Hagen Homeschool Chess Club

Megan is a long-term volunteer who has been helping with our ministry here amongst the Agta since May. One of the ways she has been helping is with the kids' school. Her primary responsibility in teaching is teaching science, history, thinking skills, art and music. The kids are LOVING having class with Aunt Megan every day. Well, for thinking skills class today, Aunt Megan thought it would be fun for them to learn how to play chess. So I introduce to you the newly-founded chess club at the Hagen Homeschool! :) We are so thankful for Megan's servant attitude and the many ways she has helped in the ministry here since she arrived in May. She just decided to extend until at least January 15, and she may even be able to stay longer than that! Praise the Lord for willing volunteers who want to be involved in what God is doing around the world.

Thank you, Megan!

Kayla Lands the Kicker!!!

Ok, it seems like all I am posting right now is play time pictures! Believe it or not, we actually have been super busy lately with ministry things in the village. However, we are trying to avoid bringing the camera with us out there all the time so that the people don't feel like we are representing National Geographic. So in the combined effort to help us to fit in more with the people, you will have to suffer through more wakeboarding pictures. :)

This video is of a big accomplishment Mikayla had this past Monday, something she has been working on a LONG time now. She was pretty stoked to say the least. :) Another cool thing that happened on Monday was that Mikayla met a 17 yr old girl who gave Mikayla her old wakeboard!!! It is even a girly wakeboard with flowers and butterflies. :) Thank you, Nikki!

Something else we are pretty stoked about is that the new Agta believers out in the village of Ipil just decided that they need to be baptized in obedience to what they are learning in the Word! The have set it up for next Wednesday, and we are excited to see what God will do through that time. In addition, the group that meets in San Augustina is nearing the end of the 1st Bible story set, and they are very excited to hear the culmination and learn all that Christ has done for them. Last week they even kept asking Steve for "one more lesson" until they had done 3 lessons instead of the usual 1! God is certainly at work in their midst, and we can't wait to see what He will do in the weeks ahead. Please also be praying for Steve as he heads to another island to do a church planting training this weekend. Pray for health (he has been fighting a cold), safe travel, and that he and our coworkers would be able to communicate clearly. Pray that those attending would be willing to evaluate what they are doing in light of what the Word says.

Gota Village

Steve and I just returned from our best anniversary celebration ever. This year marked our 10th wedding anniversary, and we had an absolutely amazing weekend at a beach resort - while the kids enjoyed some bonding time with Uncle Terry and Aunt Michaelle. :) The drive there ended up being much longer than we had anticipated over some incredibly rough roads, but the views along the way were spectacular. We rounded the corner at one point to see Mt. Mayon across the bay.

We were glad for our 4-wheel drive vehicle several times along the way. The drive got long (6 hours each way over bouncy roads!), but we so enjoyed the scenery together.
When we finally arrived, we were awe-struck by the beauty of the little resort village nestled at the base of some cliffs on the beach. Phenomenal.
This one is taken from the adjacent cove - you can see just a sliver of Gota beach.
A perfect place to grab a book and relax to the sound of the waves.
Here is the walkway between the two coves.
Steve had fun trying some impromptu rock climbing.

There were some HUGE hermit crabs scurrying around the beach at night. We wanted to try to bring one back to the kids, but it wasn't doing so well so we let it go before we left.
It was so cool how the cove was surrounded by tiny deserted islands. Gorgeous.
We actually swam out to the one straight out from Gota beach 2 different times - Steve figures it was about a mile away. We enjoyed the swim together, and found some great snorkeling over there besides.

We actually found several amazing snorkeling spots that had both great coral and sea life. Some of the creatures we saw were lots of star fish and brightly-colored fish, a sea horse, a sting ray, several jelly fish (1 large one), and an octopus!
We stayed for 2 nights, and God provided some beautiful sunsets both nights (guessing the sunrises were pretty too, but I can't speak from experience on those!).
The service was excellent, and they even set up a romantic dinner on the beach for us both nights - without being asked! There was hardly anyone else at the resort while we were there, and we so enjoyed the peace and quiet.
We are so thankful that we were able to enjoy this past weekend together, celebrating the fact that God has blessed us with the joy of being married for 10 years now. We made some great memories and came home truly refreshed.

Last Fling of Summer & 1st Day of School

Well, we spent a couple days as a family at the wakeboarding place to celebrate Zach's successful completion of his "Summer Reading Program". Zach read 123 books this summer!!! Small books, but still... The reward he chose was this last fling of summer up at CWC. We had a great time, and Zach was a little machine out there on his wakeboard - he rode for nearly TWO HOURS without stopping!!!

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The boys discussing a trick out on the water. I love how Steve is able to bond with the kids through this new hobby. Makes for great family time.

Ben knee boarded for the 1st time yesterday!!! He has been nervous to try it, but has really wanted to at the same time. He conquered his fear and went for it - and had a blast!
Unfortunately, he is so light that he bounced all over. We told him he will have to try wakeboarding instead since it doesn't bounce so badly. He's not so sure about that... :)
Zach with his new board and helmet.
Zach and his friend, Takiah-Lani. He and Takiah love to ride together. She is only 5, and her parents manage the wakeboard place near us. They have become good friends, and we are so thankful that God brought them into our lives.
There was a guy there yesterday with a black lab puppy, and he asked Mikayla if she wanted to take the dog out for a ride! Kayla was all for it, and they had a lot of fun trying it out.
Well, that was our last fling of the summer - we started school today. Here are some pics from the 1st day of school this year.
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The Pledge of Allegiance

Praying for a good year that glorifies God
Ben in his desk. Ben is still in Pre-K; his "school" is the 1 hour of speech therapy every day.
Zach is in 1st grade this year! Unfortunately, he has a large sty on his eye today. :( He is being very good about it though and working hard anyway.
Mikayla is in 3rd grade now! Our little girl is growing up. She is VERY excited about the new school year and all her new books.
Thanks for your prayers as we start our new school year. Homeschooling can be a lot of fun but quite the challenge at times as well. They are great kids though and excellent students so I know that we are blessed. We praise Him for the way that He is at work in our family!