The Philippines is a place full of life and beauty. The culture is so rich and diverse. This little tropical paradise is where Josh and I have spent 1.5 of our first 2 years of marriage and it's where we started our little family. We will forever cherish our memories here and we hope to make our way back some day. Many of you have followed along with this blog throughout our time here so you've seen pictures and heard stories of Filipino culture. For the next few weeks as we prepare to leave our tropical home, I am actively trying to relish and savor our time. I'm stopping to smell flowers, eating as much Filipino food as I can, breathing the air deeply, and just thanking God for letting us live in such a beautiful place. I've written about our ministry here and the "God-moments" we've experienced, but I want to take the next few weeks and write a little series of blog posts about the seemingly unimportant things of our daily lives that are somewhat untold. I'm excited about sharing more about the smells and tastes and sights that surround us!

So today I'm starting with.....animals!

 

This girl was delivered to the property where we live. She's a native rooting pig. Essentially her purpose is to clean up roots and poisonous plants around the property. And breed. 

  

 

She grew and worked hard rooting the ground. 

 

 

She grew so big that she was deemed unable to breed. Therefore, she left our property and most likely found her way to someone's table. Sad, I know, but it's the hard facts of a pig's life.

 

This is a carabao (water buffalo). They are very prominent in our region.  

  They are strong animals used for hard labor, mostly on rice farms. This one was going home from a long day's work.

 

Jungle Rat. Enough said. 

 

This large monkey is kept at a local park.

 

But these little monkeys are a fairly common pet, living on their owners' rooftops. 

 

Our friend Ruben breeds rabbits. I thought these two were adorable. Bunny Love :) 

 This is not a very good picture, but this bat took a plunge of death right behind where we were sitting in church one night.

 

Meet Joke-Joke. He's the neighborhood dog. He's a fighter and he's loyal. We owe him big for protecting us from other mange-y dogs on multiple occasions. 

Rex and Yuppie Girl: The cutest dogs in town. While somewhat annoying, these pups have provided some fun times on the property. They sleep in front of our door and 'protect' us at night. 

 

Our alarm clock haha. Roosters and chickens roam everywhere in Aurora, literally. But this big guy is pretty faithful to our area, making sure we're all awake by sunrise. I actually don't even hear him anymore, but the first few months we lived here, he really was my alarm clock. 

I realize most of these animals are not specific to the Philippines. Dogs, roosters, and pigs are pretty much everywhere. But they do have their own little quirks here and each have offered a portion to our collection of memories in the Philippines. Next time, I'll share about some more exotic creatures!

Crossing Continents...again

It’s hard to believe that four years can go by so quickly. I scarcely remember the single, scared 20 year old I was when I came into Trek-X. God has stretched me, purified me, disciplined me, and loved me to depths I couldn’t have imagined. I’m certain that Josh would say he’s not the same man either. In 2 ½ short months our Trek-X journey will come to a close. We haven’t really taken much time to let this sink in, much less to stop and meditate on all the Lord really has done, but it’s becoming more real as I look at the calendar on our wall and see that I have only about 10 weeks left with some of the most precious people in my life.

The obvious question is “So what are you going to do after Trek-X?” We’ve had many give their opinions and advice- ‘”stay here in the Philippines”, “move back to Corinth/Batesville/Nashville”, the list goes on. Truth is, we still don’t have a clue what we’re doing after Trek-X. Of course we have been praying about it and we have a few things in mind that we’d love to do, but ultimately we just don’t know. We don’t feel like God has given us clear direction yet. As for now we’re planning to graduate in Israel and go back to Somewheresville, America and that’s about it.

A few things we do know about the next step in our journey:

1.     We want to be a little closer to family- that doesn’t take much when you currently live on the other side of the world!

2.     We are responsible for the growth (spiritual and physical) of Isaiah more than anyone else, so if at all possible I’ll spend the majority of my time at home with him.

3.     The Father has given us His heart for the nations and we want to be near peoples who have not yet heard of the Name of Jesus (think refugees, immigrants, etc.)

