Dear Praying Friends,

On behalf of our entire family, I would like to say a very special word of thanks to each of you that have been praying for our family through this season in our lives.

God’s grace is the thing that we have needed the very most through this experience, and His grace has been poured out upon us in a way that we have never before experienced.

Waller Family, December 2005

Hebrews 4:16 encourages us to come boldly to the Throne of Grace where we may find grace to help in our time of need. We have received many generous and loving gifts in the past few weeks, but the greatest gift of all has been the presence of the Lord that has carried our family.

In Matthew 6:6, we read that God has a special reward for those who pray in secret, seen only by Him. My prayer is that God will pour out a rich blessing upon each person that has been praying for us. “…and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

We have received e-mails from people that have never met our family, and yet they have been standing with us in prayer. This, I believe, is the kind of love that Jesus speaks of in John 13:35 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

Please continue to remember our family in prayer as the Lord brings us to your mind. I know that we will also have many tears in the days to come, but I am even more confident that God’s grace will be with us too.

Feel free to send me an e-mail if you would like to be added to my Prayer Update list. We would love to keep you informed as the Lord continues to do a work in and through our family in the days to come.

May God richly bless you with an even deeper understanding of His love and purposes as you live for Him!

In Christ,

– Adam, for the Waller family

The following poem was written by Pastor Dugermaa during Isaac’s funeral service in Mongolia. Dugermaa read the poem with tears running down his cheeks at the close of the service.

A few days later Pujaa translated the poem into English so that we could catch a glimpse of the message so beautifully portrayed in the Mongolian language.

Requiem

Dugermaa is a Mongolian pastor for the church our family attends in Mongolia. Also a skilled musician and poet, Dugermaa’s work is fairly well known in Mongolia.

You came twenty-five years ago,
on the fourth month, on the eleventh day.
You left for your heavenly home,
on the eleventh month, on the fourth day.

Dear brother, you loved Mongolia,
this land With the best love that you could toil.
Your love was so great that when called to go,
you have stayed in this land refusing to depart.

Your love was so great that you turned down
all the glory that the world could give.
Your love was so great that you took as your cover
the skies of this land fell asleep beneath.

It is possible! You have shown us,
to spend the life given only once
for this people, foreign and plain,
you couldn’t even identify nor name.

Surely you’ve opened the deaf ears of Mongolia
and preached First Thessalonians four, by your life.

You have left the reminder with me
to read the Bible early in the morning.
You have shown by your example to me
to make every day a day of fruitfulness and progress.

You have taught your sisters and brothers
the tune, the hymns and the songs to begin.
You have also reminded me, your brother,
the tone of words to say herein.

You advised us into the life to let the others take it first.
But at the death gate you’ve shown how to enter – first.

You have given your life from which we took
the lesson to love each other more then self.
You’ve revealed and shown the truth of the
Book Before you surrendered your body into dust.

What you have given us remains here still,
the example of the true faith.
Because of that, the Father Lord willed unto Heaven,
to take your breath.

My beloved brother,
who rendered unto this service
your years so tender,
Goodbye.

Until the Lord’s day,
Until we meet again.
Goodbye.

When our family reached Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in June of this year, none of us had any idea that at age 25, my twin brother Isaac was in the final months of his life.

What began as an apparent infection in his leg early in October culminated a month later with an emergency evacuation to Seoul, Korea. An extremely aggressive form of Leukemia, we later learned, precipitated the brain hemorrhage that brought a close to Isaac’s life while in flight to Korea.

On November 4th, Isaac’s earthly race had finished, leaving us to contemplate the purpose with which he ran. It is not the length of the race, but how it is run that brings honor to a runner.

Born in 1980, Isaac was the second oldest of 10 children in the Waller family. A quiet and gentle brother, Isaac’s maturity and wisdom lived out an unforgettable example to those around him.

He lived for others. Countless times we saw him lay down his expectations and rights so that he could meet the needs of other people.

Isaac was also a man of conviction. He could not be pressured to break the speed limit or dishonestly adjust his timecard. Like a runner with his eyes fixed on the goal, Isaac’s life was characterized by leaving the good to take hold of the best.

In Washington DC, his character and skills brought rapid promotion and advancement in the field of computer aided drafting, but two years later he left it all to be with his family in a move to a farm in Grantsburg, Wisconsin.

Again laying aside lucrative career potentials, Isaac served at the Character Training Institute in Oklahoma City, helping others to develop the character that brings greater joy and purpose in life.

For Isaac, faith was not just something tacked on to his schedule. His faith was the very core of his being. Rising very early for daily Bible reading and prayer, Isaac took hold of a purpose in life with an eternal perspective.

In his brief life Isaac did many good deeds, but his confidence was not in himself. He knew that faith in Jesus Christ was the only way to have a relationship with God.

Leaving the comforts of America and security of a job, Isaac left with his family for volunteer service to the people of Outer Mongolia.

Working with a branch of the Character Training Institute, Isaac again selflessly poured out his time and energy in trainings and graphic design work. We will always hold dear the four months that we spent together serving in Mongolia as a family of twelve, little realizing how quickly Isaac was approaching the finish line of his life.

Isaac finished his course with joy. Even in his final days of pain and suffering, Isaac’s face bore a smile and a radiance that we can only attribute to the grace of God.

Meeting as a family a few days after Isaac’s death, we unanimously chose to bury his body in Mongolia, the land where he had so selflessly poured out the last months of his life in service to others.

Isaac’s funeral in Mongolia was attended by hundreds who had been touched by the sacrifice and love of this young man. Upon his tombstone are engraved the words: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Isaac has crossed the finish line, but we are still in the race. Like a fallen hero, his example lives on in our hearts, inspiring us to run with honor the race that is set before each one of us.

Through a life focused on eternal reward, Isaac has shown us the meaning of Jim Elliot’s words;

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Isaac and I were born in 1980 in St. Paul, Minnesota as the first of 10 children. From playing cars to climbing trees, we did everything together. At five years of age, we both made the most important decision of our lives, to put our faith in Jesus Christ.

Wanting to protect us from wrong influences, our parents chose to educate us at home. In this family centered environment our creativity abounded. A homemade raft, a 23 foot kite, a bicycle stagecoach, and a powered 12 foot model airplane are just a few of the projects we did as we grew up together.

Even though I was 15 minutes older, I often looked up to Isaac and admired his maturity and wisdom. Isaac was a gentle and loving brother. His quiet patience lived out an example that we will never forget.

Isaac loved his family, but his greatest love was for the Lord. He walked away from promotion and a high paying job to serve those that could never repay. The greatest reward for him was to one day hear his Lord say: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

In June of 2005, Isaac left his home and job in America for volunteer service with his family to the people of Mongolia. We never expected that these would be his last months to selflessly pour out his life for others.

Even in his last hours in pain and suffering, Isaac had a joyful radiance that bore testimony to a life at peace with God. No good works could ever repay the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Isaac was resting in confidence that God is faithful Who has promised in His Word to give eternal life to all who call upon Him. Today, our family rests in that same confidence that we will see our brother again in heaven.

Although our dear brother has gone to his eternal reward in heaven, his testimony lives on in our hearts. May we also follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ who gave that others might live.

Adam Waller, Twin Brother