Decisions

My heart is full..yet it seems hard to write and I don't know why:

so much to talk and write about ...maybe the "darkside" does not want you to know.

I have been trying to go to India with my friend and brother in Christ... Rick

we had plans for us to go into Bangladesh as well to see Adam and meet the rest of my new family. Work has been slow or should I say non-existant....so I thought it was a good time to forsake all and go with Kim's blessing. After months of indecision I began to take a step foreword asking God to open or close some doors.So here I am in Costco after taking pictures so I could have 4 of them ..2 for Consulate of India and 2 for Bangladesh which I was planning to drive up to LA and try to get my Visa's so we could go. I had just called Rick who lives in Idaho to make sure I had the right size of picture and my phone rings..Another friend telling me of a job is getting ready to start up( one that I had been waiting for ...for months) so I call Rick back and we begin to pray as I stand in line waiting for my pictures...Thanking God for answered prayer...kinda of giggly knowing He has just slammed the door shut as far as I was concerned.

On to Adam: He had to leave the country by the 1st to get his passport renewed, so he and the new wife take a 9 hour bus ride to Dhaka to catch a plane to Nepal , fight is cancelled, they catch the next fight..he gets off the plane , has to pay for the visa and he has only " Taka " on him ( bangladesh money) so he is told to go out side to the ATM,he has Mastercharge ,they only take Visa, finds this cab driver to take them to a bank,gets his money and returns to the airport to go thru customs( he has already seen the town of Katmandu) finds their bags sitting alone by the conveyor and goes through customs. The cabbie is still outside waiting for them ...Adam says "take me to some hotel" and the cabbie says "I have a place for you and your new bride "

( do you have a picture of what is going on here yet ?)...so he takes them to this place...a wonderful part of town ..a relative of his owns this cottage and it cost them $20 a nite...the cabbie says he never goes to the airport and his name was Promise....

I thank God for Promise..and the Promise that He does watch over us..His angels are there to help us..and for the prayers of many !

brings tears to my eyes just write about this....

Kim and I still continue to try to get through all the paper work..to bring Adam and his new wife home to America...

you pray for us..& them

love

scott

Adam gets Married

This last weekend was our annual trek down to the desert. Borrego Springs is where we meet and stay with Kim's Aunt Barb ( snowbird from Minnesota). I just play golf ...I like to call it my "marathon golf weekend" but this time it had a different twist to it. Adam ... getting married on Saturday was about all we could think about.

He called me around 2:00 in the afternoon on the 12th hole while we were teeing off...it was 4:00 in the morning his time. He was on a bus with his friend George heading north to Eiti's small village. They couldn't sleep as the two of them had just received a phone call from another couple who were part of their YWAM team. They too were on a bus headed to their home. They called to ask for prayer as their bus was being held up...robbed! So here am I listening to Adam's story with horns honking in the back ground on the phone and I picture Adam on a seat, in the dark, riding and bouncing in some old worn out bus. As my group is hitting their tee shots, I began to pray out loud that God would surround those being robbed with a protective hedge and that these robbers would have their eyes blinded by the Holy Spirit. When I got done, I handed off the phone and let everyone talk to Adam...that was some "tee time."

Kim and I seemed like we were on stand by all weekend...waiting for the next call...everywhere we went it was like "do ya have your cell phone?"

The call came Sunday morning from Adam telling us about the wedding :

Eiti had bought Adam a suit and tie to wear and she wore a red dress with a white veil. At 9:00 a. m. he was sitting in church waiting for the "yellow ceremony" to begin. That is when Eiti's family comes in. Aunts and Uncles, etc paint Adam's face with a yellow paste. He then gets to wash before the rest of the wedding begins. He is on one side of the church, she on the other. He had to answer some questions and he answered one of them wrong so the whole church (which is the whole village) busts out laughing. After the ceremony they went and sat under a tree and one by one the villagers came to greet them and give gifts (no coffee makers or blenders) mostly glassware, dishes and wash basins. It was an all day affair with lots of food. All of this after an all night bus ride and no sleep.

