Diane and I are big into Spring cleaning! We organized our attic and found this amazing photo, which was taken at our rehearsal dinner in 2003. Amazing how things like this can hide away for so long and then just delight you when you unearth them.
MK is going so well! This picture shows off the servant hearts of the Adult MK group and my group. We love to combine our efforts to bless our community! Helping people with their own Spring cleaning is one of my favorite things to do! I love landscaping and I love MK's and I really love combining the two! It's a wonderful family!
I have the privilege of pouring into Josh Carlton! He is a leader in my MK ministry and has so much to offer. We like to spend Saturday afternoons at White Rhino and dig into the Word and spur each other on! I have begun to really enjoy mentoring him and other young men... so much so that I have gotten a "White Rhino" rewards card :). I get to try all kinds of fun new drinks.. like a 'warm hug' and 'a cold war'. It's good stuff. One truth that we all need to have solidly in our minds is that he Holy Spirit is first and foremost our councilor! He leads us into all truth and never leaves us. If we let ourselves be mentored by the Spirit (the most amazing gift, hands down, that anyone could ever receive! Thank you, Jesus!) then walking with someone else will become what God desires and not a twisted substitute for Him. And we get to have drinks like 'a little Sebastian' to boot :).
Another thing I enjoy doing on Saturdays is hanging with my 'brother' Luke! I took him golfing for his birthday and here he is showing me a shot he has perfected called the 'around the tree onto the green' shot. It's so fun having him around after growing up together in Africa and then not living anywhere near each other for years, finally we are in the same town again.
Nadia, another great leader in my group and good friend, made it possible for Diane and I to get out on a date before I headed off to Jamaica. It was so good to have some fun together without any distractions! Dating your wife is amazing. You get to take her home and stay with her and you are pretty much guaranteed a kiss at the end of the night! It's amazing and I recommend it!
Time with family is so important and I'm traveling a lot this year (apparently 14% of the year...Diane did the math :) ) and so it's really great to sit around the table and enjoy each other. Diane went all out for the last meal before my trip and made ribs and potatoes and asparagus! Yeah it was very exciting... just check out the photo of Serenity. She was amazed and then passed out :).
My baby is growing up and is nearly walking. I'm going to miss these days! She is so cute and gets herself into lots of interesting places :).
It was so good to get back to Jamaica after 3 years away. I went a little selfie crazy when I got there! Here I am with Joel and McCoy England. They are amazing! It was so nice to get to eat at Island Grill again. That place brings back good memories, especially when it is shared with good friends.
I was delighted to be able to visit my good friend Henry in the hospital. He had surgery on a hernia just recently. I'm praying for complete healing. Paula his sister is in the next picture. She is a missionary herself and is going to Guatemala this summer!
This is the elevator at the hospital. No lights, lots of stops, pitch black! It was so funny, I felt like doing the elf thing and hitting all the buttons, but wanted to survive the ride :)
This picture makes me smile! What a cute puppy!
We have some amazing jobs to do in Jamaica! First is Gwendolyn, she is 90 years old and caring for her son who is diabetic. Due to his illness he lost a leg and his eyesight. The one who takes care of both of them when they can is sleeping in the cars you see below. That's not okay! We are going to fix up a place for him and do some cleaning and painting. Maybe even dye the dog completely pink :).
In 2014, our last time in Jamaica as a group, we built a house for Clive. We are hoping to go back and hang some doors, paint and do some work on a bathroom. He has been preoccupied with Rhonda, seen directly below. She developed a strange illness that has left her mostly unable to move. We are praying fervently for her complete healing! We are hoping to give her a nicer room to spend her days in... days where she is not trapped on a bed!
One year in Jamaica we went and painted Tony's house. We fell in love with his family and it was great going back and seeing his new baby! He often helps us do our building projects when we are there (he makes his living doing construction).
It was really nice getting away with Bob (my mentor and friend) and having him teach me how to carry on the good work that he's been doing in Jamaica. He doesn't know how much longer he will be able to keep doing this. I really enjoyed relaxing with him in the evenings! I even got to try fried ice cream for the very first time! Yeah who fries ice cream? People who know how to make unhealthy things even more unhealthy... and way more delicious :). But alas, all good things must come to an end... and much like that fried ice cream ended so did the trip. It's very good to be home...
The day after landing I had the joy of officiating my first wedding! Kevin and Lynda (my cousin) are now married and I couldn't be happier for them. The day was fantastic and as one person said... I tied the right knot :).
The days are so busy! I leave again a week from Good Friday! I'm glad to be here to celebrate birthdays and Easter and such but I'm sad to be leaving again so soon. Last night we celebrated our seniors and took them out to dinner at Spring Creek. It was magical and amazing! What a wonderful group of kids!
Then we had a great MK where we took our pain to the Cross (4th core lesson in Trauma Healing). It was the best experience through that lesson that I've ever had! It is so fantastic and incredible that Jesus not only pays for our sins but he takes our pain too! What a good God we have the joy of knowing and serving! So good! It is finished!!! Really it is!
We went in singing how 'Your a good good Father it's who you are, it's who you are! and I'm loved by you, it's who I am, it's who I am'! So good and so true! Also, burning stuff is just so much fun!
Please Pray
For Clive and Rhonda and Gwendolyn and all those we go to serve in Jamaica! Please pray for us as we finish up planning and preparing to go!
For my trip to Guinea and for my wife and children who I leave behind!
PRAISE GOD!
For you and your support that makes all this possible! I'm so thankful for you and so grateful that I get to do this because of you standing with me prayerfully and financially!
For a successful planning trip to Jamaica!
God is amazing and I'm so thrilled to be His and so happy you are in the family too! This passage has been especially encouraging to me lately!
Blessings on you my dear friends! I love you all so much!
Caleb
If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or a recurring basis, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page and sign up for Chase Quickpay. You can then send your donation to HCLC - Caleb Robbins Ministry using my e-mail address caleb_robbins@sil.org. If you would like further instructions on setting that up please click on the link at the top right of the page called How to give.
Chase QuickPay has changed some of their rules. If this option no longer works for you please let me know and I will work with you to find another solution. Thanks for hanging in there with me through all the annoying changes in how I can receive support! Your support means a great deal to me!
Another way to donate to my ministry is via check. If you write a check to "Holy Cross Lutheran Church" and put "Caleb Robbins Ministry" in the memo line it will get deposited into my ministry account.
The address is:
Holy Cross Lutheran Church
4400 W Arkansas Ln, Arlington, TX 76016
Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 10, Asher 7, Liam 5, Echo already in heaven, Bella 2, and Serenity 11 months.
