Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Dear Family and Friends,

In my last update I mentioned that Derrick would be joining David and Rachelle for a three week ministry trip to the Philippines in November of 2006. I want to express a special thank you to those who were praying for my siblings and the rest of the team! We have heard many testimonies of lives that were touched through this outreach. You can read first-hand reports and see pictures of their work at http://cadlinx.com /philippines

Our interest and prayers for the team suddenly took a new turn as we received word that David had gotten sick with an amoeba (a parasite sometimes found in tap water). He had a fever that climbed dangerously high, but with the help of some missionaries he was able to get to a hospital for the necessary treatments. He was weak and dehydrated for several days, but gradually recovered. Four others on the team were later diagnosed with amoeba, but recovered more quickly with prompt medical treatment.

Derrick was taken to the hospital a few days later with symptoms that looked like Dengue fever (a potentially dangerous mosquito borne illness), but it turned out to be a severe sinus infection with some other complications. The Guills, a missionary family that assisted in hosting the team, were of invaluable assistance in medical decisions and keeping our families informed.

Separated by thousands of miles, there was little that we could do, but pray to the One that holds our times in His hands. It was a joy to hear how God answered those prayers, and not only brought a full recovery to each one, but used the times of sickness to draw the team together into even more effective ministry.

Returning to the family in Mongolia on December 10, David and Rachelle were excited to share many encouraging reports from their time in the Philippines. Although the schools and universities are starting to become permeated with humanistic philosophy, they are still very open to Biblical truth. In most cases the team had the freedom to share about character right from the Bible, and to clearly present the Gospel message.

Purchasing his tickets several weeks after the others on the Philippines team, Derrick decided to take the more economical and scenic route back to Mongolia. Flying from the Philippines to Hong Kong, he took the train to Beijing and on to Ulaanbaatar. His arrival brought the whole Waller family together again for the first time in two months.

Among the supplies he had brought from the States, Derrick had included several packages of delicious Wisconsin cheese, from the Burnett Dairy Co-op, a few miles from our farm in Wisconsin. Burnett Diary won a world championship award for their string cheese, and we all enjoyed the special treat.

Leaving for America the next week, Tim and Angie Levendusky and Erin Randall bid Mongolia goodbye after nearly a year of service together. The Waller family would remain in Mongolia as the only foreign staff at CTI until Tim and Angie’s scheduled return at the end of February. Many things are opening up in Korea right now, and Tim and Angie are planning to take the month of February there after spending the holidays with family and friends in the States.

Celebrating Christmas overseas for the first time, our family enjoyed a mixture of family traditions and new adventures. With the relatively few numbers of Christians, Christmas is not very widely celebrated in Mongolia, but the ever increasing Western influence brings with it a confusing mixture of festive materialism.

Taking hold of a timely opportunity, a missionary friend of ours arranged for our family to give a presentation at the American Information Center. Every Friday they have a speaker give a one-hour presentation about the life and culture of Americans, and our family would get to share about how Americans celebrate Christmas.

Although we needed to be a little sensitive in our presentation because of the Information Center’s association with the American Embassy, we felt that it would be a neat opportunity to share some of our family traditions, and some of the history of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem. Esther Entner and my Mother worked to prepare ideas for a little skit that we could do of the Christmas story, and printed a number of well-known Christmas carols to give to the attendees.

The forty or so Mongolians that came loved seeing my younger brothers and sisters sing Christmas carols, and enjoyed watching us act out Mary and Joseph and the account of Jesus’ birth from the book of Luke. When we opened it up for questions at the end, it was really neat to see the questions that were raised. One lady said, “I often see a star, like the one on the Christmas tree. What is the significance of this, or what does it mean?” -I think she might have been a Christian, and saw an opportunity to let us share more of the reason why the history of Christmas is so special.

Talking with some of the people afterwards, I looked over and saw David with a half dozen or so young people around him, asking more questions. They started with a few general ones, and then went on, “Who is Jesus? I read some things in my history book, but I never heard about this!” “This is the first time that we have heard what Christmas is really about.”

I was greatly encouraged by the response to the presentation, especially considering the little time that we could afford for preparation. Many of the speakers at the Information Center are professionals with far greater credentials, but somehow God seemed to use our family to touch the hearts of the people. One man told us, “I have attended ten of these weekly meetings, and this is the best one yet!” Many thanked us and told us how interesting it was for them to hear the real story behind Christmas.

Christmas shopping, as you can well imagine, is quite a bit different in Mongolia. Wal-Mart does not exist, and the best shopping is at the Narantulzak, a large open market. It is a little like going to a ten-acre open-air garage sale in below zero weather. About ninety percent of what you find there rode the train from China, so there is quite a variety in quality and price, but mostly on the lower end.

A few strings of Christmas lights in the windows added a festive air to our apartment, and the cardboard fireplace and mantle that Samuel had created for our Christmas skit gave the living room a homier atmosphere. Piles of small gifts wrapped in homemade wrapping paper were spread across the floor, but the air was filled with joy and laughter as smaller Wallers unwrapped strangely shaped boxes designed to mystify even the most astute speculations.

Although we tried to cut back on our regular trainings, the month of December seemed to fly past with other projects that came up. I spent several weeks working on a Mongolian brochure for the Basic Seminar coming up next April. After overseeing the translation, and finishing the design and layout, I brought it to the printer, only to discover that they couldn’t print the type of PDF that I had created. Such is life in Mongolia.  🙂

I spent the next three days recreating the brochure in another program (InDesign), and finding alternative ways to produce the document. I went back to the printer with Plan A, B, C, and D. Thankfully, one of the formats worked for them, and they sent the job on to the printers. It was a blessing and relief to see the job come back in reasonable quality. -It was perhaps just as big of a relief to them, remembering some quality issues we had encountered on the last job.

In serving overseas, it is a great benefit to know and be ready to learn a wide variety of skills. Whether you are showing an electrician how to splice wires together for an electrical repair, explaining computer log files to your Internet service provider to troubleshoot a problem, or helping your printer work with different file formats, there are constant opportunities to learn more about what you are doing.

In the midst of the joys and challenges of daily work and life in Mongolia, we have also seen some reminders of the things that really matter in life. One morning we looked out our window and saw clouds of smoke billowing from behind some buildings a few blocks from our apartment. A little later we heard the siren as a fire truck approached. Fighting fires in freezing weather is difficult, but even more so in Mongolia where the water has to be carried by truck, usually some distance from the fire.

