Bugkalot to Bicol

Last month, Steve was blessed to accompany a group of 8 Bugkalot tribal church leaders down to Bicol to visit the ones whom their churches have sent out.  They met first at the training center in Bicol that the volunteer team this past summer helped to build.

 They had a wonderful time of fellowship together for a couple days.  Their time included some business-type meetings, ministry reports, and a time of training as well.  Just a few weeks previously, Steve had helped the Bugkalot church leadership to think through their vision statement and strategy for how they want to function so he was especially encouraged when the chairman of the Bugkalot church leadership shared their vision and passion for the Bugkalot churches.  We are so excited to partner with these churches and the ones they are sending out!

 Spending time in prayer together is a priority every time we gather as a group.

 In addition to time spent at the training center, the guys headed out to the local Agta tribal villages to see exactly where our Bugkalot partners are working and to meet the people to whom they are ministering.

 Even though both the Bugkalot and Agta are tribal people, their cultures are VERY different, and this difference is even evident in the kinds of homes in which they live.  It is so good for the Bugkalot to see the Agta situation for themselves so that they better understand the situation in Bicol and know how to pray more specifically for the ones they have sent out.

 We are so thankful for these partners!

 The guys saw several different sights as they traveled around several different areas.

 Towards the end of the trip, the guys climbed up to the top of a mountain that overlooks several different Agta areas.

 There at the top of the mountain, overlooking the vast area where some of the 100,000 Agta live, they stopped to pray for the Agta tribe and for the workers who are ministering here in this place.

Some of the Bugkalot church leaders were in tears several times during this trip as they realized the magnitude of the work in Bicol and how much we need GOD to work.  They said that this trip helped them understand the situation down here so much better; now they know how to pray more specifically for the ones they have sent out, and they are excited to share that passion with their churches back home.  

(*Photo cred: Many of the pictures were taken by the pastors themselves.*)

Hagen Happenings

Things have been busy as always around the Hagen home!  On March 1, Ben turned 11 years old!

Since he has never had a big class before, he wanted to invite the WHOLE class to his party. :)  We had a lot of fun with a BIG group of 5th graders.  It's a great group, and we are so thankful that Ben has them as classmates. 

We enjoyed cake, ice cream, and watermelon (notice Ben is counting the candles to make sure we got it correct!), then we went up to the pool on campus to play some water games together.  Unfortunately, I was soooo busy at the pool, that I didn't get any pics of that part so you will have to take my word for it that we had a good time. :)

The other day I had the privilege of babysitting for a friend's foster baby.  This precious little gem was just over 3lbs when she was born 1.5 months ago, but she has already gained more than a pound since then!

See how this guy's thumb is the same size as her little arm??  She is just so adorable, and I thoroughly enjoyed some wonderful "baby therapy". :)

Something big happened just this past week.  Zach competed in a speech tournament at school with all the 7th and 8th graders.  He and a friend performed the dramatic duo "Who's on 1st".  They did a spectacular job, and they went on to the finals (which is rare for 7th graders).  Then they proceeded to give their best performance yet for the finals in front of several hundred people - and they won!  They were so excited, and we were so proud of them.  They worked hard on this very challenging piece, and it was fun to see them reap the rewards for their labors.  

Check out that smile. :)

Steve just arrived back from a week down in Bicol with our tribal partners as well as several Bugkalot church leaders who took a vision trip down there.  It was a great time of fellowship together, and I will do a post about there time soon.

This week will be another busy one with my (Jen's) mom and dad arriving tomorrow!  Since the kids are on spring break this week, we will all travel together up to the tribe together on Tuesday, then back on Thursday in time to catch their flight out that night.  We would appreciate prayers as it will be a busy 72 hours while they are here, filled with lots of time on the road and in important meetings.  Thanks for standing behind us! 

Manila

The past 6 months, we have been busy adjusting to life in the big city of Manila.  To be honest, Manila has never been one of our favorite places - even to just pass through - so we were not exactly looking forward to living here.  However, God has been so gracious, and our adjustment has gone fairly smoothly.  (Thanks for praying!!)

Steve has been traveling from here and going both north and south (though not at the same time!) for ministry trips.  Sometimes, I (Jen) travel with him, but usually I stay home and hold down the fort with the kids.  Steve actually took a couple ministry trips this past month, but taking pictures is not high on his priority list, so you will just have to take my word for it.  I will be traveling with him in March so can share some new pics with you then. :)

But I realized that nearly all our pics are from our ministry travels, not from our new home city.  Rather than take my camera out into the crowds and smog and traffic, I asked my new friend, Chris Kuhlow for permission to post some of her pics here.  See, that has been one of the HUGE blessings of living in Manila; we have made some new friends, and some of them are very talented - like Chris with her camera.  All of the pics below are her pics, and if you want to see more amazing-ness, click HERE to check out some more of her pics.  Thanks for sharing these pics with us, Chris!  

I hope this will give you all a glimpse into our new home - the city of Manila.  Please pray that God would continue to give us strength as we adjust to the crazy traffic and crowded streets.  Also pray that He would show us ways that He wants to use our family here.  While our hearts have been stolen by the tribals in the mountains (and we don't see that changing anytime soon), we also want to bloom where we are planted and be used by Him in this city.

Mikayla is 15!

Ok, so her actual birthday is on Monday, but we celebrated Mikayla's 15th birthday today! I got thinking about it, and while she has had a lot of great birthday parties with some great friends, this was the first time since she was 5 years old that we lived near English-speaking friends that she could invite to her party! (Note: that's not to say that she hasn't had some great friends at parties in the past; we have celebrated many times with different family friend who are dear to all of us.  This was just the first time in 10 years that she had a bunch of same-age friends living nearby that she could invite.)

