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Click here to go to page 2 in the narrative. Click here to go to page 3 in the narrative (Mindanao).
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The following pages will have pictures from our scouting trip to the Philippines.
To see pictures of Manila, click here.
To see pictures of our time with the Kankanaey on northern Luzon, click here.
To see the video clips of our trip to Manila, Luzon and Kankanaey:
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1John 3:23-24 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. (24) Those who obey God's commandments live in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Holy Spirit lives in us.
Our trip to the Philippines As many of you who were praying for us were aware, I just returned from a 3 week trip to the Philippines with my son, Isaac. We were there to see some of New Tribes Mission's tribal works that are active, both on Luzon and on Mindanao. It was an incredible trip, and there was too much to put in just one prayer letter. So I thought I would write about the things that happened in sequence, and share a little bit at a time the things we experienced while there. This will be the first letter in the sequence. We greatly missed Ginny and the girls this trip, but were able to communicate by email whenever we had a chance to go to an internet café or borrow someone else's computer. We had a very strong sense that God was with us while we were there, protecting us from danger, and encouraging us as to knowing that this is exactly what He wants us to be doing with our lives. Our first tribal adventure was with the Kankanaey people, one of the Igorot people groups of north central Luzon. The believers there made us feel very welcome, and we were so thankful for the way they opened their homes to us! The missionary/pastor and his family were all excellent English speakers, so we had no problems communicating with them. We also felt a strong kinship with the Kankanaey believers who did not know English, and were able to communicate through the pastor's family.
"Don't worry, our rats don't bite!" Our first night in the tribe was kind of a wild one. Our first "tribal experience". All 4 of us (Nate & Isaac & Rocky & I) slept in the same room, with Nate on the floor just where I would step when I had to get up. I had to get up a few times, and I think I stepped on his head only 2 or 3 times. When we got in we had 2 long days of long drives, bus rides, and travel, and were very tired. I laid down on the bed, and we had been in there about an hour and I was about to fall asleep when I started feeling itchy. An itch here, an itch there. At first it seemed like nothing, but then it started getting worse. I thought I was breaking out in an allergic reaction to something and was praying that wasn't the case. Finally I got up to go down and use the restroom (stepping on Nate's head on the way out of bed) and Jun-Jun (the pastor - it was his house) was preparing his lesson for the next day. He asked how everything was, and I told him I was itching. He said, "Oh yes, I have had that too. I think we better change your blankets." So we went in and changed the blankets (waking everyone up), and shined the light on the blanket - full of tiny bed bugs!! After 3 or 4 iterations of blanket and pillow changes, with the lights going on and off, and the door hitting Nate's feet when we opened it (he was on the floor close to the door), we got the bed bugs cleared off! We also used some bug repellant to keep them off of us! So, finally laying down to sleep, about 11pm and having been up for about 18 hours, I was just about to fall asleep, when... "What's on my shoulder? Ack! Get it off! Get if off!!" Something had landed on my left shoulder, and it felt big. I thought it was a tarantula. Nate got up. "George what's wrong?" "I think its a tarantula! Where is it?" Stepping on Nate's head, shining the flashlight, everyone flailing around in the dark looking for the tarantula. No tarantula. So I went downstairs and talked to the pastor again. He said, "Oh, yes, that happened to me too. We have rats in the house. Here let me show you why." So he took me to the room where they keep the rice from the harvest. He said, "The rats come in here and eat the grain, and then they run through the house when they see us. But don't worry, our rats don't bite!" That was very comforting. At that point, we were all so tired, we just went to sleep! No other incidents that night, except that Nate kept waking up laughing whenever he would think about it!
Follow up I am very thankful for the unconditional love of God, that does not depend on my actions, but on His faithfulness. However, to see His faithfulness manifest in my life I must believe – it is amazing but it works. God is always faithful because it is His nature to be faithful – but if I don't believe, I will never see His faithfulness at work in my life because I won't have the eyes to see it. If I do believe, I will have the eyes to see it and will know that He really is faithful, especially when He gives me the power to obey His commandments! The Lord has continued to press my heart about faith – believing with a whole heart that He will do exactly as He promised. That is why I put that verse above from the book of 1 John – it speaks of believing and knowing that the Holy Spirit lives in us. And that which follows is joy – His joy. The joy that comes from knowing we are part of God's plan for the world and we have fellowship with Him every minute of every day, all because He paid the penalty for our sins once and for all (Hebrews 9:26). Pray for us as we make preparations to go to the Philippines in the fall. Pray that we will continue to see with the eyes of faith, and that our faith will continue to grow stronger as we walk daily in our fellowship with Him!
Pray also for
Next page: some thoughts on the tribal groups in the Philippines!
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