Miracle!!!

We want to thank you for your prayers regarding our visas!!! On Wednesday, we were granted our visas to stay in country for 2 years. WOW!!! For those of you who don't know, we were being told that we weren't going to get them because they were not convinced we were here to do missions work. We don't fit the normal mold with Eric having a Business Degree and myself being an RN. Nonetheless, God intervened, we got some extra paperwork, and now we are no longer "visitors." The great thing is that it only took 5 months. There are many people who didn't receive their visas for 1-2 years. We are praising God that this particular hurdle has been accomplished. Thanks for your prayers!

Trick or Treat Outreach

We pooled our resources and whipped up a quick little "harvest" party for the kids whose parents worked for the Seminary, and or on the campus. There were several houses on campus who were willing to be target homes for trick-or-treating, and then we set up a fun little "carnival" in our dining hall. It was really fun! The kids were all told to dress up, not scary, and come at 4pm. Then we gave them maps to the houses that were involved in the trick-or-treating, and they went around and filled up their shopping bags with goodies. When they returned back to the dining hall, we fed them hot-dogs, chips and drinks, then turned them loose on the few games we had scattered about.

It was so fun to see the MK's and the local kids intermingling and having so much fun together. We were in charge of the "fishing booth." Luke did the decorating of the outside of the booth. Andy helped the kids with their fishing skills. Most of these kids had never been fishing, and didn't know what it meant when the line was being tugged on :) However, Andy was there to guide the...he was a faithful fishing guide. Then, Luke took over the fishing guide job, and Jon came inside and clipped on toys to the end of the pole.

Some of the other games the kids played were "pin the nose on the pumpkin," "pumpkin toss," and we had a "cookie walk" rather than a "cake walk." The children really enjoyed themselves and it was a pleasure to interact with the whole family, not just the parents.

I've put in a brief slide show, of course, it's mostly of our kids, but you can get the general idea this way. Enjoy!

Childrens Outreach

The church has started a local outreach to the children who live in the local squatter areas. This was the second Saturday the program ran in Taytay. The church has been doing this in other communities, but this is the beginning of the outreach in this area. The boys went to help both the first Saturday, and then this second Saturday. The program is similar to a Bible School program, with Bible stories and singing, and then there is a meal provided.

The youth in the church go out to the local squatter areas and pass out tickets to the children and then the children have to present the tickets on Saturday to get in. The first Saturday there were about 50 kids. The second Saturday there were approximately 90.

It is a blessing to be a part of an outreach to these precious little people. Please pray for the continued blessing on the children's lives, that they will come to meet their Savior and then share Him with their families.

Green means GO!

Today, October 15, we dedicated the new Asia-Pacific Resource Center (APRC) office space!

Let me back up a little and give you some missing details :)

Shortly after we arrived here, a Work and Witness team from New Mexico got redirected here. They were supposed to go to another country, but the project fell through, so they were sent here...to us! They worked on the up and coming new library on campus part of the time, and the other time, they stripped and rebuilt the new office space for APRC. Half of the office is for the server room and the other half is for personnel. It was a wonderful surprise and a great experience! When the team left, they were able to finish most of it, but there were still details and finish work to be completed.

In the few months since the team has been gone, Eric's co-worker Danny has been diligently assigning tasks and hiring the necessary people to complete the office space. There were power issues that had to be corrected. There were new lines that had to be placed. There were air-con units that needed to be put in to ensure the server rooms stayed cool enough. There were security issues for safety. The list went on and on.

Remember the computer racks the guys carried up the stairs from our container? Well, Danny and Eric got to put all the goodies inside those and were constantly blessed and amazed at how God purposely placed inside the boxes all the equipment they needed to run the servers. A very special thanks to the gang from Redding who donated such incredible stuff!!! It's going to be great to see what God does with all this equipment.

This weekend, Danny got to plug it all together and this morning we had a wonderful time of dedication to the Lord's work inside this beautiful new office space. We enjoyed a time of singing together, devotions and a wonderful time of prayer offering the work that will be done in this new office to the Lord.

She's Really Walking!!!!!!!!!!

We have met a great milestone with Mari! I will officially say now that she is walking! She has been increasing her steps day by day...or maybe more like month by month, but she has just recently really taken off. Tonight Eric and Mari and myself were playing "catch" with a ball, and all the sudden she threw the ball aside and started walking to each one of us...playing catch with herself. She is choosing to walk more than crawl now, unless she really needs to get somewhere in a hurry :) Her record steps (as counted by Andy) were 48 steps! We are pretty certain she has walked more than that, but none of us are counting anymore. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!!!

Valleys (con't) and Manna and Gifts

Exodus 16:4 "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day."

