tribal trekker

Thursday, July 23, 2015

1 week back and just past jetlag

We are now back in the Philippines! Our flight was pretty brutal, as these long flights always are. There was not enough food for us on the plane, especially since I now have to follow a gluten free diet. My stomach is doing ok, doesn't hurt too bad. However, control of food is a huge challenge while travelling.

The big thing was, being back in Manila. I will kind of give a play by play of my first day here, and then continue about a week later.

First day Morning – We slept our first night at the NTM guest house after arriving by taxi from the airport. We got to bed about 1:30 am and slept pretty well, having traveled for about 30 hours straight. Around 7:30 am, after getting up and getting refreshed, went down to breakfast. Saw that the international consultant team happened to be here at the same time, but they are all leaving tomorrow. Too bad – I would have liked to have spent more time with them. But it is good – another reason to move forward with what we are doing with gusto (that could either be an English “gusto” which means strength and energy, or a Tagalog “gusto” which could kind of mean “desire”, although the word is not usually used by itself).

After breakfast – went over to the admin office to make arrangements for acquiring our visas. We needed to sign some papers. No big deal.

Next – My first task is to acquire new sim cards for our cell phones, so that we can contact the people staying in our rental house and make arrangements to get our car. There is a new mini-mall just across the street from the guest house. It was built in the past year while we were gone. I went over there at 8:30 am to get new sim cards for our phones, only to be reminded that malls open at 9 am or later.

So I walked to the 7-11 to see if they had any sim cards. They did, but not the network that we prefer. Returned to the guest house to finished processing some of our papers.

9:30 am – went to the mall again. Crossing the street is always a challenge here. You have to stand by the side of the road and wait until the cars seem like they are slowing down enough to stop. Because the traffic enforcers (traffic cops) at the corners have to focus on the vehicles, they inevitably always let the opposite lane through when the other is stopped. And so, there is never a good time to cross. You stand there and wait until one of the lanes is almost stopped, at a point when the other hasn't started moving yet, and try and dash across. But add to this the fact that everyone ignores the crosswalk, so you actually have to weave in and out between the cars that are on the slow moving side, between lanes, and avoid the motorcycles (that are trying to zip between cars) in order to get across safely. It is a bit like playing the 1980s video game “frogger,” except that in this game, you only get one life.

At the mall, I started talking to the gal selling the sim cards, and as usual she was very surprised to see a foreign looking person approach her and speak her language. I have found that now when I approach people and just automatically start into Tagalog, they usually respond in Tagalog. That is a good sign – shows I must sound at least close to natural, even if I know I am not all the way natural. I did have one person on the airplane yesterday assume that I was a native Filipino, which I took as quite a big compliment. I hope to significantly improve my Tagalog this year as I get into my work.

But most of all, speaking their language is one of the best ways we can show the people here the love of God – we care enough about them to learn the language that is most meaningful to them.

So after getting the sim cards and the groceries for the day, I received an answer from the family that had been sub-renting the house from us. They were ready to come out and meet us at the house as soon as we could get out there. Ginny and I took public transportation (a combination of multi-cab taxis and buses). The traffic is especially bad now due to lots of road re-blocking, construction, and expansion, and it took us almost 2 hours to arrive out at our house.

After starting to set up the house and eating, I got ready to drive back to the NTM guest house in order to bring our suitcases out. This is where traffic becomes a nightmare. It was bumper to bumper traffic from here in Cainta until all the way down to the guest house in the metro, and it took me about 2 full hours.

There we packed all our suitcases into our little truck, and it took another 2 and a half hours to drive back to our house! All in the day after we arrived in the country. Wow. I was pretty beat.

Thursday, July 23 – one week later
We have been here just over a week now! I am finally getting past jet lag. The first few days after arrival were a real blur. We wanted to get into our house right away, because that way we could start getting unpacked and set up for the work that the Lord has us here for. So, we made it out to our house the day after we arrived, and it was an exhausting day.

