Ok…it may not be quite that dramatic…but we are definitely in the countdown to sharing the incredible stories of what God is doing on the Asia-Pacific Region through missions. Here is our latest teaser video. Share it with your churches, share it with your friends, then find the closest service and time to you…mark your calendar…come and be blessed! We are looking forward to being with you in just a few short weeks!
It is amazing how when we are at a point where we physically have nothing left to give, God steps in and uses us in ways we didn’t think were possible to accomplish His will not only in our lives, but to bless others through us.
Passing out Awards at the Kids International Learning Academy (KILA) Moving Up Ceremony before I spoke
This had been a tough week in so many ways, with Todd traveling yet again and the responsibilities we have on the region with the website and getting the news out with all the different deadlines and then there is the whole computer / internet to deal with that never seems to want to cooperate.
Interruptions in my day are innumerable, and yet each one is an important task or question, but takes my focus off of what I was trying to accomplish.
This is nothing new to any of you reading this. You are all as busy or busier than I am, but I wanted to share how God blessed me in the midst of my business, when I had nothing left to give, and showed me once again that He is in control and I really can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!
Working on the Around The Region (ATR) eNewsletter
After a very long work week with Todd out-of-town for most of it, I was working on the ATR. It typically takes me a good part of the day to get all the stories in there and all the links checked and ready to release. Well, Friday morning, I only had two stories, and a poor internet connection to get the additional needed stories from Todd who was in Myanmar. I was hoping to finish early as I was supposed to speak for the Kids International Learning Academy Moving Up Day Celebration the next day and since I am not a speaker, I wanted to have lots of time to practice. Needless to say, I did not finish early; in fact it was a 14 hour day in the office. I went home and tried to sleep a few hours, but had many interruptions to my sleep with other things that were equally important. I got up early and had my morning Bible reading and devotion time. I did not feel well prepared! I wrote out what I would say one more time, to help it stick in my brain and headed out the door.
I was on my feet in high heels for almost 2 hours, on the stage helping pass out certificates and awards. God blessed and I made the speech. About ½ way through it, I looked up at a theater full of people of every different faith, and I was telling stories about Joseph and his dreams and his choices to do his best and then about my daughter with her surgery and the sign on her wall “Don’t tell God how big your Storm is, Tell your Storm how big your God is!” and I took my eyes off of Jesus for a split second and thought –“what in the world am I doing here?” and I started to sink! And then I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me – to keep my eyes on Jesus, as it wasn’t me speaking – but Jesus through me! I finished and sat down. It wasn’t a great speech, I know that. But I do believe it was what someone in that audience needed to hear!
Later that evening, I was exhausted and was eating some dinner, by myself, as Todd was still gone. I received a text asking me to prepare a song for the following day. I replied and said “sorry, I am physically and emotionally exhausted and I can’t.” Immediately I was convicted. I felt the Lord say – “That is right – you can’t, but my Grace is sufficient for you – and through me – you can.” So I sent another text and said I would do it. I also had the song It is well with my soul running through my head, so told him I would be singing that song. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to release that and recognize that I can’t do anything – but God can do all things through me!
Singing at Antipolo First Church of the Nazarene (AFCN)
It doesn’t matter what happened in my week, the stressful hours, the tiring hours, the feelings of inadequacy, and the feelings of being overwhelmed. I choose to keep my eyes on Him and It Is Well with My Soul! I will continue on in the strength of the Lord! I will continue to step out of the boat, keeping my eyes on Jesus, knowing I will drown if I take my eyes off of him for even a second! I will have peace, because He promised His peace, not as the world understands, but a pure abiding peace!
Over the years throughout our various ministry assignments, we have faced situations that have definitely “pushed the envelope” on our comfort zones. Most people have!
Whether that was flying through the feeder bands of a typhoon with a medical evacuation patient while Connie was in a small village clinic giving birth to our daughter, or whether it was coordinating the evacuation of 25 missionaries out of a city under rebel siege, five at a time with our small mission plane; we have more than once been granted the opportunity to place our trust entirely in God.
Perhaps I had become a bit comfortable…or perhaps God was needing to prepare me for what is yet to come.
Flying over the interior of Papua New Guinea
I’m not sure, but during my recent trip to Papua New Guinea, one of those “situations” presented itself yet again.
Just getting oneself to Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in Papua New Guinea is no small feat. It requires juggling several flights, covering some of the most expensive air miles found anywhere in the world, landing at Port Moresby, taking a smaller plane to Mount Hagen, and then riding in a Toyota Land Cruiser for another hour over roads that some would consider less than smooth (editorial understatement here).
