Final Update

I could make excuses about why I was so bad about keeping up with this blog, but I'll skip to the important things!

Here are a few of the blessings God allowed us to be a part of this year:

An 18-year-old young man, pseudonym David, began attending our Bible study in late April. He had been invited by another attendee. David stayed after Bible study several times to talk one-on-one with Luigi, another translator who was with us for several weeks. David received the Gospel as truth and came back to Bible study each week. We baptized David in June and saw amazing spiritual growth in him throughout the remainder of our time there. He immediately began reading the Bible we gave him on his own. A couple weeks after he'd started attending, David shared that he had read the entire book of Job that week. I asked him what it had taught him, and he said, "God is right in everything he does, even when we don't understand why." Some of his friends with whom he'd shared his faith wanted to come to Bible study, but they were too shy. He asked us to pray that they would come. I told him, "We will pray that they will come, but know that you have the Holy Spirit and you have all the power you need to share what you learn in God's Word with them." David brought a younger friend of his to Bible study several times while we were there, who also listened carefully. I was amazed at David's answers to discussion questions during Bible study, which showed his God-given understanding. I saw that it is God who teaches the hearts of his children through His word and gives understanding to those who seek it. I believe God is going to use David to lead many others to grow in Christ. Seeing the spiritual hunger and growth God gave David reminded me of this verse: "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it break forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:10-11

I was so glad to stay with two of our Bible study attendees every time we went to their village and see the spiritual growth in them and how God was working in their family. I'll call them Dana and Peter here. Dana read her Bible often, even as she was working in her store. Sometimes, we witnessed Peter and Dana reading their Bible together. Dana shared the Gospel with many people, including her entire family, many of whom were resistant. Before we left, though, her daughter-in-law had attended Bible study several times. Although she seemed skeptical, she kept coming back and would read along with us and offer answers to our questions. Dana's cousin also expressed interest and wanted a Bible, which we gave to Dana to give to him. Dana's daughters, who usually could not attend Bible study because they were away at school, wrote a note to Jael and me before we left. They wrote, "Thank you for teaching the Bible to both of our parents. We can really see how the Lord change the life of my mother and father. We also see how God changes our life too. We really desire that our Bible Study will continue."

In the smallest village we went to, there were six ladies who regularly attended Bible study. It was a joy for us to see their joy in meeting together and how they faithfully read the Word on their own. Sometimes, during our Bible studies, I would get lost from the discussion, because the ladies were eagerly discussing among themselves, leaving no time for my translator to translate back to me. I was excited to see this, because it showed how they were becoming one as a group and carrying the discussion without me, learning from each other! Each Bible study, we would encourage them to share with others what they learned. One lady said to me, "That is hard for me. I am a very shy woman." (I will call her Nancy.) I was able to say to her honestly, "I'm shy too, but as you see, God strengthens me to teach others! He can do the same in you." Just as I thought might happen, Nancy seemed to be the most faithful in sharing with others. Every week, she would share what she learned in Bible study with her mother, who could not come to Bible study because of her health. Nancy would also share what was discussed with others who missed Bible study. Before we left, we discussed who would lead their group when we were gone. All the ladies were willing to take turns leading.

The family we stayed with on Fridays was a huge blessing to us. They lovingly treated us like family and were so eager to learn and grow in their faith. They loved to joke and we had many laughs with them. The youngest daughter of the family read her Bible a lot on her own, and though she was very shy, she wanted to start a Bible study at her school. She discussed this with Jael outside of Bible study. She brought two friends to Bible study who believed and were baptized. Another man, with whom the father of the family shared the Gospel, believed and was baptized also.

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Some funny moments...

One very early and rainy morning, I was getting on the boat, and it finally happened. The boat tipped, and I fell off. I was in no danger, as I could have stood in the water where I was. However, the lady behind me was crying for help and trying to rescue me by pulling me out of the water by my hair. Meanwhile, I was more concerned for my cell phone, so I was trying to hand my bag up to her on the boat, but I couldn't get it over my head because she was holding on to my hair. Finally, she stopped calling for help long enough that I could say, "Could you take this please?" Then I climbed onto the boat. My cell phone was fine, and so was I. Jael enjoyed telling everyone about this for the next few days.

  I was collecting prayer requests after one of our Bible studies. One lady wanted to pray that God would heal her cough. When Luigi translated "cough," it sounded like he said "calf." I was very confused at first, and everyone laughed when I told them what I had been about to pray for!

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Looking back over the last six months, I feel beyond blessed. I didn't enjoy every moment. There were times I just wanted to go and be introverted me in a hole somewhere. I missed my friends and family. When people asked me what I missed most about home, I always said it was having close friends nearby. I definitely missed American food, but I did get to discover lots of new things I liked! Now, I miss the delicious, fresh rice. And Jael's cooking. These last six months weren't without hardship, but I was doing what God made me to do: sharing the love Jesus has for every person he created with people who have been waiting for their chance to hear about it. And I came to love people and a place that I'd never even heard of a year ago. I am ETERNALLY grateful for a God who not only created us but has adopted us as his own children and poured out his love into our hearts.

