Latest Crazy Adventure

I titled this post based on Kelley's comment about what the title of our blog should actually be, and I think I agree with her. This last adventure has had plenty of crazy thrown in.

We left home in the middle of a strong typhoon and drove north - towards the storm coincidentally. Wouldn't want to be far away from a strong typhoon, after all.

We were only in Manila a day to meet with a couple people and load our village storage stuff on top of the car (all the kitchen gear & bed mats/mosquito nets).

We then headed north and weathered yet another typhoon in a tiny hotel room. The door ended up not being very water-tight so we spent most of the day baling the room, but we were just thankful for solid walls and roof.

The day after the typhoon, we continued up into the mountains - only to discover a bridge out several hours from our destination and rumors of more bridges out further up. So we dropped Steve off to continue on up, speak at the church where they were expecting him, and scout out the options for getting the kids and me up there too.

Meanwhile, the kids and I headed back to the same little hotel and spent 3 days doing hotel school and waiting on word from Steve.

Once he had a plan in place, we went to join him. The first bridge had an 8 km detour around it (earlier today, the detour road had now collapsed since it was not built for heavy traffic so the new detour is now about 30 km). This is a pic of the 2nd bridge that was out and the temporary (read: SCARY) fix they have done.
The views once we got up into the mountains were gorgeous. We pulled over a couple times (see below) for Steve to hike ahead and check out the status of the road.

We had to stop and kill some time close to our destination because we needed help from the local guys to get all our stuff across the river. We found this great picnic spot to enjoy while we waited.

The kids were great sports about all the craziness. Sure love these kids!

Steve and the kids spent some time climbing around on the rocks while I read and tried to not think about how much still had to be accomplished and how little daylight we had left.

The guys finally arrived to help us. This was the end of the road. Literally.

It was amazing to me how this tiny little mountain river had gotten so huge that it had washed out the road next to the bridge (the bridge itself was actually ok). The guys hiked some of our stuff across the river first (G - see those boxes strapped into their home-made backpack baskets? Those are the boxes of canned chicken etc that you sent. Thought of you as I watched them. :) )

Steve had a great idea that worked wonderfully. He bought the stuff for a pulley system, and they shuttled most of the stuff across the gap this way. The tribal guys thought this was too cool. They put out the call, and we also sent some rice and corn across that way. Since then, they have used the set-up several times.

The kids and I crossed the river next with help from some of the guys. Once we got to the other side, Ben drew quite the crowd when he showed off his pet turtle.

After we got all the stuff across the gap, Steve took off with the computer bag and the boys on a motorcycle to head to the village. They guys loaded the rest of our stuff in carabao (water buffalo) carts, and Mikayla & I started walking. We walked about 30 mins before Steve made it back to pick us up to go the rest of the way into the village.

Here is the view of the bridge from the top of the first hill.

Once we were in the village, we only had about an hour before dark so we hustled to get beds set up. No electricity up here since the typhoon came through! And they don't expect it again for several months.

The next morning, the men came by to ask Steve to go with them (drive them) 7 hrs away to pick up some relief goods that had been given to them. So he left the kids and me for the day and was gone until after 1am. A little unnerving to be left in a strange village where you have never been before and to have to tackle all the settling in on my own (not to mention it was a LONG day for Steve too!), but we were glad that he could help get them some relief.

After that, life settled into a fairly "normal" routine.

Fetching water from way up the hill.

Washing dishes - notice the POURING rain. Yep, another typhoon came through. We just got the outer rain bands this time, but it was a very rainy week. The rivers went up and prevented Steve from crossing to speak at the church where he was supposed to, but he just switched the schedule with a village on this side of the river. It's all good. :)

Ben discovered this "colony of ants" (his words) in the bathroom. Impressive. Thankful for the bug spray I brought with us.

My kitchen - WAY nicer than last time! It is really big, and the lay out has worked out great. Love!

Steve was gone all day every day (and even an over-night) to speak at seminars. They went REALLY well, and the group in each of the villages is SO excited about the possibility of sending out their very own to reach the Agta tribe. God is at work!

Please continue to pray for Steve as he hikes from place to place to teach all day. The one village is a 3 hr hike straight UP. He actually hiked up the afternoon/evening before the seminar day and hiked back down after teaching all day. Last time he did it, it POURED all the way up AND back. He was a muddy (carabao poopy) mess when he got back, but so encouraged by the 70 eager people who attended the seminar.

