Partners in the Work

As many of you know, we are in the process of mobilizing and training some partners from the Bugkalot tribe who share a passion for reaching the Agta tribe.  We currently have 2 families and 2 single men down here with us, and we have been training them for almost a year.  There are another 4 families and 5 singles hoping to join the team down here.

They live in simple tribal-style homes.



 These 2 houses are where the team focused on the Agta who speak In-Agta live.

 This older gentleman is 76 years old!  He is a widower, and his youngest daughter, who is college-age has joined him on the team.  God has really been at work in this young lady's heart, so much so that when most of the rest of the group (including her dad) decided to go home on a short vacation in April, she decided to stay here.  She said that this is where God has met her and changed her, and she is not ready to go home yet - even for a vacation.

 This is Jun, the team leader for the team that focuses on the Agta who speak Buhinon.  This is not his home, don't worry, just a little multi-purpose lean-to.

 This is the home of the single man on the Buhinon team.  Isn't it in an idyllic location?

 Once a month (or every couple months, depending on our schedule and their progress in ministry), we pull everyone out for some intensive training time.  This past year, we have been blessed to be able to use the home of one of our American co-workers since they are in the States right now.  Most of the training happens on their front porch.

 We spend a lot of time worshipping together at these trainings, most of the time in the Bugkalot heart language.

 We also spend a lot of time sharing and encouraging one another, learning from one another's experiences.

 While we are in meetings, the kids play games in the back yard, read books that I bring, color, and even watch a couple movies on my laptop - their favorite activity. :)

 There are 2 college-age girls on the team, and they do all the cooking for the group over an open fire in the back yard.

 While it is simple and most definitely not American-style, the food is excellent.  Always rice, then some vegetables to go with it.  This one is green papaya stewed in chicken broth.

 As a special treat at this past training, Megan took all the kids into town to get an ice cream.  It was a big hit. :)

 In addition to general sharing time, Steve takes time to teach through strategic principles from the Word of God.  This time we were discussing the essential elements of church and how to simplify the process & style we/they are used to in order to fit better with the Agta culture. 

 During one of our worship times, the 3 adults on the Buhinon team sang a special number - one of the songs most recently translated into Buhinon by Abel (the one with the guitar).  It has been such a blessing to us to hear worship in these languages for the first time, and I know that God is going to use these songs mightily for HIS glory.

We are so very blessed to have such amazing partners in the work, and we can't wait to see what God has in store for this group AND the one on their way.  

People & Places

I was working on a project recently and came across some photos that reminded me of some of the people and places we have come to love here. Some of them are the people we are trying to reach, others are our partners in the work.  All of them are precious to us. 

We praise God for the way that you stand behind us so we can be here.  In a lot of ways, your job is harder than ours because you can't be here to fall in love with these places, these people, and yet you continue to pray for them...and for us.

Thank you. 

Birthday Blitz

On February 16, Mikayla turned 12 years old! 

 At her request, we decorated the gazebo and had a cookout to celebrate.

 Our previous neighbors (they moved away :( ) helped us celebrate her big day.

(And, yes, we know the pic on the banner is from several years ago - we were only home a couple days before her bday, so we had to throw the party together.  This pic was the only one Steve had on his phone when he decided - spur of the moment - to make a banner for her.)

 Mikayla is becoming a beautiful, Godly young woman, and we are very proud of her.  We can't wait to see what God has in store for this one-in-a-million girl.  We love you, Mikayla Faith!

*********** 

The day after her birthday, we left on our next trip - Steve up north to Bugkalot land and the kids and I to Thailand for their annual academic testing.  Steve was able to visit both the southern and northern areas of the Bugkalot, and the trip was very profitable (more on that in our next update & posts).  The kids and my trip to Thailand went pretty well too - their testing scores were very encouraging as they showed that, despite our hectic travel schedule and doing school "on the run" more often than not, they are still thriving.  Zach got sick during our time there though, and we had a nightmare trip both there and back (you don't want to hear the details, believe me!), but we survived it and arrived home ready for a REST.

