3rd German Exposure Team

 

We recently had the joy of spending time with a 13 member "Exposure Team" from Germany.  This is the 3rd German team that Rocky and I have hosted.  We have always enjoyed them, and are encouraged when we hear of members going on to the NTM training.  We had a FANTASTIC time with them as we took them into two tribal areas in Mindanao.  First we went into the Higanoan tribe by land.  The missionaries there made a big effort to make everyone feel at home.  They shared many intriguing stories of how God has been working in that area since the beginning.  We were also thankful that we could meet several of the tribal believers and see how they are involved in the work.

After a few days in that village we all flew over to the Banwaon tribe, needing 5 flights, since the aircraft can only take 3 people at a time.  We were so thankful that the weather held up for that.  The missionaries in this area had also done a lot of homework and had a full program lined up for us.  They had organized a special meeting with the believers the day we arrived.  The missionary taught all of us how to introduce ourselves in their language.  I learned how to say "I am Noah’s grandmother."  They took us to a rice garden, where we "helped" weed the garden, to a sweet potato patch where we each dug up some to eat; had tribal meals cooked for us, both down by the river and in one of the tribal homes; had meetings with us at night and lots more.  Many of the team memvbers were in shock at so many things they saw and experienced, but they also went home encouraged and with lots to think about.