NOTE - THIS IS AN OLD POST FROM 2012

November 25, 2012

Palawan again – week of September 9

As I write this at the end of my travels for the year, I am amazed at the work God is doing. Even though it has been difficult for me to travel while trying to maintain a somewhat restricted diet, the Lord has gone before us in our travels and prepared the way.

This update will encompass the scope of my return to Palawan, a visit into 3 tribal areas, and then finally a visit to Mindanao at the end which I will briefly touch on. It will also include some about Ginny and her work at Faith Academy, and how the Lord is doing great things in our lives. We are incredibly thankful for the goodness of God in allowing us to serve Him, and we pray together with you all we will continue to grow in His wisdom, knowledge, and love!

Return to Palawano for a (very) short visit, week of Sept 16...

When I first took on the job of being a language consultant, it was decided that I should always have someone to accompany me, as it greatly helps in the work. This time, our original plans fell through, so we had to scramble to find an assistant for the consultant visit.

The missionary who trained me to do this kind of work, Jody Crain, was returning to the Philippines for his other ministries for only about a month, so we asked him if he would accompany me. In this way he agreed to come and act as my assistant for this round of evaluations.

I went to Palawan ahead of him so that I could fly to our old tribal area first and make a final walk-through of our house there. There I visited with many Palawano friends and our old partners. I have been out of the Palawano language for over a year, but it quickly just came right back! What a blessing to still be able to recall enough to visit with some of my old friends, although most of them were out in their fields working.

Talking to our old partners was an opportunity to catch up on what is going on there, and they told me a little about the teaching and how the people are receiving it. They are teaching a small group in our old village, and then have plans to soon begin teaching in another village downriver from us. And as of the time of this writing, we have just found out that after presenting the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, there are 5 new Palawano believers. Wow, praise the Lord!

After about 3 hours in our old location, we (the pilot and I) flew back to Puerto Princesa. Too bad it was so short, but the weather sets in early there, and we had to leave before the rains came or we would not be able to fly. The next day Jody arrived, and together we flew up to the north end of the island to an area where our missionaries are working in the Tagalog language.

Northern Palawan tribal area...

This area in the North is a bit unique for the Philippines. The missionary who started the work here was hoping to begin a work with the Tagbanua tribal people that lived there. Over the years, more and more Filipinos from other areas began moving in. At first the dominant language was Cuyonin (having supplanted the Tagbanua language), but now Tagalog has taken over as dominant with the influx of even more immigrants. So, when partners joined the original missionaries there, they believed it would be best to do the ministry in the Tagalog language. It is unusual for us to have a tribal ministry which is conducted in the national language, but it fits with the needs of the people in this area.

The other uniqueness of this area is that many of the Filipinos there do not have strong family ties. In the Filipino culture, maintaining strong family ties throughout life is the norm, and often grown children with their wives and their own families will be found living with one or more sets of parents and even siblings. However, the people at this end of the island seem to be group of outcasts (sort of). Since they migrated there for one reason or another, they have managed to loosely sever their family ties back to their respective home areas. Also, because Tagalog is the only common language they all share, they practice it and use it every day, and have become highly proficient in it (even though for most of them it is not their first language).

So in this environment, there is a little church where the missionaries are discipling the believers. The missionary we were there to do a final language check on has not been teaching in the church, because our mission requires close to proficient level of certification before teaching in a church. Instead, he has been discipling one on one with some of the leading men in the church, and the reports he gave about the response of the church members to their preaching have been astounding. He told of one instance where he was going through the book of Romans and talking about things that hold us in bondage. He asked the man he was discipling what people are in bondage to in their area. The immediate response was “superstitions.” The following Sunday, this young man was preaching through the book of Romans on how superstitions were keeping them in bondage and preventing them from fully trusting in God. There was an overwhelming response, as people began to discuss how to throw away their dependencies on amulets, good luck charms, and other superstitions in order to trust in Christ alone.

It is very exciting to see God working in people's lives in this way. The missionary there had been doing very well in language and culture studies, and had very strong relationships with the people in the area. The result of the evaluation was that he was clearly ready to move into a preaching and teaching role as necessary for the church.

While we were there, a big typhoon came through the Philippines and the residual effects in our area were very strong. Huge waves were crashing on the beach, and knowing that we were due in a couple of days to cross that ocean on a small boat, we had some cause for concern. I sent a text message to some Christian friends of ours in Manila asking them to pray for our travels, as the storm did not show signs of letting up within the time necessary for us to cross over to the other island.

