Enjoying Kathmandu

We have been in Nepal for a week, but this is the first time that I have been able to get online. Most of the time we don't have electricity, and sometimes when we have electricity, we still don't have internet. Most of the time we don't have water either! But the weather is cool, so it is comfortable, and we are having a wonderful time -- many encouraging times with our former students. One day we toured the historic city of Bhaktapur with some of our graduates, and I took this photo of "the women at the well." Will try to send more photos as I have the opportunity.

Fun experiences in the past week have included a baby dedication, a visit with a pastor who just got out of jail, a church anniversary, shopping for fabric, eating delicious curries, and having daily talks with Simran, the 7-year old daughter of our hosts. She doesn't speak English and I don't speak Nepali, but that doesn't stop her! She is pretty sure that if she just keeps at it, eventually I will understand.

Nepal

We will leave today for Bangkok, and stay with friends there for about 36 hours. By Wednesday we will be in Kathmandu, Nepal. This is our third trip to Nepal, but it is our first-ever IGSL international alumni reunion. We have had alumni reunions in Manila before, but this is the first in another country. We have a lot of graduates there -- 25 from our masters degree programs and 15 wives from our Partners in Ministry program. We hope that we will be able to see them all. I will post if I can, but electricity is erratic there these days, so it might not be possible. Please pray for our trip, that God will use us to encourage each graduate that we meet.

The Sun and the Stars and the Friends

The ingredients for an evening of fun . . . sun, stars, and friends. I love the people I work with--and I know that a great team is a precious gift from God! The faculty ladies in our Partners in Ministry program are good friends, some of whom I've known for 30 years, some I am just getting to know. We work hard together as we minister to our students, but we have fun together too. Recently we spent an evening at a roofdeck restaurant where we ate dinner and watched the sun go down.

.

When we finished eating, the sun had completely set, so we spent the next hour stargazing. We saw Mars and Saturn and lots of stars whose names we have already forgotten. But we won't forget the fun we had that night.
.

Graduation

This is the time of year filled with events, celebrations, milestones. It's the time when we thank God for all that He has done in the lives of the 39 people who finished their courses this year. They have grown so much! This is why we love teaching and discipling! I wish you could sit down with them and hear their stories. Each time I watched a graduate pick up his/her diploma, I would remember a kaleidoscope of happy/sad/tiring/painful/touching/stretching/funny moments we shared during the past three years. It has been such a privilege to be part of their lives! And now they're moving out, to the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Korea, Nepal, and Pakistan. We have such cool jobs!

.

Slow Discipleship

Most of my discipleship ministry is centered around IGSL. The people I disciple are either our students or young faculty members, or the employees who work in our office. There are more than enough people (and then some) to fill my ministry week at IGSL.

But at the same time, James and I are part of a local church here in the Philippines. We also try to contribute what we can to that ministry during weekends. James has led growth groups and conducted various types of training for the members, and I helped launch the women's ministry. Then I decided to take a breather and rest during the weekends. (I'm not getting any younger, you know!)

Not long after that, two young women from our church approached me, separately, and asked me to disciple them. Honestly, I wanted to continue my time of rest! But they were eager to learn, so I said I would do it IF we met only twice a month, IF we met in my home (so I don't have to go out), IF they would be the ones to do all the organizing, xeroxing, reminders, etc., and IF they were serious about applying what they learned. They agreed!

.

Both ladies are part-time teachers and part-time students. Ayvee is an elementary reading teacher working on her master's degree in pre-school education.

.

Jay-ar is finishing her bachelor's degree in physical therapy in the afternoons, which she finances by teaching in an online English school for Koreans every morning.

.So, about two years ago, I started discipling Ayvee and Jay-ar. We are slowly working our way through a book published by Campus Crusade for Christ called The Significant Woman. We are taking it at a leisurely pace. Sometimes we take a break and I bring them to IGSL to meet some of our students there, and give them an opportunity to learn Indian or Thai cooking.

.

