Monday, October 1, 2018

October... or as we know it in our circles, the month everyone was born :)

Well it's officially October... bring on the Birthday Cake :). 

It's fun having my son Creed go through more and more stages of life. There was this long period of time where I felt like he was just a kid doing his thing...but I foolishly blinked and now he is a young man going through confirmation and as a result getting to acolyte at Church. So proud of my son and so grateful that he made it into my Sunday school class! 


The weather here has been rainy! We had a cookout and park clean-up scheduled to do with the MKs...it turned into a writing encouragement card and preparing care packages party. We are going to send the packages to many of the MKs that have moved back overseas but are still dear to our hearts! Nadia hosted this event and it turned into a great time of hanging out together! I love these people so much!


Okay so... here is the cute picture of the blog moment... I got back from Men's Group and found this in my bed... melted my heart! I love these girls... Serenity sleeps in style, look at those shoes :).


While Diane and I were in Jamaica the grandparents rocked taking care of our kids! Here is a picture of a fun zoo adventure!


The following are pictures of our marvelous trip to Jamaica. It had some hard moments. Diane struggled with anxiety and panic attacks (thank you for your support through prayer and encouragement) but God used that and continues to use it to reproduce his character in us both! The fellowship of suffering is a beautiful thing, and fire refines! Any way, we had a blast as the pictures will show you! My wife is amazing and strong and beautiful and I know I married up :)... waaaay up :). Grateful to serve a GOOD God and to have an amazing wife to share the journey with!

I learned how to fold towels! We left this for whoever cleaned our room after we checked out. 

She's radiant! I dressed up one time to just try and get close to how pretty she always is :). 

I've been wanting to do this for a long time, since I knew it was a thing! Diane didn't want to risk motion sickness. 

I got closer to the Jamaicans while I was there. 



I did the planning trip for our time there with the MKs in June. It was so great to see these dear friends again. Sorry I didn't get to see more of them. 

One of the proposed jobs is building a better bathroom for this family with 7 kids. I love being able to love with actions and not just words! 
 
 I really enjoy my job so much! Love having lunch with these amazing MKs! Sarah made a mini kiss... a smooch? Any way... it is always fun seeing her and the other amazing MKs at lunch at UME Prep.


It's amazing to have these cool kids finally able to come to MK... been asking them for years and now it finally works out! Yay!!!


I want to share a testimony from Thailand with you and then some comments one of our parents made. It really encourages me to see the way God uses this ministry to love on and bless his kids. It also reminds me how valuable this ministry is and that makes me so grateful to be able to be a part of it... and that makes me so grateful for all of you who support me and make my participation in this possible! I couldn't do this without you and you share in all the impact that this has as you pray and give generously to further the kingdom. You have not prayed or given in vain :).

Click on the word Testimony below to read it :)

Testimony 

Parent's words 

The Dallas MK youth group offers a great deal to our children, which a typical, local youth group does not. MK’s are third-culture kids. Because of this they often do not fit neatly into any of our culture's presupposed categories. This tends to make it challenging for our kids to find places where they feel they are accepted and belong, and not treated as some sort of oddity. The Dallas MK youth group is unique, in that it acknowledges these dynamics and provides our children with a place where they can be with others who are similarly displaced, in transition, or in some other way do not “fit” in the little boxes most churches want to group people in. Our children are involved in a local youth group, but the Dallas MK group is where they feel the most accepted and encouraged to make their faith their own.  

Now just for fun here is a link to the Hobbitville Video... finally ready for viewing :). 

Video

Thanks for praying for the Spiritual gifts thing to go well! It did! Our kids are learning and growing in their gifts as they are using them more and more! My group of 6 or so MKs is growing in their ability to boldly share Gods word with others. I have gotten to see 3 of them share devotionals already and I'm excited to continue to see them grow!

I'm no longer doing Youth Ministry for SIL. My assignment with them has finally ended and I'm now working as the TCK Coordinator for Pioneer Bible Translators. I still have a small assignment with SIL specializing in Trauma Healing with a focus on teens. It fits perfectly with my heart and what I am already doing. I'm grateful to be able to serve in all the ways I can!

God is so good and this amazing meme shows my heart... I just want more and more of God!


It also makes me laugh and fills my heart with joy... both things that God also does! What an amazing creative God we serve!

I want to leave you with this prayer...




I love you!

Blessings, 

Caleb 


 If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or with recurring gifts, 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. Or feel free to contact me directly! 214 558 8431.

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 11, Asher 9, Liam 6, Echo already in heaven, Bella 4, and Serenity 2 years old.