The newspaper headlines the next day read, “Swiss Aid Worker Dies in Fire”. Isabelle Sieber, a 31-year-old missionary died in that fire. Much of the Children’s Home that she worked at was destroyed in the fire, but the children had been rescued by another worker. I don’t think I have ever met Isabelle, but it still brought sadness to loose a fellow missionary.

I attended the funeral with Tim and Angie a few days later. Held in the same church where Isaac’s funeral had been held just a year before, the service was conducted in Mongolian and German. I couldn’t understand much of what was said, but Isabelle’s testimony of love for six years of service in Mongolia had clearly made a powerful impact in the lives of the children and others that she had worked with.

After the service, a lady came up to me and asked, “Are you Adam?” “Yes,” I replied, surprised that she would know my name. “I was here a year ago for your brother’s service. We have your picture on our refrigerator, and we have been praying for you a lot. How is your family doing?” I praise God for the ones that have stood with us in prayer! It is God’s grace, through your prayers, that has carried our family!

Sometimes it is through the trials and difficulties that God’s love and grace are most clearly seen. David was recently talking with a man that works at UBTC, the Bible school facility where we are holding biweekly trainings on the Commands of Christ. That very day, there had been a fire at the Bible School, and the damage was significant. Instead of being disillusioned by the fire, the man was sharing with David some neat things that he felt God was doing through this unexpected trial.

Standing outside on the icy pavement by the front gate to greet our attendees, I remember watching the workers wire together pieces of the metal fence that had been broken apart to let the fire truck into the courtyard. Why does God allow these things to happen? Is it not so that His light and love can more clearly shine through us? If you have a prosperous life, the world may envy your possessions, but when you can see and experience God’s love through suffering, they see the power of His grace.

We continue to see opportunities unfolding all around us. Several requests have come in from World Vision leaders and other groups requesting character trainings, but we are trying to hold off on as many as we can to give us time to catch up on other more pressing issues. David is revising some of our teaching notes on the character quality of Virtue, but soon we will start into teaching the second series of nine character qualities at the Vitsamo juice company and the Batbaigal bakery.

Pray that the Lord will multiply the fruit of our labors in the next few weeks as we try to move forward on a number of projects. I am working to finish a programming job for the Character First! headquarters, and Rachelle is helping coordinate an effort to let people know about the upcoming Basic Seminar in April. Unexpected complications and the unpredictability of our schedule can make it difficult to move forward on these projects, but it is encouraging to see things progressing little by little.

Praise Points:

• Thank you so much for your prayers for Derrick, Rachelle and David as they served with the team in the Philippines! We rejoice in the safety that God gave the team, and for the returned health of each one. You can read about the trip and see more pictures at: http://cadlinx.com /philippines
• Moving Family Night to a nearby Bible School facility has allowed the class to grow larger than the twenty-five we are allowed to have in our apartment classroom. The first two meetings at UBTC have gone very well, and the one scheduled for this Friday may be the largest one yet.
• Tim and Angie had very good meetings in Korea, and plans are underway to assist in the coordination of a Korean translation of the Basic Seminar. Tim and Angie plan to spend several weeks in February working with the Korean families, and we look forward to the unfolding opportunities for the people of Korea. (Just as a point of interest, about half of the Christian churches in Mongolia were started by Korean missionaries.)

Prayer Requests:

• My parents were able to arrange a three-week visit to Thailand, leaving on January 22. They are looking forward to visiting and seeing the work of two missionary families that have been close friends to our family. Pray that the Lord will give extra grace and wisdom to the Waller children as we carry on operations here, including several larger trainings.
• The senior pastor of the Holy Way church that we attend in Mongolia is in the final stages of cancer. Pray that God will pour out his grace to Pastor Enkhee and his wife Sodnom as they go through this difficult time. Pastor Enkhee has been a powerful witness for the Lord through this trial, and although his body is growing weaker, his spirit is strong and rejoicing in the Lord.
• Pray that the Lord will give wisdom in handling the many requests for training that we are receiving. It is hard to turn people away, but we desire the Lord’s wisdom as we make decisions on how to invest our time and energy with our limited staff.

Pictures:

The 2006 Philippines Ministry Team. Anticipating the tropical heat,

David and Rachelle left their winter coats in Mongolia.

Keeping with the traditional $2 limit, our family all bought Christmas

presents for each other. With a family of our size, this makes quite

an assortment.

Matthew was a good guesser, but there were a few

that he didn’t figure out.

Looking west from a nearby hilltop, you can see the building where

my family and I live. Throughout the city there are many blocks of

old Russian-built apartment buildings like ours.

With Nara translating, Dad shares on Christ’s command to “Let your

light so shine.” We heard some very encouraging testimonies at the

conclusion of the class.

Warm greetings from Ulaanbaatar, the coldest

capital of the world! Actually, we have had a very

mild winter so far, with temperatures only dropping

to the teens below zero. (Fahrenheit)

You can see many more new pictures on the Prayer Updates section of our family website.

Interesting Fact:

Sometimes we hear the question, “What is the food like in Mongolia?” Traditionally, the Mongolians eat a lot of meat, especially the families out in the countryside. The food is very simple, usually prepared from flour, water and meat without much seasoning. Fruits and vegetables are more readily available in the city, although most of it comes on the train from China.

Our family does our own cooking, so our meals are a little more of an American style. Spaghetti seems to take the vote as the favorite meal, but we also enjoy some of the Mongolian dishes such as tsuaven, a little like beef stew mixed with a huge pile of noodles. Of the things that we can’t get in Mongolia, one that I sometimes miss is fresh milk. We can buy little boxes of processed milk, but it just isn’t quite the same.  🙂

On the other hand, there are some tasty fruits that come up on the train from China. Sometimes they freeze on the way up, but we enjoy apples, oranges, bananas, and sometimes even pineapples or kiwi fruit. Right now the mandarin oranges are in season, and very delicious!

Thank you so much for your part in this work! May the Lord bless each one of you with His love and grace today!