Some of the greatest guys you will meet!
When you finally get there, you find some of the most gracious, committed, compassionate souls on earth. Both expat mission personnel and nationals await with smiles, open arms, and generosity beyond measure. They are a tight knit team…and given the situations they face on a regular basis…they need to be.
One night while eating dinner with Tim and Karla Deule, Global Serve Missionaries with the Church of the Nazarene, one of the other mission team members came knocking at the door. “Todd, Connie has been trying to reach you, she just sent me a message, you need to get in touch with her as soon as possible.” Those kinds of messages are seldom good news. “Can you tell me anything else,” I asked. Hesitantly and carefully, the team member said, “Your daughter is in the emergency room in Idaho and possibly has a blood clot in her lungs.”
My medical training kicked into overdrive. Pulmonary embolisms (blood clot in the lung) are never something one hopes to experience. My mind raced to the knowledge of a dear friend’s son who in his late 20s passed away of just such an issue, just a few years ago. Then the pilot side of my brain kicked in plan A, Plan B, …what flights were there out of here…how would I get to Mt. Hagen, Port Moresby, Manila……
As I left Tim and Karla’s house to go find a way to connect with Connie for the whole story, the reality of the situation set in. Me…whose top strengths include “arranger” could arrange nothing. There could be very few more remote areas in the world from which to try and respond. Limited phone, internet, travel…I was beyond my ability to fix it…and then the reality came that it wasn’t my job to fix it…it was my job to trust.
Peaceful Early Morning Sunrise, Dusin Mission Station, PNG
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again; Rejoice! Let our gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7
God provided in so many ways. I am so thankful that He allowed me to be with some of the greatest brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you so much Kudjip family for gathering together and praying, encouraging, and believing.
Whatever your “situation” God is truly all you need…because He will provide what you need…when you need it (thanks honey…I have heard you say that many times). He provided for Jess…as she is doing much better now…for Connie with peace in Manila…and for me…with peace and a team that took our daughter to the arms of our heavenly father in prayer when this earthly father was not able to “fix it.”
Thank you all for your continued prayers, encouragement, and commitment to being part of our team!
Trekking = A trek is a long, adventurous journey undertaken on foot in areas where common means of transport are generally not available.
While Todd was trekking through the highlands and valleys of Papua New Guinea, I was trekking through the Bible in the Philippines. We each were having our own adventures, which opened our eyes to many new and wonderful things.
Todd has been traveling since the end of January through Papua New Guinea to see the work, film some stories and recruit writers for the Asia-Pacific Website. He is now in Australia, and is touring the work there in several locations, doing much of the same thing. He is getting to know the people, hear their heart for spreading the gospel and hopefully catching some of that on film!
I attended a 4 day workshop held here on the APNTS campus with Ray Neu, Bible Trekking, and Woodie Stephens, Director SDMI.
With a great percentage of the population of our world not able to read for themselves, telling the stories of Jesus is the only way they will hear of Him. The training was to help us not only tell the stories from the Bible in an interesting way, but to then facilitating the discussion to help the listener glean the truths from the story for themselves which will help them remember those truths they found and be able to tell the story to others.
Our Media team here filmed the training for Ray and Woodie to use in helping train others. Not only were those of us attending the training being blessed by what we were discovering in the stories, but the media team was also! And they were putting the training they received while behind the cameras into action that week!
Today we had the privilege of celebrating the 30th Anniversary of GMA Church with our special friends the Tias. As we drove to the church this morning, we realized very quickly that we were going to be delayed as the Barangay elections were in full swing and we encountered several marches with people walking, motor cycles, candidates on the front of Jeepneys with microphones doing last minute statements and even a marching band!
While it was very interesting to watch all of this, we had a schedule to keep! NOT! When you are stuck in traffic on a narrow road with parades and all, you just ease along with the traffic and hope you make it to your destination before the closing prayer!
Communion with fellow believersStrategy Meeting after the service
We did make it in time for most of the sermon, as the DS who was speaking that day was coming from the same place we were, but luckily he had left before us. We enjoyed the sermon and were blessed with partaking in communion with this wonderful group. After the service, lunch was served and we enjoyed visiting with many people while we ate and we even fit in a quick meeting with the Field Strategy Coordinator before we left to head back home. Luckily going home only took about an hour as apposed to the two hours it took to get there!
We didn’t make it to the house yet, we stopped at the office to take care of some last minute details for the conference that is starting tomorrow and found more details that needed to be taken care of, so we are doing what we do best! Helping, communicating, and filling in the gaps.
