The Talbot Tablet

New Family Picture 2012

2012-01-22T13:22:00.001+08:00

Here is our family.

Hala- 13 yrs; Kyle- 11 yrs; Sophia- 4 yrs

Charlotte- 9 yrs; Chuck; Shannon; Eli- 14 1/2 yrs

Jenna- 2 yrs (April 6th)

Here is another fun picture. Notice that Jenna is holding up 6 fingers! She did this all on her own. There are 6 kids and she is #6!

We are looking forward to seeing you all face to face very soon.

First Culture and Language Evaluation

2011-12-06T21:06:00.001+08:00

We were privileged last week to have 3 other missionaries come into our village and help Chuck to see where he is at with language and culture learning. They were able to give him some guidance of what he needs to do in order to get proficient in Ga’dang.

I could write all about it and what happens and everything but I am sure I couldn’t explain it as well as one of the evaluators did on his blog. Please read what he wrote about Chuck’s evaluation and the how’s and why’s for this.

Just click the link below:

Language Barrier- Ga'dang

Thanks George for such a great explanation.

Rice Harvesting

2011-12-06T20:51:00.001+08:00

In October of last year a major typhoon went through the Ga’dang area and destroyed much of their rice crops. We thought that it was going to be a more challenging year for the people as they were short on rice. We have learned throughout the last couple of months that in a normal year, most harvest enough to last more than a year. This has helped many to have rice to eat until this years harvest.

Chuck has been out several times to harvest rice this season but I had my first opportunity to go help just a couple weeks ago. I was amazed to see people still going out to harvest after a heavy rain the night before and off and on rain that morning.

Thankfully Chuck was willing to take me out to this field. I wasn’t sure where it was and was told that it was “far”. So off we went in the fun slippery mud. It took us about 1 hr to get there and we had to cross the same river about 5 times. I tried desperately to not get water in my boots but in one spot I thought for sure I was going to get water in. Thankfully we managed to find shallower water and got across. As we walked several people came up behind us…heading to the same field…and kept walking. I think we were a little slow getting there. We knew we were on the right path though as we could see the muddy foot prints of the people who went before us.

Soon enough we arrived at the bottom of the hill that was being harvested. It was a rather steep climb getting to the top. My friend Analyn was surprised to see me there because of the rain.

Analyn was so nice as she took me over to the rice and showed me how to hold the cutting tool, grasp the rice and cut all with the same hand. It is quite a trick…for me anyway. (I laugh at Chuck as he has cut himself several times in that last couple of weeks while harvesting!) I was amazed that I didn’t cut myself.

Analyn also showed me how to tie the bundles of rice also. There is some co-ordination in spinning the bundles around too.

This is one of the men twisting/spinning the tie around the bundles of rice.

Here is some the rice that was harvested. The darker is sticky rice, used for special desserts. The lighter coloured is their everyday eating rice. They place them together in groups of 8 and then count them after that. There is special counting system for that. Later they will stack them in a special way and there is a way to count that too.

I was so happy to be able to experience and learn so much from my good friend.

Home made

2011-10-25T13:29:00.001+08:00

Each day we try to use our eyes and ears to learn about the lives of the Ga’dang people. As time goes on it seems that some things just get “normal” for us to see. We love having visitors in the village so we can see things new again through their eyes.

As I looked through our pictures I noticed that we have been able to watch people make things lately and have seen what they use them for.

Here are a few:

This is our neighbours little boy. They have made him a home made walker/jolly jumper! He loves to be in it watching his mom as she pounds rice for the daily meals.

Can you guess what this is? Our neighbour is making a nest for his chickens! The hens lay their eggs in it. They are usually attached to the side of the house so it is up high enough to keep predators out.

This is a beautiful basket that an older gentleman in the village made. They use these baskets for many things but especially when they are pounding their rice. It is just a big bowl to hold it at the different stages. I just learned the other day that they have a different word for a basket like this that is really big!

I look forward to discovering more things in the weeks and months ahead!

Meeting THEIR physical needs

2011-09-21T20:03:00.001+08:00

We arrived home, in the village, 5 weeks ago. It is always nice to be home and sleeping in our own beds but being home has added stresses too.

Since June I have had to take on the medical issues that come up in the village. In the beginning it was just minor things, colds, rashes and fevers. This I can handle, even if I don’t know the causes of the rashes, I can help by giving some direction to the cause, and some medicine to help the itch go away for a time.

Just 2 days after our return in August, we had our first major medical event. We were able to call in the helicopter and get Analyn to town. For the full story READ here. At the same time another young lady in the village became jaundice. We recommended she go to town to see what was wrong but she returned with no real diagnosis, just some medicine for her liver.

