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...

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......

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. :)

She

She came in today, the first time in a while.
She didn't want to take a bath.
She hadn't slept since Monday.
She just wanted to sleep.
Please.
Sad eyes.
So dirty little girl.

She said there were so many men in her house.
She was scared to fall asleep cause they might come to her.
She was unprotected.
She said, "He hurt me."
Please.
Sad eyes.
So broken little girl.

She said, "He hurt me."
She ran, torn open.
She came to us and all we could do was hold her.
She slept for hours.
Please.
Sad eyes.
So desperate little girl.

She has little cuts all over her wrist.
She tries to drain the pain.
She needs hope.
She's thirteen.
Please.
Sad eyes.
So little girl.

One Child**

I'd like to introduce my new friend, E...I met her a few weeks ago in the Plaza (town square). She was outside of a bank looking through the window and the guard came out to shoo her away, so she wouldn't disturb the customers by begging as they came out the door.

I happened to have a bag of sweet breads in my hands, so I called to her and got her attention. She crossed the street to where I was waiting and thankfully took the pieces of bread I offered. As she ate, I asked her about her life, with the help of my friend Dahlia, who translated.

E is 12 years old and was abandoned on the streets of Butuan, along with her siblings, by her mother when she was only six. Her father had all ready died. After some time, she was "adopted" by an American and his Filipina wife. Apparently she was well taken care of in that home and was happy. However, after the American died, she was thrown out of the house by the wife's mother, because of money issues. So she went back to life on the streets.

On the day I met her she asked me if she could come home with me. I can't explain what went through my mind at that point...but I knew I couldn't say yes. Praise the LORD, I all ready knew what hope I could give her. I told her about Project Destiny Drop-In Center. I told her about what kinds of things we'd do there...that we would feed her there...that she'd be safe there.

Before I left, with the help of Dahlia, I told her that I would look for her when I was in the city, and that she should look for me...that I would love to talk to her more.

The next day Teresa and I were doing errands in that part of the city, and we ate our lunch at Red Apple. (If you ever come to visit, I'll take you there...it's an interesting experience.:)) We had leftovers we were leaving the restaurant with, and Teresa was so excited about what I had told her about E. So we decided to look for her in the Plaza. She wasn't there, unfortunately, but we met some of her other friends...so we gave the chicken and rice (and brownie) to them and asked them to please tell E that Ate Susan would be back tomorrow around lunchtime to see her.

So I bought one loaf of bread, two cans of tuna, some sandwich spread and a can of juice. The next day, I made baggies of diluted juice (they probably don't drink enough water) and a bag of tuna sandwiches.

I looked at the small little pile of food on the table and wondered if it would be enough for the kids that might be there after it got around that an American was coming for lunch. But I just decided to trust that God knew who would be there and how much was needed, and that I was just going to be faithful with my "loaves and fish."

So off I went, alone. (We were having about 12 lunch guests in our house, so Teresa was needed there to serve them.) When I got to the Plaza, I was relieved to see that there weren't 50 kids waiting for me. The number was closer to 15... E was happy to see me, and a little bit shy, while she watched me the food away. I was amazed to see that there were more than enough sandwiches (one kid got 3!) and at the end, there was enough juice for every child there (plus the 2 adults), with one bag leftover.

I didn't preach, I didn't mention church or the Bible. I just simply passed out smiles, kind words and a bit of food. I remembered Jesus words about giving someone a drink of water...that it is like giving Him water. So I thanked Him that I was able to love these kids in His name. I told them about the center...and I hope to see them there one day. Relationship has been established.

I haven't seen E since that day. But I do look for her. I wonder if she's ok. I wonder if she ate today. I wonder if someone is hurting her. (It's well known in Butuan City that if you want sex with a child, you go to the Plaza.)

Please pray for E and her friends. She is one of more than 2,000 street kids in this city alone. Please pray for Butuan City. Please pray for the street kids all over the world today.

**edited to change her name, for her protection.

Fried Chicken with Friends

My friends, who also happen to be Project Destiny volunteers, Joice and Inday, were just here for dinner. We had fried chicken and rice...with a bit of chocolate for dessert, since it IS Valentine's Day... Joice was telling me that she would love to learn how to make a video on the computer, so I offered to show her how I've made the other PD videos. She thought that was a lovely idea, so we sat down together and made this video about the Christmas party we had last month.

Even though it was a month late, we were still in the Christmas season here in the Philippines, which lasts until February first. We invited the street kids who hang out in the bus terminal to come to the center on a Saturday afternoon. About 40 kids came and filled up the downstairs of our building. It was the first time we'd had kids in the center....what an amazing sight to see. We played games, sang songs, the New Caledonians performed some dances, and we ate.

At the end we were able to give each child a Christmas present in the form of a Ziploc bag full of amazing stuff. Each bag had: one washcloth, one pair of socks, one hairbrush (with hair ties for the girls), one toothbrush and toothpaste, a bar of soap and one toy. What treasures!!! The video shows the looks of glee and amazement on the faces of the kids...beautiful. Special thanks to Calvary Chapel Fremont for making the gift giving possible.:)

Hope you enjoy the video...
God bless you!:)

We've Hosted Our First Overseas Team!!

So have you ever hung out with a group of people who speak a completely different language, yet somehow through you common love for Jesus, relationship is formed in a beautiful, only-God-could-have-done-it way?

I live in a place where all around me everyday is a language I don't understand...yet. But somehow it's become a familiar unknown. Last month we hosted a team from New Caledonia, which is a French territory.

For two weeks I kept thinking, "WHY didn't I take FRENCH in high school?!?" The team was made up of 4 YWAM Discipleship Training School students who came to the Philippines for their outreach, and their staff leader, Aza, the translator.

We are so thankful they came. They were able to complete the painting in the drop-in center, help build a parsonage for a local church, participate in an evangelical crusade for children (which resulted in a children's Bible study group being formed), help us with our Christmas party (a month late) and prayer walk through parts of our city.

In the short time they were here, God formed a beautiful relationship between us. They prayed over us and over our volunteers, and as they prayed, they wept. God delivered a message to them about what He's doing here that didn't need to be translated. Through His revelation they understood how to pray, and how to encourage, and how to be a blessing in this place. It's my prayer that they were blessed beyond measure through spending time here in the Philippines, and that one day they will be able to return and see the fruits of their labors here.

Andy and I on the way home from church, in the jeepney.

Valery painting the face of some kids during the crusade.

Aza, their leader and amazing translator.

All of us. originally this was the nice group photo, but with a click of the button, I deleted the nice one. So here's the goofy one. Who ever said missionaries are SERIOUS?!!??!

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.:)