Please pray for the leaders here and all those attending the conference from Korea. Our prayer is that this conference would build unity among God’s people and that we would be sensitive to what God would say to each of us, as we meet together.
Please pray for our team here at WMC as we are trying to assist in whatever way we can to help them feel welcome and also are providing audio and video coverage along with anything that we find that needs to be done.
A gift that each one received in celebration of the 30th Anniversary
Your thoughts and prayers throughout the day and night are what keeps us going. Our favourite saying in the office is that we know we are over the target (meaning we know we are doing what God wants us to) because we are catching flack (the devil is working hard to make trouble for us.)
My most memorable and most intimidating experience recently was to take a Tricycle (motorcycle with a side car) that stopped to pick up two other women from close to our house to the main road and then catch a loaded Jeepney from there to the office. It wouldn’t be such a big deal except that I had to do it alone, as Todd was working with a medical team that came over and I also had to do it in a dress carrying my computer bag and purse and a jacket I would need in the WMC air-conditioned office! I chose my wardrobe carefully, opting for the long flowing “broomstick” skirt that my Father-in-law calls my “missionary skirt” so that I would be well covered all the time. I didn’t think about the fact that I would trip over it getting in and out as it was so long! I had texted Grace in the office and she wrote back the Tagalog words that I would need and told me to have the exact amount ready so that I didn’t have to worry about getting change from them. I made it to the office and was feeling quite proud of myself……so the devil frustrated me on the way home and I ended up walking the couple of Kilometers and caught a Tricycle up the main big hill in the subdivision and paid a lot for it! What is that verse…..pride goeth before a fall…… you would think I would learn!
The reason I had to have the above new experience, is because the car we purchased broke down after we had the new experience of driving through a flooded area. The rain stared while we were out running an errand on Sunday late afternoon and by the time we returned on the road we had started out on approximately 30-45 minutes later, the road was flooded, up to the bottom of the doors of our little Honda CRV. Getting an inch or two of rain in a 30 minute period is common here. There was no choice but to go with the flow of traffic through the flood water, other cars smaller than ours were going through. We made it just fine (I took a video of it) and made it home praising the Lord the whole way! The next morning when I went to drive Todd to the main road to meet up with the Medical Team at 5am, the car wouldn’t go into gear. I got out and switched places with Todd, he thought I was just not doing it right – and still, it wouldn’t go into gear. We have a mechanic coming to look at it Thursday morning. Hopefully he will show up and we are praying he will be able to fix it quickly without costing too much. I have been wishing I had that big ugly 4 wheel drive “Mystery Machine” Van we had in Africa! J That would have sailed right over the water – never even getting close to the underside of the vehicle!
Another new experiences was that Todd was able to go and help out with a medical team that was here. They put him on triage and they saw 400-500 patients per clinic day! That is a lot of sick/hurting people. They had 3 docs with them from the Ukraine and Paramedics from the US. They helped many patients, but there were some patients that the only help they could give was prayer, as they knew that the limited medicine they could give would not be enough to cure, only the Great Physician can help them and heal them. The prayers for them continued through the night and today each time they come to mind. One does not experience that type of hurting without it having an impact on them.
We moved into our new house and are getting things worked out with the water tank on the roof that has to be monitored while filling between 9pm and 11pm each night. To leaks in the pipes somewhere between the 3rd floor roof and the ground level. When you pay dearly for every drop of water that is pumped in at that hour, you don’t want the water to just disappear. Todd was able to work with the owners and they got a plumber in and thankfully found the main leak! That is after they tore up the tile in one of the bathrooms thinking the leak was there and not finding it and then starting to dig outside where they finally found a substantial leak and fixed it.
One of the more fun new experiences was that Todd was asked to speak at the Annual Metro-Manila District Bowling Tournament. He gave a 15 minute devotional with a challenge and then the fun began! We didn’t bowl, we just visited with the people and enjoyed ourselves. They had some serious bowlers and some very high scores! There was a lot of laughter and great fellowship. We were thankful to be a part of the event.
Connie shines when she gets to serve…especially food! She misses not having a work team here this week!
Manila, Philippines: (Connie writing – Todd adding photos – team effort 🙂 ) This week we have had many new experiences. From the monsoon rains the first part of the week, dropping an inch of rain per hour over a 24 hour time period, to helping pack items to bring food and clean water to many families hit hard by the severe flooding and to top it off, a Jesus Film showing to keep the focus on Jesus and what He suffered for each one of us.
