Zach's 11th birthday

We went to a pool for Zach Man's birthday celebration.  He had requested a pool with a waterslide, so we checked it out, and it was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so we scheduled to go on Wednesday.  However, this particular week they decided to close on Wednesday as well. :(  So we went to another pool that has a smaller slide...only to find out that they don't have water in that pool right now.  That is how things tend to work around here, but thankfully Zach had a great attitude, and we still had a lot of fun at a pool without a slide.

A couple of his friends were able to join us for the day, and we played a couple games.  This one is a local party tradition where the grid with goodies tied to it is lowered and raised quickly over and over so that you have to jump to get your treat.  It's kind of dangerous in my opinion since inevitably someone gets an elbow to the mouth as they are going up and their neighbor is coming down, but what 11 year old wouldn't enjoy that anyway? :)

Pin the spider on the web...

 ...and a water balloon toss.

 I think the dive-for-matchbox-cars-that-mom-throws-into-the-pool game was their favorite, but since Mom was throwing cars, she didn't get any pictures.

Zach requested fudge instead of birthday cake, and it is tough to get candles into fudge, so we put the candles in watermelon instead. :)

 Zach loved the yummy fudge his sister made for him.

 Time for presents!

 

 Ready to open the present (superheroes lego set) from his grandparents, already wearing his new green sports shirt from his parents.

Happy Birthday, Zachary!  We are so proud of the young man of God that you are becoming, and we can't wait to see what amazing plans HE has in store for you.  We love you!



Casting Vision

We feel like one of our primary roles is to cast vision to the people we work with.  You see, from the very beginning, we want to be working ourselves out of a job.  We do this in two steps (though each step has various components).  The first step is to cast vision for others to have a heart to reach the Agta; the second is to empower those who catch the vision to be effective.  This past term, our focus has been on casting vision and empowering the Bugkalot tribe to effectively reach the Agta tribe.  But one of the things that we believe will help them to be effective is if they are also trying to work themselves out of a job.  The first group of Bugkalot partners that came down here to work with the Agta are now seeing the first fruits of their ministry; many have come to faith and several baby churches have been planted.  This past weekend we gathered together with our Bugkalot partners AND the new leaders of these baby Agta churches.  We cast vision for Agta men and women reaching the Agta and gave them some practical tools for how to do this.  While we are so very thankful for all the God is doing through our Bugkalot tribal partners, we know that they are not just our partners in reaching the Agta; they are our partners in empowering the Agta to reach their own people.  We want to make sure that the Agta believers do not depend on the Bugkalot to reach their people; we want them to catch the vision for Agta reaching Agta.

They had some worship and training time with the whole group...

...and also lots of small group discussion times. 

 Time for fellowship and just hanging out is key as well.

 One of the Agta leaders helping to lead a session.  Apply the principle right away, right? :) 

At the end of the time, each leader/group of leaders developed a plan to implement what they feel God is calling them to do at this time.  For some, that meant stepping up and taking more leadership in their new church.  For others, that meant new outreaches in new areas.  Exciting!  One of the coolest was hearing about what God is doing down in one of the most recent outreaches - now a baby church.  This guy is from an area several hours away where some of our Bugkalot partners have been doing an itinerant outreach off and on the last 2 months.  The leader from that baby church came up for this training, and it was encouraging to hear how he is not only faithfully leading his baby church, but that church has already started another outreach group!  He said he came up in order to get some tools on how to teach more effectively.  This guys has caught the vision! :)

Here's a picture of most of the group, though some had already left by the time they took this shot.

We are so very thankful for this great group of partners in the work, and we can't wait to see what God will do through them!

Here, There & Everywhere

Here are some pics that we took with our phones in the last little while.

Mikayla loves babies, and she does a great job with them.  Baby Paige (our partners' baby) has enjoyed many naps on her shoulder.

 We recently partnered with a Filipino church in Hong Kong who came and did a medical clinic & VBS for the Agta.  This was on the first day, and it shows our Bugkalot tribal partners welcoming everyone (the doctors as well as the patients & participants) to the activities.  The doctors were able to help a lot of people in the week that they were here, and the kids all had a blast with the VBS.

  Global Empowerment are our partners in the work to help the Bugkalot church to be able to fully support the ones they have sent out, and they have been BUSY!  There are several projects going up in the Bugkalot mountains now - one is fresh produce like strawberries and tomatoes, and another is coffee.  This is a picture of one of the nurseries nestled in the mountains.

 So exciting to see that end of the work progressing as well!  It is such an important piece of the puzzle if this tribal church will be able to sustain their own program for sending out apostles.

 A nasty critter we ran into on our travels.

Unbelievable how high they can stack those loads!  The load is higher and wider than the jeepney that is hauling it.

 Mt. Mayon at sunrise.

