One Year Anniversary / Happy Thanksgiving

We wanted to take this time on the date of our first anniversary here and USA's Thanksgiving to voice our appreciation to the many of you who support us with prayers, financial gifts and encouragement.

We continually give God thanks for our family of supporters who make it possible for us to be here. While we are careful with the resources that God provides, we are thankful that he is providing for all our needs as they present themselves.

We are thankful for the monthly support that comes in for our daily needs and also for the one time gifts that provide for the special needs that come up occasionally.

We also could not get by without the continuous prayer and encouragement.

We pray that all is well for you as well and love to hear your updates.
3 John 1:2 - "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well."

We are enjoying living here, building relationships and loving the people that God has placed in our lives. Our national colleagues at the office are such blessings to us.

Fourteen months ago we were not sure we'd be on the field by the end of 2006 which was our goal. But God worked in marvelous ways and we were able to fly out November 20 of last year, arriving in Davao on November 22, 2006.

"Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise," Psalms 48:1a

This past year has been filled with many transitions, struggles, and blessings. The reality of "The Lord is my Shepherd" is a rock upon which we stand.

"Those who sow in tears, will reap with songs of joy.
He who goes out weeping, carrying seeds to sow,
will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with Him."
Psalms 126:6-7

We continue to sow seeds even when times get difficult. His promise is there will be a harvest! We love living here among our friends despite the many challenges of living in a different culture.

We have faith in our Lord and Savior that His road is the best plan for our lives.

Hebrews 11:6 - "And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

Hebrews 12:1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, .... 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."[a] 7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.... 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet,..... 14Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord."

Please continue to pray for our children, especially.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

With humble hearts and for His Glory,

Kurt, Beth, Mikayla, Kirsten, and Ben

One Year Anniversary

November 22 marks our one year anniversary here.

A range of emotions mark that celebration/milestone.

Our life in Michigan seems a distant dream.

Recently, I shared with our sending church in Michigan these thoughts. I share them with you now.

"This past year as new missionaries on the field has been a year of blessing and trial.
And despite all the stresses we have faced I would gladly do it again.
I feel so blessed to be called into missionary service full time.

Life here is interesting. There seems to be much more religious tolerance than in the US.
The malls start the day with public Christian and Catholic prayers over the PA prior to opening the doors.
Many times praise and worship songs are played on the mall PA's. But the flip side is I've heard the raunchiest songs ever from mall PA's too.

The 23rd Psalm is so real to me now. The Lord is my shepherd. He leads and guides where He wants us to go. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

It is so neat to worship at our church here. The verse in Revelation about some day all the nations, tongues and tribes will be worshipping around His throne is so real to me. At our church we have Filipinos, Koreans, Chinese, American, Australian, German and others all worshipping together.

I miss my home church family very much (and many other friends and relatives - yet despite the homesickness I sometimes experience I am glad to be here.) I extend my deepest thanks to you all for supporting us as missionaries. It is an awesome, humbling privilege to be over here.

Thank you all so much."

Life here moves at a slower pace.

I feel like our family has grown closer together. We talk more about the deeper issues of life.

I've seen our children grow and mature in their personal lives and walk with Christ.

I thank God for the friends and family we have supporting us and for all the new friends we are making here in the Philippines.

Words fail me in trying to explain the sense of purpose and gratitude I have in being called into full-time missionary service.

Picture Montage of Past Year.........

Leaving with just 10 suitcases........

Arrival

Making Friends

Market Scenes

Beach

Scenes / Family

Weather

Saturday we woke up to rainy, cool weather. It is that way again today. It is actually in the 70's! Yesterday afternoon it rose to the 80's but still very pleasant!

For the first time since living here almost one year, I was wishing I had a long sleeved blouse! (but only for a few moments!)

We are really enjoying this cooler weather for a few days!

Nap Time Anyone?

Filipinos take naps where ever they can during break time.

Jeepney drivers will nap in their jeepneys, workers nap on tables or benches in their work place,..........

.....and this construction guy is napping on top of his machine!!!!!

(you can't see it in the picture, but his co-worker was napping on the sidewalk next to that machine, too!!!)

A View from our Veranda

This was the sight that greeted me Monday morning at 5:05 a.m.
What a beautiful sight to see early in the morning....reminding me that "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:3

This sight was just the beginning of a blessed day in which we got to speak with our sending church family in Michigan through Skype. (It was their Sunday evening service time at our 7:30a.m. Monday time!)
What a blessing to see faces and hear voices of friends we hold in our heart dearly. We felt a mix of homesickness and joy as we spoke with our friends and shared about our life here.

" The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."