Training Follow-up

As I write this, Steve is having another follow-up session for the church planting training we had a few months ago here in our home. The follow-up sessions have proven to be very helpful for everyone involved; while Steve takes some time to teach, most of the time is devoted to discussing the questions and problems the men are encountering. I went out and shot a short video of Steve answering a question and thought you may enjoy hearing him teach in Tagalog. Thanks for your continued prayers for each of these national church planters as they strive to make Christ known throughout our area.

Accidental Jump

1st a brief typhoon update - thanks 2 all of u who have been praying 4 our safety. We got some heavy rain last night from the storm that had u-turned, but we woke up 2 sunny, clear skies. It looks like all the typhoons have passed by now, and we are looking forward 2 some nice weather - at least 4 a few days! :) Now 4 a little comic relief...

When Mikayla was 1st learning to wakeboard, she accidentally went over 1 of the jumps on the course. At that point in time she could barely stay up on her board, & here she was doing a jump! She actually did it perfectly though and would have pulled it off -- if only she had held on to the rope. But she was understandably a little freaked out and let go. She was not hurt at all, only surprised, after her little misadventure.

Typhoon Update

Well, Typhoon Mina skirted us and headed north. Thanks 4 ur prayers! Here is an update about the typhoon situation here in Bicol Region written by my friend Joanna 4 her blog. Thankfully she doesn't mind me stealing her work, particularly since typing takes so long right now with my right arm in cast. Anyway, thanks 4 your continued prayers!

Well, here's where we stand at the moment. Typhoon Mina has moved off to the north of us - Praise the Lord!- and basically didn't affect us in any way other than some cool, breezy weather. However, there are some other developments that we are watching. Typhoon Lando, which passed over the Philippines last week, has made a U-turn (due to Typhoon Mina) and is headed back across the Philippines! As it moves back across us, it shouldn't be too much of a threat, unless it joins up with the new system that is to the west of us in the Pacific Ocean. Apparently, this is a possibility.
Anyway, as crazy as this all sounds, we are trying to go about normal life and keeping a watch on the internet sites. I've unpacked enough of the school room to start back to school tomorrow, but I'm thinking I may keep all the library books boxed up for a few more days. Now I've just got to decide whether or not to decorate for Christmas yet. The plan was to do that the day after Thanksgiving, but we spent that day "typhoon-proofing" the house {so did we}!
Needless to say, life here is never boring!! Again, we appreciate all your prayers and would ask that you pray off these storms as well. We've got one more month until typhoon season is over. I think we will all rest a bit easier when January rolls around.
Here's a link to an article about the 3 storms that have us surrounded at the moment:http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20071125119

Typhoon Mina

My friend Joanna just wrote up this info 4 her blog about at the typhoon that is on its way here. Also, FYI, we are currently without internet at home. Trying 2 get it fixed but has been slow going, and it will probably b after the typhoon now before it happens. Thanks 4 your prayers and words of encouragement. Happy Thanksgiving!

We have a typhoon approaching our region, the Bicol region. At this point (Thursday evening) the typhoon is a Category 1 and we are under Signal Warning Level 2. It is still out in the Pacific but should be hitting within the next two or three days. As of now, the eye looks as if it will pass north of us {will be closer 2 us since we live north of them}, but we will still get plenty of wind and rain.

The biggest problem is that our area is saturated right now. We have had so much rain as of late, all the rivers are high already. The added rain of this storm could cause some major flooding. Also, there is a serious danger of landslides/mudslides in our area {this is also a concern in Iriga, where we live}. Already, many people in the danger areas have been evacuated.

As far as us, we have had a nice Thanksgiving Day today with our friends, the Hagens. They will be staying with us again tonight and heading home in the morning. We will probably spend most of tomorrow "preparing" for the storm - securing things outside, storing water, moving things to higher ground, etc. We are stocked right now on groceries, but need to make a run to the store for some more candles and mosquito coils. The lines at the grocery store right now are taking over an hour! People around here are pretty nervous, considering what happened this time last year.

If you are reading this, I would just ask that you pray for the people of the Philippines. Please pray for our safety in this storm. Pray that God will use this to bring people to Him and that He will be glorified. We never really know how bad a storm will be until it arrives, so we realize there's a chance we could be without power, water, internet, phone, etc. Of course, we are really hoping that's not the case.

If you'd like to follow the track of the storm, here's the website we are watching. http://www.maybagyo.com/ It is updated 2 or 3 times a day. I will try to keep you updated as I can...assuming we have power!

trip 2 singapore

1 of our friends commentd that we should call this blog the hagen HEALTH update, n that is exactly how we have been feeling as well. things have been crazy of late, but we r hanging in there. we hsven't even blogged about all of it - like the virus ben has had or kayla's ruptured ear drum n mysterious infected insect bights or our positive TB exposure test that will require 9 months of preventative meds... def feeling the need 4 your prayers!
here is a pic from steve n my trip 2 singapore 4 my wrist appt. while we had a good time there (my sis n bro in law n their 2 kids even drove down 2 visit 1 day!), the fun was tempered by the results of my dr appt.

the reason my typing is diff is because i have 2 finger peck w my left hand now. my right arm is immobilized in a plastic cast. it is hot, sticky, n uncomfortable; but i am so thankful that i can remove it occasionally 2 clean under it - particularly considering how hot it where we live. pls pray 4 me as i learn 2 function w only 1 arm. it is incredibly difficult n frustratingly SLOW. simple things like eating, showering, putting in my contacts, n pulling my hair back r now a real challenge or impossible w/o help. sleeping is fitful at best. monday we will try 2 start home school again - honestly no idea how we will pull it off but we will just stick w it. pls pray 4 patience. i have 2 wear this cast 4 6 weeks, then a partial one 4 6 more weeks. pray w us that this allows the torn tendon 2 heal so we can avoid reconstructive surgery. also pray 4 steve as his right hand is still not up 2 full function after his surgery. we make quite the pair right now! :)his should be back 2 normal in a few weeks. in the mean time, pls pray 4 xtra strength and grace 4 each day. we actually r doing quite well n staying encouraged despite it all, but we need ur prayers 2 stay that way! while we would LOVE 2 get a note from u, pls understand in advance that we wont b able 2 keep up w correspondence like we normally do. tnx 4 praying!

Steve's Surgery

Just wanted to let you all know that Steve's hand surgery went well this am. Thanks for praying and encouraging us. The surgeon was able to get the whole cyst even though it was 3x the normal size and went all the way down to the bone, intertwined in some tendons. He will be sore for a while but is recovering well. The kids were able to stay with a friend in Manila for the morning, and that was a HUGE blessing since the hospital ended up not being a good place for kids (dirty hallways, no waiting rooms) so would have been a miserable place for them to hang out for the day. Not to mention Steve was a bit of a challenging patient when he was coming out from under anesthesia (it was tough to convince him to stay in bed and rest since he was intent on getting up and going to get coffee and shrimp - ??? - despite the fact he wasn't "with it" yet and still in a hospital gown!). Anyway, was nice that I didn't have to juggle the kids and him at same time. :)

In other news, Steve's parents left this morning as well. While it was difficult to say goodbye, it was sure wonderful to have them here for such a long visit. Appreciate your prayers for Ben as he has a high fever and is pretty miserable today. Not sure yet what the problem is. Mikayla also has an ear infection that is quite painful. Thankfully, we have several days to rest and recover (interspersed with dr appts) before Steve and I leave for Singapore for my appt for my wrist. Thanks for praying!