An End and a Beginning

Maayong Happon! (Good Afternoon in Cebuano)
Today I write you from the home of our Cagayan de Oro hosts, the DeCleenes, while Ed and a rotating shift of the rest of us pack up our gear for our flight tomorrow. We have officially been in the Philippines for a week, focusing our ministry so far in CDO. However, tomorrow we must leave this beautiful city and fly to the island of Cebu for 5 days of ministry there. We are sad that we can't spend more time with all our wonderful friends at the New J (CDO's Christian radio station), but we are so excited for what God has planned for us in Cebu!

To give a quick wrap-up of what we have done so far:
- 4 school concerts
- 2 worship seminars
- 4 market concerts
- 1 Sunday morning worship service
- 1 outreach concert
- learned Hillsong's 'One Way'- it is a HUGE hit out here!
- given many hugs, autographs and photo opps
- saw the sun rise while swimming in the ocean
- witnessed native tribal dances
- Sara battled a crazy monkey- and won
- went whitewater rafting

Last night while talking, we estimated that we have reached over 10,000 people in just a week! We pray that those who listened continue to work with the radio station who, in addition to offering a positive alternative in music, offers Bible studies and can connect people with local churches for the long-term ministry that we aren't able to do.

Thank you to everyone who has kept us, our partners, and those who hear Christ's message in your prayers. None of this would be possible without your support. Here are a few specific requests we have this week:
- for 14:21 and their continued ministry in Taiwan
-for health. We are only a few degrees from the equator which means a lot of sun. So far, we are all keeping really hydrated and sunscreened (is that even a word?), but continued prayer for this is soooooo good.
-for our flight tomorrow. It's a short jump between islands, but our gear needs all the tlc it can get from the luggage handlers.
-for our drivers from this past week who, although not Christians, volunteered their time and vehicle to drive our gear around and in turn, were saturated with worship and the Gospel. We pray that their interest in Christ continue to grow and develop.
- for our partner, The New J, and everyone who is a part of it. They are doing amazing work in CDO and we pray that they are able to continue blessing the lives of the Christians who live here and can reach out to those who do not know Christ through the medium of music.
-for the people of Cebu who we will come into contact with- that their hearts and ears be open to the message we bring and the love God is pouring on them.
- for our hearts and ears that we may remain mindful of why we are here and what God has asked and is asking us to do.

So that's it for now (at least from me). I hope we can put more photos up soon, but if I could sum up what all of our photos are, I would use the word BEAUTIFUL. God's amazing artistry is extremely evident at every turn here. From the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep, we are reminded by nature and the people that God is all-powerful and infused into everything we are and do. Could we ask for a better reminder on this trip?