VERY informal note

So, Monday, Yoland and I went shopping for the LADIES' CAMP. Wed. the ladies registered. I took the meat down there ---had had it cut up in my freezer and separated for the meals. Also I made a lot of cookies and popcorn on Wed. On Thurs. I got there by 7:45 AM. The topic was the Virtuous Woman.
Of course I thought I wasn't going to need this ---haven't I arrived?? smile. The men did super jobs on the teaching ---very, very good and I found lots to work on. Also the ladies had lots of interaction and questions and really seemed to enjoy camp - approx. 6 hours of teaching every day.
People who were supposed to come didn't; and people who weren't coming did. Anyway, we ended up with about 24 or 28. We had lots of food and everyone was very happy. I just kept dishing out money for whatever --used it up.
I slept there on a foam mat on the floor those next two nights ---didn't sleep much. Some of those ladies snore - smile. I felt bad having a foam mat, a blanket AND a pillow --some ladies just slept on a sheet. We took extra foam pads but still it wasn't enough.
They were so funny with their bath thing ---getting up at 3:30 and 4 AM to take baths outside! Heat water in a pot! What - not me. Just leave me dirty - Ha. Anyway, it was fun ---just so nice to sit and listen and participate. I enjoyed giving input wherever. Nice Bible games too ---everything really went super well, smoothly and great teaching. We could have had more ladies, but we all enjoyed the camp and the ones who didn't come just missed and will wish they had come.
Thurs. night Steve K. came and showed "The Hiding Place." It was good. Then Friday night we did the invisibility game and then watched "Tangled" ---set up by Dan. They all really liked that too. Then we had a meeting after that ---testimonies that were really good and went on until MN.
I think they need lots of teaching on how to raise children. That might be a great topic for next year.
Being a Virtuous Woman doesn't drop into your lap --you have to read your Bibles and grow.
Saturday morning I came home and attacked the house ---or it attacked me??? It was quite dirty and laundry build-up. Oh well, the joy of the Lord is my strength. With JOY we can do anything and without it, life is a drag.
Our church is painted and looks super nice.
All our pets are fine. Raolline's dog died --that was sad. I wanted to get her one of our neighbor's puppies---like Shelby, who is a very pretty dog. Anyway, we went down there today ---the dog had 6 puppies. Well, they had sprayed the yard and the dogs with a poison to kill ticks and they had all died!! That was super sad for us. Poor mother dog.
School is supposed to start this week ---will it?? I don't know. The school room is in a mess and I am not psyched at all. Dan still wants to paint it, but the time is running out for sure. He painted it today.
Have a great week.
Joan
So, I looked over my notes --no way to tell how they worked on me. Each of the speakers did a very good job and were interesting. The entire theme of camp was Proverbs 31 --picked apart phrase by phrase.
What does a virtuous woman look like??? There is the question. And it doesn't fall into your lap ---takes learning, work and change. I'll have to add in my own comments as I go ---what encouraged me in my own mind. (Me) It does take work, but the Holy Spirit is there to work IN us. It is not our own effort. We just have to eat. We eat and we grow. If you eat the right food, your body will grow beautifully. So, I need to serve good food (at church spiritually) and the ladies will grow ---that is what we are predestined to do. Our work is to feed and eat. Jesus said --Come to me - find rest for your SOULS. That is what we want ---rest in our souls.
Your testimony counts --Who can find / who can Be a virtuous woman? You don't find one in the world. Must be a Christian. Virtue comes from God. Does him good and not evil all her days. (Me) Wise --opposite of a fool. If you are not acting wisely, you are acting like a fool. Who wants to be considered a fool? Not I.
The definitions were great. What are the signs of her character? DAILY These make an acrostic in French - Vertueuse (Virtuous).
Have a CLEAR Vision --a goal with plans to arrive there.
Surpass them all (Emerithe)---do everything with excellence ---do the best you can whatever you do --the best quality, master of technique.
Radiant and joyful --on your face a smile. Beauty of anyone can be seen in a smile --that is what makes people attractive.
Triumphs over problems ---looks for solutions, positive, encouragement --not criticism and panic.
Useful - others can depend on her. Are you missed? or are you lazy. Mean --able to help but won't?
Economic - spends with reflection ---thinks before she spends money. plans ahead, organized --lamp does not go out.
Unique - passes all, above all, what is your work testimony?
Sage - wise - watch your mouth --ALL the time. encourage, not to destroy. Character is evident by the way she speaks.
Worthy of praise (Eloge)--because of the quality of her work and her character ---worthy of praise. If you live well and have no character ---zero.

