We made it!!!

Greetings from the Philippines! We continue to be so thankful to our Lord Jesus Christ who has encouraged us through all of you. Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers.

School is out! We are happy to say that we have survived our first year as dorm parents at Faith Academy. It has definitely been a challenging year but also a very good year. I would like to share with you some good and bad parts of the year. I will start with the bad so we can’t get that out of the way and end with the good stuff.

The bad stuff- these are some of the challenges that we have had this year: a new culture/environment (hot weather, crazy traffic, and different surroundings), Tyler not adjusting well, physical sickness, home sickness, culture misunderstandings, not feeling wanted or needed, and learning how to discipline teenage boys and the typical issues that come along with having a house full of boys. Being a first year dorm parent is always difficult, and living your first year in a new country is an additional trial where there is a lot of growth and learning.

But the good news we have received as of late has made all the difficult times worth it. We struggled throughout the year because we really didn’t know if we were doing a good job or if the boys liked us. We have been told that with this job the fruit is seen years later. But just recently we have had some encouraging feedback. I would like to share some of what we received with you.

From the Boarding Administrator
“Larry and Kim have been such a blessing to all our families in the boarding program. They both bring so much love and skill to the program. Even though this has been a hard first year with so many adjustments I have been so impressed with their level of commitment and perseverance to the students in their care and to the program as a whole. I personally want to thank everyone involved in providing the way and the opportunity for Larry, Kim and their kids to be a part of our team here at Faith Academy.”

From the Parents
“First of all, I want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to you all. You have taken care of not only my son, William but also many boys with all your heart. William would say to us you are so wonderful person to them in every situation whenever he calls me. You are kind, devotional, faithful, like a father or uncle. I know that you brought up them comfort, be safely, faithful, healthy etc. in spirit and flesh. So I can not help saying thank you so much.”

“I and my wife are thinking that Sam is lucky to have you in the dorm as parents. I appreciate very much for your dedication for the kids. I know it is a tough job to take care of the boys with all different characteristics and personalities. God must be very proud of your great job. Thank you again for your work.”

From the Boys
“Uncle Larry is understanding, committed, diligent, soft hearted, gives good massages, persevering, sometimes stressed, careful, supporting, smiling, can get angry, nice and willing.
Aunt Kim is caring, jokes, funny, smiling, compassionate, cheerful, patient, positive, joyful, hard working, and understanding.”
“They try hard to be our friends.”
“First year dorm parents but are trying hard and will get better”

The only reason I share with you these comments is because they are so encouraging. You all are our partners in this ministry. We could not serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this way without your financial support, but more importantly without your prayer support. It is obvious to me that everyone around us sees not us but Christ. Again this is only possible because your faithfulness in prayer. We owe you our thanks for making this ministry successful.

We now have two months off for the summer to recuperate for next year. On June 2-8 Kim and I will be in Korea. We will be with a group from Faith Academy to visit Korea and learn about Korean culture. The rest of the summer will include painting our kitchen and recreation area and organizing the house. We also hope to have some family time and some rest time.

Thank you for your part in supporting missionaries around the world by taking care of their children while the Gospel is being spread throughout the world.

To God be the Glory!

Surprise!

A little over a week ago we had a surprise. It started to be a normal Thursday morning. I was up with Tyler and Abby getting them breakfast at 6:20am. Then I heard something behind me. It was 15 giggling girls coming up the stairs. The problem and surprise was this, we have 14 boys in our dorm. They were so giggly and they all said good morning Uncle Larry. The boys and girls switched dorms at 3am thanks to our Dorm Administrator. So it was a nice breakfast with good company. As Ken, my Father in-law, said the "girls were much prettier in the morning". Tyler and Abby weren't sure what to think. Tyler kept staring at them and wondering what the girls were doing at our house. It was a fun surprise. Our guys said it was ok but I think they would have rather have stayed home. They always keep us on our toes.

This week is the last week of school. The students have finals this week and graduation is on Friday. Please pray for us as we finish this school year.