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.

Google Earth....

i have that song stuck in my head "Where in the world is CARMEN SANDIEGO?".... people of my generation might remember that game show....something about geography.... i don't know....

some of you may be wondering where in the world is PALANAN, ISABELLA? if you have Google Earth (and if you don't, it's FREE, and really cool and i'd recommend it...just search online for Google Earth and the site will come up, click to download and follow the instructions) then you can type in the coordinates : 17° 3'55.32"N 122°26'36.81"E and you will see the place I'll be staying. you can also search for Palanan, and the teeny tiny town will show up, then you can float down the river on your imagination and arrive at the coordinates above and you'll see the same thing...

Thought I'd share for those of you who are interested....i know my Dad is one of them...and there may be others...

something to note is that there are NO roads connecting this valley with the rest of the world. people from palanan say "outside" when they talk about leaving the valley whether by plane, foot or boat....if you are in Palanan, you are "inside". People from Palanan call anyone who's not born there and comes inside a "foreigner" even if they're from just over the mountains. isolated. they're isolated.

and God is building His kingdom there. and they are reaching out. they have a vision to become international missionaries. they want to tell people what He's done inside. they want the foreigners to have relationship with their Father, and so they pray and learn and grow. And it is beautiful in His sight.

will you pray? continue to pray? we leave Thursday for our adventure there....wow. that's soon. I'll tell you my honest how I'm feeling soon......

Back for 2WEEKS

photos: The village we will be staying in... there's a building we stay in, but this is what the village looks like. :)

the Bible School students, 17 of the 44 particpants in the Discipleship Course in their classroom, which is also the church in the village. The students range in age from 16 to 26, approximately. Some have not finished high school due to lack of funds and accessibility to the school in town.

the school is using the ISOM (International School of Ministry) videos to run their Bible school. The instructor speaks in English and is then translated into Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines. the TV is running off of a generator, because there is no eletricity in the village.

Left to right: Nora, a CMU missionary, Adeline, my co-staff (and watcher when i was in the hospital) and I. Nora will be one of the students in the Discipleship course.

fresh ocean fish and rice for lunch, followed by a dessert of fresh bananas (there are more than 70 kinds of bananas here!)

boat trip from the village into town..about 20 minutes...40 minutes if we walk.

the view looking from the village down into the river below...might be where we wash clothes and bathe if we run out of water in the wells...do you see Duane and Lois in the waiting shed?

So. We went for the week and came back safely after an exciting ride in the little 5 seater airplane. (The pilot almost had to turn around because of the turbulence and how low the clouds were...it was a bit like a roller coaster at the end...except this one had no tracks...but praise the LORD we were able to land safely back in Baguio...with slightly greener faces than normal...:))

The time in Palanan was beautiful and we were able to accomplish our objectives. We trained the 3 graduates of CDTS who will be staffing the Course in how to run a small group and what discipleship is all about. An added blessing was that several of the CMU missionaries were able to sit in and were visibly encouraged by the teaching. It's not just something that applies in the YWAM context. It is basic principles in building relationship between mentor and mentee (is that a word:))

We were also able to take a good look at the logistics of being there for 12 weeks and were able to come up with some solutions that will make our time there a bit easier than when we are there for 4 weeks of outreach. For example, we won't be cooking on wood...which can take 2 hours per meal cooking time...we were able to find a little 2-burner stove and will be bringing in propane with us on the airplane, since it's not available there. Also, we are planning, weather permitting, to come out for one week in the middle for a break time together and to get more supplies. The place is so isolated, and since we aren't used to it, it could be way too stressful to be out for that long.

Are there things that don't make sense in what I'm telling you? Because this is somewhat normal for me, it's hard to think how to explain this so you get an understanding. Please ask me whatever questions you have so I can fill you in. Maybe you aren't the only one wondering. :) just click on the word COMMENT at the end of this post follow the directions to leave a comment. (it's pretty easy....:))

Heading off for 1 Week>> Please pray.:)

hi guys...well our adventure with the Palanan Discipleship Course is about to get started...we've been preparing for about 2 or 3 weeks...meeting every morning for worship and intercession...planning the logistics, inviting speakers...getting used to the idea of 3 months cut off from the rest of the world...

and now tomorrow Duane and Lois and I are headed to Palanan for one week of staff training there...with our former students who will be staffing the course...we'll also be making final arrangements and getting answers for our many questions...my personal prayer is that God will drop HIS vision in us, so that we can lead the staff and students with a fuller understanding of HIS heart for this time of discipleship and life together...

it is such a huge task put before us...overwhelming from this side of it...but one of those things that i believe we'll be able to look back and see what GOD did through us...

