Balintad Temporary Church Building

Have a blessed Christmas and New Year!!

Our God is a mighty God…..His name is Emmanuel!

More than the sounds of many waters,

Than the mighty breakers of the sea,

 The LORD on high is Mighty!

Psalm 93:4

We are so thankful to have our son with us for Christmas break and thankful too for safety during the recent typhoon which brought heavy rains, flooding and landslides.

Wishing you a very blessed Christmas and New Year!!  Much love from us three!!!

Amazing News!

We have just been at an amazing Church Family Conference weekend in Lapoc!! Almost unbelievable and ourheads are still reeling as we try to get our minds around what just happened. Our God is truly an AWESOME God!!!!

There were 1350 believers who gathered for the conference from our churches, some of these churches are over 100 km away from Lapoc. They arrived on trucks, jeepneys, motorbikes and on foot from Ricodo, Man-ay, Limonda, Pigtaw, Ginitan, Sungay, Balintad, Pinatagan, Pigsag-an, Colawingon, San Aquino, Tagbak, Tumpagon, Cauyunan, Anlagan, Awang, Tinaytayan, Lapoc, Linawlawan, Migpait, Overlooking, San Abel, Limunsud, Lantod, Bisigan, Kilometro Disisayis, Indulang…… (The believers from the Tikalaan, Salimbal, San Doneseo, Kibanug, Dungguan, Malumpayad, Palalan and Gawgawon churches were not able to make it due to various reasons including distance, health and finances but hopefully next time they will be able to attend.)

The greatest challenges apart from their travel to get to Lapoc, were toilets and water! Amazingly, we got through the three days without running out of water and with everyone being able to take baths and use the amenities when they were needed but it took a lot of work behind the scenes to make this work and I think God was multiplying our water as it should have run out.

Above are pictures of the baptisms which took place last Saturday morning (Dec 2^nd) in the river of Sagayan, which is about two kilometers from Lapoc. Most of us walked there and it was an incredible scene to the unbelievers as they saw the huge crowds of people walking down to the river. There were 187 people baptized that morning and we celebrated this wonderful day with a special meal together of 10 roast pigs and lots of rice eaten down by the river!

The theme of the Conference was “The Great Commission” and we had a wonderful guest speaker from Birmingham, Alabama who spoke on Acts 1 in four sessions while Paul interpreted for him. The believers were very blessed and challenged by his messages as well as Paul’s message to them on the last day. Thanks so much Rick for coming and to SMC for sending him. You were all used of the Lord.

We had over 100 people staying in our house alone, hundreds staying in the church building, and we couldn’t keep count of how many were staying in our team member’s houses. The praise, the worship, the fellowship, the meals together….it was all so, so wonderful! Thank you so much for PRAYING!

Our time with Jubab....and other news!!!!!

Praise God for all of His blessings and for the privilege it is to be involved in translating His Word and being part of the team spreading the Gospel here in Mindanao!

Big news here at the moment is the joy and the preparations going towards our ‘Kaamulan’ which is a family conference involving all of our churches here. We are expecting hundreds of believers to gather and a big baptism as well.

There are huge amounts of firewood being cut in preparation for all the cooking that will be done, houses being cleaned and readied for guests, food being planned and speakers studying the Word and preparing to share wonderful truths that will encourage and feed the flock spiritually!

We’ll have more news to share about this conference before too long! On the translation side of our ministry, we are working this week on Matthew 7-8. Not many more months now and we will be able to tell you Lord willing that the whole Tala-Andig New Testament is finished and we will be in the final preparation stage before printing!!!!!!

On a family note, we are praising God so much for allowing us to have a wonderful visit with Jubab!! Jubab is doing great. He is super challenged to be a full time missionary in Japan. It is a really hard mission field and only a real small percentage of Japanese people know the Lord. Very Challenging. He wants to work with OMF in a ministry with university students and is currently applying to do an internship with OMF over his summer break next year. God has been working incredibly in his life.

During the 11 days we had there with him, we got to go to classes with him and also had opportunities to share with some of the students there in chapel times. We stayed in the guest apartment at the college together so we had lots of family time, ate all our meals together, got to hang out, watch movies, have lots of coffees and talks.  After the 11 days with Jubab, some dear friends took us on a holiday which was an amazing provision for us from the Lord. We really needed a break and the time was so special and so refreshing in every way. 

It was fun watching Jubab in action: doing dish crew, working on his assignments, going to class, meeting his friends and dorm mates…..it was such a precious time!!

