Is it Over?
We have completed our Home Assignment in the States, but it is far from over! Philippines here we come!
To our new subscribers: WELCOME! We are so glad you are here!
To our regular subscribers, we apologize that we have not sent out a newsletter since pre-Home Assignment. We didn't want to bore you with "Hey look, here we are here now! And now we are here!" for several months in a row. So this newsletter is our Fall Newsletter. We will send a Winter one for our Philippine tour--and once we return to SEA, we will go back to monthly updates. Thank you for your patience.
We are thankful for those we have met and fellowshipped with while we were in the States. Thank you all!
Philippine Friends: If you want to see us (even just to catch up and drink coffee), reply to this email! Tara po!
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We usually dedicate this section to share stories of our badminton outreach. Due to the very limited access we had in the States to this sport, we have decided to share a very special and urgent need in this section.
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As you all know, Home Assignment doesn't end for us in the States. We were to finish our Home Assignment in Terence's home in the Philippines.
For those who were unaware, about a week or so ago, the Philippines was hit by a super-typhoon. Our home district (Central Visayas District) was hit hard. Multiple churches were completely destroyed and everything in it. Many of our pastors live in the church and therefore have no homes. People all over the Visayan islands are struggling with getting shelter, food, and other basic needs.
Below are just a few of the photos shared among our District pastors sharing the damage to their churches and homes. As you go through these photos, please pray and remember our dear friends and church family--your church family.
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Due to these circumstances, our Home Assignment is going to look different. Instead of going to churches speaking to congregations, we will be helping clean, rebuild, and restore what was damaged. We will still be missionaries coming home, but it's just going to look different.
If you still want to see us (Visayas in January, Luzon in February), please reply to this email.
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If you want to donate to the efforts of rebuilding and providing care and needs for the people affected, please consider partnering with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries - Philippines.
If wire transfer or GCash does not work for you, you can also use PayPal by sending your donation to this email: pmf-aht@apnaz.org.
Thank you in advance. Please pray that we can do what we can while we are there.
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LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP
Success is an interesting word.
We usually define success as achieving a set desired outcome. It could be winning a race, getting a job, raising in rank, getting married, proving you were right, creating a program, finishing a project... anything. It's a goal you set for yourself, not anyone else. You.
When we were asked to be the Field Youth Coordinators, some people said that we did not deserve this "success." But we never set out for this outcome. It was thrust on us, and we trusted our leaders in their decision. We were scared but excited. We met with our leaders and our NYI Presidents and came up with some plans to help our SEA NYI.
We set out to accomplish a specific goal with specific people. We were anxious. We were hopeful. Even though we were going from church to church, driving over 100 hours on the road, sleeping on air mattresses and couches and spare rooms, mending to sick babies, we tried our best to continue to lead from afar.
Failure is an interesting word.
We usually think of failure as the opposite of success. If you don't succeed at getting that job, infertility, losing at a game, divorce, missing the appointment, or anything like that... we label it as a failure.
But a Regional leader once told us that life is kind of like a video game. When you lose, you don't fail; You simply just start at the last save point and start again. With every new start, you learn something new. You adjust your play. You get better and better until you eventually save the princess.
Because you have subscribed to this newsletter, you have shown us support. Because you have shown us support, we will be transparent with you.
We didn't save the princess this round.
And that's okay. We live and we learn and we go on. We won't go into the details of the events that took place recently with our FYC position, but it was a heartbreaking lesson. We sought counsel with many of our Field and Regional leaders, and we are blessed to have them by our side. We can't wait to start the round over as we continue to grow and lean on Christ.
God is good all the time.
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JIREH
Throughout these past two months, God has shown us his provision and grace beyond what we can imagine. We aren't just talking about partners and deputation. We are talking about special people who went above and beyond during our time. We can't talk about everyone but here are some special highlights.
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Ziarie and Mark and their amazing family were one of the reasons we were seriously considering migrating to Southern California. They loved on our kids and accepted us into their home. There is so much we want to say but cannot, but their family has taught us the true meaning of pamiliya--hint: it has nothing to do with blood or history.
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We are thanking God for sending us Carlos, a mechanic who saw our family on the side of the LA highway and went to his shop to help us get the parts needed to fix our car. We had no money to give him, so we sent him home with Thai and Philippine souvenirs, boxed cereal, sardines, and a prayer.
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Wanted to give a special thank you to Dr. Grant. While we were going through a difficult time with our missionary journey, the Lord was near through His (very tall) vessel. Through Dr. Grant, we were given wisdom and opportunity. Even though he is no longer our professor, the Lord still uses him to teach us everytime we see him.
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A special thanks to Greg and Peggy who invited our family into their beautiful home...for taking work off to fellowship with us through games and intimate conversation...for contacting a Nazarene doctor for us to see Lukas when he was sick.
They are saints of the church.
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We must acknowledge David who never met us, but still supported our ministry anyway. This Fall, he drove hours to finally meet us in person. The faith of this man of God is an inspiration for us. I pray that it isn't the only encounter with David, and we don't just have a partnership but a friendship.
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Thank you so much to Ingrid's college friend, Ashley Hoffner, who came to see us while she was also on Home Assignment. They both were called to be missionaries while serving together over a college summer in a Creative Access Area. They had not seen each other in 8 years. She currently serves as a Nazarene missionary in Colombia training future missionaries. You can check out her profile as well!
