Its a bit different over here

So the other day I was chatting with my sister on Skype. Since she is the Betty Crocker of the family I was asking her for a recipe to make for our 4th of July party here in the Philippines. Granted the Philippines doesn't celebrate but there are a few Americans up here so we got together for a party.

Anyway, she started listing ideas...."go get a bag of mixed salad". Oops, sorry we don't have that here. 

Several ideas later we came up with taco dip. The ingredients sounded pretty feasible.

Sour cream, refried beans or black beans, ground beef, olives, taco seasoning, tomatoes, cheese and lettuce. I was pretty confident I could get everything since the Philippines does have an amazing amount of imported items.

We spent some time converting her measurements to grams and kilos.

4 stores later I had everything I needed. 

No refried beans so I got regular and decided to make my own. The beans soaked overnight, then I boiled them to pieces and mashed them up. 

The sour cream is a simple process, just buy some cream, add some vinegar and then stick it in the fridge to thicken. 

As everything came together I couldn't help but think how different this was from last year's 4th of July while I was home on furlough. One store, throw it together and voila!

It turned out great and tasted just like it did last year. As an added bonus we went and set off a few fireworks of our own. Life may be a bit different here, but its still pretty great. 

God provides....always

Hi there!

     God is in control, God provides all things in His time, there is nothing too small for Him.  These are all true statements but how often do we really believe? These past few months have been, yet again, a growing time. A time to be stretched. While its been challenging its also been amazing to see all the great things God has blessed me with. Our support staff here in Northern Luzon were trucking along working hard, when we were asked to find a venue to host our annual regional conference. It was a hard job but we took a weekend trip and checked out a potential place a few hours north of our base. The fact that we had beautiful clear blue water to snorkel in was an added bonus. It was definitely a much needed break for all of us that God knew about and provided a way.

     God also provided later, when we lost a couple shortly after Easter. Our bookkeeper and maintenance man found out that her brother in law passed away suddenly. They found out on Sunday and by Wednesday their house had been packed up, things stored, exit visas provided and they were boarding a plane in Manila to go home to help the family. Everything fell into place to allow them to leave quickly and be home in time for the funeral.

     The family's gain is our loss. Our support staff is now down to 3 people trying to do 6 jobs. Our pilot has taken on the maintenance as best he can while also flying and maintaining the helicopter. I've taken on the bookkeeping in addition to guesthouse managing and supply buying. We are in serious need of more personnel to help here. Please be praying that God would raise up the right people to step in and be a part of the team here.

    

     While the heli was getting some routine maintenance done, a rather large problem was discovered. It now looks like we won't have air service to the tribal locations for several months. As you can imagine this has a huge affect on getting supplies to and people out of these locations. It looks like we will be sending stuff in over land by jeep and water buffalo and by sea using local boats. Please be praying for our tribal missionaries as they need to be in their locations doing what God has them there for. Be praying that the parts/engine can be ordered, delivered and installed with no delay in customs or other paperwork.

     Faced with situations like this we can either worry, or choose to believe that God is in control, God provides all things in His time, there is nothing too small for Him. Please be praying with us while we look to see how He will provide. For anyone interested in possibly joining our team here you can email me.

    

Life's a journey...who knew?

So its been well over a year since I've last posted anything here. Believe it or not, it was a bit on purpose.

You see, a lot has been happening in my life this last year and a bit, but the main gist is that I've discovered that my plans aren't always God's plans. So, who wins?

If you're fairly compliant God wins and it doesn't take much convincing. If you are rather a bit thicker headed and denser than others its takes a bit more work for God to make things clear.

When I enrolled into New Tribes Bible Institute I knew it was for missionary training. As I learned more and more about tribal missions it seemed obvious that was where I was headed. I never even really considered the possibility that God would have something else in mind for me.

Fast forward 10 years, I've studied the National language, built my house in the village, started tribal language study and.....God moved me.

I can't say I completely understand, sometimes I understand very little. but what I do know is that God has led me all along the way. I also know the He will always lead me, and wherever He directs is the very best place to be. 

Right now, He's placed me here in a support role as the Supply Buyer and Guesthouse hostess. Some days I ask God why He would take me away from the Ga'dang. I know He wants them to hear the Gospel and I am willing to go. Other days, I see His wisdom and see how He has equipped me for the great ministry He has given me here.

Will I do this forever? Will I return to the Ga'dang? Who knows? I'm learning that life isn't from Point A to Point B. I know that He has truly blessed me by allowing me to serve here. I will serve here in this role until He tells me otherwise. His plans. 