Many well-meaning people have asked if we’ll ‘get secular jobs’ or ‘stay in the ministry.’ If nothing else, one thing we’ve learned in Trek-X is that these two options are one in the same. We are in the world, but not of it. We plan to immerse ourselves in the lives of lost people. We don’t want to live in a Christian bubble. We have a purpose on this earth. We were created for the glory of the Most High God and we want others to know Him. So whether Josh works at a school, an office, or behind a pulpit, we will be ‘staying in the ministry.’ Wherever we live, we want to live out the Gospel to our neighbors, co-workers, and friends.

Another common thought is why aren’t we staying in the Philippines? When we came here two years ago, we knew that our assignment was not to an area unreached by the Gospel. We knew there was an established church here and while it often didn’t seem as ‘cutting edge’ as what others were doing, we were confident in what God had told us to do here. We came to focus on the discipleship of local believers. Our Mobilizing Students partner, Barry, mentioned that discipleship was a challenge for various reasons and that we could be of help. Coming out of 2 years of intense discipleship in Nashville, we felt a burden for this need and came to serve among believers here. Soon after arriving, we actually didn’t consider ourselves missionaries (someone who brings the Gospel to an unreached area), but ministers among the Church in another culture. Some days I embraced this responsibility; some days I loathed it and wished to be among a host of lost people. But as I look back on the past 2 years and reflect on all God has done, I’m brought to my knees in worship before Him. He reminded me again and again that life with Him doesn’t end at the cross; it begins there. Discipleship is equally as essential as evangelism and we’re commanded to obey in both arenas. We’re honored to have had a specific role in the discipleship of Maria Auroran Christians.  No, we didn’t disciple every Christian in Maria. We didn’t even meet half the Christians here. But we poured ourselves out to the ones God put before us, and we taught them essentially what we know. We are confident the discipleship pattern of discipling others who will disciple others who will disciple others will continue. We pray God uses some of these precious friends to go to the ends of the earth for His sake. We hope to partner with them in the Gospel for the rest of our lives. They have been planted in our hearts forever. But the time of our physical presence in Aurora has come to a close, at least for now.

We need you to join us in prayer for this big transition. We’ve gone through a lot of transition in the past four years: moving to Nashville, graduating college, getting married, moving to the Philippines, and having a baby, but the transition before us seems to me the most daunting of them all. We’re confident the Lord will give us grace to handle all that is to come, but we are asking you to partner with us in prayer for His guidance, wisdom, and strength. My heart pangs at the thought of leaving some of the people I consider my dearest friends. There are aspects of this culture that I never want to forget and I can’t imagine how frustrating it will be to transition back to the hustle and bustle of American life. Pray for us to be sensitive in every way to how we respond to America and her people. Pray for us to know where to go and what to do. Pray for us not to lose sight of the One who has called us to Himself as we take pleasure in hot showers, comfy couches, aircon, and all the little luxuries we’ve learned really are just luxuries. Pray that we’ll take the time to process all that has happened in our time in the Philippines and guard our family from jumping back in to the swing of things too soon. Just pray for whatever God leads you to pray for. We are so grateful for your prayers.

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, advice, etc. about our next step, please feel free to comment here or send us an email at theborens@mobilizingstudents.com. We'll keep you all updated as we make decisions about the future. Thanks for all you’ve been to us the past four years! 

"through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations" Romans 1:5

"and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." 2 Timothy 2:2

 

 

2 Months Update

 

2 Months 

5.5 kilograms  (12.1 pounds)

60 centimeters  (23.6 inches)

Likes: 

smiling 

"talking" 

our morning routine 

looking out the windows 

bath time 

being outside 

being held 

Mama's singing 

snuggling 

Daddy's jokes 

Dislikes: 

the camera hiding his view of Mama or Daddy's face 

when the tricycle or bus stops moving 

tummy time

Isaiah turned two months old on Monday! I can’t believe how much he has changed in just one month. His little personality is starting to come out and it’s been so much fun! A lot of things have happened this month and life has been anything but consistent so I’ll try to remember it all.