When the morning came for us to leave our location and drive across the island to the embarkation point, the weather cleared up, but the ocean was still rough at first. We had a text message from the missionary at our destination saying that he thought the weather was calm enough to make the crossing, and he was proceeding out on his boat with the 2 local boat drivers. We arrived at the pick up point about the same time as he was making land, and by that time the weather and the waves were very calm! We made the smoothest crossing I have ever made to that island in record time, praise the Lord! It turned out that at the last minute the typhoon had turned sharply North, and we were left with clear skies and calm seas.

On the island of X…,

We arrived feeling thankful for the Lord going before us in getting us safe to the island. Back to back evaluations are a lot of work, and here we were working with both Nate and Megan, the same couple that we originally came with to the Philippines over 6 years ago. They are good friends of ours, and so it was really nice to visit with them.

This is a small island that has become a center for trade in squid fishing. The fishing has recently become so lucrative that many people from islands all over the Visayas have moved to this area. However, Cuyonin has remained the dominant language here, even though Tagalog is spoken and understood. One of the local people told me that if a new Filipino moves to the island, that person is expected to learn Cuyonin if he or she wants to have friends. So naturally, the missionaries there are also studying Cuyonin.

This time on the island, we were briefed on the team's plans to soon be teaching the Gospel lessons to the islanders. If you remember from earlier this year, the first missionary there for whom we did a language assessment had already reached his required proficiency level in language, and so has been hard at writing Bible lessons to present to the people. He has worked really hard, so that from the time in which he reached the required level to the time in which the Bible lessons were written has only been about 4 months! This is a very exciting time for the island, because soon the people there will hear the message of Christ, when God reached down to restore His relationship to mankind.

Our consultant visit here was to assist the progress of Nate and Megan in their language acquisition, so that they will be able to help the original missionary with the Gospel teaching. They too have been working hard, and are now both at their required proficiency level. After the assessment, we took a boat back to Palawan, caught a bus back to Puerto Princesa, and flew home. Wow, it was a busy month!

One month of not traveling

The month of October gave us an opportunity to catch up on some needed administrative work with the mission, as well as start working on figuring out what is going on with us health-wise. We are also now into the middle of our 2nd year from when we left the tribe to be based out of Manila, and we have found the right niche for our family life and for the ministry. (This is also the beginning of our 7th year in the Philippines.) Ginny is enjoying teaching missionary kids; we are doing well with our girls at home, and when I am at home I am able to continue to press on in deeper acquisition of the Tagalog language. I have learned more and more about how language study never really stops if you want to get really good in it. We now are developing some close friendships with Filipinos in the area, and are enjoying our time together when I am home.

November saw another round of travels (Mindanao)

In November, I was able to travel down to Mindanao and finish a language evaluation on the 2 missionaries studying Visayan down there, Brian and Brooke. They are opening up our Visayan language program for the new folks that choose to work in Mindanao. It was necessary for Brian and Brooke to reach a required proficiency level in speaking Visayan before they started teaching it to others. They have been working very hard for a long time, and they demonstrated their ability well. This is really good news for us, because now we can proceed ahead with our new missionaries studying Visayan.

Just as a reminder for clarification if this is confusing. Here in the Philippines, there are over 170 languages and 3 principal regional trade languages. In the North, the trade language is Ilocano. In the South (Mindanao) and the Visayan Islands, the trade language is Visayan (also called Cebuano). In Central Luzon and Palawan, the trade language is Tagalog, which is also the national language and is spoken throughout the whole country. In New Tribes Mission, we have 2 national language programs for new missionaries – Tagalog for the North and Central part of the country, and Visayan for Mindanao and the Visayan islands.

The reason we don't have an Ilocano language program is that Tagalog is also fairly strong in the Northern Philippines, enough to warrant its usefulness there and over-riding the need for an Ilocano language program.

