Across the Lake

Yesterday our whole family and our 2 visitors were able to travel to one of the new Bible studies that Steve has been doing. Let me give you a little background for this group - there was a very large group in the village of Ipil (EE-peel) that was interested in being taught. So Steve asked them if they would select the leaders in the group and their wives; then he would teach the leaders and train them how to teach the others. They were excited about that, and the study has been going well so far. Yesterday there were about 15 adults in attendance, mostly men. There are 2 parts to the lessons that Steve is teaching - agricultural training and a story from the Word. It was so exciting to see the men and women eager to learn about the Bible. They are also interested in starting a "test plot" to try some of the agricultural techniques he is teaching.

Here a few pics so you can join us on our adventure. The last one we shared pics of was a hike up into the mountains. This village is located on the other side of Lake Buhi so we drive about 20 minutes then take a little boat to the other side.

This was our boat captain. He looks mean, but he broke into a massive smile when the kids joined him out on the front of the little boat.

Unfortunately, he kept hiding from the camera at the last second so you will just have to imagine his smile. :)

We arrived several hours before the Bible study so that we could visit with the people. The kids had a ball running wild with the other kids, and we had a nice time visiting with their parents and grandparents.
We brought some fish with us, and they grilled it up for lunch. It was delicious!

Steve and Mikayla ran out to the local grocery store for a snack.
This the boat we rode home. The kids had fun climbing all over it before it was time to leave. Notice the mountain in the background. It is a volcano that blew 400 years ago. The town of Iriga (where we live) is just on the other side so don't normally see this one. You can see here where a massive chunk of the mountain is missing, leaving only a gigantic crater. It must have been quite the day when that blew!
The kids are getting really good at balancing on these ramps and on other log bridges. We have been so proud of them in how they have adjusted to life here.
Please pray with us for the group that is meeting in the village of Ipil. Pray that the people would continue to come and be eager to learn more from the Word (especially the men since it is normally so difficult to get men to be interested in spiritual things). Pray that many would be saved in this village and a church would be established that will spread the Good News to the surrounding areas.