Wordless Wednesday

Ok, for any of you who know me, you know that a "wordless" blog post is a challenge! So I did pretty well, but gotta add a not here.  This is the ultimate "one stop shop".  You can get your banana heart (vegetable that comes out of the banana tree), coconut, dried leaves and charcoal to cook lunch.  But don't grab a coke bottle for your beverage; those bottles have been refilled with kerosene, gasoline, & diesel!  It is a rural gas station, and you can find these all along the mountain roads.  

Outdoor Education

For many years now (not sure how many, but suffice to say that I participated when I was in middle school!), Faith Academy in Manila has been doing "Outdoor Ed" every year.  It is a week-long camp focused on some specific educational topics.  We are so thankful that they allow homeschoolers to join in the fun!  Mikayla just got back, and she had a blast.  This year, they learned about volcanoes, survival skills, and sea life (including a discovery SCUBA dive and dissecting a squid!).

Here is their "squad" of fellow homeschoolers from all over the Philippines.

 They met up at Faith Academy and then took buses a couple hours away to the volcano where OE was held this year.

 Apparently, they also tried out some other local transportation.

 It is not exactly a luxury camp; they were definitely roughing it for the week!

 As much as I KNOW that Mikayla enjoys the educational aspects of OE (she actually does though!), one of the highlights for our social butterfly is being able to hang out with friends - both old and new - for a whole week straight!

 Mikayla was so thankful that her good friend, Daisy, was able to come on OE again this year.  These two have known each other since they were only 3 years old; in fact, I think Mikayla's very first sleepover at a friend's house was with Daisy!  Their family lives on a different island, so OE is really the only time the girls have gotten to hang out now that they are all grown up. :)

 Mikayla also enjoyed meeting some new friends.  And apparently being goofy together is not limited to old friends.

 This rock is painted "It is forbidden to throw trash".

So of course they are all pretending to throw trash on the rock.

 Their destination was Taal Volcano.  It is an amazing place where an island (the Philippines) has this lake (Taal Lake) that has a volcano in the middle (Taal Volcano) that has a lake in the crater (Crater lake) that has an island in the middle.  An island with a lake with a volcano with a lake with an island.  They took a boat across Taal Lake to the volcano then hiked 1.5 hours up into the crater to swim in Crater Lake (be careful though; some parts are too hot to swim in!).

This is the view as they crested the rim of Taal Volcano, looking down into Crater Lake and its island.

Side Note: Hearing about Kayla's adventure reminded me of another adventure we had on Taal...remember, J&K? Or are you still repressing it? :)  It was one of the craziest adventures our family has ever had; and, for those faithful followers out there, you know that's saying something! Click to read about it!

Ok, now moving on...

One of the things that the kids learned at OE this year was some survival skills, including how to kill, prepare, and cook a chicken over an open fire.  Mikayla got the honor of gutting the chickens (as in she was the only one willing to do so; their chaperon texted me to say, "Mikayla is good with both people and chickens.").

 They also participated in a day of ministry at a local school.  Mikayla always enjoys being able to love on some sweet Filipino kiddos.

 We are so thankful that Mikayla had the opportunity to go on this adventure with her friends - and just maybe learn a few things while she was there!

(photo credit for this post goes to Ally Moffit.  Great job, Ally!)

Taking Care of Business

So today I went with Steve to take care of a few things in a nearby town.  We don't spend every day training our partners to be more strategic or hiking through mountainous villages; a lot of our time is spent taking care of the many details that are necessary in our work over here.  I didn't include a picture of what I personally spend a LOT of my time doing - working on the computer. :)  But today I got to leave the computer behind...

 We stopped by a couple hotels to figure out some options for July; we have a volunteer team coming from Missouri in July to help us with a project.  If you come on that trip, it is likely that you will spend part of the time in this hotel right here!

  

 We also spent some time visiting with some local pastors who are helping us look for some land for a possible training center.  We have been doing our training seminars at our co-workers' home for the last couple years; but they are moving back to the States, so we need a training center.  After a lot of driving around and waiting to talk to various contacts, today we found a good option (above).  It is in exactly the right area and meets all our specifications.  Please pray with us that if this is what God has for us that He will pave the way.  Steve will meet with the owner of the property again on Thursday to discuss the possibility.

 After that, we headed up into the mountains to the village where one of our teams is stationed.  Last year, the teams decided to go together to do a little corn farming in hopes that it will supplement their meager income.  While they are able to handle their day-to-day expenses, many of them are in debt because of medical emergencies or schooling expenses.  Now it is harvest time, so the guys have gathered to work together like they did at planting time.  Please pray with us for a good harvest!

 Steve is helping them figure out the logistics for how to dry the corn and sell it at a good price.

 While Steve was talking with the guys, I got to hang out with this precious little one...

 ...and I even coaxed a couple smiles from her!

Flash from the Past

We have to renew the kids' passports, and one of the requirements is "sequential or 'growing up' photos from the applicant" that show how they have changed since the last passport.  I did a quick search and chose one per year since their last passport.  Thought you may enjoy seeing how they have changed.

And, now, enough procrastinating and back to gathering the documents we need to renew their passports...

Thankful!

This past weekend we were able to get together with our team again.  

 It was so good to see everyone again and to hear reports of all that God has done through them while we were gone these past few months.

 We also shared some sweet times of worship and studying the Word together.

 On Saturday afternoon, we had a "pugong", which is kind of like a town meeting.  We had a whole list of things to discuss as a group, everyone had their say, and we came to a consensus on several important decisions.  We were so thankful for unity during this time, and we made some big decisions that will affect our future strategy.

 While the adults were busy with meetings, the kids enjoyed re-connecting with their friends as well.

 The girls spent a lot of time chatting and catching up...

 ...while the boys were more interested in playing games (and rough-housing!) together.

 The girls also jumped right back in to help with the dishes for the group.

 And they once again enjoyed watching a couple movies on the little DVD player that a friend in the States sent to us for the kids to use during the trainings.

 We are so thankful for our tribal partners, and it was so good to connect with them all again!

Cherishing the Moments

It's amazing how being absent from your country and family for four years can help you to cherish each moment you have together.  And that is exactly what we have been doing the last two months; hence, the hiatus from blogging. :)  

(That, and we were absolutely exausted from this past term, so we decided we needed to be intentional and strategic in what we said "yes" and "no" to in order to prioritize time to rest and recover.  Blogging didn't make the cut.)

So here are the last two months' worth of highlights.

Lots of time just hanging out as a family.

 Halloween.

Our artist, cowboy and Legolas (from Lord of the Rings) with Mikayla's close friend.

Family reunion with Steve's family.

(His nephew's face is blurred because he is their foster child so need to protect his identity. This little guy stole all our hearts; prayers appreciated as big decisions are made this month that will greatly affect his/their future!) 

 Thanksgiving dinner with Steve's extended family on his mom's side.

 Set up the Christmas village with Grandma Jackson...

 ...and the Christmas tree at Grandpa & Gram Hagen's.

 Christmas day with the Jackson family.

 So much fun time with cousins.

 Pretty cool gingerbread village.

 Christmas with the cousins - first time in 9 years!

Ben was really sick all day with a high fever, but we still had a blessed day together.

 And God sent us snow in answer to 3 kids' prayers!

 They got in some great sledding and snowboarding!

 Then He even sent MORE snow!  So blessed!

Appreciate everyone's prayers as we are in the throes of packing, weighing, re-shuffling and re-weighing.  And good-byes.  Those never get any easier.  We leave on Monday morning; thanks for praying!!!