Umbrella Part 2

Wednesday...It had been pouring since about 11:00 that morning and after the rains the other night, I knew it was going to flood quite easily again. It was about 1:00 pm and I got the message from the school that there would be no after school activities because of flooding in Manila. The kids would all be sent home at 2:00, and if they rode the school service vans (aka school busses), then those would still be running.

Our boys usually arrive at about 2:25 when they ride the service vans, so at about that time I went outside to open the gate to make the delivery easier in the heavy rain. I was greeted with the creek yet again at the gate. Now, having just been driving in the flood waters the day before, I knew how deep the waters had to be between here and the school for it to be at my gate.

There were several men working on the house next door, and had decided to quit working in the deluge. That made me feel a little better since they were standing on some scaffolding. They were seeking shelter next to our gate, and just watching the creek rise. I finally discovered that they were actually waiting for a truck to come pick them up, and not just hanging out.

I moved the car up on the "ramp" to keep it out of the flood waters and went inside to wait for some word from the kids. I knew that they were with the bus driver, but what I didn't know was what exactly he was going to do with them. I knew that there was a significant chance that he would be sitting out on the main road, just waiting for the rains first to quit, then to run off. I knew that it was highly possible that he was just going to tell them to walk (or swim) home. I was not particularly excited about this idea. I phoned Andy (because of the different transportation styles we have, it is not good for kids to be without cell phones here), and discovered that he wasn't with his brothers, but that he was going to a friends house. Hmmm.

3:00 came and went and I hadn't heard anything from the kids. By this time, our driveway was covered in 8 inches of water, at the shallowest point. The other night is wasn't even covering the entire driveway. I know the service vans are taller than my car, so I knew that they could get through deeper water than I could.

I decided that I probably could text the bus driver (send him a note on his cell phone) and at least tell him he won't be able to get to the front gate. We do have a back gate that doesn't flood quite so rapidly. I suggested that he drop the boys at the back gate.

I kept going outside to see the water level and it just kept rising.

3:15 I heard whistling at the back gate...the whistles of two boys :)

I can't even imagine driving through what the driver had to in order to get me my kids.

I am very thankful for the school service vans!

The water receeded by about 5:00 :) It really runs away fast.

The first picture is out our back gate looking toward our street...if you went on down the "river," and turned right, the next right is the front entrance to our house.

Where is your umbrella?

Hi again!

I am always amazed at the amount of water that comes out of the sky here in Manila...especially as it accumulates on the ground and in the streets :) Yesterday we had two really heavy showers within about four hours of each other that rendered some pretty exciting moments.

The first storm started about the time I went up to the school to take Andy to the doctor for a strange rash on his foot/leg. I was a little dismayed that I had gone out in the middle of the sunny day without my umbrella, yet again. As Andy and I slowly climbed the hill from the seminary up to the medical clinic, I was amazed at the amount of water coming down the hill. Along both sides of the road, there is a "ditch" that is about 1 meter by 1 meter, and it had raging white water rushing down the hill. We came to a "Y" in the road and the water was accumulating about 6 inches deep. Many, many people drive a car like ours, so as I watched other cars like mine going through the water, I also proceeded. No problem...whew!

We got to the doctors office, after carefully making our way up the hill and trying diligently not splash all the people on their motorcycles or "tricycles" (motorcycles with a side car...carries anywhere between one to about 8 people, depending on how you stack them). Upon arrival at the doctor's office we were told that we had to return after 5:00, but before 6:00. We ran over to the grocery store in hopes that the rain would stop while we were inside, and it did. When we went back down the hill, there was no white water raging down the sides, and the "Y" had no standing water.

We returned to the doctor, and after a quick visit, headed into the pharmacy next door. While we were inside the pharmacy, the sky opened up again. Once again, I had not brought my umbrella with me...it was in the car. We made our purchase of some topical medicine and some antibiotics and headed back down the hill.

