1000s of words about outreach :)

My dad brought me an animated singing frog...Jeremiah was a Bullfrog was heard throughout the land...the kids loved it.

Duane deserved it. We promise.

An interesting perspective of travel on the river...in this case we're being towed by the boat in front of us...eventually our driver was able to fix the motor...and then it broke again.

Can you see the team walking on the path? We spent 3 days in this village...where I was able to spear my foot with a fishing spear...but the view was amazing. :)

We're Out.

After an exciting landing here in Bagabag, I am happy to report that our team has safely completed the Palanan phase of our outreach. We spent three weeks serving the churches of Palanan. We held a family camp, spoke in church seminars, ran a VBS for the Agta kids, helped build a medical clinic and walked miles to visit and encourage people in their homes. It was good to be back in a place that feels like home...even though it's so different there.
Since I've gone so many times, I'm starting to understand more of the place, and can really see the impact the gospel is having in this remote location. The missionaries serving there full time are truly a faithful bunch. They are translating the Bible, pastoring, mentoring and raising up young people and still working on things like farming and fishing in order to provide for their families. The joy of the Lord is present in their faces. I love to spend time with them.
It was an interesting experience to be the team leader this time. Although Duane was there, I was the one primarily in charge with the help of the lovely Hazel. I learned things about myself and can really see how God has grown me and changed me in my years of being here in the Philippines.
Thank you for praying. I'm in an internet cafe right now so I don't have access to any photos to share with you. But when I can, I will. :) (I"ll tell you the story of the plane landing in person. OH my lanta that was an experience. Cause of the typhoon that is headed our way....)
We're in Bagabag for one week before we leave for Baguio. We'll be serving a group of churches here...our team is doing well...but I can see that we're tired. The students graduate on the 20th of June and I know they will be happy to have completed the course.
Love and blessings.

Update from Susan!

Hello everyone!  This is Tricia, Susan's cousin.  I received the following text message from Susan yesterday afternoon.  I apologize for not getting it on here until now.  Here it is:

I am in Palanan.  We finished a family camp a few days ago, where about eight families attended their first seminar together.  They were so encouraged by the Father, and we were excited to be a part of it all. Right now we are in a remote village where we are going house to house. Then we will be having a church seminar on Sunday.  

In addition for praying for these families, please pray for my foot.  Last night I speared it with a fishing spear in the ball of my foot.  It went in about ¾ inch.  Pray that there is no infection.  God bless You, and I'll text again soon!

10 Things You Might Want to Know About Me.

1. I think I should be nominated for worst communicator for the first portion of 2009. Please forgive my lack of information. My brain is all muddled and I'm finding it hard to put what's going on into words.

2. I've never known that I was an internal processor, but it's becoming clear to me that I am. Every time I arrive in the US it takes me like 2 weeks to be able to express, with some sort of clarity, the things that are in my heart regarding life here. So sometimes when I'm here in the midst of things, I just can't seem to be able to get my brain wrapped around it enough to share it. This seems to be especially true right now.

3. This school has been......interesting, a challenge, exciting....WAY TOO FAST. We're in week 12 of the lecture phase. Graduation is on Saturday and outreach will start on Sunday. Partway through the school, one of our students chose to leave, which was a very hard thing for Tom, who is leading his first school, and on the rest of the staff team, and especially for the other students. We continue to honor the student by not sharing openly with everyone what the issue was, but we also continue to speak blessing to him and his walk with God. Our prayers in this school have focused on a need for unity and willingness to be open...so....

4. The staff have taken turns throughout the school to share their testimonies openly with the whole school and my turn is coming on Thursday. I'm struggling to figure out what portions to share and how to best give God the glory for the things He has done...and be open. oh dear.

5. As it turns out, I'm leading outreach this year...and I seriously need your prayers for this time. For some reason I'm really struggling about this...and I haven't been able to specifically identify WHY...I'm praying through it and asking for HELP.

6. My Dad came for 10 days last month. It was great having him here and showing him the place I've been living the last 4.5 years. :) I think I even heard him mention that he wants to come back... ask him the next time you see him...maybe he'll bring a group!! :)

7. I'm learning ALOT about patience these last few months. It's coming in many different areas, both personal and in ministry...I'm not very good at it...At times I do ok, and at others I throw little fits that show how far I have to grow in this area....Last week we had a discussion question that asked if we ever try to shortcut the pain of God's dealings with us....and my answer was that sometimes I wish there was a pause button that would give me a short break from the process, sort of a time to gain perspective and catch my breath...and that's true in this whole learning the patience thing too...actually if I did find that pause button and press it, I think I would miss what He's teaching me in this moment....and I most certainly don't want to relearn this one. :) Am I being clear as mud?? Sorry. I'm giving the best I've got so far...:)

8. Have you read 2Corinthians 4 lately? How about Romans 15:5? They're amazing. Really amazing. The first one says "do not lose heart" twice. The second one is our prayer for this school and now for the outreach....

9. There is a school starting at the end of August called Introduction to Primary Health Care. It will be held in Manila for 3 months and then 3 months of outreach. It's a second level YWAM school....one of hundreds that can be taken after CDTS. (Other examples would be a biblical studies school where they study the Word in depth for 9 months and an intro to Biblical counseling school where they teach counseling from a Biblical perspective.) So this school will teach practical skills needed for primary health care...things like immunizations, skin care, delivering a baby, clean water issues...and the list goes on. I'm praying about this opportunity. I'm excited about the prospect and can see how the skills this course teaches can be used in any place that God may call me...:) Will you pray with me?

10. God is moving. Teaching. Speaking. Gracing. Loving. Calling. And I need help. I'm exhausted. Overwhelmed. Desperate. Frustrated. And I have a not so nice ear infection. I need you. To pray. I'm so not able to do this without you. And I've done a terrible job telling you that recently. But it's still the truth. Please love me in spite of my weakness.

Nope, I'm Not Stuck in the Jungle Anymore :)

I have been slacking on this blog. And because the time has been so long I keep feeling like I have to have an amazing post with fantastic information... Which makes me put it off longer... And so now here I sit... happy to look back all the way to November, but unsure of what exactly to say... So here goes... Hopefully I'll be sharing more soon....:)

I went home for six weeks to spend the holidays with my family and friends. It was so nice to eat pumpkin pie and drink egg nog for the first time in 3 years. My parents and I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day together in Mariposa. And it snowed just after breakfast just enough to make it a white Christmas for us. Beautiful. Peter called in the morning from Gibraltar and we were able to all talk together for a few minutes wishing each other a Merry Christmas. We missed having him and Janice with us, but I am hoping that we will be able to be all together sometime in the future. :)

I'm back in the Philippines and today is arrival day for the students of the 2009 CDTS. We have 13 students from all over... Korea, Philippines, USA, Malaysia, Japan and Australia... Our team is excited to get the school up and running. First day of class is tomorrow...

Small weather update...

Some blue sky today! Please pray that it will continue.  They just had a seminar on faith with agta church here.  Then they had lunch of monggo beans and...

that's all I received.  I'm sure there's more message that I'm missing!

Week 3...

I did not receive an update for week 2!

Susan sends her greetings!  She says it's been raining there for about a week, and that the river is up by about 15 feet.  The farms around them are under water, as is the runway!  Please pray for safety for the people of Pananan.  She wants everyone to know that SHE IS SAFE because she is on a hilltop.  Her flight out is on December 1st, so pray for the weather then, too! :)

The school is amazing.  God is doing mighty things!  Last week, the topic was "humility breaks pride."  Next week is their final week, and it will end with a "graduation."  The topic is still being prayed about!  God is so good!