However, that is not the case in Mindanao; hence, we have a Visayan language program there. After spending almost 2 weeks in Mindanao, I had some observations to make. First of all, compared to the Northern Philippines where you hear Tagalog and Ilocano whenever you go out, here in Mindanao you don't hear Tagalog and Visayan when you go out. You pretty much only hear Visayan. The people understand and can speak some Tagalog because they learn it in school and watch it on TV, but Visayan is still much more dominant here compared to Tagalog. However, when people found out that I could speak Tagalog, they were very eager to practice it with me, because they don't often meet someone to practice Tagalog with. (This is unlike Manila, where most Filipinos want to practice English with me and so I have to work to find people willing to speak Tagalog.) Apparently in this area of Mindanao, fluency in Tagalog brings possibilities of business and opportunity.

So it was great to spend a couple of weeks in Mindanao – the last time I was there was almost 7 years ago when I took Isaac along with me on a survey trip of the tribes in the area. It is hard to believe it was that long ago.

After finishing the evaluations, we spent a week talking through the details of how we are going to structure the Visayan language program for new missionaries. This was a very profitable time, and we are very thankful for Brian and Brooke spearheading this ministry!

Finally...

And as a final report, remember our friends on the island where I did the check in September? Well, we just received the report that they are now teaching the people through the Bible, in the Cuyonin language. So exciting to see the work God is doing there!

Blessings to you all in Christ,
George for all of us
George, Ginny, Isaac, Sarah, & Abby

PICTURES:



Flew into our tribe one last time, said good-bye :(


Saw that our partners were teaching the tribal people to type on the computer so that they can one day develop their own lessons


Flew up to Northern Palawan to visit a tribal area and do language evaluations on the missionaries there


Here is the missionary with one of the young men who is a leader in the church.


Typhoon came through, was blowing really hard


Waves were too big for crossing the ocean


But when it came time to move, the storm subsided


we crossed in calm seas


Here is the precious missionary family studying on the island and preparing to teach the Gospel


Here we are in one of our sessions where we are talking about the language and culture of the island



They got me to play basketball - the last time I played basketball was in junior high, I think, and they called me dr. J (for dr joke)



We do more than just language assessments - I had an opportunity to help Nate out with his solar electric system


Where they are beginning to let the kids in the village learn to read and write



The family had a pet crow that was very friendly


Lady came by selling a lobster she had just caught


Upon leaving, we said good by and hiked out


hiked through the village


waded across the shallows to get to the boat


rode the boat back across the ocean and headed home


Abby's soccer team won the local select team championship


Sarah's school soccer team took a trip to Taiwan to compete in a tournament


They were tournament champions


All Soul's Day in the Philippines - people spend the day at the graves of their relatives


We also visited the American cemetary to remember the sacrifices of soldiers and sailors


About 50,000 graves here from the Pacific War


I met some Muslims at the airport returning from their Hajj.


Visited a local school in Mindanao


Teaching the kids in a local school about creation, the fall of man, the Garden of Eden


Here we are working on language assessments with a family in Mindanao


Went to the market with this family


Met with another new missionary family, a Korean couple, eager to serve the Lord in Mindanao


One of the poor areas of Bukidnon


Came home and put up the Christmas tree


Getting ready for Christmas!

time to reset this

I have not been consistent about posts on this blog, so I am going to post some of the events since my last post 8 months ago, and then put in a current post.

So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. ~Isaiah 55:11


As I reflect on all that the Lord is doing here in the Philippines, I am amazed at where He has taken us from a little over a year ago. There is so much going on here on the Philippine field in the efforts we are making to bring the Gospel to all the unreached tribal areas. I had no idea a year ago that I would be so intimately involved in so much of the activity here. It is so good to be in the Lord's service!

In my last update I wrote about our trip to one of the tribes up north. My traveling companion was Jun Fabra, who is the head of the Philippine side of NTM here in the Philippines (the side that recruits and oversees Filipino missionaries, whereas I am on the expatriate side).

During that trip, he and I were able to get to know each other pretty well, and so he invited me to be interviewed on the tribal missions radio show,  which is broadcast on Philippines Christian Radio over the whole Philippines every Sunday evening.

Without further explanation, here is my journal entry for that week:

A brief respite – week of September 2

This week was a respite from the intense travel schedule that I was to have for a month, but not in any way a respite from work. The Lord's work goes on always, and so we joyfully labor for Him always!

I actually returned from the north on a Friday, and so it was nice to be home for the weekend and take a break. Saturday afternoon Ginny had gone to Sarah's soccer game (she is the assistant coach – that is one of the ministries at Faith Academy). The bus returned to Faith Academy late, and afterwards Ginny was going to drive home, but she had to drop someone off about a mile away first. About a quarter of the way back, in the middle of a dark road, the car died. She tried to call and text me, but the cell phone networks here just aren't that great, and she could not get through. So she started walking home in the dark.

