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! 

Fun with Family & Friends

For some of you, hiking into tribal villages and crossing rivers may be unusual, but for OUR family, it is very unusual to get all dressed up.  But recently we did just that so that we could help our dear friends/teammates celebrate their wedding.  And here's a picture to prove it. :)

 I think Len is going to fit right in on our team because all that fancy food wasn't her style; we slipped her a burger from the kids' buffet, and she was thrilled.  Congratulations, Joseph & Len!  We are so excited to welcome you to the team/family, Len. :)

 My sister's family came for the wedding too, so we enjoyed a couple days just hanging around together.

 We discovered a new rock wall in Manila, and Zach amazed all of us with his skills.  He negotiated several "overhangs" like this one!

 Then my brother's family arrived, so all the cousins were together!  We enjoyed two days with the whole family at Rizal Re-Creation Center where the cousins could run and play to their hearts' content. 

 The tree house was one of their favorite places.

 We are so thankful that we got to enjoy this time together as a family!

 And I know my parents sure enjoyed having ALL their grandkids together in one place. 

Thank you, Father, for precious memories!

 Right after we got home, we were blessed by a visit from some dear friends who live on a nearby island.  We haven't known them very long, but we have been so refreshed by our time with them.

 We had fun wakeboarding together.

 We also got to introduce them to the "skate"; it's a little wooden cart that runs on the railroad tracks and serves as one form of public transportation in the Philippines.  Unbelievable how many people they cram on those things!  Steve said it was pushing 40 by the time it was full!

 Heading off down the tracks.

 Railroad traffic is notoriously one-way only, but that's not a problem for the ingenious Filipinos.  The standing rule is that the most fully loaded skate gets to stay on the tracks while the on-coming skate is unloaded and lifted off the tracks to allow the other one to pass by.

 We had so much fun with this family and hope that we get many more chances for adventures with them in the future!

 Check out this gorgeous waterfall we visited together.

Anyone else want to come visit? :)