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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.

D-day looming!

New family in Christ in Balintad singing praises!!

Well next month we leave Australia (Lord Willing) and take Jubab onto the USA to Bible College, visit our family and friends over there and then we head home to the Philippines. In 2014 we came home for 3 years for Jubab to complete his high school and that is exactly what God has allowed. He has been so gracious to us.

Translation wise:

*God has given us hugely good progress and we have reached our October goal and are completed up to John 8:40 .

*In November we will complete up to the end of John 12. Translating God’s Word has meant lots of long hours for us but it has been a joy for us to be in His word each day and we have learned SO SO much. – It has just been so good.

So where to from here: Key Dates.

November 3 – Jubab does his final HCS exam.

November through December 2 – We continue translating.

December 4-14 – We pack up our house, store our belongings and move to Brisbane.

December 15-30 – Christmas and time with friends and family.

December 29 – Fly to Detroit, Michigan, USA to take Jubab to Bible School.

From there we visit Deb’s Grandpa who is almost 95 now, Deb’s uncle, aunt and cousins and my step Mum as well as many dear friends. Then we see Jubab once again and depart for the Philippines.

Thanks for praying and giving and encouraging us in the Lord’s work. We continually praise our Lord for the family and team that He has placed us into for the work of the gospel and for the translating of God’s word into the Tala-Andig language.

We anxiously await being reunited with our Higaunon and Tala-Andig family in the Lord!

Just two months left.....

First of all, thanks so much for praying for us for yet another month. Things are going well with the translation and we hit our target of getting up to the end of John chapter 5 last month - PTL. Our target for October is to get up to and including John 8:40. There are some chapters in John that are very long. We are greatly enjoying our work as we are learning so so much and drinking it in.

We just have 2 more months of translation left before we finish up for the year. On December 4 we will begin (Lord Willing) to pack up our house and move some of our things into storage and ship the rest to the Philippines. Actually we have already begun shipping some things to the Philippines. Sometimes what we are facing seems a bit daunting but then we are reminded that we just need to complete each day what the Lord has for us. In a way we feel like we are young people again going off to the field for the first time.

Jubab has exams starting next week and they will go for 3 weeks. Please pray for him. I will paste his exam times on the end of this. For the rest of the year he will be preparing for Bible College also and then leaves us in January. 

Then a bright note on ministry in the Philippines. The scripture teachers are teaching in more than 14 schools now and many kids have been saved and are getting saved on a regular basis. Please pray for these scripture teachers (mostly women) who number over 50 – that God will use them greatly and that they will be encouraged and inspired in their work. (The ladies in the picture above are the combined scripture teaching team from the Cauyunan and Tumpagon churches.)

We also have 3 construction projects also on the boil at this time: a church kitchen on the Cauyunan Church building, an assembly area for the Migpait primary school and a church building in the village of San Miguel where there are many new believers. Please also add these construction projects to your prayer list as well that God will give safety to all the builders and that the materials will arrive at the building sites with no major hold-ups.

 Jubab’s Exam Timetable:

Oct 13, 10.20AM - Advanced English Exam 1

Oct 14, 9.25 AM  - Advanced English Exam 2

Oct 21, 1.55 PM  - Advanced Mathematics

Oct 31, 1.55 PM  - English Extension 1

Oct 31, 9.25 AM  - Physics

Nov 3,   1.55 PM  - Drama

Its been awhile......!

It has been awhile since we’ve sent an update out so we just wanted to write a quick note to let you know how the translation is going. We’re actually a week ahead of schedule which is amazing! We started trying to increase the number of verses we were doing each week and ended up totally exhausted last week so we had to slow down a bit, but we are now translating our second last book of the New Testament which is the book of John and the last book left to translate after this is Matthew.

Our goals for this month of September are to finish up to and including John chapter 5. There are long chapters in the book of John and lots of details that are not in the other Gospels – we are loving our study of this book as we work on the translation. How privileged are we that God has entrusted us with this work!

This month is full of family excitement for us: Jubab turned 18, he graduates from High School on Sept 22 and has no more classes after that…..just preparation at home for his HSC exams.

Preparations are getting underway for the end of the year when we are planning to take Jubab to Bible School and then to head back to the field. Boxes are being packed, things being sorted……it is an exciting new step in our lives as missionaries because 30 years ago, God took us to the field to start the work He had for us and now He is taking us back for a new and exciting stage. These next years will fly by as Lord willing we finish and print the Tala-Andig New Testament, travel amongst the churches strengthening and establishing the church leadership and help them work through the increasing changes of the times like internet, facebook, paperwork and many other new things that are quickly coming into their lives.

Well, the translation team in Lapoc is on skype, we have to go and focus on today’s portion of John. 

WE LOVE YOU – our team, our partners in the Gospel, our prayer warriors, our fellow-labourers…….you are just so vital to the work God has chosen our team for over in Lapoc, Cauyunan, Tumpagon, San Aquino, Ricodo……and all the other places.