August 2025
Aloha from Kapa’au, Kohala, Big Island, Hawaii!
Seasons are soon changing, depending on which
hemisphere this finds you, Spring or Fall are on their way. We are very blessed
to live where we can swim in the ocean every day of the year, yet we are both now
in winter.
“Old friends, old
friends, Sat on their park bench like bookends…Can you imagine us years from
today, Sharing a park bench quietly? How terribly strange to be 70!” “Old
Friends,”
by Simon & Garfunkel, 1968
This month we are both in that strange land. 70 laps
around the sun! Whodathunk!! God is so good - forever!
We had the joy of celebrating Dayna’s birthday with our son, Josiah.
Some say “you’re only as old as you feel!” Last week
we had a visit with a man in good order who just turned 90! He exhorted us that
“we’re just getting started!” That’s what we are both trying to do as we
struggle to our feet each new morning – get started! 😉!? Yet by the time we put our heads
on our pillows we have managed to get a lot done – for geezers.
Yesterday I conducted a funeral for a man younger than me. As we shared lunch with his friends afterwards an older woman asked with concern, “You are 70 and you are not retired?”
Of course I am not hauling bricks, but we are thankful
for the privilege of pressing on in the Lord’s work by His strength and mercy.
We continue in global mission with RECLAIM (formerly Ideas) and local ministry,
pastoring Kalahikiola Church.
RECLAIM
As we shared in our last letter, our organization has
a new name: RECLAIM. The tag line is “with Dignity + Hope + Life.” We continue
to serve on the Community Life team, offering prayer and pastoral care to our
colleagues, especially those serving in Asia.
The name Probst was legendary when we served with Africa Inland Mission in Uganda in the 1980’s. A number of their family served in Africa for many years! Ryan’s aunt, Andrea, was our friend and teammate, a nurse/teacher in Uganda (2nd from right, in 1987).
Both Ryan and Jess were missionary kids, Ryan in Kenya,
Jess in Ecuador.
We are excited that the Probst Gospel-legacy will
continue as they move to Guatemala to serve vulnerable communities and people
with disabilities with Reclaim.
We saw them in action in January when we were all in
Guatemala. They are a great fit with the team there and their skills will bring
great blessing to many hurting people and greatly expand their scope of service
for people – truly RECLAIM!
Ryan is a certified prosthetist/orthotist (CPO)
looking to equip amputees and people with disabilities by providing prosthetic
and orthotic devices. Jessica is a registered nurse (RN, MSN) and has been
working in the Emergency Room for the past several years. Ryan and Jessica aim
to show God's love by utilizing their skills in an effort to reclaim dignity
and empower the underserved in Guatemala.
We received their
most recent update letter this week. We have some big news to share.
As some of you may know, our youngest son, Daniel (3 years old), was adopted through
Texas’s foster care system in 2023…Last Thursday afternoon…we received a call
from Child Protective Services informing us that Daniel’s full biological
brother was just born and… in need of emergency placement…There was
never really a question of whether we would take him in…we took custody of a
3-week-old baby at 2:30 a.m. on Friday morning.
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It’s
been a whirlwind since that night. We’re still processing and working through a
lot of logistics. Our church and friends have stepped up in incredible ways to
support us, which has been such a blessing… Malachi—Kai for short - is doing
well: eating, sleeping, and pooping like babies should!...You’re probably
wondering how this impacts our plans for Guatemala…we don’t see this having a major
impact on our goal to serve there…The adoption process will likely take between
6 months and a year, we remain hopeful to get to Guatemala as soon as possible…we’ve
reached 100% of our one-time moving costs goal of $38,000! We’ve also reached
about 35% of our monthly support need. All current one-time and monthly gifts
are going toward our initial 2-year budget. If you’ve been planning to give, now
is a GREAT time…Thank you all for your prayers and support! Feel free to reach
out with any specific questions—we’d love to connect. In
Christ, Ryan and Jess
Please keep Ryan and Jess and their four children in
your prayers. Your support could help put their great skills to work in
Guatemala with Reclaim even sooner.
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We give thanks for our pastoral ministry here. It has
been encouraging to see our Kalahikiola Church family growing stronger in the
knowledge of the Lord and His Word. There is a growing to commitment to prayer
and fellowship. We serve a small church in a small town. Ask the Lord to make
us faithful witnesses to our families and neighbors. We are surrounded by
‘nones’ and New Agers, but only Jesus can save, now and forever.
We plan to continue our Good News Club at our Kohala
Elementary school in September. We had a great start this Spring. I pray each
week with several brother pastors and we are asking God to establish a witness
for Himself at all three of our public schools – elementary, middle, and high
school. Too many young people are hidden from the light of truth by godless
parents and choices. May God have mercy!
I’d like to ask pray as I write am writing a book on our years in mission, four parts – Uganda, Hawaii, Kazakhstan, and China. Several friends are kindly helping me. Eventually I want to make it available online. Our hope is that it might encourage Gospel workers as we share the Lord’s kindness and mercy for our family!
Enjoy the changing seasons! We pray that you will bear
much fruit for the glory of His Name in every new season.
In Him who has been our dwelling place in all
generations, Mark and Dayna Blair
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