i have the best kids ever!

Class testimony time

August Update

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I just wanted to catch everyone up on what's been going on here lately.
Family- Samuel and Miriam are quite the handful. Miriam is quite an independent 16 month old and a joy to be around. She's almost ready to start talking with just a few words in her vocabulary so far. Samuel is also very intelligent and always asking many questions... "Why do spiders have 8 legs?" What does the ladybug eat?" "What do you mean by that?" and on and on. There are times we find them playing quietly together and other times not so nice and quiet.
Cathee and I are doing well. Between the kids, household work, facilitating the Bible school, maintenance, building a house, and other ministry projects, we stay pretty busy.

Our vision continues to be solidified as we continue the work. We are working in Tabuk, Kalinga. Kalinga has a very poor reputation of being a place of violence. There have been many hold-ups, car napping, and robberies around town.

Just last weekend we were coming back from a trip to the north when our vehicle lost it's lights and we were just driving off a yellow fog light. I finally had to stop alongside the road to focus the fog light. It was about 10:30 at night and Cathee and the kids were in the pick-up with me. As i was finishing to tighten up the fog light, i noticed a youth walking toward me. He seemed upset at me being there and was apparently drunk or high. I didn't bother to talk to him, but got into the truck as fast as i could. As i shut the door, i noticed another person kneeling behind the truck and another man approaching from another location. As i shut the door, the man slammed the window with his hand and i took off as fast as i could. i'm not sure what the intention of the men were, but i knew my family was in danger and am thankful the truck wasn't broke down.

The other form of violence here in Kalinga takes place in the form of tribal revenge killings. If one tribes -person insults, injures, or kills a person from a different tribe, then a retribution must be paid at a very high cost and if an agreement cannot be reached, the whole tribe becomes involved and will attempt to injure or kill the opposing tribe. Many times the price demanded is impossible to pay and tribal war becomes immanent.

Just 2 years ago, i had an accident with an older man that ran out in the road in front of me. I bumped him with the handlebar of my motorcycle and he fell. It wasn't a hard hit and i didn't fall, but because he was older, he broke his hip when he fell. I accompanied him to the hospital and he told the police to keep me at the police station or maybe one his sons might kill me in revenge. Since my wife Cathee, is also from a different tribe, the incident suddenly involved my while extended family. during the next two weeks a fear fell over my extended family including my wife and many were worried of a retaliation from the tribe of the old man i had accidentally injured. (Long story short) we had to pay the family about 4,000 USD or a tribal war would have started.

Our vision is to see the violence, fear and and cultural witchcraft come to an end. There are still animal sacrifices that take place regularly in the villages, ongoing tribal wars and a fear that grips thousands here in Kalinga. People are too fearful to go out after 6pm. Everything closes after 5 or 5:30pm. The local police and army also submit to the tribal law.

How we envision this is through the local tribal church. We want to focus our resources on discipleship of the local church and mobilization of local ministries, so the local tribe will reach out to their own neighbor in with love for God and their fellow neighbor and the power of the Holy Spirit. Right now our ministry is focused in the village of Pakak. We have been working in pakak for the past 7 years. (In 5 months, I will have been here for 7 years). Pakak is a mostly Christian village where many of the families resettled from the mountains to escape persecution from tribe mates for converting from animism to Faith in Christ. The currently have outreaches to other villages where they hold Church services and teach tribal worship songs.

Pakak is also the current location of the Bible school. There are 20 students currently in the second semester. When we have prayer times with the students, I feel very strongly that Pakak will be a missionary sending center in Kalinga. They will powerfully and effectively reach out to their own people, then other tribes and provinces and nations. Peace in Kalinga can only come when people experience and accept the Love of God through Christ Jesus.

We see ourselves as a church strengthening ministry. some of the things we have been doing and are in the process of doing include:
*Seminars
*promotion of Video Bible School (ISOM)
*implementation of ISOM Video Bible School
*plans to make recordings of original tribal worship songs to distribute to other villages
*medical missions
*(planning) translations of Jesus films to the tribal dialect

Another project we are currently in is building our house in the village of Pakak. This is also something we feel God has led us to do.

