Fun with Family & Friends

For some of you, hiking into tribal villages and crossing rivers may be unusual, but for OUR family, it is very unusual to get all dressed up.  But recently we did just that so that we could help our dear friends/teammates celebrate their wedding.  And here's a picture to prove it. :)

 I think Len is going to fit right in on our team because all that fancy food wasn't her style; we slipped her a burger from the kids' buffet, and she was thrilled.  Congratulations, Joseph & Len!  We are so excited to welcome you to the team/family, Len. :)

 My sister's family came for the wedding too, so we enjoyed a couple days just hanging around together.

 We discovered a new rock wall in Manila, and Zach amazed all of us with his skills.  He negotiated several "overhangs" like this one!

 Then my brother's family arrived, so all the cousins were together!  We enjoyed two days with the whole family at Rizal Re-Creation Center where the cousins could run and play to their hearts' content. 

 The tree house was one of their favorite places.

 We are so thankful that we got to enjoy this time together as a family!

 And I know my parents sure enjoyed having ALL their grandkids together in one place. 

Thank you, Father, for precious memories!

 Right after we got home, we were blessed by a visit from some dear friends who live on a nearby island.  We haven't known them very long, but we have been so refreshed by our time with them.

 We had fun wakeboarding together.

 We also got to introduce them to the "skate"; it's a little wooden cart that runs on the railroad tracks and serves as one form of public transportation in the Philippines.  Unbelievable how many people they cram on those things!  Steve said it was pushing 40 by the time it was full!

 Heading off down the tracks.

 Railroad traffic is notoriously one-way only, but that's not a problem for the ingenious Filipinos.  The standing rule is that the most fully loaded skate gets to stay on the tracks while the on-coming skate is unloaded and lifted off the tracks to allow the other one to pass by.

 We had so much fun with this family and hope that we get many more chances for adventures with them in the future!

 Check out this gorgeous waterfall we visited together.

Anyone else want to come visit? :)

Up into the Mountains

[I need to clarify a previous post before writing this one.  I am actually feeling very gun-shy to post anything whatsoever, because someone misunderstood my post in February, and you would not believe the magnitude of the resulting problems.  First, let me clarify that the training venue I previously mentioned will be located in Bicol; we have been using a friend's house for training; but they are moving, so we need a new venue IN BICOL.  Second, if anyone ever has a concern/question about any post I write, PLEASE contact us directly; we would be happy to answer any questions you have.  And if you are wondering what on earth I am talking about, please just pray for us...]

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 Now moving on...and up into the mountains.

 This mountain (the pointy one) marks the southern boundary for the Sierra Madre mountains where the Bugkalot tribe lives.

 See that metal roof over on the other side of the river and rice fields?  That is a tiny little church, but that itty bitty village church has sent out many of their own to partner with us to reach the Agta.  They have made huge sacrifices, but they have made them with joy, and it has been amazing to watch God use them as a body to accomplish huge things for His glory.  And He has accomplished huge things in their midst too; a cult recently came in to the area, but this proved to be a good thing in the growth of the church because it forced the believers to go to God's Word and study it out for themselves.  We have seen incredible growth and passion in this little fellowship, and we praise God for the way He is at work in AND through them! 

 My parents were able to come with us on this visit up into the mountains.  We had a wonderful time hanging out with them while we waited for meetings. 

 

 We had several important meetings in the course of our trip up there.

 Some of the meetings happen in unusual places - just wherever we find the guys with whom we need to talk!

 And we also did a lot of informal visiting and catching up with old friends as well.

 My mom and dad were finding some pics of their other grandkids to show to my mom's old friends.

 We also stopped in to see the coffee nursery.

 It was so exciting to see the coffee and how well it is doing!  The plants are so healthy and growing so fast.  Which made me want to leave immediately because plants don't seem to last long around me!

 The Bugkalot had an important meeting with some officials on the day we left the mountains; several of them got dressed up in their tribal gear for the event.

 Isn't this a beautiful view?? 