When it rains an inch of rain an hour, most everything stops. This is similar to a severe snow storm that many in the US and other areas of the world face from time to time. The government gave the mandate that everyone should stay home unless you were an emergency responder or disaster relief worker. In words that most Northern American kids would understand – a “snow day.” For those not affected so severely, it is a day to stay home and get things done, but if you happen to live along a river or creek, or in a low lying area, you hope and pray that you have a home left at the end of the day.
The monsoon type rains persisted for 3 days and nights, I was beginning to have thoughts about Noah and his family with the constant pounding rain on the roof! I don’t know if I could have handled 40 days and nights of it! The quiet when the rains let up some on Wednesday was like a breath of fresh air. Todd and I worked in the office and at the apartment, wherever we could find a good internet connection as most of our work is done online. Some days saw us going between the two several times. Cables and flooding don’t make for great internet connections, and with 60% of the city flooded there are multiple areas where the cables pass that were affected.
Packing relief supplies with field office staff and work and witness team members.
We have helped this week with putting together bags of food in conjunction with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries and Nazarene Disaster Response. The first packing session was completed and a team including Todd took all of the supplies to the area to distribute them along with a group that helped the community not only with food and water but emotional and spiritual needs as well. Treating the whole person, not just the immediate need for food and water – but the bigger need of Jesus! When Todd got home he talked about the counseling and support that was provided to the little children. They were given papers and guided in expressing their emotions through coloring and telling their story.
Children were encouraged to share their story through coloringWashing the mud off the feet of the children whose homes were flooded was a tender moment.
The next packing session had more volunteer packers and they called in the district leaders to help transport the supplies. This was an education for me! I didn’t know you could fit that many bags of rice and food on a motorcycle or what we call a tri-cycle, which is basically a motorcycle with a side car.
Tri-cycle delivers rice to be packed into smaller bags for families.
They loaded them up with smiles on their faces, knowing what a difference the supplies were going to make for the people of their districts and communities. What a joy to be a part of something like this.
I was able to get to know one of the volunteer boys as we visited throughout the hours we were packing. He lives in the Barangay (smallest administrative district of a town, similar to a suburb or inner city neighborhood) next to the Seminary. I recognized him as being in the worship team at the dedication of the community center expansion and health clinic / pharmacy that we attended a few weeks before. He was telling me that they had installed railings along the paths by the creek to keep from falling into the rushing water. I was very happy to hear that.
Child along pathway in Rowenas Barangay.
He told me that the water had come up to about a foot from the path, but that they were all safe and it was going down by then. I really enjoyed the interaction with him and hearing his dream to be a pastor and that he is in his second year of college in Theological Studies. He is 17 years old!
Rural area on southern edge of Main Island, Luzon, in Philippines.Once again – another food distribution to families who had been hard hit and were struggling.
Last Friday night Todd was privileged to go with a team to an area several hours south of Manila, to assist a couple from Michigan who had come to the Philippine on a work and witness team from the Eastern Michigan District (Church of the Nazarene) and stayed a couple extra weeks. The wife is a Filapina (born in the Philippines). They had a vision to stay to help the people of her home community with food, the Jesus Film and discipleship follow-up. While visiting with them, and hearing their story about how the trip came together and how they felt impressed upon to show the Jesus Film when they came, even though they had heard that it had been shown in that area before with very little response, I could sense that God had a plan.
Over 150 came forward to make a decision for Christ.
Prior to the showing of the Jesus Film, food was prepared for approximately 200 people, and when they had finished serving the meal, they realized they had fed well over 400!
More than 400 were fed a simple dinner of bread and traditional soup.
I love how the Lord multiplied the bread and the soup! Families in the area had been pre-identified and more than 200 relief bags were prepared for those specific families. 200 Bibles were also distributed. More than 150 people came forward at the end of the night to express a desire to make a decision to follow Christ. The couple, John and Lilia, are staying in the area for another week to help with followup. Local pastors have developed a plan for additional followup with the hope of planting a church in this area.
Over 200 Bibles were distributed along with the food.
We continue to update, review, modify and publish new communications in various forms. From E-Newsletters that go out, to Website development, Blogs, Facebook and Twitter. We do our best to keep everyone informed in a timely manner. This does take hours and hours as we are learning new media and dealing with an unreliable internet connection. Your feedback is always welcome, as are personal emails filling us in on your lives and ministries.
The Asia-Pacific “Around the Region News” a weekly electronic newsletter is a ministry of the Asia-Pacific World Mission Communications office, of which Todd serves as the coordinator. You can see this news at: http://www.asiapacificnazarene.org
Thank you so much for your continued prayers, partnership, and encouragement!
Over 600,000 affected by the monsoonal rains that have fallen now for 3 straight days.