Friends and family, right now we NEED supporters AND prayer partners. I have been too timid in fundraising in the past 6.5 years and have just been sliding by, but now i understand i need to be direct in this. We are currently not able to meet even close to our budget. We need monthly, faithful supporters. we currently receive $600 per month that covers cost of living but leaves little for the work of the ministry. This is not close to the estimated $2000 per month estimated that would help provide adequate financing for the ministry work plus some for emergency funds like hospital visits or vehicle repairs.

In addition to this, we need to raise approximately $35,000 to build a 2 story building (that will serve as our house on the bottom floor and ministry center for the bible school, medical ministry and multipurpose center on the second floor. There will also be a separate ministry office that serves as a recording studio and tribal media evangelism center in Pakak. We have been given a piece of land there that is a perfect for the intended use.

I ask you to consider financially supporting us. I also ask for your prayers. With more people partnering with us, we can accomplish more for the kingdom of God.

International School of Ministry (ISOM)

Hey friends!

we're about to start a new semester of the Bible School in Pakak. The curriculum is through world renown teachers and pastors that are translated to the local languages through video. so all you need is a DVD player and TV or projector and you have an instant class.
this semester will focus on prayer, Old Testament survey, healing, and helps minstry. we have 20-25 students planning to join us. the class will start this sunday and will continue for approximately 4 months with 32 class hours total. Our last semester was a huge success with most of the students returning for the second semester. once 5 semesters are completed, the students can apply for a diploma in Biblical Studies from the Christian Leadership Institute.

Go! and Make disciples!

this is our mandate right now. This is what God has placed in my heart and i feel fulfilled while we are facilitating classes. there are few times i have paused in the middle of something and thought, "this is what i was created to do".

each student only pays $14 per semester! many cannot afford the cost and need sponsors. if you would like to help a student(s), just let us know. we do all we can so anyone who wants to join, can.
Tuberculosis Sponsorships

We are continuing the TB sponsorships. The government has finally committed to helping children with TB, so our sponsorships have decreased as we want to direct people to existing programs first, so we can utilize our resources the best we can. We have a few adults we are currently sponsoring. some, we sponsor until the government can approve their medicines, and others are supported fully from us.

Lives are literally saved from TB meds. We make sure we take time to pray with our patients and provide them with education and hope for their situation. Thank those who have donated money for medicines so we can continue this ministry

Home construction

One of our primary tasks right now is building a home. Our family has moved 4 times in the past 5 years and we need a place to call home. After this month, our support has significantly dropped and we can no longer afford to keep renting. We have spent all we had in savings and need donations for this project to be completed. We are in the process of building a deep well, repairing the ministry office and building a septic tank. (read the next blog for details and pictures).

thanks for your concern, prayers, and partnerships. they are appreciated and needed.

Chris, Cathee, Samuel and Miriam

Ministry Parners Needed!

We are in need of ministry partners. People who will commit to pray for us and/or support us financially. During this time of financial crisis, our support has significantly dropped. We need at least 300 dollars per month additional in support and at least $28,000 in donations to help us build a house and ministry office. Please consider partnering with us in at least one of these areas.

Support address
Tax-deductible

Boise Vineyard
4950 W. Bradley Garden City, Idaho 83714.
Phone 208-377-1477

or

Elizabethtown Vineyard
201 South Mulberry Street, Elizabethtown -

(270) 234-0590

just include "chris and cathee mapes" on the memo line of your check. all donations are sent directly to us.

thank you for your support. please let us know if you decide to support in prayer and/or financially. It is much appreciated.

A Place to Call Home

Friends and Family! Greetings from the Philippines.

We hope that you are well and continuing to grow in the faith. We want to share with everyone what’s been going on with us concerning family and ministry. This past Chrismas Eve, Cathee’s mother had a stroke. She lost the use of the muscles in her throat and was unable to swallow. She was brought home from the hospital to recover, but slowly kept losing weight and became very weak. She died this past Friday. So please continue to lift up Cathee’s family in prayer.

Our family is doing well. Samuel and Miriam had birthdays in April and turned 3 years old and 1 year old. They continue to bring us much joy and excitement as they grow and learn. We are thankful for them and the challenges they bring as they grow.

