Training in the Mountains

Thank you so much for praying for Steve as he traveled up into the mountains to do a church planting training this past week. Thanks too for praying for the kids and me, and thanks to all of you who dropped me a note the last couple days – it was WONDERFUL to hear from so many of you! It was so encouraging.

Steve arrived home safely, and he said that the training went really well. There were about 20 people who attended, and God is really at work in that mountainous area. While Steve didn’t get many pictures (in all fairness, he was pretty busy teaching!), he did get a couple. The first two are of the place where they had the meeting and the group of attendees as well as the 3 pastors who helped Steve teach.

Steve texted and told me the sunsets were amazing up there, and here are some shots he took. The mountain you can see in some of them is the volcano that our town is named after, Mt. Iriga – we call it “our volcano”. It is right next to our little town, and it really is beautiful.
Steve said that he definitely had a hard time sleeping as he shared a double bed with 2 other men – and the “bed” was just a board with no pillows or mattress. Steve tries not to bring too much stuff with him (like a mat) because he hates to show up with more stuff for a 2-night stay than they own altogether. Besides the tight sleeping quarters, there was a large fluorescent bulb hanging a few feet over the bed – that they left on all night both nights for some reason! I am guessing my man will sleep well tonight after 2 nights of that, followed by teaching all day in Tagalog! :) I may have to leave the light on just to see if he notices. :)
One of the pastors who was helping teach has a medical condition that seems to be like gout or arthritis??? Anyway, it was acting up pretty badly so he was not able to walk. However, that didn’t stop him – a friend just carried him to the meeting place!
The kids and I had a good time here together. We got a lot done, but we also enjoyed some play time together. Here is a picture that Mikayla took of Zach with a leaf he found in the back yard.
Thanks again for all your prayers and words of encouragement this past week!!!

Training on Catanduanes

This past weekend, Steve had the privilege of accompanying the Terry and Michaelle (the other couple from our company who recently moved down here to Bicol to work with the national Bicolano people while we focus on the tribal people in the mountains - you can check out their blog at www.bicol4christ.blogspot.com ) to a nearby island to do a church planting training there. Since Steve has done several such trainings with local pastors in the past year, they asked if he would come and assist with this one, and he was so blessed during the weekend to be able learn from their many years of experience. They left Friday morning and returned on Monday, and we can thank Terry and Michaelle for the pictures since Steve doesn't usually bring a camera, and when he does, he normally forgets to take pictures. :)

The training was held on the island of Catanduanes. Even though I am sure that ALL of you study your map of the Philippines everyday and know EXACTLY where that is, I included a map here just for kicks. :) The circled section is the region where we live and work, the peninsula of Bicol. The arrow points to the island of Catanduanes where the training was held.

They drove a couple hours to the port city of Tabaco, then parked the car and boarded a ferry to take them over to the island. There had been a typhoon in the area a few days before this, and we had been praying that it passed through quickly so that they could make it to the island (the ferries don't run if there is a typhoon in the area). Thankfully, the weather was beautiful the day they were scheduled to travel there - isn't God good?!?

Here was the group that attended the training (Steve is taking the picture with Terry and Michaelle's camera). For those of you who follow our blog regularly, you will recognize the banner behind them from other trainings we have done - it is II Timothy 2:2 in Tagalog, and it has become the theme verse for our trainings ~ "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."
While Steve and Terry and Michaelle all took turns teaching during the training, the attendees also had a lot of time to talk through the new information and apply what they were learning as they were divided into small groups for discussion and application.

The training went very well, and everyone said they had learned a lot, and we are excited to see how God will use it in the weeks and months ahead to start some new groups on the island of Catanduanes. One of the exciting results of the training and their study of the Word was that several of the attendees who had been believers beforehand decided that they wanted to be baptized in obedience to Christ, and the pastor agreed to baptize them (he had been reluctant to do so until they had "proven" their faith through an extended period of good works but after seeing examples from the Word decided that, if they wanted to, they were ready to be baptized as symbols of their faith in Christ). So a baptism service was held before they left the island, and the pastor baptized 3 members of his church.
Steve was so thankful to be able to be involved in this training. He was only home for 2 days, then he left this morning at 6am to help with another 3-day training, this time in the mountains. He will be home on Saturday. This one is with some of our local Filipino partners who have asked to be trained to plant churches in remote areas. One of the exciting things about this training is the fact that some of the pastors who we have trained in the past are helping him teach this time! Also, instead of doing the training here at our house, they are going out into a village about 1 hour away to do it. All the attendees will bring food, and they will sleep wherever they can find a place to do so in the village. What makes this exciting is that it means that this training will be very "reproducible" for them - which just means that they will be able to continue doing it this way long after we are gone because we are not providing any of the $ or accommodations. The pastors are excited about this idea and are already planning what villages will host future trainings. While this is very exciting, please do be in prayer for Steve as his sleeping and eating arrangements will be an adventure for the next couple days. Pray that he will be able to get enough rest and food to teach effectively and for health and safety in that remote village.

I sent the camera with Steve, but we will have to wait and see if he takes any pictures or not! :)

Hagen Homeschool Chess Club

Megan is a long-term volunteer who has been helping with our ministry here amongst the Agta since May. One of the ways she has been helping is with the kids' school. Her primary responsibility in teaching is teaching science, history, thinking skills, art and music. The kids are LOVING having class with Aunt Megan every day. Well, for thinking skills class today, Aunt Megan thought it would be fun for them to learn how to play chess. So I introduce to you the newly-founded chess club at the Hagen Homeschool! :) We are so thankful for Megan's servant attitude and the many ways she has helped in the ministry here since she arrived in May. She just decided to extend until at least January 15, and she may even be able to stay longer than that! Praise the Lord for willing volunteers who want to be involved in what God is doing around the world.

