Rodents, lizards, and ants - Oh my!

Ok, so the lizards are normal for around here (we always have little ones climbing the wall - which is ok with us because they eat the mosquitos), but I thought I would let you know about our recent adventures with rodents and ants. When we got home from our travels, our house was infested with ants. Every counter was covered with them. We had secured a tenuous victory over them before we left by practicing fastidious cleanliness. However, it seems our helper was not as fastidious while we were gone because the ants definitely overran us. After several "Raid" battles, we went to the city an hour away and got some heavy duty ant poison. Today the ant infestation seems much better.

As for the rodents, it seems that our giant monitor lizard (see the post about "Monty" below for details) was waging that war on our behalf. However, we have not seen or heard from Monty since before we left in June, and it seems that the local rodents have heard the news that our home is open for business once again. Our dogs have been doing a great job of killing any of the ones that try to make the mad dash across the yard (they have killed 9 large rats in the 2 weeks since Steve has been home!). However, a few have managed to make it into our house. We noticed the evidence of a few mice and began hearing rats in the attic (where Monty used to live). So we bought some weapons to fight this war as well, and we have killed 5 rats or mice in the last 2 days! All this rodent action has us wondering if it is possible to buy a monitor lizard to put in your attic to live. A thought I would never have considered until recently. I debated, but I decided to spare you the photos of the effects of our rodent war - they wouldn't be pretty, believe me! :)

Our friends Matt and Erin and their daughter Chloe are enroute to see us! We are unbelievably excited. Mikayla and Chloe became best of friends when they were 3 years old in Sparks in AWANA at our home church in Missouri. I can't wait to see their reunion. We adults are pretty excited as well to see some of our very best friends. :) In case some of you are wondering, no, the fact that I waited to publish this post about our rodent infestation until AFTER they left the USA was NOT intentional...but it sure doesn't hurt anything! :)

Here are some pics of the Price kids and Hagen kids before we came to the Philippines. They have had one more daughter since this pic was taken.

Best Friends Forever!

Across the Lake

Yesterday our whole family and our 2 visitors were able to travel to one of the new Bible studies that Steve has been doing. Let me give you a little background for this group - there was a very large group in the village of Ipil (EE-peel) that was interested in being taught. So Steve asked them if they would select the leaders in the group and their wives; then he would teach the leaders and train them how to teach the others. They were excited about that, and the study has been going well so far. Yesterday there were about 15 adults in attendance, mostly men. There are 2 parts to the lessons that Steve is teaching - agricultural training and a story from the Word. It was so exciting to see the men and women eager to learn about the Bible. They are also interested in starting a "test plot" to try some of the agricultural techniques he is teaching.

Here a few pics so you can join us on our adventure. The last one we shared pics of was a hike up into the mountains. This village is located on the other side of Lake Buhi so we drive about 20 minutes then take a little boat to the other side.

This was our boat captain. He looks mean, but he broke into a massive smile when the kids joined him out on the front of the little boat.

Unfortunately, he kept hiding from the camera at the last second so you will just have to imagine his smile. :)

We arrived several hours before the Bible study so that we could visit with the people. The kids had a ball running wild with the other kids, and we had a nice time visiting with their parents and grandparents.
We brought some fish with us, and they grilled it up for lunch. It was delicious!

Steve and Mikayla ran out to the local grocery store for a snack.
This the boat we rode home. The kids had fun climbing all over it before it was time to leave. Notice the mountain in the background. It is a volcano that blew 400 years ago. The town of Iriga (where we live) is just on the other side so don't normally see this one. You can see here where a massive chunk of the mountain is missing, leaving only a gigantic crater. It must have been quite the day when that blew!
The kids are getting really good at balancing on these ramps and on other log bridges. We have been so proud of them in how they have adjusted to life here.
Please pray with us for the group that is meeting in the village of Ipil. Pray that the people would continue to come and be eager to learn more from the Word (especially the men since it is normally so difficult to get men to be interested in spiritual things). Pray that many would be saved in this village and a church would be established that will spread the Good News to the surrounding areas.

Mr. Clips

Here is a post that Mikayla wrote and wanted me to put on the blog -

This is how Mr. Clips was made. Fist we(Zach and Ben and I (Mikayla) made a circle a and I thout about making a smiley face and so we made one. Then we decided to make him a king and that went well. So we made a castle to go with it.
He even has a crown and a airplane and so that’s the story of Mr. clips. THE END!