Well, I am sure you don't want to hear it all --that is just some of what was brought again to my mind. One other thing was the influence on her family. Your family is the evidence of your influence. Her testimony is the same in the family as is out of the family. Appreciated. "A family without prayer is like a house without a roof."
I told the people at our church --send your wives to camp. Do you want them to grow? to become virtuous women? women you can be proud of? If the women don't get fed spiritual food, it is not only they who suffer but you the men and also the whole family. Vice-versa for the men. I love it when Dan goes to conferences --gets fed good spiritual food.
Sorry this was long --not nearly all by any means. Each session was 1 1/2 hours - 6 hours per day ---I know that doesn't add up, but it always went over with the discussion and questions.

Susanna and I are going to try to get in shape ---and stick with it. That is the main problem ---it is so daily!!
Oh yes, Hannah would love to just come back out with Dan!!!! I am so excited with that possibility ---my sweet, kind, French-speaking girl friend to come out and live with us. We are talking the best of the best mappers. Wow. She could do a course at the Bible School --improve her French, do deliveries, drive, on and on, help me with school, piano, ----she is like another me - smile. What do you think? She is not wanting to get married and is not wanting to look. I think I will think along those lines. She wants to be home for a while. So, Seth and Ruth could go on somewhere --maybe Hannah could join them in the next semester. We'll see. Plans and discernment ---lots of praying and God will give us peace ---The God of ALL PEACE will be with us ---and with you. The thought of Hannah coming out makes my heart sing. She might change after she gets to the states and sees Ruth and Seth and Dan. We just need to pray for God's direction and leading.
Love in Christ,
Joan and Dan

Letter from Ruth

> Hey there,
> Ruth wrote a little update but she doesn't have all of your emails so she asked me to send it out.
>
> Our time here is coming to an end. We have less than 4 weeks left before we leave the Philippines. It's so crazy! I can't tell if time has gone by fast or slow. It seems like I've been here for so long. It feels very much like home, but yet not at the same time. I'm still trying to grasp the fact that I'm actually leaving, and trying to make the most of these last few weeks.
>
> All of our schooling is done. All we have left is the NARM exam to become certified, which we will take on September 27 in Monterey, California.
>
> The new students have arrived. It's strange seeing them all here and meeting them and not doing all the get-to-know-each-other things with them that we did when we arrived. We moved out of the dorms to make room for the new students. So right now most of our class is staying together in a different house. It is a little farther away, but it has been nice to just be on our own.
>
> Funny, we went tubing down a river a few days ago. It was so fun, but was quite Filipino. There were guides enough to go around (1 for every 2 of us) and the water was quite shallow and quite rocky. For the first little bit, the guides went from person to person pulling us off the rocks as we would get stuck every few seconds. Then the water got a little deeper and the rocks spaced out enough to allow a passageway between them. We bounced off the rocks and the guides pulled us down the river. The guides were so funny. They felt very responsible for this group of 10 white girls and were making sure we didn't get lost or drown. If we ever started to get too far apart, they would start grabbing our tubes from the back and pulling them up on the rocks so we were stuck. Then when we were all in a little cluster stuck on the rocks, they would say, "Plastered tanan (they're all stuck)", they would do a head count, and then push us all off again. It was so funny. I felt like they were treating us a little bit like cargo. They wouldn't tell us to stop and wait for the rest or to put our feet down, they would just pull us up on the rocks so our tubes were stuck :). The water was probably only waist deep--smile. Anyway, we had lots of fun.
>
> Please pray with me for a baby named Abegail that I delivered back in October... she is 10 months old now and is in the hospital because she was having a high fever (104) and convulsions. They aren't sure what it is yet, but are still doing labs and testing. Her dad is a pastor and her mom a teacher, so I have really enjoyed spending time with them. They have been so encouraging to me. Anyway, they need prayer right now. I went and visited and the baby seemed to be ok at the moment, but they still haven't figured out what she has.
>
> On the way into the hospital to visit, another lady came up to me and started talking to me like she recognized me. I didn't recognize her, but she acted like she knew me. I think I must have accompanied whoever was taking care of her when she got transported from Mercy during Labor. Anyway, her baby had just died of Pneumonia and she was quite a mess. She was crying and sobbing and wanted us to go see her baby and take pictures for her. She was so pitiful. Her name is Ruby.
>
> Anyway, this is getting long and I still need to attach Ruth's letter. I hope you all are doing well!
> Have a great day!
> Love,
> Hannah
>

