Ride the Skate

One of our kids' favorite things to do when visitors come is to take them for a ride on the skate. So I thought I would take you on a virtual skate ride. :)

When you arrive at the skate stop in town, this is what you will see. A skate is a small bamboo platform with simple benches on it that sits on the railroad tracks.

Then it has a little motor that allows it to putter along the railroad tracks. Don't worry, there aren't that many actual trains on these tracks. (Notice I didn't say NO trains, just not many :) )
All loaded up and ready to go. Don't you just love all the safety devices in place? Seatbelts, handrails, firmly anchored benches, brakes...o, wait, it doesn't have any of those. And while the skates do run at night, we prefer the day-time adventure since the only "headlights" these skates have is the cellphone flashlights that the passengers may have with them.

Off and running

Now, when you come up to a skate going the opposite direction on the tracks, the skate with the most people gets to stay. The one with the least number of people has to get off...

...move their skate off to the side of the tracks...

...watch the other skate pass by (and, if you are traveling with our kids, it is likely that you will have to hold one of them during this exchange since they always seem to forget their SHOES - notice Ben being held in the background)...

...then put your skate back on the tracks...

...so that you can be on your way again.

You will see many beautiful sites along the way

Rice fields

Local grocery store

Lots of greenery and open spaces

And then, since your skate is not very loaded, you will catch up with another heavily-loaded skate. You see, you are are only doing this trip for fun; these people are taking the skate back and forth to work or school. The skates are one of the many unique forms of public transportation in our area.

You will also cross a couple bridges. This is where those afore-mentioned safety features come in so handy.

Don't look down!

Now wasn't that more fun than a boring taxi ride?

Passport to Purity

This past week, we took a couple days out of our normal routine and got away as a family for some important time. Mikayla and I worked together on the intensive course "Passport to Purity". We tackled some tough issues and had some great heart-to-hearts. We are so proud of the young lady that Mikayla is becoming and the way that she seeks to put God first in everything. While the boys aren't quite ready for this intensive, they had some good talks with their daddy about integrity and being a man of God.

When we got back, we got all dressed up in fancy clothes, and Steve and I took Mikayla out to eat at the fanciest restaurant in Bicol.

We had a wonderful time re-visiting the things that we had talked about during the week, and we gave her a purity ring that we bought to help her remember the stands she has taken. It was a wonderful week, and we can't wait to see what God will do in and through Mikayla in the years to come.

While we spent a lot of time with the intensive course, we did get some much-needed family down time on the beach too and LOVED it. We all worked together on this sand castle with island in front and moat around it.

And I leave you with this weird sight we saw recently on the side of the road. Just in case it will make you smile like it did us. :)

Visitors!

[sorry about the gaps later in the post - blogger was not playing nice today :( ]

This past week we had the pleasure of hosting some wonderful young women and young man who serve with our company in other areas of the Philippines. We were blessed by great discussions about strategy, encouraging times of fellowship, and some wonderful prayer and worship time. The kids had a blast too; they don't get to hang out with Godly men and women of that generation so it is always great for them to spend quality time with good role models.

(many pics shared by Naomi - tnx!)

Flippin' out at Lago del Rey Mikayla teaching yet another rookie to kneeboard :) Naomi did great - must have been because of her amazing teacher :) The kids had fun taking them on the "skate" down the railroad track. We headed around the mountain and across the lake for a visit to the village - and a detour to the waterfall.

Steve visiting with one of the key church leaders

They don't have much to share with us, but they always open up some coconuts for us to enjoy.

Naomi got some great pics of the kids and the village.

Hiked to a beautiful waterfall

"Jump right there"

Then we hiked up the mountain to the village up top.

We passed several pigs on the way. They were leaving smelly evidence of their displeasure along the trail. Watch your step!

All that hiking made for some tired, dirty feet by the end of the day!

These little floating huts are so intriguing.

Another day we hiked to a different waterfall. Lots of great memories!

And this last one is free - just amazes us how much they can load on a little "trike" - motor scooter with a side car.