The next day we spent mostly sorting through some of our things, and pulling some things out of storage. Wow, there was a ton of mold all over lots of our things in storage. I don't even want to begin to describe it. Some things were basically ruined, like my old motorcycle mask. But mostly things were fairly well preserved because the mold was only on the outside of boxes, and not on the inside. You could smell the mold, though, and going down into the basement took a lot of courage because the lights were broken, and by flashlight all we could see on the floor down there were what seemed like hundreds of dead cockroaches (it was probably only like 20, but I hate cockroaches and any more than 2 seems might as well be a thousand).

As far as the lights not working, I didn't know if the problem was the fixture, the switch, or the bulb. So when we went to the store I bought replacements for all 3. That was a good thing, because they all ended up needing replacing. My tools were buried down there in the dark, so I had to brave the cockroaches and spiders to get my tools before starting the job. Once we got the lights working down there again, we were able to get our stuff out and start getting the house ready to live again. Wow, there were a gazillion dead cockroaches down there. Did I already mention that? Well, dead ones are better than live ones. I am so thankful for the amazing invention of the shop-vac! Those cockroaches were gone real fast once I got that thing working!

Once we got that sorted out, I focused on my motorcycle. It had to go to the shop for a tune-up and an oil change, but that was easy and quick. Now that I have my motorcycle up and running again, I will be able get through traffic much more efficiently! Please pray for my safety in riding through Manila!

So this first week has basically been just getting our house and lives in order for us to be able to live here again. I am making a consultant trip to another island in a week, and after that we plan to get settled into a routine. Ginny has now been able to start getting her classroom set up to teach the kids at the MK school, and we are back to cooking with my restricted meal plan!

We are so thankful that the Lord allows us to continue to serve here, and that you all are a part of what we are doing! We love the Philippines and cannot imagine how blessed we are to have been allowed to return. Remember us in your prayers, as we remember you all in ours!

Blessings in Christ,
George

This was Austin traffic before we left. Compare with Manila traffic below. I don't really know what to say.

It was great to see family on home assignment. We said good-bye until next time!

Back at our house on the balcony overlooking Manila. Yay!

Huge spider in the basement. Boo! No pictures of cockroaches allowed.

This is during light traffic hours. Imagine what heavy traffic times are like! So glad I ride a motorcycle!

Another view of traffic, from a foot-bridge above. Notice the motorcycles weaving between cars.

Friday, April 3, 2015

21 States, 5488 miles

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. ~ Hebrews 12:3

21 states, 7 speaking invitations, multiple prayer fellowships, 5488 miles, priceless friendships, and countless blessings. This has been our work for the past 6 weeks! We hit the road on February 20th to go to Carlsbad, then stopped back at our house for a few days before heading out again on March 4th. Since then we have been driving, stopping, driving, stopping, etc.

We had 3 purposes for making this trip. Our 1st purpose was to share about what God is doing in the Philippines and how we have been a part of that for the past 8 years. Our 2nd purpose was to share about the role we believe He has for us as we prepare to return. Our 3rd purpose was to raise awareness of the need for financial support of this ministry in order for us to continue to serve Him in the Philippines.

Now that we are finished and back home, I will highlight some of the more adventurous moments of the trip. The car we were using was generously loaned to us by a friend in Temple, who also paid for replacing the radiator before we left. Our trip to Carlsbad was without incident, as we enjoyed driving across the desert in West Texas and spending time with friends we had not seen in over 8 years. The churches there sent us off with much prayer and fellowship, so that we left encouraged and ready.

After 5 days back at home to prepare for the big leg, we left March 4th. A big storm came through Dallas as we were driving North, and then we hit snow and ice in Missouri. Our last hour and a half in Missouri was going slow on small country roads to reach the New Tribes Mission Training Center just outside of Camdenton. I was able to encourage the missionaries in training there with a message about walking closely with Christ. After speaking there, we headed out to Lynchburg to spend a few days with Isaac and Bethany. This was a wonderful time – being able to see our kids where they live and are going to school. We had some chances to hike, and we stayed in a very nice bed & breakfast in Lynchburg run by a wonderful Christian lady (called House of Lydia – highly recommended)!

