youth camp

I'm taking a quick break from the series about Filipino culture to update you all on what's been going on here. The week before last we participated in our church's summer youth camp. (Last week was kids' camp, but I'll get to that in another post along with Isaiah's 3 month update!) Some of the young leaders who used to be campers themselves planned and led this year's camp and they did an amazing job! 

They intentionally targeted students from 8 different communities who are potential leaders in their churches and/or communities. They set out to train and equip these students. With 2 Timothy 2:2 as their focus, they entrusted these young people with God's Word and sent them out to disciple others. 

Josh and I were involved in some unique ways. Josh taught a morning session and trained the students in the Discovery Bible Study method, the method we've been using during our time in the Philippines. I taught an afternoon workshop on children's ministry to those who were interested. It was our first big commitment since Isaiah was born and while it was tiring it was a lot of fun! 

 off to camp

 

camp theme

 

praise and worship on the rooftop

 

totally worn out from the first night 

 

Pastor Barry's teaching session 

 

not too many people get this view at summer camp :)

 

small group time

 

workshop on worship

 

serving up lunch...rice and a pork soup dish 

 

our neighbors selling snacks during off times 

 

team building 

 

so beautiful..her papa helped lead the camp

 

Isaiah became good friends with Kuya Pips & Ate Maricel

 

so proud of these two 

 

sweating it out on the front porch during the night session

 

slightly overstimulated from a long day ha

 

Discovery Bible Study training 

 

hanging out with the big kids 

 

camp competition

 

games

 

she never stops smiling/laughing 

 

more games

 

games get pretty intense around here :) 

 

 

 pray for these young leaders 

 

hanging out while Mommy teaches a workshop

 

cooking a huge pot of rice

 

just cutting up a pig arm :)

 

teaching a mock kids' lesson

 

workshop on children's ministry

 

"let's pretend we're asleep!"

 

holding Isaiah so Mama can eat with TWO hands!

 

Kuya Gaz can always get a good laugh from Isaiah

 

celebrating 3 months of life for this little cutie!

 

eyes glued on the praise and worship band

 

killed right where Josh had just been sitting

 

This girl did the best on Josh's DBS exam 

 

 

girls' native wear 

 

boys' native wear 

 

Mr. & Miss Youth Camp 2014

Please pray for these young leaders. Pray for God to raise them up as a selfless generation with bold faith and a jealous heart for the lost. Pray for them to reach rural Philippines and the world with the Good News of Jesus. It's so beautiful to have seen some of them growing and maturing in the faith since we moved here.

"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

Creepy Crawlies

 In my last post I started a little series about the culture in the Philippines, specifically here in Aurora province. Last post was about animals; this post gives you a glimpse into the world of insects and reptiles. Moving here I was so concerned about all the gekkos (lizards) that I heard lived in the house. Honestly, I prayed so much about them. Two years later, I've encountered much worse than gekkos and I hardly even notice them scurry across the room anymore. The following, however, are still on my radar. 

 

Spider that I found right above my head one day when reading in a kubo (small hut).  

 

These slinks are everywhere. They still startle me when I hear them race through the bushes as I walk past. 

 This type of toad secretes poison through it's skin so we try to keep a distance. They are usually all around our kitchen at dark.

 

Interesting little creature, but thankfully harmless. 

 

 

Scariest living thing we've encountered here, in my opinion. This caterpillar, called a higad, is very poisonous. Praise God we haven't been touched by one, but we've seen our neighbors swell up and have welts for days. If they as much as touch your clothes on the line you'll itch for hours. 

 

This is the first snake we saw here.

 

The cockroach, my worst enemy. I've never hated a bug so much. They fly and bite and grow to be like 3 inches long. Yuck. My awesome husband saves the day every time he kills one. 

 

This is a really cool eel our friends found at a nearby beach cove. 

 

These spiders go in and out of 'season'. They're almost as big as my hand when stretched out. I found this one in the kitchen sink. 

 

 

Another higad. There are a few different colors of them. 

 

 

This big guy was outside our bathroom window. Note the duck tape to prevent his entrance haha. 

 

Millipede? Centipede? I don't know, but it's another poisonous creature.

 

Hidden under the dirt, this bug makes the loudest screeching sound at night. Sometimes you can't even think it's so loud. 

 

 

Big papa hermit crab. He's on the lookout for a new shell. 

 

Look at this cool starfish we found a couple of weeks ago! 

 

None of the Filipinos we were with knew what this little sea creature was. While I realize it may not look like it, it is a living thing :)

 This beehive looks like one you'd see on the movies. It's so perfect. It was right outside our window. Some of the men who were here to help smoke it out actually ate the bee larva. Apparently it's delicious. 

 

 

Josh hates snakes. But he so bravely killed this deadly one in our kitchen about a month ago. We've heard about them since we moved here, but it was the first we'd seen. 

There are a few other creepy crawlies that I wish I had captured on camera, like certain varieties of beetles and frogs that are fried and eaten and some gorgeous butterflies. But hopefully you've enjoyed seeing this aspect of our island life! 

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