New Chapter

Last week, Steve ventured into a new area.  The Bugkalot tribal churches where we do mobilization/training are divided into 3 "chapters" (kind of like associations of churches).  Until recently, we have been unable to go into one of the chapters (long, sad story).  However, things are changing (praising HIM!), and Steve was invited to do a leadership training there.

 The training went incredibly well, then for the next week, Steve traveled from village to village to meet the pastors and get to know the people in that area.  He said they were some of the worst roads he has traveled - and that's saying something!

 They got stuck more times than he could count, but our Montero Sport did remarkably well for a city 4x4!

 These are 2 of the pastors who traveled with Steve - and helped dig the Montero out on multiple occasions!

 Since there is no cell phone signal up there, it is difficult to communicate in advance, so this church was not expecting Steve and the others.  But when they arrived on Sunday morning, they asked Steve to speak for Sunday School...then for the main service.  Then they were so excited that they arranged an afternoon service so he could keep teaching...then asked him to do the evening service too!  He said by the time all was said and done, he taught about 8 hours that day - impromptu in Tagalog. :)

 They spent a lot of time on the trail going from village to village that week, gathering with the believers in that village in the evenings.

 This little church has been planted in recent years by one of the churches.  What a blessing to see how God is at work in that area!

 Breakfast anyone?

 They saw a variety of houses as they traveled.

 Steve said it was so cool because several of the pastors had attended the leadership seminar in the one location, then they went home to their own village.  A couple days later, Steve would arrive in that village, and as he visited with the people there, they were discussing things that had been taught at the seminar - even though they themselves hadn't been able to attend.  Such a good sign that it has really sunk in when they go home and discuss it with others!

In one place, as they passed by a house, they actually overheard the people inside discussing the things that had been taught.  Gotta love it when a seminar breaks out into real life!

 They saw some amazing sights as they traveled from place to place.

 And if there's ever a waterfall nearby, you can count on Steve to check it out!

 Steve was so encouraged after his time in this new chapter, and we are excited to see how God will use the people from those villages to bring the Good News to other tribal people!  Will pray with us about how to help make this possible?

Holding Down the Home Fort

For those of you who read our blog often, you know that Steve travels a lot on ministry trips while the kids and I hold down the home fort.  We join whenever we can (like on school breaks), but the rest of the time we keep busy with school activities.  So, if you are stopping by the blog to see what is going on with our ministry, check back soon to see some new pics from that front (Steve is on an 11-day trip now).  But if you'd like to see some pics of what the kids and I have been up to the last couple months, here you go...

 I helped coached the JV girls soccer team again this year.  It was a sweet group of girls!

 Mikayla played on the varsity soccer team again.  I actually don't have any pics from her season this time - except this one taken during their final practice.

 Some of you may remember that Mikayla had the opportunity to go with her soccer team to Thailand last year to play in a tournament.  Well, this year, the tournament is in Guam, but they won't go until the end of April. Unfortunately, that timing doesn't work for Mikayla with her class load this year, so she won't get to go.  But she and the other girls on the team enjoyed cheering for the guys soccer team as their tournament was held at home this year.  Go Vanguards!

 We had fun joining a 4-on-4 volleyball tournament together with another family.  Drew is one of the stars of the varsity guys' team...but I'm sure that had nothing to do with the fact that we won the tournament. :) 

 The kids all had "spirit week" to promote school spirit where they dressed up according to the theme of the day.  Mikayla went as a Christmas present one day.

 Zach and Ben were on the Pink Panthers soccer team for the intramural league this year.  They both did very well and had a lot of fun with their friends.

 They also qualified to join a traveling team, and they learned a lot through that as well.

My dad was able to be here for part of a Saturday, so he got to watch the boys play soccer and one of Mikayla's rugby games.

 Mikayla loves sports, but she also enjoys dressing up to attend formal events like the Christmas Banquet.

 She attended with a friend from her class.

 One of the highlights of this past semester for Mikayla was the fact that she made the Advanced Drama class (you have to audition).  They performed the musical "The Gifts of the Magi" and did a great job!  Neat fact: the director was my English teacher when I was Mikayla's age!

 One of my favorite pics from the play - the hairstyle that resulted afterwards from all the hairspray!

 Zach and Ben have been developing their creative sides too. Zach took guitar class this past semester and loved it.  This was his first concert.

 His teacher said that he shows real potential.

 Ben is still really enjoying percussion and excelling at it as well.  You can see him standing on the right hand side by the big drums (I know that's not their official name!).

 Ben is also in the 6th grade choir. In addition to their normal concert, they also went on a little choir tour that took them to several local schools and even the local mall.

 Ben and Zach also participated in the Middle School ministry day.  Didn't find any pics of Zach (I wasn't with them), but can you find Ben in the pic below?

 Ok, I mentioned that Mikayla is playing rugby again this year.  Some of you may be questioning our sanity..."Isn't that the sport where guys have to tape their ears on because it's so rough??"  Well, Mikayla is playing TOUCH rugby, not tackle - it's a VERY different sport; and she's really enjoying it!  This year, she is a starter on the varsity team in the one of the 2 key positions (as a "center") and is doing very well.

 She and the other center work incredibly well together and have scored many "tries" together.

 So thankful that our kids can be involved in such a variety of activities at their school, Faith Academy.  It keeps us busy, but they have lots of opportunities to grow and to share His love with others.

Appreciate your prayers this month as Steve is traveling a lot - he's on an 11 day trip now, will be home for 3 days, then gone again for 7.  Things are going well, but really appreciate your prayers for both him and us.  Thanks for partnering with us!

Macau

Last week, we had to take a quick visa run (leave the country for visa purposes).  The cheapest tickets we would find were to Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China, next to Hong Kong. Macau used to be a Portuguese colony, so the feel of the city (especially the historic district) was very different than other places we have been in Asia. 

 

There was some amazing architecture to admire.

 While Macau is mostly known for its many gambling casinos, the most famous historic attraction for tourists is the ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral (above). 

 Everyone was taking selfies in front of the ruins, so we joined in. :)

 Macau is also known as the most densely populated city in the world, and the crazy narrow streets and sky-scraping apartments/hotels support this conjecture.  The streets felt like mere sidewalks, which got interesting in a hurry when you tried to share them with a moving vehicle!  Thankful the kids are older now... 

As we walked through the historic district, the crowds weren't too bad.  But as we got into the more touristy part of town, the press of people was unbelievable.

Despite the crowds, we had a lot of fun as a family.

 While the visa run was unexpected, we had a lot of fun touring a new country. So thankful for our family and the privilege of going on the adventure called life with this crew!