New Partners!

We are so very excited to introduce you to our new partners in the work here amongst the Agta.  3 new families and 5 single guys just moved from their home up north in the Bugkalot tribe down here to Bicol to partner with us in the work with the Agta tribe.  We are SO thankful for them and the many sacrifices they have made and continue to make in order to be here.  What a HUGE leap of faith!

These 3 guys make up one of the teams that will focus on the Agta whose heart language is Bikol.  This team will be based in a tiny coastal village; but we are hoping that, since they are all single, that they will be able to be a mobile team and go wherever God opens doors.  

 This is the other team that will focus on the Agta who speak Bikol.  Robert & Noema are seated in the middle, with their 4 kids (ages 8-17) surrounding them.  Jun-Jun and Claudy (in white & purple) fill out their team.  Please pray especially for Noema as she has been struggling with this transition.  Before moving down here, she had only been out of her little mountain village a couple of times in her life so this move has been unspeakably hard for her.

 The final new team will focus on the Agta whose heart language is Rinconada.  It is comprised of 2 couples - Sherwin & Nora (on the left) have an 8 year old daughter.  Alvin & Lyn have baby Mutya.  Please pray for this team as well as they make this huge transition - it is especially difficult to do this with a baby, and little Mutya has been fussy because of all the transition.  Another huge adjustment for them will be the water shortage in their area.  They are used to free-flowing streams everywhere, but now they will only have access to water 2x a week for 5 hours each time.

 Look at all these partners that God has provided!!!  This is the whole group - the ones who arrived last year as well as the new batch.  A total of 19 adults (few of these are college-age) and 10 kids!!!

We all had fun getting to know one another - though the kids may have had more fun since they weren't in meetings for most of the time. :) 

 There is a church in Singapore that God has been using mightily in this partnership with the Bugkalot and Agta.  They have truly caught the vision and want to do whatever they can to partner with us.  Cherry (in white) came from there to visit us and get a glimpse of what God is doing here.  Her D-group (discipleship group) also sent lots of goodies for the kids.  Here she is giving Mutya a new ball to play with.  We are so thankful for all the partners God is providing - both those who now live here with us AND the ones who live far away but are no less passionate or involved.

(tnx to Cherry for many of the pics!)

 While many of our new tribal partners have had lots of ministry experience, they have virtually no experience church planting in another people group so we will be doing lots of training just like this with them.  The first seminar was this past week, and we spent time learning and discussing strategies for learning the heart language of the people.

 Here is 1 team practicing implementing some of the principles with a volunteer who speaks Bikol.

 We got SO many adorable pictures of Mutya that I may have to devote a whole post to her at some point!  She is precious, and we are all enjoying loving on her.

 Mutya likes to sing this song (similar to "This Little Light of Mine") with her momma.

 After the seminar, we were able to head out and see some of the new teams' homes.  These are the 2 little houses where the Rinconada team will live.

 They are simple huts, but they have an amazing view!

 Here is Mutya peeking out her new window.

 too precious

 And here is one of the Bikol teams (we were only able to make it to 1) in front of the house that they will be renting from a village leader.

 As we traveled from place to place, Cherry also got some great pics.  I will just post a few this time and the rest later.  Hope you enjoy them, and please remember to pray with us for our new partners as they make this massive transition, begin to develop friendships, and begin studying the Agta language and culture.

Double Digits!

Zach turned 10 years old yesterday!  We are so proud of the young man of God that Zach is growing into, and we know that God has big plans in mind for him.

 Zach was thrilled that our friends who used to live here in Bicol were passing through this week and were able to celebrate his birthday with us.  Pretty special present for Zach Man.

 Zach & his buddy Caleb back when we first met them...  

...and today.  :)

Such a cool blessing from God that they could be together for Zach's birthday!

Happy Birthday, Zach!  We love you! 

A Glimpse into Our World

We love it when people come to visit us - especially when they take great pictures and are happy to share them with us! :) Jessica is on a 2-year term here in the Philippines, but she is stationed in Manila so her work looks a little different from ours out here in the province.  Here is Jessica tasting fresh coconut juice.

(Tnx to Jessica & Megan for many of the pics in the next couple posts!)