letter

July 2012

 

      The longer it takes me to get to the computer, the more you have been on my mind -- does that make sense? I am thinking about you and praying for you.  So many times, I have said that, and not done it. "I'll pray for you." Work on the habit and discipline of prayer. But now I am very careful -- Pray.  Pray and wait.  God will answer. It might not be in this lifetime, but He will. A day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day. Pray and pray - it changes you, and it changes me. 

      Pray for your pastors, missionaries and leaders. So many are falling and have fallen. If there is a serious war situation, a hot spot, a special task force will be sent in especially equipped to do the job. They are on the front line where the battle is the hottest. They are the most likely to die. The devil is after us. He is after all the Christians, but mainly those who are active in the battle. It is a scary thought. The devil has planned an evil day for me -- and for you. Pray and pray some more. 

      I am back from the Philippines. The church has a good spirit of unity.  A girl named Kalah Stout traveled back from New York with me. We have been working hard to finish up some school (While the cat's away, the mice will play -- and they did), and she has been a GREAT help. She wants to see a delivery while she is here.  I did not have anyone "lined up," so I had been praying about that.

      Three people got saved this month - each of those was so exciting. A lady contacted me who wants me to deliver her baby. She is due any day. Anyway, she and her older sister prayed to repent and receive Christ at the last baby check up. "Out of the blue" she called me, wanting me to do her delivery. So, either God wants Kalah to see a delivery, or He just wanted those ladies to get saved. Now we have a little new believer's handbook to use in discipleship, so we are working on getting those available to our people and meeting with them for mentoring. That is where true involvement takes place.  Kalah is using this booklet to help Claudia, the girl in the picture, to grow. This will also help Claudia with her English.

      Also this month, we are focusing more on Bible memory -- for ourselves and for others. This is Seth's idea, and we are all working together. In our Bible time, we went through again "How to Successfully Memorize and Review Scripture" by Ron Hood. That is a VERY good booklet. We are trying to do a mini Bible memorization competition, and it will take some work and planning for all of the churches. Everyone is a winner who memorizes God's Word. The Bible competition will go from August (we are making announcements now) until the first week of November.  Please pray so much for this that people will learn God's Word and change. We do not change God's Word; God's Word changes us. May God have all the honor. 

      I guess this reads as a prayer request sheet. Our biggest concern to pray about is our kids. Ruth and Hannah are taking their huge NARM exams on September 27.  Then we are trying to figure out (it is great to know that God already knows it all), where Seth and they should go to college.  They are thinking about Ambassador Baptist College and also West Coast Baptist College. Pray that the Lord gives us all wisdom on the next step for them. 

      Since animals are a large part of our lives, Susanna really wants you to see a FEW of them -- smile. We have two monkeys that stay in diapers when in the house. How would you like a horse roaming around your somewhat-small yard? At least, she keeps the grass cut. Dan and Susanna roped off a space for her, so she doesn't have free reign unless we want her to. Susanna is enjoying the horse. The hope is to later breed her and sell both before we leave -- help with money for college. Pet care here is cheap -- no vet bills, and food is cheap and easy to be had. They are great for teaching kids responsibility, care, and love.  What a great replacement for TV and electronic gadgets.

 

Thanks for all your prayers and financial support! God is All Powerful!! Praise Him.

 

Love in Christ,

Dan and Joan, Ruth, Hannah, Seth, Lydia, Susanna, Isaiah, Stephen, Rebekah, Josiah, Joseph, Esther and Gideon

 

PS. Seth's leg is healed nicely. He is applying anti-scarring oil, and we are praying that the "centipede" look of it will fade.