Sa Bukid

Sa Bukid= To the mountain in Cebuano. We are going to this mountain tomorrow. It is called Mt. Apo. We have a big journey ahead of us because we are going to try to reach a village to visit a people group. I have to be vague here on purpose, but please remember to pray for us.

We will wake up and be ready to leave at 5am. Then the group of 6 of us will drive to one town to pick up the Bibles. Then we will have to do many more things, including hike a canyon, sleep outside, purify our own water and more. PLease pray for our health and safety. Pray for team unity and a focus on Christ. I will not post while I am gone, but please pray for us when you read this. Thank you!

The Perfect Man

Of course the perfect man is Jesus Himself.
The perfect man for me is Nate--what a match made in heaven!
But there are times when a girl just needs to go see a chick flick with her girlfriends. The movie we went to see was called, "The Perfect Man."

I saw the poster in the mall one day and had to see the movie starring one of my favorite actresses, Hilary Duff. Nate was certain he was not going to be the one with me on that date, so I invited my friend Rachel.

Rachel called the theater on Tuesday and found out it was showing at 5:20. So on Wednesday we got in a taxi and headed to SM mall. When we got to the mall and went up the escalator our jaws dropped to find that they were no longer showing the film! (Movies here may last only one week in theaters! Hurry!) Of course the people at the booth do not have info about the other theaters, so we booked it down the escalator to catch another taxi.

"To NCCC mall!" we said to the driver. We tried to explain how we just wanted to go past the mall to see the sign about what movies were playing, but the language barrier caused us to just sit back and wait 'til we got to the mall. NCCC mall was not playing "The Perfect Man" either!

"Excuse me," we said slowly to the driver, "we're looking for a movie and it is not here. Can you please drive to Gaisano mall instead?" Our third mall in one night hoping to catch the flick in time.

With no luck, Gaisano mall had taken their poster down that same day also. So we asked the driver again, "You're not going to believe this, but can you go to JS mall? We're looking for a certain movie."

The driver thought to ask, "What are you looking for?"

Rachel began to answer, "We're looking for...." she had to giggle realizing what it sounded like to the driver, "Actually, we're looking for the perfect man!"

If we had been in America, the driver would have joked, "Well, ladies, go no further, you have stepped into the right cab!" but our professional Filipino driver cracked no smile and took us to JS mall, the fourth try.

We had to laugh, thinking about making a taxi driver take us all over the city to find "The Perfect Man" but we never did find what we were looking for. Over coffee, plan "E", Rachel and I discussed many things, but I was happy one of the topics was all about Nate, My Perfect Man!

Encampment and Wandering

Praise the Lord! Nate is feeling better and is back at school today. He is an encouragement to me as I teach Bible classes. Today I was Moses, and I assigned each of my students to be a tribe of Israel. I taught them how to encamp around the Tabernacle and also how to march in order as in Numbers. We wandered all over campus and acted out the book of Numbers.

The students became the people of God wandering in the desert for 40 years. They complained, they died, they spied out the promised land and I struck the rock with my staff. I honored Caleb and Joshua and Phineas for honoring the Lord and fearing Him. It was great to hear students after class saying, "That was fun!" I hope they will remember the book of Numbers!

Get Well Soon

Yesterday we returned from our staff retreat. Nate and I had been leaders of the "fun activities." It was great to have some laughs with our fellow teachers and also to sing praises to God together. However, we were both exhausted by the end, so we went to sleep at 4pm!

This morning Nate was not feeling well at all so he stayed home from school. Please pray that he feels better and that strength returns to his body. We are going to be very busy the next few weeks. We are organizing a hike to the mountain, we are preparing our students for a vocal/band concert coming up, and we are preparing a musical for Christmas! It is a joy to work together and to work with our students. We do rely on the Lord for strength and health, so we ask for your prayers.

I better get going before the skies open and pour tropical rain down. It is hard to bike home when the streets are flooded (my feet get wet when I pedal down). Maayong Gabii (good evening)!

Mr. Lallave’s Little Books

At one time it was not allowed to have a Bible or read one if you lived in the Philippines. The Spaniard rulers said reading the Bible was wrong. They thought it was subversive and revolutionary.

Bibles in Spanish were given out to people in the Philippines under cover of darkness in 1828. One of these Bibles was given to a priest in Pangasinan by a British Ship Captain. This priest had the name of Nicolas Manrique Alonso Lallave.

