Life Getting Back to Normal

Life is back to normal.  I am in class, we are all very busy, and again I am figuring out how to manage it all.  It is nice to have some routine again after the semester break, but I also did enjoy the time I could spend at the church.  I am very excited for this semester since I have more classes that I will be enjoying, and one class that is a huge blessing.  It is Urban Evangelism and Church Planting!  When I saw it I knew I had to take it, and after a few classes, I am really enjoying it!  I have a great teacher, and my mind is really being expanded as well as, getting so many new ideas about the city, church, evangelism and more!

Though next year is really the beginning of my Bible subjects, right now the focus is on getting the general education classes out of the way, and I am happy with my classes this semester.  It was very interesting when I got my grades back to see that almost all are in the 90's!  I then asked a foreign teacher how it was possible (since in my whole life I have never got a 90% other then in gym class), and she said the marking system is very inflated here, as well as the fact that the passing grade is 75%.  So I have basically all 90's so far (except for that thorn in my flesh, math!)

December is a very very exciting time in the Philippines, and the church is ramping up for all the parties and programs!  We have had quite a pain trying to set a date for our children's Christmas party,  because of the previous flooding, the children missed a whole week of school so they have to catch up by having Saturday classes, so we have decided not to have a early party, but to do it on the 23rd of December.  I am very excited since we are planning on having 300 children!  We are going to use a basketball court and invite all the kids in our neighborhood.  Our plan is to do a carnival-style party and share the gospel and the truth about Christmas through a puppet show.  We have gift bags packed and ready and are fixing up our carnival games and adding some new ones this year.

Some wonderful news is that having the new missionaries here is a huge blessing!  Since they arrived our youth ministry has improved so much and it has lifted a huge burden off my back.  It's so nice to have more people around to help out and, some fun roommates!

I also forgot to mention in my last update that we started a daycare in the church.  It has been something we have been wanting to do for sometime, so I said "let's just go for it" and see how it goes.  I am happy to report it has been going well, but we are seeing that there are some real needs!  Everything hinges on having a great teacher, and one of our missionaries is a teacher, but he does not speak Tagalog so it makes it very challenging.  We will continue to pursue it and work hard at getting a great program started since there is a deep need for this kind of ministry.  I am going to have to make a tough decision soon about it, but I hope and, ask you to pray as well, that we could be able to continue.  We have been able to reach out to a lot of new mothers in our community, so we really desire to continue.

Please pray with me as there is a lot of work to do this month and I need to manage a lot.  It will be an exciting time as well as a challenging one so I would deeply appreciate your commitment to prayer for what probably will be a wild time!

Grace

This update topic has been a long time coming, and many times I have planned to write about it, but for a variety of reasons, I've put it on hold. So, now is the time to update you about my personal life. If you look at my Facebook page, you will know I have been 'in a relationship' since I arrived back to Manila in January. I chose not to talk about it because at the time it was not very serious and I did not know where it was going. Now I want to tell you all about how I met Grace.

Grace and I met on a boat when our team was going on a missions trip, and her Bible school was also doing a missions trip. They had some Koreans missionaries with them, because her school is run by Korean missionaries, and we noticed them reading a Bible, so started talking with them. They introduced us to the rest of their group, and then I noticed Grace and started chatting with her. We chatted for the rest of the boat ride, which was three hours and I began to connect with her. She was quiet, confident, and clearly a strong woman of God. I was very impressed. Since I was relatively new to the Philippines at that time I did not understand where her Bible school was, and I thought it was very far away. I began to think about it, and I thought it would never work because of the distance but I was wrong, and I actually can drive my motorbike there!

It was almost two years after we had first met that I finally got to see her again. I had been in another relationship during that 2 years and had learned a lot. The biggest thing I learned was that there was no chance unless she had a clear calling and will to serve God. I really began praying spcifically .that God would lead me to the woman that He has for me. I asked God that she be the daughter of a pastor, from outside the city, have a calling, share my heart in the ministry, and more. When I met Grace on the boat, she was/is all that and more. I literally checked off everything I prayed for! I was so surprised, and for whatever reason I had to wait two years, but it was well worth it. It gave me time to do more growing up!

When we finally connected again things went great! We met once a week at a mall and would spend the afternoon together and just talk. It was great that before we got serious we had four months to build a friendship. Soon however, I was back to Canada which was my last trip home from last September to January. The four months I was in Canada I called every other day and we talked and continued to develop our friendship, and our plan was that when I arrived back we would officially be dating. So when I arrived we became official, but were still only able to spend one day a week together, sometimes once in two weeks. But it was good, healthy and allowed everything to progress slowly.

When Grace finished Bible school, she moved to Manila to her sister's house. She began attending our church and slowly getting into the ministry. It was so nice to have a trained person to help out, as she could lead programs and take on significant roles and responsibility! Grace has flourished in our church since she came, and has become crucial part of our team. Since I had to commit a lot of my time to school, it was her who helped pick up the slack, and leading the mothers ministry. Right now she is vital to the church and a huge help with dealing with all the girls we have here. I really thank God for her, and the impact she has had one me and my church.
I would like to ask for your prayers, as this is a very important aspect of my life. Obviously a cross cultural relationship brings on different challenges, but when I reflect, what relationship does not? Me and Grace have made it very clear that constant communication is going to be key, and that we have to recognize that there are going to be some things that are just harder for us because of where and how we were raised. Pray for understanding and Gods clear direction for our relationship. I am very excited that for what our future holds, and what God will do with us. I remember the day well when I saw the potential for our relationship when I asked her "what will you do if we got married and God called me back to Canada? Or somewhere else?" She replied "It's ok for me, my life does not belong to me anymore." When I heard her say that, I new God had brought me straight to the right girl. For me, being a single missionaries has a lot of advantages, and a lot of disadvantages, but the truth is it's lonely, and I am thankful for a great person to walk beside me in the ministry!
Thank you all for your love and support! This Monday I am back in school, so that means I am back to a hectic schedule and a lot of work.