Silas's Skin

The continuing saga.  The struggles with Silas's skin.  Bad rashes, eczema, dermatitis, whatever name you want to choose, they could probably all apply.  I'm sure it's not the worst case of eczema ever seen, but it can be pretty bad.  Some mornings his eyes are so crusted over he can't open them.  His sheets have many blood stains from itching during the night.  He has big crusty spots on his scalp - kind of like cradle crap.  He constantly itching everywhere and I'm constantly trying to get him to stop; usually with little success.  I get super stressed out.

Tonight I was lotioning him and he started crying because the lotion stung.  I cried a little, too.  And then I yelled a little.  I shouldn't have; obviously didn't help the situation.  I just feel so frustration and exasperated and tired of dealing with problem.  Two and a half years.  We've been to so many doctors.  We've tried every lotion/cream imaginable.  Actually, we have seen some improvement.  I try to remind myself of this and stay positive, but the severity of the skin rashes still ebb and flow and these last few days have been bad again.

And then I try to get some perspective.  It's just skin.  As far as physical ailments it's really NOT that big of a deal.  So many people deal with much worse and for much longer.  I should not be this bothered by it.  But instead of having a more positive outlook, I just add guilt to my pile of feelings.

I feel like as a missionary blog, this should have some sort of positive spin at the end.  i.e.: And then I turned it over to God, and here's my spiritual insight . . . But at the moment, I'm not there yet.  I'm trying to give to God.  We pray for healing and patience and answers.  And some days, it's a struggle.

Happy Fall!

A few pictures from the first days of school:

Silas and Clarence's first day of school.  Silas wants to be a Kindergarten teacher when he grows up, to help kids learn English.

Austin's first day of school, a few days later.  He wants to be a Lego Set Designer when he grows up!

The Einschulungsfest.  A special program to welcome the first graders to the elementary school.  The second graders put on a play and Austin was the tiger.

Summer Recap

It was a great and busy summer!  Here’s a little overview:

First, we had two weeks in Calgary in Clarence’s family.  We got visit with lots of friends and even did a little roadtrip around Alberta (Edmonton, Jasper, Columbia Icefields). 

On in the Icefields - yes it was cold!

Boys in the Alberta Badlands

Exploring with Yeh-Yeh.

Still loves to be carried, especially by Mah-mah.

 

 Then we had almost a month in Ohio with Anna’s family!  The boys loved having lots of time to play with their big cousins.  One big highlight was the Pandora area Vacation Bible School.  The theme was ‘Jerusalem Marketplace’.  Everything was set up to look and feel like Jerusalem around the time of Christ.  The kids got to do daily chores of fetching  the water and baking bread each day.  They also got to try out new activities like woodworking, weaving, and metalworking.  There was Synagogue school with the Rabbi, and skits which helped them to think about how the people felt when hearing about Jesus – particularly his death and resurrection.  So fantastic!  [But of course I didn't get any pictures of that . . . ]

Silas has a special bond with Aunt Amy!

Line of cousins!

Joint birthday party for Austin and his cousin Isaiah.

Special reading tent.

 

 

We also we glad to be in Ohio for Anna's grandpa's burial service.  He passed away on the day that we flew from Germany to Calgary, but the burial service was a few weeks later.  As a World War 2 vet, he was honor with a military burial.

 

 

Finally, we ended our time with about  12 days in Toronto.  This was a bit of a whirlwind as there were SO many people we wanted to see!  It was great to share at North York Chinese Baptist Church on a few different occasions as well as attend a wedding of one of our old youth group kids!  Even though our time in Toronto was short, we loved being there and reconnecting with so many wonderful friends!  I'll try to add some pictures of that later!

I Love Raising Support :)

There is no sarcasm included in the title of this post. It's a true statement and as you read on, I hope you will catch a glimpse as to why I made this the title of the post.

There has been a book going around missionary circles called "People Raising" and while I have not personally read this book I believe that it's an appropriate title for what missionaries around the world have been given the responsibility and privilege to do. I (Clarence) will admit that it was something that I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the first time I went out as a short-term missionary when I graduated from college but currently I can say that I enjoy and I actually love it.

