Volunteers!

We are so thankful for volunteers who sacrifice so much to come and join us in the work!  They sacrifice their hard-earned money and vacation time to travel to the other side of the world to serve.  We just hosted a wonderful team from our home area, and they were such a blessing and encouragement to us!  The team represented 4 different churches (how cool is that?!).

Our first destination was the Bugkalot mountains.  We had orientation and a picnic by the river, spent some time discussing animism and the history of the Bugkalot church, then worshipped with a Bugkalot church that evening.  

 The next morning, the Bugkalot put on a cultural presentation for us.  For more pictures of this, check out the Bugkalot coffee website by clicking here.  Then just click on the link for "News & Updates".

 After the presentation, we spent some time discussing Bugkalot culture and the amazing story of how God has worked in this vicious head-hunting tribe.  They were once weapons of the Enemy, bringing death and destruction wherever they went; but now God is using them mightily to bring His Message of salvation to other tribal people who have never heard.

 We then visited a Bugkalot village and spent some time learning how to study another language.  The team split up into small groups with a language helper and worked to elicit some basic vocab.  The idea was for them to get a feel for what a challenge it is to learn another language so that they can pray more specifically for those who are facing that challenge in order to bring the Gospel to an unreached people.

 After lunch, we took a swim in the river, and the guys accepted our kids' challenge to jump off the rock.

 Then we headed over to another village to check out the coffee nursery.  These baby coffee trees will provide jobs and establish economy in the Bugkalot villages so that they are able to fully support the families that they are sending out to reach other tribal groups. 

 We then hiked up the hill to see where the coffee trees would be planted when they are ready to be moved out of the nursery.  Even this week, ground is being cleared to start planting the coffee trees!

 We all camped out in this tribal house.  Jet lag had the team crawling for bed by 8pm.

 After our time in the Bugkalot mountains, we drove back down to Manila (about 6 hrs), then boarded a sleeper bus to bring us 12 hrs south of Manila to the region of Bicol where the Agta tribal people live.

 Once in Bicol, this jeepney was our transportation for the week.

 (But don't worry, parents & grandparents, everyone rode INSIDE on the main roads.)

 When we arrived in Bicol, we headed out to meet some of the Bugkalot who are serving here to reach the Agta.  We crossed a hanging bridge...

 ...then hiked the rest of the way through the rice fields and coconut trees to their houses.

 Then we walked about 30 mins to get to the training center site.  Helping to build this training center was one of the main goals for the team.  Our Bugkalot partners had started some of the building so that we could make as much progress as possible during our time in Bicol.  Everyone jumped right in and cranked out a couple hours work that afternoon.

 The next day was Sunday, so we headed out to an Agta village to worship with them.  We stopped in the market on the way.  Pig feet, anyone?

 We took a boat across the lake...

 ...then hiked up the mountain.

 The church meets on the porch built on to the home of one of the leaders.

 What a blessing to worship with Agta believers in a church established by the Bugkalot!

 Several of the team members shared testimonies, and so did several of the Agta. It was a sweet time of worship.

 Ready to hike back down.  It had rained during church, so the trek down promised to be slippery.  Thankfully everyone made it safely, although several had muddy rear ends by the time we got to the bottom!

 Soda in a bag to refresh everyone. :)

 We then drove to a different area to meet another Bugkalot family who is working with the Agta.  They happen to have a beautiful waterfall near their village, so we enjoyed hanging out with them there. 

 We also gathered in the home of some new Agta believers to encourage them in their faith through some testimonies.

 The next morning we headed back to the training center to get to work.  

 We spent the next 3.5 days working our tails off!  It took teamwork to get this coconut tree stump out of the ground.  It was amazing to see how hard everyone worked and what they were able to accomplish during that time.  

 The ladies alternated between working alongside the men and cooking lunch and merienda (snack).

 The steel trusses were a challenge too because they were so heavy.

 We didn't have any cranes or other heavy equipment, but no problem for this team!

 

On the final evening, we gathered with our Bugkalot partners for a time of worship and to share communion in the new training center.

 The team was able to finish the concrete portion of the walls (the rest will be bamboo) and the steel trusses and supports.  Since the welding is done now, the Bugkalot can finish the rest of it themselves.

 On our final afternoon in Bicol, we gathered for a time of debrief as a team.  What better place to gather than in volcanic hot springs! :)

 The next day we flew back up to Manila, but we were able to get in a couple hours of wakeboarding before the flight.

 Boarding the flight to Manila.

We are so very thankful for this wonderful team!  They were such a blessing and encouragement to us as a family, and God used them mightily here.  The training center that they built will provide a place where we can gather with the Bugkalot and Agta for on-going training for how to more effectively reach the rest of the Agta tribe.  Also, God used them to encourage our Bugkalot partners as well as the Agta believers to press on in the work.   

And, on that note, here is a picture that Steve sent this morning of the inaugural training, happening right now in the training center!

THANK YOU to those of you who came, those of you who gave to cover the many expenses, and those of you spouses who held down the home fort so the team could come.  God used each of you in a huge way, and we praise Him for your willingness to make so many sacrifices.