************

Two days after we arrived home, Ben turned 8 years old! 

 Since we had all come back from our trips pretty sick and needing some serious rest, we were thankful that he was happy to do a low-key celebration at the wakeboard park.  The boys rode bikes and skateboards while the rest of us chatted and read.  Then we enjoyed the yummy chocolate cake Ben had picked out.

Ben has grown a lot in His relationship with God this past year, and we are excited by all that God is teaching His young heart.  We are proud of our 8-year-old (can't believe our "baby" is EIGHT?!?!) and know that God has big things planned for him.  We love you, Ben!

Cherish Every Moment

Family Reunion!!!

The Jackson family hadn't had all been together for 5 years, so we were SOOO thankful for the opportunity to be together in the Philippines the end of January.  We had these shirts made for our time together; the numbers on the back correspond with when we joined (or were born into) the Jackson family.  Notice that even little #15 (coming in April) had a little shirt.

 After meeting up in Manila, we headed to the beach - the same one where we used to vacation when we were just kids.  Loading all the kids and gear on to the little boat was an adventure, and the very wavy trip was even more so.  (On the trip back, the waves were so big that a few washed up and over the boat.  It was at this point that the boatman on the helm dug all the change out of his pocket and threw it into the waves.  Not sure exactly what that means, but pretty sure it is not a good sign.)

 Once at the beach, we buckled down for some serious relaxing and hanging out.

 One afternoon, we headed down the beach towards an awesome Italian restaurant.  The water was only about knee-high on the way TO supper.  On the way back, after it was dark, the tide had come in, and it was chest-high...for the adults.  The kids were swimming it, and little Zoe got soaked in the back-carrier on her dad's back.  We decided that we are a pretty crazy family though because not only did we do it, we laughed our way through the whole thing and had a blast with it.

 In the evenings, the adults enjoyed hanging out on the beach after the kids went to bed.  We brought games to play, but we were too busy talking to even get them out. 

 One of the mornings, we rented a boat to take us to the local snorkeling spot.  We saw these two guys driving their boats along the coast.

 The snorkeling was AMAZING!!!

 We took turns snorkeling and hanging around on the boat.

 Zoe became my little buddy that week.  The last time we saw them, she was only a couple months old, so I was prepared for her to keep her distance since she didn't remember me, but we picked right up where we left off.  I am sure it had absolutely nothing to do with the treats I kept feeding her.

 The six cousins had a BLAST together - just wish we lived closer so we could visit more often!  But thankful that we all live in SE Asia anyway - could be a lot worse!

 Crazy Cousins

 After a couple days, we left the beach and headed to one of our friends' vacation home - a ranch in the mountains.  It was beautiful, and we were so thankful for their generosity in letting us stay there!

 They even let us ride their horses!

A big one...

 ...and a not-so-big one.

We also got to go swimming in their pool, fishing and make s'mores over a bonfire. 

Precious memories!

 Pool-side drinks 

 And of course LOTS of snuggle time with Papa

 Once we got back to Manila, we had several meetings to attend, but we squeezed in some time at the zoo.  Here are the kids posing with Jenny the Orangutang

 Later in the day, once the big groups had left, we got some more personal time with Jenny.  My dad played patty-cake with her, and Mikayla snuggled with her.  Jenny kept rocking Mikayla back and forth like a baby.

 Ben has been asking for months to get his head shaved "like Papa" so on one of our last days together, we let him go for it.  Funny thing, he was surprised by how it looked when it was done and was pretty self-conscious at first (tears involved), but now he seems to like it.  I personally am not a huge fan, but we'll wait and see if he wants to keep it this way or not.  Choose your battles, right? 

 So incredibly thankful to our Father above for such a wonderful week together as a family.  A blessed gift, and we cherished every moment.

And hopefully it won't be 5 years again before the next time!

Because then Mikayla would be...gulp...17.  O my.