In Christ,

– Adam

Adam Waller ~ MyAllForChrist@CadLinx.com

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

If for any reason you would prefer not to receive these e-mails, just reply with “unsubscribe” in the subject line. If this e-mail is being forwarded to you, just let me know and I can put you on the regular list.  – Adam

Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Dear Family and Friends,

October 19th brought the close to a wonderful summer together at the farm, our final weeks being filled with wrapping up many details for our trip, last visits with family and friends, and assembling the needed supplies for our family to spend a year in Mongolia. As I mentioned in my last update, the Lord has greatly blessed us with provision of clothing and other needs through many gracious friends. Even dentist and eye doctor visits were obtained at significant discounts.

Packing all of our things into our van and camper, we drove to the IBLP headquarters in Chicago for a couple days of preparation and repacking as we weighed our bags for the flight. The international baggage limits have been reduced from 70lbs to 50lbs since last year, so we worked together to get all the ship-through bags topped off at precisely 49-50 pounds.

Boarding the plane in Chicago, we waited a half hour or so while the mechanics checked some things on the aircraft. Finally we heard the captain’s announcement that we were ready to go as soon as someone could push us out from the gate. About ten minutes later, we were still waiting when the captain made another announcement that they had just discovered something leaking from the number one engine. -Maybe that is why we couldn’t find anyone to push out from the gate… This fuel leak, as they later determined, was caused by a broken hydraulic part. Thankfully the mechanics were able to find the needed part and get it replaced while we waited on the plane.

This unforeseen delay in Chicago actually turned out to be a great blessing for our family. In traveling to Mongolia, probably the most trying part of the journey for the younger ones is the seven hour layover in Beijing. Because of the delays in Chicago, we finally reached our departure gate in the Beijing airport just 15 minutes before the boarding announcement for our flight to Mongolia!

Landing at midnight in Ulaanbaatar, we were greeted by Tim and Angie and a handful of others to welcome us back and help with our baggage. A thousand pounds of checked baggage, plus all of our carry-on items made for a tight but happy ride back through the familiar streets of Ulaanbaatar. Returning to our former apartments, we found them thoughtfully prepared by a staff only too glad to have us back.

My first few days were spent getting our Internet connection back up and running, and taking care of a computer virus that had infected a couple of our computers. Last year we were able to set up a wireless Internet connection for our office, but a new building just erected next to us came between us and the base station, reducing the signal strength to almost nothing.

Since much of our correspondence with the States is done electronically, this left us puzzling about what to do. Dial-up was possible, but slower and more expensive, our old Russian phone lines are not high enough quality to carry a DSL connection, and other alternatives were far more costly.

Testing our wireless receiver in various locations in our apartments, I made a surprising discovery. From one of the fifth floor windows, if I held the receiver at a precise diagonal angle and tipped down, I could pick up a fairly strong signal. Putting together a cardboard shelf to hold the unit at the correct angle, I waited a day to see if the signal would stay strong. Satisfied with the result, I drilled a couple holes and ran cabling to integrate this back into our computer network.

Seeing the Lord’s blessing in these daily projects and challenges is a real encouragement to us. Another time some loose wiring in the electrical riser caused the power in our main staff apartment to flicker and sometimes go out. One day the wires just burned through and the power went out completely. The maintenance workers for the building are usually very busy and it is sometimes difficult to arrange for repairs on short notice.

My Dad went down to talk with the building manager, who said that she would try to have the electrician come tomorrow to unlock the panel and fix the problem. As my Dad turned to leave, who, of all people, would just “happen” to walk in just then? It was the electrician, and he was quite amenable to the request and helped us get the power restored to our apartment.

Returning to the Holy Way Church on Sunday morning, we were warmly welcomed back by many friends. The church continues to grow, and although the services are entirely in Mongolian, they usually have someone translate for their foreign friends. It is so encouraging to see a strong Christian church, entirely led by Mongolian believers.

Pastor Enkhee is in the final stages of liver cancer, so his son Ideree and others are carrying the primary responsibility for the leadership and preaching. Although thin and often in pain, Enkhee continues to be a strong witness for the Lord, exhorting the people to follow the Lord.

In addition to the ongoing trainings and activities that we are involved in, we continue to receive requests for character trainings from schools, churches and other groups. One that we recently took on was the Aero Mongolia company, the second largest airline in Mongolia. They have four jets and service many domestic routes as well as four International destinations.

As far as we know, they only have two Christians in the entire company, and one, the company secretary, initiated the arrangements for us to be able to come and give weekly character trainings for about 75 workers. The first day we came we were given airport security passes to go out to the training building near the runway.

Looking back, I see the Lord’s hand in this too. None of us knew that a few weeks later some political uprisings and instability would lead to rumors of people possibly banding together and attempting to shut down the airport. Needless to say, airport security is pretty high right now, and they are not issuing any more new airport security passes.

Our first training was an interesting experience. When we arrived we found that the workers were already there and had been waiting for us for some time. (This is not usually a good way to start a training.  🙂  To make matters worse, they had some video playing on the screen that I didn’t even want to look at. Now how do you follow that with a character lesson?

The Lord gave a lot of grace, and the people were at least mildly interested. We had hoped that our fictitious skit of “A day in the life of CTI” would give them a picture of what an office can be like without character, but the people still didn’t seem as open as I was hoping, and at the end someone asked how many weeks this training was going to continue.

The next week we really focused on praying for this group. We can give a “good” character presentation, but only God can open hearts to receive the message. When we went back, I was amazed at the difference! The people were focused and attentive for the entire training. Chingis (one of our staff) led the discussion time at the end, and they even shared some illustrations of how they have seen the importance of attentiveness in their company. By the end of the training there was a definite excitement in the air. When I asked if they enjoyed the training, they broke out in spontaneous applause.

Later, David told me about his talk with one of the flight attendants before the training. He asked where she had learned her English, and discovered that she had been taught by Mormon English teachers for all four years of university. She seemed relieved when David clarified that we are not Mormons, but are here teaching character. This seemed to bring down a barrier, and she was the one that volunteered to share at the end of the discussion time.

This past month marked the one-year anniversary of Isaac’s sudden illness and unexpected death while serving here with us in Mongolia. We had some special times as a family reflecting on memories from last year, and on passages from Scripture that have become especially meaningful to us over the past year. We miss him as a brother, but we rejoice in the things that we see the Lord doing through the testimony of his life.