Mr. Lallave had already been thinking about renouncing his priestly vows. He had some questions about the teachings in the Roman Catholic Church at the time, and he was looking for answers. When he began to read this Spanish Bible secretly given to him he was convicted by what he read. His teaching began to change as he shared the message of grace through faith in Christ. When this was found out, Lallave was exiled to Spain.

While in Spain, Lallave was married and had 7 children. He became a pastor there, but he just kept thinking about the people in Pangasinan who would not know the truth of the Bible. He began translating the gospel of Luke and decided to deliver the little books himself.

When he and his friend arrived on the ship with the little books of the Bible they were confiscated! Lallave became ill in Manila (or was he poisoned!?) and he died, while his friend was imprisoned. Was there any hope for the people of Pangasinan?

When his friend was released, he collected the little books of the Bible and dropped off the crates in Singapore. Here they were stored for 10 years waiting to be read by the people of Pangasinan. Finally, when the Philippines became free some people from the Bible Society delivered the little books of the Bible to Pangasinan. They could read God’s Word for the first time in their own language, Pangalato. Even though Lallave was not alive to see the people receive his translation of God’s Word, he will hopefully see them in heaven because of the grace of God.

Isaiah 55.11 “[My Word] will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

This is my summary of the story I heard in our Asian History class. “Mr. Lallave’s Little Books” is a children’s book about M. A. Lallave written by the professor of our class, Dr. Anne Kwantes. It was published by OMF, if you would like to buy one. This is a true story that can be verified historically.

Surprising Effect of the Flag

We bought a small flag of the Philippines after lunch on Thursday. We thought it would be good to have one for many reasons, but we set it up on our desk for the session about “The History of the Church in the Philippines.”

I was really surprised at the effect the flag had on the class. I thought nothing of it, and I thought Filipinos would be happy to see me embracing their country. However, one Filipino classmate said, “I don’t know why you have that flag.” Then another Filipino classmate said, “Actually one of the points on the rays is missing.”

We began to ask questions and learned why our Filipino classmates actually don’t like their flag. They told us the Spanish people designed the flag when they were ruling the country. The 8 rays on the sun represent 8 regions that fought in Luzon, in the North. Our classmates said they should have at least 15 rays because the people in the Visayas and on Mindanao here in the South also fought. They said they felt their people weren’t represented on the flag for what they did. The three stars represent the three major regions in the Philippines, so they do get one star. I thought this was all very interesting, and I was surprised to learn about the feelings of my Filipino classmates.

10, 800 Books

I am reminded how wealthy we are in America with resources. Material goods are so plentiful we begin to expect the choices to be available. I find myself saying at times, “I can’t believe they don’t have (fill in the blank)” or “there was only one choice available.”

Now as we are studying in the seminary I realize how wealthy we are in education and resources in America also. The Lord has definitely blessed the Philippines with many great thinkers and educators and schools. However, we are trying to find sources for our research paper, and it is not so easy to find!

I was told there are only three small Christian bookstores in Davao. The bookstores I have been to are NOTHING like the Barnes & Noble of my home culture. In Manila OMF has much more literature available, but our prof. had to bring those down with her on the plane and they will go back with her. The internet is a tremendous help, but many resources I would like to view are only available for purchase. Of course to ship those may be impossible, may take too long, or may be too costly.

I am truly thankful that there are 10,800 books in this seminary library, though it is much smaller than many I have studied in. We are even more blessed to have access to the SIL (Wycliffe) library (yet with a bent toward translation studies, naturally). I am thankful for the USA and Canada for the wonderful libraries and resources and bookstores available. The information highway is outstanding. I am also thankful we happen to have sources in English, our first language. Really I hope reading this causes you to stop and thank the Lord for all our education and resources!

P.S. I am so full of new knowledge and learning I can't even begin to tell you all we have learned about the history of the Church in China, India, Japan and Korea!! Maybe another day. We better do homework!

Asian Church and Missions History

We are fascinated with this seminary class we are taking. A Canadian retired missionary from Victoria, BC has come to teach us “Asian Church and Missions History.” Dr. Anne Kwantes knows a lot! How wonderful to have such an educated woman, who has lived in the Philippines for years and even wrote a book on Philippine Church history, teach us all the knowledge she has gained through her years. Maybe a professor reading this can come teach another one-week course sometime!

