From:
Sent: Saturday, April 29, 2006 11:31 PM
To:
Subject: Prayer Update 4/29/06 Taking up the torch
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Dear Family
and Friends,
Filled with
a series of projects with tight deadlines, the past seven weeks have been left
little time for writing updates. Now the task lies before me of trying to
summarize so many significant events into one update newsletter.
First of
all, I would like to say a special word of thanks to those who have
continued to pray for us through these weeks, even with little or no news from
the front lines. It is often the weeks of silence that indicate additional
pressures and responsibilities, and a greater need for God's grace.
Looking
back over these past two months, let me start back at the second week of March.
It was at this time that our director Tim felt that it would be good to move
forward on printing some of our character training materials to sell in
I have
enjoyed helping with some desktop publishing projects from time to time, but in
the past I have usually turned to Isaac's greater level of experience and expertise
in this area. After coming to
We never
realized at the time that this would be one of Isaac's last projects in
It was with
a feeling of taking up the torch passed by Isaac that I began working on some
of the desktop publishing projects and learning the InDesign software program.
Using one of the templates that Isaac had left for us, I was able to finish A4
sized posters for the first nine character qualities.
Excited by
the progress, we began contemplating another much larger project. Our
translation staff have been working for the past several months to do a final
revision of the Basic Seminar Workbook in the Mongolian language. Doing all the
text and layout in Microsoft Word, the workbook was modeled after the English
workbook, but a side-by-side comparison left some things to be desired on the
layout of the Mongolian pages.
Would it be
possible to use a template from IBLP headquarters and make a professional
looking Mongolian workbook? Maybe even in time for the Basic seminar scheduled
next month? These questions had to be put off for a week as Rachelle, Derrick,
Cindy and I left for four days of character training in Erdenet, an overnight
train ride from
The time in
Erdenet was filled with many joys and challenges. The poster project and other
responsibilities the week before left me with very little time to plan for our
trip, but the Lord was very merciful and worked out many details that could
have caused great complications in our time there.
Every day
we had trainings morning, afternoon, and sometimes evening as we did character
trainings for a group of leaders from six different churches, two groups of
World Vision staff, a group of local pastors and church leaders, high school
students from two schools, a large group of school teachers, and a few
government leaders.
Everywhere
people were very receptive and excited about the character training. The World
Vision and church leaders in Erdenet had been asking us to come since last
fall, and they wanted to make the very most of our time there. Concluding the
last training, we hurriedly filled out the final paperwork details and jumped
into the van, barely making it to the train station in time for the evening
train.
The strain
of the week, coupled with maybe some poorly kept food that I ate on the way
back to
With all
the work that our translators had been putting in on the Basic Seminar
Workbook, Tim felt that it would be good to move ahead with an all-out push to
get the workbook layout in InDesign completed as quickly as possible in the two
weeks that we had before the seminar. Not having much experience with the
program, I felt that it was probably doable, although it would not be an easy
task.
Tim and the
others were able to take over my other responsibilities so that I could focus
as much as possible on the workbook project. While I enjoyed both the work I
was doing, and the project I was involved in, the speed and accuracy I tried to
maintain required a concentration and attention to detail that often left
me mentally exhausted at the end of the day.
After some
adjustments to each page of the layout after importing the QuarkXPress
file to InDesign, I would take a section of the English text, convert it to the
correct font, and then, line-by-line, copy each sentence or paragraph of
Mongolian text and paste it into the workbook file. After copying the text, I
usually had to adjust the layout again to account for the Mongolian translation
often being longer than the English text.
Macros and
keyboard shortcuts greatly improved the efficiency of the project, but the 80+
pages of text and diagrams gave me a wonderful opportunity to gain experience
in using the InDesign program. It is so exciting to see how the Lord uses
experiences in our lives that not only help us now, but they prepare us to be
even more effective later.
David of
Bible times was performing a very needed function in caring for his father's
sheep, but God was also using this very experience to prepare him for a time
down the road when he would lead the nation of Israel. A few years ago, I was
serving a company working as a network administrator, little imagining how God
would be using these skills today in
In the
pressures of finishing the workbook before the seminar, God brought a very
special encouragement the day before the seminar began. Visiting our church on
Sunday, a young lady came over to Tim and Angie's apartment after the service
for some further discussion.