It's done!!

Here they are! The UK summit team!

We're so thankful to have Emma, Abi, Luke, Alison, Lawrence, Alex, Heather, Caleb, David, Norman, Angela, and Tabea here to help with the water project.

Erik was able to take some time off from the Finance office and go in with the team! He was a huge blessing and was encouraged to be back with old friends.

Smitty was able to take time off of Tagalog study to come help. Thank you for your servant's heart!

It was a huge task and everyone helped out! At least those not leaning on their shovels. :-)

Mixing cement is hard, hot and heavy work! 

This tank collects the water from the spring and then sends it down to the village. Having a holding tank allows a better flow and supply.

Trenches were dug everywhere to lay the pipe. Leaving the pipe exposed would be disastrous given all the water buffalo, pigs and horses that walk around.

More and more trenches being dug. The team did an awesome job!

Carabao were used to dig a beginning trench to break up the sod.

They're called water buffalo for a reason. These guys need to stay cool or else they can't work.

God provided His own version for cooling off the team! :-)

The final product! Thank you team for all your work!

 We're so thankful to see the people have good, clean, safe water to use!

Thank you for your part is seeing this project completed!

Coffee anyone?

Ever wonder how people in remote areas can drink coffee?

First, you need to go harvest the berries.

Murphy's law says that all the berries will be located way up high! :-) Mildred is using another branch to pull things closer.

 When that doesn't work, she sometimes climbed up and hacked down a branch or 2.

After a nice shower...you wouldn't believe the amount of spider webs and red biting ants that you encounter!...Mildred and I pound the coffee.

Pounding it breaks up the skin/husk/hull. We pound until its pretty well, mushy.

I thought I was doing really well at the whole pounding thing until my little neighbor traded out with me! 

Next you lay the coffee out to dry for several days. The hardest past of this bit is keeping chickens from wandering through and adding their contribution. :-)

Once the coffee is deemed sufficiently dried, you pound it again. 

Next, you winnow the coffee, to get rid of the husk and keep the coffee.

Now comes the fun part of picking out any unpounded bits, or rocks that have managed to find their way in the mix.

Any guesses on the next step? Oh yeah, pound the coffee! :-) Eli jumped in and helped out.

Now, you roast the coffee. I'm sure coffee experts would have all kinds of input. Here, you simply build a fire, throw the coffee in the pan and stir until its all cooked.

One last winnowing to get rid of any undesirables.

After pounding...yes pounding again...you shake the heavier bits into a bowl to be pounded....again. 

The fine bits get put into the glass. You repeat this cycle until everything is pounded into a nice fine powder. 

It was amazing to see all the work that goes into something as a beverage. It was a great time with my language helper and lots of opportunity to talk and build a deeper relationship.  

Birthday party

How do the Ga'dang celebrate a birthday? I decided to celebrate my birthday Ga'dang style and it was quite the experience! Talk about an all day affair!

First you take sticky rice and pound it into a fine powder, add water and roll into little balls.

Everyone jumps in and helps out. Later we'll add sugar and coconut to make nansilot/dekat.

Next you get to work peeling, slicing and chopping veggies to add to noodles for pancit.

Maricel (in yellow) is known as the best cook so she usually cooks the pancit. Analyn is making nansilot/dekat. 

Depending on how well off you are determines how much meat and veggies gets added to the noodles to make pancit.

 Below Mildred and Maricel are dishing up pancit for the big crowd. Parties easily have 20 or more people depending on your family. Since I'm not related to anyone, it was open to everyone. Who can resist free food? :-)

 Mildred and Unis are dishing up Nansilot/dekat, everyone gets a generous serving of pancit and nansilot. Free refills 'til you're full.

 No cake, no candles, but plenty of food to fill your belly. 

 Of course there is always the fun job of clean up! Just like at home, people swoop in, eat and disappear. :-) Unis and Micah cleaned tons of plates and pots. 

All in all, it seemed to be a success. Maybe I'll only celebrate every major milestone instead of every year! :-)

Rice

Typhoon Megi (Juan)

All the world over, farmers' livelihoods are affected by the weather. Here, the typhoon wiped out 50-75% of the peoples' rice harvest.

 Rice is only planted once a year, a portion of the previous year's crop is kept back for seed.

 Everyone salvaged what they could and will be faced with some tough decisions come planting time. We hope to get some government assistance for them, and will also be assisting them through the gifts of people like you. 

Please be in prayer with us for wisdom and direction. Pray that we would show the love of Christ and one day tell the people that He is the bread (rice) of life.