Adam has lost about 30-35 lbs. and has been suffering from a bad stomach. Kim and I have had a terrible burden about his health. The prayers of our Church , family and friends must have touched the heart of God because this morning he called and is feeling great and sounded like himself as well. We PRAISE the Lord for answering prayers...

Kim and I praise the Lord for each and everyone of you!

scott

"HIGHER GROUND "

I have thought about writing these last few weeks....Reasons I haven't ....An aching and troubled heart.

Adam's world has taken him to northern Bangladesh where he has been on a team with 6 or so others , none of whom speak much English. My thoughts take me to the time he called awhile back telling me of how he met two men from Pakistan on a path one day."They were tall ...a lot taller,with long faces" he said "and they knew I was an American" . They said "Let us have the American and take him with us we will show him a thing or two" then one of Adam's friends said "You come with us and we will show you about JESUS" Adam said he will never forget that encounter.

Another story from him : Many of the children have potato sacks in which they carry all of their belongings in..In northern Bangladesh it has been very cold and many are dying. Adam said early one morning he saw a girl wrapped up in "the sacks" with one even over her head. The girl had no home, her mother was the towns drug addict. Adam took off his coat and gave it to her. I asked Adam how he is staying warm. He said he wears two sweatshirts instead of one now.

Somehow to be there .. give your all ...and now give his heart as he is planning to marry a girl (a pastor's daughter) from there. He met her the last time he was there and they have stayed in touch the last few years of his collage life. He said he wants to be a long term missionary there and start a ministry there ." Gods ways are not our ways "Isaiah 55:8 they are much higher and deeper..so we have to put aside our feelings , desires and wants and try to step on "higher ground". Adam asked for us to write a letter. So here I share Kim and my thoughts on the matter:

My wife (Kim) and I have prayed for Adam through the years that the Lord would protect Adam and He has done so.

We have also prayed that he would make it through college and Adam did.

We have have prayed for Adam's heart to be of one that searches for God, that he would grow up and want to serve our Lord Jesus Christ .

I believe He has heard and answered our prayers.

We have prayed that the Lord would send to Adam a " helpmate, " a Godly women that would challenge Adam but also encourage Him as he seeks the Lord all the days of his life.

The Lord now seems to have led Adam to Eithe. (spelling?)

If Adam's heart feels that she is the one whom the Lord has put into place for him, we welcome her into our family ! as the Lord has blessed us as well!

She will be accepted and loved as one of our own. Kim and I will do anything in our power to support , care for, guide and direct the both of them.

As a marrige is just not between two people, but also bringing two families together.

They to will become a part of our extended family and we look forward to the day we can all come together as one.


With Love and prayers in our Lord Jesus Christ ...

Scott & Kim Kilander

The Only Gift that Matters

Adam visa to India has been denied. As I pray I ask God to open or close the doors ..that is the way He directs our path.. our journey.. our reaction is to praise HIM.God has chosen to close that door for Adam. (for now anyway) We look for the next open door.

It's Christmas ...On Christmas day .. My good friend and I will have the honor of making dinner for his family; of whom two sisters were just diagnosed with cancer. I look forward to the act of just showing love toward them as our Lord and Savior has done for us..

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life!

Adam's latest call...

Adam called this A.M. while he was packing . The Team which now consists of 6 ( the rest have headed off to different countries already ) are headed to the most northern part of Bangladesh early tomorrow morning for an outreach the rest of the month. They were told to pack the warmest clothes they have. Adam said they will be staying at an Leprosy Hospital at 1st .

Then not to sure after that. Adam is now the designated cook for the group, I asked him what is he going to make ? he said " I will have to wait until we get up there to see what is available" & told them to " prepare for a voluntarily fast at any given time ". He said his mind , body & soul are doing well and asked us to pray for safety, that God would prepare hearts , finances for team members along with visa's for India that still are needed. They head for India January 6th.

