Greetings! Thank you in advance, brothers and sisters in Christ, for praying for these things:
We thank the Lord for this opportunity to reengage with our local churches and reconnect with friends and family in the United States. Despite some challenges, it has been a restorative and restful time. We thank the Lord for providing housing and transportation in California, as well as providing for our interstate travel.
Our family, along with our niece, will fly back across the Pacific Ocean at the beginning of November. There are always many logistics in returning overseas, but even more so this time around. Lord willing, we will only spend one night in Manila, then return to the airport to fly to another country in southeast Asia for a forum, followed by a workshop. Our niece will take care of our kids during these days, so that Natasha and I can both participate in the sessions. We will then fly back to the Philippines, and take a second flight down to our island.
Our road into the village isn’t in passable condition right now. Please pray that we can facilitate its repair before we need to get in during the third week of November. We would love to show our niece where we live in the village and give her a chance to experience a bit of life there (as well as celebrate Thanksgiving). Our flight program won’t be in operation during that time.
Praise the Lord that the various car parts I ordered in the U.S. and in the middle east have now arrived to our mission’s guesthouse on our island. The guy who has been borrowing our truck for the past few months, along with our helicopter mechanic, volunteered to install these parts before our return. Please pray for this effort, that our truck would be ready to go upon our arrival. There is still one more part I need to find, so please pray I would be able to locate one in a local junk yard.
There is a cult wanting to move into our village, and they are bribing people in our village and surrounding villages in hopes that people will join them. Please pray that the Lord will foil their plans and preserve people for the presentation of the true gospel message.
We would like to build a garage where we can protect our vehicle from the elements (the sun already damaged a very expensive part) and from children with rocks who enjoy creating “art.” This garage would double as a carpentry workshop and storage, which would free up our office for language learning. Please pray for wisdom and timing in when and how to take on this project.
Please pray that we would enter back into the village with spiritual fervor and a readiness to engage with the people and continue with language learning. We still have a ways to go!
Salamat kaayo!
(Thank you very much!)