family picture...

(samuel is 4 months here)

the early bird...

this fisherman was one of the first on the lagoon at sunrise last week.
during some timeoff of a hectic schedule, i took a break to rest and reflect

well restoration, turned to a new well project

you are staring down a 50 foot hole. as noted in the earlier blog entry, we started pulling the pipe to a 120 foot deep well. after breaking chains, bending A-frames, and malfunctioning chain blocks, we decided we needed to hire professional well diggers to make a new hole. the cost of the well has continues to increase. when i found our deep well cost estimate sheet from the deep well we made in pakak 3 years ago, the costs of the materials have nearly doubled since then!!! it's pretty upsetting that the construction supply has taken such horrid advantage of the present economical problems...(didn't mean to go there)...but we continue to build the well.

the work is dangerous as the workers use only shovels and a bucket as they dig. each worker takes 2 hour shifts as they are lowered 50 feet down and dig until they reach the water table. each day they can only dig (depending on the soil conditions) about 3-6feet. the most dangerous part of the work is the pockets of gas they encounter as they reach the "black streaked soil" that signifies there will be gases present. so pray for the workers as they still have over 50 feet MORE to dig. thank you for the family that has helped us sponsor this project. may you be so aware of God's abundant blessings toward you.

need i say more...

Well Repair project started

we started repairing a well that's been out broken for about 10 years now. our first task was to pull the old pipes...which might be the hardest part of the project...considering they go down more than 120 feet!!!

after bending a chain block, we decided to dig for about 15 feet first to help get the pipes looser. this project was a needed contribution to this community. currently there are an average of 350 people that share 1 well in the community of Dananao, Lacnog.

The Monster Lives...

You Have to Hear This...

this other voice is Cathee...

promise of mercy

after a rainy day in tabuk

our house spiders...

we find many of these spiders around the house...thankfully our cat likes to eat them...

the many faces of Samuel Mapes at 2 months

2months old!

babblings begun

he's too cute...i just had to blog our conversation...which must have been boring since there's a big yawn in the middle of it...

all that boy thinks about is food...

samuel at 5 weeks!!!

PARACHUTE FUN!

from the VBS in pakak...it looks like that boy's giving a right hook to the girl jumping???

OUR FIRST WORSHIP SERVICE AT THE KALINGA VINEYARD'S NEW LOCATION WITH THE DIA STUDENTS

hey everybody that's been keeping up with our blog. blessings to you! things have continued to be pretty hectic (in a productive way) around here lately. we welcomed the DIA class to our home the 23rd of April. after they got rest from their "too many hours to mention" plane and bus trip to tabuk, we put them to work moving the ministry into our new location (the "willie wonka house" as my mom would call it). we love it here. it's turned out to be a beautiful house. we've been painting and tiling and organizing. so the help of the students was a huge blessing. when i was wondering how we'd move all the stuff from our old place to the new one. right then our neighbor drove up in his huge flatbed truck, and when i asked him, he gladly said we could use it to move all the furniture and appliances! what a blessing!
the team did VBS with the kids in Pakak and are now in naga doing a VBS and conducting a volunteer seminar on working with kids. this past friday we took samuel in for a check-up and had some tests run on him. His bilirubin levels were very high, causing him to be very jaundiced. the results were saturday...i had to leave monday for manila with the team. tueday night i caught a bus (another 11 hours) back to tabuk. when i arrived, there was such a drastic change in samuel's skin color, eyes, and even weight. we were so thankful to God for touching our child. and continuing to touch him. thank you for all your prayers and concern for our family's well being!

the team was great to have. they really let God love the kids in pakak through them as they sang, played, taught, and just hung out with them. even though it was a large team (16 in all), it was a such a blessing to have them here.

(there's a blank spot next to cathee, cause i didn't make it before the camera timer went off...)

out of the hospital

thanks you friends for all your prayers and support during the 9 days of confinement. samuel is doing well. continue to pray for him, i think there's still a little bacteria left.

this is samuel's "feed me" face

john and jeremiah...my kid has more hair than both of yours...combined! i think he's due for another haircut this week. ho ho ho

samuel smiles

even with an IV still in his hand...what a trooper.

this is his "luke skywalker" shirt...

hospital food...on a good day.

small cup of rice, pig fat, cabbage and overripe banana...the sure path to wellness.

eye of the storm

here we are. 8 days in the hospital and two more to go. it's been a rough week as we've just had our firstborn last week and two days later, we find ourselves confined in the hospital. samuel had a UTI. first they told us it would be five days of antibiotics, then seven, and now 10. i'm not real happy about it. this week has been one of my "stay outta my way" weeks. as i'm running errands around town, i find myself saying some pretty nasty things at stupid drivers and just being pretty rotten. in the midst of preparing for a large team of students, preparing to move, running medicines to the children in the village and taking care of my family in the hospital, i have been pretty overwhelmed. this picture was one of those moments i had to slow down and get things in right perspective. right at this moment, nothing else mattered except my son feeling secure enough to sleep on my chest. i was at peace.
thanks for praying for us during this difficult time. we appreciate your prayers and communications...
much love,
the mapes clan...camping in the hospital