Taking a
few pages from the newly completed Basic Seminar Workbook, Tim and Angie
explained a chart on the development of reprobation, how we experience the
consequences of sin and the deception of Satan when we move away from God's
moral standards for our lives. Seeing her life pictured in this diagram, she
broke down in tears, and came to Christ for Salvation.
More of her
story unfolded in the following days by way of letters she gave to our staff.
She had known many that called themselves Christians, only to later learn of
hypocrisy in their lives. Finally she was convinced that all Christians must be
fake. Her life had then taken a path of misery and despair.
As Tim and
Angie related this story to me, I felt tears come to my eyes, not only for the
joy of her salvation, but for the Lord's lovingkindness in giving us a little
glimpse of the fruit that He would bring forth through the Seminar workbook
project. Many times we never see the fruit that God brings through the
investments of our lives, but the Lord in His great love knows just when to
bring us that needed encouragement.
The Lord in
His great love not only knows when to encourage us, but He knows when to bring
us chastening. One Saturday morning I was reading the story of Nebuchadnezzar's
dream of a huge tree, and how when he was lifted up in pride, God
humbled him. "That's a good reminder," I thought, "about
the importance of not letting pride creep into our lives."
That
evening, the first words in my journal were: "Well, my tree sure got
felled today!" That day we had taught the final lesson of our five-week
Character-English class series on patience. In the pressure and
busyness of the previous days, I neglected to consult with Tim on some
decisions with the class and as a result, incurred some misunderstandings
between us.
Thinking
back to our class just a few hours before, I remembered explaining to the
attendees how sometimes we might be facing a difficult situation at work, and
often our first tendency is to try to escape from the pressure. Instead of
looking for a way out, I told them, we should use it as an opportunity to grow
in character by choosing to have a right response. Now I was getting a chance
to practice what I preach.
I am
grateful that the Lord has allowed a restoration of this situation, and through
this experience has taught me a number of other important lessons. No one likes
to be misunderstood, but even in the best of relationships, we are going to
have times when we misunderstand each other. That is why it is so important to
have our focus on pleasing the Lord. He never misunderstands. He knows the
deepest motives of our heart.
I believe
that this is what gave David strength when he and his men returned wearily to
Ziklag, only to find their city on fire, and their families led away captive.
David's loyal men turned on him and were about to stone him. -But David
encouraged himself in the Lord his God. David went on to lead his men to
victory because his focus was on being approved unto God.
Some very
encouraging news in the past few weeks came in the way of a phone call from
Ideree. You may remember that in December of 2004, I began working on a project
to make the Mongolian Bible text available as a module for The SWORD
Project, a free Bible software program. (see http://crosswire.org/sword)
Over those next
few weeks, the Lord worked out some divine appointments, and I learned of
another missionary that actually began working on the same project at the very
same time. I helped in a few little ways over the next few weeks as Ewen
finished the module, and our Mongolian staff began testing it.
For the
next year or so, neither of us had time to work on the project. I needed to
meet with the Mongolian United Bible Society to talk about copyright and
distribution, but just could not seem to get the time to move forward. Then, a
few weeks ago, Ideree called to tell me that not only was the project back
underway, but the Bible Society wanted to get a master CD completed that could
be taken to Korea for mass duplication.
As soon as
I finished the other desktop publishing project that I was working on, I set
forth on this new project in an earnest effort to finish an installation
program and master CD by last Saturday. Working all afternoon and into the
evening on Saturday, I finally talked to pastor Dash at 11PM and we decided
that it would probably be better to wait a little longer to allow adequate time
to test the new CD.
Finishing
up some other pressing projects this week, I was able to finish the master CD
on Thursday, and after a little more testing, it should be ready to send to
I mentioned
a little earlier that sometimes the Lord gives us the opportunity to see a
little bit of the fruit that He is bringing forth through our lives. Last
Monday our family witnessed a special example of this. You might remember
Baigalmaa, a Mongolian lady that owns a bakery business with her husband Bat.
Receiving Christ after a character training a couple years ago, Baigalmaa has
had the privilege of also seeing her husband come to Christ.
Known all
over the city, the Batbaigal bakery is famous for their decorated cakes. They
started about ten years ago, and now employ 60 staff, and produce about 150
cakes every day, in addition to other bakery products. Bat and Baigalmaa have a
very special heart for their workers, and are constantly looking for ways to invest
in their lives.
