God's Valentine Love & 30 Dozen Cookies

For Valentine's Day, we invited the 30 ladies that were on the retreat in November to come to my house for cookie decorating and a devotional. My friend, Jeralyn, came Monday to help make more than 30 dozen cookies. We had dough and babies and boys running around, but only a few cookies were burnt. Emi said Filipinos like burnt things, so no worries!

There's the lovely Emi, stacking and counting the heart-shaped cookies. What a joyful servant and friend.

We were planning to make the frosting in the morning, so I had a large bucket of margarine ready (where did I put that again?). Monday night I wondered why the boys were suddenly so quiet. Why were they laughing with the door closed? Any mother knows that this is a signal to something happening. Slip-and-slide Margarine. VERY Hard to clean. Big trouble, boys. BUT, like my good friend, Allison, I had to quickly get a photo of evidence before we proceeded. Now what to use for the frosting? Or more importantly, where to put the children for bed?

Ah! A new day. Time for the ladies to arrive. This lady was fun because at the retreat in November the baby was "Sulod" (still inside) and now is "Gawas" (outside!). Born, Jan. 2! Healthy and normal delivery. And look how slim and strong the Mama is--praise God for that.

There's my lovely ladies, singing the song I wrote for them. It gave me chills and at the same time warmed my heart to hear them singing God's Word to the tune I wrote--they still remembered it! "Ang Ginoo nga inyong Dios, anaa uban kaninyo."

They're reading the words from the invitation--it was cute to see them bring their heart-shaped invitations like a ticket into a fun party! God's Word is written inside, a review from our message of Zephaniah 3.17 "God is singing and rejoicing over me."

Once again, the Lord gave me a tongue to speak Cebuano, though I have a long way to go. It was good to review what the Lord had taught us in November and also to hear testimonies about how God had used His Word in ladies' lives.

Ladies are listening and learning. What I love about this is the lady in brown on the floor is holding the notebook I gave her. That was what we used for devotionals in November, and she still has it and uses it like a precious gift.

Here's Ruen sharing a testimony about how God has been showing her his love and promises in daily life.

After the prayer, singing, devotional and testimonies we had the fun cookie-decorating activity. Enjoy kaayo!

Such careful work....creativity and artistry. Mom, you sent me these gel-decorators a couple years ago, and finally I put them all to use! So glad I had those, so they could write on their cookies.

Group photo--it's amazing how many people we can fit in my place. The camera somehow made it look like the walls come out, but really it is one narrow rectangle. Thank you, Lord, for this valentine gift. Your love is amazing, and we give you the glory!

The pink and purple sisters--friends!

Ate Gina surprised us with new shirts to match. Smile! Thank you for continuing to pray for this ministry and for these ladies. Pray for their marriages and children too. God is at work, and we are joyful to serve Him together!

Outdoor Education 2012--Nate Leading the M.S. Students

For the 7th year in a row, Nate had the privilege and joy of leading the middle school students on the annual outdoor education trip. Here they all are at the airport, ready to fly to Manila!

Here are two of the students on the plane; these girls are a special pair to me=) (I wish I could have gone too!)

After traveling by plane on Sunday, then sleeping in the school that night, the students loaded busses and stopped at a Zoobic Park. Tigers came up to the vans, while students fed chickens out the bars to them.

Here is Nate's squad, "Mindanao MooCaw". There were 7 girls and 7 boys, and a co-squad leader. The guys in front were doing a cultural dance during one of the shows on Monday.

On Tuesday they went to the jungle survival training course. They learned all kinds of things about the plants God has made, medicines, soaps, finding water in bamboo, and more.

At night they learned how to cook rice inside bamboo (pictured here), and also had canned meat for dinner.

Mr. Becker sports a banana leaf hat. Very shady and tropical!

The guides were Filipino experts who once trained soldiers during the Vietnam war. Now they are teaching students how to survive by finding water inside bamboo vines. Thirsty? Fresh water available!