You can’t have purpose without a vision

Recently, I’ve really had to step back and take a look at what we were doing and why we are doing those things. In each of the projects we are working on or planning to work on, I have to ask, “Why are we doing this?” Is it because it’s needed? It’s a “good” thing to do? Is it that someone else thought we should be doing it? Are we doing it cause we just need to “do” something? OR…This is something that we’ve had a vision for and know it is a mandate from God?

Sometimes things fall apart and it’s God that breaks them. For the past 4 or 5 years, we have been looking at land to build a house, but when we thought we found the right place, the deal would fall through, we would not be able to finance it, and another time we were sold a fake lot that did not belong to the seller.

The Pakak Project

Recently, I was looking at another lot when God reminded me of the vision He gave Cathee and I when we were writing a vision statement as missionaries of the Vineyard. The vision statement had to do mostly with health and was concentrated in the village of Pakak. In our vision statement, we would begin by building a deep well, then we would group the houses to build latrines, then pigpens, then gardens, and eventually Pakak would become a training center for other villages to see as an example of becoming a self sustaining, healthy example village.

After the well was finished, we began the latrine project. For various reasons, it took one year for the first Latrine (Comfort Room, as they are called here) to be built. More followed after that with about 25 houses having access to a latrine. When we wanted to begin the pigpen project, there was much resistance to the idea and for the few that wanted, an inability to agree on the project. Without the feral pigs being penned, gardens would be destroyed, and the project died.

During the time we were doing the “Pakak Project”, we were given land in Pakak on a hill. We built a small hut made of wood, bamboo and a grass roof where we stayed when we hosted outreach teams or when we would visit Pakak. After some time, we built a concrete foundation where the house would sit. About 60 of the men in the village picked up the house and sat it on the foundation. It was a community event complete with a pork lunch that fed the entire village.

The mission house served us and others well, but was destroyed during the big typhoon in 2010. About 25% of the roof was missing and the whole house was leaning to one side. We had to tear down the house and salvage whatever we could from the remains.

A Place to Call Home

While I was looking at the land for sale(mentioned earlier), God reminded me about the vision for Pakak and about the land that was given to us. When I shared this with Cathee, she said that she felt that God had been sharing the same thing with her. Before this, we had resisted the idea of moving to the village because it was still far from town, our children might be at risk for the many respiratory illnesses found there, malaria was rampant during the rainy season, and the conditions were less than sanitary because of the wondering livestock. But we knew those were excuses and God would protect our children from harm. That same week we began to make plans for a place for our family to live.

Phase 1. Water Source

The first thing we need is a deep well. The well will be about 100 feet deep and dug by hand with the workers cementing the sides of the 3 feet-wide hole every 3 feet down. The work is hard and the laborers face the danger of underground gas pockets, heat and debris falling on them.

Estimated completion time -50 days

Estimated cost $2,300

Phase 2. Septic tank

The Septic tank for the house will be built with a leeching chamber and a digestive chamber to maximize decomposition of waste.

Estimated completion time-1 week

Estimated cost-$350

Phase 3. Repair of ministry office

We will rebuild the old house to use as a ministry office, but with cement this time. The ministry office will be used as a center for church resources. The Bible school office, a recording studio for indigenous worship and Gospel recordings, a office for video editing for video ministries, and a guest room. the space is 12 feet by 22 feet.

estimated time to complete- 3 weeks
estimated costs- $2000.

Phase 4. Land preparation

This consists of flattening a hill and leveling the area for the house. Hiring a bulldozer and local workers will be the majority of costs.

Estimated completion time-1 week

Estimated cost- $700

Phase 5. Building of Residential house

Built from Concrete and hollow block. Size is at 800 square feet. it will be located just next to the ministry office. This will be a home to accomodate our family and any personal guests that visit.

Estimated completion time- 3 months

Estimated costs- $20,000

Reasons we need a home built.

#1. This is the place we feel we are called to serve.

#2. The majority of the work will be done with locals from the village. It will provide much needed income for many.

#3. We have been renting for the past 6 years and can no longer afford to rent.

#4. We need a stable home. We have moved 4 times in the past 5 years. This is hard on us and especially our children.

#5. With the unstable economy, we are unsure of future support and need to be able to becoming self sustaining. Owning a home and gardening will help us move that way.