This is the volcano that recently had a minor eruption that killed 5 hikers that were climbing it.

Special Visitors

While all our visitors are special (and I can just hear all the smart remarks from my dad AND husband at this statement, but why spoil their fun?), we were so blessed to host my parents for a couple days last week.  Since my dad travels so much, he accumulates a lot of miles, so my mom was able to get off work and come with him on this trip to the Philippines.  Even though we have lived in this same house for more than 3 years (longer than we have EVER lived anywhere!), my mom had not yet been able to come see our place, so it was wonderful to have her here.

On the day they arrived, we went straight from the airport to the villages to visit our Bugkalot tribal partners.  My mom just sat and cried (that's a good thing!) as she listened to them give reports of all that God is doing through them down here in the Agta villages.

 The next 2 days we spent just hanging out together, no particular agenda - it was amazing!

We read lots of stories... 

 ...lounged in the back yard (we had all-day power outtages while they were here, so being outside is much cooler)...

 ...and just being together!

 We are so thankful for our time with them!

Bugkalot Conference

Studies have shown that apostles who are sent out to new areas are more effective and have greater longevity on the field when they have regular conferences for the purpose of fellowship, training, and spiritual refreshment.  We have had a dream for a long time now of having a conference like this for our Bugkalot tribal partners, and this past month it became a reality!

 Many people worked together to make the 3-day conference possible, and we met at a summer camp style resort between here and Manila.  Four volunteers joined us from a church in Singapore, and they helped with the logistics, kids' program, and a gazillion other things.  For most of the Bugkalot, this was their first time at a "fancy" resort like this (though for many of you, it would probably seem fairly rustic with no airconditioning, 6 bunk beds per room, thin mattresses, and sketchy plumbing - it's all a matter of perspective! :) ).  The grounds are absolutely gorgeous, and we all had a blast together.

 The adults spent the mornings in sessions like this one; some of the sessions consisted of strategy training, others provided much-needed spiritual refreshment.  We brought in some guest speakers as well to encourage them from the Word.

 Our good friend, Joe Mauk, also did his "tops" presentation.  He uses tops to illustrate spiritual truths, and the Bugkalot were enthralled.  Steve joked that we would have to use some of the pictures we got of them while listening to Joe (mouths hanging wide open in wonder) and pretend that is the look on their faces when he is teaching church planting strategy principles. :)

 We also set aside some time for personal spiritual retreat - just them and their Bible in the presence of God. 

 Part of the afternoons and evenings were spent in small group discussion time where they discussed what they had learned in the sessions as well as struggles and victories in their families and ministries.  Everyone agreed that these times were very encouraging.

 While the adults were busy in sessions, the kids had a blast with their new friends from Singapore.   

 They played lots of games...

 ...went swimming... 

 ...and just enjoyed being together. 

 But before you think that it was all work and no play for the poor adults stuck in sessions...we managed to have some good times too!

 We sang some silly songs...

 ...played some really silly games...

 ...and had some good fun together.

 Basketball was the main attraction for the men in the afternoon free time. 

 Another favorite activity was the obstacle course, completed as a team.

 Since this was only the 2nd time most of them had ever been to a pool (we took them to one in November), swimming was an adventure too - especially the 70 ft waterslide!  THAT was a first for everyone, and even the non-swimmers gave it a shot, with someone waiting at the bottom to help them. :)  Which was all great until one of the ladies' false teeth fell out at the bottom of the slide...no harm done though because we found them at the bottom of the pool, and everyone got a good laugh. :) 

 While it blessed my heart to see them in meaningful discussions about the truths of the Word and how it applies to their lives, I think my favorite part of the time was seeing them have FUN.  Laughing together, playing together.  They are living in some very difficult places, behind Enemy lines where the darkness often seems all-consuming.  It was wonderful for them to be able to come out of that situation for a couple days and be refreshed and renewed in this way. 

 On our last night together, we enjoyed a bonfire where Steve shared a challenge for all of us, then everyone shared either a testimony or song of encouragment with the group.

 The Bugkalot wrote a thank-you note to all of you who have been praying for them and partnering with them to reach the Agta.  Since it was written in Tagalog, here are some translations of what they said,

“We cannot measure how full our thankfulness for you is, hopefully our Lord Jesus will bless you greatly…Thank you for the beautiful insides (heart) you have shown us; if it wasn’t for you, I would not have been able to experience this joy; thank you and this has done something very big for my spiritual life…Thank you all for your goodness to us…Thank you for everything and we pray that God will bless you…Thank you for the help that you have given us…We are thanking God for you…”

We are so incredibly thankful for these men, women, and families who have partnered with us to reach the Agta.  Serving alongside them is such a privilege.  Thank you for the way that you stand behind us and them to make this possible.