Ministry of Meetings

The last couple of months, we've been sick a lot (not any fun pictures from that); besides that, it felt like most of what we did was attend various meetings. First, we had a week of meetings with One Sending Body to do some strategic planning for the future.

Next was a meeting with someone who helps churches with mobilizing them to become mission-minded.

Then we attended the convention meetings for the Filipino Southern Baptist Churches on our island.

Immediately following that meeting, several of our IMB leaders met with leaders of that convention to discuss how to partner more effectively.

Then we went back up to Baguio for a week of teaching at a pre-field training for 2 ladies who are being sent from the nations to the nations. We can't show their faces for security reasons, but Steve led them in 2 days of discipleship training, and I taught for 2 days about culture & language study, with a practicum at the end. Steve also preached at the seminary chapel time while we were up there.

Thanks for praying with us in all the various aspects of our ministry, even the "boring" meetings!

Global Empowerment Team Trip

A couple weeks ago, our Global Empowerment team traveled to Bicol to visit the work and our tribal partners there. Besides our team, one of our new colleagues joined us to see what God is doing with Tribals Reaching Tribals.

We had a wonderful time reconnecting with our tribal teammates, hearing from them what God is doing, and seeing a few of the places where they are serving. 

We also spent quite a bit of time touring the property where the Tribal Bible College is located as well as the Bicol Out of School Training, where students study livelihood skills as well as church planting. We also had several meetings to discuss how best to coordinate the different projects that are operating on the same piece of property.

Lastly, we visited the town of Legaspi for some final meetings, and Mt. Mayon volcano showed up and showed off for sure. We even got to go back in the evening and see it erupting! It's been spewing lava for 5 months now, and we were able to view it from about 10 km away from the crater. Absolutely spectacular, and wow the sound of the gases and boulders tumbling...unnerving for sure.

Tribal Bible College

The Tribal Bible College in Bicol is going well, and it was encouraging to get to see the students studying, living in community with their teachers, and developing the land to be able to support themselves. Come for a visit and see for yourself what God is doing!

Jumble

Wasn't sure what to call this miscellaneous collection of pics from the last couple months. A couple of our Bugkalot partners came up for Bicol to represent the team at a conference at a church in Manila that supports their ministry. They created this banner for the event, and we joined them in giving God the glory for all HE is doing in Bicol with Tribals Reaching Tribals.

We got away for a couple of days with a group of our new colleagues to our favorite beach resort. It was so good to get to know our new folks and share this place with them. Always so thankful for the beautiful place we get to call home - and for time spent in a hammock on the beach!

Our new long-term teammates, Brandon & Macey, were officially appointed to join us, and we got to watch the appointment service from our back patio. So excited to have them and Claire join us in December!

Steve & I made a quick trip to Baguio for meetings for globalization as we help Filipinos send effectively to the nations. Such a beautiful place and chilly enough in the mountains to wear jackets!

25th Anniversary!

 

In August, Steve & I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We were able to get away to a cute little beach resort for a couple of days, where we enjoyed some amazing sunsets, naps in hammocks, an infinity pool, and some gorgeous views from our porch. So thankful for the many precious years He's given us together!

Bugkalot Coffee Plantation

We were blessed by a trip with our Global Empowerment team to visit the coffee plantation. They were having a board meeting so we got to see them in action, and we also got to check out the progress with the coffee, including a new variety that they are trying that will hopefully be healthier & produce more quickly. It was also a joy to have Abi join us on the trip as she prays about joining our team to focus on the community development & livelihood projects.

Pray that God will continue to bless the coffee plantation as they strive to establish economy so that the Bugkalot churches can send out tribals to reach tribals. Since I took these pics, a typhoon came through and caused some damage to the nursery & drying structure, so pray as well as they work to rebuild what was lost.

Summer Adventures

So this past summer found our family spread out across the Philippines, Thailand, Fiji & the States! Steve and I were only in Thailand for a couple weeks, but we had a wonderful time helping to facilitate discussion groups for some of our colleagues who are in the middle of the challenges of their 1st term on the field. Connecting with them and helping them process was so life-giving for us, and we were so thankful for the opportunity. We also attended some meetings for those who serve in the role of Language Coach, and we found out that there's a reason life has been so crazy - apparently supervising so many new language students all at once is not the norm. I don't have any pics from those meetings since they were boring meetings but also people serve in secure locations so I can't post their pics online.
Meanwhile, Mikayla has been doing very well in the after-care home for girls rescued out of trafficking. If you're not getting her email updates and would like to, send me an email or FB message, and I can help connect you. I can't share her story/pics, but she'd love to add you to her list, and I know she covets your prayers. While it's an incredibly challenging work, and our hearts break for them, we have been enjoying having her nearby and even took in a movie together recently. 

She also just went back to the States for quick trip as she had a training she needed to attend, and she was maid of honor in her best friend's wedding.

Zach's summer in Fiji went really well - thanks to all who stood behind him both prayer & financial  support. I haven't gotten very many pics from him yet, but our favorite story of the summer was when he wrote to say that he never imagined that the first time he preached a Sunday sermon would be in a Fijian village, barefoot and wearing a skirt! In Fiji, it's actually called a sulu, but we thought it was a pretty cool way to start preaching. :)

Ben thrived at the camp where he worked this summer, and God used him in big ways. He also had fun connecting with a new group of people, and no one fell on their head when they camped out overnight in the hammock ladders. :) So thankful for what God did both in AND through him this summer.

One of my favorite things this summer was the fact that the 3 kids got to see each other! 

It was very brief, just a day really, but so thankful that they got to hug one another and encourage one another to keep pressing on in the direction He's leading them. Our kids are our joy for sure.