There's Mr. Becker and his students getting their feet wet and cooled off after a hike.

Can you spot the guide? He is really camouflaged, don't you think? He is teaching students how to make dishes out of bamboo. That is such a useful thing God made!

Cup, plate, spoon and fork. Complete and ready for a meal!

On Wednesday, back at the base camp, they did a lot of team-building activities and ropes course type things. Nate had a great squad of students, who loved working together. Praise God for the safety and good unity of the team.

Doing the faith fall--can you trust your team to hold you up?

Then they had fun hanging from the swings in the tree-top exploration activity.

There's Mr. Becker in orange, ready for the 60 foot drop! Ahhhhhh!!! Yep, there's my tarzan man!

Thursday was Beach Day. They went to a local school to do some ministry with children there. This was a great time of sharing the love of the Lord and interacting with local kids.

Here the kids performed for our students too.

Lots of smiles and bonding happening. "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world."

That night was the last one, with a beautiful starry sky and peaceful ocean. Nate and the students slept out on the beach in the sand! Thankfully he sprayed his bag with bug spray to keep the creatures and ants off. The Lord really did a lot of work in the hearts of the students, and in Nate as well. Good-bye and see you next year! Thank you, Lord, for bringing them back safely! May the lessons they learned bear much fruit in their lives and for your kingdom.

While Nate Was Gone...

While Nate was gone, we tried to keep busy. We had so much fun enjoying various friends and guests. Every day we had something planned, and Elijah would look at the calendar to find out "what's going to happen today."

Aunt Shannon was loving the boys...tons of fun!

Elijah usually goes on a bike ride with Papa and takes out the trash. This time, he got to ride the motorcycle! Thanks, Shannon, for all the fun!

Tuesday I took Malachi on a date, just me and Malachi. We had fun in the toy section (and also got groceries). Elmo! Big hug!

We got a balloon and rode the train =) Malachi is very aware of what is a "date" since Mama and Papa like to go on them special. But when we got to the mall, he said "Where's the date?" like it was a place. I had to explain more what that meant!

Wednesday was Ate Amor's birthday, so we went to paradise beach! We haven't been there since Elijah's birthday May 8th, so I missed the ocean and Elijah missed the sand. It was also Luke's first time there.

We invited our friend, Sojo, along, and Amor's nephew, Daniel. Here we are with the 5 kids. Fun! Elijah, that is a fake smile!

Sarah, notice the swimming gear! Mom, the shoes. Thanks, fam! What a place, eh? Look at those clouds! Luke is growing, and he loves the ocean!

Me and my boys! We miss you, Nate, but we're doing okay!

Fun on the slides!

The 2 boys with Sojo, she was such a fun little girl to mix things up and give ideas. "How about both boys catch me down the slide?"

Happy Birthday, Ate Amor! (Mom Becker, notice the recycled candles--much use! We saved 4 of them too for Elijah's birthday coming up).

Buried in the sand.

I love this one of Malachi. Chocolate ice cream at the beach, what could be better?

Friday we did a science experiment with Silas and made a volcano!

This was just the kind of thing Elijah loves to do. Sand, recipes, bubbles, mess...

Friday night, Papa came back!! We were so excited, but we got a little wiped out waiting for his delayed plane. This is the next morning, we had family breakfast of whole wheat banana pancakes! We love you, Nate!! (Elijah hides behind his orange...silly boy)

"Luke, you grew so much while I was gone!" Luke is so happy to see Papa.

Finally, they have their Papa to wrestle. Mama kept saying "boys, I'm too weak and tired!" Look at the love and the fun.

Then Nate and I had a lovely 5 hour date together, catching up and also working on the big puzzle of our upcoming home assignment. Using a calendar and the sticky note method, we are trying to work out the best plan for our family. Thanks for continuing to pray for us!

Praise God he is back, and for a great week. I'll post another one about Nate's week from the other side of the camera.