Outreach Plans

We had a meeting to discuss outreach today. We smiled for our visa photos and filled out the applications. It was a delight to see Harry and Dee's photos of the Philippines. One photo was particularly interesting as I recognized it from what God had shown me in two different times of prayer...a dirt road with weathered wooden buildings. We are so excited about what God has planned for our time there. Our plane tickets have been reserved. We will leave from Portland, Oregon, September 4 and arrive in the Philippines on September 6. We will share the love of Jesus in many places and in a variety of ways. I am especially looking forward to loving the children of the orphanage. I may just bring some peanut butter in my luggage for them. The peanut butter they have there is not like ours and is so expensive few can afford it, so a PB&J would really be a special treat! We will also be working on a church building that Harry and Dee planted two years ago. I am looking forward to worshipping with the people, they love music; the louder the better. Everyone is welcome to join in. We saw photos of a dog and chicken joining the congregation. Many are so poor yet they give what they have. The offering might include a bag of rice or sweet potatoes. Those who are familiar with outreaches know how important flexibility is, so for right now I will not share a more detailed itinerary except to say we leave to return to the States on November 1.
Lisa

You've Got Mail!

These are words that everyone likes to hear, especially people who have been far from home like us. We are so blessed by those of you who have sent us mail, packages, and emails. Everyone here on the base appreciated us sharing our cookies with them...the Oreos quickly disappeared! The Koreans are very generous to share their care packages as well. We have had myul chi and maleun o jing eo. (Anchovies and dried squid for those unfamiliar with Korean.) We also learned today that it is traditional for the Koreans to be served seaweed soup for breakfast on their birthday. I think I'm safe in speaking for my August birthday girls, Annalise and Alayna, that they would prefer the tradition of their homeland. Bring on the cake and ice cream!

We are happy to share this journey with all of you. But take a minute and reveal yourself. Leave us a comment or drop us an email GardenofGrace@gmail.com so we know who is looking in the window of our lives. We would love to hear from you!

Blessings and love to all...
Lisa

Beach Combing

I can officially say yesterday to the events of this blog. It just turned 12:01a.m. The internet is not playing well in our building right now so there is a delay between when I am composing this and when it will get posted. By the way, I have added a poll question to the blog. A simple one to test it out.

We spent the day at the beach. We drove to Lincoln City’s Road End Beach and a couple spots around Depoe Bay. It was nice. Annalise was initially disappointed that we were not donning our swimsuits, but after a little wading, I think she even realized it was too cold for swimming.

Just south of Depoe Bay we found a neat place to climb around on the rocks. It was neat to explore this new part of God’s creation. I love His creativity. Enjoy the video and the pictures.

For meals, we had a picnic in Lincoln City at the beach. On our way from there to Depoe Bay, we stopped at Dairy Queen and were able to cash in gift certificates from some of our soccer players for a treat. (Thanks, Lauren and Danielle!) To wrap it all up, we had dinner at Mo’s restaurant. Adriana has decided that she enjoys clam chowder and Annalise has discovered scallops.

Friday, the girls’ COD class was part of an outreach to the local community. Some of them went a nursing home and visited with the residents there. The others went to a park downtown and handed out free lemonade. Later they will repeat it so that everyone can participate in both types of ministry.

Grace,

Tom

p.s. As I logged on this morning to post the blog, I got a great report from the Cornerstone Team! Check out the comment from the previous post. Well done, team!!!!!

Healing

This week was an incredible week of team building. Many shared struggles they have had in life and we prayed together. How wonderful to remove the masks and be real and genuine. Words can not begin to express how special this time was. You really needed to be among us to fully understand!

So Long, So Short

Star Wars opens with the scrolling words, "Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away..." That's what looking at this photo feels like. Yet it was only taken in February of this year at our home. The cold, snow, and home seem so long ago. We have been here just over 1 month. Yet, it seems as if we have been here for so long.

As I have thought about what that will mean for our outreach to the Philippines, I grow even more excited. All of our past outreaches have been for just 1 week. In 1 week you are just learning your way around: language, culture, directions, names, everything. We will have 2 months to really learn about the people in the Philippines.

In our training prior to coming to YWAM, the way I was taught to enter a new culture was first as a learner, then a servant, and at some point a story-teller. The emphasis was on getting to know the people and the culture. One week never really gave me the time to develop the relationships - I guess you could say I am a slow learner.

I am enjoying the lifestyle and friendships we are developing here. It has been a breath of fresh air in so many ways. (Except when the septic line sprung a leak yesterday.) I am eager to see what God has in store during the next month and a half in Salem. But even more so what He will do on the Philippine island of Luzon. Did you know that the Philippines is the 12th most populated country in the world?

By the way, our friend Cynthia who was hospitalized over the weekend, has made it back to class. She is still not at 100% and is receiving ongoing medical care, but she is back with us. She came back Monday night.

I am still waiting for a really good email from the Cornerstone Mission Team. But if you take a look at the comments for the past few entries, you will see that their sense of humor remains intact, even if it is at the expense of their former leader.

Grace,

Tom

Catchin' Up

Yesterday morning I woke up early so that I could go to the chapel to pray. It was a nice time. While I was praying, I got the impression the Lord wanted me to take the girls to McDonald’s for breakfast. (No sarcasm or hidden agenda here, I really did feel He was leading me to do so.) So when I came back and woke everybody up I took the girls to McDonald’s. Lisa was able to have breakfast and quiet time (a misnomer lately) while we were gone. The girls and I enjoyed talking on the drive and while we ate. It was definitely a divine appointment at the golden arches.
Then we all went to class. Lisa and I are going through a class entitled the divine plumb line. It has been a good discussion. It is probably premature to discuss right now since we are in the middle of it: perhaps this weekend.

For our small groups, our leaders took us out: guys to Dairy Queen, ladies to Starbucks. What a fast-food day for me. But I must say, the Blizzard was a most excellent treat.

This morning I took Alexie up to the chapel to pray. It was nice to have some time with just Alexie. On our way back down, Alexie commented that she enjoys how quiet and peaceful it is in the chapel. Lisa and I have decided to rotate taking the girls up there for some one-on-one discipleship and prayer. Tomorrow morning Lisa will take Alayna.

After class today, we went to the library to read up on the Philippines. The Salem library has a very neat children’s section. (Rhonda, you would be jealous.) The girls are hoping to visit again when they can “just have fun”. Such is the way with homeschooling, we are going to the Philippines, so we looked into books about the Philippines. Of course, we would have done some of the “fun” stuff, but we had to get Adriana to the orthodontist. That was another blessing. Because Adriana is in the middle of some orthodontic work, our orthodontist at home gave instructions for things he wanted done while we are here. At church here, we asked someone if they knew of a good orthodontist in town. She made a recommendation of a Christian who she thought offered his services at a discount to missionaries. When we got there, he stated that he would provide his services to us free of charge. God is good!

Grace,
Tom

Yesterday was pretty quiet. After church Alexie and In-Suk cut my hair. Later the girls enjoyed playing in the creek.

Please continue to pray for Cornerstone's team in Reynosa, Mexico and our friend Cynthia is still in the hospital awaiting results from testing.