Giving Christmas Away

Our first Christmas in Ghana, away from family and friends, has been a mix of emotions. Of course, some sadness at missing all the gatherings we had with family and friends, but also joy. Joy for the fact that a holy, loving God would send his only son into this sinful world so that we can have intimate relationship with Him. I think once you become a parent the impact of the sacrifice is even greater. I cannot imagine choosing to send one of my girls somewhere that I knew they would be mocked, ridiculed and eventually crucified. John 3:16 says, "He so loved the world", can you imagine a love so strong that you would give up your only child? I cannot imagine the heartache and pain for the Father, but oh, the joy for us! That a way was provided for us to have relationship with our Father, our Creator. How can we keep a joy so great to ourselves? We can't! Or at least we shouldn't! We spent part of our day "giving Christmas" away, as did other missionaries in our area. We went to Kaneshie market and handed out about 125 meals to "market kids". These kids live and sleep at the market. Most kids were teens, but some were younger. There is a man who helps them that also grew up in the market. He sees the potential for these kids. So many kids who have no home, nowhere to go. They look out for each other, but it has become a dangerous area at night. Some kids have had property stolen while they sleep, others abused in unspeakable ways. There are many people who want to help, so we are praying that together something can be done. Until then, some hungry kids received a meal, water and a treat of candy and soda. Two girls, Gloria and Lucy, came home with us. Both teens, both pregnant and living on the street. So excited to see how they come out of their shells in the coming weeks and months. We also brought home a little boy. Right away we could tell he was sick. The man who helps the kids says that this boy is sick a lot. So the decision was made to make room and bring him home today. Already I see a difference in him, in just a few hours time. His eyes were so sad and he needed a bath! Tonight at our Christmas celebration, he had gotten a haircut, new clothes and a bath. He was hesitant at first, but was encouraged to dance during our party and let me tell you, this boy can dance! His smile came out and it lit up his whole face! His name is Bright. Please be praying for all three and their transition to life here at CORM. 

On our way back home, I saw an old tro-tro, wheels off, rusty and sitting in an empty lot. It was clear from the clothes hanging on the doors and the two men sitting outside on stools that these two men were living there. Everywhere I looked today, there were reminders of how blessed we are. I am reminding myself that "giving Christmas away" should not stop on Christmas Day. It should be happening all year long! I KNOW that God provides opportunities for us to do this daily, but how many of us are listening? So as we approach a new year, I remind myself, that it's a year full of new opportunities and I don't want to miss a single chance to give "Christmas" away. How are some ways that you can join in? Can you help a single mom you know? Mentor a youth in your area/church? Visit a shut-in? I know everyone is busy, but I know that God will be placing opportunities to give Him away in our paths. Let's be watching for them! 

Dawn

Check out the song, "Give This Christmas Away" by Matthew West.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9BVGkb5bxRY

December Update

    Merry Christmas!!!

    Sorry it's been a little past time to write an update. Sometimes, I am amazed at how fast time passes, and we have been really busy here at the end of the school term. Our last update was mainly about our trip to Volta. Since then, we have been very busy with finishing up the first term of the school year, and planning for classes next term. Our volunteer season has pretty much wound down. We had a couple large groups last month, but with them gone now, things will slow down a bit. It will be a little lonelier here in our house too, as Autumn has left for the states for two months. 

     I won't lie... The holiday season has been a little difficult for us here. We have made the best of it though. For Thanksgiving, we had been saving up food items that volunteers had brought for us, and we had a very traditional Thanksgiving celebration. We had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, green been casserole, sweet potatoes, pies, and my favorite dessert, cherry delight. It was nice to have a little piece of home, but it was still hard to be away from family. 

    Christmas will be much the same, but it is really strange for us to be where it's 95 degrees and dry, when we are used to snow. I can say with out a doubt we will NOT be having a white Christmas here!

    We also wanted to thank those of you who have sent us letters, even though we may not have received them. The ones we have gotten are two to three months old! If you would like to send a letter, please email us for an address of a volunteer that would be able to bring it with them. We will be sure to get it this way.

