Tribal Bible College

I just posted about one exciting development in Bicol where the tribals there have organized themselves to work together for the sake of the Kingdom - unheard of cooperation and leadership because of their cultural barriers. Another truly exciting step forward is the Bible school that has just started in the training center. It is actually a partnership with another group of tribal churches from another island many hours and a ferry ride away - the Mangyan tribes. The Mangyan have a Bible school in their area that has been functioning for many years. In partnership with the our other tribal partners, they sent 2 Bible school teachers down to Bicol where they completed their first semester of studying the Word together. They studied every morning, then foraged for leaves and dived for river clams in the afternoon to feed the group. There were 18 graduates for the first semester! There was a great shot of of all of them with their official certificates; but, while they had permission from local authorities, I am not showing faces here because there are many that would not feel comfortable with this happening at all so I want to be careful what I post.

To celebrate the graduation, the group did an excursion to a local waterfall and enjoyed a picnic of grilled fish.

So very thankful for the ways that God is at work in Bicol! The Bible school will convene again in January for the next semester (provided they can again get approval). Please pray with us that they are able to continue as planned and that God would work mightily in hearts as they dive into the Word together. 

Bicol Tribal Christian Association

Those of you more familiar with our work with the tribals in Bicol know that one of the unique challenges has been leadership development within the churches. This is due to a cultural barrier; in their culture, it is a cultural sin to try to influence other people in any way. Even just inviting someone to an event or activity can be seen as offensive because you are trying to influence them. When you think about the implications of this in a leadership context, you can see the challenges. So that makes this all the more exciting. Recently, the tribal church leaders gathered together of their own initiative to form a leadership team for their churches as a group. Our partners in Bicol stayed to the edges to advise if there were questions, but the meeting was led entirely by the Bicol tribals. They appointed a chairman and made plans for ongoing discipleship and outreach. Praise God for what He has done!
Please pray with us for wisdom and courage for them as they move forward together. 

Steve has had the joy of traveling to Bicol quite a bit in recent months. The typhoon relief projects we are doing down there has granted him access again; he just has to test first, observe protocols, and have all the right paperwork in place. Here are a couple pics from a recent trip he took there.

Thankful

Over Ben's recent school break, we were able to go two places. First, our organization was able to get permission for our personnel to gather for a small group time of training and retreat. It was supposed to be held near us, but at the last minute, that was not possible because of the lockdown status, so they got permission for us all to be tested and travel to another island to meet, provided we had all the right paperwork. It was a blessed time of fellowship and encouragement. We were so proud of how Ben helped with all the younger kids, and how he set such a great tone for the time as families (as the oldest, all the kids were looking to his example). He even helped lead worship one of the nights on his ukulele (he's taught himself to play during online classes). 

The day after getting back from those meetings, we headed to a campsite about an hour from home with some friends. The lockdown means that kids still aren't allowed in most establishments (like beach resorts or hotels), but we found a local campsite that allows them. And since we were traveling "door to door" from private residence to private campsite, within our same province (kids weren't out in public places), we were able to get through checkpoints. I'm avoiding posting too many pics of faces since there are definitely some who do not agree with allowing kids out at all whatsoever, so we try to be sensitive to those who feel differently about how to interpret the current restrictions.

While we weren't able to go to a beach like we hoped, we were very thankful to be able to get out and get some fresh air and enjoy some time with friends. We're praying that things will loosen up again soon and allow the kids to once again enjoy "exercise slots" up on campus together. But in the meantime, we will be thankful for what we do have. 

 

Bayawak Baby

A couple weeks ago, a bayawak (monitor lizard) got into a friend's bathroom. Her husband was out for the day, so Ben volunteered to come to their rescue. 

When he saw it, he said it was just a baby and how cute it was - slightly different reaction from others'. :) He then caught it in a towel and, while walking through the house to release it outside, he asked where to release it. My friend said "just anywhere" so he pretended to bend over to release it in the living room. He got the reaction he was hoping for with that move. :)

Ben started his senior year...online again. Pls pray with us that he gets to have some face to face classes during his senior year!

Gotta love the gorgeous sunsets here!