First Medical Flight for Ga’dang People

Last night Christina learned that our good friend Analyn (she is 19 weeks pregnant) started having some cramping and bleeding.  Analyn has become a good friend to both Christina and I over the last year.  We were so excited for her when she became pregnant as her and her husband had been wanting another baby for about 2 years now.  They have 2 children already.

After talking with Analyn this morning we decided that it would be best to take her out to the hospital and have a checkup.  Christina having been home for just 2 days was happy to accompany Analyn to town.

It is possible to get to town by land.  But it is a 2 hr hike, if you walk yourself.  She would have needed to been taken out by stretcher.  Then it is a 1 hr bumpy ride to the nearest town.  The hospitals there are not good.  It would then be another 1 hr drive to a town with a good hospital.

It was obvious that it was best to fly Analyn by our NTM helicopter to that town with a good hospital.  That is what we have the helicopter for. 

The saddest thing for us is that we had to think about whether or not we can afford to pay for this flight. We do not have extra support to cover these medical flights.  It cost us $180 US for the flight alone.  Then there will be the hospital and doctors fees on top of that.

We decided to trust the Lord to provide for this expense.  We know He is faithful to take care of all our needs and the needs of the people we are ministering among.

If you would like to help us with this medical expense or any other medical expenses for the Ga’dang people, please let us know.  We can direct you the information you need.  Or go to www.ntm.org/canada/give  Make sure to include a note for Ga’dang Medical Fund.

Please be praying for Analyn and her baby.  We will keep you updated as we learn more.

Water

It’s finally done!  There is now a fresh supply of water for our village thanks to all the hard work of both the people living there and the recent NTM SUMMIT team that came from the UK.  It was 3 years ago when we promised the people that we would provide a fresh water supply for them and we are very thankful that the Lord allowed us to come through on our promise.  Here, with pictures is how it all played out:

Before the SUMMIT team arrived we needed to get the water as far as the village.  This meant laying 1 km of 1” pipe from the spring up in the hills down to the tank just above the village.  The men of the village helped me cut the trail, lay the pipe and pour the pad for the the tank. 

When the team arrived, they got right to work digging.  We also had help for the village people for this as well.  They came up with the idea of using the plough to break the ground.  What a great help that was!

It was hot, and every day of the first week with the team there it rained in the afternoon.  Rain or shine though, they kept working hard.

We set up 6 faucets in the village, each complete with a cement pad.  The team worked on these as well.  The village guys thought it was amazing to see the SUMMIT team ladies right in there mixing cement and getting dirty!

By the end of the 12 days, we were able to bury all the water lines in the village and hook up all the faucets, as well as Christina’s and our water tanks at our houses. 

To say thanks to the SUMMIT team and to all the people in the village who helped us with the water project, we hosted a ‘blow out’ (party), complete with pig, pancit and dekat (sticky rice dish).

We are very thankful to all who have given financially to make this project happen, as well as all those who prayed for us during this time.  A lot of other things happened that could have set us back but the Lord saw us through and we are blessed as a result.

By Chuck

Building a Vision for the Ga’dang

This short video was put together by some fellow missionaries that came to visit us a couple weeks ago.  I hope you enjoy it and that you will pray for us, our support staff including our pilot and the Ga’dang people.

Water Project & UK Summit Team 2011

We are very excited to finally be getting started on the water project for the village.  Knowing that this project was going to be a lot of work for us and the village people, we thought that it would be great to have the UK Summit team back with us again this July.  Every year a group of people looking to be exposed to missions and people wanting to help out missionaries, come together from the UK to the Philippines.  If you remember we hosted the team last July when we were trying to get our house to a point that we could move in.  Chuck and Christina had such a great time with them, we knew that all of us as a family would love to have them with us too.  Our leadership decided that it would be a great fit for the team.  We are really excited to host them.

This is the team as they met for a weekend orientation. (2 people are missing)

What will they be doing?

We are bringing fresh water from a spring into the village so the people can have clean drinking water.  This will also help them in the times of dry season when there is little water in the village wells. 

There will be lots of digging, laying pipe, mixing cement, burying pipe and so on.  There will be so much for them to do.

Ga’dang people will be helping too.

Last week Chuck met with the men in the village so we could get them started on the prep work involved.  The hope is that we can get the pipe in the ground from the spring to the village before the team arrives in the second week of July.  Everyone was very excited and looking to help however they can.

Will you pray for us as we plan and work on this project? 

There is still lots of planning to be done.  The people in the village are getting their rice fields ready for planting in July, so helping dig trenches will take away from that work. 

Pray for the Summit team as they plan to come.  Pray they will all get along and learn more about missions while here.

Pray for the finances for this project.  We need about $3500 to pay for all the materials.  For more information, send us an email.  Or go to NTM's Website to find out more.

Pray for us as we balance language study and working on the project in the weeks ahead.

Another Junior

Shortly after returning to the village in April, our neighbour had her baby.  She was very willing to have Christina and I attend the birth of her third child.  Our plan was to just sit back and observe how they do things.

It didn’t take long into the pushing stage, that we realized that we were going to be needed to lend a hand.  We had already known that her first 2 children were very hard deliveries.  It was very scary to watch and even help as she pushed for about 3 hrs before the baby was born.  I spent so much time praying for her and that little baby.  We learned so much by watching and helping, in how they do things.  This was the first baby that we have ever seen born.  We are so thankful that mother and baby were ok after all that hard work.

I do my best to visit almost every day.  I don’t want him to be scared of the white lady!!!  His most favourite thing to do just as soon as I get him in my arms…is to pee on me!  It is the running joke now.  Yesterday as him mom passed him to me, she said he didn’t have even a cloth diaper on, just little shorts.  Of course I took him and of course within minutes I was wet!

Here he is not long after he was born.

Now here he is at 5 weeks old.  I think he was trying to smile at me!!!

What a privilege it is to be a part of this family’s lives.

A little toy

Last week as we were helping with the preparations for a birthday party, one of the kids pulled this python out of a water can.  It was quite a site to watch as some of the girls were a little freaked out by it.  But the boys didn’t seem to bothered by it.  One of the men spent some time playing with it as Kyle watched.  We later learned that they eventually ate it. (Snake tastes good.  Just not a lot of meat on the bones.)

New puppy

We wanted to introduce you all to our little puppy.  Our dog Jojo had her first litter of puppies a couple weeks ago, although only one was born alive.

Here he is at just after he was born.

Now here he is at 3 weeks.

We are considering a name with the meaning fat.  This little guy just eats and eats.  We are really enjoying having this puppy around.