    Dawn and I did get to take a couple days and relax at the beach. You can read a little more about that on our blog if you like. I tried to post some pictures, but we have been having a lot of issues with our internet capabilities lately, and uploading photos, whether it's to facebook, our blog, or in emails, it is almost impossible. I think part of the reason is that the season is changing here. It's getting hotter and the air is much drier and dusty. You can see the dust in the air, and I think that is causing some issues with our cell reception. This season will last for the next few months.

    On Christmas Day, we are planning on going and handing out meals to street/market kids (these are homeless kids who live/sleep in the market), so we would appreciate your prayers for that. The building projects here continue to go strong. The Corm office building is nearly finished, they are putting the roof on the new children's home now, and the new apartment house is nearly ready for the roof. God has continued to provide funding for these projects in amazing ways.

     We also wanted to let everyone know that we will be coming home for 6 or 8 weeks in early April. Caylan, our oldest daughter, will be getting married! We are extremely excited for the wedding, and to come home for a while, but it's also a trip home that we had not planned, so we would appreciate any financial help we can get to help with airfare.  We also would be happy to come and share about our experience here in Ghana so far, and to give a ministry update, especially for those churches that have been supporting us faithfully. Please email us and let us know what dates you might have available so we can start making our schedule. We have not confirmed a definite date that we will be home yet, but probably the first week in April. We will also be figuring out where we will be staying, but would be happy to spend some time at different places if folks would have us! 

Prayer requests:

Health/healing - Many of the staff and kids have been sick with colds due to the changing season, and some with malaria.

Christmas Day ministry to market children

Caylan - health and being apart from us for holidays

Second school term starts on January 12th

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support! Praying that you all have a blessed Christmas!

Cayle & Dawn

A Weekend Away

   So after being here in Ghana and working here at CORM and the school for the past 8 months, Dawn and I had a chance to get away for a weekend and relax. It's the first time we've been away since we've been here, so it was a much needed break! I'll just give you a quick summary of our weekend. 

We went to a place called Maranatha Beach Club in Ada-Foah. Its an area on the coast where the Volta river empties into the Atlantic. Our travel to get there was as much of an adventure as anything else. So it is with Ghana public transportation. We left CORM and walked to the road, where we flagged down a Tro-Tro. Tro-Tros are like mini cargo vans with rows of seats. They are usually rickety and noisy, and sometimes you can see the road under your feet if there are cracks in the floor from all the bumps and holes they hit. We rode the first one for about 15 minutes until the transmission broke in it, and everyone had to pile out and find another one. After another 20 minutes or so, we arrived at a main station in Ashaima where we found another Tro-Tro going to the area we wanted. We got pulled over at one of the police checkpoints, and I'm pretty sure the driver paid a bribe to the police so we could keep going(another common occurrence here). When we finally arrived at Ada, we were persuaded by a couple of guys to let them take us to our next stop. We rode on the back of motorcycles through a marketplace and down dusty dirt streets to a small path that led down to the water of the Volta river. From there, we rode about 10 minutes down river to the place where we were staying. We had finally arrived at our getaway.  

Maranatha Beach Club is a resort area on a narrow finger of sand between the Volta river and the Gulf of Guinea. And don't let the name fool you. Don't get me wrong, it was a great place to relax. But it's not the kind of "resort" you might be thinking of. The beach was awesome. Nothing but sand and palm trees. But our 10 dollar a night coconut hut had sand floors, and little rodent visitors at night! Not exactly a Holiday Inn, but it was great. We got to sit on the beach and watch the sun set, and just spend a couple days doing nothing. It was  a good recharge.

Then we reversed the process to get back home this morning...minus the transmission problem! It was a good retreat for us, especially as the holiday time and our being away from family and friends has been weighing kinda heavy lately. Sometimes resting in God's creation is the best thing for us.

Cayle 

Leading by example

Tomorrow at youth with the girls, we will be talking about leading and serving. One of our goals at school and at CORM is to build up servant-leaders. I am reminded often of how leadership looks in the world. Often those with more seniority or experience want to lead, but don't want to lead by example. As I was searching scripture to share with our girls, I was reminded that over and over again, Jesus was a servant-leader. He told his disciples that leadership looks different by the world's standards than it does by Kingdom standards. That is more clear than ever when we read John 13. The heading for the passage is "Jesus Teaches His Disciples" followed by the subheading " Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet". Jesus taught by example. Washing feet was the job for the lowest servant in the house. It was a dirty job, but Jesus, God in flesh, did not consider himself above this menial job. 