 

Our labor is not in vain.1 Corinthians 15:58

It's hard to believe I have about five weeks left here in this strange, new place which has started to feel like home. As I wrap up my time here, please be praying for:
-Our continued strength and joy in leading Bible studies and joy in doing the Lord's work
-That people in each Bible study would be willing to lead when we leave, and that God would give us wisdom in how to encourage and support these soon-to-be leaders as we meet with them one-on-one
-that God's people here would continue to learn his Word and read it on their own. If God's people are those who hear His Word, believe it, and live by it, then this is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, battle to be won! We made them journals that list passages they can read, so pray that they will make use of them. A praise is that many of them read their Bibles on their own this week and shared something they learned! Again, if you will remember one prayer request from this post, let it be this one. It is God's Word that changes hearts, not man's. Obedience will come from a changed heart. So if they are to walk with God, they must hear from him. This must be the foundation for their lives.
-That they would be encouraged to share what they learn with each other, and to share the Gospel with others.
Thank you. :) I am looking forward to seeing everyone again and sharing more about what has taken place here and what God has taught me!

I saw in the night visions, and behold; with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14

And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son." Revelation 21:6-7

Star Apples, Play-Doh, and Narnia

One morning, we went to have our ladies’ Bible study, but two of the three ladies who usually come were working in the rice fields. We went to see what the third was doing to find out if she could study with us. We were told she was in her backyard, so we followed the path from her house, past the pig pen, through the trees, towards the river. When we got there, we saw that several kids were climbing her large tree, throwing down fruit! She was there, catching the fruit, which was round and green and red. Jael told me they were star apples. They were sweet, delicious, and milky. You could break them open with just your hands. The kids who had been following us joined us in the Star Apple feast. Growing up in the Philippines seems to give you mad tree climbing skills. Jael climbed right up the star apple tree with the kids, but I didn’t get very far. One little boy jumped from the top of the star apple tree into the water below.

Jael in the star apple tree with the kids

People think about property much differently here than in America. The homes we stay in seem like they are not just one family’s, but everyone’s, as long as the doors are open. The kids who live nearby just come in whenever they want to. When one little girl came to visit, I showed her my illustrated “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” book. She enthusiastically flipped through the pages, smiling and pointing at the pictures. She made up her own story, “reading” out loud to herself in Waray. When I woke up Tuesday morning, she was sitting in front of the house, contentedly reading it again. I realized that she probably had never seen a children’s book before. When I was little, I had more children’s books than I could count. To that little girl, my book was so special. She has wanted to see it when she comes over ever since. I’m amazed at how children embrace pictures and stories. It is the same, no matter where you are.

I brought some play-doh with me to the Philippines, since I knew there would be lots of children in the barangays. I brought it out for the first time this week in the home where we stay on Mondays and Tuesdays. Of course, the kids were all into it, and so were the adults! We made snakes, caribous, dogs, “olive fingers,” and more. 

There are hard days here, but even in the hard times, I don’t want to leave. I know God has given me this peace so that I could keep going. We for sure don’t see everything God is doing here, but he is faithful to encourage us that he is working. This week, a lady in barangay #3 and a boy in barangay #4 shared how God had answered their prayers. What was truly beautiful about that was seeing their joy that they knew the answers had come from God. As I have written about, we are praying and discipling here so that the believers will grow strong and become independent of us: sharing with others, meeting together, and leading on their own. What’s funny is that sometimes, I feel like I am responsible to make this happen. Then, I see it happening before my very eyes, when I have done nothing to make it happen. Just one example is in barangay #4. One thing that is special about that Bible study is that there are several teenagers in it. One boy who comes is the only believer in his family. He’s always one of the first ones to arrive, and he comes every single week. He memorizes verses on his own. Where does his desire to learn and grow come from? Not from us—we didn’t do anything! God is living and working in him, drawing him to himself. Another girl in our Friday Bible study is very shy, and this week she asked us to pray that her shyness would not get in the way of her sharing with others. Many of the believers are sharing with their loved ones and ask us to pray for them every week.

I think the reason I’m so impressed when I see these things is that I forget sometimes what is in my Father’s heart. He loves his people here more than I can ever know, and he wants them to know him and follow him more than I ever could. I forget that I am not asking him to do something that I want and he doesn’t care about; I ask him to do something that He is more than ready to do, that brings him such joy that I can’t imagine it. I am praying for people for whom He laid down his life, of whom he said that “no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:28)

Pray that God would continue to strengthen the believers. A couple people who have come to the Bible studies for the first time within the last few weeks have kept coming back, so pray that they will truly understand and believe what they hear! Pray for our team’s strength and health and protection from sickness.