We were so blessed by our visitors this week - thanks for coming, guys!

Survey Trip

Ok, so those of you who follow the blog or our updates know how excited we are that the Bogkalot tribe (where my parents worked) is in the process of sending out some of their very own to partner with us to reach the Agta tribe. The team is planning to move here the end of April (where we live is about 20 hrs by jeepney/bus south of where the Bogkalot live) so the men came down to do a survey of the area, find where to locate, and check out the schooling options for their kids. The time went really well, and we are very encouraged with how they connected with the people. In addition, we were able to determine who will be on the 2 teams, who the team leaders will be, and where exactly they will locate. So thankful for the wisdom and unity God granted during their time here!

We loaned them a camera for their time here so they could take pics to show their families and churches, and here are some of the ones they took:

This is Abel. He is 31 years old but not yet married. A solid guy with a great heart. He will be serving on the team focused on reaching the Agta who speak Buhinon. Their team will be locating on the other side of this lake. The team leaders for this team will be Jun and his wife. Sadly, Jun's mother passed away during his time down here on the survey trip so Jun had to return early. However, he was able to stay for the day of prayer and fasting when they determined teams and locations. You can see a picture of Jun at the end of this post.

This is Gary. He and his wife will be the team leaders for the team focusing on the Agta who speak In-Agta. Their family (with 3 kids) will be locating at the foot of Mt. Asog, a dormant volcano. Gary has a heart of gold and a gentle way about him that connects with the Agta very quickly.

On the right is Taong Pakdal ("Uncle" Pakdal). He is a widower twice over; his college-age daughter will move down here as well to continue school closer to her dad. Pakdal will serve with Gary on the team focusing on the Agta who speak In-Agta. After spending a couple days with Jose's family (pictured below), he said, "After just a few minutes with Jose, our hearts connected right away. It is like I have always known him. That has never happened to me before. And as soon as we walked into San Ramon (where they will locate), I knew right away that THIS is where God is leading me to be."

Before the guys came down, Steve and I spent a lot of time in prayer about which of the 4 languages to put teams in first and who would comprise/lead the teams. Based on the personalities and gifts of the guys coming, we felt we knew where they would fit best, but we did not want to just dictate to them what to do. After the initial part of the survey time, the guys came to our place for a day of prayer and fasting to make some decisions. (Jun is the man wearing black. He had just found out an hour before this that his mom had passed away. At his insistence, we continued with the meetings, then he left that evening to head home.)

After some discussion and corporate prayer and worship, the guys split off for some time of individual prayer. After that, Steve met with each of them individually to see how God was leading them. While they all expressed willingness to serve on either team in either location, all four of them expressed that they felt more called to one language group than the other - and with all four, it was exactly where Steve and I had thought would be the best fit for them! Praising God for clear direction and unity on the teams!

So they left last night to head back up north to prepare to move back with their families next month. There is a "Believer's Conference" where all the Bogkalot villages will gather April 21-22. They will be commissioned and sent out during this conference, and will travel down here on April 23-24. Please be praying for them as they make necessary preparations and say goodbyes this next month!

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Here is another key prayer request for you - One of the couples who had committed to moving down here didn't end up coming on this survey trip. We don't know what is going on, if they no longer feel called, if there is some barrier they are now facing, or if they are still planning to come but could not make it for the survey trip for some reason. His name is Gerome, and he is married with a couple small children.

There is also another family that really wants to come, but they might need to wait a year before it works for their family. Their names are Emilyano and Nason, and they have 9 kids that would be accompanying them (12 kids altogether). Every one of the family members are on board, but their church has asked them to wait a year to help them resolve some church issues. Anyway, can you please be praying for these 2 families? Pray for clear direction for them and that they would be faithful to follow however God leads them.

Steve left last night to travel up north with the guys so that he could talk to both of them. It will be a whirlwind trip as it is a total of about 40 hrs travel, and he only plans to stay for about a day up there. Pray for safety and strength for Steve and clear communication with everyone involved.