It is really exciting to see the opportunities that are open before us. In addition to the character trainings, we have also had the opportunity to work with a number of Christian groups where we have the freedom to teach right from the Bible. On two Fridays each month we host “Family Night” at our apartments. Erin leads a program for the children while Tim teaches on the Commands of Christ. Our classroom is technically limited to 25 students, but our last Family Night had about forty people in the main session and another sixteen in the children’s program. We are currently investigating options for a larger facility.

Rachelle and David just left yesterday (November 20th) for a trip to the Philippines where they will join a handful of other young people from the States. For three weeks David will lead the team of eleven as they teach in a number of schools and universities, doing character trainings, and training teachers how to implement character education in their schools.

Just to give you an idea of the schedule, they will be teaching in about 20 different schools, leading training seminars for five groups of teachers (one of the larger groups is estimated at over 200 teachers) as well as sharing at several churches. At many of these schools the team has been given freedom to openly share from the Bible, giving real opportunity to share the message of Salvation and the power that God gives us to develop in character.

My brother Derrick is wrapping up some final projects at the farm before leaving to join David and Rachelle for the trip to the Philippines. Returning after the Philippines trip to join the rest of the family in Mongolia in mid-December, we will again have the entire Waller family together for our first Christmas in Mongolia. Tim, Angie and Erin are schedule to return to the States for the holidays, so our family will maintain operations until Tim and Angie return early next year.

We are so grateful for this season of serving together as a family in Mongolia. It is often stretching as we adjust to the challenges of living in a different culture, but the adventure is all the more rewarding when we see people’s lives being changed. I wish you could have seen the joy on people’s faces at church on Sunday as we looked at a few of the “great and precious promises” that God has given to His children! (2 Peter 1:3-4)

Please continue to pray for us! There are so many unexpected things that come up, and we need the Lord’s wisdom in daily decisions as we respond to the opportunities before us.

Praise Points:

• We praise the Lord for His work in our family, and the many doors of opportunity that have opened up in this past year after Isaac’s Homegoing last November.
• After many hours of logistical planning and preparation, this is the first of my Prayer Updates to have a printed copy mailed to those who do not have access to e-mail, or who prefer a printed copy. (Let me know if you are aware of others who would like to be on this list.)
• I am grateful for the work we see the Lord doing through the Aero Mongolia trainings. We are already beginning to develop friendships with the staff there, and I am encouraged to see the continued interest in character training.
• Thank you for praying for health for our trip. A week after arriving in Mongolia we had a cold/flu bug go through the family, but we were so glad it was not in the midst of our airline flights to Mongolia!

Prayer Requests:

• We would be grateful for your prayers for Derrick, Rachelle, David and the eight others that are teaching in the Philippines for the next three weeks. For those that would like further details and updates, you can take a look at their team website at: http://cadlinx.com/ philippines (remove space before “philippines” when typing the link into your browser.)
• We would also appreciate prayer for a number of health needs around us. Our dear Pastor Enkhee may go to his eternal reward in the next few weeks, so please keep his wife Sodnom and their family in prayer. They have been very supportive of our ministry in Mongolia, and Sodnom and their son Ideree work with us part time.
• Our Commands of Christ discipleship training classes, and Christian Character Training classes have both exceeded our classroom limitations, so pray that the Lord would give wisdom and direction in finding a larger location to meet. Most schools and public buildings are not allowed to have Christian Trainings, so finding a practical solution is not a simple task.  -UPDATE:  Just today we received word that UBTC, a local Bible school is allowing us to rent space in their facility! Praise the Lord!

Pictures:

We enjoyed a very special time of fellowship with our extended family

at my uncle’s home just before flying to Mongolia. It would be over

a month before the eleven Wallers would be all together again.

Derrick was able to do some of his own combining at our farm this

fall. He stayed back for a few weeks to finish up some farming

projects before flying to the Philippines to join Rachelle and David.

A couple days before our flight, we were treated to a fine dinner by

the Mullen family. We are so grateful for the families and friends that

stand behind us in prayer while we are overseas.

Our classroom, packed with people wanting to hear about character

with a Biblical background. (Note the open Bibles.) In our private

trainings we have full freedom to share right from the Bible. (Which

is really where the principles of character find their foundation.)

I am excited about what we see happening at the new Aero Mongolia

character trainings. It is an opportunity to build relationships in a

company with perhaps only two known Christians.

Another mountaintop experience. I think it was the coldest picnic

lunch we have ever had, but everyone was in good spirits, and enjoyed it.

You can see many more new pictures on the Prayer Updates section of our family website.

Interesting Fact:

Electrical power in Mongolia is served at 240 volts, twice the voltage used in the United States. Some of the electronic equipment we bring from the States (sewing machines, battery chargers, and some computer equipment) is not equipped to run on this voltage, and requires step-down transformers to work.

Somewhat similar to our farmhouse in the States, there are few power receptacles in the apartments, (most rooms only have one or two single outlets) so we usually use power strips to plug things in. The wiring is often mortared into the concrete wall, and the receptacles are pressure fit, and often come out of the wall. If you trip a circuit breaker, you have to wait for the building maintenance worker to unlock the panel to reset it.

Most American electric stoves use more power than the wiring here can support, so learning to use the Russian electric stoves/ovens can be quite a learning curve. Even at full power, most of the ovens have trouble reaching 350F, so baking can take a lot of trial and error. This week should be exciting as our staff prepares Thanksgiving dinner for over sixty guests!

Thank you so much for praying with us! God is clearly doing a work here, and although we don’t always see the bigger picture, it is a joy to see little glimpses of lives that are being changed for eternity!

In Christ,

– Adam

Adam Waller ~ MyAllForChrist@CadLinx.com

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

If for any reason you would prefer not to receive these e-mails, just reply with “unsubscribe” in the subject line. If this e-mail is being forwarded to you, just let me know and I can put you on the regular list.  – Adam

Tuesday, September 5, 2006
Grantsburg, Wisconsin

Dear Family and Friends,

Touching down in Atlanta Georgia, where I was scheduled to change planes before flying on to Washington D.C., the plane was several minutes behind schedule when it finally arrived at the gate. Knowing that I had just a few minutes to board the connecting flight, I quickly navigated to the departure gate, figuring I had about 10 minutes left for boarding the aircraft.