#6. We are in this for the long run. Our children need a place to call home that is safe and comfortable.

Cheesey smiles

Graduates from the Kalinga Vineyard Christian Fellowship Student Ministry!!!

we got to see 4 of our previous high school students that boarded with us the past 4 years, graduate. one of the girls was in the top 3 of all the seniors. she wants to be a doctor or accountant. we also got to see 4 of our college student boarders graduate as well as another that boarded with us previously. two of those students just graduated summer classes. most of these students (and previous students) have been with us 4 or even 5 years as they completed their studies at the local state college in midwifery, forestry, agriculture, law, and other courses of study. many are the first to graduate college in their families...a few have gone on to graduate school or seminary and other have gotten married.the tribes we work with are considered an "unreached people group" http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rog3=RP&rop3=101809, but that terminology is a little tricky. what i understand of the term, "unreached" is signifies that the people still need help from the outside to disciple...(they don't have enough training to be their own pastor for example). the Kalinga tribes (for the most part) have heard the gospel, some even have Bibles printed or in the process of being printed in their own dialect, and most villages have several churches. discipleship is the biggest need of the kalinga people. i believe the main spiritual need is firm, founded, rooted, solid biblical teaching/training...and many times, the ones that are most teachable, willing, and capable are the youth. i feel that as a Christian living overseas (a.k.a.-missionary), my main job is to work myself out of a job. (train a local to do what i'm doing)...preaching, teaching, or healing...our prayer is that these students are equipped with the training necessary to do these things by the time they graduate high school and college through the corporate times of prayer, teaching, preaching and fellowship.

Healed

this lady spent a month in the hospital before we met her with a very deep infection in her thumb that would not heal...after a cleaning, dead tissue removal, suturing and prayer, the thumb healed properly shortly after the medical outreach team visited her village. she visited us and was very happy that her thumb was no longer infected. even the other old ladies in the village were very happy that their friend was better and no longer had to keep visiting the hospital.

assistance needed

Name: Lucas Sacgod
Age:28
STATUS: married with children 8, 6, and 3 years old
Medical History: last month, during a medical outreach with a medic team from boise, we met Lucas. he was sitting on his porch, unable to walk. after interviewing him, we found that he had some mysterious deteriorating disease starting in september of 2008. it began in his toes and progressively moved north until he could no longer walk, stand or move his legs. by the beginning of 2009, he was completely unable to move his legs. so, in just a 3 or 4 months, he had gone from complete health, to being paralyzed.

MRI results: through donation from the team, i brought Lucas to the hospital in Manila to have MRI and consult with a neurosurgeon and orthopedic docotor. the results said...

"Disk degeneration/disk bulge at L4-5/ mild sac indentation/ facet arthrosis/ vertebral marrow changes/ T2 with para spinal and epidural soft tissue mass, causing spinal canal stenosis and spinal cord compression"

in short, Lucas has a tumor in his spine and something is causing his vertebrae to deteriorate. the neurosurgeon was extremely worried about his condition and said that "AT ANY MOMENT, THE VERTEBRAE CAN COLLAPSE CAUSING COMPLETE PARALYZATION IN ALL THE FUNCTIONS BELOW THE AFFECTED VERTEBRAE" (this would include his urinary and partial digestive functions). he said that Lucas needs to be confined in the hospital immediately and have a bone biopsy (to see if there's a virus or bacteria that's causing the severe deterioration) and he needs operation to put supports to keep the vertebrae from collapsing causing the total loss of functions in the lumbar region of his body. he can currently control his bowels and sit up, but without further support, he could loose these functions at any time.