In Matthew 20:25-27, Jesus tells his disciples, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." In the world, many who consider themselves higher up the "ladder", whether in age, social status or experience, want to lord it over others. They want to be served. However, Jesus says in the Kingdom, whoever wants to become great must first become a servant. Too many times we want to follow the world's leadership example instead of Christ's. Imagine though, the light we would shine if we served each other joyfully. We'd be like a city on a hill! 

I am praying that as I share and learn with our girls at youth that I will be an example to them in serving. I want to be able to say them as Paul said to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 11:1), " Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." 

Are you a servant-leader?

Dawn

Life is messy

Life is messy. Sometimes, it's hard to see the beauty for the mess. A couple weeks ago when we traveled to Lake Volta was such a time. We were full of excitement for the two boys we planned to bring home, but the outcome was so different than what we expected. The realization that the lies and manipulation had been going on for over two years and still was going on even as the truth was being revealed was frustrating. Knowing that no one but the Holy Spirit can change Delali's heart, and only if he's wanting to change, makes me want to cry. In those moments it's easy to question God, ask what He's doing. In the midst of the conversations and the emotions surrounding that day, I still know that God is in control...even in hard situations that I have trouble wrapping my mind around. The reality is that life is hard because as humans we are all sinful, but I am so thankful and in awe of our God who is full of grace and mercy. He is a God of redemption. 

As I look out the window of our room, I can see our newest children's home waiting for its roof and I'm filled with excitement. There are so many kids still out there, needing rescued not only from the harsh reality of child trafficking, but also needing to be rescued ultimately from sin. They need Jesus and so do the communities where they are living. I am longing to see hearts turned towards Him. No lasting change will happen without heart knowledge of His grace and love. We are human, we are sinful, but God... I love Genesis 50:20. Joseph says,"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." This is still true today, things the enemy intends for harm, God intends for good. If you ever get a chance to hear Johnbull's testimony, you will know that it started with his life and God has used him and his experiences to build City of Refuge for His glory. I see it in the lives of our kids here. Robert has what some would call a disability, and we would love to see him healed, but Robert has a smile for everyone and loves to share about God's call on his life - to be a pastor. These kids are not here by accident. What man intended for harm, God intended for good. He works all things together for the good of those who love him. I explained it to the girls in youth like this: when someone is working on embroidering something, if you only look at the underside, it will look like a huge knotted mess, but once it's done and you can see the finished picture, you realize that the beauty wouldn't be possible without the mess behind it. It's the same with our lives. God uses the messy things in our lives for His glory. Our story is just a small part of HIS story.

Dawn

Thanksgiving

     Today is our first Thanksgiving in Ghana. It's really strange to have all the food preparations going on and not be doing some of the traditional things I've done for years, but I'm thankful to have had the chance to enjoy those times God has given me.  Usually on This morning, I would be sitting in a tree-stand waiting for a deer to pass by, or at the lake crappie fishing. Those had become my Thanksgiving morning rituals. 

This Thanksgiving day, I am getting ready to teach creative arts to some students in a classroom in Africa. The path God lays out before us can lead to some pretty unexpected destinations! But I am thankful to be on this journey... probably the most difficult time of my life.

And there are "little" things I'm thankful for today. Thankful to have pure water in little bags so we can drink when we are thirsty, and not have to carry it in buckets. Thankful to not have to worry about whether that water has things in it that would cause Montezuma's revenge. Thankful to have plenty of rice for meals that fill our bellies when I know there are so many empty stomachs around. Thankful to have an awareness of these things. 

I'm thankful to have electricity to charge laptops and cellphones, so that we can send emails and post Facebook messages. Thankful to have internet that is slower than the old dial-up at home, so that I can communicate with family and friends.

Thankful to have family that loves God enough to support me and my family being away from them. Thankful that they recognize that Gods calling in our lives is more important than being together on holidays, even though its hard. 

Thankful that God would ask me to do the hard things. Thankful that He knows what He is doing, even when I don't..