One highlight of our time with our kids was going to see the home of Thomas Jefferson – Monticello. He was an amazing man – one of the many visionary people that founded our country. He is a bit of a historical enigma – not exactly Christian as we would define it today, but probably within the realm of Christendom during his time. Neither was he wholly Deist, as history's revisionists would like us to believe. In any case, we should never forget our heritage, as it is one of the blessings God has bestowed on our country which has been of great benefit to so many today, and is one of the reasons we have the freedom to worship as we do without persecution.

The evening before we were supposed to leave Lynchburg, I noticed that coolant was pouring out from underneath our car. Oh my, we had already replaced the radiator – what could be wrong now? It turned out there was a cracked t-joint in the coolant lines, but the auto parts stores nearest Isaac and Bethany's house didn't have a replacement. I had to drive to the dealer across town, and halfway there all the engine coolant was gone and the engine started to overheat. I had 2 gallons of cold drinking water in the back, and I poured those into the radiator (not knowing at the time you aren't supposed to do that). This enabled me to arrive at the dealer before they closed and purchase the spare part I needed from them. It took about 2 hours to install by hand, but I managed to get it done by the Lord's grace, and we were able to take off on time the next morning.

From there we drove North, stopping in Maryland to spend the night with Ginny's uncle and aunt. What a great time of fellowship - we had not seen them in nearly 15 years! He also is an automotive engineer, and he advised me to have the radiator flushed again, since I had only filled it with water and we were heading further North where the temperature was still below freezing.

It was at that location that I realized something that I believe is important for us all to remember – an encouraging moment in the midst of dark times. In our country we often feel that our faith is under assault from many directions. Islamic terrorists murder and enslave Christians without remorse overseas, hoping to provoke a religious war. The world does not love Christians, and it never will. At home in our own country, we are often are labeled hate mongers because, while believing in a God who loves and forgives sinners, we cannot call something good which God says is wrong. So we stand up for the Biblical definition of marriage in a world that wants to cast down all restraints on public morality, and we are labeled with the most vicious of terms for this. Can we resist the force of public opinion that continues to marginalize us for what we believe? The world continually tries to remake God in man's image, and today they are pressuring us to agree with them.

Yet there in Maryland as I meditated on these things, I was surprised by the polite and humble way in which the mechanics at the auto shop worked on our car, turned it back over to me, said “God bless you on your trip,” and sent us off. That simple event reminded me that God still has His people here, all through our nation, well integrated into our whole society, and He has not forgotten. He works all things after the counsel of His own will, and though we may not understand why some things happen, we can trust Him. He will work it all out in the end. We can go through each day without fear, knowing that we are loved by our heavenly Father, and have been promised an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and does not fade away (1 Peter 1:4). We can also pray that those around us who do not know Him will soon come to faith.

So we pressed on, stopping in upstate New York near Albany, and spending time with an old friend from high school there. Our fellowship was warm, and the air was cold with snow still on the ground. After sharing with the church there, we also went to Boston to see supporters and friends, where it was still cold and more snow, but we had a wonderfully encouraging time with them. We then went back to New York, saw some precious cousins along the way, and got to spend a day in the Big Apple, and spent more time with old friends. When we left there, I noticed the radiator had leaked some more, so this time I bought some radiator stop leak additive and poured it in. Since then, it seems to have been ok!

The cold finally got to us when we stopped again in Maryland. We had hoped to take a day to go into Washington DC, visit the Smithsonian and some memorials, but it couldn't happen. A cough and a fever took hold of Ginny and Abby, and so we rested at the house of some other friends and tried to recover. It was what we needed. Before we left, we were able to share the ministry at our friends Bible study meeting. After that, we drove to Virginia Beach, stopped at the historic battleship, the USS Wisconsin, and then rested again for a few days.

Our last event before leaving to take the drive home was to preach at a church in Virginia Beach on Palm Sunday. What a blessing, to be able to share from the Word of God, and also to be able to share about our ministry, bringing the Gospel to the unreached people of the Philippines, and especially to the Palawanos. Now that we are back in Texas, we shall be earnestly preparing for our return to the Philippines. We still have many places to visit and many people to see before we go back, but the time has now begun for us to ready ourselves once again!