COST of operation: anywhere between 2,500 dollars to 4,000 dollars. we knew we could not afford a private hospital, so we are using the government hospital in Manila. they are extremely overcrowded and we waited 9 hours to be seen and make an appointment for the 30th of June. at this time, lucas will be confined and prepared for the operation. lucas is selling all that he can, but needs more financial help. please email me for more information or send your tax-deductible donation with a note attached to your check that it is for operation sponsorship...thanks and God bless

OUR MANILA ADVENTURE

i got back from manila on friday. i didn't have much of a break. it seemed everything took 3 times as long as it should have (literally) or broke in the time being...first, the van (that we just had a top-end overhaul and wiring work done) broke down 2 hours into the trip. forcing us (lucas, his cousin, and myself) to spend the night in the van, waiting for the morning so the electrician could fix the van. so, we were ready to go by 11am...but traffic and heat were already bad. by the time we got to manila (27 hours later) it was pouring rain (and continued to everyday we were there). we had no problem with the MRI, but when we went to see the neurosurgeon for consultation, he said that "this is a condition for the rich"...in other words, you can't afford to be treated at THIS hospital...so he advised us to go to the government hospital, PGH. so, in between, i met with dr. francis to get the wheelchair and was surprised to see a plastic chair with the legs cut off and bicycle tires with a hand rail bolted on...i almost wanted to laugh, but i said, maybe we better make sure all the parts are with it...and sure enough, there were many parts missing, so francis said he'd find one with all the parts and send it...next time...

so that night, upon request of the doctor, we took lucas to the ER for confinement at PGH. what a bad mistake that was. while waiting there, the sick and very severe cases kept coming in, people who were in extreme pain, or unconscious, or barely breathing were all made to wait in line. when i asked for a wheelchair, they told me to "go find my own". we waited a bit and when the doctor came, (a fresh graduate), he started scolding us because lucas wasn't an acute case...nor was he dying...and kept scolding me, until i "accidentally" told him, that he didn't have to be a jerk about it. i guess i was just thinking aloud...

so, the next morning at 6am, we fell into line at the OPD...there must have been about 200 people or more there at 6am!!! we were fortunate that the guard didn't make us go upstairs to the end of the line since lucas had a wheelchair. so, we get our number and wait...and wait...and wait...until 1pm. then we are seen by the ortho doctor, who then gets the history and has us get back in line until 3pm when another doctor sees him and makes the follow-up appointment for confinement on the 30th! so 9 hours of waiting for a history and appointment! can you imagine...

anyway, on the 30th, i think they will confine lucas and do an operation for his bone biopsy and try to put a stainless brace on the deteriorated vertebrae. they think it's a bacteria or virus eating his bone as well as a tumor on his spine.

then...on the way back from the 9 hour wait at the hospital, we were driving back to the hotel to check out and i took a wrong turn to the busy part of manila. the van kept cutting off, until it would no longer start. so we're broke down with literally 5 lanes of traffic around us beeping and trying to pass us, and we have to recurit some people on the street to help us push and stop traffic. all said and done (and another 3 hours passing), we find out the van had a hose break and all the old poured out, completely ruining the engine. we had a trici pull the van to a local mechanic shop and we all just got on the bus and went home...i'd had enough of manila. today, i called the shop where the van was and was told that it would cost me 7,500 for the labor, 8,000 for the machine shop, and 15,000 for the parts...that's like 30,500 peosos or $650!!!

playing harmonica

Boise Mission Medics

the month of May we had the privilege of hosting the Boise Mission Medic team. during the 2.5 weeks they were here, we planned 3 different outreaches. since i get to coordinate these outreaches, i experiment a little sometimes. usually, in the philippines, when someone hears the term "medical mission" or "medical outreach", they usually have the same picture in their heads...a team of foreigners or doctors from the city come to the poor village and do check ups. these check-ups usually consist of long, assembly-type, lines where patients wait in line for most of the day, see the doctor or health worker for a few minutes, go to another line to get their free meds and continue back to their house (at times, disappointed). sometimes a certain church, organization or politican uses these events to self-promote.

so, in thinking how we could avoid this, we decided we would go door-to-door and primarily do TB assessments...and if we happen across any emergencies or sick individuals, we would get them the meds they needed. this helped us avoid the long lines, the numerous request for (what i call) "poor lifestyle meds", and people being disappointed that they did not get some kind of meds.

i also wanted to work with a specific tribe that we had not concentrated on before. so we took the students to the resettlement villages and mountain village of Basao. The basao people have a feared reputation among the kalinga population for being vengeful and dangerous (most of this is exaggerated). even people from other tribes would warn us when they heard we were going there.

