Yes-Shave November??

Blessings to from Surigao City! Ui I have been very busy the last few weeks and have been trying to find time to sit down for an update so here it is! I have been here now 5 months and it’s amazing to see how God has been working not only the life of others but even much more in myself. I have been tested and tempted and confused and frustrated and tried and it’s been a rough journey at points but God is good! Have joy when you face trials of many kinds because testing of your faith produces endurance! I won’t pretend to be self-righteous and tell you God has always been teaching me how to be a stronger believer. I’m no prayer warrior and I can’t cast out demons or speak in tongues. I couldn’t heal anyone if I tried but all things are possible in Christ who strengthens me. I have been learning a lot about myself over this journey. Things I don’t want to forget.  Things like how my pride is always getting in the way of what God wants to do in my life and that I really don’t know a lot about God’s Word because I’ve never actually read it all the way through. Before I came I was no less in need of Christ than those who worship false God’s and Satan. The enemy had me so fooled, blinded to my need for God’s provision and blessing in my life to make it through and for his saving grace and mercy in areas I haven’t surrendered. Two main lessons I’ve been learning over and over. 1. Die to self.  2. Live for Christ! All the things that God wants to produce in our lives can be summed up here. That’s why Christ summed up all the law and prophets in saying Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength (See 1.) and love your neighbor as you love yourself (See 2). This always requires that we give up our own worldly desires replacing them for a desire of God’s heart.

            The last few weeks have been busy for me helping different opportunities. I was able to help out several weeks ago with a youth camp for a ministry that is based in Butuan and a bible study here in Surigao. The camp was 4 days and I was able to help with the sound set up and tear down as well as food prep and babysitting. It was a good time to fellowship in serving with others.

            Immediately following I was asked to participate in singing for a wedding of people I didn’t know.  The Philippines can be funny that way! After we got back on Friday we had Saturday to prepare for a youth jam that we helped at playing. These events happen every few weeks for the youth in the area. It is a great way to get people that may have never heard about Jesus to come because music and dance is a big part of the culture here.

            We had a week of break and preparation afterward and finally last week we we had an opportunity to go to a village called Putsan to do evangelism for the whole week. We did a serenade, which is where a group people go to someone’s house early in the morning and plays for them at 3-4 am. We did this for several houses one morning to be a blessing to people.  We also got to do door to door evangelism talking to people and sharing the Gospel, seeing lives changed. It was awesome to see God working so much there. I was able to lead a bible study at a house (with interpretation) and also did an exhortation for our team. God used that week a lot to get me hungry for His Word and for sharing my faith with others. It’s been difficult to have this desire yet to be in a place where I can’t do it effectively. My prayer is that when I am back home that I won’t forget these things but instead continue to press into God. I’m not sure I know God’s plan for my future yet but I know in full now his purpose for bringing me was all about me. He wanted to show me who I have been and, how to change, and who He wants me to be for Him and through Him for whom I was made! I can truly say when I get home that I am a new creation in Christ. The old has GONE and the new has COME! Thank you Jesus! I am excited to see you all in 3 and a half weeks! Please continue to pray for me and my brothers, Jordan and Jacoby as they are on outreach and God is changing their lives just as much! Also please keep the O’Connor family and the Matiga family lifted up as they continually sacrifice everything for the sake of the Gospel! They have been a huge blessing in my life. God is using them both mightily for His Kingdom!

Chapter 3

I just got my last visa yesterday which officially means I am in the third trimester. Like most pregnancies this will be the most challenging yet I believe most exciting part of my trip. I can't wait to see what God has in store! Please continue to pray for guidance in what kind of ministries God is leading me to and also for God to reveal his plan for my return home.

In other news, Jordan is finished with his DTS lecture and will be headed for outreach in a few short days. Jacoby is almost finished and I believe will be leaving for outreach at the end of this month or maybe beginning of next month. I miss serving alongside these guys but I would ask that you all continue to pray for them with me that God will provide all of there needs. A big need for both of them is financial. Jacoby's trip I heard will cost another 4,500 hundred dollars but God is good and he can and will provide!

Want to see something cool?!

Hey everyone, I finally finished and was able to upload this video I made of our first few days here in the Philippines. Hope you all enjoy!

Halfway Home

Hello dear friends and family, once again I waited so long to update this that we have yet another long post. I've now been here almost a month and a half without the other guys and God has been teaching me a lot of new things. I can't believe it's taken me this long to realize how much I really have needed to grow but finally God has brought me here to show me that.