I was concerned because it seemed like it was taking a long time for her to get back, so I checked my phone and then I got the text message that the car had died, and she thought it was out of gas because it wouldn't start. So immediately I started that way to find her, but she was practically at the door when I was about to leave (tough girl, walking home alone in the dark!) Don't worry, it is not a dangerous neighborhood, and it was still only about 9 pm.

We took the gas can down to the car, and filled the tank, but it still would not start. So, we had to leave it there on the side of the road through the night, and the next day I was able to call the mechanic to come and tow it in. Four days and $500 later with a new timing belt, new valves, and a new head gasket (among others), it was running again. Whew, it is nice to have a working car again!

In other events this week, I was interviewed for a radio program on the Far East Broadcasting Network (febc.ph) about tribal missions. It was a 3 part series that was broadcast over the whole Philippines, a little in Tagalog and I think more in English. There are pictures posted there on the right of me in the studio. I am hoping we can do the radio broadcast again sometime in the spring, this time fully in Tagalog, and maybe another time fully in English. One of the things about the language situation here in the Philippines is that while English will reach a wider audience, it actually excludes a segment of the population that just aren't good enough in English to follow it. But of course if a program is entirely in Tagalog, in like manner that also excludes a segment of the population that only speaks English. The majority of Filipinos are fluent in Tagalog and can understand English, which is why a mix of the 2 is the most popular form of communication.

The FEBC office is at the top of one of the tallest skyscrapers in Manila. That was a nice visit, and I learned quite a bit about their work. Apparently they broadcast over all Asia, not just the Philippines, putting the Word of God out there to unreached areas and making a difference of encouraging believers in difficult and persecuted areas.

<end journal entry>

Click here to listen to the radio broadcast on youtube.

So, it was a busy week, and then I was off again to Palawan to do more language checks! This time I was going with Jody Crain, the missionary who taught me how to do this job, and who is a friend. So it was going to be good to see him again. We had 2 separate locations to travel to, and then I would be able to be home again for a while. I was looking forward to that, because Ginny and I would be able get at least a whole month together before the next phase of travels!

Little did I know how much the world would change in the 2 weeks I was in Palawan, all because of a little tune now known as "Gangnam Style."

Incidentally, one of my other side ministries, that of technical assistance for missionaries, came up for discussion on my previous trip. Our Philippine branch of NTM had recently received a donation to purchase 2 new office computers, and they were interested in installing a Linux operating system (like I use) rather than the traditional Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 or 8. So I made arrangements to give them some technical assistance on installing Linux on their office computers and showing them how to use a Linux based system after my return from Palawan.

We are glad to be able to be a part of what God is doing here for the cause of world evangelization!

Next time - Palawan again, but to other tribal locations!

Here are some pictures from this week:
Click any picture below to view a larger version.


After a week in the jungle, it was back into civilization.


At the recording studio for FEBC where we recorded the radio broadcasts.


From the offices of FEBC, you can see the whole city.


With the President of FEBC


At a birthday party for one of the MKs whose parents live on another island, and he dorms at Faith Academy.


Ginny as assistant coach for the Faith girls' soccer team (Sarah not pictured)


Sarah with teammates on the girls' soccer team


Abby's soccer team

The first leg of fall 2012 travels - Agta tribal ministry

Now that I am finished with about 4 weeks of travels around the Philippines, I am ready to take a rest. It is really good to be back home with Ginny and the kids. I am pretty exhausted as I write this. It was a good all around visit to the tribal areas, working with the missionaries in their respective locations. I am actually slightly ill right now with an upset stomach, but I can't sleep, so I am writing this in lieu of sleeping.

I was just reading John Piper's “Don't Waste Your Life,” for the 2^nd time, and I highly recommend it. He admonishes his readers to learn to live with that single all encompassing passion for the glory of God, which is the glory of Christ. Boasting in the Cross of Christ, because Christ took our sins upon Himself when He was nailed to the cross, and because of this we can now have a relationship with God. Those who do not know Christ, do not know God.