Thankful to have a different perspective of how small I am in the world, and how big He is.

Give thanks, for He is good. His love endures forever. 

Cayle

A day in the life-Faith Roots Academy

Here are a few pictures from a day at Faith Roots Academy!

Maya, Jason and Emmanuel

The bus is loaded!

Taking a break after Phys.Ed. 

Doing some dancing and cheering during a class football match.

Maud ready for the day!

KG 1b  Class

Sir Lucky teaching P5

Madame Janet teaching English and reading skills in P4

Trip to Volta, Part 2

In this post I want to talk a bit about Delali and the difficulty of the issue with him specifically. I said in my first post that I felt like he was an evil man, and I think that is true. Do I think he is outside the reach of God's grace? Not as long as he is still breathing. But having said that, we get to the issue of "What can we do about this?". One thing that I learned this past weekend is that the issue of child slavery and trafficking is very complicated. Even though its morally and ethically wrong, and a majority of people would quickly agree with that, dealing with the issue is not quite so cut and dried. Let me try to explain.

We do know that Delali has multiple wives. Exactly how many is unclear. He has 18 children, all of whom live with him. At least one of his wives has died, leaving only him as guardian for several of the children. He is obviously feared by the other people who live there, and we know that he uses some of his own children to fish as well. We also know he is willing to use his own, or anyone else's children for his own gain, regardless of the damage it may cause.

The information that we were able to get suggests that there may have been another non-profit rescue organization there at some time. Johnbull also knows that the non-profit has been known to pay fishermen for children, sometimes without doing any investigating to find out where the child came from or where their family might be. When we arrived at Delali's house, it was pretty clear that he was expecting money. It was also our feeling that Delali could not support all of his family and have the things that he has from his fishing income alone. His house is the only one in the village with a metal roof. I also noticed a motorcycle and a generator. Most other families couldn't afford these things, so it leaves us wondering how he could afford such things. Again, we are talking about someone whose annual income is about the same as what an average American worker would earn in a couple weeks.

So here is the big question. What should be done? Our first reaction...my first reaction is that this man should pay. He should not be allowed to get away with this. But if he is arrested and jailed, what about the 18 kids and wives who he does support, even though it may be barely. It's not quite an easy decision now. But there is no question... he can't be allowed to continue what he is doing. 

I said before that this ultimately is a heart issue, and I'm not sure anyone but God can change this man's heart. And what about those organizations that actually do go into an area like this and pay to get kids out of this situation, thinking they are helping? Many of them are only concerned with numbers that look good for a fundraising campaign.

"Look, we rescued x number of child slaves this year- Won't you help us get more?"

Ultimately, they are creating a worse problem by using this practice. So I'm praying that God will show us wisdom in how to proceed. I'm praying that God will change Delali's heart. Maybe by the fact that we refused to pay for any children will show the people around him that we believe in a higher cause. Believe me, we drew quite a crowd at his house before it was all over. I'm also praying that justice will prevail for the children at the lake. God sees each one, and I trust that He is in control.

I would ask that you pray these things as well, and also be aware that just because an aid organization has impressive numbers does not mean that they are truly being effective. I know that the idealistic American view of ministry and missions is often wrapped up in statistics. God is not impressed with statistics... just love and our humble submission.

Cayle  

Trip to Volta, part 1

As I write this, we are on the bus, bouncing and weaving our way around huge potholes, sometimes slowing to a crawl to navigate them. We pass children, some in school uniforms, and some wearing raggedy cloths, waving as we go by. We stop along the road in a small village to buy some yams from a group of women carrying them in large tubs on their heads. We've been driving for almost 2 hours, and soon we will arrive at the ferry crossing at Dambai, where the bus will drive onto the ferry for the trip across Lake Volta, Then it will be roughly another 7 or 8 hours ride back to CORM. It's been a dizzying few days for me. We left CORM at midnight Friday and drove all night. It's now Monday morning, and I think I've had maybe 8 hours of decent sleep in the last 3 days. On Saturday,we crossed the lake in a small boat to reach the tiny fishing village of Adakope, spent a couple hours there, and returned in the dark, in the middle of thunder and lightning. 

