Update

Hey. I wanted to give you an update on how our lives here are going. We have had a bit of rain. Off and on, which is good but what we need are days and days of rain. So keep praying. I feel like the unrest in town has gone down. We have been to the market where the murder took place and all has returned to normal.

There is still quite a level of discouragement among the missionaries serving here. I think this time of year is always hard. Holidays are when families usually come together and it is hard to be so far from those you love. Garth is preaching on Sunday on the topic of discouragement so please pray that God uses him in a mighty way to speak His words.

This time of year is hard for the dorm kids too. Some of them haven't seen Mom or Dad since August 13 when school started. I try hard to make this feel like "home" but nothing can ever replace Mom and Dad. We had a Thanksgiving celebration here last night. That was so much fun. Four of our kids have never done anything like that before, and really enjoyed the new foods.

At least once a semester we do a random media check of the dorm kids ipods, phones, laptops etc. The kids and their parents sign a consent form at the beginning of the year giving us permission to do that. It is one way we can help keep them accountable with the kind of stuff they are watching and looking at. Well, we came across some inappropriate material on one of the girls phones. Garth and I try to use these times as teachable moments. How can we show God's love to her even in this? I don't know if the girl is a Christian or not. She is one of our business kids. So far it has been difficult. She is more upset she got caught and I took her phone, than she is sorry for the videos she had on her phone. I am praying that God uses this to begin working on her heart.

One of our dorm boys Daniel, moved out. His parents said he was ready to be back with them. We don't know all of the details surrounding that, but any time a kid can be with his family it is a good thing.

Keep praying for our family. Keep praying for the dorm. God would love to see us all discouraged and fighting.  Dorm parenting is such a huge responsibility and we really want to do it well. This week we have Arnold's birthday on Friday and Garth's birthday on Sunday, along with a trip to Kali Biru (Blue River) on Saturday. One of our past dorm kids will be staying with us this weekend and Arnold's mom will be visiting from Bali. In all this busyness we want to keep shining His light bright enough for all to see.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers.

Love
Rachel