From about the time Jacoby left for DTS I began really trying to figure out what I am supposed to be doing here. I felt like I had nothing to offer cause I don't speak the language very well yet and I wasn't part of a consistent ministry which is something that I've been used to for so long that to me was defining ministry. Without it and without direction I felt like I was letting others as well as God down by not accomplishing anything or working towards anything. In the midst of God's silence and brokeness I learned that God was in the process of humbling me. Pride vs. Humility is so often mentioned in the Bible that it could be considered a main topic. Why? Because it is something that we all struggle with whether we admit it or not. Pride is the issue behind the issue and we can see it just by looking at the way we talk. ('I' came to the Philippines so that 'I' could help the people here. 'I' will lead worship today. 'I' will be giving the message. 'I' saved money by selling 'MY' car and working at 'MY' job that 'I' got.) We don't want to admit it but we all have it or have had it. It's a constant struggle that God wants to conquer. But what does conquering that look like? It means giving up EVERYTHING. Nothing is worth more than the love of Christ pouring out on us. Last night in Bible study with Kuya Jason, we had been going through Deuteronomy the last few months and we read through Chapter 8. Check it out! All this to say I have been in the process of being humbled and am praying that it will continue to be a process. 

So what have I actually been doing for the last month you may be wondering... I'll tell ya! I've been spending more time in Bible study to learn and grow, also praying for direction and strength. Along with those things I've had opportunities to speak and play worship. I went to a nearby island accompanying my friend, Pastor Eliezer, as he is an overseer of over 60 churches. On this island I was able to learn about a cult there called Ecleo that claim that the trinity is now all in human form and they live in a castle on this island. The enemy has used the distortion of God's word to lead so many people away from Christ. I was able to visit this castle and it is insane the climate and environment there. That place needs a lot of prayer for sure!

After that the next week we had a 3 day men's conference where I helped with the worship and also with any set up or clean up I could. I was asked to join a volleyball tournament and am happy to announce that our team won! Even though I wasn't able to learn much from the messages, I am beginning to learn the importance of spiritual self nourishment in the sense that I have to be studying God's word for myself instead of relying on others to teach me the word. Later that week I did my session of True love waits teaching at the Friday night Bible study to help prepare for last weeks trip out to a far away island the Oconnor's used to live on. We taught the full TLW program at the highschool there. These are just a few of the main things I've been doing over the last month.

I hope everyone at home is doing well! Remember to  give God the praise for the blessings in your life! Love you all!

Dear friends...

I am very sorry I am bad about keeping up with this blog but I will continue try and post updates. I haven't really felt like there's been anything big or exciting to talk about for me personally which is why I have put it off this long. However, as uneventful as it may seem, it will help transition for when something big does come and I won't have to go back and explain. I believe I left off with our Butuan trip which was literally like a month ago almost! Many little things have occurred since then so I will try to catch you all up without being too boring. Also, I apologize for the lack of pictures, I got water in my waterproof camera. Let's begin!

When we got back from Butuan we came back and geared up for the following week of CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship) Training. For those of you who know me, this week was not my favorite so far since it was basically a week of school, 8-5 with lunch. I really enjoyed getting to know the teachers and their hearts for children's ministry! It was a good reminder, though, of the importance of children's ministry! At the end of the week we were invited to take part in a youth worship service where I had the most fun leading worship that I have ever been a part of!

After that we had a week of down time and began to prepare for a trip to an island where we would be teaching the True Love Waits seminar to a highscool. At the end of the week Pastor Eliezer had family from Norway come in to stay with him and his family. Because they were there, there was a big party for someone's birthday! Come to find out that someone had a son who was being dedicated in church the next day. That's when we were told we would be godfathers for the baby! SURPRISE!!!

Then something big happened. Jordan told us he had been praying about joining YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Discipleship Training School in Baguio, and was going to apply for it. So we spent that Monday praying a lot about it and the LORD really was calling him there as he was also calling Jacoby to a different DTS in Australia. And so it is now that we are no longer together. But God is faithful! It is good to see him work in the lives of people around and yet it can sometimes be difficult to feel like I'm not going anywhere. Yet I know that I am called to stay here for now and I can feel God's peace in the midst of that decision to stay. I have now spent a week and a half with out the guys here, and though it seems like I won't have any ministry opportunities, God is still faithful. I'm still learning a lot in Bible study with Jason and we are now doing it 4 times a week! I've been needing discipleship like this for a long time so it good to finally have a mentor like Jason to help me dig into God's Word. Shout out to you bro! Thank you for letting the LORD use you in my life!

So to end this blog I would like to put out some personal prayer requests for us 3. For Jacoby that the LORD would continue to bless him financially to be able to pay for his DTS as he stepped out in faith to go not having enough funds to complete his training. For myself that God would continue to guide me in ministry opportunities and reveal his plan for me being here. For Jordan that God would continue to provide finances and that there wouldn't be any distractions as he tries to give his whole self to God. And for all 3 of us that God will continue to draw us closer to Him and that we will know his plan for our lives in his perfect time!

