That's all folks!

Time's up! We are saying goodbye to the Philippines now. It doesn't feel like that much time has gone by, and yet when I think about all that we've done in the past 2 years...it's a lot! We are sad to leave our home here and friends who have become our family.

Our Nehemiah Team members are almost home now and we are so grateful for their faithfulness to come and serve with us! God did amazing things in a short amount of time through the teams! Many, many people heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and many people believed in Jesus as their personal Savior. Bibles were given to many people in their own language, the Jesus film was watched in multiple villages and people were baptized. Please pray that seeds planted will grow and that those who chose to trust in Jesus as their Savior would continue to grow in their faith! Also, please pray that the Nehemiah Teams students would live out their commitments to continue working for God to be known by all peoples of the world.

Here's a few pictures of our time with the teams and enjoying break with them last month!

Joe's Nehemiah Team in 2012 spend time studying God's word with Nanay (grandma) and we were able to visit her last summer and again this summer. We enjoyed getting to see her again!

When your boat has to get paddled across by a little girl...

Sharing the gospel on another island!

Exploring caves!

Cliff jumping!

I did it! Took me awhile to jump...

 

Yay! Spiderman!!!!

Nehemiah Teams 2017

We are happy to have 3 teams of Americans and Filipinos out sharing the gospel in many villages for 2 months. They have already made new friends, shared the good news of Jesus, baptized believers, led Bible studies and learned a lot about a new culture. Continue to pray with us for the teams and the people they are reaching! God can do amazing things in just 2 months!

We've been able to visit the teams and join them in ministry. Here's a glimpse of Nehemiah Teams 2017...

Sharing the gospel.

Singing songs and teaching the children Bible stories.

The children are so excited to make friends with the teams - to play games, sing songs and listen to Bible stories.

Some houses are not easy to reach...

Lots of boat rides...

Another Island

What's great about the Philippines is that there is never a shortage of cool new islands to explore! For Joe's birthday we went to check out a new place and enjoy the beauty of the Philippines.

Beginning of 2017

Here's some pictures to show all different things that have happened over the past few months!

Working... enjoying some rest time while out at camp

First Burger King to open in our city!!!

Such a beautiful country! Enjoying the beach with a few waves.

Ministry time with the trainees...

...and also some fun!

Just impressive!

Retreat with the leaders of Filipino Nehemiah Teams

More Visitors!

We were so blessed and encouraged to have our friends come to visit us here in Davao last week! We showed them what our life in the Philippines looks like and also gave them a fuller picture of our ministry here. They got to be a part of Advance Operations Training which trains believers to become church planters and missionaries...giving them a great Biblical basis as well as the tools they need to move forward. Our prayer is that these participants will become leaders within Nehemiah Teams and continue to disciple more disciples as we work to finish the Great Commission in this generation! This means seeing multitudes from every people group around the throne in Heaven worshiping God!

I have been reading lately of all the different kings in the Old Testament and have been struck that so many chose not to follow God. And even the few that did, many of them do not end their lives that way. They were led astray by false counsel and choosing to worship other gods. So even though we are seeing many Filipinos now choosing to follow God in obedience to be missionaries and laborers for Christ, pray with us that they will finish strong! Pray also that Joe and I will too! We want their lives and our lives to be fully God's even until the end. Thank you for being a huge part in what God is doing among the nations by praying with us and for us!

Elizabeth



Here's some pictures of us with our friends!!

Evan and Matt joined us in ministry out in the communities nearby the campsite.

Our Advance Operations Training batch for this year!
This is the group that is being trained to go out to share the gospel among the unreached here in the Philippines and beyond.
Pray for them!

Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year!

This post is coming after all the holidays - which included some busy times and some relaxing times. We were blessed to spend Thanksgiving with my family! So glad that they came out to the Philippines and got to share our hot weather and love for this country :)

Christmas at it's fullest in this mall. Now that it's January, Christmas decorations are finally coming down...after 4 months!

Joe and I bought each other the same Christmas present! Yay for pineapples!

The 1st Burger King in our city (and 2nd on our island) opened this past December!

It seems like time has moved quickly since it's already 2017 and this is the year that we return back to America. From now until the end of our term will be busy with students - training them, supervising them, doing ministry with them... Pray for us to have wisdom in all of our tasks ahead!

Some Recent Thoughts

We've been traveling a lot this fall visiting different areas to make new friends! We've met a lot of alumni who have participated in Nehemiah Teams before...some have done it many, many times! And we've also had opportunities to speak at churches and campuses to mobilize as well as teaching some classes to explain the gospel. Whew! What a fall full of travels...and more to come! But it's been good. I wanted to share some thoughts and some notes I've been writing in my journal lately that might be a glimpse into what our lives have been like lately.

Sometimes I just want sleep in my own bed.
Sometimes I want to eat something different.
Sometimes I want to stay home and not go out.
Sometimes I don't want to sweat anymore...

BUT

All the time God has been with me.
All the time God has helped me with the task.
All the time I have food to eat and a place to sleep.
All the time I am amazed at how God's work is not as difficult as I thought it would be because God has equipped me.
All the time I am amazed at God's people who are serving Him faithfully and have a heart for God's name to be spread across this country and the world.

So after, I wonder why I thought it would be so hard. God gives wisdom. God gives words, energy and joy in His work. This is worth it because Jesus is worth it. He is worthy of all my time and energy; He is worth long days, dusty streets, hungry stomachs, tired eyes. It's not about what I lose, but about what I gain - a better picture of my God, a closer relationship with Him, a better understanding of His love.



Elizabeth

Mobilization done here in this church! Thankful for their enthusiasm about Nehemiah Teams and missions!

Spent the morning before our all day training to swim at this beautiful beach!

Beautiful country...no matter where we travel to!

Joe playing life sized chess with Pastor!

Teaching classes to share the gospel with high school and college students.