This has been an absolutely crazy week of events. Typhoon Labuyo in the Northern Philippines, the Ferry Disaster in the Central Philippines, and now the heaviest recorded rain in history is falling in Manila.
Heavy Monsoon rains have continued to pound the Philippines for the third straight day as officials report that more than 60% of the capitol, Manila, is submerged. Enhanced by Tropical Storm Maring (Trami), which is hovering just to the north of the Philippines, rainfall has exceeded any previous storm in recorded history. Prior to this week, the heaviest recorded rainfall was in 2009 when Typhoon Ketsana dropped 455 mm of rain in 24 hours. By comparison, rainfall reached 600 mm (23.62 inches) in and around Manila Bay on Sunday alone. This is more than a month’s worth of rain in one day.
More than 200 evacuation centers were opened in Manila and surrounding provinces, filled with tens of thousands of People. Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said that more than 600,000 people have been affected by the floods. At least seven people have died, including four who drowned north of Manila on Monday. So far today there have been no new reports of fatalities.
The government has suspended all work except for rescue and disaster response for a second day. Many domestic and international flights at the International Airport in Manila were cancelled.
Please pray for the people of the Philippines and for the Nazarene families impacted. At this early stage, we do not yet have information on the extent of flooding and losses for our churches and church families. Tropical Storm Maring (Trami) is forecast to move out of the area towards Taiwan by Wednesday and the rain is expected to taper over the next 24 hours.
This flooding comes on the heels of Typhoon Labuyo that made landfall in the Northern Philippines last Monday. Nazarene Disaster Response in partnership with Nazarene Compassionate Ministries provided relief supplies to Nazarene Families impacted by that storm.
Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary is situated on higher ground to the east of Manila and has been spared significant flooding, although staff, students, and faculty, are in their second day of no classes as a result of the weather.
Photos from Associated Press
Please continue to pray for our Nazarene families and churches as they deal with yet another major weather event in only 8 days.
It has been quite a week here in the Philippines! We have had the opportunity of helping host a Work and Witness team this past week, where Connie has been cooking many of the meals. This has been a good distraction from our empty apartment now that Courtney is back in the states. We thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to share with the team and to make new friends. They were a great bunch of folks!
Work and Witness team from Michigan.
Speaking of Courtney, she has arrived safely and has already been blessed with a job at the Boys and Girls Club in Lewiston. She received word of the job while she was here in the Philippines, completed her application, sent it in, and told them that she would be back to interview as soon as she returned to the states. She starts work this next week. God is so very good!
Preparing bags of rice for disaster response.
After Typhoon Labuyo (Utor) rolled through, we were able to help out the Philippine Field Office as they prepared over 120 sacks of rice to go to Nazarene families who were displaced by the storm, which hit hardest in the Northern Province of Isabella. Nazarene Disaster Response is delivering the supplies this week.
Today we received news that our house may be ready for us to move in next week. Connie is really looking forward to having a place to start settling into and calling home. The house is located approximately 3/4 mile away as the bird flies, but anywhere between 15 minutes and 2 hours depending on traffic and the routing that must be taken.
Speaking of traffic…we went to the edge of the Manila Bay yesterday to the convention center at the Mall of Asia. One of the World Missions Communications team members (Ervz) was teaching a workshop and we wanted to support him. The distance from the seminary to the convention center is 13.6 miles. It took just over 2 hours to get there and 2 hours 55 minutes to get home. There were no accidents, no flooded streets, just normal Manila traffic. Let’s see…that is about 5.44 miles per hour. Anyone up for a race? I am not sure how many times I clutched for jeepneys, trucks, busses, motorcycles, cars, pedestrians, but it was definitely a workout!
Oh…and a couple more final photos of the WMC-AP team. They truly love to have fun together!
Some of the WMC-AP TeamCelebrating Sean’s Birthday.
On a very sad note…new reports are coming in today of a very serious ferry accident that occurred last night. A ferry and cargo ship collided in the area of Cebu, Southern Philippines. Many confirmed fatalities and around 200 missing. The ferry sank within minutes of the impact. As it was at night, many of the passengers were asleep inside.
Volunteers search water near where accident occurred. Damage to the front of the cargo ship can be seen.
Please see the linked news article regarding the relief supplies going to our church families in the Northern Philippines. While loss of life was minimal, which was a miracle given the power of the storm, home and crop damage was extensive. Over 120 Nazarene families are displaced due to damaged homes. See the story.
Posted from Todd while traveling.
Formerly serving with MAF International in Papua New Guinea – Returned to USA in November to focus our ministry service on family!
Todd & Connie Lou - back in the USA! 