Two years have flown by because so much has happened. Here's a quick review.
-Moved 12 hours north to Tuguegarao
-Finished Tagalog study
-Found a ministry location
-Found land for our teams houses
-Built our house and our Co-Workers house
-Moved to our ministry location
The list looks short but most of these things took months to accomplish. Finding a ministry location for example took multiple several day motorcycle trips adding up to weeks of our time that were stretched out over months while studying language.
Through it all God has always gone before us, connecting us to the people we've needed to meet. There are days of wondering what in the world we're doing out in the middle of the jungle. What keeps us there is the confidence that we are exactly where God has put us.
We're having a baby! If you haven't heard already, Erin is due December 8th. That means we're coming back to the US for six months.
Late October we'll leave our nearly completed house in the village and fly to Indiana. We'll be there for a few months to have the baby (boy), enjoy family, visit our friends, and have a rest. We began building our coworkers house last September. We've been building for a year now and it's time for a break! Alex is quite exhausted from working in the tropical heat and is looking forward to not living in his worksite. It has been incredible to see two houses go up so quickly in the middle of nowhere. We've been blessed with men of local skill and foreign skill alike. It wouldn't have happened without many hands and the blessing of finances.
After our time with friends and family in Indiana we plan to head to Oregon. We will arrive there in late January and stay for a few months. It will be another time of reconnection and rest.
There are exciting things on the horizon as we start our life in a small village in Northern Luzon. After our short furlough we'll begin learning the language of the people while becoming a 'normal' part of the community. Then, we get to tell them about their Savior in their own language. We're already hearing questions about God and other religions as we work along some of the local men on our houses. It's exciting to say things like, "we'll be sure to talk about that when we start teaching."
Please Pray:
- That none of us get sick while traveling
- Erin is able to stay comfortable on the long flights
- That we find a car to use in Indiana
- For our teammates as they start language study while we're away