We are currently in Calgary and we were able to enjoy worshiping with the faith community of Crossroads Community Church. They have been a huge supporter of me ever since Middle School and this community has taken upon it's hands many others and developed life-long disciples of Jesus Christ. It's a special privilege to be part of a community that even when you're gone they are still praying for you and looking out for you and when you come back they treat you with love and compassion as the body of Christ has been instructed to do. This is why I love the term "People Raising" because it implies that the work you are doing is allowing all those whom in are in your sphere of influenced to partner together through prayer, finances and going forth to share the gospel and spread the good news.

It was a great joy to be able to meet some new people and be able to share about the great work that God is doing at Black Forest Academy. I love being able to share about the students and the people that I get to work with everyday at BFA because they are so awesome and to give that picture to people of what an incredible ministry is happening at BFA is by far one of the most special things I get to do in my ministry. We even were able to meet with fellow missionaries from our church who are involved in a school similar to BFA in the Philippines. Raising up people to understand the calling that God has given us has become a great joy for me and I know that it is only by God that I have been able to have this attitude.

If you are wanting to partner with us and support the ministry we are part of financially or through prayer I encourage to get in contact with us or even go to our mission organization's website at www.teachbeyond.org and click on the Give Online button and you will see how you can join and be a partner with us. Thanks for those of you are praying for us and supporting us through the gifts God has given to you and for your use. Blessings!

Family Ongoings

Spring Break has been a wonderful time for our family to stop, rest, pray and play. We began our break with a trip to Turkey for a work/play conference with our mission organization. We enjoyed some time on the beach, some time learning from an amazing teacher and just some great fellowship time with fellow workers around the world. Below are some pictures of our time there:

On the banks of the Mediterranean

Took a boat trip up a famous river

Goofing around in the ancient town of Side

 

 

It may seem that all we did was spend time outside with friends, but because of security reasons we were unable to capture photos of our working/learning times. We were very well cared for by our mission in that we had an incredible balance of learning in the morning and exploring the sites of some of the Early Church beginnings.

 

Both Anna and I had the privilege of educating ourselves through various workshops that focused on parenting and education and how to thrive on the mission field. I (Clarence) was reminded by all those who were in attendance at how wide and deep the love of God is for his people all around the world. I count it to be a privilege to be a part of an organization that sees their mission as being a part of God's mission to spread the gospels and bring redemptive transformation to many different communities around the world through education. Thank you to all of you who have joined our team over the last 2 years in sharing the Good News to the students at BFA and our community at large.

 

We are planning to be in North America this summer and would love to meet with you if we can. Our itinerary is as follows:

 

June 18 to July 2: Calgary, Alberta

July 3 to August 6: Ohio/Midwest

August 7 to August 17: Toronto, Ontario

 

Drop us a line at cyau@teachbeyond.org or send us a Facebook message and hopefully we can connect with you.

What to do now...

Easter Sunday has now come and gone and we are facing a new week. I (Clarence) was struck by how easy it was to celebrate and remember Christ during the past week because of the importance of such an event in history. However, I also remembered how difficult it was for us to remember the importance of Christ's death and resurrection throughout the regular and normal days. Yesterday's sermon at our church provided me with a reminder and a challenge of how I am to, "live out the truth of the resurrection in my daily life." It means that the love given and shown to me through the blood of Christ shed on the cross needs to be lived out in my Fatherhood, my Teaching, my Learning and my Living. Coming to that realization was a humble and sobering thought because I don't think that I have done that as well as I could have this year.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that as the last quarter of our school year starts I am hoping and praying to live with the resolve to remember the resurrection power and the grace that has been given to me each day that I teach, lead and guide my family and the learners that God has given to me. I ask for you as our supporters, our prayer warriors, our teachers and guides to help and pray for me to continue to live this out in my journey with Christ.

High School Retreat - Part 2

I'm happy to report that High School Retreat was a huge success!  It was great to get to spend the whole weekend with my small group girls.  I feel that it really allowed for us a form a stronger friendship and deeper level of trust.  The girls all enjoyed our speaker, our worship time, and our small group discussion time. 

The focus of the weekend was Colossians, chapters 1-2; focusing on being rooted in Christ. It was great to hear the girls being challenged and thinking about their walk with God.   I hope to post some pictures of my group later, but I need to check with one of my students who's parents work in a 'creative access' country.