New Partners and Pics

This month has brought an unexpected blessing.  Some of you may know that something we have had on our hearts for years is to figure out some way to help the Agta tribal people establish better options for their livelihood in order to combat the extreme poverty that they deal with on a daily basis.  We actually wrote a job request in 2009 (7 years ago!) to see if our organization could send someone to meet this need.  However, because of budget restraints, that job request has not been able to be filled.  Well, recently a friend who lives in Bicol told us that they had run into an American family in the mall who had just moved to Bicol to do some livelihood projects.  We asked for them to pass on our contact info, and one thing led to another, and that is how we met the Henley family.  They have only been here a couple of months, and they have had a rough time of it with medical emergencies and ministry expectations not coming together.  They heard about our work with the tribals in Bicol, and they expressed interest in partnering with us. So Steve and I planned an unexpected trip down to visit them and explore the possibility of partnership. 

 They are currently living in the city of Legaspi, home of the beautiful Mt. Mayon (took the above pic at the aiport).  We had a wonderful time with them, and as we walked through our strategy for tribals reaching tribals and how they could fit in to fill a critical need, they decided that they would like to partner full time with us!  They plan to essentially fill the job request that we have been praying about for 7 years!

 Dan and Michelle have 2 adorable kiddos, and they have been in Manila this week because of an infection that their son is fighting.  This meant that the Hagen kids and Henley kids were able to meet and hang out a little!

We are so thankful for the Henleys, and we are excited to see what God will do through them in the years to come.  Please be praying for them as they continue to adjust to life in the Philippines, especially for the medical issues they are dealing with, for Michelle as she starts into Tagalog study (Dan grew up here so speaks the language already!), for them to develop good relationships with our tribal partners, and for wisdom as they figure out what livelihood projects will be the most effective for the Agta tribal people.

 In just 7 days, we leave for the States!  We will only be there for 60 days, so it will be a whirlwind of a time (still need to see all the same people and share in the same churches, but much less time to do it!).  We would appreciate prayers this week as we finish up what needs to be completed here and prepared for our time in the States.  Also pray for the kids as they finish up all the school projects, tests and final exams.  At the moment, several of us are feeling very overwhelmed with all that needs to be done in the next couple days.  Thanks for standing behind us in prayer!

I will leave you with some of the pictures we took the other night. Because things have been so crazy this month, the conditions weren't how we had hoped (it was crazy HOT, and we were dripping sweat, we couldn't do it at the best time of day for lighting, and we only ended up with 15 minutes to take the pics!).  But in spite of all that, I'm thankful we still got some good pics. I will wait to post the one that we will use for our prayer card, but thought you might enjoy some of the other ones we got as well.  Thanks again for praying for us!

 

Basketball, Banquet & Biopsy

The boys have been competing in an intramural-style basketball league up at school for the last couple months.  They have both improved so much in their skills, and it has been great to see their confidence increase with this a new sport.  They both had great coaches, and we are so thankful for their investment in our boys' lives.

Zach excelled in defense, and he was often assigned a specific person to "shut down". 

And this is the problem with expecting more of your phone camera than it can deliver:

The really cool part is that, out of 6 teams, the 2 teams that made the championship game were Zach's and Ben's teams!  So it was Hagen vs. Hagen for the championship.

 Zach's team came out on top, with Ben's team taking 2nd place.  We were glad for Zach's team to win because, of all the teams there, their team was the one that did the best job playing as a TEAM, including every player.  Each and every player maintained great attitudes and encouraged one another throughout the season.  We were super impressed with the young men and women on Zach's team, and we are glad they took the win.

After a full morning of basketball, the boys got ready for their Middle School Banquet.  It was fun to see them all dressed up to spend the evening with their friends.

 

 Ben with his teacher, Ms. Benson.  She has been such a blessing to him and us as well this year!

 Zach with his 8th grade class.  Freshman in high school next year!

 Something you can pray with us about:
A couple weeks ago, we took Mikayla in to the dermatologist for a plantars wart on her foot that was causing her pain.  We took Zach along because of some weird rash thing on his arm.  Well, the rash was no big deal, but while she was examining him, she noticed a suspicious mole that she needed to remove for biopsy.  Zach had the excision done this past week (2 stitches), and we are waiting on the biopsy results from the lab.  We are not overly concerned, but we appreciate prayers for a clear report from the lab and no infection as Zach's wound heals.