Back Home Again

Hello once again from the Philippines! I (Jen) arrived home yesterday from an amazing week in Thailand and a few days in Singapore. Let me get you up to speed on how all our various trips went. Our annual meeting with our company went very well, and Mikayla had an absolute blast the following week at summer camp. Steve and the boys had a safe trip up into the mountains, and we are encouraged by the excitement the Ilongot people are showing about the possibility of sending some of their own to partner with us to reach the Agta. We had hoped to do some training in their midst in October, but that falls right in the middle of harvest time so we will probably schedule the training for January instead. My time in Thailand went amazingly well; we had a great group of students, and we were able to connect with them in real ways. Thanks for praying for all of us during our various travels.
While I was in Thailand, Steve had his hands full with sick kids - including several doctor visits and an ER visit! I am happy to say that the boys are doing much better now. However, please be in prayer for Mikayla as she is running some high fevers and having symptoms that make us suspicious of dengue fever. Please pray that whatever it is will run its course without any complications.
I went straight from Thailand to Singapore to see the specialist about my wrist. The doctor there seemed to have a lot more experience with this condition, and she said she wants to try several different things before jumping into major surgery. I got several more xrays and an MRI. The xrays showed that the gap between the bones has narrowed significantly (PTL!), and the MRI showed that the tendon is not "severed" like the doctor in Manila assumed. The doctor gave me a steroid shot in my wrist, and she is optimistic that it will heal on its own within a month! Honestly, as painful as it is, I have a hard time seeing this happen; but it is worth a shot (no pun intended :) ). So right now we are in "wait and see" mode. The next step will be a splint that completely immobilizes my entire right arm, palm facing up. Please pray with us for God's will in all this and that He will be glorified in whatever happens.
Tomorrow, our supervisor and his wife will be coming to our home for a visit. We are so looking forward to having them in our home for a few days and showing them how God is at work down here amongst the Agta. Then we have some dear friends from the from our home church, Matt and Erin Price along with their eldest daughter Chloe (Mikayla's best friend!), who will be arriving for a visit on July 26. Please pray for safe travels and health for them and also for God's direction in their lives. They had orginally planned this just as a trip to visit us and see what life on the field is like with a family; however, God recently opened up the possibility of them moving here for 2-3 years to partner with us to reach the Agta! So what was just a trip to visit friends has become a vision trip for them. Please pray for God's clear direction in their lives while they are here.
Thank you for your faithful prayers over the last few weeks. It has been a very busy time for our family, and we have been encouraged by your intercession on our behalf and your sweet notes as well. May God bless you richly as you seek to glorify Him in all you do.

Please Pray!

Hello from Thailand! I (Jen) just arrived here yesterday to help with a conference for TCKs (Third Culture Kids) that are about to graduate high school, to help prepare them for the upcoming transition. Thanks for praying this week that we are able to connect with the students in a real way. Please pray as well for Mikayla at summer camp and Steve and the boys as they travel into the mountains to visit the village where I grew up; we want to see if they are interested in partnering with us to reach the Agta. And please be in prayer for our family as we are apart this month. Steve and the kids will travel home on the 7th, and I will be home on the 15th.

We also have another big prayer request to share with you. On the way to our meetings last week, we stopped in Manila to see a hand specialist about my wrist. I injured it in April and have been wearing an immobilizing wrist brace for 3 1/2 months now, but it has not improved. The specialist is the top one in Manila, and he said that the tendon that holds my 2 wrist bones together was severed, causing the bones to separate. He described a surgery to repair it that involves harvesting a tendon from my arm, drilling holes in both bones, then threading the tendon through and around the bones to reconnect them. However, this hand specialist has only done this extensive procedure once, so that made us a little nervous. We emailed our medical department in the States, and they agreed that I need to have it looked at by somene else. So I will be traveling to Singapore after my conference here in Thailand to see a doctor there. Please pray that the details for this last-minute trip come together and that the doctor would have some experience with this very rare injury. Also, if this doctor recommends the same procedure, pray for wisdom to know where and when to have it done and what to do with the kids during that time. The recovery that the Manila doctor described involved a cast up to my shoulder with a wire through the bones that keeps my palm facing up and immobile for 6 weeks, followed by 6 weeks of physical therapy. We appreciate your prayers during this uncertain time. We are staying encouraged and resting in the fact that God is in control, but there are a lot of unknowns out there right now. We are praying that this medical situation will not take us away from our location for any longer than is necessary. Please pray with us.