I have never learned so much in a history class because Dr. Anne can really tell stories but also can organize them in historical order. The most mind-boggling thing I have learned so far is that by AD 800 there were more Christians East of Syria than West of it. However, there was so much persecution and there has been much less focus on documenting history in the East that we have not learned so much about this. Plus when we typically study the history of the Church we focus on the Roman Empire and the expansion of the Church West.

We are learning how Christianity spread to Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and even India and China in the early centuries. However, Christianity basically died out in the East by 1500. That is when Roman Catholics and Jesuits begin going East to bring the gospel again. Finally in the late 1700s and 1800s Protestant missionaries also began a mission movement bringing the gospel to India, China and beyond.

This class makes me hungry to see the gospel preached in every nation. I stare at the map of Asia and I get excited to see God moving. My mind is full of info so I better get to work on my reading.

Best Birthday Present

With my birthday money from my parents, Nate and I were able to boat to Samal island for an overnight. It was so peaceful and beautiful! We got to relax by the pool, rest in the hammock and eat the Philipino buffet meals provided in the package. We stayed in a balay matrimonial suite up on the hillside with a gorgeous view of the ocean from the balcony. If my dad ever gets to come with my mom we will have to stay in the balays on the waterfront. You two would love it!

We basically rested and relaxed, now that first quarter has come to a close with parent-teacher conferences. This week is quarter break so we will be taking a class at the local seminary called “The History of the Church in Asia.” Pray that we learn a lot and grow together in the Lord through this class.

My favorite thing this weekend, other than being with my wonderful husband, was renting a tandem kayak and sailing the ocean blue with my man! We kayaked to the small island across the bay at high noon and soon realized we should have brought extra sunscreen! Near the island we could see through the clear blue-green water to the sandy sea floor. We saw the red spiky star-fish, the coral, and the black pointed sea urchins. When we docked on the island we reclined in perfect peace and solitude. I’ve never been anywhere like it! We took a swim and went snorkeling and then Nate called out “Left, Right!” to get us back in time for the return trip to Davao.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for the indescribable best birthday present ever (although Micah’s WebCam Email singing HBTY on mandolin was up there)! Thank you, Nate, for being the best husband ever! And thank you, Lord, for your wonderful creation and the restful days we enjoyed!

The Problem with Pronouns!

Jessica always tells me (Nate) not to be so particular with using proper names (first and last). She always uses pronouns and then I am supposed to figure out who she is talking about through the context. Well, I still believe using Proper Names in a conversation is a good idea--Please let me explain!

So, today, Bryan's mom walked in for Parent-Teacher conferences. I was thinking to myself, "Great, I get talk to Bryan's mom about Bryan wanting to switch over to Band and start playing the trombone!".

So, we started discussing about "him" switching over to band. I told his mom how I had called the family on Tuesday to discuss putting "him" on the trombone, but the parents were out of the house, so I was able to talk to their son about it. The mom then said, "Yes, I guess I was out of the house on Tuesday. But, "he's" not mentioned anything to me about playing in band, and he told me earlier in the school year that he definitely did not want to play an instrument".

I responded by saying, "Well, the last few days, he has expressed a lot of interest in playing the trombone, so perhaps he has changed his mind".

We then went into a long discourse about whether "he" would really enjoy playing an instrument in band class. The mom also mentioned how she didn't think her family could afford renting an instrument; so we discussed the different options we had
for "him" to be in band.

After a long while, the mom mentioned, "Well, I'll talk to THOMAS about this and see what he says". THOMAS! O no! This is THOMAS' mom, NOT Bryan's mom! I thought, "What am I going to do? Should I just move on with other topics? Should I try to get another trombone for Thomas?! Or should I tell her that I messed up and thought I was talking to another Mom?!"

So after 30 seconds of thinking over this dilemma, I fessed up to it: "I'm so sorry, you're Thomas' mom, aren't you?"

"Yes, of course I'm Thomas' mom", was the reply.

"I'm so sorry", I said, "I thought you were Bryan's mom, and Bryan was the one I talked to about the trombone; he's the one excited about playing an instrument!"

"Oh! Well, let's scratch that long 20-minute conversation!"

"So, anyway, Thomas, uh, yes, Thomas", I said, "Thomas is doing a great job in General Music class!"


