Enter His Courts with Thanksgiving

Well, we're a week to the day late, but hey, it's the Philippines. Tonight we celebrated Thanksgiving. It was a feast to say the very least. And we all had very thankful hearts as we went around the table and shared for what things we are thankful to the Lord. It was a really sweet time with an American menu which was sweet to my soul (and my tummy) :) It also happened to be my and Josh's first Thanksgiving together! Enjoy the photos.

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!" Psalm 100:4

Malupa Baptist Church

In light of a beautiful day yesterday at church, I wanted to share with you all a little bit about our church family here in Maria Aurora. Malupa Baptist Church is a 2 minute walk from our home. Here we worship with Pastor Jojit and several of our friends and neighbors. We have worship service on Sunday, prayer meeting on Wednesdays where we circle up in small groups and pray for each others' needs, and a discipleship training time on Thursday evenings. There are also occasional men's and women's days held on Saturdays which last from about 9am to 3 pm!

Malupa has planted 7 churches in the surrounding areas. We are blessed to meet with the pastors of these churches every Tuesday morning over breakfast to be informed about their ministries and prayer needs. We are excited about the future of being involved in each of these church plants. Already, Josh has begun training Pastor Melchor (pastor of a church in the community of Calabuanan), and in the coming weeks we will be training believers within his community to do Discovery Bible Study with the lost people around them.

Nonetheless, we are currently worshiping at Malupa where we were quickly recruited to become Sunday School teachers :) I lead youth girls, Josh leads youth boys, and Monica leads the young adult singles group. Though getting people to show up on time (or at all) has been a challenge, we've had a few special times with our Sunday School groups. Particularly, I have a young girl named Karissa who truly seems to be seeking the Lord. She told me this week that she's been stressed lately because she wants to learn to make disciples but feels she is not capable and doesn't know how. Her words were so beautiful and innocent! I am delighted to continue meeting with her each week and seeking the Lord together to train us up to make disciples. Praise Jesus for the desire He has put in Karissa's heart to obey His command!

If any of you are not part of a local church body right now, I urge you to find a community of believers. Hebrews tells us not to neglect meeting together. We need each other. Overall, there's no excuse. As believers, we must be part of a local body. On our own, we are only one part of the body. We cannot function fully unless we are whole. We need both legs and arms, eyes and ears. The whole body. Please, don't neglect the church. 

Here are some sweet stories, funny stories, and just some of our favorite things about church:
* Joke-Joke (Barry, Lilia, and our dog) attends church with us every week.
* Yesterday, a little boy brought in a baby bird with it's feet tied to a straw rope.
    He was so proud of his pet and it chirped all throughout the service!
* Some of our friends comprise an incredible praise band, singing both Tagalog and
    English songs. 
* It never fails that about 20 minutes before service is over, the local ice cream man
    pulls up outside ringing his bell. Almost every child discretely walks out and then
    back in holding an ice cream cone or ice cream sandwich (in the most literal sense-
    it is ice cream stuffed inside a white bun!)
* A couple weeks ago, 2 young sisters sat with Monica and me. As time grew on,
    they snuggled closer and closer, finally resting their hands on our Bibles or legs. They
    would quietly whisper to each of us, "what's your name?", "where are you from?",
    "how old are you?" Then they would share their new-found information with each other.
     They were precious.
* One week the last 20 minutes of my Sunday School class was spent with the sweet
    teenage girls asking me if I personally knew some of their favorite American artists,
    such as Taylor Swift, Whitney Houston, Carrie Underwood, and Celine Dion :) They
    were convinced that I had to at least know one of them. Finally, they settled with
    telling me that I look EXACTLY like Mariah Carey. O, the things we hear!
*Josh's Sunday school class has ranged from ages 3 to 63. It's always fun to see who comes.

Malupa Baptist Church

Sunday School in the cubo

Inside the sanctuary. Christmas is almost here!

 "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." 

Hebrews 10:24-25

The simple life

Well everyone, we've made yet another trip to Manila! Our temporary visitor visas expired on the 17th, but we still had not received the necessary documents from the U.S. to get our 2 year visas. So, our options were to leave the country for a few days or pay for an extension at Immigration. We so badly didn't want to go back to Immigration and I so badly wanted to visit Thailand for a couple days! But, we were made aware that by leaving, our current visa process could be put on hold or even denied and we would be forced to start over. So, we hopped on the all too familiar buses and made our way back to Immigration.

