There are so many great things going on not only in my life, but in this Seminary, with the World Mission Communication team etc… that the devil doesn’t like and is trying everything he can to frustrate us.  But in a moment of frustration, as I sat at my computer that was having trouble getting an internet connection and I looked out the window and saw a strikingly white bird fly across the lush green of the tropical campus,  I was reminded of my Bible reading this week where Jesus came to John the Baptist to be Baptized and the heavens opened and the Spirit of God came down like a dove and rested on Him. I felt like God was telling me that His Spirit is here!  Thank you Lord, for moments of inspiration and renewal in the simple sighting of a bird.

That was my post just before I found out that my laptop may be the cause of the problems with the Asia-Pacific Website and to help make sure we don’t have further problems, they are going to reformat my laptop. 😦

I know that God is in control and that this is just another attempt to frustrate me.  I have been listening to my Gaither music on my earphones and I will NOT stop praising my Lord in the midst of this storm!

From extreme sports to church anniversaries – we cover it all!

Writing, editing, scheduling, overseeing, mentoring, encouraging and the list never stops.  The past two weeks have seen us learning more about the duties and responsibilities we have here on the region, and trying to tie it all together with good communication for all parties. We have implemented a weekly news release that highlights the different stories from across this region and helps keep everyone informed about the activities  and the prayer items and praises.

There is so much to do here, so many “good” things, so many needs, so many opportunities; we have to keep reminding ourselves that we need to do the best, things, the things that will have an eternal impact and not just get worn out with all of the good things we could get involved with.

Living here is exciting!  The team we are working with at World Mission Communication is incredibly talented and they have such a heart for touching lives and having an eternal impact.  We are amazed at their dedication and commitment to their work and to help those around them.

Visiting the area churches is one of the things we are enjoying.  I am amazed at how many churches there are locally, but I guess when the number of people in the city you live in is over a few million, there needs to be several churches!  This past Sunday found Todd with some other missionaries at a special anointing and prayer service for a young pastor who is fighting bilateral kidney failure at age 28.  Please keep Pastor Ricky in your prayers, such a young life, dedicated to God to preach the Word, holding to his faith and trust in God for whatever the outcome.

We thank you for your continued prayers for us and for the ministry here.  We truly couldn’t do what needs to be done without that prayer support.  Your words of encouragement via messages, email and such are a huge blessing to us as we endeavor to do our part to reach the lost with the Good News of Jesus and His Love!

(Saturday, Aug 9th, 2013, Manila) This has been an exciting week here in Manila.  I will attempt to recap it in photos so that you can feel the story!

A week ago today, we had an exciting seminar with more than 50 Nazarene youth from around the Philippines, promoting radio in ministry and helping them to identify ways that they could get involved.  There were break out sessions and the youth truly got excited about promoting one of our World Mission Broadcast programs “Perfect Rhythm” that has been produced in the Philippines for more than 19 years.  See news story  I (Todd) gave a presentation, Courtney and Connie were there to help with media.

Sunday, we drove about 1 hour south of Manila to the home church of our field strategy coordinator.  It was a special time to meet new friends and to share food together.  Connie and Courtney are enjoying a favorite dish of fried bananas.

The week started out very rainy.  Courtney loves the warm Asian rain as it reminds her of her early years in Africa.  She is always wanting to go out and walk in the rain.

We then rolled into our week of covering news stories from around the region, including Work and Witness Teams to Tonga and the installation of a new professor at Asia Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary, Dr. John Bondy.

As the week continued, we welcomed a Work and Witness team from Michigan.  They arrived late Tuesday night and spent their day Wednesday, orienting to the APNTS campus, meeting staff, and attempting to recover from jet-lag!

The week has been very busy as we have been developing a new Asia-Pacific regional communications piece.  Graphics needed designing, databases developed, and protocol established.  The newsletter will come out each Friday (Lord willing) and will highlight stories and activities cross the Asia-Pacific Region with the Church of the Nazarene.  We would welcome you to sign up to receive this communication.

As Thursday came, we were reluctantly facing the fact that our time with Courtney here in the Philippines was coming to a close.  While I would have preferred to cancel her passport and keep her with us, we knew that this new chapter of her life was needing to start.  There is a young man, Landen Ray Kelly, waiting at home for his fiance to return, a new apartment and term at Lewis Clark, a job interview, and many family members.

To help lessen the blow of Courtney’s pending departure, we decided to go out and find a French pastry shop to enjoy a last breakfast together.  This was a tradition back in French West Africa, so we found just the place.  Connie and I have decided that we may have to go back and visit in honor of Courtney…several times!

One of the greatest blessings about being a missionary and a MK, is that you find and make new friends and family in every new “Home” country.  On Thursday afternoon, the media team/family had a farewell party for CJ along with an early birthday celebration.  Thanks to Facebook, Courtney now has new friends for life!

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens….a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.”  Friday was our time to shed a few tears.  We would be misrepresenting our lives and ministry if we said that these times of sorrow never came.  But…while our Lord didn’t promise that we would never have times of saddness, He did promise that through them all…He would be with us.   As we said goodbye to Courtney at the airport, our tears joined the warm Asian rain flowing down our cheeks.

We returned home and found our apartment very quiet.  But, God is good, as we have the Work and Witness team here from Michigan and we are helping with preparing the meals for them, so we were able to jump in and get busy, keeping our minds focused on serving and not on sorrow.

This has been our week.  We are so thankful for technology.  As I finish writing this story, we are watching Courtney land at Seattle (via flight aware).  After transiting through Taipei, she is just one flight away from yet another temporary home.

I will close with what Courtney posted on one of her social media sites this week, it sums up the Missionary life:  “I have decided that home is where you are loved. If that means multiple continents, different houses, or even different states that’s okay. If you ask me where my home is I will respond by telling you it’s everywhere I’m loved.” (Courtney Aebischer – Aug 2013)

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.  We are so blessed to have you as part of our team!

Yours and His,

Todd and Connie Lou

Just a brief update.   We had a great 12 hour flight over the ocean and arrived here in Taiwan just after 5:00am.  We are recharging our batteries (on the social media gear) and preparing to board again in about 2 hours 30 minutes for Manila.  Thank you for your prayers.  The worst part of the trip so far has been from Boise to Seattle, where we had to navigate around and through several bumpy clouds.   One particular turbulent bump was sufficient enough to harass me by knocking my earphones out of my ears while listening to Josh Groban.   Now as a veteran flyer…that got my attention just a bit.  I felt sorry for those passengers who weren’t as comfortable in rough air.   We will keep you appraised.

Posted from Todd while traveling.

Courtney spoke to the Orleans, Indiana church about what it was like from her perspective as a missionary kid being evacuated from the middle of a war.  She brought a different perspective and gave a sweet tribute to her father for Father’s Day about having a Dad who supported his family even through an evacuation sending his family to another country and what that meant to her.

The NMI President took us to lunch at Spring Mill Park.  And we took some time after lunch in celebration of Father’s Day and Todd’s Birthday to walk around and take a boat tour of a cave, before driving up to Indianapolis to prep for the Missionary Deputation Meeting all day Monday and prepping for General Assembly.

The Park was absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed the time we spent there as a family looking at the amazing creation God made!  Caves are so interesting and different!