In truth, in my life, I have always found it difficult to keep up that passion when on the valley floor. Mountain-peak experiences are fantastic, but when you get down to the everyday life, it is not so easy to think about living solely for the glory of Christ. It is easy to get distracted – what do I have to eat today? What plans will I make for next week, next month, next year, and after-wards? Yet there is a way to still have that all encompassing passion, even in the daily grind of life by faith. What is it? It is by faith – believing and remembering that we are most satisfied in life when we are most satisfied in God. He is worthy far above anything this world has to offer.

I am going to separate the narration of the last 5 weeks into segments, so as to break them up and make them shorter. I hope that this will make it easier to digest.

The start – week of August 26

At the airport, I met up with Jun Fabra, the head of the Filipino branch of New Tribes Mission. We flew to Tuguegarao, where our helicopter base is. We were able to meet and have supper with the supply buyer and purchase some fruit out in town. We expected the town to be mostly filled with Ilocano speakers; however, the fruit vendor we bought from did not speak Ilocano – only Tagalog. Apparently in the city, it is more useful to have knowledge of Tagalog than Ilocano. This makes for an interesting challenge for our future missionaries, because in the outlying towns and barrios, Ilocano is more useful.

The busy northern town of Tuguegarao

The next day we got up and got in the helicopter, flying over the mountains in the North in order to arrive at the black sand beach where the Agta people live. We did not go there ourselves to evangelize, but to help the missionary become proficient in the language so that he can evangelize and make disciples. “Making disciples” is the key phrase here – this goes beyond evangelism. There is a lot of work in developing deep relationships with people and teaching them how to become a disciple of Christ. Making disciples cannot happen without 2 principle components – a shared language that both people can communicate deeply in, and time spent with each other. 

With Jun Fabra of NTMPI and getting ready to fly

Beautiful black sand beach

Upon landing at the helicopter pad we were greeted by the tribal people, the missionaries with their kids, and all the friendly dogs in the area. (There were also a couple of water buffalo, but they did not pay much attention to us). After a friendly exchange of greetings and saying good-bye to the pilots, the helicopter left and we took our bags to the missionary's house. Now we were here, and ready to get started!

Agta boys playing basketball by the airstrip

But wait, we did not come just to do a job – we are friends with these people! It is an interesting thing in the mission, that we find ourselves living at someone's house in the jungle for a few days to evaluate their language progress, and they have to feed and shelter us. It is pretty easy to get to know people doing this, and the fellowship is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the work. Furthermore, it is a very important part of the evaluation to ensure the missionaries there that we have come to help, not criticize. 

A nice catch of river shrimp for a good snack!

Getting to know the kids and their pet turtle

After spending some time talking over things and talking to their kids a bit, we sat down and came up with the plan for what we were going to do. We had to accomplish the following tasks:

• We would go into the village a couple of times and meet with some of the missionary's tribal friends, let him introduce us, and visit some (while listening and observing the missionary's interactions with his friends there)
• We would come back to the house and go over a questionnaire about the tribal culture
• We would have some specific communication tasks for the missionary to go over with his language helpers, which we would then record and listen to, having the tribal guys translate them back to Tagalog so that we could know how well things were communicated

The whole process usually takes about 3 days for each missionary that is going to be evaluated. It is also very helpful to have another person along (in this case, Jun Fabra from NTMPI) in order to discuss the things observed and develop an accurate rendering of the missionary's level according to our progress chart.

Since this is the ministry assignment I have been given, both in the national language study for new missionaries and in the tribal areas for missionaries studying the tribal languages, I would appreciate your prayers for all of our ongoing evaluations. It is of supreme importance that when missionaries come to the Philippines, they are able to connect with Filipinos and learn to love and appreciate the culture of the ministry God has called them to. It can also be a bit discouraging to have someone from the outside come in to your area and tell you that you are doing lots of things wrong. So I appreciate your prayers that I will exemplify grace to my fellow missionaries when I go on these ministry trips, so that they end up encouraged and helped, knowing they are heading in the right direction.

Discussing the day's events

Going over language tasks with the Agta language helpers

This is an exciting time for the Agta tribal ministry. The missionary there is just on the edge of reaching teaching level in the language!

At the end of our time up in the North, I was able to meet with the other 2 members of the missionary team there. The first one is building his house and will soon move in with his family. We were able to talk about his strategy for getting ready for learning language in that area. The second missionary there that I talked with reached level in the Agta language a couple of years ago. He has already taught once through the Gospel lessons and is continuing the work there. We talked about strategies for sustaining his language and the work they are doing in the church. He also asked for help on how to re-configure his solar electric system, so I was able to offer some practical advice there.