From Recording to Solar Dryers

After a 3.5 hour-long bus ride from Butuan to Surigao City, we finally arrived home! At least for the place we will call home for the next 6 months. We unpacked our stuff, ate supper, and went out to walk around the town. While we were out we decided to visit a friend of  the O’Connor’s, Pastor Eliezer. He has become a true inspiration in my life. Why? Nearly a week after we arrived we went out to a nearby island for his 50^th birthday! What did we eat? About 10 kilos of different types of fish that he caught within about an hour. The amazing part is that he’s a spear fisher. The guy left the boat came back an hour later with 16 fish that he had speared. Then he proceeds to say he didn’t do so good that time. Humility? I think so!! I hope I can do something I enjoy that well when I’m 50! In the midst of that whole week we had spent a lot of time playing worship and trying to get to know people. We started hanging out with a group of Christian guys around our age outside our house and playing worship music. 

A couple days later we took the bus back to Butuan to help our friend Emman record a cd so that he could sell it to raise money for his DTS (Discipleship Training School). 

We were able to record 6 songs and used 5 total on the cd plus another 3 from his friend’s band. It was a lot of hard work but a lot of fun to get to be a part of. The musicians here a very talented so it makes it’s much easier than it could’ve been.

 Immediately following, we took another Jeepne up to the mountains to “help” Casey with his ministry with the Boost. Our goal was to go up to a barangay and help build a solar dryer (super greenhouse) to help dry out coffee and corn almost twice as fast. We got up there and tried our best but we weren’t really able to do much. 10 guys and 2 shovels make things difficult to help with. So once the project was up and running we headed back to Casyklan. On our way back to there we took a motorbike and ended up falling over. Luckily everyone was okay but I thought it was still a noteworthy event. Once we made it to Casyklan we met some Americans from a Nehemiah team that works with Casey at the boost and we stayed with them for the night til we had to get up at 3:30 for our morning Jeepnee ride back to Butuan at 4. I’m hoping to beable to post some video of the Jeepnee rides cause they are crazy! That’s all for now!

Barangay Dulag

The next day after staying the night in the hotel, Jason and Nelson picked us up and took us to Nelsons house where we met our newfound friend, Toto. Soon we learned that we would be going to his house in the mountain to stay the night there. Just for the experience, Jason had us take the trip via Jeepnee (like a ghetto school bus type of vehicle) and we rode on top with no seat belts of course. In fact, I haven’t used a seat belt that I can think of since we’ve been here.  After arriving at Barangay Dulag (Dulag Village), we headed to Toto’s house where we found lots of surprises waiting for us.

    

 The first, we each harvested a pineapple, the second, we each killed a chicken,  and the 3^rd, we all climbed up a palm tree and cut down a coconut. Oh yeah, let’s remember this is DAY 2 of being here… CRAAAAZZZYYY! Anyway, so the rest of the evening we were blessed to spend throwing football with the barangay kids and ended with supper and a bible study. The next morning we woke up at 5:30 and walked around the village.  Afterward we ate breakfast and decided to go see if we could meet another American missionary in the area. So the 6 of us hopped on 2 motor bikes and took off. We arrived at the Boost and met Casey, a business major from the south whose goal through starting the Boost was to help boost the economy by starting a few businesses and incorporating the ideas he learned in school to help the barangays around started earning a steady income. At the Boost Casey buys coffee, corn and gold. 

He is also helping facilitate a group working with bio sand filters. This is a picture of Rinel teaching us about the filters, how they work, how it can improve the village, and how they can incorporate the gospel into the installation of these filters. 

 

 After hearing all of this we felt like the Lord was leading us to purchase a couple of these for Barangay Dulag so that’s exactly what we did. These filters have little to no maintenance, they produce some of the cleanest water, I believe 98 or 99 percent free of any bacteria or viruses, and… they last for a lifetime. They are selling these basically at cost (60 dollars US) for the materials to make them.  Truly an amazing ministry and opportunity to get involved.  After talking with the Barangay captain we left the filters in the hands of Toto until Rinel got there to install them and share the Gospel the following Tuesday.

 Following those events we went back to Toto’s and began his Children’s ministry since the teacher’s often don’t show on Fridays so the kids have nothing to do. We got to sing songs, play games, work on memorizing scripture, and have a snack, much like VBS! After we had finished we headed back to Butuan to stay the night with Pastor Nelson’s family. We ended up having a Life group with some younger people our age around the neighborhood and then we worshipped for about 2 and a half to 3 hours. Then it was finally time for bed.