We got to the same "Y" and the traffic was stopped...there were cars that were not going through. Slowly, the traffic director was guiding certain cars through...my car was allowed through. The traffic worked it's way slowly down the hill and as I passed the seminary, I looked at the "water fall" that was rushing out the gate. We worked our way down the main road to our house and traffic slowed way down. Again, we hit an area where the water was accumulating and traffic was going one car at a time through. Occasionally, there was a Jeepney that would just gun it and go like a motorboat right down the street. At one of the three really bad spots on this main street, Andy noticed the Barber shop had about 6 inches of water standing inside their shop. The peculiar thing was that there were still hair-cuts being given. The barbers were just standing in the water cutting hair just as though nothing were out of the ordinary.

Finally, we turned into our subdivision and worked our way around the car that had either stalled, or decided it was going to wait out the rain. Down the road just a bit, we could see there was some cross flow of water going across our main street. As the cars in front of us cleared and proceeded through, I could see that there was a large gate that had been opened and water was rushing out, just like the dam had been opened. Down the way just a little further, there is a sidewalk with about 5 feet walls on both sides...that gate was also opened and it looked like someone had opened up a fire-hydrant and it was shooting white water into the street.

The worst "puddle" we went through was one of the intersections in our subdivision and I found that my knuckles were getting about as white as some of the water I had seen rushing about in our excursion. I am certain that if we had been even 10 more minutes we would have not gotten home until late into the night. As we approached our street, we were greeted with the "creek." It must have wanted to come up for a visit. Andy climbed on top of the car and opened the gate from a top of the car...then I pulled forward as he closed the gate from the top of the car also. The creek hadn't come all the way into our driveway, for which I was grateful. We were home by 7:30, safe and praising God for yet another safe journey.

One of my friends was coming from the opposite direction at about 7:30. She and her husband ended up completely stopped on the main road until 1:30 am ... waiting for the rain to run off so that the cars could get through. Again I am so grateful that that is not our story.

This morning, as I was driving up to the seminary, I was amazed at the way the streets were already cleaned up. Unfortunately, there is a lot of rubbish that flows in the waters when they rise. However, the streets were already swept clean, and many individuals were sweeping up whatever gifts the flowing rivers brought to their door. Just like the barbers, it was just no big deal... It is really amazing to me the way we adapt :) Thanks God for making us like that!

Time Flies

Thank you to all who have prayed for Eric and Nathan while they were in PNG. They arrived back in Manila safe and sound. God was definitely working ahead of them. The greatest thing is that now it is possible to help remotely. We can help their computers in PNG, from our tech room here in Manila. Technology really is amazing. Eric got to connect with so many of our dear friends! It was great water to his soul.

While Eric was there, he was sitting in front of his computer, stumped as to how to fix a problem. His Skype phone rang and it was one of his friends from home who happens to also be in the same line of work, Rai. Rai asked Eric what he was doing and Eric relayed the problem he was stumped on. They tossed around a few ideas, and then Rai picked up his cell phone and called another friend Mike (who actually went to PNG last year to work on their computers). Rai put Mike on speaker phone, and placed it close to the microphone on his computer. This way, Eric could hear what Mike was saying, and also talk with Mike. They had a conference call using Skype and cell phones. If you are not terribly impressed with this, you have to understand that when we lived in PNG, we couldn't even get email files that were over 500k, sometimes over 300k. As they dug into the problem, they realized that some of the programming was in German. Rai speaks German. The three of them together were able to solve the problem. It is so fun to see the way the Lord goes before us :)

Another great story from PNG...Eric wanted to connect with our friend Pastor Jerry. It was quite a journey, but Eric, Nathan and Dr. Becky went to Pastor Jerry's church on Sunday. When they got there, they were told Pastor was speaking in another church. After going to a couple different churches, they found him. He was being a guest speaker for a brand new church, six weeks old. There was a young boy in that village who got very ill. He went to Kudjip Hospital and there found Jesus Christ. His parents also found Jesus Christ while there. The boy got well, and the family returned to their village, on fire for Christ. In their enthusiasm, they asked to start a church. When Eric was there, it was running 40 some people. It was great to see how the whole picture works. The seed was planted in a time of crisis. God grew that seed, now the family is scattering and watering seeds in their village. Now the village has started a church and they are having guest speakers until they can get their own pastor. Please pray for the new pastor for that church! Praise God!!!