I think my favorite thing that happened was Isaiah began to smile at us (on my birthday!) It might be the sweetest thing I’ve seen in my whole life. His mouth stretches across his little face and he is all gums! He smiles the biggest when his daddy gets right in front of him and talks to him. He also seems to love all the ridiculous sounds we make to get a smile. He’s a happy boy and every time he smiles I seem to forget all the more difficult moments of the day.

Speaking of difficult moments, I read in Isaiah’s one month update where I said ‘he hardly ever cries’. Well, the boy found his vocal chords. We went through several different ‘phases’ this month. For a few days he hardly slept at all during the day which made him cranky by the afternoon and he cried, cried, cried. Well, once he got caught up on that missed sleep, he decided he hates evenings. From about 5pm to 8pm every night he gets so fussy and nothing seems to comfort him. I’ve read that evening fussiness is common at his age but I’m hoping we become abnormal soon. All in all, as long as it’s befor 5, he’s well rested, and his booty is clean, he’s all smiles.

He eats around every 1.5-2 hours during the day, sometimes more often. He’s quite the snacker and seems to prefer small, frequent meals. In the past two weeks he has started sleeping 5-6 hour stretches pretty consistently when we put him down at night which has been so wonderful for mom! Early on this month we had some breastfeeding issues which led to some reflux issues which were hard for all of us. Isaiah would choke while eating, his spit up was so awful, and he would tighten his little legs in pain from gas. But with the help of some supportive mamas from home and encouragement from women here we were able to work through all that and for the most part he is feeling just fine. He likes to have his tummy massaged with some essential oils and as long as we keep him upright for a loooong time after he eats, all is well. It also helps that I’m a lot less scared of spit-up these days ha. A few years ago I never would’ve guessed I’d be in the Philippines praising Jesus for spit-up free burps, but it’s pretty praise-worthy in mama-baby world :)

Isaiah is an early bird like his mommy. He wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30 most days and he’s usually raring to go until mid-morning. He is so cute when he wakes up all wide-eyed and smiling. After he nurses he loves to look out the window and hang out with his Daddy while I fix breakfast. He stares at Josh like he’s trying to learn every line of his face. He also thinks his Daddy’s jokes are so funny. It really does seem like he smiles right on cue sometimes; it’s hilarious. And I think Isaiah might be the only person on the planet who enjoys my singing, but it calms him down and makes him smile when there are funny faces involved. He also loves being outside and looking up at the sky. His favorite thing of all this month might be bath time. He smiles so big when the water hits him and cries when he gets out. He also enjoys riding in the tricycle. It puts him to sleep every time. 

He went to church for the first time early this month and met some of the people who love him so much. We laugh because everyone from home comments about Isaiah’s skin complexion. They say he looks like he has a good tan. But everyone here can't get over how white his skin is! He also got to experience some intense brown-outs at quite a young age. A brown-out is when the electricity goes out. There's no running water, no lights, no electric fan. It’s every bit as intense a it sounds. Add a baby to the mix and it becomes a test of faith!There were a few brown-outs in his first month, even one while we were at the hospital, but nothing like the heat of Aurora in April. However, our little man was a rockstar. Just a couple nights ago there was a brown-out through the night and Isaiah handled it a lot better than his parents ha. With a cool pair of pjs and some fanning he slept right through it. He also made his first road trip this week. Call us crazy, but we took an almost 2 month old on an 8 hour bus ride. And he did so great! We had to go to Manila for an appointment at the US Embassy to apply for his American certificate of birth abroad and passport. He wasn’t a huge fan of bus stops and he didn’t care for the Embassy, but he got to experience air conditioning and he loved being held in the carrier practically the entire time we were there.     

