Last month marked twenty years since September 2000 when we arrived to the Philippines for the first time. What a milestone! We had a quiet celebration as a family and have been reflecting since then on all that God has done over these years. He continues to amaze us with how He provides for us, and we know a lot of that is because of the prayer and support of His people. We have quite a team!
Sadly, just in the last two weeks, we have heard of three of our friends and supporters who have died. We remember when Dale and his wife joined our team in 2010, Cathy and her husband joined our team in 2011, and Jim and his wife joined our team in 2015. Each of these precious friends dearly loved Jesus and lived lives full of service for Him. Knowing them and knowing their love for the Lord and their desire to see the world know Jesus, has always been an encouragement to us, and we miss them dearly. How thankful we are for their lives, fully lived for God!
During the same two weeks, there have been three funerals in our village. What a different story, knowing that these three souls have likely passed into a Christless eternity. And the challenge remains: to live our lives fully sold out to Jesus, that more here in this village and around the world will know Him as their own personal Savior.