when we entered the resettlement and mountain villages of basao, we weren't met with fanfare or people offering to carry our boxes of supplies (as i have seen in the places where we are familiar). maybe the people were a little curious or suspicious why we were going there. when we went to the mountain village, i drove for most of the day in a vehicle manufactured from galvanized iron sheets, really bad suspension and no power steering. (halfway through the trip i realized that our vehicle was not suited for carrying 15 people plus luggage up steep dirt/rocky roads up and down the mountains, as i noticed oil leaking, all my clutch fluid pouring out, and our vehicle slamming the front suspension on rocks.) after the exhausting drive, i went with my work partner, Arturo, to talk with the barangay captain. after a serious of events (plus being physically tired), it seemed nothing was prepared for our arrival and i assumed were were not welcome there. the next couple of days we were met with a mixture of some very kind and gentle people, and also with people a little more "difficult"...drunk community leaders, pushy patients demanding medicines, and even gun fire one night right outside the clinic where part of the team was sleeping...

our team met one night to have a discussion of how things were going. my tendency is to look at the things that "need improving", but once we got into the conversation, it seemed that God checked my attitude. the discussion about the barangay captain came up and i remembered that just 2 or 3 weeks previous, he had lost his 20-something year old son to kidney failure. not to excuse drunkenness, but to try to understand his condition. then we talked about the tribal war that is all-too-common in that village. we saw many men carrying spears to the rice fields for personal protection and some had automatic weapons and were posted around their homes. FEAR rules much of the lives of these people. many still believe in old rituals that include animal sacrifice and consulting witch doctors and demons. some just laugh and say "it's only superstition", but superstition is rooted in the fear of doing or not doing something to avoid a curse or gain a blessing. when we begin to look at the condition of the heart and ask God to speak, touch, and hear through us...we begin to love like God.

we then saw our mission as more than just doing assessments for tuberculosis and assessing sick patients, but shining the light of God, praying for God's mercy for this people group, and bring LIFE to sick and dying bodies and souls. during our outreach, we went to every house to see if there are people at risk for TB or other illnesses. we pray for the family and ask God to bring healing on the sicknesses and peace to their house. in short, we ask God to bring salvation, healing and peace. this is the reason Jesus died (then rose again). during Jesus ministry on earth, his main focus was to preach, teach and heal...this also was his example for us to follow.

WE ARE ALL CALLED TO BE MISSIONARIES. MOST IN OUR "SECULAR" JOBS, SOME IN THE CHURCH, AND A FEW IN ANOTHER CULTURE...WE ALL HAVE THE SAME INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO LIVE OUR LIVES AND LOVE GOD AND LOVE OTHERS.

missionary idol

sometimes i want to do my "acts of kindness" and see immediate results and receive gratitude from those i am giving to...but this is a very false image of what it means to serve. when i do "mission outreaches" where the "poorest of the poor" and weak come to me, i feel good about myself and what i have to give them and send them on their way as they are repeatedly saying "thank you, thank you" with their head bowed low...but most of the time, it turns out my own motive is very selfish and the poor and weak walk away a little poorer and weaker than before they had to present themselves before the "rich" and admit they are the "poor".

i have to be able to smile and love the lady who demands medicine for herself (even though there's no reason to give it), the man who asks money from me even though his cell phone cost more than most people earn in a year, and the man who is drunk and trying to touch on the girls in the group. i am called to be taken advantage of and used. it's easier to serve the poor and needy, but how about the annoying and demanding...or the manipulator and liar. it's a very anti-american thought in this age of lawsuit-happy-equal rights-capitalistic society, but Jesus taught something very different. if someones steals your shirt, give your coat Luke 27-36. love your enemy. turn the other cheek. forgive. give without question. love those who use and abuse you. oh how i wonder what the world would look like if we all could love like that.

From Death to Life 2

this is sagmayao. this was removed from his body today. it is a spleen that was 15 times the size it should have been. during a medical outreach, a visiting doctor identified the problem and the team is raising the funds for his operation. the surgeon said that his spleen could have burst any moment. it would bleed anytime it was touched. saymayao is in good condition now and we are thankful for God's mercy toward him. the surgeon suspects it is from TB as he removed a lymph node that looked like TB infection...continue to pray for sagmayao's complete recovery

...one month later...