Lesson learned: Make sure you know which parent you are talking to in parent-teacher conferences!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's big birthday! (This is Nate speaking) Actually, in Ohio, where my parents live, he still has 20 minutes to go before it's his birthday. But, here in the Philippines, it has been his birthday for almost 12 hours now. (This must be the birthday month--it seems like it is everyone's birthday!)

So, Happy Birthday, Dad! Big 62--Woohoo! I hope this is your best birthday ever!

Feasting Celebration!

My birthday was wonderful—praise the Lord! The night before the party Nate and I were busy setting everything up for the two Levitical birthday feasts. We had balloons everywhere, thanks to our co-teacher Rachel, who jumped in to help us puff.

The classroom was set like a party with tablecloth, plates and balloons. Students were pounding on the door waiting to enter class. They couldn’t wait to get to this fun class! Then finally the feast began, or should I say the seven feasts began.

The students thought we were having a party for me, but I surprised them and celebrated all their birthdays. Each of the seven feasts from Leviticus 23 were celebrated for five minutes. We would celebrate each student’s birthdays in the order which they happen in the year, just like the feasts were celebrated in a certain order for the year.

The Feast of Passover was first celebrated as Nate took them outside to explain their job. The student came back in to announce the meaning of the feast and then served the item to all their classmates and their beloved teacher!

Since we don’t have a lot of lamb here, and we don’t have rams or bulls I had to be creative. There was a lot of feasting including flour and oil, so that reminds me of several breakfast foods (these classes were in the morning).

Here was the menu:

Feast of Passover—sparkling grape juice and little unleavened cookies (I finally found a store with some German sparkling grape juice! What a hunt)

Feast of Unleavened Bread—donuts (the kids loved these—only 5 pesos each)

Feast of Firstfruits—pancakes (with syrup, you can’t go without that!)

Feast of Weeks (later known as Pentecost)—rolls (if only we had some lamb)

Feast of Trumpets—Nate played “Happy Birthday” on his trumpet for me and then we had a cake (flour and oil) with farm animals on top (pictured). Do you know how hard it was to find those animals? Finally after searching everywhere I found a Halloween section with dinosaurs and then I came upon a lamb—Farm animals (subtract the pigs)! Perfect!

Day of Atonement—they fasted and then the students we honored surprised everyone by throwing red beads like confetti to symbolize the blood that was sprinkled everywhere. Presents were also given just like offerings were given (Presents should be opened after class)

Feast of Tabernacles—fruit

Thank you to all who gave me birthday wishes! I was so encouraged and blessed by you.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the breath of life and for Your salvation!

Leave Your Birthday Wishes For Jessica

It is already Jessica's birthday in the Philippines, October 12, 2005!

Click on the comments link here to leave your birthday wishes for Jessica!

Preparation

I am busy at school preparing for my birthday celebration tomorrow (the big 26!). In my OT classes we are having a "Leviticus Birthday Feast." We are celebrating all 7 feasts, but I am surprising them by celebrating each of their birthdays too. On the Feast of Trumpets Nate is going to come in and play "Happy Birthday" on his trumpet. My cake will have a little lamb that I got in the toy section (after a long search let me tell you). You know, the farm animals make great Levitical sacrifices! I better go! Lots of baloons to blow!

Read Leviticus Lately?

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9.27-28

I just finished preparing for my Old Testament classes tomorrow. We are studying the book of Leviticus, and I am teaching them about the sacrificial system and the role and rules for the priest. As I teach this often-neglected Old Testament book, I am again awed at how the passage in Hebrews above is so much more easily understood in light of Leviticus!

They used to sacrifice animals and sprinkle the blood everywhere to atone for sin. They, the priests, not even the people. Once a year every year the high priest would have to cleanse himself and offer sacrifices before he went into the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle to atone for sin with another sacrifice and more blood. This is getting bloody!

I go into the meat section of the grocery store and hold my breath as the clerk weighs my ground beef. The fish and chicken and pork loins fill my nose and overwhelm my senses. I can’t imagine the bloody job of a priest!

But as it says above, Christ was the sacrifice that became bloody once for all. If you read the whole chapter you find that he was not only the perfect sacrifice but he was the perfect priest too! He went into the Most Holy Place as a high priest, but the sacrifice he brought was himself! Wow, that is incredible! Thank the Lord for Leviticus, but more than that, praise the Lord for Jesus Himself who bore our sin and will bring us salvation!

Let us put our faith in Jesus and eagerly await his return!