Stories from Adam

He called Thanksgiving twice and shared the following;

As him and friend George were out walking through the streets of Dhaka going across a pedestrian bridge sat many people begging, "they reach out and grab your legs as you walk by" at one point Adam said he got impatient about the whole thing.George gave someone a few Taka's then another, then another, Adam said once you start they all come to you. Many are professional beggar's and it's hard to find the ones that really need help. He asked that we pray for him ..for discearnment and patience.

As they walked they came to one of the most beautiful places that he has ever seen , he said all of a sudden he felt the "darkness" as the place held all of the snake charmers, the Shaman's and the prostitutes. He looked into their eyes and it was demonic, but he said he could look into their hearts as well and they wanted to be free. They needed to hear of Jesus ,not many have heard of him Adam said.

During the month of December he will be sharing the gospel throughout Bangladesh, January he leave on a train to Bihar, India for a month .

He praises the Lord as he was able to receive the packages that were sent,one from his Grandma who had sent it through the normal Postal service..6 weeks later it arrived ,a package from Grace Assembly (our church ) also arrived. The two packages only cost him about 6,000 Taka which is about $87.00. He was so excited as were the rest of the students as they share the many snacks. The medical items that were sent will help as once again Adam becomes the "Hammer Dr".

I asked him if he "was ready to come home"? I got a "NOPE" and he giggled.

Kim and I continue to miss him more than words can describe, at times it's more than we can bare. But we also know that he is in the Lord's hands & not ours anymore.We prayed for the God's will and this is where HE has taken Adam. God is faithful

Extreme Global Poverty ?

The numbers are staggering but are absolutely real. Behind each number is a human being: a mother, father, sister or brother. While ODW is not a religious organization, we are compelled by our faith and conviction that human life is sacred and precious. 3 billion people live on less than US$2/day. 1.4 billion people live on less than US$1.25/day - the definition of those who live under the condition of "extreme global poverty."

Consider the following:

* Approximately 9.2 million children under the age of 5 die each year, mostly from preventable diseases. That's approximately 25,000 children each day.
* 2.5 billion people around the world do not have access to adequate sanitation and about 885 million people do not have access to clean water.
* Every day, 4100 children die each day from severe diarrhea - as a result of poor sanitation and hygiene.
* Approximately 600 million children live in extreme poverty.
* Nearly 11,500 people die every day from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Nearly two-thirds of these people are living in sub-Saharan Africa.
* 75 million children are out of school around the world, a figure equivalent to the entire primary school-aged population in Europe and North America.

As a result to the Global Economic Recession, those living in extreme poverty have suffered the most. Recent increases in the price of food and oil have had a direct and adverse effect on communities that were struggling for survival even before the recession hit. The long-term effects of this recession are expected to potentially push millions more into extreme povery.

Global poverty facts:

* $1 challenge. More than 1 billion people live on less than $1 a day and more than 2 billion live on less than $2 a day.
* Check your assumptions. Americans believe that their government spends 24 percent of the federal budget on aid to poor countries, but the actual figure is less than 1 percent.
* Daily disasters. HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria—all treatable diseases—claim the lives of over 8,000 people every day in Africa due to lack of access to health care.
* The water walk. Women in developing countries travel an average of almost four miles each day to collect water.
* The poor pay more. People living in the poorest slums can pay as much as ten times more for water than those in high-income areas of their own cities.
* Gender disparity. According to the U.N., the majority of people in poverty are women, who globally earn roughly half as much as men.
* Daily bread. Food prices have risen 83 percent since 2005, disproportionately affecting those in poverty who spend a higher percentage of their income on food.
* No school for you. In 2005, a conservative estimate stated that 72 million children around the world of elementary school age were not enrolled in school.
* The global wealth gap. The richest 20 percent of the world's population receives 75 percent of the world's income, while the poorest 40 percent receive only 5 percent of the world's income.