Please pray for Jubab’s support needs as he prepares to go to Japan, first for the internship next summer and then as a full-time missionary. His support level is better than it was but he still in need of more regular support.

Please pray too for the upcoming conference, for the speakers and all the people who are planning to attend, for safety for all the travelers and that God will be glorified!!  

Rejoicing to be a part.....!

Last week we had one of the missionary families from our work in a place called Ricodo come to spend the day with us. They have a motorbike and they left their place about 6 am from Ricodo which put them here about 9am. So we had about 6 hours with them before they left to go back home.

We have quite a history with this couple as the wife, JingJing, was brought to us in Cauyunan back in the beginning days of our work, 'dead'.... back when she was a child, aged 12. She had malaria and went delirious with fever, until her fever went so high she'd stopped breathing and so they had rushed her to our house from where they lived in Tumpagon. The night they arrived with her and laid her down on the Clinic floor, she was unresponsive, basically dead. Her parents were new believers and we gathered around her and we prayed and God started her breathing again. We couldn't give her any medicines or fluids orally because she was in a coma, but we inserted all the malaria medicines and fluids rectally which kept her alive for the next 4 days until she came out of her coma!! And slowly she recovered but she had what seemed to be fever-coma induced psychological problems. It took about a whole year for her to return to her normal self.

Years later after she was married and pregnant with her second child, her and James were sent by the Tumpagon church to Lapoc for missionary training with us and a couple years later they were sent out to Ricodo to work with another couple over there. While they were in Lapoc I delivered her second child. James woke us up at midnight and I went to their house and had James go wake up one of the young neighbor ladies, Nanah, who I was training to deliver babies. While he was gone, it was just JingJing and I in the house for about 15 or 20 minutes and she was groaning and panicking because the pain was much worse than her first labour. I was glad when James and Nanah arrived and I had some extra sets of hands because we were able to get her up from the bed and into a standing position which eased the pain slightly by shifting the baby's position. She was having unusually terrible pains in her lower back (probably because her bub was facing up and was fairly large) and it was quite a job calming her and reassuring her through the pain she was having but eventually she made it through the labour and he was born at 7 am (a very dark purple colour and he didn't take a breath for about 60 - 80 seconds or so which was very stressful). They asked me to name him and I named him Aiden. He is now in kindergarten which gives a bit of an idea how long ago that was. Anyway, just reminiscing a bit .... but this is the James and JingJing who visited us last week. 

Paul bought 3 beautiful bangos (milkfish - the Philippines national fish) before they came, and we had them ready in the fridge all de-boned and ready to fry. We marinated the bangos overnight in white cane vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic and when they got here we fried it until it was crispy. This dish is called 'daing bangos' over here. We also had a bowl of chicken livers (a delicacy) ready to adobo which we served with boiled eggs once it was cooked. For the rice, I mixed part glutinous rice with normal rice and cooked it with grated ginger and coconut milk. Food is a beautiful way of enjoying time together and celebrating the joy of just being together!

Every week when we have different ones of the church leaders and missionaries out here to stay, one of Paul's and my goals with the visit is to spoil them with lots of good food and to make them feel very loved and appreciated as they are pouring their lives out for the Lord and the Gospel. It wasn’t all just about the eating though! (Although that was one of the very enjoyable parts of their visit!) We also had several hours to talk to them about their work, their plans, their marriage, their co-worker relationships and to pray with them as well before they left to go back home to Ricodo.

Days like these ones with James and JingJing have to be some of the highlights of the ministry of the Gospel! How sweet the fellowship is with fellow labourers of the Gospel!! We love to cook for them and serve them and to help them on in their journey in any way we can.

As you think of James and JingJing, and their partners in the work, Roel and Irene, please pray for them. Daily they face the demands and joys of building the church and spreading the Gospel. They are doing a great work in Ricodo and we rejoice with them over the 30 new believers that they just baptized last month.

PS. Ricodo and all the different villages we mention are all churches that have been planted by the believers that we have been training and discipling for the past 30 years:  believers from our first church in Cauyunan and then from other churches as we have been able to plant them. Today there are approximately 30-35 churches all up in the areas where we work and about 127 bible teachers teaching thousands of people each week. It is almost too much for us to fathom.

Same-Sex Marriage

   

 

My Dear Co-Workers in the Gospel and whoever else who may see this article on line,

As you no doubt know we are currently in a same sex marriage debate and postal survey in Australia and almost every time you turn on the television you will hear about this debate.

