Back in Bicol

Well, we arrived home in Bicol and hit the ground running - SO much to catch up on. We have been busy re-connecting with the Agta believers and catching up on their lives and ministries while we have been gone. We spent a day visiting all the villages as a family this week, and our new team member, Megan, took these pics. As you can tell, Ben is as crazy as ever. Our hearts go out to the church in Ipil as they are in the midst of a very difficult time. We have had a ton of rain down here, and so their village is flooded. In addition, the flooding stirred up a sulfur deposit from the nearby volcano which poisoned all the fish in the lake. They are all dependent on these fish for both their food and livelihood so this has been devastating for them.

See that arch in the background? The boy is sitting on the boat over the sidewalk that winds its way all the way to that arch which is normally about 4 ft above the water level - so i think the water is up about 7 ft? And this is after it has come down some.

The ones who live the closest to the water have had to move out until the water recedes - but it has been up for weeks already.
Since his house and "yard" are now under water, I guess the boat is now the logical place to play.

Please pray with us for the people in the village of Ipil as they try to put their lives back together. We are planning a Christmas party and church planting training in this village the end of December and are praying that it will be an encouragement to them.