But praise the Lord, this trip was a breath of fresh air. The process to extend was swift and easy (and pricy). We were there less than an hour when they told us to come back later because they had to process our forms. But, much to our surprise, there is a Starbucks across the street! So we enjoyed coffee and pastries while we waited. We then went back and were there for only a few more minutes and freed to go! This was much different than our typical 6 hour day at Immigration spent going window to window. So for now, we are allowed to stay until January. Lord willing, our documents will be here by then and we will make our final trip to the city.

All in all, the trip was somewhat fun, but it's always good to be back to the simplicity of life in Maria Aurora. Here are a few pictures Josh and I captured last week of typical life here. After spending a few days in the over-crowded, loud city, these pictures take on a new meaning for us. Enjoy..

Coconut trees in our yard

Local sari-sari stores sell meals, veggies, snacks, drinks, etc.

Praise the Lord for the abundance of water here

This speaker blares music every morning for the local high school students to exercise

Main transportation in the Philippines, called a tricycle

Lots and lots of rice fields

Water buffaloes aren't only found in Veggie Tales 

Rice and corn grains are dried in the street like this

Lots of fellowship over speed scrabble

Sheer Beauty

Please continue to pray for our visa process, language learning, and relationship building. Thank you.

How majestic is His name..

"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! 

You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouths of babies and infants, 

you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, t

he moon and the stars which you have set in place, 

what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,

 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" 

Psalm 8

Take a look into our day..

This morning we went to the beach in Baler..

..and had breakfast of pandesal (bread), eggs, and coffee..

..with some of our friends here..

It was peaceful and beautiful.

The Girls

The Guys

We got stopped on the way by a school parade..

..but we made it to this beautiful spot.

..where we looked for fish, seashells and more.

Again, peaceful and beautiful.

Ruben caught an eel!!

Right across the street was a waterfall.

Enjoying the morning :)

Next we hiked to Amitan Hill

Monica, me, and Josh

A beautiful overlook from the top of the hill

Baler Bay

Right before we left, we found this little lady.

She entertained us for quite some time :)

We are very thankful to have gotten to spend the morning getting to know our friends more. The Lord is blessing us with wonderful friendships here. 

Tagalog

 

Here is a little glimpse into the Tagalog language. Please continue to pray for us as we learn and study this language. We praise the Lord that many of our friends here speak English. However, we desire to speak their native tongue, especially to the young and old who do not speak English. Pray for the Holy Spirit to give us the knowledge to understand and retain what we learn as well as for the confidence to speak it. Thank you!

Happy Fall Y'all

It's hard to believe that it's November. We've been in the Philippines for about 1 month and a half now. The weather certainly doesn't feel like fall here, but I still love this time of year. And these hot days are making me all the more thankful for all the fall days I've gotten to experience in my lifetime. Some people have never seen the leaves change colors and fall. Or felt the cool, crisp air. Or ate pumpkin pie :) So this fall, as we bear the heat, I've decided to really declare it a season of thankfulness. Here are a few things I've been thankful for lately...

• Grace, Forgiveness, Joy, and Peace found only in Jesus

• A husband who woke up in the middle of the night to kill the HUGE spider I found in the bathroom. 

• Our sweet and funny friend, Nagol. She gave me a few Filipino cooking lessons before she left for Manila until January. We're off to cook on our own now!

• One of our friends who has officially began her very own "Trek-X" with Monica and me. The Lord has told her to GO and she is wisely preparing to do so. Please pray for her and us as we study seek the Lord together 4 days a week. 

• Another friend whom Josh is discipling has began using Discovery Bible Study method as he rides his bike all over Maria Aurora discipling new believers and lost people. Josh has even gotten to go along with him a few times. Pray for their safety and fruitful ministry. 

• Barry & Lilia who have made our transition here so much more smooth. 

• Healthy bodies. We've been here over a month and haven't been sick at all. Praise God! And thank you- I know some of you have been praying specifically for this.

•  Electric fans. I'm becoming more thankful for them daily. 

• The beauty of laughter. It's a worldwide communication. 

•  Going to the market all by ourselves! We've been able to practice speaking the language and meet new people while buying our groceries. And get exercise by biking there.

Yumm..Papaya

The only leaf I've seen actually die and fall. Beautiful.

Market Finds! Yay for fruits and veggies.

First night to cook on our own! Tuna, rice, and veggies.

What are YOU thankful for??