Let the Journey Begin

Recently engaged to the woman of my dreams

Healing

Weekly we hold an outreach to the local garbage dump. For as far as the eye can see is garbage and...Well people. Life here is rough. Many children drop out of school to help support their families by scavenging through the fresh trash and selling anything of value or recyclable items to junk dealers for a few cents. Often times wading through trash up to their knees. Many of them do it in shorts and flip-flops, this is a health concern we have. We often pray for children and adults that have major infections on their feet and legs.

One particular day during our outreach we had a small group of visitors with us from the US. Fired up for Jesus we went looking for someone to pray for. We came upon a young family sitting on the edge of their small bamboo shanty pieced together with items they have found in the dump. The mother was holding a small child in her arms, we approached her and introduced ourselves and asked if we could pray for her and her family. She began to tell us earlier that day, the children were playing when one of the bigger children picked up her son and swung him around. When they stopped her son clasped on the ground. His body limp she rushed him to a local “healer”. The man massaged the child’s neck making it worse, nothing more he could do he sent them away. They had just arrived home minutes before we arrived. Her voice was helpless and the child lay limp in her arms not even able to hold his head up. I fought hard to keep my emotions together as we began to pray for the child. We prayed nearly 30 minutes expecting to see a miracle but saw nothing. We shared with the mother the salvation message and before leaving we gave her a verse of scripture to pray over her child. That evening we struggled to understand God and why He didn’t heal him.

A few days later, we returned to check up on the child only to find him still laying helpless on the floor of their shanty. Earlier God had spoken to us about his sovereignty and that it was his will to heal him. The mother was working in the dump and the father was home so we shared with him the gospel message and he accepted Christ then we prayed for the child again. We didn’t see immediate healing but we knew that God had done something. We left with rejoicing in our hearts that it was God who heals and it is he who chooses how and when. A week ago we returned to the dump to find this little boy running and playing as if nothing had ever happened. I asked the woman what happened and she explained after we came back and prayed with her husband and son that the next few days her son began to gain strength day after day. Now he has not problems with his neck or back. PRAISE GOD!!!


I have realized that it is not me who heals…and that in Gods sovereignty he did not heal the child the first time we prayed because he had more in store for that family! Today not only is the son healed But an entire family has been saved from the pit of hell!!!

Chicken head

Having lived here in the Philippines for the past 3 years I often forget how strange some things actually are, but yet have become completely normal. Like the photos below...

In a VERY modern grocery store I was buying some chicken legs when it dawned on me this would freak many people out. I was actually a little upset to think that growing up in the US, grocery stores have deprived the public our rights to eat any part of the chicken we want!!!...that includes the Chicken heads and feet. I thought the US had equal rights??? I am writing the NAACP! haha Sorry if i have grossed anyone out!

Rain rain on my face

“Rain rain on my face hasn’t stopped raining for day” These words from one of my favorite bands have rung in my ear for the past 6 weeks. Rainy season has set in and boy does it rain! It has rained everyday for the past 6 weeks, some days more than others. It seems that week after week a new storm or typhoons (Asian hurricanes) are hitting the country. This makes for an adventure doing anything. I have seen potholes develop that could swallow entire cars. Not to mention motorcycles. Rainy season is such an unpredictable time of the year I have decided to carry an extra set of cloths in my backpack, for when I get caught in the rain on my motorcycle…Which seem happen quite often. I am grateful to God that I have a sturdy house and it only haves a few leaks Haha, Which is more than can say for the families we work with.
This year it has already flooded their homes multiple times. Often sleepless nights of uncertainty whether their homes are going to be washed away in the flooding or stand against the wind. More terrifying than that is the disease-ridden mosquitoes that breed outside their windows. Dengue fever is a virus that is spread through mosquitoes. Marked by high fever, rash, headache, and sever muscle and joint pain. This can be fatal to babies and small children. Please continue to pray for the safety and health of our children, as many of their immune systems are weak or damaged due to malnutrition.

Save Guimaras

Guimaras (Geem-er ross) Is beautiful tropical island located directly south of Iloilo City. A 15-minute boat ride takes you back in time to the simplicity of life a hundred years ago, farmers tilling their land with water buffalo. Children playing basketball on dirt courts with a basket nailed to a tree. Fishermen mending their nets on the beach while the rest of the families sort the fish. Their Mangoes are known to be the sweetest in the world, and some of the countries most beautiful underwater reefs for scuba diving. Several times a year we hold outreaches to nearly 500 children on the island. This island is a very special place as God has spoken to me here many times during personal retreats. Not to mention it was on top of a cliff here that I proposed to Abegail. The simplicity of life and the livelihood of the families on the entire Island are at stake. Last Friday during a strong storm a large oil taker capsized off the coast of Guimaras dumping 530,000 gallons of oil into the ocean an estimated 20,000 fisherman and there families are directly effected and many more are expect to be added as the oil spill spreads to Iloilo and the surrounding islands. Said to be the worst oil spill in Philippines history and that it will take years to clean up. The majority of the families we work with are dependant on the ocean for survival! Poor fisherman and farmers they are directly affected by this spill. I will be making a visit to the Island this up coming Monday, to see if there is anything we can do to help these families. Please pray for these families that God will take care of their daily needs like food, clean water, and other sources of income for the families

Thailand

Thailand was an incredible trip and I am very excited at what God is doing in and around Thailand, The full story is in the latest newsletter I just sent out. but here are a couple of things I experienced there that I thought you might be interested to know.
• Upon arriving in Bangkok I discovered a 18 hole golf course on the actual airport runway. Means you could probably drive golf balls at 747's as they land and take off and not get arrested for it. haha
• They take and deep fry flowers to eat.
• All you can eat steak, chicken and pork for less then $3
• They have a Buddhist temple on nearly every corner.
• Thai food is almost unbearably spicy to eat (and I eat lots of spicy food) and yet when they get there food they Add 3 or 4 more spoon fulls of crushed chili peppers
• Hot dog venders are a common sight in New York, but in the northeast Thailand Vendors selling deep fried bugs are a common sight.
• I was brave enough to try some of these deep fried critters and…actually enjoy them. (crickets, silk worms, grasshoppers, June bugs, and my favorite scorpions tasted a lot like beef jerky to me)