To get to the Wednesday seminar, Steve had to float down the river, then drift to the other side where the village is. He got dumped pretty good, but so did his guide so his ego wasn't too bruised.

This is the view from our bedrooms. LOTS of carabaos up there. And people hard at work, harvesting and drying their corn - at least when the sunshine cooperated!

Early this morning (up before 5), we hiked back out to the bridge. When the road is dry and you really move, the hike is only about 45 mins. Today I think it took me almost an hour and a half. That mud was brutal.

Once we finally got to town today, we bought some rubber boots for everyone. Hiking through that green nasty smelly carabao mud...NOT my favorite.

The kids beat us to the river, and the guys help them cross. We had actually planned to come out last night, but it rained all day yesterday so this river was up, and we couldn't get out. Thankfully, it goes down quickly after the rain quits so we had no problem crossing this time. That is Mikayla crossing down there.

This time, they had rigged "portable bridges" across the deeper sections so - as long as you have good balance over rushing water and wobbly wood - you don't have to even get wet to cross.

Happy to report that we all made it across dry - at least from the river. Pretty wet from the rain that had started back up about half way through the hike.

Who needs a fancy concrete bridge when you have these wonders of engineering?

Ok, I will leave you with this cool picture. While the carabao and cornfields is picturesque, it is actually the itty bitty hut and garden on the mountain ridge back behind that is so cool. See, that little hut is a testament to the power of God and the faith of His people in this place. That mountain across the river was off-limits for generations; it was controlled by an evil spirit that would kill anyone who went over there, much less tried to plant crops there. Many people died painful and mysterious deaths after venturing onto that mountain. Well, after the power of the Gospel broke through into this village, some of the new believers decided that they no longer needed to be afraid of the spirits on that mountain because greater is He who was in them than he that is in the world. So one brave family crossed the river and not only climbed the mountain, they planted their crops over there. God's power prevailed, and their little planting huts and fields over there are a lasting testimony to the entire village.

Well, we are only in "town" here for 2 nights. We are hoping to head back up early on Sunday, in time for Steve to preach at a village across the river. We are supposed to meet the raft at 830am, but the roads we came out on today were terrible. Please pray with us that we are able to get through again to get back up there. Please also pray that the rain holds off so that we can cross the river to church and another river to get home. And the villagers really need some dry weather to harvest and dry their corn. They have been hit so hard by all these typhoons - won't you pray with us?

The Adventure Begins

Well, if you have clicked on the links to the updates I wrote below, you know that we have encountered some obstacles making it into the village. Steve ended up going up alone while the kids & I turned back and waited in the town so he could scout out the situation. He discovered a total of 3 bridges out between us and the village where we will be living. However, he thinks he has figured out ways to get us past all of them, so we are headed out again tomorrow am early. This is the 1st bridge that is out. They are in the process of rigging a temporary bridge, and they told Steve that it will be passable tomorrow. If not, then there is another route around; you need 4 wheel drive, but we have it so we are set.

Notice the audience gathered to watch people try to cross. Just imagine how entertaining our family will be for everyone. :)

This is the 2nd bridge out. Today they filled it with dirt and gravel so it will be temporarily passable.

Unfortuately, there is no temporary fix for the 3rd bridge that is out, however it is only a couple kilometers from our destination village so we will just walk from here.

It will be a while - if ever - before you can "proceed when clear" on this bridge!

This peaceful river WAY down there doesn't seem capable of such fury, does it? But it is this river that took out all those bridges! The flooding was crazy, and it caused unbelievable damage as well as several deaths.

So we will walk the last couple km. But we still have to cross the river WITH all our stuff (school curriculum, kitchen gear, food, tables, foam sleeping pads, clothes, medical supplies...). But if they can get these 2 motorcycles across (for Steve & another guy to drive out earlier today), then they can surely get our stuff across, right?

They made it safely across with both motorcycles none the worse for the journey. (And you can be thankful that no pictures exist of when Steve jumped in and helped with the heavier one - dressed just like the other guys who also didn't have swim trunks.) :)

Please pray for us as we embark on this adventure tomorrow. Pray that the temporary bridges really are passable by tomorrow (if they are not, then we will have to leave the vehicle, unload all the stuff and walk it across - which will be great entertainment for the audience! - then hire another vehicle to take us to the next bridge, repeat process). Pray that the computer bag and school books make it across without falling in any rivers (preferably that nothing falls in, but especially not those!). Pray that we don't get ANY rain tomoro. Pray that I am able to keep my sense of humor through this crazy adventure. :)

Next update hopefully in about 2 wks.