Some other milestones in his second month were that he started ‘talking’ to us and really grew an attachment to us. His little oohs and aahhs are so precious, It seems like he wants to say something so important but just cannot figure out how. He searches for us when he hears our voices and he gets so sad when he thinks he is alone. He also started grabbing things that are around him. Sometimes he wraps his whole hand around his paci (which usually leads to him pulling it out of his mouth!) or grabs a fistful of his blanket or my hair. He hates being on his tummy for more than like 30 seconds but when I can get him to bear through the misery, he can move his head around pretty well. He also kicks his little legs against anything he can and tries to climb up our chests. Wearing 3 month sized clothes, he's a growing boy! 

Dear Isaiah, 

You're two months old now. It's hard to believe your dad and I have only known you such a short time. I feel like we have known you forever. It is hard work being your mommy. I'm sure it will only get harder. But when your smile spreads across your face I forget about all the hard times and fall in love all over again. You're a happy baby boy and your daddy and I are happy to call you ours. We are praying for you to grow into a strong, kind, and godly man. We love you sweet boy. 

Love, Mom

Dear Isaiah,

You are not the fragile little person we took home from the hospital.  We're exited you're not either.  Mom is currently trying to get you to sleep, but you're quietly refusing it I guess.  Speaking of quiet... wow, you know how to cry.  Last month we were wondering if you'd continue your quiet ways.  We are no longer wondering.  We also found out this month that you are not a Filipino.  It was a bummer, but we know there's a community here that considers you one of their own whether you're officially a Filipino or not.  And that's more valuable than any nationality.  Nevertheless, it's great being your dad.  Your granddad (Randaddy) told me that you'll really get to be fun later on when you get a little older.  I can see that coming.  I'm excited to be used as God molds you into the man He wants you to be.  Our world lacks strong men of God, so you will be in the minority, if the Lord wills it.  We have continued in our prayers for you.  May God grant us grace and wisdom along the way.  We love you bud.

Love, Dad

Motherhood

Don't worry, this blog isn't going to turn into a mommy blog (not that I am against mommy blogs, I follow a few!) but since the past 2 months of my life have been pretty consumed with mommydom, I wanted to write a few things the Lord has taught me in this sacred time.

Some of you may not know, but Isaiah was born via caesarean section. For me, that is the farthest thing from an ideal birth. I had planned and prepped for a natural, normal birth for months and was crushed when due to a series of events it didn't happen. It took me weeks to accept the reality of surgery and I still feel the pangs of regret from time to time. Emotional recovery was literally much more difficult for me than physical recovery. So...in the early weeks of motherhood I have spent a lot of time processing and I want to share with you a few things that God has spoken. Now, I know birth and the like does not relate to most of you reading this; however, the truths of God do so please feel free to continue reading. To the birth-weary males, I assure you it doesn't get weird :)

1. I learned a lesson in humility. We stayed in the hospital for 4 days while I recovered and I literally could do nothing for myself. I wasn't even allowed to raise my head off the bed for the first 8 hours. Josh was such a servant to me and I could do nothing more than receive his help. I had to swallow every ounce of pride as he cleaned our room, changed Isaiah's diapers, hosted our visitors, etc. He did everything with such grace and compassion that I think I got a tiny, tiny taste of what it must have felt like for the disciples to have their feet washed by Jesus. In that helpless state, I saw how helpless I really am in the grand scheme of life. I utterly need Jesus to do everything for me. So I bow down and let Him do in me what only He can do. As much as I want to do things for myself, I'll destroy myself if I as much as lift my head to do it. I must be humble and let Jesus lead.

2. I experienced firsthand the love of the family of God. We were the first American patients at Aurora Memorial Hospital. Being the only outsiders can sometimes make us feel lonely, or at least misunderstood. But as person after person flooded in and out of our room to visit us, we felt like we were known. And completely understood. We had SO many visitors from our church who came to visit us and meet Isaiah. It was such an honor to see their love for all three of us. They brought food and gifts and so much laughter. We took endless pictures. More than ever in the Philippines I felt like we were part of one big family. They consider us their own and it's a great privilege. I was honored by their hospitality and we could never repay. It reminded me of the Kingdom of God and how we're all one big family. What a privilege.

