May 5 - Brent
Kim has flown to the US to be with Dawson and Drew as they finish their semesters. Drew graduates from UNCC on Saturday. They both have ongoing finals this week. The girls and I are looking forward to joining them on May 25. Drew and Jordyn get married on May 31. I'll be doing the ceremony. Please pray that I can hold myself together! Kim and I were married 25 years ago on May 26 so it will be a time of special memories, as well as the joy and pride we feel for Drew and Jordyn on their wedding day.
Rainy season has started early this year. We had almost no dry season. The grass is really growing and green. At least it's much cooler than normal.
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February 28 - Kim
Last night was a special night at the church for our girls. We had our first Purity Banquet that we hope will become an annual thing. It was for fathers and their daughters. You've probably heard of them or maybe even had them at your church, but this was a very new thing for people here in the Philippines. Though I wasn't a father, I had the privilege of attending and it was a moving evening to see each father sharing their vows with their daughters and vice versa regarding the area of purity. Each father had a ring that they placed on their daughter's finger and then each girl placed a white rose at the foot of the cross before they kneeled to pray together. It was a very precious moment for Devri and Danya to share with their daddy. One of the most touching moments of the evening was to witness Antonio and Teresa. Teresa has been attending the Bagong Simula (New Beginning) ministry for the last 6 years and has grown into a beautiful young lady with a heart for the Lord. Her father, Antonio, was just released from jail last April after serving a 5 year sentence for something he didn't do. Even after they determined that he was innocent, he had to stay in jail for 2 extra months because of red tape. In spite of the hardships, Teresa's mom worked hard as a laundry woman to care for her 9 children. When Judy found out that the family was subsisting on one bowl of rice a day, the church began to help provide them with food. Several of the children are in our scholarship program and have worked very hard and are top students in their classes. Antonio came to know the Lord while he was in jail and I think most of the church was in tears the first Sunday that the whole family was able to come to church. Their family is a miracle story and to see Antonio putting that ring on his daughter's finger realizing that future generations will be impacted by the transformation that has taken place in their family was something I will never forget. I have placed a few pictures of the evening on the photo album page.
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January 3 - Brent
We’ve had some miracles in our lives here in the Philippines! What started out to be a greatly saddened holiday season without the arrival of Drew, his fiancé Jordyn, and Dawson due to cancelled flights and bad weather, has turned into one of the best ever through an amazing answer to prayer! Let me explain.
Drew, Jordyn, and Dawson were scheduled to leave Greenville, SC for the Philippines on Dec. 19. However, their flight was cancelled due to fog in Greenville and rescheduled for Sunday the 21st. But on Sunday their flight was cancelled again due to bad weather in Detroit. The next available flight out was on Tuesday the 30th, putting their arrival in Manila on New Year’s Eve, a full eleven days after they should have arrived! We were heart-broken, but prayed and trusted God. All our plans for Christmas had to be put on hold. It seemed all our hopes for a joyful Christmas family reunion were dashed. But God had a surprise in store! After Brent placed a call to the airline some seats miraculously opened up on December 23! They arrived on Christmas Eve! Only God could pull something like that off! What looked like sadness and sorrow has turned into great joy! We are now enjoying have them all here with us. We spent some time at the beach, have eaten a lot, and are now celebrating the New Year with friends. Even though it is raining here, the joy cannot be dampened. We believe God has made some real breakthrough’s in 2008 and are claiming by faith that 2009 will be a time of even greater fruitfulness for His Kingdom!
Pray for Drew and Jordyn’s wedding on May 31 in Charlotte, North Carolina. They have one more semester of college before they graduate and then get married. Kim has enjoyed helping Jordyn with getting her wedding dress and invitations made here in the Philippines. Pray for God’s guidance on them as they seek His will for their lives. Pray also for Jordyn and her family. Her grandfather passed away today at the age of 91.
Dawson is doing well in college. He will continue studying music at Southern Wesleyan University this Spring, though may transfer next year to a school in Kansas. We are so impressed by his greatly improving piano skills! He hopes to be a music teacher someday.
Brent will be going to the US on Jan. 3 to continue his Doctoral studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. He will be there until Feb. 20. Pray for Kim and the girls while he is gone, especially for protection and that the car will work and nothing will go wrong with the house. Pray also for the ministries that he will be leaving in the meantime. We’ve had a lot of transitions lately in the ministry and some are still in process. Pray also that he will be able to finish his readings and papers for his classes.
We know God is alive and well, still working miracles today! We hope and pray that you have a breakthrough year in 2009! God bless you!
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