Visiting at a local house

Public transportation in the village

The last part of the assist visit was to come up with recommendations on how and what the missionary should study in order to reach that final proficient level. We were able to do this, and communicate these things to him before we left. The helicopter came in, picked us up, we said good-bye, and then we left. After landing at our helicopter base, we drove over to the airport, boarded a plane, and returned to Manila. The plane flight to Manila took about 45 minutes; the drive through Manila traffic from the airport to our home was 3 and a half hours.

It was good to be home, even if it was only going to be for a short time.

As the helicopter comes in, a baby water buffalo (carabao) gets spooked and runs off

Getting ready to leave and say good-bye

PS - Just one thing to add and ask for your prayers about. I have had gastric reflux for some time. This past summer it flared up again, and after going through 3 courses of the medicine, I was getting no relief and had pretty regular pain in my chest. So I decided to change my eating habits to a rigid, gluten-free and grain free diet right before going on this trip. All of a sudden I was pain-free. However, this sort of diet is impossible to keep on these types of ministry trips, since most normal people don't eat that way, and I have to eat their food when I stay in their homes. So I would appreciate your prayers as we schedule our travels for next year and we adjust our diet in our home.

Next time: A week's respite

 

fierce hunters

Piling rattan on a boat for trading up the coast

The boat is now loaded down and ready to get underway

The Epp family taking a swim break in the ocean

The missionary teaching one of the tribal men to give medicine to his baby

2012 Spring Travels

Tinanong sila ng mga lalaki, "Bakit ninyo hinahanap ang buhay sa lugar ng mga patay?     Wala siya rito, siya'y muling nabuhay! Alalahanin ninyo ang sinabi niya sa inyo noong nasa Galilea pa siya,    'Ang Anak ng Tao ay kailangang ipagkanulo sa mga makasalanan at ipako sa krus, at sa ikatlong araw ay muling mabubuhay.'"
Lucas 24:5-7 (Magandang Balita)

This verse in Tagalog translates back to English like this: The men [angels] asked them, “Why do you search for the living in the location of the dead? He is not here – he has come to life again! Remember what he said to you when he was still in Galilee, 'The Son of Man needs to be betrayed to sinners and then nailed to the cross, and on the 3rd day he will come to life again.”

As we celebrate the resurrection of Christ this Easter, we are so thankful for the sacrifice God has given! I was challenged this week to imagine how exceedingly amazing God is, and how He is working all the time on behalf of His glory to bring the message of His reconciliation to all the world, every tongue, tribe, and nation!

Here in the Philippines every year there are re-enactments of the crucifixions, as people try to do penance for sins in their past lives. Yet our focus is on the resurrection – that the sacrifice is complete and our sin-debt was paid in full, which God accepted and demonstrated to us by raising Christ from the dead!

I would also like to say how thankful we are that so many of you have been willing to continue to support us as we serve the Lord here in the Philippines! God is so good, and though we have had to wrestle with many things over the past year, we are so thankful to feel the Lord's hand carrying us through it all!

Filipino Wedding
The beginning of March had Ginny and I as sponsors in a Filipino wedding! We were called “ninong” and “ninang”, which means godfather and godmother. Filipinos have godfathers and godmothers for their weddings, so this was a great chance to participate with some Filipino friends. The young man who asked me to be his ninong was one of the security guards at the condo units where we lived from August to December. On the morning of the wedding, we picked up the groom and several of the wedding party and drove out to the house where the reception was. There they filled us with a delicious Filipino breakfast – rice, dinuguan (pig blood soup), chicken livers, and other assorted offal! Afterwards we went down to the magistrate's office, where they had a civil wedding (everyone there was very nice!) Then we went back to the bride's family's house for a nice reception, which had lots of food again, and we had a great time. It was a day spent entirely immersed in the Filipino culture and language, which was very enjoyable for us.

Language Consultant Travels
Now that we are no longer in a full time tribal ministry, my job is to help missionaries in various places learn their new language – as a field language consultant. In New Tribes Mission, we are always seeking to give missionaries in their locations any help we can possibly give them to enable them to continue living there, ministering in the tribal language and culture, and to improve their language skills so that they can teach the Gospel clearly.

