Dear Praying friends,

“Be thankful in all circumstances,

for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”   1 Thess. 5:18

…and…

“When it rains, [sometimes] it pours.”  -unknown

From rainy Eugene, Oregon we understand this saying both literally AND figuratively. Today was only the third  sunny day in probably close to a month. It has been a cold, wet, month, and it just so happens to also be the flu season here. This persistent illness made its rounds among each of us, our kids, and many of our extended family over the past five weeks. Some had it more than once, or perhaps we got more than one strain.  After many doctors’ and pharmacy visits, we are on the mend.

In addition to the flu, we discovered that Caleb (3 years old) has an inguinal hernia that needs to be surgically fixed. The pediatric surgeon is located in Portland, two hours north of here. His surgery is scheduled for this Monday (Pacific time), March 12th. Please pray for him to be a brave little guy (he tends to be a “fighter” with things he doesn’t like to do), and pray for Mom and Dad to “hold together.” Although it is a very common and simple surgery, no one likes seeing their child go under general anesthesia. We do have previous experience with this surgery, though, as our 4th child, Caden, did have the same operation done in 2007, in Singapore.

*Also, please pray for his fever to go away; he just started having the fever today, and this would prevent him from undergoing surgery as planned.  We are trusting God with this, too.

My (Amy’s) health has also proved quite puzzling.  As you know, I have had some sort of fatigue since the end of 2009. Since we have been in the USA on home assignment, we have been to doctors and labs with very few clear results that can explain the symptoms, other than a few vitamin and mineral imbalances that we have been treating with many supplements.  Last month I was finally put on a medicine to deal with some GI parasites which may be the source of fatigue, but this in turn brought about another problem.  I am now on a stronger drug that should deal with the new problem.  Please pray that the issues would resolve well and for wisdom for how to improve my overall health while overseas.

We find ourselves now already in March, with our departure date nearing.  Originally we had planned our return for Southeast Asia to be March 15th, but after losing Jareb’s brother in January and realizing the toll that took on our family, as well as the time we needed to grieve, we changed our tickets in order to leave on April 4th. Over the last couple of months we have tried to spend a lot of time in prayer and counsel with many helpful people who have been through similar tragic deaths. We have truly seen God’s goodness in this period of time as we remembered God’s promises to be near us in times of trouble–and, He truly was. As a family, we began to really explore what the Bible has revealed that Heaven is like, which was tremendously uplifting and faith-building. Three of our children chose this time to express their faith in Jesus Christ by being baptized. We can’t think of something that brings us greater joy than seeing their young faith grow!

We are encouraged about returning to our ministry in Southeast Asia. It has been over 10 months since we have been in the village. We are looking forward to getting back to our home and return to our normal routine there of language/culture study, homeschooling, and living out the love of God in the midst of the tribe. We are very thankful for the possibility of some extra hands coming:  volunteers to help us this year with teaching our kids. God is so good to answer our prayers for this need.

Thank you all again, for your part in this ministry through your prayers, encouragement, and financial support. We wouldn’t be able to do this without you!!

following Jesus,

Amy and Jareb McClain

with Kayla, Corin, Kimberly, Caden, and Caleb

“Wow, those snowflakes are the size of quarters–all of them are!”  We watched them floating slowly, giant wafers descending on the quiet earth below.  One upon the other, they stacked slowly and surely, until the wonderland was wintry indeed.  We had entered the Yankee Candle Company flagship store on a clear, cold day in western Massachusetts and exited 3 hours later to be greeted by the beginnings of a true nor’easter snowstorm–both beautiful as well as powerful (see frozen roses).  The snow actually began last Thursday in Hancock, MA where our children saw their prayers answered (yes, they had requested snow from the Lord the previous Monday!) when 4 inches of snow gave them new opportunities:  sledding, snowmen and snowballs!  [They had learned quickly of what cold and encroaching frostbite was, but on Saturday, as we left that famous candle store, they would learn about how these woolly flakes could wreak havoc on millions of people--overnight.]  We piled into the van, prayed, and began our slip-slide down the interstate toward our friend’s home in Wilbraham, MA.  We made it safely, but shortly thereafter the power went out.  All night long we heard the strain, creak, and snap of weary tree limbs, heavy-laden with unseasonal weights.  The end of New England’s colorful fall season was abruptly ended by a stifling, onerous quilt of white.  To our children it was pure delight–lost in it’s beauty and fun.  To the local residents it is a reminder of the hurricane and tornado of earlier this year, the latter which left them dumbfounded at its 30+ mile path of destruction in a place where twisters are unheard of.  Last week was, to say the least, a memorable week.

The above account of our last week in Massachusetts underscores how different life is for us, especially our children, in southeast Asia as compared with New England.  It has been 6 years since our family has experienced Fall and Winter, so it has been a special time. Three of our children experienced snow for the very first time! We have also seen the real consequences of wintry weather, and we have grateful hearts for the warm weather we usually enjoy.

Our travels:  We are just past the midway point of visiting supporters and reporting on our ministry’s work, and it has proven to be a time of growth and encouragement for us.  As always we are humbled and amazed at God’s grace to us via our family, friends and supporters during these visits.  We have been loved and lifted up.  We eagerly look forward to visiting the  remaining folks we will see over the next 5 months prior to our departure for SE Asia in mid-March.

An update on our family health:  The kids are doing fairly well, but Amy and I have been dealing with some things.  My (Jareb’s) trouble has been with sinus and migraine problems.  Amy still has been struggling with fatigue and general achiness that has seemed to increase with the onset of cold weather. We are thankful for some progress in understanding what might be going on, and how to live with it.  Please continue to pray toward that end.

Our soccer kids are fairly saturated with the desire to control a soccer ball, as they have been training and playing for over two months now.  The oldest four have really enjoyed playing, and it has proven to be a good way for them to enjoy connecting to US culture. We have done our best to keep up with the practice and game schedules of four different teams! I am especially pleased that the children have kept good sportsmanship as a top priority despite the New York state-of-mind here on Long Island that can make kids’ sports a bit ‘overcooked.’ Â

The tribe:  Please, please continue to pray for the work God is doing in the tribe.  Pray for the eyes of their hearts to be ready for the Spirit of Truth to shine on them.  Pray that they would be patient enough for us to communicate God’s message to them in their own language that will speak to their hearts.  Pray for our co-laborers, the Flaughers and Carolyn, to be renewed, strengthened and encouraged as they labor daily in learning the difficult tribal language. This is God’s work, and we all–including YOU!–are privileged to be a part of it.

kayaking cousins!