Camp Life

After the reunion, we traveled to Thailand to be a part of a summer camp for expats like us. Steve & I were actually in charge of the recreation time for all 200 people, so it was quite the undertaking! We played lots of fun games on the beach, and the kids seem to have a lot of fun.

 Zach has definitely learned to carry his own weight on a team...and then some! :)

Even Ben was carrying friends through the obstacle course.

 It wasn't all just fun and games though; we also gathered to study the Word and seek Him together.

 Our favorite sign on the property...

 While I was in charge of developing the plan (Indiana Jones theme), I was SO thankful for Steve being there to help implement it. He did an amazing job of creating obstacle courses and activities with whatever we could find lying around. 

 Giving the group the battle plan for the day.

 Such a gorgeous place to play!

If you were successful in catching the sock-filled-with-flour, you scored points for your team...and got a face full of flour as it went through the colander!

 While he's had a lot of experience at international futbol, Zach enjoyed trying his hand at American football on the beach. 

What a week!

Family Reunion!

We are so blessed to have my (Jen's) siblings serving in SE Asia. This means that we have the privilege of seeing them a little more often than our family in the States. Since Mikayla will be graduating this year, she asked if we could do one more family reunion while she's still living at home. So my parents flew over and joined us for a wonderful time of reconnecting as a family at a great little beach resort.

 Look at the size of that jellyfish! They were everywhere, so we weren't able to do much (any) swimming in the ocean, but they were sure cool to look at!

 One day we headed to another area to enjoy His amazing creation.

 There were monkeys everywhere. Some of them were pretty aggressive so you had to watch your stuff. :)

 The boys helped some local fishermen and were rewarded with some fish. They were great grilled with the hot dogs.

 Everyone enjoyed playing in the pool!

 Was so fun to see all 7 cousins hanging out again.

 At the end of our time, we spent a couple days in KL. The Petronas Towers are so beautiful, especially at night.

Cousin pyramid :)

 

So very thankful for this time together, and was so good for our hearts to see my parents with all their grandkids in one place.

Thank you, Father, for blessing us with this time together!

Start of Summer

Sorry that I have been silent for so long! Yes, we are still alive...just trying to recover from the whirlwind of travel that was summer. :) I'm going to try to catch you all up in the next couple posts...

Just as school was ending and summer beginning, Zach and Steve both had birthdays (me too actually!). We enjoyed a family dinner at a local buffet restaurant to celebrate these birthdays.

Zach is 15 now!

 The day after school ended, we headed north to visit the Bugkalot area. 2 of Mikayla's closest friends graduated, and she wanted them to bring them up there before they returned to the States. So we made a family thing of it, and the 3 families journeyed north into the mountains together for a week. 

 The reason that we left the day after school let out (which was craziness with all the end-of-year stress!) was so that we could join this tribal church for worship on Sunday morning. What a precious time with these believers!

 Always an adventure!

 A highlight of our visits up to the "house in the clouds" is lazy meals on the porch.

 We also spent a lot of time at the river, climbing up and jumping off rocks (and even bridges!). Such a special time for Mikayla to share these memories with her friends.

 Just a couple hammocks on the porch :) 

 These were the high schoolers on the trip; there were also 2 middle schoolers. The kids had a blast together, and it was cool to see families enjoying one another. 

 In awe of His creation

 After the first stop, we headed further north to visit Diamond Cave. This is all 3 families in the cave. So cool!

 Big caverns, tight squeezes and even an underground river! Amazing!

 We spent a LOT of hours crammed in the car but were able to have fun there too.

 Our last stop was overnight at the beach on the way home. 

So thankful for these precious friends and who have been such a blessing to Mikayla, and that we had the amazing opportunity to share this adventure and make memories with them. Our hearts and prayers are with Isaiah and Xandra as they are back in the States now, settling in to their new lives there. We will sure miss them!

Into the Whirlwind

We are headed into an absolute whirlwind of a summer.

Here's what we'll be up to the next couple months so that you know how to pray:

*****

May 30-June 1: Kids' final exams

June 2: last day of school

June 3-10 trip into the mountains

June 11-16: houseguests (my parents - yay!)

June 16-22: Malaysia family reunion

June 22-July 8: Thailand meetings

(in charge of recreation for 200 people!)

July 12-16: Steve teaching in the mountains

July 12-17: Mikayla re-entry retreat in Thailand 

July 17-27: traveling with a large volunteer team

July 28-30: Mikayla on a leadership retreat

July 31: school starts

*****

Needless to say, you probably won’t hear much from us again until August. :)

Thanks for standing behind us in prayer!!!

Bugkalot Conference

One of the highlights of the year for our Bugkalot tribal church partners is their annual believers' conference. 

Steve usually attends the conference, and this year he was one of the speakers. He was asked to speak about the responsibilities of a sending church (how they can stand behind the ones whom they have sent out).

 After speaking about the topic, Steve had the people split into small groups to further discuss it. He provided some verses for them to consider together and brainstorm how to apply to their situation.

 Such a blessing to see these tribal churches dig deeper into His Word and study how to better stand behind the ones they have sent out to reach other tribal groups!

 Steve and some of the other leaders/speakers at the conference.

 Several of our Bugkalot partners in Bicol were able to attend the conference this year; a few went home for a quick vacation, and a few of them will be taking a furlough year this next year. It was great to have so many of them at the conference as they were a big help in the discussions, but we will sure miss the ones who will home this next year!

 Most of the meals were eaten outside with the larger group or near the homes where they were assigned in smaller groups. The gentleman in the gray shirt in the lower picture is a dear friend and Filipino partner. He also has a heart for empowering the Bugkalot churches, and he and Steve work closely (he also took several of the pics for this post!).

That's a LOT of rice!

 This is one of Steve's closest friends up there, Pstr. Jolly. He is the chairman of the association of Bugkalot churches, and he and Steve work together a lot. He's got a heart of gold, and Steve has a deep respect for him.

 On the final night of the conference, they called everyone up who has been sent out by the Bugkalot to serve in some way. Some of them have gone to Bicol, others are serving in other places. The church leaders prayed over them. Such a sweet time! 

 We are so thankful for the privilege to work with these amazing tribal churches to reach the tribal people of the Philippines!