God designed the rainbow and it is an incredibly beautiful sign. Something we can look at with awe and remember that it signifies the promise God made to mankind that He will never again destroy every living being through a world flood as He did in the days on Noah. If you would like to read about this event please look at Genesis chapter 6 through chapter 9 with particular reference to the creation of the rainbows in Genesis 9:8-17 and the purpose of this beautiful sign.

God created marriage also which is even more beautiful than a rainbow (in my opinion). We can read completely how God created a man from dust and then a woman from the man’s rib which would complete him and give him joy and fulfillment in more ways than one. To be his companion and partner as he passed through life. I have been married for 33 years and for most of that time Deb’s and my marriage has been utterly beautiful. As we continue to experience our God designed marriage, we stand in awe at this creation of God. God created marriage to be between a man and a woman. This is not negotiable and can be plainly understood as we read through the early chapters of Genesis. It is not God’s plan that 2 men or 2 women use His invention of marriage as it was not designed for them. Marriage is sacred and is an ordinance for only 2 people of opposite sex. Just like the rainbow, marriage is God’s design and it is beautiful.

So we have a beautiful rainbow that has been hijacked to the extent that it signifies today to most people something totally different than God intended and something that God opposes.

And now, during these very days, some in Australia are trying to change God’s marriage design as well.

I will be voting NO without doubt as I do not want to and will not go against God’s plan.

I believe that Satan hates the rainbow, marriage and all of God’s promises and will continue to try to destroy all of them, right up until the day that our Lord Jesus returns to get those that have been saved through His giving of His life on the cross as payment for our sin. I will not agree!

So in short – Vote NO. 

As for how we personally look on homosexuals: Well they are people the same as we are and God loves them as much as He does me and He desires a relationship totally as much with them as He does with me. They can come to God through Christ just like I did some 35 years ago.

Just last month we invited a homosexual man to have lunch with us and we enjoy his company. We have shared God’s word with many homosexual people and have seen some get saved by placing their trust in Jesus. We have also seen homosexual people change their practices as they have matured in Christ, and they have married people of a different gender to themselves and have had children. In one of our outreaches in the mountains, 2 homosexual men who are living with each other are currently listening to God’s Word after many, many years of being together. We will see what God’s powerful Spirit will do in their lives if they are saved.

So we are not homophobic nor do we hate homosexual people – quite the opposite. We do want what God wants though and we will strive for it – even though we fall short at times ourselves in different areas and fail and can even be hypocritical.

There is so, so much more that could be said but it has already been said and you have heard it already. My encouragement is that we just look to God’s word when we make this vote.

If you disagree with me – please do it quietly as I am not writing this article to get into a debate or hurt anybody or to cause conflict. But we live in a democracy and I don’t agree with gagging people through anger and vilification when they do not agree with Same Sex Marriage that is contrary to God’s design.

Heaps of Love to you (even if you disagree with me)

Paul

PS ---- this is a circular letter that has been written by Paul Howells and is not aimed at any individual in particular. 

Personal stuff.....!

It was our beautiful son’s first birthday ever in his life without us last week (Sept 7). This was very sad for us but probably pretty okay for Jubab!  His days seem to be very full and he told us today that he has been tired, tired, tired!! But he looks good whenever we see him over video calls and he is enjoying his bible school studies.

There are weekly sports activities at college like flag football and soccer which Jubab is really enjoying and it gives his mind a chance to unwind, catch the fresh air and have some fun.

During our trip to Australia from Aug 4-Sept 9, we were able to do everything we hoped we would be able to and even more. God hugely blessed our visit there and we had many special times with family: joyful times and some painful times mixed together.

It was so good to see Paul’s Mum again and to see her looking good in spite of a very painful time she’s been going through as she waits for knee replacement surgery.

We spent time with Paul’s little sis and her family and my little brother and his family and got to see nieces and nephews which we loved!

My Mom had been going through some tough times with the aftermath of Dad’s battle with cancer and because of her exhaustion after caring for him so bravely and tirelessly to the end…… she was over exhausted to the point she couldn’t sleep well and her heart was playing up. It was so good to be with her on the trip back home to Brisbane after she’d away for 3 weeks with my brother and his family in Perth. It meant we could go with her to her doctor and monitor how she improved with the medications he gave her, and we were able to go visit Dad’s grave, help Mom choose a headstone and help Mom sort through some of Dad’s things. It made me miss Dad so much more to be back at Mom and Dad’s home, seeing his toothbrush and comb and shaver in the bathroom and all of his things……we even ate the last of the groceries that he had bought during his last shopping trip with Mom, even some potatoes and onions were still left. So as you can imagine, there were many moments when the tears felt very, very close and often spilled over.  I don’t know if God told Dad that we planted lavender and azaleas on his grave that day, where his earthly body lies waiting for the resurrection, and if Dad would have thought it was good use of our remaining time here on earth if he did know, but that thought made me smile and get teary at the same time. It made us feel a bit better anyway, that his grave looked a bit more cared for while we wait for the dirt to settle and the headstone to be made.