Thank you, Megan!

Kayla Lands the Kicker!!!

Ok, it seems like all I am posting right now is play time pictures! Believe it or not, we actually have been super busy lately with ministry things in the village. However, we are trying to avoid bringing the camera with us out there all the time so that the people don't feel like we are representing National Geographic. So in the combined effort to help us to fit in more with the people, you will have to suffer through more wakeboarding pictures. :)

This video is of a big accomplishment Mikayla had this past Monday, something she has been working on a LONG time now. She was pretty stoked to say the least. :) Another cool thing that happened on Monday was that Mikayla met a 17 yr old girl who gave Mikayla her old wakeboard!!! It is even a girly wakeboard with flowers and butterflies. :) Thank you, Nikki!

Something else we are pretty stoked about is that the new Agta believers out in the village of Ipil just decided that they need to be baptized in obedience to what they are learning in the Word! The have set it up for next Wednesday, and we are excited to see what God will do through that time. In addition, the group that meets in San Augustina is nearing the end of the 1st Bible story set, and they are very excited to hear the culmination and learn all that Christ has done for them. Last week they even kept asking Steve for "one more lesson" until they had done 3 lessons instead of the usual 1! God is certainly at work in their midst, and we can't wait to see what He will do in the weeks ahead. Please also be praying for Steve as he heads to another island to do a church planting training this weekend. Pray for health (he has been fighting a cold), safe travel, and that he and our coworkers would be able to communicate clearly. Pray that those attending would be willing to evaluate what they are doing in light of what the Word says.

Gota Village

Steve and I just returned from our best anniversary celebration ever. This year marked our 10th wedding anniversary, and we had an absolutely amazing weekend at a beach resort - while the kids enjoyed some bonding time with Uncle Terry and Aunt Michaelle. :) The drive there ended up being much longer than we had anticipated over some incredibly rough roads, but the views along the way were spectacular. We rounded the corner at one point to see Mt. Mayon across the bay.

We were glad for our 4-wheel drive vehicle several times along the way. The drive got long (6 hours each way over bouncy roads!), but we so enjoyed the scenery together.
When we finally arrived, we were awe-struck by the beauty of the little resort village nestled at the base of some cliffs on the beach. Phenomenal.
This one is taken from the adjacent cove - you can see just a sliver of Gota beach.
A perfect place to grab a book and relax to the sound of the waves.
Here is the walkway between the two coves.
Steve had fun trying some impromptu rock climbing.

There were some HUGE hermit crabs scurrying around the beach at night. We wanted to try to bring one back to the kids, but it wasn't doing so well so we let it go before we left.
It was so cool how the cove was surrounded by tiny deserted islands. Gorgeous.
We actually swam out to the one straight out from Gota beach 2 different times - Steve figures it was about a mile away. We enjoyed the swim together, and found some great snorkeling over there besides.

We actually found several amazing snorkeling spots that had both great coral and sea life. Some of the creatures we saw were lots of star fish and brightly-colored fish, a sea horse, a sting ray, several jelly fish (1 large one), and an octopus!
We stayed for 2 nights, and God provided some beautiful sunsets both nights (guessing the sunrises were pretty too, but I can't speak from experience on those!).
The service was excellent, and they even set up a romantic dinner on the beach for us both nights - without being asked! There was hardly anyone else at the resort while we were there, and we so enjoyed the peace and quiet.
We are so thankful that we were able to enjoy this past weekend together, celebrating the fact that God has blessed us with the joy of being married for 10 years now. We made some great memories and came home truly refreshed.

Last Fling of Summer & 1st Day of School

Well, we spent a couple days as a family at the wakeboarding place to celebrate Zach's successful completion of his "Summer Reading Program". Zach read 123 books this summer!!! Small books, but still... The reward he chose was this last fling of summer up at CWC. We had a great time, and Zach was a little machine out there on his wakeboard - he rode for nearly TWO HOURS without stopping!!!

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The boys discussing a trick out on the water. I love how Steve is able to bond with the kids through this new hobby. Makes for great family time.

Ben knee boarded for the 1st time yesterday!!! He has been nervous to try it, but has really wanted to at the same time. He conquered his fear and went for it - and had a blast!
Unfortunately, he is so light that he bounced all over. We told him he will have to try wakeboarding instead since it doesn't bounce so badly. He's not so sure about that... :)
Zach with his new board and helmet.
Zach and his friend, Takiah-Lani. He and Takiah love to ride together. She is only 5, and her parents manage the wakeboard place near us. They have become good friends, and we are so thankful that God brought them into our lives.
There was a guy there yesterday with a black lab puppy, and he asked Mikayla if she wanted to take the dog out for a ride! Kayla was all for it, and they had a lot of fun trying it out.
Well, that was our last fling of the summer - we started school today. Here are some pics from the 1st day of school this year.
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The Pledge of Allegiance

Praying for a good year that glorifies God
Ben in his desk. Ben is still in Pre-K; his "school" is the 1 hour of speech therapy every day.
Zach is in 1st grade this year! Unfortunately, he has a large sty on his eye today. :( He is being very good about it though and working hard anyway.
Mikayla is in 3rd grade now! Our little girl is growing up. She is VERY excited about the new school year and all her new books.
Thanks for your prayers as we start our new school year. Homeschooling can be a lot of fun but quite the challenge at times as well. They are great kids though and excellent students so I know that we are blessed. We praise Him for the way that He is at work in our family!