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:9-11, 28

“Come to the Father; Come to the deeper well; Come drink of the water and come to live a tale to tell; the pages are turning now; this is abundant life.”  -Andrew Peterson, Little Boy Heart Alive

Celebrations

"And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:20-24, from the Parable of the Prodigal Son

Stories have always meant a lot to me. Good stories make the truth easier to see. We have used this story, just one of Jesus’ many stories, in the Bible studies for the last two weeks. One of the questions we use to start discussion is, “How might the son have felt? What about the father?” The son might have felt afraid his father would be too angry with him to accept him back, because of what he had done. He came humbly, knowing he did not deserve to be called his father’s son. He knew he needed forgiveness. But what does the father feel towards his lost son? Love is the answer—seeing his son coming home from a long way off, the father RUNS to his son and embraces and kisses him. One lady in one of the Bible studies pointed out that the father recognizes his son, even from far away, just as our Father knows us. And then the father celebrates, not to honor what his son had done, but because of his joy that his son was lost and is found, and was dead and is alive.

 Pray that God’s word keeps speaking to his people here. A couple of the groups that are ready have been practicing leading themselves. In some of the groups, new people have come to listen. Some of them just listen from outside and they don’t stay the whole time, but they are still hearing. God can work through even the smallest seeds that are planted, and so he reminds me to rely on him by praying for the people who hear. It’s not through my efforts that people will know the truth. That is his work alone. “For God, who said, ‘let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6 It is also God who will burden the believers’ hearts to share with others!

Schools let out for summer in the barangays this week. On Tuesday, I walked down to the square to watch the school awards ceremony. Everyone was watching from outside the square, in the shade of the trees. At the end of the ceremony, the kids performed dances. It was a different experience watching the kids in the nicest clothes dancing Gangnam style! The family that we stay with in that barangay celebrated their daughter’s 6^th grade graduation with crabs and “bakinto”—a delicacy of sticky rice and coconut, cooked in leaves.

Sometimes here, people become very concerned about me when they see me standing in the sun, like I was at the awards ceremony. “Your skin will get dark!” they say. I was wearing sunscreen, because actually, the sun will burn my skin, not darken it! “Come in the shade!” they said. But if I moved into the shade, I wouldn’t be able to see, because of the crowd of people. So I stayed in the sun. Then, a lady brought me an umbrella. Another time, I was on a boat, and a man got on the boat just to tell me to put my umbrella up.

On Friday, we swam in the river with the kids. It was hot, and the water felt so wonderful. The kids paddled me about in their little canoe, and we all took turns jumping off.

In the barangays, we have been teaching the children praise songs and Bible stories, and they love it. I know one full children’s praise song in Waray—I need to learn more! This week, we taught the story of David and Goliath, and last week, we taught them the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. 

“Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2

“…the battle is the LORD’s.” 1 Samuel 17:47

  

Back Again

Yesterday, we woke up at 3:30 to catch the boat and arrived safely back in Oras around 7 am. Moving from barangay to barangay is challenging, but God is faithful, and I believe it will get easier.We travel on the riverboats between each one. It is about a two hour ride to the furthest barangay. The river is beautiful, especially in the morning. 

Now, we can put faces with each barangay. I'm praying God will let us fall in love with these people more and more. They live on little and are still so kind and generous to us.

This week as we go back for another round, please pray that we will be able to determine what to study with each group. For privacy’s sake, I won’t refer to the barangays by their actual names, but will call the barangay we visit on Mondays “barangay #1”, the one we visit on Tuesdays “barangay #2,” and so on.

In barangay #1, we are actually going to have two Bible studies. As Amanda and I were walking around it, we met a family who told us they could not attend our Monday night time, but would like to have a Bible study with us in the afternoon. Some of the attendees of our Monday night Bible study agreed to join us for the afternoon Bible study. We hope that they will be able to gain some experience leading with us there, so that they might have the confidence to lead this group themselves when we are gone. When they see that they can do it, we hope they will even start other groups.

Pray for each group, that they will know God wants to use them to reach their families and friends. Many of the people we have met are already sharing with others, and they are eager to learn. Pray God will raise up leaders for them who will continue the meetings when we leave and start new ones among new believers.

When we got back to our apartment yesterday, I ate a bowl of cereal and when to sleep. When I woke up, Amanda and I went grocery shopping and then rode a motor trike to Dolores to eat lunch. On our way home, I sat next to a lady who did not know English well, but between her little English and my little Waray, we were able to exchange a few words. She was holding some flowers she had made. It looked as if she had wrapped thin scraps of paper in colored plastic wrap, and then woven them together into flowers. Each one must have taken hours to make. They were beautiful, and I told her so. Then, to my surprise, she gave me one. I wished I had something with me to give to her in return. Her kindness made my day.