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A special thanks to Ingrid's family, the Kipers, who took us into their homes, drove Jubilee to the hospital when she had pneumonia, did the hard part of giving her medicine, babysat them while we spoke, bought food, milk, and diapers, made Jubilee's 2nd birthday party and Lukas's first Christmas super special... we are literally crying writing this segment. There are no words.
They truly made sure to fill up Reilee and Kas with 2 years worth of love until the next time they meet.
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Thank you to the many, many, many congregations who took us into their homes, watched the kids, fed us, clothed us, and sent us off warm, full, and loved. Thank you for those who drove far to see us because we couldn't make it to your congregation. We love you all. Home Assignment is one of the most stressful times of being a missionary, and we are so thankful to have you guys make it less stressful. God bless you all.
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FIRST SICKNESS
It started with Lukas. In Montana, he started having a runny nose. Then a cough. While we were driving down from Montana to Kansas, it hit his little body the hardest. Our happy-happy boy was up every hour crying and coughing. He didn't want to eat. Ingrid spent the night cradling him in the hotel bathroom with the hot water running in the shower hoping the steam would help clear up his lungs.
We were heartbroken and scared. This was the first time either of the kids had gotten sick, and we were not sure what to do. Terence got infant cough syrup, and it helped. In Witchita, a Nazarene pediatrician snuck us into his clinic so he could check on Lukas. He diagnosed him with RSV, but said he was already on the mend and to continue what we had been doing.
While Lukas was recovering, Jubilee began to have a runny nose.
Oh no. Not her, too! She had the same symptoms for just as long, and we gave her the same medication with the appropriate dose for age, and she, like Lukas, was on the mend. |
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Then she wasn't. On the night we arrived at Ingrid's parents house, she was running and playing. But the next morning, she was sick again. This time, she was really sick. She gained new symptoms: fever and wheezing. We tried the cough syrup, Tylenol, VapoRub, an essential oil diffuser, and a breathing machine. But she wasn't improving. She was getting worse. Her breathing was rapid and short. We were getting scared.
Finally, at midnight, we rushed her to the ER. Giving medicine to her at home was already a struggle. At the hospital? It was impossible. The doctors and nurses could hardly keep her down to run tests and give treatment. She ripped out her hospital tag, a cord to record her vitals, everything. She would not drink anything they gave her. She only wanted to be cuddled and to sleep. After a few hours, she was diagnosed with pneumonia in one lung. The doctor said it was safer for her to be treated at home than at the hospital by the way she was acting with tearing everything out. An IV would do more harm if she kept tearing it out, so he instructed us to make sure she gets hydrated at home or she will need to be admitted and sedated.
The next day was Thanksgiving and she literally slept the entire day. Ingrid's older sister, Cindy, prepared a room for Jubilee to recover. She helped give Jubilee her prescribed antibiotics, give her a bath to decrease her temperature, and attempt to feed her.
The next day, we were supposed to head down to Southern Florida to speak at our first church in that district, but Jubilee was still running a fever and not feeling well. So we canceled our Saturday morning speaking service to be with Jubilee.
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As she was waking up from her nap, we could hear her little voice singing again. We wanted to cry with joy. She emerged from the room and started playing with the toys Grandma had set out for her.
We feel so blessed that it was at this time where Jubilee got sick like this. We are thankful that we were not on the road at someone else's house or anything like that. We were home. We were with family. We were safe.
Thank God that Jubilee is now back to her running and singing self. Please continue to pray for the kids' health and safety as we continue our Home Assignment
(Note: the little girl holding Lukas is Ingrid's niece, Eowyn. Eowyn and her older sister dressed up for the occasion of meeting their cousins for the first time.)
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PRAYER REQUESTS
Language Study: Due to our chaotic schedule in the US, we have yet to have a single Thai lesson during Home Assignment. Please pray for us to retain the Thai we have learned and that we may be able to resume while in the Philippines.
Home Assignment: Continue to pray that we get the support we need to return to SEA. Continue to pray for our family's health and safety as we travel.
SEA Field Youth: Please be in prayer for our young leaders in the Southeast Asia Field as we make Christlike disciples during times of political turmoil, Anti-Christian propaganda, leadership limitation, recovery from genocides, and of course, the coronavirus. Pray for the SEA Field leaders to give our young people the opportunity to serve.
Badminton Outreach: It is hard being away from our outreach. Although we are not physically there, we know God continue to work in our friends' hearts and minds. Pray that God prepares them for conversations upon our return.
Protection: Please pray that we will be spared from the virus. Aside from its scary effects, being positive with COVID could prohibit us from traveling to the US and Philippines this Fall. Please pray that we don't contract it and when we go to take our COVID test, our results will be NEGATIVE.
SEA Field Crisis: Our neighbor country, Myanmar (one of our SEA Field nations) is going through some difficult times. For security reasons, we cannot speak openly about it. The situation is in need of prayer and God's intervention and guidance. Many of our pastors, leaders, and laypeople are greatly affected by this. Today, we heard the news that one of our dear friends from the seminary has been arrested. We ask that you, your families, and your churches bring this to the Lord in prayer.
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