Please pray for us during this next week....that we'll hear His voice clearly, that the communication will be clear (most of the training will be translated:)), for safety and that we will have a fuller understanding of what lies ahead....:)

So how are you doing? What are you up to this week??

Change of Plans>> EXCITING NEWS!!! PLEASE PRAY FOR US!!

A few weeks ago we chose to cancel the upcoming Mobile school because we didn't have enough students. Although I was very disappointed that the thing I had been looking forward to was not going to happen, I chose to trust that God had something incredible coming. After canceling the school and praying about what the next step should be, we decided to look seriously at the invitation we had received from Christian Missions to the Unreached to run a CDTS in Palanan, Isabella.

Through 10 years of sending our outreach teams to Palanan, the strong, trusting relationship between CDTS and CMU has been a beautiful thing to watch God grow. Our teams have seen first hand the work that God is doing to bring His gospel to the people of the Palanan valley and beyond through the missionaries of CMU. We have been blessed every year by CMU and their hearts for the people.

Last May when our CDTS team was there speaking in a youth camp, 20 youth went forward to dedicate their lives to serving God. Afterwards the leaders of CMU asked Duane to run a CDTS in Palanan. A few weeks later an 18 month Bible school was formed using the ISOM curriculum. It is now running with 17 students, 3 days a week. Because God has cleared our schedule, and CMU has agreed that now is the time for the Palanan CDTS, we are starting a school there on September 16, 2008.

Doctora Mona, the current president of CMU says, “… Palanan is a remote town, one of the poorest municipalities of the Philippines, situated behind the Siera Madre mountains , where there is no existing road and can only be reached by air through small 6-seater planes or by motorboat ,more often through the rough sea. Palanan is the home of about 15,000 people, some 1-2 thousand of whom are Agtas, an indigenous peoples group, the rest of whom are lowlanders; each group has a distinct language.

The Lord's work started in this place way back in the 1980s, initially through bible translation and later a church was born. From a handful of believers then, the church has grown to about a thousand believers and there are about 17 local churches all in all, Agta and lowland. We believe God has called us to disciple the Palanan believers and we believe too that God has led us to ask help from your group in the discipling of this people group.

Presently, there are about 30 , who would like to enroll in the school if it would be held in Palanan, half of them are young people who are presently enrolled in our bible school and the other half are church leaders, church workers and members of our group. It is also a mixed group of Agtas and lowlanders. I have been informed that in your school, the students are required to attend school five days in the week. I would like to request for some modification regarding this matter; that is that the five days be reduced to 3 days since most of them have to work in the fields, or have to go out to fish and hunt or some other means of livelihood so that they could have food in their homes.”

I am so excited to tell you that we have decided to run a full course CDTS in Palanan starting on September 16 and finishing on December 8. It will be 12 weeks, and we will be inviting speakers to come in and share on topics like Identity, Fatherhood, Sonship, Pride and Humility, Hearing God's Voice and Fear of the LORD. For the other weeks our staff will be teaching...which means that I may end up teaching a bit....

Duane and I will be co leading the school, and most likely be going in and out of Palanan for a break. The other staff will be Semi and Laura, who came originally for the Mobile school, possibly Tom for a while.... AND our 4 graduates of CDTS who are from Palanan. Duane and Lois and I will be heading into Palanan on the 22nd of August for staff training and planning for the school. Then we'll be back in Baguio for a few weeks before heading back to the jungle....

I am THRILLED with this...but absolutely terrified....in a good way....in a God way...in an "I can't do this myself, God please be the one to do it" kind of way....

Please pray for us, for the students, for the weather (let's just say it could get really interesting...), for the speakers, for the food, for health and wellness and for peace in the midst of all that's going on... (If as you're praying God gives you a verse or a word, please email me or post a comment...)

For a reminder of what Palanan looks like you can click on the link to my ministry videos on the right and select the Palanan video from the list. :)

Thank you for your prayer. For your love. For your support. For your relationship. For you. :)

Palanan 2007

As an application of what has been learned during Crossroads Discipleship Training School, after 12 weeks of lecture we lead the students on an 8 week outreach into remote areas in the Philippines to serve in the name of Jesus. This video shows what part of that experience can look like through the eyes of one of the teammates....me.:)