My goal is not to make them into international cooks, but to help them understand God's heart for reaching His world. That's why I like them to meet people at IGSL from the 10-40 window and listen to their testimonies. Did I mention we are taking it slowly? My goal is not to finish the book, but to give them a heart for God and a heart for missions. It may take us a year to finish the book, but that's okay! Sometimes we just meet together to have lunch and pray. Actually, "The Significant Woman" is not about missions, it's about finding your part in God's plan, but anyone who is discipled by me is going to find the focus is on missions, no matter what material I use!I've never conducted a discipleship group this way before! I'm usually much more focused and intense, because our IGSL students are with us for a limited time and we have a lot to accomplish. But Ayvee and Jay-Ar and I are enjoying this relaxed approach and they are growing.Jay-Ar recently started a seeker's Bible study at her physical therapy school. She has 10 regular members, and several other casual attenders. I'm so encouraged! Both of these ladies are seeing God change their hearts, their character, and most important, their priorities in life. I am very privileged to be a part of it.

Cute Baby Boy Update

Danny at 3 months with the shrinking bear.
.

Just being cute.
.

Practicing flying with Dad.
.

Danny meeting his great-grandparents.

.

Gazing at Mom.
.

Danny fell asleep hold Mom and Dad's hands. Perfect contentment . . .
.

Strengthening those neck muscles!

.

Just looking sweet . . . I miss my dear baby boy and his parents, but I appreciate them for faithfully sending photos. We tried to Skype a few days ago, and the results were pretty funny. Neither of us have very good quality webcams -- I told Michelle I felt like I was looking at an ultrasound! My long-distance-grandma-mentors tell me that excellent webcams are an excellent investment. So maybe "become experts on webcams" will be the next thing on our to-do list.

Not All Organizational Charts Are Boring

This week is the last week of classes at IGSL. Everything is winding down, and our graduation is Saturday. But in the midst of the goodbyes, we have to get ready for next year. We are already processing student applications, and making decisions about next year's classes. So the Leadership Team of our Partners in Ministry program for wives decided that we needed to look at our organizational chart. We gathered for a weekend retreat to encourage our young PIM faculty to take new responsibilities for the coming year. But we wanted it to be pretty and fun.

.

We often use orchids as our icon for PIM, because it is a plant that is easily moved. Its roots are in the air, not the ground. As we equip our PIM students, we hope that they can easily adapt what they learn in our program, and transplant it to their own ministries back home. So, with the orchid theme in mind, we did our planning with the PIM faculty. We each had six orchids to represent ourselves, and we laid out 60 stamens -- the center part of the flowers -- to represent the various jobs that need to be done for the coming year.

.

As we talked and prayed and planned, we each selected six responsibilities for the coming year, including teaching classes, coordinating events, discipling a group of students, and administering various parts of the program. We have spent a lot of time as a group learning about our strengths and gifts, so we have a good idea of where each person can serve best. We are committed to working as a team because we know we need each other.

.

We stayed in a guest house outside the city for a day and a half so we could work on this project without interruptions. As the people and the jobs came together, our garden began to take shape, and we formed the work groups for the coming year. We posted our orchids on the wall of the guest house -- easily removable, like real orchids -- and then carried them back to our campus, where the garden will grace the walls of our PIM office. It was a pretty way to get organized, and we can't wait for the new school year to start in June!

.

Making Memories in the Jungle

I mentioned last week that there have been transitions in my office. One of the people who has moved on to a new assignment is our school nurse, Leah. She and her pastor husband will be teaching in a Bible School a few hours north of Manila. Our team decided to send her off in style! So we closed the office for the day, and headed off to the jungle. Here we are halfway to our destination. Leah is the one beside me in the white shirt.

.

We went to Subic Bay, where there is a park featuring a jungle trek. We were dwarfed by the hundred-year-old trees.

.
We learned to find water to drink from tree branches and to make fire with no matches. We probably could not do this ourselves if our lives depended on it, but we had great fun watching the guide do it.
.
During our lunch break we moved from the jungle to the beach, and had an amazing lunch of grilled seafood beside the ocean. We all gave Leah gifts to help her in her new ministry.
.

Then, back to the jungle for the rest of the afternoon. The huge trees are connected by cables so that you can fly like superman. Well, sort of like superman. I chose to stay behind the camera for this activity. The rest of the group had a lot of fun and screamed a lot!
.

A good day full of good memories!

.