And we returned without the two boys we had come for.

To be honest, I'm still trying to make sense of the whole trip. It's been quite an experience. Since I'm writing this to try to give an account of our trip to you, but yet keep it short enough to be a blog and not a book, I'll boil it down to one thought I've had this morning. 

The heart of man is deceitful and evil. 

Yeah, I know... that is no secret. We see it in every corner of the world, in so many different ways.

Let me back up for a minute and explain what happened(I think) this weekend. We came to the tiny village in a remote part of the lake to rescue 2 young boys who had been working as slaves for a fisherman named Delali. The groundwork for this rescue had started nearly three years ago. Several visits to the lake to talk with people in the village had yielded the information. There were already kids living with us at CORM that had come from this same village, and Delali had a reputation as a very hard, devious man. Two and a half years ago, when Dawn and the team from our house church had come to Ghana, they made the trip to this same village, and saw these two boys. They were not in good physical shape then, and had obviously been working on the lake then. The story was that they belonged to Delali as repayment for the mother's funeral that he had payed for. Their parents were both supposed to be dead, and the boys were to work off the debt. After several trips to discuss the issue with Delali, and then getting one of his own family members involved to put pressure on him to release the boys, our trip to make the rescue was set up. Delali, apparently out of fear of being arrested, agreed to a meeting and said he would give up the boys.

Fast forward to this weekend. When we arrived at Delali's house, it only took a couple minutes to realize that things were not going to go as expected. I'm not going to take time here to lay out all the details, especially since I don't think I understand them all anyway, so here is a short version of what happened. After he tried to give us three other kids (who were his sister's children!), he then said the boys were not there.   He tried to deny that they even had been there, until we showed him pictures of the boys from one of the previous visits. After much more discussion and a couple tense moments, we learned that one of the boys was at another house nearby. 

The bottom line is this: The boys were actually his brother's children. Why this didn't become known from previous trips, I don't know, but Delali had woven a web of lies that stretched even to some of his relatives that had been contacted for information. He and his brother had been fighting(for a long time apparently), and he was trying to give away his own nephews. Again, there are so many raveled ends to this tangled mess, I don't have it all straight. The sad truth is that there is more going on here than just a fisherman trying to make a living. What we finally realized is that there had been other NGO's (Non-Government Organizations )there as well, and we were now learning the painful truth behind what happens when some of these "well meaning" organizations try to rescue kids by paying for them. Delali has found that he can make money by selling the kids to these NGO's, and he thought we would pay for these boys as well.  He had told the boys that he had already sold them to us and that we were coming to take them.  They were obviously terrified. His brother(the boys' own father!) thought we were going to take them, he had been told that we already "owned" them. What a sad mess. These boys were being used by a man with an evil heart for his own financial gain, and as weapons in a family feud. I can't tell you how disgusted I was at how easily he offered up other children in their place. 

Again there are so many more details to this story, but in the end, we are returning home without them. We can't take kids away from their families. Even though the boys may be living in a tough situation, their father is caring for them. Even in an extremely poor part of the world where there is little money, the love of money corrupts the heart. 

So as I try to find a comfortable position to sit in for the rest of the ride home, I'm kind of in a mental and emotional limbo. Still trying to make sense. Bouncing around between disappointment, sadness and anger. Wondering what God is doing. Thankful that we learned the truth about this situation before we had actually taken kids away from their parents. 

It's a messy world... Lord may your Kingdom come.

I'll have a few more posts about this in the next week or so. 

In His Strength,

Cayle

The Comparison Game

So this is the blog that I intended to write when I started the last one and got detoured!  

Once again, I find myself amazed by how God remains faithful to us even when it may seem  that He's not paying attention. I've prayed on more than one occasion that God would show me a deeper sense of purpose here. And its actually been through this process of blogging and sharing my thoughts and experiences that God has answered and given me a greater awareness of the impact I can make on people through my ministry here, and with this blog. I have been amazed to find that people actually read this!! So I continue to share my story...my life, with you.

Something that I have learned on this journey is that regardless of how or where you minister, its easy to get caught in one of many traps. Traps that Satan uses to trip us up and get us off our game. The last blog was sharing one of those traps- the trap of getting caught up in the good things we do, only to allow them to become ultimate things that take the place of God in our lives...uh, yeah,...thats idolatry. 