Oil, anyone?!

Since arriving here, Jessica and I (Nate) have found bicycling a thrilling adventure, something we should do more often. We bought Jessica's bike at a local mall; but my bike we bought used from another missionary who went home on furlough. With that said, my bike is rusted all over, to say the least.

On top of that, I have not kept up with oiling my bicycle chain, as I should (those of you who know me well and have seen me go through cars like mangos know that this is a problem of mine!).

So, today, as we were biking home from church, my bike chain was having major problems because it was as dry as your mouth when you wake up from a Sunday nap! Eventually, the bike chain fell off and was in pretty bad shape.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I saw this Filipino guy wearing an "oil-filter looking hat" on his head! So, I yelled out to him, "Hey, you have an oil filter on your head; do you have any oil!!". He briskly ran over to my bike, and like all helpful Filippinos, said, "I will repair! Wait a while!".

So, the fun-loving guy ran away to find something! Sure enough, about 30 seconds later, he came back with a can of oil in his hand (I have no idea what kind it was). He then poured it all over my bike chain as well as many other parts of the bike! I was hoping I would not get any of it on my khaki pants on the bumpy ride home!

Before long, I was ready to go again. He said, "Here you go!" and eagerly accepted the tip. After that, I had no problems whatsoever riding my bike back home--it worked like a charm!

Photos and Fun

Last night we had Bekah P. and Micah S. over for a pasta dinner and games. We would not just play any game, but the very competitive “Settlers of Catan.” For dessert I baked some homemade chocolate chip cookies for everyone in our gas oven (and thought of Mom and Micah, my brother) while we set up the board.

Then, just as we began to play, the doorbell rang! We thought it was Christmas carolers, but then we saw several heads poking over our gate and heard fluent English. It was the high school students!

“Hurry! We are on a photo scavenger hunt!” they exclaimed.

Nate opened the gate and the students came running in for a photo with the Beckers. We were on the list of items! How fun!

“Thanks! Don’t let anyone else in!” This team wanted to win.


Of course when the doorbell rang again, Mr. Becker and I were prepared, so we jumped up, struck a pose with the next group and sent them on their way.

I was winning the Settlers game when the doorbell rang for the third time. This felt like Halloween with all the trick-or-treaters! We said “cheese” and the kids were off!

Fortunately I was able to win the Settlers game we were playing, since I hardly ever win, but I think the photo shoot made my competitive spirit rise up to help me win!

(I thought you’d like to see some of the photos of us with our students…one is of the students on their scavenger hunt holding this stinky fruit called durian).

"Who Is A Teacher Like Him?"

Here is a picture of our high school, MICA (Mindanao International Christian Academy), where I teach 9th grade Old Testament and a sophomore-senior Worship Leading class. The building was built and dedicated right before Nate arrived last October. Next door is our SIL (Wycliffe) office (not pictured). Through a gate is our Elementary and Middle School where Nate and I also teach. We live less than 1 kilometer away—handy!

I just finished grading the Exodus test that my 9th graders took. One student got everything perfect!!! Oh, then I graded other tests and, wow, things were a bit different for some. Then at the end of the pile I reached a test that had two blank pages. One of those was the 25 point essay! No! We can’t have that. What am I going to do? I wish everyone got 100%. Weren’t they LISTENING!!

The joy of being a teacher: Learning how to reach every student where he or she is at, teaching them God’s Word, teaching them study skills, teaching them to write, teaching them to spell correctly, teaching them to gauge their time while taking tests! Pray that I will be an effective teacher. Pray that my students will learn lots!

Where is that verse in Job? “The Lord is great. Who is a Teacher like Him?” And they called Jesus, “Teacher.” Yes, Lord, teach me!

Let This Be the Generation...

My heart was so passionate about today’s chapel service. Nate and I led an all-school chapel with the theme of Psalm 24 “Let this be the generation of those who seek God’s face.”

After waking up at 4:45 a.m, Nate and I made it to school very early to set everything up. Then my worship leading students came for practice, and my heart filled with joy. I have been letting them take turns leading, but this time I was the leader. I miss leading worship! God has given me great joy and fulfillment in that!

The Lord was gracious; everything came together perfectly and we were so excited about using our musical gifts to serve God and others. My prayer all week has been for the students of all schools, grades 1-12: “Lord, let students and let us be hungry for you.”