Tnx for praying!!!

Typhoon & Travel Update

Wrote another update, but can't get it to paste here in the blog. Click on the link if you want to read it. Tnx for praying!!!!

update

TYPHOON TROUBLE

I wrote a quick email update today about some trouble we are having with typhoons right now. Just in case you didn't get it, here is a link you can follow to read it. Tnx for praying!!!

update

Prayers Needed!!!

So tomorrow morning we leave on another adventure. We will be roughing it in a mountain village for the months of October & November, and we covet your prayers! (For more info about where we are going, why, and some pics of the village where we will be living, click here .)

Here are some specifics that you can lift before the throne the next couple months:

1. For safety as we travel about 24 hours through congested cities, crazy national "highways" then precarious mountain "roads".

2. For good health and no injuries as we will be a long ways from good healthcare options.

3. For safe weather - we are in the midst of typhoon season, and we would rather not experience one in a village setting! The above map shows exactly where we will be, so if you hear about a typhoon, you can check it out on the link to the right (check the "tracks"), and know to pray!

4. For an extra measure of grace and strength as the schedule will be grueling for each of us.

5. For Steve to be able to communicate clearly as he teaches 6 days a week, all day long, in Tagalog.

6. For Jen & the kids to be able to accomplish what they need to in school despite the many distractions of village life.
7. For each of us to stay encouraged (especially me - Jen!) in spite of the isolation and challenging living/sleeping conditions. Steve and the kids usually thrive while camping in a village like this for months on end, but it is really tough for me, so I covet your prayers!!!

8. For God to do a mighty work in the hearts of the people there, that their hearts would be open to what He tells them, and that they would faithfully follow as He leads.

Exciting Posts

We are swamped this week getting ready to move up into the village for the months of Oct & Nov (see next post), so I don't have time to put together a post about the trainings we are doing with our new Bogkalot tribal teammates. But, our co-worker, Megan, just posted some great posts on her blog, so in lieu of re-inventing the wheel: http://meganinthephilippines.blogspot.com/

The post at the top is a video of the very first worship songs in the language of Buhinon (so exciting!), and the 2nd one is about the training we had this past weekend. We will have another one this coming weekend.

Appreciate your ongoing prayers as we prepare everything to head north 1 wk from today to camp in the mountains for 2 months. SOOO many details to work out! Figure out menu and buy the food (no fridge or grocery store!), kitchen necessities, bedding and other houseware goods, medical supplies, clothing, homeschool materials...the list is daunting. And to top it off, I (Jen) am not feeling well...thanks for praying!!!

Mobilization and Training

Several years ago, we realized that the most effective way to reach the Agta was to mobilize and train believers from another tribe to do it. Of course, the tribe that occured to us first was the tribal group where Jen's parents served for so many years. We dreamed big - what if we could mobilize them to send out some of their very own to reach the Agta? While this was an exciting prospect, the barriers were staggering. However, we serve a big God, don't we? No barriers stagger HIM whatsoever. He orchestrated the founding of Global Empowerment, and we have been privileged to partner with them in their first project - mobilizing and training the Bogkalot tribal church to send people out to reach the Agta tribe. This has become the focus of our ministry for a year and a half now, and the southern chapter of Bogkalot churches sent out 2 teams this past year. These 2 teams (2 families and 2 single men) are living in Agta village and studying language. Lord willing, they will be ready to start teaching in January!

Well, as God has been prompting our hearts, we have kept on dreaming big, and we are praying for 6 more teams to move here this next year. After we mobilized in the southern Bogkalot churches, the northern churches asked us to come and do the same thing in their area. Steve and my dad went up there last week to start the mobilization process with a seminar on the book of Acts. Here is the group of men... ...and women who attended the seminar.

By the end of Steve's time up there, it was evident that the northern churches are even more passionate about being involved in reaching the Agta than the southern churches were at the beginning. 7 families and 5 single men already approached Steve and told him that they would love to be sent out to reach the Agta. As a result of this level of interest and passion for the lost, our family will be moving up into that area to spend 2 months mobilizing and training the Bogkalot churches about how to send out their very own - it is critical that the churches catch the vision, not just the ones whom God is calling to "go". We did this same thing (spent 2 months there) in the southern area, and God used it mightily to provide some wonderful co-workers. We are praying that He will again move mightily, this time in the northern churches.