From Death to Life

this is marylae. she was diagnosed with TB meningitis in september (the picture on the left). she was in a stupor for more than a month. after 2 months she showed a little recovery, but then became sick with malaria. her health digressed worse than before. she had to have surgery to place a drain tube in her head to relieve the built up pressure. during this time she was barely responsive to voices and could not talk...things were not looking well for marylae. we even tried to get a wheel chair for her, thinking she might not walk or even sit up on her own again.

BUT....

yesterday, i saw her mother and asked where marylae was...but i was looking right at her (picture on the right). i was so thankful that God had restored this little girl. she was walking and feeding her self and could understand all that was said to her. God is a God of LIFE. Jesus said "I AM the LIFE"...so thank you every one who prayed for marylae last fall/winter. God is so good.

rock climber in the making...he just does it

children in Pakak...

the little drummer boy...

coffee, coconuts, and coughing

(arturo and his wife marina)


(i started writing this about 7 months ago...i know i once had a different point, but it was lost in time...so i'll post it anyway, just for a glimpse at daily life and thoughts)....today started with the regular order of waking up and scampering to get formula made for samuel before he fully wakes up and lets us know about it. even though he's only 7 months, he already has his routines: wake up; have his bottle; play with "da-da"; eat his breakfast; soil his diaper; get washed off; go to "ma-ma"; take a nap...and all before 9am.

this morning i have to prepare for my "village run". this is where i (and sometimes another) go to the village to give a fresh stock of Tuberculosis medicines, vitamins and whatever else is needed. there are 8 children we are sponsoring (plus one adult) in the village of Ipil.

this morning, i am taking Arturo with me. Arturo has been my right hand man in the implementation of the TB sponsorship program. He's in his 50's, and has helped cure numerous people infected with TB in the preceding decades. Arturo has volunteered his time, effort, and resources to help anyone who asks. i have a lot to learn from him as far as having a generous heart.

Arturo and his wife are in the private clinic right across the street where two of his grandchildren are confined for typhoid fever and malaria. he has been there for 3 days and had little sleep or comfort. he's concerned at how he will pay for the bill of the two patients. his harvest was a failure and he spent about twice as much on fertilizers, gasoline, labor and seeds for his rice, than he was able to sell after harvesting. he borrowed money for that and now he must borrow money again...he wonders if God is testing him somehow...

I get the medicines ready, put names on the bottles, put them in plastic bags and in one large heavy box. the box is tied on my motorcycle as i go to pick up Arturo. it's a really tight fit as the box is taking up a third of the motorcycle seat and suddenly my seat becomes the steep-angled gas tank...at least Ipil's not too far away.

upon arriving in the village. we pass through golden fields that were a brilliant green only a week ago. it is harvesting time throughout tabuk. this village is small. there are only about 35 houses (small nipa huts) here. in the recent times, more people have taken to building cement and hollow block houses. these concrete houses hold up to the weather but are seldom completely finished. the majority lack paint or any finishing on the exterior or interior walls.

one of the families we are working with has 12 children. both of the parents died of TB and the older ones (in their early 20's) are watching after the younger ones. we are sponsoring 2 of the younger children and helping the older one with vitamins (since he gets his meds free from the government).

another young man in this village had 2 places on his face that. for the past few years have been draining pus. he's ashamed to be around people much because they openly ridicule him about the smell. he's tried antibiotics many times, but the problem keeps returning. after talking with some doctors in the area, we decided to treat him with 6 months of TB meds. after a couple of months, the ulcers were shrinking in size and the drainage was decreasing.

the reason we first came to the village of Ipil was because some of the the relatives of the little girl that almost died of TB meningitis, lived here. (see later post of Marilee Abaggoy)...

we love to see God at work and how he brings certain children, families, or villages into our scopes. we are just a few people working through the resources sent by family, friends, and church family to help people here and show them they are worth being helped and loved. i've heard comments before that people with certain diseases "deserve what they got" or "should die" because the treatment for their illness is too much or they are "old, and just eating up too much rice".

my prayer is that God helps us see each other as He sees them, but more than that, that God helps us see our selves as He see us. As His worshipers, his children, and his bride. once we (just) begin to grasp how God sees us and loves us, we can then...and only then, love others that way.

7.5 months

swimming...

samuel at 7 months taking a bath