One of my frustrations has been with sometimes wondering how to inspire people to be passionate about God, especially my worship leaders. As I prayed about this two weeks ago, I believe God showed me this: “Let the music speak to them.” That made sense to me: I could either choose to preach it, or I could live it through worshiping in songs. I decided to share songs about God and about seeking Him.

I was so encouraged to hear God answer! One student in particular who has been growing slowly was the same student whistling the theme song “Oh God let us be the generation that seeks your face…” Then when I just finished reading his journal entry for class I praised God when I read his comments: “I learned that God is really with us and inspires people through songs.” Exactly what God has encouraged me with was true in the heart of this student.

My 9th grade male student said: “Dear Jesus, thank you for chapel today with all of the amazing songs, and for Mr. Bollant’s message. It was really good. It made me think about if I am really living for God and seeking his face always. Thank you for that message and for that challenge not to follow the crowd, because I know I’m the kind of person that does follow the crowd, so please help me not be a follower but to be a leader. Amen.”

Another 9th grade female student wrote: “Dear Jesus, I know that at other times when I decided I wanted to do something, like getting up early every morning to do my devotions, I would do it wholeheartedly the first week, then I would slowly get worse and worse. I pray this time that I would always seek and be set apart from the crowd. Help me Lord to always trust in You and put you 1st in my life. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.”

Precious prayers! Let us all seek His face!

(Pictured…me with some of my team: my Korean acoustic player, South African electric player, and Canadian bass player! Let the nations praise Him!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUMSY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUMSY!

For those of you who don’t know, Mumsy is what I lovingly call my mother! It is her birthday in the Philippines right now, so I think she should be able to celebrate it for the extra hours, don’t you? I tried calling her just now, but she was on her way to teach Kindermusik. Maybe another day on the WebCam!

My mom is the best at helping other people celebrate their birthdays. She has planned so many incredible birthdays for me. One of my favorites was when we had a teddy bear scavenger hunt. Mom found tons of bears, big and small, and hid them with clues all around the yard. My little friends and I (Cara, you were probably at that one too!), searched around excitedly to find each bear holding his clue. The end of the hunt was a surprise (I don’t remember what it was, but the journey is half the fun!).

Judging from the pictures on Uncle Keith’s website I imagine my mom helped to plan that fun scarf dance too! Well, my birthday is coming up (hint hint, I love birthdays!) on October 12th. One of my students has a birthday that same day so we will have to think of a way to play games in Bible class, not hard to do. I only wish my mom was here to help celebrate the fun!

For today I will give my mom this lovely virtual cake and balloon and a huge smile for her birthday. Happy birthday, Mumsy! I love you! --Jessica Nell

PJ's Percussion

I sat in the adjacent office and listened to Nate teach 3rd grade music.

"What music group is this?" Mr. Becker asked as he held up a poster.

"Strings!" a little girl answered, after raising her hand of course.

"And what about this one?" Mr. Becker held up a poster with drums and woodblocks. "PJ?"

"It's percussion!" PJ answered with enthusiasm. "Mr. Becker, I know a sentence with percussion in it." Mr. Becker decided to let PJ stop the class to tell his sentence.

"Well," PJ began in his high dramatic voice, "I was at the mall with my dad and we saw a sign that said '10 Pesos per cushion.' Get it? Per cushion...percussion!"

His little joke caught me off guard and set me laughing all the way. Ha Ha Ha!

Test Day? Game Day!

Test Day Tomorrow! Here is a sketch I made of the tabernacle from Exodus that will be on the test tomorrow. Students need to label all 15 items to get full credit.

GAME DAY TODAY! The first one to comment or email me the correct answers to all 15 of these items will win a prize. If I have your address (I need Micah’s and Kate’s!), then the winner will receive a Philippine letter in the mail from me with a special enclosure.

Grandpa, now your turn to play my game! =) Enjoy!

God's Dwelling

God wants his people to be in relationship with Him. In Revelation 21.3 a voice from the throne says: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”

Now that we are married I can understand more what that means to have someone dwell with me. I know Nate so much more now that he is with me and is mine. That is what God wants when he says his dwelling is with us. He wants to be intimate with us and be known just as we are known. He will be our God and we will be His people.

I am teaching 9th graders about Exodus 25 when God says, “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” Students constructed models of the tabernacle and placed all its furnishings inside (Tieg and Chris pictured). They learned about how God wanted to dwell with His people and make a covenant with them to be their God. However, like the passage says, this is just a pattern of the true one in heaven.

