
you over the next 10 months! Thank you again for your prayers and
support. Please keep our family in prayer as we head off into this huge
adventure called "furlough"!</span></div>
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<i style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Demi","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;">Because of Calvary,</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Demi","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Demi","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;">Rickson, Susan,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Demi","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;">Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Franklin Gothic Demi","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;">Katrianne, and Kaylinn</span></i></div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/?pli=1&authuser=0#my-drive">Printable PDF Version</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492154771731870794.post-21907987494234317132012-11-13T19:29:00.000-08:002012-11-13T19:29:35.406-08:00November, 2012 Prayer Letter<br />
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Kasalehlia! Greetings from Pohnpei! Thank you for your prayers over the recent months. I mentioned in our last letter that we were facing some challenges in the ministry. God is always faithful and has worked in the hearts of many involved. Many apologies have been made, hearts softened, and families restored. We’ve been able to move forward as a church past this situation! </div>
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We also mentioned in our last letter that we sensed the Lord’s leading in moving forward with our building project. At this point, the funds are just simply not available for us to begin the building we would like to, but we have began the reconstruction of our outdoor “tent” structure that we use for revival meetings. Most Sundays now, our small building is packed to overflowing – children have to sit on the floor, adults and teens have to share seats, and some have to stand. We cannot effectively grow in these conditions; therefore, we are doing what we can to improve this open-air structure to begin holding services there. Our goal is to have this completed before the end of the year. </div>
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<b><u>Upcoming Events</u></b></div>
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We have a lot coming up! This month we will be holding our annual Missions Conference. We are looking forward to having several of the local missionaries/pastors coming to share their hearts with our people. One of the things we have emphasized in our Bible Institute is the need for good Bible-believing churches to be started on the outer islands throughout Micronesia and that is our focus of our missions program as well. Please pray that our church people will catch the burden for these ministries and do what they can to support them! </div>
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Speaking of the Bible Institute, our students just finished their mid-term exams and are eager to begin the last block of courses before Christmas break. I have been teaching Old Testament Survey this semester along with Pastor Ric VeraCruz. Susan also began teaching this semester and taught an 8-week course in English as a Second Language. I will be continuing with OT Survey as well as Pastoral Theology for the men and Susan will be teaching Teacher Training to the ladies in the Institute. We’re seeing such great potential in each of these students! Please keep them in your prayers, that God will use them greatly. </div>
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We are extremely excited about the Boylston family coming to join us soon! They have been on deputation and are nearing the time for their departure from the States. We are praying God will allow them to come within the next couple of months! We want them to have the opportunity to settle here and adjust before we leave for furlough. Our current furlough plans are for the end of summer, 2013. This will have been five years since leaving for our previous furlough. We’re looking forward to being able to report back to each of our supporting churches!</div>
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Christmas is just around the corner and this year our youth is presenting Ron Hamilton’s “Christmas At Home”. They are hard at work, putting in extra practices during the week. We translate the play portion into Pohnpeian and invite all of our area to attend. Please pray that this is an effective outreach in our community! </div>
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In March we will be having revival meetings with Bro. Randy Chovan. God has really blessed in previous meetings we’ve had with Bro. Chovan and we are looking forward to this week of meetings as well. Please begin praying with us that God will greatly work throughout that week and in the weeks and months after. Pray that our people will begin preparing their hearts for the meetings now! </div>
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<b>Family</b></div>
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As for family, we are doing well! Kaleo is in 8th grade this year, Kestra in 3rd, Kyler in 2nd, Katrianne in K5, and Kaylinn jumps from grade to grade! Kaleo has surprised us all by suddenly growing taller than both his mom and dad! We’re often asked how Kaylinn is doing; she is doing well. We’ve had no further problems with her breathing – though I must say we still all jump and “panic” over every cough or strange sound she makes! She is growing and thriving though and we are so thankful for God’s protection over her. She will be turning 3 in February. She’s our only child that was completely fluent in both Pohnpeian and English at such a young age! She surprises us daily with the funny things she says and does. </div>
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Susan had the unexpected opportunity last month to make a quick trip to the States for her parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary! We were able to get her a discount standby ticket through a United employee at the last minute and some dear friends of ours paid the fee for that as well. It turned out to be quite a family reunion as there were many relatives there that Susan had not seen since we left for Pohnpei 12 years ago!</div>
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Thank you again for your prayers and support! As we come closer to the end of 2012, we look back and reflect through this past year. Thank you for the sacrifices that so many of you have made so that we can be here. We only pray that God will use us! </div>
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<i>Because of Calvary,</i></div>
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<i>Rickson, Susan, </i></div>
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<i>Kaleo, Kestra, Kyler, </i></div>
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<i>Katrianne, & Kaylinn</i></div>
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