It was another painful time to say goodbye to Mom and leave her knowing there is still so much to do and she is still very weary and dealing with a lot of the aftermath of stress, but we hope we can visit her again before too many months go by and we know God is caring for her and providing for her and that she will get through this.

We got back to the Philippines the day before yesterday and Paul came down with a stomach bug of some sort – not too bad but keeping him feeling a bit miserable. Yesterday we took the day to re-group, buy some groceries and rest a bit….. but today (HURRAY!!!!) we are back into the translation work with the team in Lapoc and we are hoping to have the Gospel of John totally finished by next week!! Matthew chapter 2 is being drafted as well. 

It was our 33^rd wedding anniversary while we were away – we were actually on a plane flying to Australia that day but we count ourselves hugely blessed to have been married for 33 years and to have spent all of those years in missions!!!  

Today is Sept 13, 2017……. The rest of this week holds a lot more challenges, daily chores and daily choices and decisions, a lot to get done on the translation but with the promise of our Lord Jesus that He will be with us always………..

(It’s sort of a quirky anniversary photo but we thought we’d share it with you anyway!)

Gorgeous children.....!

Gorgeous children from the San Aquino church, praising God with their beautiful little voices yesterday. Paul preached his heart out there for one and a half hours on John 18 and 19, our newest portion of translated scripture! Starting today on the very last book of the Tala-Andig New Testament that we have to translate - the Gospel of Matthew!!

Paul and Deb's week......

This last week since arriving back from Australia, we have washed off a lot of ink (thanks to the printer we packed in our suitcase inside 3 layers of plastic bags and a waterproof duffel bag which still managed to leak ink through onto some other stuff), we’ve gotten a bit of rest, gotten our house back into working order and have got back into translation again. God has given us amazing progress -- We finished John 17 and well into the process for John 18-20.

Also last Thursday our daughter Jen and her hubby Udi came out to see us and cried with us about Dad’s (Grandpa’s) passing away and we were able to share with them all the details that they were wondering about.

Paul also did a trip in to Lapoc and got some work done in there and I was able to do some gardening that I’d been wanting to do for some time.

On Friday we made a long overdue visit to the dentist and also had a day of unexpected but very welcome visitors including Angel and Marjun with their newborn baby Clint (photo above) who I just loved cuddling with. That day was a real delight!

So today we are launched into a new week – another big one Lord willing on the translation. It is amazing and surreal to be getting so close now to finishing the Tala-Andig New Testament.

Also please pray for us as we make another trip back to Australia on August 24 for 16 days. We had already bought the tickets for this trip a couple of months ago, feeling the Lord urging us to go and see Paul’s Mum who hasn’t been well (we haven’t seen her for 2 ½ years) and also to go and visit my Dad and Mom as we thought Dad’s time was almost at an end here on earth. As you know the Lord did take Dad and we were able to do an emergency trip home and were able to communicate with him before he left. God’s plans are perfect.

So we have the tickets to go first to Perth and then to Brisbane and then home here again to the Philippines so we will go ahead also with these plans. My Mom is currently in Perth with my brother and his family so we will see them briefly but then spend 4-5 days with Paul’s Mum and the rest of his family also. From there we will go with my Mom to Brisbane and help her with whatever she wants us to do. It is probable that we will help her pack up the house and she will move to Perth permanently. Anyway we will be there and help her in whatever capacity she wants us to during that time.

Thank you so, so much for all your prayers for our family as we go through this time of grieving and adjusting to the loss of Dad and for the many things that have to be done so that Mom can be settled in this new part of her journey.

Our last days with Dad.....

This was our last photo with Dad. Taken about 2 hours after we arrived. We had long delays with our flights and a frantic message as we were driving from the airport saying, “Sis, how far away are you? Please hurry…..” We were wondering what God’s plan was for us and if we would arrive too late, but God gave us the beautiful gift of 2 hours with Dad where he was able to respond to us before he lapsed into unconsciousness. All that night and the whole next day our family was at Dad’s bedside, holding his hands, talking to him, keeping him as comfortable as we could. His breathing was very labored which was heartbreaking to listen to.

