With two typhoons since we've been back in the Philippines, there's been a lot of rain. And pretty much everything in the province gets called off when there's rain. So this has provided a good bit of down time for us. Many days it seems like a blessing. Some days we get a little stir-crazy. But God has been so loving and faithful in the past 2 months. We've been able to rest between trips to Manila. We've been working to prepare our home for visitors and a new baby. We've had time to cultivate our marriage and spend time in God's Word. We've enjoyed building and deepening some relationships here over scrabble games and waiting out the rain together with people. And sometimes, the rain holds off, and we get to spend an afternoon with these cute kiddos. 

  For those who haven't heard, Baby Boren is a BOY! We're thrilled. The kids have been 'betting' the gender of the baby since we told them we were expecting. They've even given names such as Ashley for a girl and Angelo for a boy :) So we got them to help us announce to everyone that he's a boy. They didn't know what they were spelling with their bodies in the above picture. We just told them it was a surprise then showed them the picture afterward. (I realize it's a bit hard to read, but you have no idea how many tries it took Josh to get this one. They are wiggleworms!) The boys were pumped that it's a boy. The girls are still coping :)  

 We had a great check-up this month. Both baby and I are healthy and growing well. Josh has been SO supportive in this pregnancy...helping me around the house, keeping me accountable to eat well, taking me to the prenatal clinic, praying with me over our child, etc.  I am thankful to be blessed with him as a partner. And this baby is one blessed boy to have him as a dad.

 I can't get over how sweet this picture is. His little face and hands are so cute.

Thank you for your many prayers for our growing family. We need them. 

Please continue to pray for us and for the ministry going on here. Pray for the above kids as we just told the story of Jesus' betrayal. The mission team will tell the story of His crucifixion next week. PRAY as a couple of the older girls are hanging on every word about Jesus. Pray God would save them and use them to lead their families to Christ. 

As for the mission team, a group from my church in Corinth- Holly Baptist- is coming to visit next week! Josh and I came to Manila today and we pick them up from the airport tomorrow night! We are so excited to have them here. Their willingness to come is a huge encouragement to us. Pray for safe travels, good health, and spiritual discernment while they are here. I can't wait to share with you how the week goes!

Lastly, many of you have sent word of your interest to get involved in the relief of Typhoon Haiyan. We are praying through opportunities on how to serve and will let you know how to be a part of that as soon as possible. We want to be effective and wise about how we reach out, which can be difficult in such a catastrophic event. Thank you for praying for the affected Filipinos while we sort through things here.

Visa Update

SUNDAY
We made the physically taxing bus ride to Manila to finish up our visa extensions. Bus rides from the province to the city are no joke. The rugged, crooked, mountainous road is full of surprises. There is one 'executive line' that drives through the night, curtains closed and I usually sleep right through it. However, this isn't always an option and it's a good deal more expensive than the ordinary buses. Because we were traveling right after All Souls Day when everyone was going back to their homes, the executive line was fully booked so we got seats on a bus the next level down. I really can't complain about the bus itself; everyone has their own personal seat and there is air-con (we've had our fair share of buses that lack both of these). But the ride is tiring nonetheless, especially when you're 25 weeks pregnant. I literally had a bruise on my arm when we got to Manila from pressing into the window sill every time we made a turn. But bruises or no bruises, we made it to Manila 9 hours later and were thankful for a safe ride that provided lots of bathroom stops. I was also thankful for these beautiful views to occupy my attention around those curves. Such a beautiful country.

MONDAY
We spent Monday at the Bureau of Immigration. 

 

All 3 of us :) 

We went from window to window obtaining signatures until we finally made it to the end. We were given an appointment for a hearing with an attorney at the end of the week and we were sent on our way. We did meet some interesting people though and Josh made the comment that Immigration is somewhat like Heaven- there are people from what seems like every nation and tribe. That's about the only thing that I would dare compare to Heaven in that place :)

TUESDAY
We made plans to make the most of our time in Manila and do all the fun touristy things. We were booking our reservations to go on a tour of Corrigedor Island/Fort which holds tons of interesting WWII history and includes a ferry ride and lunch. Fun! Except preggos aren't allowed. Boo. But it ended up raining the whole day anyways so we roamed around a mall, looked in baby stores, and enjoyed a coffee & cake date as we planned all the details for the mission team coming to visit us in a couple weeks.

WEDNESDAY
No rain today but the heat was unbearable. So our trip to the park was also replaced with lunch in a mall ha. And we got the bus tickets for the team since we can't make reservations from the province. Don't worry Holly Team, we got the executive bus line. We'll sleep right through it!

THURSDAY
The big day. We arrived early for our hearing and it went as smoothly as it possibly could have. We answered some questions and gave a resume of what we've done in the past year and that was it! No fingerprints, no pictures, no standing in line. It was such a blessing. Especially as we were racing the biggest typhoon in history! We wanted to get back to the province before the rain set in. Rain can mean mudslides and we didn't want to get caught in that. Praise God we made the whole ride back with not even a drop of rain.