This is taken from the place where we hope to stay for 2 nights with the team that comes in July, before we go down to Bicol.  We actually recently found out that there are still a couple open slots on that team, so if there if you are interested in coming to see what God is doing here and help with a strategic project, just let me know so that I can put you in touch with the team leader.

On a personal note, we have been going through a very difficult time and would sincerely appreciate your prayers.  I wish that I could tell you more, but just suffice to say that we are hurting and need your prayers.

Training Time

This past weekend, we had another training time with our tribal partners.  One of the first things we did was rejoice and praise God for the 9 people that the teams baptized recently!  Here is a little video of one of our praise and worship times:

During the training, we also tackled some tough issues like better time management and when to leave a group/area in order to focus more time on finding people/areas that are more open.  After studying through the Word and discussing the Biblical examples we have on these particular issues, they broke off into teams (or sometimes as couples) to evaluate what changes they need to make in order to apply what they were learning.  They also spent time praying together about those changes. 

 We were so encouraged with how seriously they took the group discussion times as well as the team times.  God really moved during this time, and we are excited to see what HE does as they are faithful to apply what He showed them.  Please pray with us for each time in the weeks ahead as they work to make some changes in order to become more effective.  

While the adults were working through these issues, the college students worked hard to prepare all our meals.  This was a huge help as it allowed the adults a lot more time for necessary discussions.  We have so appreciated the servant attitudes of these 3 young people!

Party Time!

We have been doing some serious partying here over the last couple weeks; Mikayla turned 14 (!!), and Ben turned 10.  Because Ben10 is one of Ben's favorite cartoon characters, he has been planning this particular birthday party for years.  Literally.

We were thrilled that our good friends were able to come down for a couple days to celebrate with us, and they brought some of the boys' best friends with them to surprise Ben.  

 We made a birthday banner and put Ben's face on the Ben10 character. 

And I made a Ben10 cake.  Now, before you get too impressed, normally I take the lazy route and just buy a decorated cake (dirt cheap here in the Philippines), but since none of the cake companies had a Ben10 cake, I had to step up. 

 One of the things Ben asked for was a "thing with lots of drawers so I can keep spiders".  Yes, you read that correctly.  So Mikayla and Zach bought a bunch of matches, glued the empty boxes together, and attached beads to the front of each box to make them easy to open.  Voila - an elaborate, high-tech spider caging system.  And I promptly designated it as a great OUTSIDE toy.

 We also got to enjoy some wakeboarding with them before they went home... 

 ...as well as a hike to the waterfall for a picnic.

 The beauty of His creation often takes our breath away.

 And no need to just observe His creation - slide right in and enjoy it! 

 We are so thankful that our friends were able to come help us celebrate Ben's birthday, and we are so thankful for Ben and the young man that he is becoming. 

But the party didn't stop there! After our friends left, we drove a couple hours down to a port town on the coast.  We enjoyed spectacular views of Mt. Mayon while we drove.

 Then we boarded a ferry to bring us over to the island of Catanduanes for a couple days vacation and to celebrate Mikayla's birthday with her friend.

 The seas were pretty rough, and we were all feeling a little worse for wear when we arrived, but we were still able to drive the last couple hours to meet up with some new friends.  We spent the first night at their house, then the next morning we drove a couple hours to this rustic little surfing resort.  

 While Mikayla and their eldest daughter knew each other from their recent adventures at Outdoor Ed, our families didn't know each other before this trip.  The adults enjoyed getting acquainted...

 ...while the kids explored the rocks off shore.

 The waves weren't great this particular day, but the kids still had fun doing a little surfing.

 After one night at that resort, we drove to another beach resort.

 This one didn't have any surfing, but they had a fun pool...

 ...beautiful views...

 ...a zipline...

 ...kayaking...

 ...rock climbing and snorkeling...

 ...and this pretty cool diving board into the ocean.

 Their little guy didn't have any fear.  After watching the big kids dive a couple times, he tried it for himself without any warning!  And did pretty well too.

 So thankful for a few days to relax with new friends, and for the opportunity to celebrate the life of our precious Mikayla.

 After 3 wonderful days, we boarded the ferry to head back to the mainland.  See Mt. Mayon peeking out of the clouds to welcome us back?