2010 Reflections

Dear Friends and Family,

With Christmas just 1 day away and finally a spare moment to myself to sit at the computer, I figured it was time to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR

I also wanted to take a few moments to reflect back on this last year.  So much has happened and so much of it is hard to explain in words, but I will try.

At the end of 2009 we were looking ahead to a big year in front of us.  We had finished getting much of the building material ready for our house in the the month of December, with hopes that we would have help building our house in the New Year.  In the first week of January it was just going to be Erik and Chuck doing all the building.  With a few days a fellow missionary volunteered his time for a couple weeks to come help.  We also had confirmation that 3 guys would be coming from New Zealand in February.  Within a couple more weeks two more guys from one of our supporting churches had booked tickets to come help build in February also.  Then another missionary that was en route to the Philippines said he would be coming too.  It was so amazing to see the Lord bring all these people together to help us build our house.  By the early part of March our house had a roof and was closed in on three sides!  It was truly amazing to see the work accomplished.  Chuck spent nearly 8 weeks in the village during that time, while the kids and I spent 4 weeks there. 

In mid March we all headed to Manila to await the arrival our baby #6.  During the time we waited for Jenna to arrive, we spent many hours in meetings with our field leadership regarding our team and our co-workers.  By the end of all those meetings it was decided by the Petersons that the Lord would have them move to Manila and be involved in ministry there.  This saddened us very much but we also could see the Lord working in all of us and we know it was what He wanted for us all.

On April 6th, six days early, Jenna Lee Talbot arrived.  She weighed in at 6 lbs 8 oz.  She just had a very little bit of blonde hair.  She was named after my mother, Jennifer, and myself.  My middle name is Lee.  She is a perfect fit to complete our family.  She has been a joy for the whole family.  As her hair gets longer, it gets more and more red.  I just might get my red headed little girl after all!

By the end of April Chuck started to make trips to the village to continue to work on the house.  In mid June we went as a family to the village for the first time since Jenna was born.  This was also the last trip that Jessica, our kids school teacher, would make to the village before returning to Canada to attend Bible School.  We had a good 2 weeks in the village.  The people were very pleased to see Jenna.  It was the end of a 6 month drought in the Philippines so it was very hot and dry in there.

On July 4th Jessica flew back to Canada and just days later a group of 12 people on a UK Summit trip came to help work on the house for almost 2 weeks.  Chuck had a great time with them in the village.  They were able to get a lot of work done on the house.  It got to the point that we were able to move into it.

In August we made the final move into the village, into our house!!!  It was very exciting and very scary at the same time.  There was so much packing to do in order to move and so much unpacking once we got there.  The house had many things not done on it so it was a challenge to get organized.  Plus the school year needed to begin for the 4 older kids.  There was so much to be done but we made it through our first 7 weeks living in the village.

We were encouraged by leadership to take a short break about 7-8 weeks after moving into the village as it can be stressful for the family to be in there for the first time for so long.  So in mid October we came to Manila for a rest plus to get some immunizations for Jenna and a check up for Hala.  After 10 days in Manila we were to head back home with visitors, a family that is in Tagalog language study.  But just days before we were to fly north Typhoon Megi/Juan came right over our village.  It caused much damage to the trees and rice in our area.  We still don’t know exactly to what extent the people suffered lose of rice.  They only plant once a year, thus harvest once a year.  So this crop it supposed to last them till next October.  Many have said they lost up to 75% of their rice.  Typhoon Megi delayed us 2 weeks in our return to the village.  Finally in early November we returned home with our visitors.  We almost didn’t make it as there was heavy flooding in the north.  But we finally did get home.

The Eastons spent a week with us and when they left a single lady came in to visit for a week.  Just days after she left, the Linscotts came in for almost 4 weeks to help work on the house.  What a blessing it was to have all these visitors.  I was able to start language study with our co-worker Christina.  What fun it is to be able to learn to speak their language.

A lot of work has been done on the house this last year.  There is still work to be done but it will be Saturday projects.  Chuck will begin full time language when we return in mid January.  We expect it to take Chuck about 2 years to learn to speak Ga’dang to a level where he is able to translate Bible lessons and teach in their language.  We look forward to that day with great anticipation.

This year Hala turned 11 yrs old in January and is soon to turn 12!  Chuck was next in line with his 35th birthday.  Then came Jenna being born on April 6th.  Eli became a teenager on July 1st, turning 13 yrs old.  Kyle turned 10 yrs old in September and Charlotte was right behind him and turned 8 yrs old.  Sophia had her 3rd birthday in October.  In November I turned 33 yrs old and then we celebrated 15 yrs of marriage.  Where have the years gone to?  We have been so blessed.

This year was filled with so many blessings and a big one was in the gifts that so many of you gave towards the building of our house and the regular support we receive so we can stay and work here with the Ga’dang people.  Thank you so much for your prayers and your giving.

What does 2011 look like for us???

It will be filled with a lot of language learning.  This will be our main focus this year.  Chuck will spend his days learning to speak like they do.  Along with that he will being learning their culture, how they think.  I, Shannon, will be homeschool the 4 older kids and also doing some language study.

We are looking to the Lord this year to bring along some new co-workers to join us in the work of reaching the Ga’dang people.  There are several families in Tagalog language study right now but none will be done until at least the end of 2011.  We are also seeking the Lord to provide a school teacher for the kids sometime this year.  Having someone else teach the kids will free me up to be involved in language study.

Thank you so much for all your prayers for us in 2010.  Please continue to pray for us in 2011.  It is going to be a challenging year.

In Christ,

Chuck and Shannon Talbot

Eli, Hala, Kyle, Charlotte, Sophia, & Jenna