Summer Trek

This summer has been a whirlwind of travel for our family.  Since we moved to Manila in May, we have only been at home for a few days at a stretch, just long enough to do laundry and re-pack.  While it has been an absolutely crazy couple of months, we are so thankful for all the things that God has done this summer.

Our most recent trip was to the northern area of the Bugkalot tribal churches, about 12 hours north of Manila.  Once you get up into the mountains, the roads get more and more exciting, but the views get more and more spectacular.

 We were sure thankful for our 4-wheel drive vehicle on this trip!

 We traveled to 8 different villages, and not all of them were accessible by road so we did quite a bit of mountain trekking.

 The kids did great, and we were so proud of them!  Zach even gave his dad a break from time to time with the big bag.

 Some of the trails were pretty muddy so we were thankful that we brought our rubber boots!

Some places were so incredibly slippery that you just kind of "surfed"/slid down the steep incline.  The kids all agreed that their wakeboarding skills were helpful on these parts. :)

 In addition to 4-wheeling and hiking, we also traveled by boat a couple times.

 I only pulled the camera out on the peaceful parts of the river because I didn't want it to be ruined if the boat flipped.  And there were several times that seemed like a distinct possibility as we shot down rapids in this itty-bitty boat.

Ben enjoyed a turn at the helm during one of the calm stretches.

 On this one, we hiked to the river and needed to cross it, but there wasn't a boatman around.  The boat was on the opposite side of the river, but that's not a problem for Steve, who grew up on a lake.  He just swam across and brought the boat back for us.  It's funny because I think the tribal people are more used to foreigners from the city because they are always so shocked when Steve can do something like that.

 We stayed in a different village every night.  We slept wherever they had room for us (usually on a bed like this with just a woven mat or blanket for padding).

 We used whatever facilities were available - this one at least had walls around it!

 And we ate whatever they had to share with us (which meant rice 3 meals a day).  The Bugkalot are incredibly hospitable, and we so appreciated how they took such great care of us.  And while stewed fish with rice is a little different than our normal bowl-of-cereal breakfast, how could we be anything but thankful when these dear people have sacrificed so much to provide for us?

 The purpose of this trip was to meet with 8 different tribal churches who have partnered with us to send out some of their very own to reach the Agta tribe in Bicol.  This partnership has been going on for more than 2 years, and we wanted to hear from them what they think has gone well and what needs to be changed.  We want to make sure that we are doing all we can to empower these tribal churches to effectively send workers out to reach other tribal groups, and we believe that listening to them and hearing their hearts is a big part of that process.  So often, people from the "outside" come in with all the know-how and all of the answers, when often they don't even really understand the questions/problems.  It is important to us to take the time to hear from them in order to see how we can partner with them most effectively. 

 While they did have some questions for us that we were able to answer, we spent a lot of time sitting around just listening. 

 And the kids did what they do best - showing Christ's love to the tribal kids.  Ie: playing. :)

 I love this pic of Ben with these little old ladies. He is the same size that they are!  It meant so much to the people that our whole family came on this trip and took the time to visit with them.

 The trip was very productive.  We were able to clear up some misunderstandings and get a better feel for the challenges the churches up there are facing.  We are so thankful for the things that GOD did!

On that note, I will leave you with a few of the spectacular views that we enjoyed as we trekked from village to village...

Volunteers!

We are so thankful for volunteers who sacrifice so much to come and join us in the work!  They sacrifice their hard-earned money and vacation time to travel to the other side of the world to serve.  We just hosted a wonderful team from our home area, and they were such a blessing and encouragement to us!  The team represented 4 different churches (how cool is that?!).

Our first destination was the Bugkalot mountains.  We had orientation and a picnic by the river, spent some time discussing animism and the history of the Bugkalot church, then worshipped with a Bugkalot church that evening.  

 The next morning, the Bugkalot put on a cultural presentation for us.  For more pictures of this, check out the Bugkalot coffee website by clicking here.  Then just click on the link for "News & Updates".

 After the presentation, we spent some time discussing Bugkalot culture and the amazing story of how God has worked in this vicious head-hunting tribe.  They were once weapons of the Enemy, bringing death and destruction wherever they went; but now God is using them mightily to bring His Message of salvation to other tribal people who have never heard.