At 10:50pm on Sunday evening, July 23^rd, 30 hours after we arrived, our Lord Jesus took Dad and brought him into His own presence. Dad died very peacefully with our arms around him, and we give glory to God and are so thankful for His plan for Dad’s last days. During Dad’s last week on earth, he was still able to have his weekly bible study and drive Mom to the grocery store for their weekly outing which was amazing. Only for his last 3 days was he confined to bed, and in his own home as he wanted it to be.

Since Dad passed into glory, our family has just clung together, sharing our grief, our memories of Dad, and working through all the things together that we face now that Dad is no longer here with us. Mom is very tired but is doing okay and keeping strong. 

We have been cushioned on all sides by the outpouring of love and prayers from all of you! Thank you so, so much!  All I can say is that there has been so, so much LOVE.

Paul and I plan to return to the Philippines on August 4 (1 week after the funeral). We praise God that we were able to be here with Dad and our family during this time. Mom will probably be going to WA with Bobby at about the same time we go to the Philippines. I wonder what God’s next chapter is for us all.

For those of you who can attend, Dad’s funeral is on Friday, July 28. We are having a memorial service at Kingsridge Baptist Church, at 11:30 am at 12 Portia St, Kingston. At 3:00 pm there will be a viewing at the Mt Gravatt Cemetery Chapel which is at 582 Mains Road, Macgregor followed by the burial at 3:30.

About my Dad....

My Mom just called this morning as Paul was on his way up to Lapoc. She said that Dad is not responsive this morning, and is not waking up. Dad has been progressively getting weaker and weaker with his cancer the past weeks and his pain has been increasing terribly. Thankfully I was able to contact Paul and he turned around straight away and arrived back home a few minutes ago.

Right now we are trying to book tickets to get to Brisbane as quickly as possible. The palliative care doctor said we should return home as soon as we can and encouraged us to talk to Dad on the phone which we did and we heard his voice although it was very weak.

Just wanted to let you know. Our hearts are very heavy right now, tears falling as we write this. Please pray for our family and pray for all the travel details. It is so comforting to know that Our God is not taken by surprise and has a plan.

Like FAMILY.....

Many of the people in this photo were part of the very first group of believers in Cauyunan that put their faith in the Lord about 26 years ago!!! The bond that binds our hearts together with theirs is so deep and so special, we can’t even begin to describe it to you. They know stories about us and we know stories about them that could fill book after book. It is no wonder that when we are with them, the only way to describe it is that we are FAMILY.

Our time with them last Sunday was so, so amazing and so joyous. A commissioning service was held for one of the ‘little girls’ of Cauyunan (not so little anymore) and her husband, who the churches there sent out this week as their newest missionary family. Please pray for them – Aybi and Jerrum and their little daughter Shine: for safety, for good relationships with their new team, and that they will stay close to the Lord.

Praise the Lord with us for one of our brothers Kikì, who has recovered from leprosy after 4 or 5 years of suffering terribly from this disease. He and his wife sang during the church service and brought many of us to tears.

The progress on the translation work is going awesomely – THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!!!!!

We reached our translation goals last month and please pray that we will reach our goal for the month of July of finishing up to and including John chapter 17.

Just in closing, we had a real experience of ‘cops and robbers’ here last night. Just as we were boiling the kettle and getting ready to have a quiet cup of tea before bed, the place erupted into gunfire so loud and close we thought at first it must be fireworks just outside our home. It turned out it was the police chasing a highway robber, peppering his escape route with bullets. He didn’t get away it turns out, but ended up being shot in the foot and then arrested.

On the road again with the translation!

Translation
After spending a few months renovating our home and taking trips to the mountains, having meetings etc, we are finally back into translation. We have about 15% of the New Testament left to complete before we can print. This is a Big and Continual prayer point. We need wisdom, tenacity and strength from our Lord. This week we are working on John 12:21-50. By June 30 we would like to see up to and including John 13 completed. After we finish the Gospel of John, we will just have the Gospel of Matthew to do and then the New Testament will be completed.

Ministry
Hugely good is all we can say and to our Lord Jesus be the Glory!!! We have been up into the mountains several time since we have been home and all is going well in the churches. Today the “Dulangan” elders are visiting us after meeting with the “Lapoc” elders. (These are the names of the 2 areas we have worked in for the past 30 years). They are coming here to discuss a new mission team that we want to send out on a full time basis. This is exciting for us – us grandparents now of the work. Pray that the Lord will give wisdom and that a schedule can be set out. They are thinking that we will send the family from the Dulangan to live in Lapoc for 12 months before they finally move out so they can receive more training and bond with new team members who will go out with them. A big prayer point.