Pausing at the flight information monitors, my eyes scanned down the list of flights, then across to verify the gate and departure time. Canceled? I double-checked the flight information, but everything seemed correct. Talking to an agent at the gate, I learned that with the recent security changes, the pilots and crews had been flying through the night to try to make up for the delays, but were forced to stop when aviation laws prevented them from flying more than sixteen hours in a day. They simply did not have a crew to fly the plane on to D.C.

More than forty flights had to be canceled that day, and the true character of many was revealed as hundreds of people were faced with an unexpected change in plans. Some, like the lady standing next to me in line at the customer service counter, were very gracious and grateful for the work that the agents were trying to do. She had missed her sister’s wedding, but she had chosen to cheerfully accept what she could not change.

Traveling to Virginia a few days before the Children’s Seminar was to begin, I was grateful for the additional flexibility that this gave me. As Christians, we know that God works all things together for good, (Romans 8:28), but it sometimes stretches our faith to see God’s hand behind the “CANCELED” message.

Waiting in the customer service line for an hour and a half, I had a very good talk with a Christian family near me. They seemed very encouraged to hear of God’s faithfulness and lovingkindness to our family during the time of Isaac’s Homegoing in Mongolia. God knew just how much we would be blessed in that time of fellowship together and He had caused our paths to cross at just the right time.

Flying on to D.C. the next morning, I was met at the airport by the Conrad family. My luggage had already arrived on an earlier flight, so we were soon driving through the beautiful hill country to the Conrad’s home in Virginia. My family had lived in Maryland during 2000-2001, and I enjoyed seeing the tree-covered hillsides again.

It was a blessing to get to know the Conrad family a little more through the week. They have for some time had a desire to coordinate a Basic Seminar for their area, and although Mr. Conrad was away on business, their family was able to work out the arrangements to hold a seminar in Winchester, VA on August 14-19.

Overseeing the Basic Seminar, Mrs. Conrad was aided by her mother who had flown in to help for the week. Her son Blake made the announcements for the main seminar, and assisted me in my role as Team Director/Storyteller for the Children’s Program. Her daughter Madison was primarily responsible for organizing the Children’s Program, and served as the Teacher Trainer/Song Leader.

Blake, Madison, and I took the time we could to plan and work out some remaining details before the seminar started on Monday, knowing that once the seminar was in motion, there would be no stopping until Saturday night. We also felt that we could do more through the Lord’s blessing by setting our planning aside to honor the Lord’s Day.

On Monday morning we drove to the church to set up for the seminar, and took a few more minutes of planning before the training started at 1:00. There were a lot of unknowns, I had never met most of the teachers, we weren’t sure how many children would come, and I wondered how the teachers would respond as I shared about the standards that we intended to uphold through the week.

But God had already been answering prayer, and raised up a wonderful group of teachers. Rarely have I been privileged to serve with such a serious minded, focused group of young people. There was a wholesome spirit of unity and a spiritual focus that bore witness to unseen prayer for this week.

One interesting and sometimes even humorous characteristic with this group is that we all were so quiet. I was wondering how this would work out when the children arrived, but on Monday night, it seemed like God had sent a very quiet group of children too! This actually made a perfect combination, and allowed for more focused sharing and teaching times that you don’t often get with very energetic students.

In past seminars, I have always been amazed to see God’s hand in working through the leaders that make the team assignments, deciding who will be leaders and assistants. It takes a different kind of faith when you are the one in leadership; to trust that God is going to work His perfect will through you. This was a responsibility that we did not take lightly, but I believe God answered our prayers, and clearly directed in putting the teams together.

There were a few familiar faces in the group, and it was a delight to have Donald Staddon serve on Wisdom Walk for the week. Donald and I had worked together in Mongolia for several months, and I was glad to see him again, and to meet his sister Esther who also came to assist with the seminar. Donald and I enjoyed good fellowship with Blake and Daniel on our drives between the house and the church each day.

Shelley and Erin Hunsberger also came down for the first couple days, preparing a hearty meal for the teachers each evening, and assisted Madison with the song leading. They were not able to be with us for the whole week, but it was a blessing to see them again. The Hunsberger family had greatly helped my family several years ago when we moved out of our home in Maryland.

We began each teacher training time by singing a few hymns and then having a time of prayer with our “Prayer Partner” for the week. It was very special to see God answering specific prayers as we committed each night to the Lord, asking God to do His work through us. We can tell stories and teach lessons, but only God can touch hearts and change lives.

On Wednesday evening, I was planning to share a personal illustration, a time when I needed to go back and clear my conscience after telling a lie about seeing a bear. I knew the story well, (of course), but I remember sitting on a bench in the back of the room, staring at my outline. I was feeling somewhat tired, and didn’t know how I was going to have the enthusiasm to tell the story. I was even struggling with trying to come up with a clear message to give at the conclusion of the story.

Slipping back into another room for some personal prayer time, I was suddenly reminded of something. Just before traveling to Virginia, I had gotten a call from our local library that two books I had ordered had come in. One of these, actually requested by my brother David, was entitled “Why God Used D.L. Moody” by R. A. Torrey. -I highly recommend it.

Reading a few paragraphs from this little book before giving it to David that evening, I was struck by the power of the message. One of key reasons God used D.L. Moody was because he was emptied of self-sufficiency, and depended on the power of God. I convinced David to let me read the book on the way to the airport the next morning, and left it in the van when I parted.

Suddenly it struck me. I had just prayed a few hours ago that God would empty me of self-sufficiency, and now God was just answering that prayer! With the encouragement of this thought, I felt a new excitement and grace flow through me, and committing the story to the Lord, I went on to tell the story that night with an energy that only came from the Lord.

Thursday evening was a night that I had been looking forward to since before the seminar began. As I had done at the Shorewood Children’s Seminar, I wanted to take this opportunity to share a testimony of our Loving Shepherd, the Lord who had been with our family as we went through the time of Isaac’s sudden illness and unexpected death in Mongolia.

More than anything else, I wanted the children to see the value of eternal things, and the lovingkindness that the Lord showed to our family through that time. Without Christ there is no meaning and no hope, but with a perspective fixed on eternal things, what the world calls tragedy become a glorious anticipation of endless joy with our Savior Jesus Christ.