 We then visited a Bugkalot village and spent some time learning how to study another language.  The team split up into small groups with a language helper and worked to elicit some basic vocab.  The idea was for them to get a feel for what a challenge it is to learn another language so that they can pray more specifically for those who are facing that challenge in order to bring the Gospel to an unreached people.

 After lunch, we took a swim in the river, and the guys accepted our kids' challenge to jump off the rock.

 Then we headed over to another village to check out the coffee nursery.  These baby coffee trees will provide jobs and establish economy in the Bugkalot villages so that they are able to fully support the families that they are sending out to reach other tribal groups. 

 We then hiked up the hill to see where the coffee trees would be planted when they are ready to be moved out of the nursery.  Even this week, ground is being cleared to start planting the coffee trees!

 We all camped out in this tribal house.  Jet lag had the team crawling for bed by 8pm.

 After our time in the Bugkalot mountains, we drove back down to Manila (about 6 hrs), then boarded a sleeper bus to bring us 12 hrs south of Manila to the region of Bicol where the Agta tribal people live.

 Once in Bicol, this jeepney was our transportation for the week.

 (But don't worry, parents & grandparents, everyone rode INSIDE on the main roads.)

 When we arrived in Bicol, we headed out to meet some of the Bugkalot who are serving here to reach the Agta.  We crossed a hanging bridge...

 ...then hiked the rest of the way through the rice fields and coconut trees to their houses.

 Then we walked about 30 mins to get to the training center site.  Helping to build this training center was one of the main goals for the team.  Our Bugkalot partners had started some of the building so that we could make as much progress as possible during our time in Bicol.  Everyone jumped right in and cranked out a couple hours work that afternoon.

 The next day was Sunday, so we headed out to an Agta village to worship with them.  We stopped in the market on the way.  Pig feet, anyone?

 We took a boat across the lake...

 ...then hiked up the mountain.

 The church meets on the porch built on to the home of one of the leaders.

 What a blessing to worship with Agta believers in a church established by the Bugkalot!

 Several of the team members shared testimonies, and so did several of the Agta. It was a sweet time of worship.

 Ready to hike back down.  It had rained during church, so the trek down promised to be slippery.  Thankfully everyone made it safely, although several had muddy rear ends by the time we got to the bottom!

 Soda in a bag to refresh everyone. :)

 We then drove to a different area to meet another Bugkalot family who is working with the Agta.  They happen to have a beautiful waterfall near their village, so we enjoyed hanging out with them there. 

 We also gathered in the home of some new Agta believers to encourage them in their faith through some testimonies.

 The next morning we headed back to the training center to get to work.  

 We spent the next 3.5 days working our tails off!  It took teamwork to get this coconut tree stump out of the ground.  It was amazing to see how hard everyone worked and what they were able to accomplish during that time.  

 The ladies alternated between working alongside the men and cooking lunch and merienda (snack).

 The steel trusses were a challenge too because they were so heavy.

 We didn't have any cranes or other heavy equipment, but no problem for this team!

 

On the final evening, we gathered with our Bugkalot partners for a time of worship and to share communion in the new training center.

 The team was able to finish the concrete portion of the walls (the rest will be bamboo) and the steel trusses and supports.  Since the welding is done now, the Bugkalot can finish the rest of it themselves.

 On our final afternoon in Bicol, we gathered for a time of debrief as a team.  What better place to gather than in volcanic hot springs! :)

 The next day we flew back up to Manila, but we were able to get in a couple hours of wakeboarding before the flight.

 Boarding the flight to Manila.

We are so very thankful for this wonderful team!  They were such a blessing and encouragement to us as a family, and God used them mightily here.  The training center that they built will provide a place where we can gather with the Bugkalot and Agta for on-going training for how to more effectively reach the rest of the Agta tribe.  Also, God used them to encourage our Bugkalot partners as well as the Agta believers to press on in the work.   

And, on that note, here is a picture that Steve sent this morning of the inaugural training, happening right now in the training center!

THANK YOU to those of you who came, those of you who gave to cover the many expenses, and those of you spouses who held down the home fort so the team could come.  God used each of you in a huge way, and we praise Him for your willingness to make so many sacrifices.

To God be the glory!