So here is another trap we face.

Getting caught in the snare of comparisons. Comparing our abilities with someone else's. Comparing our knowledge with someone else's. Comparing our gifting, or the way we pray, or the way we worship...it can go on and on. I have seen in my own ministry to others how destructive this can be. 

We all want to measure up. Everyone likes to be praised, or get affirmation from others. Even when we are unselfishly trying to serve, we still want to know we are doing well. But quite often in life, we evaluate our effectiveness or success by making comparisons with others. In ministry, I believe this is one of the most dangerous traps the enemy can use against us.

There are probably more, but I think there are two basic issues that will attack us when we compare ourselves to others, and if we allow them to gain a foothold, they will crush us. The first is what happens when we compare ourselves with others who we believe don't do quite as well as we do. We think,"I'm doing better than them, so I must be pretty good". We begin to believe that our value and effectiveness comes from our superior abilities. It then becomes easier and easier for us to point out other peoples shortcomings, so that we feel better about ourselves. The result is someone who is puffed up with pride and arrogance, and we know how that can affect a ministry.  It becomes all about numbers and outdoing someone else, or having the newest, cutting edge ideas. And sooner or later, it goes from "look what God did" to "look what I did".  As God gets shuffled to the back seat, Satan grins and does a fist pump. We have probably all seen this happen... maybe even to us.

The second attack comes from the opposite side. And, as I have always tried to be very transparent with my own struggles when I write this stuff, this is the one I have a difficult time with. This attack comes when we compare our abilities with those who we perceive to be better than us. If I had to guess, there are many of you who struggle just as I do, with this same thing. Maybe you sing or play music, and when you hear someone better, you feel inadequate.  Maybe as a pastor or leader, you see another ministry growing faster, so you feel discouraged. In our personal walks with Jesus we look around and see people that seem to pray better, know scripture better or worship more freely and we feel like maybe we are not quite good enough. And here is quite often our response. 

         We try harder to be someone we think God will be more happy with. 

         And after a little while we burn out and find that we don't feel any better about who we are, and begin to doubt our effectiveness. We begin to doubt our calling. Maybe we even begin to doubt our faith. And so we withdraw, drop out, give up and throw in the towel...

because of a comparison...

The wrong comparison. Making this kind of comparison causes us to try to be someone we are not. We try to measure up to standards that we may never be able to match, and we end up trying to be someone different than who God created us to be. 

Our standard of comparison should not be other people, but Jesus. The cool part about that comparison is that He made it really simple for us. The standard is just so high, Nobody can measure up to Him, so its not a competition! But here is the amazing thing about his grace. He created us and shaped us with a purpose. 

        Psalm 139 tells us that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made". 

        We like to throw that verse around a lot, but I don't think we always believe it. It means that God actually had a plan when he created us! He created us with specific gifts and qualities that He wants us to use in our calling, and he doesn't want us to try to be someone else. That wont make Him love you more.

So I have been working on using the gifts that God has given me, and staying true to who I am created to be. I'm not trying to be someone I'm not equipped to be. And I have found that its much easier to be who I am, instead of someone I'm not. That is exhausting! God has called me and my family here because we have unique gifts and abilities that He wants to use for His glory. We are all pieces in Gods puzzle, and every piece has its place. If one of those pieces is trying to occupy a space it wasn't made for, the picture wont be complete!

So how about you? Has the comparison game hindered your calling? Has it hurt relationships? Caused you to feel inadequate and ineffective? How about getting back to who God made you to be, and fix our eyes on Jesus, not the person next to us?

Cayle

When the tank is empty.

     I found that after I started writing this post, I needed to go back and rewrite this opening, because the main point shifted from my original thought. I started out writing about the various traps we may be susceptible to in the midst of our ministry calling, and what I thought was just going to be a side-bar became the main idea. I seem to be continually learning about what it means to be on mission, and how to live out my calling. It is definitely an ongoing process.

