Foot Spa!

Isaiah 52:7 "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!"

Thanks for allowing us to be here! Thanks for letting us be the ones to come here and experience God at work! Even amongst the homesickness and culture shock, it is such a privilege to be here as missionaries, doing that which God has called us to. It really amazes me that God has brought us to this place, for such a time as this!

We recently got the privilege of going on missionary retreat with all of the team here. Some of the kids we hadn't even met yet. We went to a resort on the beach for three days. We got to have meals together, swim together, snorkel together, laugh together, cry together, pray together and have communion together. This was the first time the team here has joined all together for such an event. Saturday night we had a blessed time together, praying for one another, lifting up the work here, and praying for the souls of those who have not yet met Jesus.

The work of APRC has just been bustling! The first contracted project has just about been completed. Our first project was to call all the Nazarene Mission International (NMI) presidents stateside, using voice-over-internet-phones to heighten awareness of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NMC)...sorry, that's a lot of acronyms in one paragraph :) There were five employees calling from Manila to all 4900+ NMI presidents in the states. All five of the employees took opportunities to pray with each president, and after just a few phone calls, all of them were reporting how exciting it was to pray for these individuals in their work involving missions. Wow! There are some other projects in the beginning stages that will all be internationally done. It is really exciting days for APRC. Please pray for continued guidance as we look to find the right people to be doing the contracted work. Growth is always challenging, and the team that has been involved from the ground up are really feeling the stretching. It is exciting to see God at work, orchestrating the work coming together with the correct people to put into these places.

Andy tried out for the Rugby team last week, and was selected to be on the team. I think one of the coolest things that happened is that the week he had try-outs, the rest of us were home sick with the flue. God protected him from getting it, allowing him to be at every try-out practice. He is learning about balancing a crazy schedule with added practice and games. His first game will be on the 24th of November. We are looking forward to going and being the fan section :)

Today we went to the feeding program that was supposed to be at our church, and when we rolled in, noticing the lack of people there, we were told that it was at another site today. We quickly conferenced about changing our plans and headed to the other church with the group. The village we headed to is know as a "relocation" village. The residents are all people who used to be "squatters" (one who just claims some land and begins to live there, despite true ownership) and the government established specific locations where these individuals could buy land for a very minimal cost. It is a great thing for the high number of squatters here. The road in was rather muddy. The pastor joked before we headed in that if we got stuck, the kids could all push us out of the mud.

As we arrived, the sound of children's voices reciting scripture in Tagalog, erupted out of the windows of the church building residing behind the fence. There was a big banner across the front that said "Church of the Nazarene." As we came up to the door, 200 plus little pairs of shoes sat outside the door, their inhabitants inside the church. We proceeded into the church and there, 240 little faces looked up at us from their places on the floor. They sit there every Saturday, getting fed scripture and then getting fed rice and some sort of vegetable dish. You might be thinking...rice Christians...I don't know. What I do know is that these precious little children are getting fed the bread of life! They are there getting their precious "feet" cared for, so that they can go out and spread the good news to those back in their little houses. The children meet the Lord, and become little missionaries in their own place. They come to the church for a little "foot spa" so they can march out and continue the work into the places we can't go.

For one particular little girl, Mary Grace, she no longer needs to come get a foot spa. She used to come regularly. She used to get her "feet" cared for and she would go out and about, sharing what she learned. About one month ago, she went out for her last time, to the wrong place, and was killed. Mary Grace is with Jesus now, and I'm sure her feet are truly beautiful!

I want my feet to be beautiful. I want to share the Good News! How are your feet today? Maybe it's time for a spiritual "foot spa."