"For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, 'In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." Isaiah 30:15

Going Upriver

This was meant to be posted last week, so you could pray, but internet wasn't working well in our apartment. Read anyways. :)

This will be our first week on the Oras River, so we need lots of prayer. We will spend one day in each of the five barangays. On Wednesday, we briefly visited each one to meet the people and learn where we’d be staying and where the Bible studies had been meeting. I was encouraged when some of the people warmly welcomed us and said they were so happy that we had come back to continue the Bible studies. We found out that at least three of the groups have been meeting together regularly on their own, praise the Lord! This week, we will mainly be getting to know the people and figuring out what we should study with them. Pray for our wisdom in this. We had a practice Bible study with our translator, Jael, this week. It went well, but it was difficult communicating through a translator. Pray for Jael, as she has a hard job. Pray that we will trust God to speak through us what he wants his people to hear, even as we stumble and struggle because of the language barrier. No matter what, God’s Word will speak to his people. Sometimes, this task seems overwhelming, but I have been reminded over and over that God didn’t bring me here because I’d be good at it, but because he would be my strength.

We have been settling into our apartment this week and getting to know the town of Oras. Last week, we stayed with Pastor Silas and his wife, Lori, on the Dolores River to learn about life on the river. We were able to be a part of their church services and Bible studies with people in their barangay. We were inspired by the people’s joy and hunger for God’s word and their complete trust in him to provide everything for them.

 Here in Oras, God has opened up some opportunities for us to make friends and share our testimonies and the Gospel. Our friend, J*, works in a restaurant and knows just about everyone in this town. She is open to listening, and has heard the Gospel before from others. Even though she is open and even convicted, she has not yet taken the step of obedience and submitted herself to Christ. She wants to have a Bible study with us every week when we are in Oras. We met another friend, N*, on a fishing boat. She knew a missionary in Manila who shared with her, and when I told her I was a missionary, she immediately said she wanted me to share what I was reading in the Bible with her. We have met with her a few times since then. She says she is hungry for God’s word and she believes God led us to her, as we do.  Pray God will speak to her heart and weed out any misunderstandings.

If you ask many here, they will say they believe the Bible is God’s word, but many trust in everything and anything but Jesus. They fear evil spirits and trust in witch doctors. They pray to saints and to Mary. There is a huge statue of Mary here on top of a hill that is lit up at night. She is called the “guardian” of the town. (I always wonder what Mary would think when I see things like that.) It is more important to them to say their Hail Mary’s than to read God’s Word. Please pray that they might see!

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” 2 Corinthians 2:12

Hello from Tacloban!

Maupay nga aga! That's how you say "good morning" in Waray. Today was our second full day in Tacloban. We arrived here Tuesday morning, after four days of orientation in Batangas and Manila. Even though I was jet lagged, I could still pay attention and take in information (most of the time!) during orientation sessions. I also have felt peace being in a new place. So grateful for your prayers!

One of the most encouraging times here so far was having house church with the students in Batangas. There were about 20 students there. They were full of joy in the Lord and shared how they were sharing their faith with others. They were so sweet and welcoming to us. One of the students told me that none of the students there had believing families. She said has been hard to share her faith with her parents, but she is praying she will have courage to keep doing it because of her burden for them.

Here in Tacloban, Amanda and I are learning the Waray language. In the morning, we ride in the bike carriage to see the two ladies who are teaching us. They laugh so much at our Waray! We have had more orientation sessions in the afternoon and night. On Wednesday afternoon, we helped serve food at an after-school feeding program. Today, we rode the jeepney downtown to get some things we needed. We saw the outdoor market by the water, and we had coke in a bag. When we came back, the children were ringing the doorbell at the gate, so we let them in and played catch and duck duck goose with them.

Tacloban is nothing like Manila. We awake to roosters crowing. As we walk through the streets, we see all the bikes going here and there and people mingling and children playing. Everywhere we go, people stare because they are curious (that's not considered rude here!). They are so friendly. We have been practicing some of our Waray with them. We'll be here the rest of this week and next week, and then we'll move to our apartment in Samar and begin our ministry in the villages on the Oras river.

Prayer requests:
-that God will help us learn Waray
-for the hungry children here
-God will prepare "persons of peace" in the barangays and give us wisdom to find them
-For the hearts of the believers in the barangays. It has been over a month since the last Hands On volunteers were here, so pray that the believers have continued to grow from the seeds that were planted then while no "outsiders" have been coming in. Pray also that they will grow to be practicing believers, who see the need on their own to share their faith and lead their church.
-that God will continue to prepare us and give us his words and his heart
-for the students in Batangas, that they will continue to share their faith and not become discouraged

More soon! "Let all the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you!" Psalm 67:3