We are looking forward to the Day when the passage in Revelation is fulfilled. Our souls are eagerly awaiting the return of Christ when He will come to take the Church, His bride, Home to be with Him for eternity. Come, Lord Jesus!

Celebrate Daniel Nathan!

Happy Birthday Daniel Nathan! I love you!

It’s great to be thinking about my brother all day. The fun thing about Daniel’s birthday is that it is only 9 days away from my birthday and three days away from my mom’s birthday. We love birthday month!

One of my favorite memories with Daniel was when I was in 6th grade, and Daniel and I had a combined birthday celebration. I invited cousin Kate and my friend Cara, while Daniel invited neighbor Brian and another friend. Of course my mom and Sarah and Micah were automatically invited too!

We went to my Grandparent’s farm near Lincoln, NE, which we fondly call “The Briarpatch.” The boys slept outside in the green tent, but the girls slept up in the attic with Grandma’s quilts to keep us cozy.

The fun about that birthday was that we played capture the flag in the dark. I remember we hid the flag in a paint can that was half-way buried in the ground right near the barbed wire fence that began the division between the barn and the pond areas. How was anyone supposed to find that in the dark? We sure had fun, though, sneaking around in the dark with flashlights!

I wish I could be in Chile with Daniel for a day to celebrate with him. Daniel, if I were in Chile to celebrate your birthday we would go to the “End of the Earth” down at the Southern tip of Chile and take our photo. That is a place I have seen someone else go and I think you and I could make it!

One more thing…thanks to my brother Daniel Nathan, I met my wonderful husband, Nathan Daniel! Pictured here are the two of their handsome faces meeting for the first time this summer at a Huskers game.

When I met my husband I told him the way I remembered his name was that it was the same as my brother’s middle name. Nate said, “Oh, what is his first name?” and I said, “Daniel.” “No Way! That is my middle name!” Our fate was sealed. I love you Daniel, and I love you, Honey! HBTY!

The Hills Are Alive...

October 1st was a very special birthday. You'll never guess (unless you're my brother Stephen)! It was Julie Andrew's birthday, you know, the star of The Sound of Music. But, it wasn't just any birthday, it was her 70th birthday!

In order to celebrate this magnificent occasion, my wife and I (this is Nate speaking) decided to watch The Sound of Music on Friday night. Before we watched the movie, we went out to eat at an Italian restaraunt. While at the restaraunt, there was a fun accordion player who randomly played "Edelweiss", which totally got us in the mood for the classic musical!

If you think we're nuts, my brother decided to have a major Julie Andrew's party and watch both "The Sound of Music" and "Mary Poppins" in one evening.

My favorite part of the movie is the quote that Uncle Max says while he's sipping pink lemonade on the lustrious balcony: "I like rich people; I like the way they live; I like the way I live when I'm with them".

So, there's a blurb for all of you who haven't tasted the Sound of Music in a while!


--Nate

Filipino Frisbee

I am sweaty and tired after a day at the “Crazy Sunday Sports Fest.” We biked to church to worship with the Filipinos this morning. Then this afternoon we met at the field to teach them ultimate Frisbee.

Most of the Filipinos from church have never played Frisbee in their life. They actually call it a “flying saucer.” It was great watching Nate try to explain how you can’t run with the Frisbee. It was also funny to see them try to throw it like a ball!

You will see pictured Nate teaching everyone. The Filipinos are so full of life and know how to have a good time. They laugh about everything and always have a smile on. How wonderful to have fellowship with the Filipinos playing Frisbee.

This is the field where we play Ultimate every Thursday. Nate loves this game and is great at getting everyone to join him, even me! The skies have just opened and it is now pouring rain. Hopefully we can miss the potholes as we bike home in the rain.

Dedication

1 John 5.11-12 “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

This is one of my life verses, and this is indeed my testimony. God has given me eternal life in His Son, Jesus. Praise Him!

I’d like to dedicate this blog to my famnet (especially those who have pages that inspired me to join in the fun!). Most of all I will dedicate this blog to my Grandpa Roger Ghormley(pictured at a young age), who was the one to get us our first home computer, the one who got me to write my first email and the one who taught me to type with the program he gave us. I love you Grandpa and I love you fam!

--Jessica Nell