Our kids have started back to school, and actually are having their first "full" week of school this week. They have had holidays or in-service days and so even though they started school Aug 12, this is their first full week. I suppose they might feel a little tired by the time Friday is over. Andy is playing on the JV Volleyball team. He is enjoying learning a new sport. They have done really well so far, winning 3 out of 4 games they have played so far. He has started his Sophomore year in high school, and is enjoying this year. He has a busy, busy calendar. Luke has started his 8th grade. Whew! They grow so very fast! He has decided to learn how to juggle. One of the teachers is teaching a group of kids after school. It will be fun to watch him master that. He also is enjoying his art class. He is really a good artist! Jon has started his 3rd grade and is class this year is only 13 (as compared to 27 last year). He is also playing soccer with some of his buddies on the elementary soccer team. They have Saturday "tournament" type competitions. They play six games that are 12 minutes each. He will participate in four Saturdays like this. He is enjoying it. Mari is adjusting to playing by herself again, since her favorite play-mates had to return to school. She is continuing to speak, more and more...I think that one of these days she will be consuming the talk space...that will be a praise!!!

We are planning to start up a bible study for adults in our home soon. We found the leaders who are Filipino, who will come to our house and lead the study. We were specifically trying to start this for the traffic enforcer who works outside of our subdivision gate. His name is Levy. Eric has been building relationship with him over the last several months. Levy is asking a lot of questions and really wanting information. Eric was able to give him a Bible some time ago, and now Levy specifically asked to go to a Bible study. When Eric went to invite him to our home for the Bible study, Levy's co-worker told Eric that "yesterday was his last day, he resigned." Eric is really discouraged about this, but we know that God will work all things together for His perfect plan. Eric has no contact information to contact Levy, except for there at the intersection. Please pray for Levy as he is searching. Also, please pray for Eric to get another opportunity to connect with Levy to invite him to the Bible Study.

Please be praying for the people in the Philippines. We don't really watch any news here, and only occasionally get tid-bits from the Internet. There is fighting down south, but we are safe here in the northern part. Please be praying for our pastors and church members down in the southern parts. We have several students and workers who have family down there who are being greatly effected by the fighting.

We love you all and love hearing from you!!! Keep up the great communication :)

Hugs to you all!

God is Making the Way in PNG

Many of you know that Eric is currently in PNG with our volunteer Nathan (from MVNU), working out some bugs (haha) in the computer system there. I wanted to share with you the message that Eric sent out this morning :) He and Nathan return to Manila on Aug 12, and Nathan returns to the states on Aug 18. Please keep them in your prayers.

Greetings to all of you,

Linda gave me a verse in Isaiah 45:2 "I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron."

God did that yesterday and is doing it again today. Papua New Guinea is a spiritual battle zone and our enemy is bold here. Our God is bolder!

We accomplished yesterday (our first day) what I thought would take 3 days or not be possible at all. We now have installed a new Firewall (Internet protection) and the ability to remotely access the Kudjip Hospital network in Papua New Guinea (PNG) from the APRC office in Manila. Wow!

We can access even a missionary or hospital workers local computer and help them fix the problems. We see what is on their screen and share keyboard and mouse control of their computer with them. Obviously they have to know we are doing it and allow us access. Wow! again.

God is really allowing APRC to have a long technology assistance reach. Praise His Name!

Another miracle this morning. I am only aware of one man from PNG whom I would trust to provide contract support for the Kudjip Hospital network. His name is Timothy Kapak. I trained him to install computer cabling in May 2004 before my family left PNG. He now owns a large Electrical Engineering company headquartered in Mt. Hagen near Kudjip Hospital. He also owns a computer support business. I have had no contact with him since I left PNG in 2004. This morning I called his office from Kudjip and reached him. Amazing. There is a long list of miracles here:

Kudjip only has one working phone line at the moment, I found it and it was not in use by someone else.
Timothy has been gone for 4 months doing contract work on the coasts of PNG, he is just back in Mt. Hagen this week
This is the only week I will be here, he is available this week to meet.
His company has a new technician that appears to have a skill set that meets the Kudjip needs.
God's timing is perfect, what a miracle.
Praise God for the way He has been leveling the mountains before us!