Thank you to those who were praying for this story in particular. I believe God answered our prayers in a special way. Several were in tears, but it seems like the message came across. I showed them the character posters that Isaac had designed shortly before his death, and after the story I let the students choose one per family that they could take home as a memory. I had some neat conversations with some of the students afterwards.

Saturday morning began the final day of the Children’s Seminar. For the last large group, I was planning to tell the story of David and Goliath, and have some of the older students act out the various parts. After watching a number of skits through the week, I anticipated that they would enjoy this kind of opportunity.

Well, as the day moved on like a freight train on a downhill track, there simply was not the time to pull aside the older students to plan the story. I didn’t even have a chance to talk with the other teachers about a backup plan before I was scheduled to start my “mouse” story. The David and Goliath story was supposed to follow right after the mouse story, so I was left with the perplexing situation of trying to figure out what to do.

God tells us in James chapter one that if we lack wisdom, we should ask the Lord, who gives it freely to all. This was clearly a situation where the Lord gave a special insight of wisdom in how to handle the situation. After finishing the mouse story, I turned to the children again and asked, “How many of you enjoyed watching the skits through the week?” A titter of approval moved through the group. “Did you ever wish you could be in a story?” More affirmative response. “How would you like to see the inside story of how we put one of those skits together?” I asked, with a big smile.

They were thrilled with the idea, and eagerly took up the various parts of the story. We had enough students for soldiers on both sides, (with balloons for swords), sheep, David’s brothers, King Saul, armor bearers, and army captains, in addition to the main parts of David and Goliath. One of the students played the part of David, and Blake agreed to be Goliath.

Gathering backstage, they all chose props and costumes for their parts. This was the moment they had been waiting for! After some briefing on the general outline of events, clarifying various parts and setting up the video camera, we had a word of prayer, and then launched into the story. It was mainly the teachers remaining in the audience, but I told the story as if we were doing it in front of a hundred children.

To say that they enjoyed it would be an understatement. The creativity and spontaneity of the different parts was really fun to see, and they did a good job following the cues of the narrator. Bringing a memorable closing to a very special week, I am sure that this story was one of the highlights for both teachers and children.

The flight back to Minnesota proved to be almost as exciting as the one to D.C. We left the house a few minutes later than we had planned, but with plenty of time to be at the airport two hours before the flight. What I hadn’t planned for was a significant delay caused by a semi wreck along the road that we were traveling to the airport.

Finally reaching the airport, I had another surprise awaiting me. I had never seen security lines that long! There must have been over 500 people in several different lines waiting to go through the security checkpoints to the gate area. The Conrads helped me locate what seemed to be the shortest line, and after saying goodbye, I slowly inched through the line, praying that I would have enough time to make it to my airplane.

As I neared the end of the line, I looked at my watch again. I knew that it was going to be close, but I had a confidence that the Lord was going to work it out for the best, no matter what happened. (The airline I was flying also allowed standby on a later flight, if I was to miss my plane.)

Crossing the security checkpoint, I quickly tied my shoes, and picking up my briefcase and bag, I walked as quickly as I dared to the terminal. Thankfully there were no additional lines or delays, and I arrived at the gate less than two minutes before my seating area was called for boarding. As I looked around at the empty seats around me, I was again grateful for the Lord’s blessing in letting me make the flight.

Arriving back at our farm, I showed my family a video of the David and Goliath skit, and shared some reports of what the Lord did through the seminar in Virginia. They had “stayed by the stuff”, but they will share in the reward. They may never fully know all that God did in answer to their prayers, but our Father which sees in secret will reward them openly.

Last Wednesday was another special moment for the Waller family as Samuel and Sarah followed the example and command of our Lord Jesus in water baptism. Although this does not bring salvation, it is an important opportunity to publicly identify with Christ, and remember what He has done for us.

The Lord continues to bring opportunities for us to give testimony of His love and faithfulness, and the next few weeks have us scheduled to share at several different churches and meetings. Please continue to pray for us, that the Lord will fill us with His grace as we share, and that people will see God’s great love and faithfulness which is so much better and more important than our little imperfect family.

We are currently planning to return to Mongolia as a family on October 19th. One-year open-ended tickets give us flexibility with our return date, and we trust the Lord to continue to lead and guide in these decisions. The work in Mongolia is currently operating with a small team, but a full schedule is already in the plans for the fall as they anticipate our return.

I am looking forward to our return to the work in Mongolia, and although it will involve more stretching and growing, there is a great joy in knowing that you are right in the center of God’s will. These final weeks at home are quickly filling up as we make plans to get together with various friends and family. We would appreciate your continued prayers for wisdom as we try to make the best use of the days that the Lord has given us here.

Praise Points:

• Thank you so much for praying for the Children’s Program in Winchester! We had an incredible week that exceeded our expectations. I am so grateful for the teachers that God raised up, and for the children that came. The Lord’s blessing was clearly evident throughout the week.

• Praise the Lord for a very good time of sharing last Sunday at the Wilderness Fellowship campground. Our family was given the opportunity to lead the Sunday service, and I believe it was a blessing for all of us. Afterwards we enjoyed good fellowship with a number of families that stayed for a fellowship meal.

Prayer Requests:

• We would appreciate your prayers for our family as we share at the Skonewood Christian Retreat next Sunday on September 10th. We are grateful for the opportunity to share of God’s love and grace, and pray that He will encourage many people through our testimony.

• Please pray that the Lord will give us wisdom as we try to finalize the details of getting airline tickets issued for our travel to Mongolia. These will likely need to be mailed to us from Mongolia. (Regular airmail takes three weeks to reach an address in the States.)

• The baggage allowances have changed significantly since our family traveled to Mongolia last year, so pray that the Lord will give us wisdom on which items will be most important for us to carry with us.

Pictures:

I was so encouraged to see the maturity of the team of teachers that

the Lord raised up to serve in the Winchester Children’s Seminar.

After sharing about my brother Isaac on Thursday evening, I went

around to the teams and gave the students posters to take home as a

special memory from the story. Isaac had designed these posters in

Mongolia shortly before the Lord called him Home.

The latest creative project… Samuel spearheaded this one, building a

raft with some empty five gallon buckets. The challenge was to come

up with a design the would not damage the buckets, and could be

disassembled for transport. Well done, Samuel!

Matthew helps pound in some nails left over from the old cedar shake

roof on a small shed. We all worked together to replace the roof.