A New High-school
The Lord is opening it up for us to minister in a NEW high school this year - in the village of Ticalaan. There are about 800 students there. The men evangelists will do most of the work here. Students who attend this high school come from a large number of villages that make up the catchment area for this school. So we are hoping and praying that this high school will be hugely instrumental in the Word being taken to more places. The scripture teachers want colored pictures to be inserted into their teaching materials so we have just purchased 2 top end duplex lazer color printers which can churn out our new materials that we are developing. We also need to hold some seminars on these materials within the next 2 weeks and need wisdom to set dates. It will probably mean an overnight trip away into 2 different locations. Pray for this work and the other 14 schools that we currently minister in.

Our Health and our Family’s Health

-     * Deb’s Dad is holding his own with his cancer but certainly needs our prayers. IT has gotten worse and he is on fairly heavy pain killers.

-      *My Mum in Perth may need a knee replacement soon.

-      *My Step Mum in the USA has had her brain cancer reoccur after it was absent for about 12 months.

-      *Deb and I have the normal pain that comes with age - wear and tear but overall we are good and happy.

Jubab is doing GREAT at Bible College

The Lord has raised up some people to partner with him financially each month so this is a huge praise point as it has reduced the stress of not having funds to pay for the needs he has. Praise God --- reduced stress on Mum and Dad too. Can’t help but watch with anticipation to what God is going to do with our Sons’ life.  Of course we miss Jubab terribly but we are more comfortable with him being separated from us now and really happy with what he is doing. We recently had a really great time with him when he visited us.

Where we are now

We thought we would show you this map so that you can see where we are now compared to before. All our churches are in the upper left quadrant of the map of Mindanao, and we've shaded the area in - from Cagayan de Oro, to Iligan and then across towards the Malaybalay area and then back to Cagayan de Oro. The area that we've coloured with light blue is the Cauyunan - Tumpagon area where there are 8+ churches (where we lived and ministered the Word from 1989-2000). They continue to reach out to new areas including a new outreach here in Cagayan de Oro.

The area coloured in with purple is in the Iligan jurisdiction and we have a missionary team of two families living in this area sent out from the Tumpagon church and supported by the churches of that area as well as some support from Australia. They live in Ricodo where we visited last month, and they have done a lot of great outreach and church planting. There are 4+ other churches in that area planted from that work. They continue to reach out to new areas.

Then there is the red area and that is the Lapoc area where we moved to from Cauyunan in the year 2000 along with a team from the Cauyunan church. There are about 20+ churches planted from the Lapoc work and they continue to reach out to new areas.

The area coloured orange is where we are setting up a work centre now. Cagayan de Oro is a coastal town spread over quite a large area and teeming with people. This is the place where we have always come out to from Cauyunan and Lapoc: to buy supplies, bring people to hospital, pick up our mail etc. It is also the place that many of the people from the churches we work with come if they need to sell or buy or do paperwork required by the Govt.

We're setting up a central office here to finish our translation from and to work on materials needed by the churches. There is also a place where we can hold meetings and training sessions with the church elders who will come out to stay for 2 or 3 days at a time. We can also easily move around and travel to visit all of the churches and security wise, it is one of the pretty stable parts of Mindanao right now. The distance around the circumference of these areas, from Iligan to Rogongon to Lapoc to Malaybalay and then back to Cagayan de Oro is about 455 km and takes hours because of bad sections in the road. It would be about a 9-10 hour trip on average and you could get road blocks that would prevent you even from arriving in a day.

The green area is the Man-ay area where preparations are under-way to place a permanent missionary team. There is a family from the Tumpagon church in the process of moving over to Lapoc for missionary training, another single man already in training from Ricodo, and the church leaders from all the areas are coordinating together making plans for setting up the facilities to house the missionaries and the new work that will open up over there. We have been praying about this area for about 4 years so this is WONDERFUL news to us.

Anyway, this is just a vague sketch but hopefully will be helpful in giving you more of an idea of where we are now.

More good news is that we have now moved into our new place here in Cagayan de Oro and are in the process of unpacking, settling in and getting our new office set up!! Lots of clean-up and little finishing off jobs to do but the end is getting very close!

Jubab arrives in 3 more days Lord willing!!! We are sooooo excited!!!

Every day brings something new and exciting and challenging!

April 25, 2017.....it is very hot today, and our clothes seem to have been permanently stuck to us with sweat all day. I think we still have a ways to go before we will be fully acclimatized to the heat here. We were up at the building project quite early this morning and as usual, there are cement chips flying everywhere. 

