Caleb's Preparation Part 2 - College (2004-2005)

2004-2005

My college years was a time of testing, stretching, and growing in the Lord. Our God is so faithful to continue the work that He started in us; the work of perfecting us into the image of His own Son, Jesus Christ. I entered the first semester pumped and excited. I remember thinking how awesome it was that I had the privilege to study the Bible for my degree! What could be better than studying the Word of God at a good Bible college with other godly Christians! =D The first semester started off well and I began to make some friends. I loved my classes and was being stretched and challenged. However, beginning sometime in late September and lasting until the beginning of November God took me through a period of depression. Things were very dark and I remember waking up wishing it were night time and going to sleep wishing it were morning. Two things got me through this time. The first was the promises in God's Word. I clung to the Bible telling God that he and His Word were the only things that made sense at that moment. The other thing was something my grandpa encouraged me to do; praise the Lord. I began praising Him all throughout the day, in words or in song. This got me through each day, and though I didn't mean it much at first (or at least didn't feel like it) it developed into a genuine overflow of my heart! The remainder of the semester went was recovery and went better. I nearly didn't return to college after Christmas break but I did and God blessed it. Since this freshman year, I have looked back often and seen how much God taught me and stretched me and grew me through that dark time. I am more sensitive and understanding to others who go through depression as well. During the second semester of the year God began to place a burden on my heart to pray for Japan. I began to pray regularly and then daily for Japan. I began encouraging others I knew back in Japan to be praying faithfully for Japan. I began to realize how much I had come to love the people of Japan and how much I longed to see salvation come to that nation. I also began sending out a weekly e-mail giving different things to pray about concerning Japan (this lasted about a year) and before the semester was over, I knew that I wanted to return to Japan as a missionary.