I'm still processing the idea of living in the valley and being thankful and blessed to have mountaintop experiences. I picked up a book that our dear friend Esther gave us several years ago, "God's Best for My Life," by Lloyd John Ogilvie. Of course, the Lord had more stuff to say to me..."We can learn how God has revealed Himself to us or others in previous concerns, but we cannot hold over spiritual strength from one event to the other. God gives us a new portion of His power and wisdom for each crisis so that we may discover the unique thing that He seeks to do in each situation, and with each person with whom we come in contact or for whom we are responsible." He related God's grace to the provision of daily manna to the Israelites. God told them to daily take only what they needed. If they hoarded more than they needed, it rotted and got sick and yucky. I was thinking that my wanting to be on the mountaintop and not in the valley is no different than hoarding the manna. Do I not trust God to give me the grace I need to make it through each and every day. What's wrong with being in the valley...in the ho-hum...in the reality that life isn't always giddy and exciting...in the tears, and the laughter. I need to trust God in the daily portion of grace that He has just waiting for me to partake of...all I need to do is to gather it.

As I'm thinking about daily gathering the "manna" in my life, those gifts that God has given me that remind me and show me of His grace for my life, I've seen a few really fun things. I was sitting at the kitchen table and looking out the window toward the cement wall with spikes and razor wire that surround my home. Unfortunately, I wasn't really finding any joy in that at the moment. Then, the Lord brought to my attention a beautiful pink blossom that I hadn't seen. It was on a plant outside the window that I had been curious about...it's first bloom since our arrival. It was gorgeous. I jumped up and took out my camera, and not only was there that one bloom, but down below, there were several more. It was a special gift for me to enjoy to remember that God is just waiting there, wanting to give me grace and "manna," if I will just take it.

Then I decided to go on a little journey around the house and take note of some of the special plants and flowers that God gave me. All around the house are beautiful pink amaryllis...I really don't know how to spell that. They are special to me because I always remember my mom getting one at Christmas. Then, when we were in PNG, our house helper brought several of them and planted them around our house there. There is also a beautiful bougainvillea plant that has been blooming constantly since we arrived. That also reminds me of my mother. She always grew one at home, and would have to bring it inside in the winter so it wouldn't freeze. There are gardenia bushes out front, and I have always loved them. All around our house, there are special gifts that God has planted and watered (which to me is really important because I'm not good at watering). This morning, the birds were right outside our window singing a beautiful worship medley to their creator, and invited me to listen to the chorus. Then the roosters chimed in and so did the dogs :) Those dogs must sing in the bass section!!!!!

To carry the "manna" analogy a little bit further, I have one more thought. Today is Sunday here...God told the Israelites to double up the amount of manna they collected on Saturday so that they wouldn't have to go out fetching manna on Sunday. This would allow them to spend the day in rest. I'm not really sure how I would double up on receiving God's grace on Saturday so that I can rest on Sunday...but I do know that today, God gave me a wonderful gift...one that I knew I would receive, but not sure in what form. Today I can honestly say that our precious girl is walking! You'll have to read the next post to get the rest of the story :)

To quote Lloyd Ogilvie, are you living on "stale grace?" Go out and get your collection of grace for today...it's just waiting for you to pick it up :) PTL!

Winepresses and Valleys

Have you ever been in the Napa Valley in California? It is truly beautiful place, especially in the fall! There are beautiful grape vines and rolling hills and rugged hills, and neat old historic buildings, and SO much character. I'm guessing right about now would be a wonderful time for a trip there. Maybe I'm missing the beginnings of fall. Maybe I'm simply homesick.


God has ever so gently been reminding me of a few things. If you like to read Oswald Chambers, then maybe you are on this journey with me, in your own way.


Here are a few of his quotes this week... "Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed."


"I wonder what finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you? Have you been as hard as a marble and escaped? If you are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you anyway, the wine produced would have been remarkably bitter. To be a holy person means that the elements of our natural life experience the very presence of God as they are providentially broken in His service."


"We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life— those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength. Yet our spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mountain."


"The height of the mountaintop is measured by the dismal drudgery of the valley, but it is in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God. We see His glory on the mountain, but we never live for His glory there. It is in the place of humiliation that we find our true worth to God— that is where our faithfulness is revealed. "

I do want to live my life up on the mountaintop. I don't want to come down into the valley to get squeezed. I don't like it. I don't like that my heart aches for people not here. I don't like that the enemy tries to distract me by making me long for places and people I can't be with right now.

The other day, as God so regularly does to me, pointed out a scripture in Isaiah 65:17 "...the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind." I am no theologian, but the way God comforted me with that verse this week was to help me understand that the homesickness I feel here in Manila will never be experienced in my eternal home, Heaven. When I finally get there, there will be no mourning for that which I have given up to be where God has called me.

I know that those things are experienced in a multitude of ways. Whatever the transition, there is always the euphoria of the mountain, and then the duldrum of the valley. Saying "yes" to God seems to put us up on the mountain. Living it out in the valley of Manila is where the reality begins. We are there. But God has promised to always be with us. As strange as this may sound, there is comfort in the fact that God doesn't expect me to live on the mountain. He does expect me to live in the valley. I have many times in my life felt frustration at not being on the mountain top, and I'm learning that not only is it ok, but Jesus didn't let his disciples build shelters on the mountain top. He made them go down into the valley.

How is God squeezing you? Are you on the mountain or in the valley?

Please keep us in your prayers as we march through the challenging times and tears of homesickness and culture shock.

We love you and miss you!