Hafa adai from Guam!
It's been a long time since my last update. So many cool things have been happening in my life recently. Before any of that though, I'd like to say...
THANK YOU!
To all my friends and family who have supported me in prayer and finances for my education, thank you so much. To Ebenezer Reformed Church in Leighton, IA especially: thank you for investing in my life and my future. I'm coming up on my 3rd year in Guam and I love to look back at how much I've changed and how much God has done through me. Thank you for supporting me and continuing to pray for me. I never know how I'm going to pay for the next semester for school, but the Lord always provides =)
I will soon be finished with my TESL minor at PIU. That means the only thing left will be a few classes for my major. I expect to be finished with my BA in Biblical Studies sometime next year. It seems like its been a long road, but I'm thankful for all of the challenges and blessings I've had along the way.
I'm no longer an English language teacher at the Japanese School of Guam. Teaching elementary and middle school children was a very stressful job to have along with being a full time student, so I decided to load up on morning classes again and find a better job. I was very sad to leave the Japanese school as the Japanese are very close to my heart. However, God had something better in store for me.
Our pastor at the Lurtheran Church of Guam was called to another ministry last December and left for the States. He was also our music director at church. I was very active with the worship team then and asked out of curiousity if anyone would step up to lead it in his absence. To my surprise he asked if I would lead it!
So, after I returned to Guam, I started my most challenging and most rewarding job and ministry ever. I became the music director at the Lutheran Church of Guam! My duties are to pick all of the music, teach it to the musicians, and direct the songs during the service. My first few weeks were very hard. I tried my best to approach worship music in the best way, but I felt many expectations from myself and others that were simply too heavy. I learned many things about patience and humility during those first few weeks, as nothing seemed to go the way I wanted it to.
I have so many things to be thankful for. Who'd have thought I'd be directing a choir and a worship team for a whole church? Only God can work together something so wonderful and fulfilling!
Since joining LCG, I've been a volunteer with the youth group. Last year we went to the Philippines to work at an orphanage. The trip was so successful that LCG decided to make a permanent commitment to the orphanage, and the orphanage invited another team. Earlier this month we returned to the Philippines to work at the same orphanage, this time bringing a bigger team. We brought a carpenter and a doctor from our congregation also. We were able to serve the ministry there in ways that we couldn't last year, such as construction and health check-ups. Like last year, I fell in love with the orphans. Many of the same children were still there, though happily, some are in the process of adoption. You can be in prayer for the CCS orphanage in Manila. They are undergoing changes and difficulties. You can read about the details of the trip on the youth leader's blog here.
Istayed an extra week in the Philippines after the team returned to Guam to spend time with Diana and her family. This is perhaps the most exciting news of all... I can't express how happy and excited I am, and I am so thankful that God led me to the Philippines last year to meet Diana: my future wife. That's right. I'm engaged! YAHOO! God is good!
Thanks again for all your support and prayers.
Grace & Peace,
Kevin Patrick Graham
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