3. I am learning to trust the Lord with Isaiah, more than theoretically. Josh and I committed Isaiah to the Lord throughout my pregnancy, but that's a lot easier to do when you're not holding a crying baby at 2am with spit-up coming out of his NOSE. (Why does no one tell parents-to-be all the scary things newborns can do? ha) It's a daunting thing to be in charge of a small human. Am I feeding him enough? Too much? Is he hot? Did I wash his hands after that kid touched him? The list goes on. Thus, God has reminded me time and time again that we are to steward Isaiah well, but ultimately our son belongs to Him. It is so good to rest in and trust the sovereignty of God. I'm reading the allegory Hinds' Feet on High Places right now and I loved this excerpt on trust as the shepherd speaks to his servant:

"You have one real beauty, Much-Afraid, you have such trustful eyes. Trust is one of the 

                most beautiful things in the world. When I look at the trust in your eyes I find you more 

                beautiful to look upon than many a lovely queen."  

4. I saw power in fighting Satan's lies with God's truth. I learned early on in Trek-X a valuable lesson about discerning the voice of Satan vs. the voice of God. Jesus said 'my sheep know my voice' and I've had to learn to recognize my Shepherd's voice, but also to recognize that Satan is deceitful and disguises himself to be like my Shepherd. The mind is a powerful thing and it must be guarded. Praise God for my husband who reminded me of this over and over in those early days as I coped with my c-section. Anytime I got alone, I could feel my head flood with thoughts and emotions that were hard to bear. Satan said I was a failure. God said a baby coming into the world is not failure. Satan said my doctor stole natural birth from me. God said even if she did, forgive her. And choose to believe that she did what she really believed was best for us. Satan said my preparation for natural birth was a waste. God said He was pleased with my work for preparing for the assignment He'd given me. Satan said Isaiah missed out on the benefits of natural birth. God said He is Isaiah's Maker and He can provide what he needs, always. The scar of surgery is much more than cosmetic and it's something I'll be accepting for a while but I feel equipped as I fight the enemy as a child of God.

5. Most recently I've been learning acceptance with joy. As motherhood becomes my new normal I'm finding that my days mostly consist of ordinary, mundane, sometimes boring, often gross tasks. This can wear on a woman after a while. I begin to wonder if I'll ever sleep again or ever get a morning quiet time to myself or take a shower without the sound of crying in the other room. I'm learning a whole stinking lot about selflessness. Want to see how much you value your time? Become a parent. Sometimes it seems like I look up and my whole day is gone. I wonder "What in the world did I do today?" It's easy to let myself think that daily tasks of a mama are somehow less honorable than the tasks of a missionary wife without a baby. But the most freeing thing I've learned in these two months is that my ordinary, mundane, sometimes boring, often gross tasks can actually bring glory to God. I'm learning to honor God with my attitude and not just my actions. I'm learning to accept my new role and thrive in it. And with acceptance comes great peace and joy.

The Last 2 Months at a Glance

 

Mission to Asia

This crew is finally overseas! (The 7 in front, not the teachers). After spending 2 weeks in Baguio City for an extensive cultural training for their specific areas of service, they are on the ground in other SE Asian countries! We are so proud of them and excited for them. Please join us in praying for Jay, Venus, Gerlie, Dak, Lhen, Ruben, and Shiela. Whether it be that you choose a person each day of the week or pray for all of them periodically, from now until June 2 pray for their safety and for God's Holy Spirit to move among them. Pray for the relationships they will make this summer to be Christ-focused and for the Kingdom of God to advance in all they do.

Before they left Aurora we were able to spend time praying over them and encouraging them. These seven are special to all of us and we will miss their presence greatly in the next 8 weeks. 

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in you hearts through faith- that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:14-21

Twenty-Four

I celebrated my 24th birthday yesterday! I truly felt so special, loved, and celebrated. It was a simple day but it was full of fun, love, and little treats along the way.

I woke up bright and early to this sweet face:

Isaiah has been smiling practically since birth, but since the timing was always random or even inappropriate it was pretty clear that the little guy was just working out his face muscles. So I've been acting completely ridiculous for quite some time now trying to get him to smile at me. Well, he knows how to play his cards right. He waited until my birthday morning to lock eyes and smile right at me. And I only had to act semi-ridiculous to get him to do it :) So sweet.