We will leave home the end of September, and we will spend the months of Oct and Nov in the mountains about 12 hrs north of Manila, based in the village of Wasid.
We will live in the village community center kind of building. It is located right next to the school in the middle of the village. Should keep us hopping!

This will be home sweet home for 2 months!

Steve will be traveling to different churches to teach/train every day during the week; and, at least on Sundays, we will all accompany him. Some of these trips will require a significant amount of hiking. Another one involves this river crossing on a raft - on which they load motorcycles!

He discovered a great place for a picnic while he was up there - the kids are excited to try it out!

Isn't it just beautiful?

This waterfall will be quite the hike from where we are living, but Steve can't wait to bring us there for a visit.

And these are some of the guys that he will be teaching the 2 months while we are up there. Exciting times!

As you can imagine, there a LOT of prep work that goes into moving your family into a VERY remote location for 2 months. We will be about 4 hrs from a grocery store/market, and we will not have a fridge so menu planning is a challenge to be sure! SOOO thankful for a sweet friend who sent me a bunch of canned chicken and some "instant" meals that will really help a ton. Then we have to pack up our schoolwork, bedding, kitchen stuff, medical equipment... the list is daunting. Please pray for us as we make all the necessary preparations. And we DESPERATELY need your prayers in Oct/Nov. We won't be able to be online much (we will go down to "town" once every 2-3 wks to download email and buy groceries), but whenever you think of us, please pray. It will be a grueling schedule and a challenging living situation in a remote location. Tnx for praying!!!

This Week

This past week has been hard. My (Jen's) Nana passed away. It was SO hard to be away from my family during this time, and it was made harder still by the fact that Steve was gone on a 2 week trip. We were doing ok, but let's just say that a LOT of tears have been shed this past week. Here is a picture of Nana (my mom's mom) and Mikayla with baby Zach right after he was born. Zachary Kenneth was named after Nana's husband who went to be with the Lord just before Steve & I were married. We will miss Nana so much but are so glad that she is no longer suffering on this earth but is instead singing hymns of praise in the heavenly throneroom.

Like I said, this past week has been really tough, and I was honestly dreading the kids' soccer tournament on Saturday. While they enjoy playing soccer with their teammates, the organization is not what I am used to for an event like this, and it is always confusing and stressful trying to figure out where to be when...and when you are trying to do that for THREE kids on FIVE teams, all in the same tournament, and trying to keep them all hydrated in this tropical heat... anyway, I was not looking forward to trying to handle all that without Steve. Not to mention, I have been asked to coach teams in tournaments like this before just because I am there. When you don't know the players' names, positions, or skill levels, this is a bit of a challenge and very stressful. ANYWAY... Steve showed up just as the tournament started and surprised us!!! We were SO incredibly thrilled to see him. He had driven through the night from up north to Manila, arrived just in time to catch the early flight to our area, then took a taxi straight from the airport. He got some huge hugs and massive smiles for his effort. :)

The kids played really well. I love the look of intensity on Zach's face here.
Mikayla has been doing great too. She currently plays on a boys' team, but yesterday she competed on that team as well as 2 different girls teams (1 for under 13 girls, the other for under 17 girls, but she was one of the few on either of those teams with any experience - one of the other best players on her team was only 7!). She was one tired girl by the end of the day, but we were so proud of her!

Since Steve had missed a whole night's sleep AFTER almost 2 wks of traveling through the mountains and not sleeping much, he was just a little sleepy through the day. He got his hammock out of his backpack and slept in between games.

It was STINKING hot all day, and since it was organized differently than what we would expect, we ended up with more than 3 hours at one stretch of just sitting and waiting. The kids did great, but the heat had just zapped all of our energy by the time the quarter finals and semi finals started up.

Mikayla's team lost in the semi finals, but they played well against a much more talented team that gets a lot more practice together.

Zach's team ended up winning their division! He played great defense, and we are so thankful for this opportunity for them to make friends and learn the life lessons that can be learned through sports. Ben's foot (which he hurt earlier this week) wasn't feeling well enough for him to be very involved this time, but there are lessons to learn from that as well. :)

Steve's trip up north went amazingly well, and we are VERY encouraged by what God is doing up there. I will do another post in a couple days to share it with you and hopefully encourage you as well!