Sarah and Samuel shared their testimony of faith in Jesus Christ,

and then were baptized as a public testimony of their decision to

follow the Lord. The same pastor baptized my parents in the same

lake over twenty years ago.

Under the shade of a tree, Dad reads from a biography to the younger

ones. We have all enjoyed the time together as a family this summer.

You can see many more new pictures on the Prayer Update section our family website

Interesting Fact:

A few days ago I was watching Rachelle turn another batch of pancakes on our griddle, and started thinking, “I wonder how many pancakes we eat in a year?…” According to my calculations, with pancakes for breakfast an average of twice a week, our family eats over ten thousand pancakes in a year!

Thank you for your continued prayers for our family! I believe the Lord is doing a special work through the opportunities that He has given us to share of His faithfulness. Thanks for being a part of that work!

In Christ,

– Adam

Adam Waller ~ MyAllForChrist@CadLinx.com

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

If for any reason you would prefer not to receive these e-mails, just reply with “unsubscribe” in the subject line. If this e-mail is being forwarded to you, just let me know and I can put you on the regular list.  – Adam

Thursday, July 20, 2006
Grantsburg, Wisconsin

Dear Family and Friends,

Several weeks ago found our white van and camper traveling the highways again, this time up to the little town of Twin Valley in northern Minnesota where my Dad had grown up. His school was having a ten-year all-school reunion, and Dad felt that it would be a good opportunity for us to go there as a family.

There was quite a turnout at the reunion, with several hundred traveling in from all over the country. Dad introduced us to a number of his classmates and teachers, several of whom were Christians and excited about what our family has been doing in Mongolia.

On Sunday morning my Dad prayed that we might find a good church that we could attend. Not finding much in the area, we joined most of the guests for the community church gathering in the high school gym. That afternoon we did a little more driving, stopping at a small arena where some rodeo type competition was taking place.

You would have smiled if you could have seen us standing there by the fence in our Sunday dress shirts and ties, and the ladies in nice dresses, watching the cowboys galloping after the calves. Another spectator came over and asked if we had just come from church.

Encouraged to find some like-minded Christians, she talked with my parents for some time, then cordially invited us to come to her house for some lemonade and cookies. After a snack she took us out to her barn where we had an opportunity to ride a couple of her horses. This was a real treat, especially for the younger ones.

She also invited us to the evening service of a small Independent Baptist church that she attends. Thinking of our conservative choices in music, my Dad inquired about the music that they had at her church. “Oh no,” she told us. “If we ever got drums, our pastor would probably leave.”

What a blessing the Lord had in store for us there! It was one of those churches where our family made up about a fourth of the congregation, but the people were very warm and friendly. We didn’t know a single person there, and their curiosity about our family grew as they learned that we had been doing mission work in Mongolia.

It was such a treat to be in a church that loves the hymns! We all joined enthusiastically in the singing, the older ones singing some parts. At the close of the singing time the pastor looked over at our family and said, “Well, I don’t know much about your family, but I can see that you love hymns. Do you sing as a family?” Seeing our smiles and my Dad’s nod, he went on, “I don’t usually do this, but would you all like to sing something for us at the end of the service? You can pick one from the hymn book… or if you can’t decide… there is always number 202.”  🙂

At the close of the service we brought our hymnals to the front and sang hymn number 202. This song, like many, has taken on special meaning to us after Isaac’s Homegoing. Most of you know the words, but here is the third verse:

Help me then in every tribulation so to trust Thy promises, O Lord,

That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation offered me within Thy holy Word.

Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting, E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,

One by one, the days, the moments fleeting, Till I reach the promised land.

Only later did we learn the significance of hymn 202, “Day by Day”. It was one that his three daughters used to sing when they were young, and at a time when his wife was going through some serious medical challenges. His only regret is that he never recorded it.

The Lord is so gracious to have given us this sweet fellowship on Sunday evening, and all so unexpectedly, after the days of seeing around us so much emptiness without Christ. How could we have ever found this little tiny church in the country, surrounded for miles around with farms and fields, had it not been for that kind lady who was “not forgetful to entertain strangers.”

Back at the farm, another lesson the Lord continues to teach me is in taking time with my younger brothers and sisters. Working at my desk upstairs one day, I heard little footsteps come in the room and Matthew said “Adam, come and see what we found.” After looking at the baby mouse they had found, we were walking through the shed together, looking at some of the potential projects around us.

Having some idea of the direction that Mom and Dad were wanting for our creative projects, I tried to steer away from the go-cart idea, and the hovercraft idea didn’t really seem too practical. Suddenly struck with an idea, I asked, “Don’t we have an old bike frame laying around somewhere?”

A half hour later, Samuel and I were working to take the rusty chain off an old bike frame, and I went over more of the idea with them. “Do you remember seeing those two-wheeled carriages that horses pull? Like the one the Zacharias’ have?” Yes, they remembered that one. “Well, I thought we might be able to make something like that that we could pull behind a bicycle.”

The wheels were turning as we exchanged ideas, but it took a couple more hours working on the bearings before the literal bicycle wheels were turning smoothly and ready for a frame. After seeing the 12-foot model airplane, a friend once told us “If you had a welder, you guys would be seriously dangerous!” Well, I don’t know that we ever got to the “seriously dangerous” stage, but having a welder has given us a few more options on our projects and repairs around the farm.

Using a bike frame and some metal pipe, we were able to construct the basic frame, and Samuel helped build the wood platform for the seat. The conduit poles that I had originally planned turned out to be a bit more flimsy than I had realized. I wasn’t sure that I really wanted to buy the more expensive galvanized water pipe, so I was encouraged to look around in our old barn.

I was delighted to find a length of some old disconnected water piping of just the right size! This turned out to be exactly what we needed, and just before dinner the next day I had completed making the hitch from an old v-belt, and we were ready for a test ride. The carriage performed well, and everyone enjoyed the ride up and down the lane before we came in for dinner.

At the dinner table Sarah commented that she had never seen me so dirty before, (since I am usually working on the computer) but I wasn’t the only one working hard that day. Moving forward with one of his objectives for the summer at the farm, Dad had been working in the garage for several days, sorting through boxes and getting rid of things that we don’t need.