From our
first meeting almost two years ago, I have really enjoyed working with
Baigalmaa and the bakery workers. Most of their staff have come from the
countryside and many of the principles of character are new concepts for them. Responding
to the personal illustrations that make character application practical, many
of the workers still remember my stories about forgiveness and other character
qualities.
Every other
week we have a character training for their workers. On Thursday morning they
even delay the regular deliveries so that as many of their workers as possible
can attend the character trainings at their bakery. It was with special delight
that my family and I accepted their invitation and set up a time when my family
could come and visit the bakery and meet their staff.
Bat and
Baigalmaa greeted us outside as we arrived, and led us up the stairs to their
building. Inside we heard applause and cheering as we stepped in to find all of
their workers lining both sides of the hallway to greet us as we came in. If
their workers were not so shy, I should have brought a video camera to capture
the special moment.
We had a
special time of sharing with their workers, and my family was able to sing some
hymns and play some music for their staff. After the meeting, we had an
extended tour of the bakery, finishing with a beautifully prepared meal in
their newly completed staff room. You will have to see the pictures on our
website to get a better picture of the generosity and kindness
expressed to our family in that visit.
Our time in
Mongolia has gone so quickly! It is hard to believe that we only have about
three weeks left until we fly back to the States on May 22nd. We want to be
open to however the Lord might direct our family, but we applied for an
extension of our work permits in anticipation of our family possibly returning
to Mongolia in the fall.
Praise
Points:
- Even with many farming responsibilities waiting for him
at home, my brother Derrick took the time to be with our family in
Mongolia for several months before heading back in early April to start
planting the fields back in Wisconsin.
- I praise the Lord for bringing about the completion of
the Mongolian Bible software project, equipping pastors and other
Mongolian Christians here with more tools to study the Word of God.
- Thank you for praying with us in the finishing of an
article honoring Isaac's testimony for the Lord. You can read the
completed article at: http://ati.iblp.org/ati/family/articles/eternalinvestment/
- This week we had the special privilege of welcoming
Tim's mother, and Roger and Ann, two friends from New Jersey for a three
week visit to our team in Mongolia. This is the first time that Tim's
mother has been to Mongolia. Roger and Ann were here for a visit three
years ago, and are very excited to see all that has transpired since their
last visit.
Prayer
Requests:
- Several weeks ago we learned the unexpected news that
our Mongolian pastor Enkhee was diagnosed with liver cancer. The cancer is
at a more advanced stage, and was also found in his stomach. After much
prayer and consideration, Enkhee and his wife Sodnom are traveling to
Hawaii for rest and possible treatment options. They remain strong in
faith and are a wonderful testimony to the believers here, but pray for
wisdom and grace in the difficult decisions ahead.
- Last summer we were able to buy several used computer
monitors at a very reasonable price. The vendor was quite willing to
exchange them if there were any problems, but in the unexpected events of
Isaac's death and my family's return to the States, we were not able to
get everything resolved last summer. Pray that we would be able to get the
three monitors exchanged in the next few weeks before our family leaves.
- On May 8th, our family has been invited to share at a
special meeting of three schools where some of our team has been teaching
character over the past several months. We are not sure exactly what to
expect, but pray that we would be good testimony for the Lord in this
opportunity.
Pictures:
Having our
whole family in Mongolia adds a whole new dimension to
our visits
with Mongolian friends.
One of the
highlights of Derrick's time in Mongolia was to go out to the
countryside
for a week with Dorjoo, one of our Mongolian staff. Derrick
and Dorjoo
helped a missionary family with several projects, including
building this
tool chest.
Derrick
visited Dorjoo's family one afternoon. Dorjoo's mother (far left)
came to
Christ after attending Isaac's funeral.
At my Mom's
suggestion, Matthew and I took one day to do a wood
project
together. From going to the market to buy the wood, to screwing
in the
final screws, Matthew loved every minute of it. We built a small
cabinet
with a hinged mirror on the front.
Last Friday
our whole family visited the MIU classes where some of our
staff teach
three classes twice each week. Dad shared about how we try
to build
character as a family, and then all the children sang the
"Gratefulness
song".
You can
see many more new pictures on our family website.
The
pictures page for this update includes a number of pictures from our
time at the Batbaigal bakery.
Interesting
Fact:
The heating
for most of the buildings in
Thank you
for praying for our family and the team! May the Lord bless each one of you
today.
In Christ,
- Adam
Family
Website ~ http://cadlinx.com/wallerfamily
"And
let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint
not." - Galatians 6:9
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