While Josh went to the market to buy some of my favorite fruits and veggies to cook up, Isaiah and I skyped my family. It was a fun time and it's always good to see your family on your birthday.

Josh brought home a beautiful plant for me to enjoy. I like flowers as much as the next girl and enjoy their beauty and scent. However when I think of Josh I don't think of a flowers type of man; he always says he'd rather get something that doesn't die ha. So it was a sweet sight to see him walk in the house with a big plant of blooming flowers. We'll see if I can keep it alive :)

Josh took me out for lunch on the beach after church, complete with an appetizer and a peanut butter- banana-coco jam shake. Can't even tell you how delicious it was.

I received sweet texts from friends and messages on facebook from across the world.

My mom left gifts with me when she was here so I had been waiting to open those. Thank you Mama for cute jewelry and headbands! You know me well :)

Our friends came over for FAT Group. Afterwards we made lumpiang shanghai (a Filipino delicacy kind of like an egg roll). Far from the healthy diet I've been trying to maintain, but the crispy fried goodness was much enjoyed by us all. We played games and hung out until Isaiah essentially ran them off :) Nights aren't exactly his thing right now.

Once we got Isaiah settled down, Josh and I completed the night with some kiwi cake and cream cheese frosting. I could literally write another post about the gem of a bakery we found in Baler. Everything is made from scratch with fresh ingredients. It's hidden behind someone's house and has the tastiest desserts and breads.

Being a wife and mommy made my birthday even more special. I'm thankful for the life God has given me. 24 is feelin' pretty good so far.

Kids will be kids

One of my favorite things about our life here is the time spent with the kids who live around us. Investing in them was something the Lord told me to do just a few months after being here and it is one area of ministry that has been rather consistent. Each meeting is far from consistent: we might have 25 kids come, we might have 2. We might have a friend translate for us, we might struggle through Tagalog on our own. Someone might punch their friend or suck a bead up their nose or it may be smooth sailing. Every afternoon looks different. But consistently the power of the Lord’s presence is real. These kids know they are loved. Regardless of what situation they go home to, they know Ate Autumn and Kuya Josh love them and they’re learning of a Savior who loves them even more.

Right before Isaiah was born we finished the list of Creation to Christ scriptures that we were teaching them. We spent time reviewing and talking through how the stories all went together to form one big amazing story. We put forth another challenge to learn 10 memory verses and we’ll go on another picnic. Custom here is for a mother to stay home with her newborn for a month so I really haven’t left home much. Shout out to a husband who has grocery shopped (and cooked), ran any other errands, and taught these sweet kiddos. Josh hasn’t missed a single Monday or Thursday with them since we’ve been home from the hospital. It’s truly been an act of love to me. He’s even managed to get a couple of the boys interested in memorizing God’s Word.

Please pray for God to continue to reveal Himself to these young kids. Pray for His Word to be written on their hearts and saturate their minds. Please also pray for Isaiah and me as we make the trek out to the street. I’m excited to be with the kids again, but also strategizing how to keep those spider-collecting, fire-making, snack-eating, snot-wiping hands off of Isaiah's  :)  

 The two girls above are Kathleen and Larreine. They are 11 and 12 years old. Their questions about the Kingdom of God are so innocent and beautiful. PRAY on their behalf as they seek the Lord. PRAY for their salvation.

 

 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! Psalm 141:2

 The story of the Samaritan woman seemed to be one of their favorites about Jesus. The picture says "I'm thirsty give me some water.  I bless whoever drink this water cannot be thirsty anymore" (They love to practice their English!)

We love this picture. Kathleen sent it home with Josh to give to me. Filipinos have a great struggle with confusing the letter 'p' with the letter 'f' since f's are not used in the Tagalog language. Note the caption, "The Last Suffer" :)

Praise the Lamb that He did suffer and through His suffering we are made clean and righteous.

Amen.