Almost single-handedly, Dad worked to turn the cluttered garage into a more organized environment with a large open area in the center. I admire his diligence and initiative in taking on a project of that size, and bringing it through to completion. Our Ping-pong table now stands in the center as a tribute to this reclaimed ground.

Living in an older farmhouse also brings new learning experiences as we try to keep everything up and running. Going down to the cellar to re-light the water heater, I found traces of smoke and soot on the outside of the unit. Over the next few days I was able to unravel the mystery, and in the process I learned more about how these water heaters work.  🙂

Apparently the soot had slowly built up on the main burner, restricting the mixture of gas (LP) and air flowing through the burner. Since the gas was injected at a fixed rate, the air volume slowly went down, creating a smoky yellow flame on the burner, and accelerating the carbon buildup. This had finally plugged the exhaust vent at the top, causing the flame to spill out the side of the unit.

I was grateful that the Lord allowed me to remove two very difficult nuts, allowing us to clean the burner assembly and make the necessary repairs ourselves. Things are back up and running well now, and the water heater has a nice beautiful blue flame.  🙂

Well, with our hot water we have also be enjoying, (or enduring) some hot days (and nights). Those who have lived in the second story of an old farmhouse when the temperature soars above 95 can understand what it was like.  🙂  Window fans are a blessing, but I must confess that I was often thinking of what it must be like for some of the missionaries in very hot places in the world. -And many of them don’t have fans.

Thankfully the weather has cooled down again, and we even got a little bit of desperately needed rain today. We are continuing to pray for rain for Derrick’s crops. Some farmers in our area are already chopping up their corn fields into silage, realizing that they won’t get a crop this year.

This week David, Rachelle, Sarah and Samuel are in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area where David is leading two weeks of Bible Clubs. He has been planning this for months, and it is exciting to begin seeing the fruit of his labors. I am especially excited for Sarah and Samuel to be a part of this opportunity, since they were not old enough to teach at the Bible Clubs in Oklahoma City several years ago.

David is working with Andrew Matthews, and a team of 19 young people, mostly from the Heritage Baptist Church in Blain, Minnesota. After two full days of training, they started the first set of Bible Clubs on Monday. I just talked with David last night, and he shared some exciting reports of what God is doing through this outreach. Two children had trusted Christ for Salvation that day, and at least two others were seriously considering this decision, and desiring further discussion with their leaders.

Next week I am planning to lead a week-long children’s program held in conjunction with a Basic Seminar in Shorewood, Minnesota. I would appreciate your prayers as I tell the stories for the assemblies, and oversee the children’s program. It is always a time of intense energy output, but it is exciting to see lives impacted as we make known to the generations to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength, and the wonderful works that He has done!

*** P.S. ***

If you replied to my last update, and you didn’t hear back from me, I probably did not get your e-mail. We had some technical issues with our e-mail service provider that caused certain types of e-mails to be deleted. (Technically speaking, HTML e-mails with embedded pictures.) This issue has been resolved now, and we would love hearing from you!

Praise Points:

• Praise the Lord for the salvation of Megan and Anne at the Backyard Bible Clubs yesterday! Pray that they would grow strong in their faith, and that others would also come to accept the free gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ.
• I am grateful for the time that we have been able to spend together as a family at our farm. I am learning that “little” things like fixing a bicycle really mean a lot to a younger sibling.

Prayer Requests:

• Please continue to pray for David, Rachelle, Sarah, Samuel and the team as they teach at Bible Clubs in Minneapolis, Minnesota this week and next week. Last night David told me that they feel a lot of spiritual opposition, but they also see some really neat things happening in the lives of the students and teachers.
• I would appreciate your prayers for the Children’s Program that I will be leading next week. My life has been greatly impacted through this type of ministry, and I am excited to see what the Lord will do through this seminar.
• Derrick is one of many farmers in the area that would also appreciate prayer for rain.

Pictures:

Samuel watches over the rail as the cowboys prepare for the next round

of competition.

How little did we imagine that we would have the opportunity to ride a

horse ourselves just a couple hours later!

While the crops are not doing well with the lack of rain

this year, the dry weather is nice for baling hay. Derrick

has a growing stack of square bales (yes, they are actually

rectangles) in our steel shed.

Lydia, Matthew and Rebecca pause for a picture before I took them on

a ride up and down our lane last evening.

Here Sarah tells a story for one of the clubs. Please remember to pray for

the teams as they are sharing in Bible Clubs this week and next week.

You can see many more new pictures on the Prayer Update section our family website.

Smaller Waller Quote:

Yesterday at the dinner table we were discussing astronauts and space travel. As I attempted to describe a “space station,” Rebecca got an inquisitive look as she tried to understand how a space shuttle would bring people to the space station. “Do they have garages up there?” she asked. “No, Becca,” Matthew quickly replied. “-It never rains up there!”

Thank you so much for your continued prayers! These weeks of Bible Clubs and children’s seminars have great potential for changing lives forever.

In Christ,

– Adam

Adam Waller ~ MyAllForChrist@CadLinx.com

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

If for any reason you would prefer not to receive these e-mails, just reply with “unsubscribe” in the subject line. If this e-mail is being forwarded to you, just let me know and I can put you on the regular list.  – Adam

Saturday, April 29, 2006
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

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 Mongolia.

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 Mongolia with my family last June, one of Isaac’s projects was to procure the needed software and set up a computer for desktop publishing work.

We never realized at the time that this would be one of Isaac’s last projects in Mongolia, and among his final works was a set of stickers, bookmarks, and large posters for the first nine character qualities that we teach. The foundation that he laid in this area has prepared the way for us to continue on with desktop publishing projects after his departure.

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 Ulaanbaatar.

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 Ulaanbaatar left me sick for a couple days upon my return to the training center. Our Character English class team valiantly took over my Saturday English class, and by Monday I was able to start on a new desktop publishing project.

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 Mongolia.

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 Korea. The Bible Society is not quite ready to allow the distribution of Mongolian Bible module for free, but at least this will be the first step in making it available for the people of Mongolia.

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 Ulaanbaatar is supplied by a central hot water system for the city. On Monday, May first, we anticipate that the hot water heating will be turned off for the summer. It is quite common to have occasional snows after May. (In fact, we had snow flurries this morning.)

Thank you for praying for our family and the team! May the Lord bless each one of you today.

In Christ,

– Adam

Adam Waller ~ MyAllForChrist@CadLinx.com

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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