We're Off!

Thought you may enjoy this pic of Ben that a friend took. His smile is priceless. We just wanted to let you all know that we leave early in the morning for the airport to head north. We have a few appts at the doctor (for Jen's wrist and Ben to see the speech therapist) before heading to some meetings. After the meetings, we all head in different directions. Jen leaves for Thailand to help out at a conference for TCKs there, and Mikayla goes to summer camp for a week. Steve and the boys will head into the mountains in northern Luzon to talk with the church in the tribe where Jen grew up about possibly partnering with us to reach the Agta. Steve and the kids will come home on July 7, and I will return on the 13th. Please pray for safety and health as we travel and for guidance for each of us as we go our separate ways. We would love to have an email from you waiting for us when we get home! :)

Monte

I would like to introduce you to the resident in our attic. He is a monitor lizard, and he is nearly 4 feet long. We have named him Monte, and he has helped keep the rats out of our attic. However, Monte met the acquaintance of Cinder (one of our guard dogs) last night, and the meeting turned out poorly for Monte.

We found him on our porch, lying very still and thought he was dead or nearly so. But then he took off! So did we, I must point out. :)
He ran to the alley next to the house where Cinder gave him some more attention. We thought for sure his neck was broken, but while Steve was measuring him, he bolted again. This time he got away in a drainage ditch next to the house. Only time will tell whether or not Monte will still be doing rat patrol in our attic.

Beautiful Feet

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news."

Isaiah 52:7

I know these feet don't look very beautiful to you (and I thoroughly agree with you!), but in God's eyes they are beautiful.

On Sunday, we drove to the end of the rough road and then hiked as a family up into the mountains to the village of Antipolo (ahn-tee-POH-loh). While the hike was only a couple of miles, it was very steep and incredibly muddy so it felt like a whole lot further. We also discovered that we are not in as good of shape as we used to be. :) That mud was something else! The pic below was taken just before I wiped it and landed on my behind. Thankfully I had the camera, so there is no pic to record that event.

The kids did so well! We were so proud of them. On the way there, a guide showed us the way. That was nice, but it meant the pace was a whole lot faster on the way there than we chose on the way back. Mikayla and Zach hiked almost the whole way, and Ben actually hiked a fair amount of it too.

See how steep and muddy it was?!? On the way back we stopped for a picnic lunch on the trail. Ben's face kind of sums up how we were all feeling by this point. It was exhausting but worth it.
We had a great time visiting with the chieftain and his family while we were in the village. The kids had a blast with the little puppies there.Zach sang to this one until it fell asleep in his arms.
This baby was too cute. And who needs a fancy crib anyway?
The scenery simply took our breath away. Or was it the hike that did that? :) Check it out though - we felt so blessed to be in such a beautiful corner of creation.
On one of the little creek crossings, we saw this guy hunched over under a rock. He was talking non-stop under there. We have no idea to whom he was speaking or what he was speaking about. He was so absorbed in whatever he was doing that he never even saw the 5 whiteys that walked right over his head (and our passing by seemed to be the best entertainment of the year for everyone else who saw us). :)
The highlight of the day was definitely the visit we had with this chieftain and his wife. They are neat people, and really seem to be people of peace who are eager to help us study the Word in their village. We set up to return to Antipolo on Thursday afternoon, and they said they will gather the village to listen to us teach! Please pray with us on Thursday morning Central time that it would not rain, that the hike would go well, and that the Bible Study would touch lives in the way only His Word can do.
After we hiked back to our truck, there was a group gathered at that village to study the Bible. There were about a dozen adults and a dozen kids. We were so exhausted from the hike we could barely stand up, but God gave us the strength to share the 1st lesson with this dear group of people, and it went really well. Many of them jumped in on the discussion time. Thanks for praying with us! They invited us to come back again next Sunday afternoon. Please continue to pray with us during this critical time of our ministry. Even today, Steve is out doing some survey work in the mountains, trying to figure out where the different villages are, and which places would be the most strategic locations to start teaching 1st.
Please also be praying for health and strength as we have been fighting some intestinal troubles and colds. Steve has been feeling very weak the last few days, and he was looking at possibly doing quite a bit of hiking today. Then tomorrow we hike as a family back to Antipolo. We covet your prayers!

