A Glimpse into Our World

We love it when people come to visit us - especially when they take great pictures and are happy to share them with us! :) Jessica is on a 2-year term here in the Philippines, but she is stationed in Manila so her work looks a little different from ours out here in the province.  Here is Jessica tasting fresh coconut juice.

(Tnx to Jessica & Megan for many of the pics in the next couple posts!)

One of the reasons we love visitors, is that we get to see our world through their eyes. A big part of our world is Megan, our teammate here with the Agta.  Megan is an integral part of the work here, and we will sure miss her when she returns to the States in July!  Megan is the one on the left in case you are wondering.  :)

 I am putting these pics up in no particular order - just some cool shots that Jessica & Megan got during their travels.  Here is a quiet river in one of the villages.

 Having a "house on the lake" may mean something a little different here in our world than in your world...

 Precious children wherever you go

 Love the color contrasts in this shot.  That volcano used to be "our" volcano when we lived in our other town at the foot of it.  Now we live at the foot of a different volcano.

 Load 'em up and move 'em out.

So maybe our worlds aren't so different after all - you all enjoy a nice boat ride on the lake too, right?

 Another style of lake home.  Built on stilts to protect from the regular flooding.

 No stilts for this one - which means they have to have someone they can go live with several times a year when their home floods out.

 Want to take a stroll across the bridge with us?

(In my opinion, strolling is MUCH preferred to riding a motorcycle across!)

 We have so many volcanoes on our tiny peninsula that we actually called to check if our insurance covered volcanic damage.  This one is spectacular.

Q: How many people can fit on a Philippine Jeepney?

A: ONE MORE!

 These critters can be pretty vicious.  It's a good idea to gauge the length of their chain...and stay well outside that. 

 Little beach village

 This picture is amazing to me.  We will have some volunteer teams located in this area this summer.  Praying that God moves mightily in this community!

 Another gorgeous sunset.  You ready to come for a visit yet?

 A lot of the Agta make copra by drying/smoking coconuts over a fire.  Copra is used to make coconut oil, animal feeds, and several other things.  

 This is Alvin's dad (see the next post about Alvin & Raquel's family).

 I love it when the rice fields are this brilliant green color!

And this is another part of our world - though not as beautiful a part!  Ben is helping remove a mouse from in front of Aunt Megan's door.

 We do a lot of hiking across rice fields like this (that is Mikayla up there).  Normally, balancing on these little paths is not a problem, but I was dealing with some sinus dizziness on this particular day so it was more of an adventure than normal. :)

 A local laundromat. You can hire these ladies to wash your clothes for you in this stream.  I can't imagine what their feet look like after standing in that water, working all day long.

 Zach & Ben going for a little dip in the village.  And, no, Ben did not land on Zach here. :)

 Another little tribal home.

 And another beautiful child.  Thankfully, this one is growing up in a home that is now following God every step of the way.

 Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into our world - now come visit us so you can see it all for yourself! :)

A Special Day

You know how Mikayla seems to always have a baby in her arms when we are in the village?  Well, this little darling fell asleep in her arms for about an hour.  After we left the village, the parents texted us and asked if Mikayla would give their baby her nickname (everyone has an official name, but most people also have a nickname).  Her name is Verlyn Fatima, and Mikayla chose Vera to be her nickname.  What a special opportunity for Mikayla! 

(In case you wonder what on earth I am doing with my hands like that - I am holding on to the hammock that is hanging in front of me to keep it out of my face.)

 This is another little girl, and Sunday was a special day for her family.  She was dedicated to the Lord, and her mom was baptiz-d.

 Here is her precious family, listening as Steve shares about the responsibility of parents to teach their children the Word of God.  I love the look of rapt attention on Raquel's face!

 Here is Steve giving a charge to the parents and other relatives/friends...

 ...and holding sweet Nikki Ruth while he prays for her and her family.

 a precious group

 After the baby dedication, we headed to a nearby village where there is a little stream.  We sang some worship songs together, and Steve shared the meaning and significance of bapt-sm.

 Raquel's husband, Alvin, has been a believer for a while, but this was the first time he baptiz-d anyone.  Steve told him that it won't be his last. :)  Since he had never done it before and is painfully shy, Steve went out there to walk him through it and give him the support he needed. 

 We were so proud of BOTH of them for stepping out in faith like this!

 The pure joy of obedience.

 The Agta are typically extremely reserved and don't show any emotion, but looks like a little joy might be leaking out here. :)  Was SO cool to see.

What a special day, and we were so privileged to watch God at work in their lives!



Swimming with Sharks!

