Illegal Immigrants

As of today, we no longer hold valid visas for our stay in the Philippines. Does that makes us illegal immigrants? Illegal immigration is a matter of great argument in my home country. I will skirt around all of that for now and just say that our situation is a matter of prayer and not contention.

Technically, we are not illegal. We have submitted our applications for extension and are awaiting a response from the Bureau of Immigration. This makes us legal, on a technicality.

So what do you call someone in a foreign country that does not have a current visa? Invalid immigrants? Overdue immigrants? Naughty nomads? I don't know.

For now, I will refer to our situation as interim immigrants. By God's grace, we have never had any problems having our visas approved or extended, aside from the joys of bureaucracy and the confusion that it mandates. But as we wait, we pray, and ask you to pray with us, that we will soon hear that our visas are approved so that we can continue to minister in the Philippines.

Grace,
Tom

Dance to the Lord

It is such a blessing that we are a family of missionaries rather than a missionary family.  Not only do our girls participate in ministry with us, they often have ministry of their own.  The following two videos are interpretive dances that Alexie and Alayna did at our church.

This second dance was completely choreographed by them.  What a joy to see our girls using their giftings to bring glory to God!

What About the Philippines

This summer at the World Pulse Festival, we asked a few people what they knew about the Philippines.  Here is the result.  Based on the laughs we heard when we showed it to our friends here in Bontoc, they certainly enjoyed it.

What About the Philippines?

Traveling Show

While we were on furlough in the US, friends answered a prayer of ours by providing the equipment we need to be able to take Gospel movies to the people to whom we minister.  The equipment is lightweight, portable, and battery powered.

This weekend I had the first opportunity to put it to use.  I traveled with Pastor Rudy to the village of Chapyosen to show the Jesus film.  In the picture below you can see the equipment that is lying at the turn-around in Can-eo which will bring electricity to Chapyosen in the months to come.  But as for now, it is a place without electricity.

Utility poles and cables staged to take electricity to Chapyosen

We drove from Bontoc to Can-eo which takes about 45 minutes when the road is good.  From Can-eo, the only way to Chapyosen is to hike down the valley along a narrow path.  (You can see more images or Chapyosen from other trips by clicking here.)  This time the trip was unique because it is the first time I made the hike after dark.  Thankfully, it did not rain as it has nearly everyday since our arrival in the country and we were able to make the trip in about an hour.

It was a moonless night, almost.  When we arrived in the village, several of the children were saying, "Look at the moon," or "See the moon."  It took me a minute to realize that there was no moon in the sky and that I was the only white thing out in the night.

Watching the movie; the projector and speakers are in the foreground.

We pushed aside the loom (the wooden frame in to the left of the screen), quickly set up the projector, and were soon watching the movie in the space below someone's house.  I counted more than 40 faces sitting in the darkness.  What was amazing was how quiet and still everyone was throughout the movie, especially the children.

Afterwards, Pastor Rudy and I shared how the events of the movie are true and give us hope of God's love and forgiveness.  Then it was time to hike back.  We were prepared to spend the night, but our guides wanted to get back to their families in Can-eo.

The next afternoon, Pastor Rudy had a meeting with the leadership of Can-eo Station Church.  He has been teaching the leadership about commitment and the purpose of the church.  By coincidence, I had a short video about the purpose of the church with me.  We showed that video in segments, translating and discussing the various ideas as we went along.  That was not a presentation we had planned on, but it was good to be able to help.

Church leadership meeting - there were more than shown in the picture

During the time for the Saturday night Bible study in Can-eo, we presented the Jesus movie to a group of 30 or so.

Just for fun, Sunday morning after service, we showed a video I had made about ice fishing and another about our ministry here which includes several scenes of Can-eo.  It was fun to hear people's excitement as they saw photos and video of them and their friends.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to bring the Gospel to people through various methods:  Bibles, Proclaimers, video, and teaching.  God's Word does not go out without effect.  Thank you to all who partner with us and make this possible.

Friends at the RHU

Friday we resumed the YWAM Mountain Province Health Clinic at the Bontoc Regional Health Unit.  Even though it was only a few days since arrangements were made, many of our regular patients were eagerly waiting for us when we entered the room.

It was good to talk again with the patients who have become our friends.

Journey Home

We were off to a great start. When we moved to the Philippines back in 2008, we were still frantically packing until the very last moment. This time, we had all of our bags packed and were ready except for shutting down the utilities. The van showed up early and we were packed and on the road before he was even scheduled to arrive. The blue sky was perfectly clear and the temperature was pleasant as we drove through Bontoc to begin the journey to Baguio and, ultimately, our family and friends in the USA.

But within 2 kilometers of Bontoc we ran into a problem, a problem that did not exist 45 minutes earlier when the van passed that way going to our apartment. A landslide blocked the road, holding up traffic going both ways for nearly 5 hours. We could almost see our apartment looking across the river from where we waited with so many others. Due to the mountainous terrain, there are few roads so when a landslide occurs detours are rarely available. So we waited and watched the loader move bucket after bucket of rocks. We did need to move when they cleared the area so they could use dynamite to blast some of the rocks which were too large for the loader.

The hero of the day

Waiting for the slide to be cleared

While we waited we thought we would get a picture of the 4A's in front of some of the terraced rice fields that are iconic for this part of the world. Whenever you visit us in Bontoc, you will see these fields on your right and then you will know you are driving through the place where many landslides have taken place.

Back: Alayna, Alexie, Adriana  Front:  Annalise

We arrived at YWAM Baguio without any more problems, just in time for dinner. The next morning, we hit the road early. Along Kennon Road just outside of Baguio on our way to Manila, we stopped to snap a few photos at Lion's Head.

At 2 a.m. Wednesday, we awoke to go to the airport in Manila.

Entering the Manila airport for the beginning of a long journey

At the Manila airport we were caught off-guard by an unexpected fee by Immigration. We did not have enough cash on us, but I was able to get to an ATM and resolve the issue without making us miss our flight. Stressed and a bit irritated, but still on time.

Chillin' in Japan

Even though our flight from Japan to Detroit was delayed by an hour causing the next leg of the journey to need to be rescheduled by an hour, everything went smoothly and many were there to greet us when we arrived.

Yay! We're Home!

Alayna with a little, "That's right, we're here!"

April 11 will stand as one of the longest days in history; due to the many time zones we crossed, from midnight in the Philippines to midnight in Michigan, April 11 was a 36 hour day.

We are glad to be home and look forward to enjoying time with family and friends as well as the bountiful blessings of our homeland.

Kevin and Charity

Our friends, Kevin and Charity got married April 3. Lisa and I were asked to be sponsors and Alexie was asked to be a bridesmaid. The role of sponsor may not be familiar to most of those reading this blog.  It is an honorary position which serves as a mentor to the couple through the journey of life. 

Alexie was beautiful in her lovely dress

Several children were involved in the wedding as ring bearers, Bible bearers, coin bearers, and of course, flower girls. I have several pictures of them all dressed up, but I thought this one of Thea was especially cute as she converted the basket into a bonnet.

Alexie with Kevin and Charity

Instead of throwing the bouquet, it was given to the lucky young lady through a hot-potato/musical chairs type of elimination.  When it was all over, Alayna was the young lady with the bouquet. Perhaps because the tradition is different, the implications of catching the bouquet are as well, so we don't need to start making wedding plans any time soon - she is only 12 after all.

Alayna and Charity with the bride's bouquet.