To God be the glory!

Thankful

Hello from Indonesia!  We have meetings here this week; and last week, the kids were able to attend a great camp so Steve and I had the privilege of spending a few days together - just us - in Bali before our meetings.

 We found this great hotel with "swim-up" rooms.

 Our hotel wasn't right on the beach, but we just rented a little motor scooter for $5/day and went exploring to find some amazing beaches.

 We so enjoyed His beautiful creation.

 We also found a fun restaurant where you eat in a tree house.  We brought the kids there for a meal once they arrived from camp. :)

 We also had a romantic dinner for two on the beach at sunset.

 One of the coolest things we saw was this "water blow".  When the current/waves are just right, they shoot up through the rocks like a geyser.  Right after I took this picture, one of the blows went so big it actually drenched me, even though I was 30 feet away!

 We also got to see this turtle farm and enjoyed holding the turtles.

 They had some other animals there too.

 We stepped into the cage to pet the iguana. 

 Then were quite startled to realize we had just come in under a giant bat!  I wasn't sure I wanted to try to go out through that doorway to get back out...but since my option was to live with the iguana or duck under the bat, I had to brave it. :)

 We also got to try parasailing - which was quite the adventure!  They would wave the flags to let you know which side of the parachute rigging to pull on so that you could land on the narrow strip of beach.

 Then all the guys would run out to grab your legs and pull you onto the beach.

 We are so thankful that we had this wonderful opportunity to enjoy a couple days together!

And the kids had a BLAST at camp.  Hopefully I will have some pics at some point to share with you.  We are all so thankful for the many blessings He pours down on our family. 

Sierra Madre

I think the name of the mountain range where the Bugkalot live is beautiful - the Sierra Madre.  But the name is not nearly as beautiful as the mountains themselves.

 The end of May/beginning of June, our family spent a week in the Sierra Madre.  Our main purpose for the trip was to check on the status of the tribal churches and communities up there.  We had heard about some challenges and concerns facing the people; so we wanted to take some time listen to the church and community leaders and work together to see if there is anything that we need to change/adapt in our partnership.  We are thankful to report that all the meetings went very well, and we are very encouraged with how things are going up there.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the meetings themselves, so you are stuck with boring scenery photos instead of exciting pictures of men sitting around talking.  Sorry about that.

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One of our secondary purposes for this trip was to check on the status of the house where the July volunteer team will stay when they visit the Sierra Madre mountains. There it is up there on the hill.  Like I have told the team, pack light since you will be carrying your own gear! :)

 Ok, so maybe the house is not QUITE done yet.  Hopefully there will be a little more progress on the house before the team arrives, but since it is planting season up there, the men don't have much time to give right now.  So we may be roughing it. :)  At least the roof is done!

 And you hardly notice the unfinished interior anyway because the views are so gorgeous!  

Photo credit to Steve for hiking up into the tall grass above the house to get this pic for me.

 And the views inside are pretty cool too! 

 We enjoyed a family picnic and are looking forward to staying there with the team in July - even if it will be pretty rustic.

 So what if the showers aren't done?  Doesn't this look more inviting anyway? :)

 The kids had a ball jumping off the rock into the river.  I wonder if any of the guys on the team will have the same gumption??

 I spent some time hanging out with my friend in her kitchen.

 Her little guy is growing up so fast! 

(Click here to see the post when he was a newborn, and Mikayla & I crocheted him a sweater.)

We had a great visit up into the beautiful Sierra Madre, and we are so excited about all that God is doing up there!  To HIM be the glory!

May Whirlwind

The month of May rushed by in a whirlwind for us.  It started out with the beach retreat with our tribal partners (post below), then the next week we had 2 sets of visitors and then moved to Manila!  As we were trying to move in to our new house, both Steve & I got sick with fever/flu symptoms that went into bronchial infections...then we left on May 30 for a trip up into the mountains.  Talk about a whirlwind!  Oh - then both I (Jen) and Zach had birthdays in the midst of all the craziness.

Happy 12th Birthday, Zach!!!

We love you and are so proud of the man of God that you are becoming.  We know that He has big plans in store for you and can't wait to see what He will do through you in the years to come.

(Note: the pink gift bag was a gag from his older sister; and the cake was made by Mikayla, decorated by Zach.  Apparently bugs & snakes is what you get when a 12 year old decorates a cake.)

Beach Retreat

This past week, we traveled a couple hours away to a beach area with our Bugkalot tribal partners for a little retreat time.  We were able to stay in one our American co-workers' home for free (now THAT'S hospitality!), so it kept the budget very minimal at a great location.

While we did have some training and a looong business meeting, the main purpose was for them to be refreshed - both physically and spiritually.  So we enjoyed a lot of worship time together as well as time to just hang out and relax.

 The highlight for them was the 2 mornings we spent at the beach.  Several of them had never been to a beach before, and the vast majority had never experienced waves (many of the beaches in the Philippines don't have waves).

We also had fun playing in the sand.

 We were so thankful for this time to be refreshed with our tribal partners!