This is Holy Week. A year ago at this time I took our daughter to see the crucifixion re-enactments in Pampanga. It is hard to believe the year has gone by so fast! We have so little time on Earth before we will have to stand before God and give an account for everything we have done here. Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, a symbol of peace to the world that He was coming to forgive and redeem His people, not to conquer. The Prince of Peace was executed as a criminal with great shame. Yet he rose again from the dead, showing that God had accepted His sacrifice, and forgiven our sins against Him. Our faith started with commands of peace, commands to love our enemies, and a call to believe. So we press on with this call in front of us.

The scripture clearly indicates that Jesus' kingdom will not go away, while all the other inventions of man will eventually burn. Let us not lose faith in our Prince of Peace. As it says in the book of Hebrews, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

PS – I might mention that our co-worker Elise just wrote about the recent Palawano graduates of the high school where she has taught for the past few years. Many were able to stand up and give a testimony of their faith in Jesus Christ to unbelieving family and friends who were there at the graduation. It was a real blessing to see what God has done and is continuing to do among the Palawanos!

Pictures - these are not necessarily in chronological order, but it is a good sampling of some of the things we saw and did on the trip. The Lord allowed us to re-connect with many folks and share about the ministry He has called us to along the way. We are very thankful!

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Across the country 2015

How do you restart a blog in the middle of a trip? This is day 10 of our journey across the country, seeking to share the vision of what God is doing in the Philippines with those who might be willing to participate. This past week we took a little break from this adventure, spending some time with our son and his wife here in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Our first leg of the journey actually had us in Carlsbad, reconnecting with our churches and friends there. They sent us out again, renewed in fellowship, and trusting in the Lord to ultimately heal us so that we can continue the journey.

Our second leg of the journey took us through much snow and ice, where we remained cold for 3 days at the Missionary Training Center in Camdenton. We were able to share with the students there about how the Lord desires a deep relationship with us, and it is only by this that we can make disciples in another country, in another language. How many there are who head out, desiring to follow God with their lives, and they end up placing their security in the ministry they are doing instead of the one who gave it to them. I am so thankful the Lord has led us to where we are now, and forgiven me for the times I have tried to do things in my own strength.

After Missouri, we headed out to Lynchburg, Virginia, stopping once overnight on the highway. The weather has started to warm up, which we are thankful for, because if we were trying to do this with the roads covered in snow and ice, it would be very dangerous.

Our week in Lynchburg was great, as we were able to spend good time with our kids here. They are happily enjoying married life as a young couple, and it was great to just be with them. We also had wonderful fellowship with the Christian lady who ran the bed & breakfast where we stayed – House of Lydia. All of these things are part of the big picture of what God is doing as He goes before us. We were able to share with people everywhere we go about the work that God is doing in the Philippines.

Now after a few days in Lynchburg, which was mostly focused on personal time with our son and his wife, we are heading further North, to arrive in New York tomorrow. Thankfully, the Lord alerted me to a problem in the cooling system of our truck we are borrowing yesterday afternoon, just before we were supposed to leave. There was a cracked t-joint, which caused all the coolant to leak out and the engine to overheat. I went to 2 different auto parts stores to find a replacement part, but they were out in both places and sent me to the dealer. They had a replacement part at the dealer, but it was not exactly the same as the one that cracked. The connections on the replacement t-joint were slightly bigger than the one that cracked, so the hose would not connect to the new t-joint. Or at least, I wasn't strong enough to push the hose on. Fortunately, one of the strong mechanics was there and was able to force the hose onto the t-joint so that I could install it and get the system back up and running. It took several hours, but we finally got it going.

I am so glad all that happened before we left, and not while we were on the highway! I was reminded of the Lord's faithfulness in going before us, and that I can have confidence in His provision for us as we go along the way. This is the sort of thing that He does – gives us little reasons to trust Him, so that when the big thing happens, we are prepared and ready.