New Beginnings

In more than one way, I suppose the title is significant. I haven't touched this blog since, oh, around 2010. Since then, we've had another kid, I've become something more than a wet-behind-the-ears Bible teacher (though much less than a master-teacher by a long shot), and we've been drawn to a growing ministry of Member Care here in the Philippines. Through all of those changes, our call has remained constant, and the need to bring the Bible to life has never changed.


This year, as a High School, we adopted a new Bible curriculum, which many of you have read about (if not, check it out here). All four grades in high school have been covering the same material this year, which has come with its own set of challenges; overall, the experience has been ovewhelmingly positive.

Parents have come to us and thanked us for the curriculum, after an assignment in which the students had to interview their parents about foundational beliefs. One parent wrote the Bible teachers an email: "I thought that assignment was terrific. It "forced" us to talk about spiritual things in a way that would not have happened otherwise." Students have the chance this year to wrestle with questions about reality, faith, truth, and the Bible that are forcing them to engage with their beliefs in new ways.

This curriculum is also bringing to the surface many students' lack of faith, as they realize (some for the first time) and hat they are not yet disciples of Jesus. One of my students wrote in a recent reflection, "I've learned that I am a Materialist." Pray that students will be confronted not just with their lostness, but also with the grace and life that are in Jesus.

Not quite a month into school, high school went on their annual retreat. The theme for this year, both at retreat and in chapel, is that of paradox: losing to find, dying to live, and being weak to be strong. At the retreat, students were challenged to examine their response to Jesus' call to "pick up your cross and follow."

Around 10 pm the second night, one student in my cabin asked to talk with me. We sat outside after lights-out, talking till nearly 1 am. His questions basically boiled down to this: "How do I know I'm following God?" 

These conversations are precisely why I love teaching here at Faith Academy; the chance to mentor and disciple these students is such a privilege. Any time I'm invited deeper into their lives it reminds me that our calling is not to teach a subject here, but to make disciples.

"Jack," the student I asked prayer for last year, has continued to share his struggles with me, and I have seen quite a bit of growth in him. Please continue to pray for him; I can't share all that he's going through, but he certainly needs your prayers.

Please bear with me a bit longer; I know this has turned into more reading than you were expecting. I guess that's what happens when I wait too long before posting anything! Hopefully these will be a bit shorter next time through.

That was all the beginning of the semester, which is now nearly halfway over. At the beginning of this month, Claire left me -- I mean, went with the Concert Choir on tour in Korea for all of October Break. I've been Mr. Mom for ten days while she's been touring Seoul!

I guess you could pray for her, too; travel mercies and keeping up with loose high schoolers and all that. Pray too that the trip will be the ministry experience that the choir director has in mind, not just a fun (exhausting!) tour. The choir has performed 12 times so far in six days, and will keep up a similar pace for the rest of the 10-day tour!

Now, to bring this long-winded post to a close: Thank you so much for being part of all this! There's so much that we've done here and been privileged to witness and facilitate, but ultimately, God is the one doing the ministry here. We and you simply get to be part of it.

So thank you, and may God return the investment you've made in us here back to your own life multiplied tenfold!

Carl for the Family