We have 7 more days and lots more miracles needed so please keep praying.

Blessings,
eric zane

Princess and the Bubbles

Mari was invited to a Princess Birthday Party last Saturday. She and two other girls got to dress up like princesses, dine in the princesses palace and of course, blow bubbles...







Thank you Jesus for our beautiful angel, Mari the Princess :)

Thank you Brian for the great pictures!

Church

The room was 16 feet by 25 feet. The air was only moving due to the fans gentle hum. The room was a patio area in-between two homes. The chairs were set up with a dividing aisle down the middle, three chairs on each side, and about 15 rows. The podium stood, accompanied by a table with the elements for communion. Delicately hung behind was a simple curtain and a banner stating Cainta Church of the Nazarene Anniversary Celebration.

The house could be found after making several jig's and jag's through the brightly colored neighborhood and fortunately for us the neighborhood guards knew the way and were happy to escort us (on their bicycles, and armed with their usual artillery).

The church gradually filled up with laughter and smiles and kisses. Very few seats remained empty, and several people chose to stand in the back. Occasionally the loud roar of a motorcycle would join in our worship, as they passed by on the street.

The music started with a guitar and tambourine, and then was joined by the humble voices of the people. As we stood singing, the words to the song invited a precious spirit that made me unaware of my own comfort level. I was able to forget about the chair in front of me pushing against the front of my thigh. I was able to forget about the chair behind me pushing on the back of my calve. My breathing was calm and peaceful, rather than the anxious pull of the heavily humidified air. My body was perspiring and sending droplets of water down the back of my legs, back, stomach and face at a rapid pace. And yet, God was there! He was speaking directly to me, reminding me that no matter the circumstance or comfort level I live in, He will ALWAYS be God. He is LORD! He refocussed my vision, turning my uncomfortable moment into a beautiful time with Him.

Here are the words to the song "Here I Am" written by Reuben Morgan...

In to Your hands I commit again
All I am For You Lord
You hold my world in the palm of Your Hands
And I am Yours, Forever

Jesus I believe in You
Jesus I belong to You
You're the reason that I live
You're the reason that I sing
With all I am
I'll walk with You
Wherever You go
Through tears and Joys
I'll trust in You
And I will live in all of Your ways
Your promises, Forever

Here is a link to hear it sung by Hillsong on youtube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMrAafe7Mns

The church celebrated their 19 anniversary and it was an honor to be part of it. We feel somewhat attached to this church, simply because the meeting place of this particular church used to be in our back yard.

Three hours later, after worshiping together and feasting together, we piled in our car and turned the air-con on high :)

I pray that you are met by Our Savior today, in whatever circumstance you are in...comfortable or uncomfortable! Our God is capable of breaking through...I LOVE it!!!

How do I process?

How do you process the realization that you spent as much in one trip to the grocery store for your family of six as your friend makes in one month for a family of 5? Then, add to that the knowledge that your electricity bill is equally as much. How do you process feeling like you sacrifice so much financially, and then make that kind of discovery?

In my passport country I live at "poverty" level. Now, I am "wealthy" and don't even see it, and yet, I struggle regularly trying to stretch the money.

How do I rationalize spending approximately 30% less on a cup of coffee from Starbucks (here vs the States), and at the same time spend one half of the daily wage being made by the people serving me the cup of coffee? In California the Minimum Wage is $8.00/hour. I certainly wouldn't spend $32.00 on a Mocha.

In the old days (before we became missionaries) I didn't have this perspective. Sometimes I wish I still didn't have it. The past 5 years have been as though the Lord has had me on his potters wheel and made a whole new me.

All I know is that I am a work in process. I know that God is always working on me. I am easily consumed with my selfish desire for comfort...my coffee, the temperature, having my family at my side.

I don't know how to process some things. I would just rather turn my head and not have to process it. There is no where I can go to get away from this.

"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

I am claiming that promise!!!