Few More Pics

Here are a few more pics from our trip up into the mountains a couple weeks ago.  

No trip to the tribe is complete without a swim in the river (at least according to the boys!)

 Jumping off the big rock is one of their favorite things to do.

 I enjoy sitting on a rock and taking in the glorious views.

 Some of the ladies in the village where helping sort and straighten rattan to bring to market.

 Back at our house, we all worked together on supper.  The boys seemed to enjoy their task of finding and preparing firewood. And thankfully only wood, not fingers, were chopped. :)

 Once again some amazing views.  These are taken from our house up in the tribe. 

This week you can be praying for Steve as he is up in the mountains, attending the annual believers' conference for the Bugkalot churches.  The conference was held in a far-flung village this year (you can see pics of the last time our family visited that area in this post HERE).  Pray for safety as he drives loooong hours and hikes to get there and back home again (around 26 hrs round trip driving and 7 hrs hiking).  Also pray that the conference goes well, people are encouraged, and that God is glorified through every aspect of the time, both large group meetings and the many important smaller leadership meetings.  

Quick Visit

A couple weeks ago, my dad came again for another business/ministry trip, but this time was different because my mom was able to come with him!  It was a crazy short trip (72 hrs in the Philippines!), but we packed as much in during that time as we could.

After we picked them up at the airport, we drove straight to the first meeting on the schedule.  The guys were in deep conversation for several hours, while the ladies visited at the next table.  I even got some snuggle time with Dani, our coworkers' new baby.

 Ben loves babies, and it was so sweet how Dani went right to sleep in his arms.

 We arrived home late that night after the meetings, then packed up the car to leave the next morning and head out of the city.  We first stopped for another meeting in Manila, then we headed 6 hours north to the coffee plantation.

It was a momentous occasion as the cooperative was having their 1st General Assembly.  They had a couple guest speakers to encourage them in their endeavor, then had some business agenda items that included voting on officers.  The meeting lasted all day, and they had definitely put a lot of work into it.  This was the banner that was hanging at the meeting site.  It was fun to see some of our friends from the States who came this past summer featured on the banner. :)

 It was a busy day for our partner, Joseph, as he helped them work through various issues.  We are so thankful for Joseph and Lorainne and all their hard work!

 The meeting site

 Steve was asked to do a Scripture reading to start the time.  Someone else was actually scheduled to do it, but there had been a death in one of the villages the day before, so the leaders from that village were unable to attend.

 My dad was asked to give an "inspirational message".

 The meeting lasted until late in the day, then we gathered on the porch up at our tribal house to discuss a few things.  Love the view from our house there! 

 That night we had some nice family time, including looking at old pics of the kids on my ipad. :)

The next day, we headed back to Manila and straight to the airport for my parents to catch their flight home.  It was a short visit, but we are so thankful for the time we were able to share together and for what God did during that time!