One of the things our region is famous for is butanding (whale sharks).  These amazing creatures are an odd mix between a whale and a shark - they eat only plankton like whales, but they breathe underwater with gills like a shark.  When Steve swam with the whale sharks in 2008,

he swam with one that was 17 meters (about 55ft!) long.  Google whale sharks for some amazing pics and info.  ANYWAY, we finally got to go do this as a family, and we had a great time.  Unfortunately, the numbers of whale sharks in our area is diminishing so we only actually saw one, and it was only a baby at about 6 meters long (about 20 ft), but we got to swim with it 5 times. 

Pretty incredible.

 Jumping off the moving boat was an adventure all in itself.  In the adrenaline rush of the 1st entry (GO GO GO!!!), we had several incidents where both Ben and I (Jen) got landed on top of by other members of our party.  Oops.  We got better at the entry part after that.

 Ok, I know this pic is blurry, but it actually felt a little blurry out there in the chaos of trying to find and follow the massive underwater creature.

 This time he came so close!!!  Was absolutely incredible.  Don't worry, remember, even though they have "shark" in their name, they are NOT meat-eaters. :)

 Most of the time we were paddling wildly, trying to keep up with it, and this was our view.  The first time we swam with it, I just kept swimming and following - for quite some time - until it dived to where I couldn't see it anymore.  When I came up, I realized that I was the only one who had followed it that far away, and I was way out in the ocean by myself.  Oops.  But so worth it - and the boat came and got me right away. 

 What a great day as a family!

So thankful that we were able to enjoy God's amazing creation and make some wonderful memories that we will cherish forever.

Easter Weekend

Our Easter weekend probably looked different than yours did - we didn't dress up in fancy clothes, attend a big worship celebration, or eat a big Easter dinner with our family.  But we worshipped our Risen Savior just like you did - just in different way.  We spent the weekend with our new tribal partners from up north; they traveled down to do a final survey to decide where exactly they will locate, and they plan to start building their new homes tomorrow!  We traveled all over Bicol, hiking to many different Agta villages, villages that will soon hear the Good News about our Risen Savior because these Bugkalot tribal believers are stepping out in faith, moving down here to shine HIS light in this dark place.

As we traveled from place to place, we encountered breath-taking views, and we worshipped our Almighty Creator.  We also saw beautiful people, people who desperately need to hear the Good News of our Risen Savior; and we praised God for the tribal believers He is sending to this place to share the Truth with them.  We also had some fun along the way getting to know our new partners in the work; we praise God for their willingness to GO and leave behind all that is familiar to them.  

Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse of our Easter weekend, and we pray that your weekend was a precious time as well, even if it looked a little different than ours did. :) 

We covet your prayers in the next 2 weeks as our new partners build their tribal-style homes and begin developing relationships in their new villages.  Hopefully they can accomplish a lot before they head home to attend their annual believers conference, which will include a commissioning service for them as they go out.  Then on May 8, accompanied this time by their wives and children, they will leave their homes and move 24 hours south to their new homes.  They are going through huge transitions right now so please pray for HIS peace and strength for each memer of the family.

Child Labor

Since child labor laws are more lax in the Philippines, we decided to put the kids to work.  Need to start earning their bread and water at some point, right?

No, actually, the kids had a BLAST today participating in a "kiddie crew" at our favorite fastfood restaurant in Bicol - Biggs Diner.  The owners are good friends of ours, and they invited our kids to join theirs for a day of work exposure at one of their restaurants.

 The boys walked around the restaurant, taking orders for shakes or other treats and filling out satisfaction surveys for people. 

 Mikayla actually got to work the cash register most of the day, and I guess she was a natural because the other employees were teasing the trainee that Mikayla was already faster than she was.  :)  Don't know that it was true, but Mikayla had fun learning a new skill.

It was a great opportunity for our kids, and we are so thankful they got to do it. 

Thanks, Carlo & Rica!!! 

In other news, Steve made an unexpected trip to Manila earlier today.  The Bugkalot team who is on their way down got stuck in Manila; the wait for bus tickets was several DAYS since everyone goes home to the province over Easter.  So at 1am, Steve bought a plane ticket for 7am (no problem getting INTO the city), and now he is driving the group back here from Manila in my dad's van.  Unfortunately, they are making painfully slow progress - Steve said the highway might as well be a parking lot.  Please be praying for safety as they travel and that the traffic would lessen as they get closer down here.  Please pray as well as we travel all around the mountains in Bicol the next couple days, surveying possible sites where the teams will locate.  Lots of decisions to be made in the next couple days - where to locate, who will be on each team, who the team leaders will be...appreciate your prayers for wisdom and unity!