Every field in New Tribes has a consultant program, except that here in the Philippines our main consultant recently returned home to the USA and is very busy with other ministries He has been travelling back to the Philippines twice a year every year for the last 4 years, and is now ready to hand over the work to someone else. So, the field asked me to take over the job of doing language consultancy in his place. Over the past few months I have trained under his instruction on how to coach missionaries in the task of language and culture study, and now I am full time in this new ministry. What this means is that I will travel to all the places where missionaries are studying the tribal languages and coach them in their language learning techniques. With an assistant travelling alongside me, we also assess the missionary's progress in what level of fluency he or she has attained.

This ministry is very important to the work we are doing here in the Philippines, because we still have a tremendous amount of work to do to bring the Gospel to all the unreached areas of the Philippines. The church has made much progress in recent years, but there is still a long way to go.

This past month I travelled to Palawan twice to do an assessment on 2 different missionaries in their tribal ministries. The first was in a village where Agutaynen is the main language. The missionary here has been studying the language for a few years, and their team has already planted a church. When we arrived, we spent some time with the family first, and were able to enjoy the good food they cooked for us! One nice thing about going to visit missionaries in the tribes is they always have some good cooking available for us! Then we worked with the missionary and his language helper there for about 3 days, observing his interactions recording some communication tasks.

Now even though we are “New Tribes Mission,” the Agutaynen language group is not really a “tribe” in the sense of being jungle people. The Agutaynens are Filipinos that have their own language, and many distinct elements of their own culture. They are mostly seafaring fishermen, but they also farm rice for a living. Before these missionaries arrived there, there was no understanding of the Gospel of Christ, because there was no exposure to Biblical teaching. Now after studying for a long time, a second missionary has passed language checks in this area and is transitioning into a teaching and discipleship ministry. That is what the Great Commission is all about – making disciples of all nations!

Two weeks later I was back in Palawan again, checking another missionary from another language group. He is ministering to a mixed group of Tagbanua and Cuyonin people on a small island North of Palawan. We had travelled there last November to do a check, and if you remember, the missionary was very close to teaching level. We had given him some assignments to complete in a time period of about 5 months. Well, he completed the assignments within 4 months, even with breaks in between, and was able to pass his language checks also. Praise the Lord! Now we have another area of the Philippines that will soon be hearing the Gospel of Christ!

Family and other News
So now we are pressing on to the finish of Isaac's senior year. Please pray for us over the next 2 months because we have some big decisions we have to make regarding Isaac's plans for next year. In the meantime, Ginny is teaching at Faith Academy, while Isaac, Sarah, and Abby are studying to finish out the year. Also Sarah has a track meet in Japan as I am writing this email, so please pray for her to have safe travels. Over the next 2 months I will be doing language assessments on the missionaries that are in National Language study,  to help them to get to where they need to be before moving on to other ministries. We have 4 families in national language study right now.

Please remember the Palawanos in your prayers! Our partners are teaching Bible lessons now, so please pray for open hearts to the teaching!

God is really good and we are very thankful for Him. We miss the tribal people, but we see so many confirmations that where we are now is right in the center of the Lord's will. We are now able to help out more tribal ministries get to where they can better preach, teach, and make disciples, and we are very thankful for the privilege of being able to serve in this way. We also thank you all so much for your continued generous prayer and financial support in allowing us to remain here.

Blessings to you all in Christ,
George for us all
George, Ginny, Isaac, Sarah, and Abby

PS – I was able to go with Isaac and some friends of his in the boys' dorm to Corregidor where we hiked around and looked at the ruins of the old US military base. One of our group noticed while swimming at the beach that something pointy was sticking out from under the sand right close to the shore. So he began digging and it turned out it was some World War 2 unexploded ordnance – a 1000 lb shell, probably from a ship that had been shooting at the fortresses on Corregidor. Follow the picture links below to see more of our Corregidor pictures.


some family and event pictures
Corregidor pictures
Language Consultant travel pictures


At a Filipino Wedding - A civil wedding performed by a magistrate rather than an expensive church wedding


Having fun as a family


Enjoying some Asian cuisine


Visiting neighbors of a missionary while doing a language consultant visit.


Preaching in Tagalog at a local Filipino church


The Pacific War Memorial - let us never forget what we fought for


Isaac standing in front of a World War 2 unexploded shell that we dug up on the beach.