    This will be aimed more towards married folk, but one of the things I've learned is that while God may have given me a specific calling here in Ghana, that calling did not discontinue or supersede the calling I have as a husband and a father. In those relationships, I am bound by covenants that are modeled for us in Gods covenants with His people, and we know that God does not break his promises. So He would not call me to something that would cause me to forsake the very covenants that He established. God called me to be a husband and father long before he called me to Ghana, so while I can work very hard at this new calling, I cannot do it at the expense of my family. And this can be complicated and hard. Believe me-I know. For Dawn and I, leaving our families and Caylan, our oldest daughter, was no easy thing.  I think this is exactly why Paul wrote the following in 1 Corinthians 7. (my comment in parenthesis.) 

        

       "Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. I wish that all were as I myself am. (Single, with no children!) But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another."   1 Corinthians 7:6-7

      

       Now while I understand that Paul is talking about physical desires in the context of marriage vs. singleness, I believe he is also saying something else that may not be very popular, but its true. In a ministry context, marriage complicates things. Having a family requires certain commitments that must be balanced along with our ministry. Paul is not saying those things are bad. He even says "this is not a command...its just some wise advice" He is saying that if you are single, and God calls you to ministry, you can "go and be" with a much greater freedom. He recognizes that while marriage and family don't excuse us from our callings or make ministry impossible, they do require being committed to things that could make ministry callings more complicated. He is in no way saying we should ignore those responsibilities. And listen... This isn't just a foreign missions thing. This issue can trap anyone, single or married, in any kind of ministry, which includes every believer, since we are all called to some kind of ministry...wherever we are. 

      I'm aware that in addition to being on mission to the people here in Ghana, my calling to love my wife as Christ loved the church, to be the best dad I can and raise my daughters up to be Godly women, is no less important here than when we were at home in the states. 

      It's really easy to get caught up in the work of ministry, and be so busy doing good that we neglect those we love. It's easy to get burned out doing good, especially when we are trying to run on the fuel of our own human effort. We will burn up all our own fuel. And then what happens when Dawn needs me to be her husband, or the girls need me to be their dad, and I'm empty?  The answer is that my ministry will suffer, and my relationships will suffer.

      So here is what I have learned. First, it is Jesus who says "Come to me, all who are weary, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light". He is saying "Let me fuel you... Stop trying to do it all on your own." And second, we occasionally need to slow down and recharge. Spend time building our own relationship with Jesus. Spend time with our family. Husbands and wives, spend some time with each other! And that is what Dawn and I are planning. In a few weeks, we are going to take a couple days off and get away, for the good of our relationship, our relationship with our Heavenly Father, and our relationship with our family. 

       What about you? Are you trying to run on empty? Maybe you need to recharge as well...for the good of your marriage or family...and your relationship with Jesus.

Something to think about...

Cayle

       

     

Six Months In...

Hi everyone!

I'm posting this as a blog as well as an email update for the month. Today marks exactly 6 months since the day we left the U.S. Its been quite an experience so far. It's amazing to me that it's already been that long, but some days it seems we've been here forever. I will be completely honest and admit that, for me, this has been and continues to be an incredibly difficult journey. For anyone who has visions of foreign mission work as being some exciting adventure in culture and getting to see different lands full of amazing sights while sharing Jesus with people who willingly accept him, let me just say that that is more of the dream than reality. We are finding that mission work is difficult and messy. It's definitely not easy, and when it comes to being involved with a family, it's even more stressful. It's hard work, and little family time. We find that we have many acquaintances, and great people that we work with, but we have missed having friends- close friends that we can confide in and just have those real and honest conversations. It's hard to explain how isolated we can feel, and yet be in the midst of so many people. So I guess this is a prayer request for us, and a glimpse of reality for you back home.

Having said that, this is not a pity party!! We have seen so much in the past six months. We learned that our calling and mission here is even more than ministering to the kids who reside at the CORM village. We get to be examples to almost 180 local kids at the school everyday.   There are half a dozen or so local guys who work on the projects going on here every day, and they watch us. We sometimes interact with parents of the school kids, and they watch us.  We've had over 100 volunteers and interns come to CORM since we have been here! Some have stayed for a month, some for a couple weeks, and some for only a day or two. We know that while some have been here because they have sensed God's calling and have been obedient to that, there have been many who were not believers, and have come because of education requirements or humanitarian efforts. And they watch us. I am continually reminded that our mission here is not as pinpoint focused as we might think. 

