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:

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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

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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!

Partners, Old and New

We are so thankful for our tribal partners, and we are also thankful for our partners in the States who make our work possible. One of our partners in the States took up a collection at their VBS last year and sent it to us to use for a retreat for our tribal partners.

 For scheduling reasons, we had to wait until Philippine summer break (April/May) to do the retreat. We were able to go to a rustic little beach resort a couple hours from where they serve.

 It was a wonderful time of worshipping together, being refreshed by studying His Word, strategizing for the coming year and also playing & laughing together. I'm also thankful for one of the teachers at Faith who came and stayed with our kids so that I could attend the retreat as well and reconnect with the ladies.

What a blessing to be able to spend this time together with our tribal partners!

Another significant trip this month was one that Steve took. He brought one of the leaders from the Bugkalot church with him and traveled to another island by boat to attend a conference for leaders of other tribal churches on that island (it's a different tribe than the Bugkalot).  

 They have expressed interest before in partnering with us and the Bugkalot to reach the Agta tribe in Bicol. These meetings were the next step in that possible partnership.

Pat, the Bugkalot leader who accompanied Steve, shared from his heart about the Bugkalot church's experience in sending out some of their own to reach the Agta and how the partnership with us has gone. It was such a blessing to hear from his perspective all that God has done through this partnership. Please join us in praying for these tribal leaders as they consider the next steps for sending out some of their own to partner with us and the Bugkalot in Bicol.

Oz n Cuznz

No, I'm not having issues with my keyboard; obviously "Oz n Cuznz" is talking about a recent trip to Oz (Australia!) and a visit from our cousins. :)

Mikayla and I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Australia with Faith Academy's touch rugby team.  The team has never traveled before to compete, but they were better this year than ever before, and it was a great opportunity.

 We spent a couple hours touring Syndey on our way through to the Sunshine Coast (where we competed). This pic is of the two of us under the Harbor Bridge, looking across at the Opera House. Incredible!

 Mikayla was one of the girls who volunteered to share at a couple chapel services while we were there. Here she is speaking to a group of about 700!

 We were only in Australia for 3 full days (plus a half day in Sydney), and we played 7 games in 2 days!  It was a crazy whirlwind but such fun!

 Our girls enjoyed getting to know the girls on the other teams as well as learning a lot about rugby.

 I was the designated team trainer for the trip and refreshed my nearly-forgotten skills for taping ankles and wrists.

 Here Mikayla is sharing in another chapel service. She did a great job - so very proud of her willingness to step up and be used by HIM in this way!

 Our final day on the Sunshine Coast, we took a hike along the coast, spotted sea turtles, and saw some spectacular scenery.

 I was so very blessed to be able to share this experience with my precious daughter.

 One of the evenings on the way back from dinner, a couple in our group spotted a python along the road.  Of course what else will they do besides catch it and bring it in to the living room for some pictures! :)

While Mikayla and I were gallivanting in Oz, Steve and the boys enjoyed their spring break by doing some mountain biking and hiking with friends.

Quite the diverse group representing USA, New Zealand, Scotland, and Switzerland!

A couple days after spring break, my sister and her family arrived for a visit!

 The cousins had a BALL reconnecting. It had been almost 2 years since they had seen each other, but they picked right up where they left off.

 So thankful for our family and the memories we are making together!