The ‘maninilsil’ on the work team has been a very important part of the building project. He is the one who uses a ripping chisel - or in this case, a piece of plastic pipe with a nail in it - to pry pieces of cement away that need to be removed.

This little tool has been extremely busy as we work on getting new electrical outlets put in and new pipes and fittings for the plumbing.  The builders helping us originally thought that we were looking at about 3 months of work, but it is looking like it may only be just a little over 2 months before we can move in which would be wonderful.

 Every day brings something new and exciting and challenging.  Last Sunday we set off at 4:30 am to visit the work in Ricodo. It took us 3 ½ hours of driving to reach the church there.

The two-family missionary team, both sent from the Tumpagon church, have been serving in Ricodo for close on 5 years now and Paul said to them after witnessing the amazing things God is doing  through them:  “Guys, the work you are doing here, all I can say is that it’s just nothing short of WONDERFUL. To God be the GLORY!”

It really was just wonderful to see what God is doing through the team there: the way the church is growing, the outreach they are doing, the discipleship happening, the way they are teaching faithful brothers and sisters to teach others……their hospitality… their love for Jesus!

One of the things we are looking forward to when we get moved into our place is being able to have the Ricodo missionary team come and stay with us so we can get some time aside with them to pray together, and to talk about their vision for the work and their struggles and how we can help them. It was hard to get any time alone with them while we were there in Ricodo because of the constant stream of people to their houses.

One of these visitors in Ricodo was this little 5 year old who so cutely and fearlessly showed me the enlarged lymph nodes in his neck and skin lesions on his hands and feet which led me to believe he has a tuberculous infection. I tried to advise his Mom as best as I could and we’ll follow up on him to make sure he gets treated. Another lady came and hugged us who had been crippled up with tuberculosis last year and on her deathbed, but thanks to the availability of skype, we were able to call from Australia and get in touch with contacts the Lord had given us and have doctors and accommodation waiting for her at the hospital. She was on treatment for months but is now restored to health, and is longer crippled – she was walking!

This is their beautiful new church building in Ricodo – our first time to see it.

The missionaries asked Paul to share the Word which he always loves to do and afterwards we ate a meal together.

The trip back was uneventful but long because we ran into a couple of bridges only partially open due to ongoing repairs which held us up for a long time. The day grew even longer later on as we got a desperate call from a young lady who had been apprehended and Paul and I found ourselves separated at night in a huge crowded market while he tried to find a place to park the car and I tried to find our terrified friend. Paul walked into the police station trying to find me and asked, “Is my wife here?” The police looked at the overcrowded holding cell which could hardly hold another offender, and said in a very surprised tone, “Your wife is HERE?” (Hilarious some of the situations we find ourselves in.) The story has a good ending as we were able to talk to authorities on behalf of our friend, pay her fine and take her safely home to her family.

We’re so thankful that we can be here serving our incredible Saviour in any way He wants us to and we’re so thankful for your lives as you serve Him where you are and for your love, prayers and encouragement!!!!

The Painful Last Embrace

It happened.

Much as we were trying to hold onto each day and each hour in our hearts, the moment did arrive earlier today when we had to give our son that painful last embrace before we left him to go to the airport.

From the time our eyes opened earlier this morning, the tears have been close to the surface and often spilling over: first from the pain of the looming goodbyes with Jubab and now because the goodbyes are over and already we miss our beautiful son so much. 

Right now we are sitting in the Chicago airport waiting for our midnight flight. It is snowing outside, a very different sight to what we will see outside the Manila airport when we arrive there Lord willing in another 24 or so hours.

The two of us are wondering what lies ahead and God keeps reminding us that it’s a walk of faith and that we can trust Him. But four little words are in our hearts right now:  MORE OF THE SAME!  More miles traveled to spread the glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus, more churches planted, more spiritual leaders raised up, more baptisms, more missionaries being sent out, more buildings to build……more amazing works being done which only our God can do as He sends us and uses us and gives us this privilege to serve!

So as our feet once again have the joy of walking in the Philippines, these are some of our immediate tasks and prayer points once we arrive:

·       Necessary paperwork – please pray that it will get processed smoothly and quickly.

·       Setting up our home and office in the new area from which we will base – this may take 1-2 months. Please pray that this work will be even quicker than we anticipate so that we can soon get back to the translation work.

·       Meetings with all the church leadership – pray for all of us to know the Lord’s mind as to how and where we can best bless the churches and the leadership teams.

Thank you so much for your prayers for us and for Jubab……we treasure each one of you and praise our God that we can serve Him together!

New Facebook Name

We have changed our Facebook name to:     Paul Deb TA.  