Medical Clinic

Thank you to all of you who were faithfully praying for our medical outreach yesterday. It went really well, and it was obvious that God was at work. First, let me introduce the team that made it possible. The Christian Light Foundation provided the Filipino medical and dental staff, and they brought over a team of 18 volunteers from the States who assisted them with the medical/dental as well as helping with other things for the clinic. Countless volunteers from local churches helped with all the logistics - from registration to food preparation. The clinic was held on the compound of a Korean missionary lady, and then of course there was us. Quite the diverse team - it was amazing the to see the unity that God granted!

In the pic below, Steve is speaking to the staff 1st thing in the morning. You can also see some local volunteers helping with registration and some of the stateside volunteers helping with presenting the Gospel and counseling with people as well as providing VBS for the kids while their parents were busy.

Here is another pic that shows the medical/dental team at work. Dr. Donna (top left) did all the medical evaluations. Then there was a surgical team, a dental team, and a team working in the pharmacy handing out meds.
We arranged 3 jeepneys (local transportation) to bring in the different Agta villages from all over the area. Jeepneys piled high with people arrived throughout the morning. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a pic of any of the ones that were really loaded down.
Dr. Donna saw more than 400 patients in just one day (!!!) - the highest number in their 2 week trip. She had actually been sick for a few days, and they had had to quit early the day before to allow her to rest. She was still not feeling very well, but she pushed through and did an amazing job. The surgical team completed 28 circumcisions as well as 10 minor surgeries. I have not yet gotten the numbers from the dental team, but they were just as busy as everyone else all day.
This was one of the "minor" surgeries. The man in the pics below had a large cyst in his back that they removed under local anesthesia. It ended up being very "stuck" though, and it took them nearly 2 hours to dig it out! Below you can see them working as well as Steve and a local pastor praying for success. The cyst ended up being the size of a large tomato.
While all the adults were doing fun things like being operated on, the kids were involved in VBS and just running around having fun. Our kids came up for a couple of hours to join in the fun.
Since the Agta are so incredibly poor, we were advised that if we did not provide food, they would not come because their need to find food for the day would supercede any need for medical attention. So we had the job of feeding 500 people. At the last minute, as the groups kept pouring in, we actually upped the number to 1000 and threw in some more food; but I have no idea how many actually ate.
Here are some pics of the massive job. Some local church volunteers were an amazing help as they did the majority of the work. On the top left, you can see him adding rice into the biggest rice pot I have ever seen. You like the lid they made in the picture next to it? Those are banana leaves! The "ulam" (whatever you eat with your rice) was a mixture of jackfruit, cut up fish (heads and all), ginger and tomatoes. Didn't look very appetizing to us, but it was a hit for everyone! Then we loaded the pots and pans (or buckets as the case may be) into our truck and brought them up the steep, bumpy hill to the site (did I mention I think we need to wash out the bed of our truck - pretty smelly back there!). We then passed the job off to someone else for organizing how to distribute the food. What they came up with was definitely different than what we would have done, but it worked. They just dumped the food out on 2 long tables, and then everyone pressed in to get some food. Thankfully, we ended up with more than enough, and everyone seemed happy with it.It was unbelievable how many babies were there! Babies, babies everywhere. And Agta babies have got to be some of the cutest in the world - here are some pics to prove it. :)
Our main hope for the day was to develop relationships with the Agta and make some contacts that will allow us to come into the villages to teach. That went amazingly well; it was such a God thing. We received many personal invites to peoples' homes, and several were saying we needed to come to their village 1st, before the others! We praise God for the way He blessed our time yesterday and allowed us to develop so many promising friendships - thanks for praying with us!
The biggest glitch of the day came as a result of the jeepneys we mentioned. A local pastor, in an attempt to be helpful, said that he would be the one to arrange it since he could get a better price than us white people - which is probably true. However, then he passed it off to an assistant who did not seem to understand what was needed. We had constant headaches with the transportation issue, culminating when the head driver went to the pastor and said they were all done - so the pastor paid him. However, there was actually still 2 groups that had been left behind; and the jeepneys would not come back now that they had been paid already. It is a long, complicated story, but they ended up waiting about 4 hours until well after dark. We waited with them, and they could tell we were doing all we could to get them home as quickly as possible. They were understandably upset about the situation (one old lady still had to walk several miles in the dark once she got dropped off - which ended up being after 9 pm!), but they were not upset with us, which was amazing. God really worked in that situation, and we really think that our relationships with those 2 groups are even better than with the others because of it. Here is a pic of Steve with the chieftain of one of the villages that got left behind. Please continue to pray for us as we begin to reach out to the Agta. This was essentially the "kick-off" for our ministry, and it went really well, but that just means that there is TONS of work to do now, following up and furthering those relationships so we can begin teaching.
Please pray as well as we are exhausted right now. Between Tuesday and Wednesday alone, Steve put in 32 hours of work. He left before the kids are up and came home long after they are in bed. I was with him all day yesterday. Today he left again before the kids were up to wrap up some details from yesterday and attend a clinic 1 1/2 hours away where there are supposed to be several Agta as well. Please pray for continued health and strength during this busy time.