God continues to do amazing things here, and we get to be a part of it, even if only in a small way. But our involvement here has an impact on the kingdom that we can't even begin to see. Those who are on the periphery of our focus here- the volunteers that come, the families that are affected by what happens here, and you, our family and friends who support us with your giving or with prayer, all are being impacted by what God is doing. If we could see the big picture, I think we would all be amazed. 

In this is my challenge to you. Even as God shows us that this ministry is more than what we might think, so also is your impact on others around you in your ministry...in your life. People are watching you. Make sure your actions and words reflect what God wants. That is part of YOUR ministry!

As far as new things to update you on, one thing is that Dawn and I are excited about Caylan's recent engagement! On one hand, it's difficult to be so far away from her during an exciting time in her life, but we also feel so grateful for the way God has been working in her life. Her fiancé, Matt, is a great guy who we absolutely believe is part of God's plan for Caylan.

This also means we will be traveling home sometime around March or April of 2014. This will obviously create a need for travel expenses, and we would be grateful for any help with that. It also means we will get to spend some time with as many of you as possible, and share more about our ministry here!

Also, we would ask that you be in prayer as later this month we will have a group that will be traveling to the Lake Volta region, and the plan right now is that we will bring back two young boys who have been working on the lake as slaves for the last few years. In addition, work will continue there to locate and free other children. It is a process that requires patience, which is difficult when you see so many children being mistreated. At this point, I don't know for sure who all will be going on this trip, but will update as soon as we do.

School is going well, and a new missionary family has joined us. The Ochs family from Tennessee has 3 girls in high school, so along with the Beebe family and our girls, there are 10 American kids at the school now.

We will be celebrating Katie's 15th birthday, along with a couple of the other kids here at CORM, so this Saturday will be birthday celebration day. The kids always look forward to that!

Again, at risk of sounding repetitive, we are so blessed to be a part of Gods plan here, and you are too! Thanks for all your prayers!

Cayle, Dawn and girls

Building progress

The building projects are continuing to move along here at CORM. I honestly don't know how they continue, other than God continues to provide for them. We believe that God will see them through to completion, but we also ask that you will continue to pray for them as well. The ministry here provides so much for the people of this area, and these projects will benefit them as well.
Thanks for your prayers and support!
Cayle


Getting ready to pour the second floor deck of the staff apartment.

A view inside the church building, looking toward the stage area.

The next two photos are the second story walls for the childrens house.

The CORM administration office, ready for roofing.

Digging In?

This week I was talking with Carissa and sharing with her that God is trying to stretch her, get her out of her comfort zone. I know that she knows this, but sometimes we all need a reminder. I know from experience that getting out of your "normal" is scary! I told her to pretend that one of her friends wants to take her on a trip. She has two choices: to dig her heels in and say no the entire time her friend is pulling her along and begging her to go OR to walk along beside and soak up every moment of the trip. 

I'll admit there have been many times when I know God is leading me in a new direction, and instead of saying, "Lead the way!", I pull in the opposite direction, digging in my heels and groaning. In the midst of the the struggle, I miss all the beauty I could be soaking up along the way. So many times, we are afraid of the "hard" or "scary" things, but if you've ever watched a storm roll in, you know that in the midst of the storm, there is beauty. You realize, too, that the beauty of the rainbow and green plants that we see after the storm would not be possible without the rain.

Last night in our women's Bible study, we were reading in Matthew 4. Verses 18 - 22 share about Jesus calling some of his disciples. The words that jumped out at me were "at once" (verse 20) and "immediately" (verse 22). These were men who left not only their "careers", but their families. All without any hesitation! I wonder how I can read scripture and "see" all of Jesus' miracles and teaching, know what He went through to restore relationship and still hesitate when He asks me to follow wherever He is leading. I pray that I learn to immediately say, "Yes, Lord! Wherever You want me to go, whatever You want me to do, whoever You want me to reach out to!"  I don't want a fear of the unknown to hold me back because God did not give me a spirit of fear. I pray that for you, also.

Dawn