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.

Family Time!

Recently my parents and all but one of my siblings were able to come visit us here in the Philippines! It was a great to see them for the first time in almost a year and to be able to show them our home here in the Philippines.

Not only did we get to go to the beach and other tourist locations, but we also were able to go to the local markets to show them how life is here in Southeast Asia. They really enjoyed the heat and no air conditioning in our apartment! We had a wonderful time and were so encouraged that they came to visit us. We miss them already!

Check out some pictures from their visit below!

Joe

Feels Like Home!

We're back home! We've been back in our house for about 2 weeks now and have really enjoyed getting to cook in our own kitchen, do laundry regularly and spend time with our friends. Here are some stats from the past few months:

3 months & 3 weeks - Time away from home
4850 - Kilometers driven (that's about 3013 miles!)
16 - Villages/Towns slept in the Philippines
3 - New countries visited
1 - Flat tire
175 - Bibles given out by the teams
11 - Modes of transportation: car, airplane, motor tricycle, motorcycle, pedicab, boat, van, jeepney, tractor jeep, ferry, feet

Many new friends!
Many times sharing the gospel in English and Tagalog!

Thanks for following along on our journey and for your prayers! We were blessed to spend so much time ministering to the Waray-Waray people and getting to learn from our fellow Filipino Christians.

Tractor jeepney! Not sure of its real name, but definitely the most unique mode of transportation we've encountered so far!

Receiving Bibles after trusting in Jesus Christ!

A friend of Nehemiah Teams 2012, Dolores Team!