Hi there! 

          First of all, I would like to apologize for my lack of communication. Although things here have been amazing, I haven’t had much time or opportunity to say anything besides a quick message to a couple people and a post on Instagram. So again, I apologize for the absence of communication. 

          Now then, I arrived in Pemba with little to no troubles and a lot of excitement for this school and, let me tell you, I haven’t been let down yet! 

         The first few days were free while the rest of the students flew in so most of us were able to adjust (somewhat) to the ridiculous humidity and blazing sun. We also had the chance to get to know each other and start on the path to friendship in many cases. Sunday brought no power and an amazing time in the church where Roland just blasted everyone and laughed the whole time—already things were great and the school hadn’t even started yet! 

         The next day we got to class and, after some rules and worship, met up with the bible school students and went into the village to minister to widows and hear their stories. That night we had a night class that was amazing. Tuesday brought a 7 hour “burn” or nonstop worship to set the tone of the school and help us all focus on Him. Wednesday and Thursday were regular classes from 8 to 1 as well as church Wednesday night. On Friday, they told us what “Practical Missions” we could do. Practical Missions are basically jobs you do throughout the school to help out the school, long-term missionaries, or the base. The afternoon we signed up for the Practical Missions we wanted. I signed up to run sound for some electives in the afternoons with guest speakers as well as doing videography for Iris while I’m here. Saturday is an off day so I just hung out with mom and relaxed after the long week. Sunday was church again and then I went with mom and her house to a restaurant, which was really fun because it was on the beach and the food was great! 

          The 2 weeks since have ran much the same except on Monday mornings we have a cross cultural class in the church before going to our regular class and Fridays are the days where most of the students perform their practical missions. One other thing that I am super excited about is my knee. Some of you may know that I injured my knee in 2014 when I was in Malawi and I had to have surgery last year because of it. Well since the surgery my knee has been better but if I walk on it a lot or lift a bunch of things, it will start hurting a lot. But last Monday night after Heidi was don’t talking, Roland went around blasting people with the holy spirt and he touched me. Now I didn’t fall down like a lot of the other people, but I did feel something and I felt like God wanted me to lay in His presence for a while. This was around 8:45 P.M. and, after what seemed like 2 minutes, I sat up and went to get me stuff but when I looked at the time it was 10P.M.! It was crazy! So the next day I went to class like normal but I could tell something was different. I went through the next day until water store. This is where the students can purchase filtered water. In one box there are 12 1.5 liter bottles so they aren’t light. Because of this, I usually help out the girls but carrying the boxes for them as most of the guys do. Usually there are at least 5 guys helping besides me but for some reason no one was there to help besides me. So I spent the next hour lugging water up and down the hill to the different houses and I noticed something towards the end. Usually my knee is screaming in pain after 2 or 3 trips but after 10 or more, there was no pain! And since that Monday night last week, I haven’t felt a single bit of pain in or around my knee! 

        This is just one small example of all the things God has been doing for me and everyone else here! Students have seen people healed with crippled legs, malaria, bad backs, and so much more. Our God is powerful! Along with the healings, I have been hearing God in so many new ways and it’s been amazing! Yesterday, some of us broke into groups of 4 and 5 and went into the village with mamas to just sit and spend time with them. Probably one of the best and worst things about it was the lack of a translator. We were in the middle of tons of kids sitting outside of the mama’s house laughing and playing with them. It was amazing! 

        One other thing that is a requirement to graduate is that we have to do skits on people who have made a difference in the world as missionaries, apostles, prophets, and men/women of God. My group is doing ours on Mother Teresa this Tuesday so I’m asking that everything goes well and our message gets across to the rest of the students here. Our closing line is “Through a lifetime of love, caring, and supporting the poor around the world; after rewards and global recognition, the most important things Mother Teresa has shown the world are love, humility, and honor—love those around you, remain humble in the triumphs, and honor the one who gave it all for you and me.” 

         That last line should be applicable for all of us. I want it to be true in my life and I hope I one day will be. Because that is the true meaning of being a Christian, “love those around you, remain humble in the triumphs, and honor the one who gave it all for you and me.” 

       I will try and post another blog towards the end of next month, so know that I am doing well and that I great appreciate any prayers or support from all of you! Also, feel free to email me anytime!

God bless!

Caleb