One of the reasons we love visitors, is that we get to see our world through their eyes. A big part of our world is Megan, our teammate here with the Agta.  Megan is an integral part of the work here, and we will sure miss her when she returns to the States in July!  Megan is the one on the left in case you are wondering.  :)

 I am putting these pics up in no particular order - just some cool shots that Jessica & Megan got during their travels.  Here is a quiet river in one of the villages.

 Having a "house on the lake" may mean something a little different here in our world than in your world...

 Precious children wherever you go

 Love the color contrasts in this shot.  That volcano used to be "our" volcano when we lived in our other town at the foot of it.  Now we live at the foot of a different volcano.

 Load 'em up and move 'em out.

So maybe our worlds aren't so different after all - you all enjoy a nice boat ride on the lake too, right?

 Another style of lake home.  Built on stilts to protect from the regular flooding.

 No stilts for this one - which means they have to have someone they can go live with several times a year when their home floods out.

 Want to take a stroll across the bridge with us?

(In my opinion, strolling is MUCH preferred to riding a motorcycle across!)

 We have so many volcanoes on our tiny peninsula that we actually called to check if our insurance covered volcanic damage.  This one is spectacular.

Q: How many people can fit on a Philippine Jeepney?

A: ONE MORE!

 These critters can be pretty vicious.  It's a good idea to gauge the length of their chain...and stay well outside that. 

 Little beach village

 This picture is amazing to me.  We will have some volunteer teams located in this area this summer.  Praying that God moves mightily in this community!

 Another gorgeous sunset.  You ready to come for a visit yet?

 A lot of the Agta make copra by drying/smoking coconuts over a fire.  Copra is used to make coconut oil, animal feeds, and several other things.  

 This is Alvin's dad (see the next post about Alvin & Raquel's family).

 I love it when the rice fields are this brilliant green color!

And this is another part of our world - though not as beautiful a part!  Ben is helping remove a mouse from in front of Aunt Megan's door.

 We do a lot of hiking across rice fields like this (that is Mikayla up there).  Normally, balancing on these little paths is not a problem, but I was dealing with some sinus dizziness on this particular day so it was more of an adventure than normal. :)

 A local laundromat. You can hire these ladies to wash your clothes for you in this stream.  I can't imagine what their feet look like after standing in that water, working all day long.

 Zach & Ben going for a little dip in the village.  And, no, Ben did not land on Zach here. :)

 Another little tribal home.

 And another beautiful child.  Thankfully, this one is growing up in a home that is now following God every step of the way.

 Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into our world - now come visit us so you can see it all for yourself! :)

A Special Day

You know how Mikayla seems to always have a baby in her arms when we are in the village?  Well, this little darling fell asleep in her arms for about an hour.  After we left the village, the parents texted us and asked if Mikayla would give their baby her nickname (everyone has an official name, but most people also have a nickname).  Her name is Verlyn Fatima, and Mikayla chose Vera to be her nickname.  What a special opportunity for Mikayla! 

(In case you wonder what on earth I am doing with my hands like that - I am holding on to the hammock that is hanging in front of me to keep it out of my face.)

 This is another little girl, and Sunday was a special day for her family.  She was dedicated to the Lord, and her mom was baptiz-d.

 Here is her precious family, listening as Steve shares about the responsibility of parents to teach their children the Word of God.  I love the look of rapt attention on Raquel's face!

 Here is Steve giving a charge to the parents and other relatives/friends...

 ...and holding sweet Nikki Ruth while he prays for her and her family.

 a precious group

 After the baby dedication, we headed to a nearby village where there is a little stream.  We sang some worship songs together, and Steve shared the meaning and significance of bapt-sm.

 Raquel's husband, Alvin, has been a believer for a while, but this was the first time he baptiz-d anyone.  Steve told him that it won't be his last. :)  Since he had never done it before and is painfully shy, Steve went out there to walk him through it and give him the support he needed. 

 We were so proud of BOTH of them for stepping out in faith like this!

 The pure joy of obedience.

 The Agta are typically extremely reserved and don't show any emotion, but looks like a little joy might be leaking out here. :)  Was SO cool to see.

What a special day, and we were so privileged to watch God at work in their lives!