So if you are looking for us on face book you'll know how to find us!! :) 

 

Bitter-sweet!

This is Paul here writing this morning. I write with mixed emotions as we continue on towards returning to the Philippines. This period stretching several weeks has had some really hard times for us as a family and I wanted to share some of what we have been going through with you.

We have had to leave our home, our friends and family once again in Australia and leave again on another mission. This time Debbie’s Dad is sick with cancer and we don’t know when we’ll see him again. We struggled when it came close to purchasing our tickets to leave a few months ago, until the Lord used Debbie’s uncle to encourage us – He said – “Paul and Deb – you just have to leave and trust the Lord and if and when you have to, you can return to Australia to do what you need to do”. So we booked our tickets and we arrived in snowy Jackson, Michigan USA on December 30^th to settle Jubab into the New Tribes Bible Institute here.

We had some beautiful times with Deb’s family over Christmas and during the 3 years we were basing out of Australia. So, so many precious times with Deb’s mum and Dad and family and my family as well. Jubab completed his year 12 in Australia and got all A’s in his final results which did us proud as a family. A good proudness J of our son.

A real hard thing for me and for Deb and Jubab too was leaving our dog Riley. When we used to get home in Ballina he would jump up on my chest with 2 feet and dig me on the chest about 4 times to say hi. We love him greatly and for a few days after we left him I woke in the night sobbing and Debbie and Jubab would comfort me. Funny thing -- people have put guns on me and threatened me at times with death but they were not comparable with leaving Riley. Must be something about our family and our dogs J. Anyway the Lord provided a family to take Riley and they flew him to Tasmania. Mark is a forest ranger and he takes Riley for an hour’s walk each morning and afternoon and Riley is doing great. Here is a picture of him on one of his walks with Mark. Funny how things like this effect a person. God said we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and also that we are dust.

So it has been hard leaving our family, our dog, our country, our beautiful lifestyle in Australia and tomorrow we have to leave our son. To write this wells up tears in my eyes and we are so grateful to the Lord that he is going to Bible College, but I feel that it is of a great cost to our family as we will be separated by an ocean. Deb and I have had Jen and Jubab for about 23 years now and tomorrow we leave and it will just be the 3 of us again. Deb, me and the Lord. Please pray for us with this looming parting. Also please pray for our son and email him if you get a chance to encourage him. We have been here at the Bible college in Jackson – living in the Bible College guest apartment – for 10 days now and we are greatly impressed by what we have seen here and the people that we have met. There are about 170 students here studying the Word and more than ½ of them are in Jubab’s age group so it will be a fantastic 2 years for him to grow in our Magnificent Savior and make lasting relationships.

Where to tomorrow?? When we leave here tomorrow we will head towards the town were Deb’s Mum and Grandparents came from – Irwin, Pennsylvania. There are 2 churches in that area that partner with us in the work and we will give a report in both of these places and see the beautiful people that the Lord has bought into our lives to be co-workers with in the gospel.

-During this time we are also going to visit Deb’s childhood friend from the Philippines – Kim – who she grew up with.

-From there we go to Florida where we will see other dear friends and speak in another church that partners with us. Once again these people are so special to us and we look forward greatly to seeing them.

-In Florida we will also see my step Mum and we will stay with her - can’t wait !

-Then we meet Deb’s sister Jen and her son Billy who are flying from Australia and take her to see some of her birth family who she has not yet met.

-Then we all go to Ohio to see Deb’s Grandfather and Uncle and cousins – how fantastic!!

-Then back down to Alabama to a missions conference with people who live for missions and then finally back up to Jackson where we will see Jubab again for 4 or 5 days and then we fly out of Chicago for the Philippines on March 1.

When we return to the Philippines we will get settled and back into translation as soon as we can and we pray that we will be able to complete translating the New Testament into Tala Andig within a year. Once this is done we will spend time inserting maps, formatting, glossaries, book introductions etc. etc. and then publish. Our Tala Andig brethren are greatly looking forward to having God’s Word in their hands.

 During this finishing off translation time and after this time we will continue to try to be a blessing in whatever capacity we can to the growing number of churches amongst the Tala Andig and Higaunon peoples. We just want to keep serving our Savior who purchased us with His blood. We want to get to the finishing line! Last week there was a baptism in our first location where we worked from 1989-2000 and then continue to work to the present time in a consultee and shepherding of leadership role. There were about 40 people baptized, elders and deacons ordained and lots of good food eaten – God’s church continues to grow! Praise Him! The pictures are just low resolution so please excuse the lack of clarity.