It was fun looking back to the pics from that way-back-when birthday party in 2005...

 5-year-old Mikayla with her friends and siblings and cousin

 And now that little girl is 15 years old!  Here is a collection of pics from her last 15 birthdays:

We had a great time celebrating her 15th birthday with some wonderful young ladies who have become her friends at Faith Academy.  One of her friend's dad has a drone that he used to take a pic of the girls posing into 15! 

Happy birthday, Mikayla Faith!  We love you and are so proud of the young woman that you are becoming.  We know that God has big plans in store for you; keep seeking Him with your whole heart!

Two more trips

We got home from our adventure in the mountains (see next post) during the wee hours of Christmas Eve.  We had 48 hours at home to enjoy a quiet Christmas as a family (and unpack, do laundry and re-pack) before we left on our next trip.  This time our travels took us south to Bicol to visit our Bugkalot tribal partners.  Mikayla and I were both pretty sick for this trip, and we had lots of responsibilities in planning/leading a Christmas party & training for our partners, so I didn't get any pics of our time at the training center.  However, another family that we have met here in Manila joined us for this trip, and they got a couple pics.  They have 5 boys, so with our 2 boys, that made 7 boys ages 12 & under!  Here are 6 of the 7 enjoying breakfast together.

 After our trip to Bicol, we had a 36-hour turnaround at home to enjoy a not-so-quiet New Years celebration as a family. (Anyone who has experienced New Years in the Philippines knows that it is NEVER quiet! Check out this video to see what I mean.)

Early on January 2, we left on our last trip over the kids' break.  This time it was to the beach with some friends for a couple days of vacation.

 We had a wonderful time relaxing as a family, and the kids and Steve spent some of their Christmas money from grandparents to rent a wave runner a couple of times.

 I thoroughly enjoyed kicking back and reading in a hammock on the beach.  Mikayla and I were still recovering from some virus, so these couple days of rest were just what the doctor ordered!

 We got back from the beach just in time for school to start back up again...and to welcome the newest member of our team!

 Danielle ("Dani") was born to our teammates, Joseph & Lorraine on January 10.  Mom and baby are both doing well.  And Dad seems pretty pleased as well. :)

It was definitely a busy school break with 3 trips squeezed into 2.5 wks (see the other trip in the following post); but everything went very well, and we were so thankful to have some time to minister again as a family as well as enjoy a couple days of vacation.  Also thankful for the beautiful addition to our team - Dani!

Another Adventure

While we loved living in the province for so many years, and the adjustment to the crowded city of Manila has been difficult at times, one of the real blessings has been getting to know other families with whom we can enjoy fellowship in our heart language. One of the families that we have enjoyed connecting with this past semester is the Maxwell family.  Jen actually knew Roberta in high school at Faith Academy, and we have found that our two families share a lot of interests - water sports and crazy adventures are two of them.  So who better to invite on another adventure?   

 We have always done ministry as a family, so now that the kids are in school in Manila, we use their school breaks for ministry travel.  Over Christmas break, we invited the Maxwells to join us on a trip up into the Sierra Madre mountains to visit some Bugkalot villages.

 Our little tribal house (not so little!) has been such a blessing when we visit the Bugkalot.

 We spent a lot of time bundling up (it gets chilly in the mountains..at least for the tropics!) and playing games or reading on the porch.

 The Maxwells have 3 daughters, and they are just as crazy as our kids, so we decided to venture out for an all-day hike to visit a village where Steve recently led a storying training.

 We started out hiking along the river...

 ...and crossing it many times.

 The trail led up into the mountains... 

,...and when I say "up", I mean UP!

We met a sweet group of Bugkalot on the trail. 

 We also passed through a couple little villages where Steve has previously led trainings.

 The trail was very steep and muddy in some places. 

 Then we arrived at a gorgeous waterfall!

 But sitting at the base of the waterfall isn't good enough for these two crazy families!

They scaled up beside the waterfall (using ropes)...

 ...then walked BEHIND the waterfall!

(Look carefully to see them behind the falls about halfway up.)

 They then made their way over to a cave. 

 They crawled through the cave...

 ...held some bats...

 ...then enjoyed the spectacular view out the cave opening on the other side of the mountain!

 Then we started the long trek back to our tribal house.

 It was incredibly slippery going back down the mountain - more like skiing than hiking!

 By the time we made it back, we had hiked more than 8 hours in one day, not including the rock climbing and spelunking in the cave!

 It was an exhausting day, but it was an amazing adventure, and we enjoyed some breath-taking views along the way!

While we were up in the mountains, we spent a lot of time in hammocks, and Mikayla and Z even slept out on the porch in hammocks one night.

 

We also had a great hot dog roast on the rocks where the two rivers meet.

On Sunday, we attended church in the village of Abaca.  Steve shared a report about the ministry of those whom they have sent out to church plant amongst the Agta tribe in Bicol.

Trevor Maxwell also shared a word of testimony while Steve translated, and it was a real encouragement to the people.

Then, as is normal with visitors, we were asked to sing a special number.  I dodged the bullet this time so I could take pictures of the group. :)

They had a delicious lunch prepared for us after church.

The kids had an absolute blast together on our trip.  One afternoon, they gathered pine branches and created a Christmas tree since it was just a couple days before Christmas.

The end result put Charlie Brown's Christmas tree to shame. :)

We are so thankful for families like the Maxwells, with whom we can share crazy adventures like this one!