Old Friends

It's always a great joy for us when our graduates come back to visit. This week we have had five former ISOT/IGSL students who dropped in from all over the globe. I am not sure how and why everyone landed here at the same time . . . but it made this week so much fun for me. Here is Bridget from Nigeria, West Africa and Myrna from a Creative Access Nation. Others came from Thailand, Indonesia and the far-off Republic of Mindanao.

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We had long talks/shopping trips/shared meals/good times. It was really fun. One of my highlights was introducing some of our former students to some of our current students. This morning I was thinking about those who couldn't be here . . . the spouses of some of this week's visitors, and some other alumni I am longing to see. I thought, "Why do we always have to say goodbye? Why do we always have to be separated? I know the work they are doing is crucial, and I don't want them to stop. But I just wish we could be together, enjoying each other's company." Tears came to my eyes as I thought of people I am missing. And the Lord gently reminded me, "That day is coming!"

I was comforted, deeply, by that reminder. Because I believe that day IS coming!

My Baby is Growing!

Yeah, I call him MY baby! If a day goes by when I don't see him, I miss him like crazy. I guess we bonded, during those early hours when we looked into each other's eyes! He just had his two-week check-up, and he has gained almost a pound. Mom is doing a great job. I am so proud of her!

These next few beautiful photos were taken by Shelby, who is experimenting with her brand new camera. Isn't she a great photographer? Someday when she is famous I will tell the world that I discovered her talent.

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My Wonderful Team

I work with some great people. That's what I love about my life! Some are professors, some are students, some are employees. And I live a life of endless variety! One of my objectives with this blog is to try to show you some glimpses of that variety. On Thursday, some of the other lady professors and I threw a surprise birthday party for Shelby, who is my assistant in our Student Services Department office. That's Shelby on the right. On the left is my colleague Lut, who is one of the most creative party planners I've ever met!

We (the lady professors) were having a lunch date together, and Shelby thought she was taking pictures for our party. So she was very surprised when it turned out the party was for her.

She has been married for almost a year, so it was sort of a combination of a birthday party and "wife shower" for her. We gave lots of advice (that's what older ladies always do with younger ladies, right???) and gifts, and laughed a lot.

I Love Babies . . . Again

You know me . . . babies are one of my most favorite things in all the world. Last week, one of the ladies in my Iron Sharpening Group gave birth. Her name is Kalpana, and she is from Nepal. I served as a Lamaze coach for her and her husband Satya. It was such a joy to walk through this whole adventure with them. The baby's name is Suyog, which means "perfect timing." When they first found out they were expecting, they were a bit disappointed because it meant changing many of their plans and dreams. But as the months went by, God showed them that it all fit into His perfect plan.

My highlight was on the morning of Suyog's birth. About two hours after the birth, Kalpana was asleep, recovering from the delivery, Satya had gone downstairs to get breakfast for us, and I was just straightening up the room. The baby had been taken for his check-up. We didn't expect him to be brought back for a while, as things usually move slowly in the hospital. Suddenly the nurse came in and said they were finished already, and handed me the baby! It caught me by surprise.

So, I took him in my arms, sat in a chair, and looked into his eyes. He was so alert, as Lamaze babies usually are. He looked back at me, straight into my eyes. How does a brand new baby know to look at your eyes??? I felt like I was on holy ground. It was a very precious half hour. We looked at each other, and I prayed for his life. Awesome.

Shirley Tiu and the One Hundred Haircuts

That sounds like it should be the title of a children's story, doesn't it? People bless our school in all kinds of ways. Since I handle the Student Services Department, people often contact me with a desire to help our students. Usually that means scholarships, but occasionally blessings come in other packages. Last year a lady named Shirley Tiu contacted me and asked if she could offer haircuts at our school. She owns a beauty salon, and she decided that in order to give thanks to God for blessing her business, she wanted to bless others. So, she brought a few of her workers to our school for a day and offered free haircuts. God continued to bless her business this year, so she decided to bless our students again. From morning till afternoon they did one hundred haircuts. Here is Shirley (on the right) with Shelby, my assistant.

The youngest customer was a four-month-old from Romania, who had to sit in Mom's lap.

You can play "Where's Waldo" with the remaining photos and try to find me.

I've Been Tagged!

So, I've been tagged by Judy. . . I am supposed to list seven random things about me. I don't keep in touch with enough other bloggers for me to tag seven more . . . but I'll do my best to at least make my own list! Sorry, Judy, for the delay. I hadn't checked my blog in a while.

1. As I am typing this with my right hand, I am cradling a one-week old baby in my left arm. And loving it! Which explains why I haven't checked my blog in the past week.

2. Our two children each have 3 birth certificates, issued by the governments of the Philippines, U.S.A., and Canada. Maybe that's a random thing about them, not me. But since I filled out all the forms to get those certificates, I should get to count it.