A Lizard in the Fridge - and Zach turns 5!

We have hundreds of small lizards all over our house. They climb all over the walls and the ceilings and sometimes startle you when you open a closet or drawer. We actually don't mind at all because they are harmless, and they eat all the bugs. Actually, the kids love to catch them and play with them (which is normally fine, but the other day they accidentally dropped one on my foot, and the scared thing went running - right up my leg! I was not too thrilled... On my walls is one thing, up my leg is another). Anyway, I recently opened the fridge and was shocked to see a lizard IN the fridge - no joke. I have no idea how he got in there, but he was not allowed to stay. Needless to say, he was a little sluggish when we pulled him out.

But on to more important things - Zach turned 5 years old! To celebrate, we went to a great little swimming pool near Mt. Mayon, "our" volcano with our friends, the Allens.

We had a cake made at the local bakery with a spiderman web on it. It didn't turn out as well as I had hoped (they changed the colors on us), but I also made a box with a city around the sides and suspended Spider Man over the cake. Zach loved the cake and promptly proclaimed this his best birthday ever.

These 5 kids are virtually the only caucasians in Bicol. We are so thankful for the Allens who live about 1 1/2 hours away, and we get together with them as often as we can.

Grandma and Grandpa Hagen sent a cool card for Zach that Mikayla read to all the kids.

Zach got some cool presents, but he really liked this super hero t-shirt from his buddy, Caleb. Some others were a spiderman thermos, 2 spiderman puzzles, some spiderman school supplies...are you sensing a theme here? He also got the game Clue Jr. from us and his grandparents.

We had a blast hanging out as a family and swimming in the pool. A torrential downpour actually started in the afternoon, but we still had a good time - the kids playing in a little hut and the adults visiting. Nothing like a cookout in the rain! :)

No, this is not a picture of a drowning child. I asked Steve to take a pic of Zach swimming (he has become a little fish in the last 6 months), but I forgot that he swims entirely underwater now. So here is the pic anyway... :)

As I glance by over our blog, it occurs to me it that it looks like all we do over here is play. :) Believe it or not, that is not actually the case - it's just that the pics of curriculum development are not as exciting as fun swim days. :) Actually, last week we did go as a family and visit a couple of Agta villages, and we had a blast. I would have loved to have taken some pics, but I didn't want to seem like a tourist with ulterior motives on our 1st visit. I will try to get some of those another time.

Please pray with us today and tomorrow (May 29 & 30) as we are very busy with the medical clinic. Today is prep day (we are feeding 500 people tomorrow in addition to the medical clinic!), and tomorrow is the big day. Please pray that all the planned details come together and that we are able to make some good relationships with the Agta through this clinic. Please also pray as there is a volunteer team from the States working with the Filipino medical team. They are here to share the Gospel, and their goal is 11,000 decisions for faith in 10 days. While this is a noble goal, it doesn't take into account several facets of the Filipino culture. And since it is a high goal, Steve observed some of them being rather aggressive, even pushy, in their style as they share the Good News. The Agta are already suspicious of outsiders and easily "turned off". Please pray with us that they don't "scare off" the Agta tomorrow; we are hoping to start some relationships through the clinic tomorrow that will grow into an opportunity to really teach them the Word. Please pray that we get an opportunity to share our hearts with the volunteers before the clinic in the morning in a way that will communicate clearly but not create tension. We truly appreciate them coming all the way over here to help the Filipino people; we would just like to help them communicate in a way that will be less offensive in this culture. We covet your prayers!!!