First Baptism in Karusuan!
HOME!
After many months, the twin engine airplane is finally up and running again and we are back “home” again in north Luzon for a few short weeks! It’s really great to be home after 8 months! We really don’t mind traveling all the time and God has provided many “homes” for us, but it’s always nice to be alone in our home again once in awhile!
RAIN!
Much has happened since we last wrote a couple months ago. We thank you for the prayers for the rain! The drought is over and we are now in full blown rainy season! (however some pilots and workers are wondering if they would prefer to have the drought back!) The gardens are doing great and it’s so nice not to have to haul water anymore! We had to say a sad goodbye to our volunteer gardener, Violaine who returned to France recently, but we are so thankful for all her time and effort in helping us get these gardens off to a good start!
Violaine gardening with LIGHT students
MEDICAL MISSIONARY TRAINING!
Last we wrote we were in the middle of planning a one-month medical missionary LIGHT training specifically to help nurture the newly baptized youth of our area. There were several seemingly impossible challenges that we foresaw and we came very close to canceling it. But we all felt it surely had to be God’s will to have such a life-changing activity while the teachers were available, so we prayed for another 3 days. And through His guidance we decided to move forward in faith. And we are so glad we did! We had 6 dedicated, volunteer teachers and more than 25 students of all ages and backgrounds. One by one God took care of each challenge (students, finances, water, meeting place, approval from the Conference etc.)! He also worked in each student’s life, helping them to grow spiritually and to learn many practical skills, which made us feel that every risk and sacrifice was worth it all! Three of the students who were not already Adventists were even baptized by the end of the month! Thank you so much for your prayers and support that made this and other activities possible!
Students gave all the lectures at a Health Expo as part of their training
POWER OF PRAYER!
Our two mountain mission schools were facing some challenges with the local villagers these last couple months. But as the pressures were mounting on both missionary families in both schools about the same time, and they felt it might be best to just leave, we could only encourage them and pray for them, and for each situation that God would intervene. We praise God that through united prayer, amazing things have happened! One family had already packed their things and taken them to the lowlands and we wondered how we would ever find another more dedicated family to replace them, especially in time for the next school year to start, which was just weeks away. God worked on their hearts and as they went back to spend a few more weeks with the people, they were impressed to fast and pray about their decision. God used the local villagers to explain more to them the true feelings of their people and begged them to stay. We’re happy to say that the family has returned to stay for another school year with new strength and love for the people, and the school is back in session right on time with more students than ever!
BAPTISM!
The other family in the other school (in the newly opened village of Karusuan) decided to join the one-month LIGHT training at our base in the lowlands, since their lives were even being threatened in the mountains by one of the disgruntled villagers. During that time they were spiritually renewed and challenged to return and stay for another school year as well! Their adult students from the mountains continued to grow spiritually (one of them even attended the one-month training with them), and recently 6 of them were baptized! These are the first baptized members of the Karusuan mountain village! The new school year as already started with 30 plus children and many adults as well! What a testimony to what God can do when we unite with others and with Him in prayer! Please continue to pray for the missionaries in these remote areas and around the world that God would give them courage and strength to face the challenges and to continue pressing on to reach more souls for God’s Kingdom! Also pray for more brave souls to join the mission field!
FLIGHTS!
With 4 aircraft flying now, the work is growing! We’ve even started flying in a new area in the very southernmost island of Palawan-- the island of Mangsee that we wrote about in the last newsletter. We’ve made a couple medical evacuation flights for them so far. We continue to pray that we can be a blessing and a light to those people in spiritual darkness. We are taking the necessary precautions, but we do ask for your prayers for safety for our flights to these somewhat dangerous areas. We also ask for your prayers as our monthly expenses are increasing with the added aircraft and flights. Thank you so much for your support that keeps these important projects going!
This remote village has been re-opened to the work of missionaries, thanks to the helicopter
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