FRIDAY
Today we've rested up and cleaned the house and listened to the rain and winds. It's been quite relaxing. However, that is not the case for most of the Philippines south of us. As Typhoon Yolanda (the Philippine name) made landfall, she brought much damage with her. Please pray for the nation as recovery from this storm will likely be long and difficult. Pray for the church to know how to respond.

So now you've seen our week at a glance. Thanks for praying for our visa process. We're very thankful to be done so quickly. And thank you for praying for the storm.

Visa Update: We went to the Bureau of Immigration on Monday to find that they were closed for election day. We suspected that could happen, but there was no word of it on their website, so we gave it a shot. Nonetheless, we made our way back to the office on Tuesday morning to learn that we needed a few signatures and notaries from the province. So we asked all the questions we could think of to make sure we would be fully prepared when we came back and we hopped the 7 hour bus ride back to Maria Aurora. The trip always makes for a long day, but we were blessed with two air-conditioned buses which was a nice treat. We've gathered all the signatures and notaries and photocopies and we're preparing to make the trip back to the city. We are in a rush to get back because our current visas expire at the end of November. So...we'll head back on Monday and prayerfully submit everything. In return we're expecting them to give us a date for an interview (which means one more trip) and then finally be approved for extension. Please continue to pray for this process. Pray for swift action from the Immigration officers and for us to have attitudes towards them that are above reproach as they can often be hard to work with. And join us in praising the Lord for safe travel to, from, and while in Manila as well as the visa progress that has been made thus far!

We've been a little out of whack since we've been back in the Philippines. We went through a typhoon and it's aftermath, we helped get Monica off to Turkey, and now we're busy working on visa extensions. So, I haven't really kept the blog up to date. But here are some pictures of a few things we've enjoyed since being back.

 Story and art time with the kids in our neighborhood. We're getting close to the story of Jesus' crucifixion. PRAY as we're seeing transformation in a few of these kids' lives.

 Praying for Monica and two Filipinos who work abroad before they each left the country. 

 This is the construction on what will soon be dorms for the students who aretraining to be missionaries. A lot of progress has been made just since I took this picture! 

 We've enjoyed some yummy Filipino food. This is banana cue and pancit. 

 These are some of the girls at Monica's going away party.

 

Note Josh's form of discipline during story time. Interrupt and you get a frisbee to the head :) 

 Our church hosted an "Eat All You Can" fundraiser to help build a kitchen for the church members and missionary training students to use. 

 Lots of food and lots of people

 While we were in the States, many of you asked about our friend Mack who had dengue fever earlier in the year. He has fully recovered and is doing great! Thanks for praying for him. We've also seen some spiritual growth in his life recently. Praise the Lord for His goodness in Mack's life. 

 These boy scouts were ready for camp. I couldn't resist putting this picture up. Check out that uniform! This little boy's personality makes me laugh just writing this.

 We have puppies! Meet Rex and Yuppie Girl :) They're rabies and disease free...unlike most other dogs here. 

FAT (Fat, Available, Teachable) Group is still meeting every Sunday. We now have our Filipino friends leading the meetings which is really exciting. 

This is one of many reasons why I'd rather live in Maria Aurora than Manila. 'Packed like sardines' took on a whole new level while we waited for the train. 

One last picture of the three of us before Monica flew out for Turkey! 

PRAY for Monica as she adjusts to a new culture in Turkey. PRAY for her to be effective in every way. 

 

PRAY for Josh and me to be approved for visa extensions.

 

PRAY for Filipinos as they celebrate the biggest holiday in the Philippines today:  All Souls Day.  Family members gather from all over the country and visit their deceased family in the cemeteries. The families will decorate the tombs and pray on behalf of the dead who maybe did not die in grace. They will also commemorate the lives of beloved Roman Catholic saints. For Christians, this holiday has become not much more than a family reunion. They may visit the graveyard and commemorate the lives of their loved ones, but their is no worship or communicating with the dead. However, many people are still stuck in this cultural practice and are desperate for hope. Pray this holiday would be empty and confusing for them and that they may begin to ask questions and seek the Truth.

PRAY for Josh and me as we prepare to become a mommy and daddy. As this belly grows, reality is setting in :)

PRAY for 7 of our friends here who are currently fundraising and training for a 2 month mission trip in the Spring (it will be Summer break here). Pray God would provide the necessary funding and prepare their hearts for serving Him in another culture and context. We're VERY excited as these are the first Filipinos in Maria Aurora that we know of who are being sent out for the purpose of God's Kingdom. We're excited to see the movement that God is stirring in the hearts of believers all over the Philippines. Our friends will be visiting many spiritually closed Southeast Asian countries that Caucasians would face great challenges getting in to.  Pray for them, please. I'm sure I'll post more about them as their trip date grows near.

PRAY for 4 other Trek-Xers who recently moved to Turkey and Guatemala. Pray for them as they transition into their new lives and for the people they will come in contact with. 

 

PRAY for a group from my church in Corinth, Holly Baptist, that is coming for a visit in late November. We are honored to have them join us and can hardly wait for them to get here! Pray for us as we make plans and preparations for their time here. Our desire is for their trip to really further the work of the local Church here. 

How can we PRAY for you??