3. I am currently teaching a class every Monday morning to 24 ladies in our IGSL Partners in Ministry program. Most are young enough to be my daughters, but one is old enough to be my mother! When I walk into the classroom, the young ones smile and say "Hi!" but the older one stands up straight and tall beside her desk and says, "Good morning, Ma'am!"

4. I am a medical wannabe. I am a teacher, but I should have been a nurse. I love helping people when they are sick, or in pain, or having babies. My daughter is a nurse. My sister is a nurse. My sister-in-law is a nurse. My niece is a nurse. And I am just a wannabe.

5. I spend a few hours each week practicing English, one-on-one, with an assortment of people who are trying to pass our IGSL English Proficiency Test next month. They are from Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Thailand, and Tibet. Did you know that most South Asians cannot pronounce the word "asked," and that "grilled fish" is a tongue twister for most East Asians?

6. I am hoping and praying that everything will fall into place for me to travel to Bangladesh in January. I have never been there before but I am very eager to make this trip.

7. After all these years in Asia, I think most American food is boring. It's not spicy enough or hot enough for me. Except chocolate. I still like chocolate.

Missions Emphasis

For the past several weeks, the kids in our Achievers' International School have been learning about missions. They learned about Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor, and William Carey. It was a very significant time in their lives, and many of them announced that they plan to be missionaries when they grow up. I really salute the teachers for all the hard work they put into this! On the last day, I toured the classroom to see their displays. Do you want to come with me to see their rooms?

First we have to get a passport!

This is our tour guide Prena, who will teach us about the life of Adoniram Judson.

This cute little guy is wearing a label so we will know who he is supposed to be!


This little lady is responsible for the map that shows Hudson Taylor's trip from England to China.
Here I am sampling Chinese food and learning about the chronology of China Inland Mission.


Another stamp is required for the next phase of the tour!

This is William Carey, when he was still a shoemaker, before he became a missionary.

These little tour guides are trying to remember all of the details of William Carey's life!

The class wrote a letter to William Carey to thank him for going to India.

This is Teacher Becky, who coordinated the whole project.

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Congratulations on a job well done! I thoroughly enjoyed my tour.

Choosing Life

Last year I posted about a seminar we did at IGSL called “Life before Birth.” That seminar came about because I realized that many of our students and graduates do not have a clear understanding of what abortion is and why it is wrong. I invited a Christian doctor to visit our school and teach the women in our wives’ program about the topic. A few months later, I developed another version of the seminar which I taught to our third-year degree students in their Social Issues class. While we were on furlough recently, God brought me in contact with Claudia Walter, a friend of a friend who has a passion to equip Christians in Asia to respond to the tragedy of abortion. (How a met this lady is another story!) This is a photo of Claudia with her husband, Deiter.

Specifically, Claudia dreams of equipping Asian pastors to equip the believers in their areas of influence. She is a nurse who was a missionary in Nepal for many years. After that she began directing a crisis pregnancy center in the U.S. We heard that Claudia and her husband were going to be in Asia, so we invited them to visit our school and present her seminar. She has done a lot of research and a lot of work in putting the seminar together, making it connect with an Asian audience.

You know, even after God has shown me, time after time, that our students need this seminar, somehow I still keep dragging my feet. I don’t know why. I think it is a spiritual battle. I keep resisting the big amount of work that is necessary to promote it and set it up. Last week, when I was still feeling that way, I came across this passage in Proverbs 24:11,12 during my quiet time.

Rescue those being led away to death;

Hold back those staggering toward slaughter.

If you say “But we knew nothing about this,”

Does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who guards your heart know it?

Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?

I can’t claim that I know nothing about the situation. There are 26 million abortions performed in Asia every year. Many of our students are unaware of the problem, but I am in a position to educate them. And they are in a position to influence thousands of other people, who can in turn influence others. So God keeps reminding me that I have to do my part.

So we did it! Last Saturday we offered the seminar for about 60 participants, and yesterday for about 25 more.

After the presentation, the students were divided into small groups according to countries, to talk about how they could apply the training in their countries.

My heart ached when a group of students from a communist country said that their government requires families to have abortions if they have more than two children, and that if they speak out it would be considered an “anti-government activity.” So we talked about creative strategies of sharing the information in small groups, so it would not attract attention.

We asked for their input and feedback, and got many good ideas about how to make the seminar better and more relevant. I smiled when one participant from Thailand said, “The pictures are nice, but it would be better if their faces were Thai.” I agree 100%. So our dream is to see this seminar evolve into many versions, where the people in the photos look like the people in the audience, and where the language on the screen is the language of the people listening. Our students have the ability to do it. So . . . pray for the next phase of Choosing Life – where our students will change it to make it fit their world.

We need your prayers . . . we want to produce a prototype which our students can adapt to their own needs. We plan to make several versions, one more “scientific,” one more biblical, etc. Pray for me!