Just 10 days later, on a rainy Friday night, we were told that one of the oldest ladies in the village became ill with diahrea. She is not well anyway and this just made her condition worse. With the help of our American friend doctor in Manila, Skype and the Lord directing us, we were able to help her. She is now able to get up and about. Praise the Lord!

Right after that my language helper became ill. She was having trouble with keeping anything down. After sending her to town to get an IV and some texts, it was found out that she is pregnant! This trip involved our buyer and Christina driving 2 hrs to pick her up and then another 2 hrs to get her to a good hospital. Another young man was shot with an airgun in the hip area. He had to be taken to town. Thankfully we were able to arrange a ride for him from the end of the trail to town. (Our pilot was in Manila, so we couldn’t fly him out.)

There have been fevers, sore ears, headaches, toothaches and runny noses going around. And a flood of people thinking they have UTI’s.

I am not a nurse or a doctor. I am just a mom, with many medical books and friends to ask questions to. But most of all, I have the Lord to ask for strength and wisdom as I talk to each person that comes my way.

Meeting the physical needs of the people here is just one way we can build relationships with the Ga’dang people. Lord willing this will help to build relationships with them so we can someday share the Gospel with them.

Please pray for me, Shannon, as I look for answers to the questions the people ask me about their illnesses.

We are looking to start a fund that would help to cover the costs of medical flights for the people plus help with some of their medical costs if they need tests, procedures or have to stay in the hospitals. If you are interested in contributing to this fund, please contact NTMC at www.ntm.org/canada Please specify that it’s for the Medical Fund for the Ga’dang people in the Philippines.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5,6

First Medical Flight for Ga’dang People

2011-08-17T10:21:00.001+08:00

Last night Christina learned that our good friend Analyn (she is 19 weeks pregnant) started having some cramping and bleeding. Analyn has become a good friend to both Christina and I over the last year. We were so excited for her when she became pregnant as her and her husband had been wanting another baby for about 2 years now. They have 2 children already.

After talking with Analyn this morning we decided that it would be best to take her out to the hospital and have a checkup. Christina having been home for just 2 days was happy to accompany Analyn to town.

It is possible to get to town by land. But it is a 2 hr hike, if you walk yourself. She would have needed to been taken out by stretcher. Then it is a 1 hr bumpy ride to the nearest town. The hospitals there are not good. It would then be another 1 hr drive to a town with a good hospital.

It was obvious that it was best to fly Analyn by our NTM helicopter to that town with a good hospital. That is what we have the helicopter for.

The saddest thing for us is that we had to think about whether or not we can afford to pay for this flight. We do not have extra support to cover these medical flights. It cost us $180 US for the flight alone. Then there will be the hospital and doctors fees on top of that.

We decided to trust the Lord to provide for this expense. We know He is faithful to take care of all our needs and the needs of the people we are ministering among.

If you would like to help us with this medical expense or any other medical expenses for the Ga’dang people, please let us know. We can direct you the information you need. Or go to www.ntm.org/canada/give Make sure to include a note for Ga’dang Medical Fund.

Please be praying for Analyn and her baby. We will keep you updated as we learn more.

Water

2011-08-08T22:49:00.001+08:00

It’s finally done! There is now a fresh supply of water for our village thanks to all the hard work of both the people living there and the recent NTM SUMMIT team that came from the UK. It was 3 years ago when we promised the people that we would provide a fresh water supply for them and we are very thankful that the Lord allowed us to come through on our promise. Here, with pictures is how it all played out:

Before the SUMMIT team arrived we needed to get the water as far as the village. This meant laying 1 km of 1” pipe from the spring up in the hills down to the tank just above the village. The men of the village helped me cut the trail, lay the pipe and pour the pad for the the tank.

When the team arrived, they got right to work digging. We also had help for the village people for this as well. They came up with the idea of using the plough to break the ground. What a great help that was!

It was hot, and every day of the first week with the team there it rained in the afternoon. Rain or shine though, they kept working hard.

We set up 6 faucets in the village, each complete with a cement pad. The team worked on these as well. The village guys thought it was amazing to see the SUMMIT team ladies right in there mixing cement and getting dirty!

By the end of the 12 days, we were able to bury all the water lines in the village and hook up all the faucets, as well as Christina’s and our water tanks at our houses.

To say thanks to the SUMMIT team and to all the people in the village who helped us with the water project, we hosted a ‘blow out’ (party), complete with pig, pancit and dekat (sticky rice dish).

We are very thankful to all who have given financially to make this project happen, as well as all those who prayed for us during this time. A lot of other things happened that could have set us back but the Lord saw us through and we are blessed as a result.

By Chuck

Building a Vision for the Ga’dang

2011-06-20T16:35:00.001+08:00

This short video was put together by some fellow missionaries that came to visit us a couple weeks ago. I hope you enjoy it and that you will pray for us, our support staff including our pilot and the Ga’dang people.

Water Project & UK Summit Team 2011

2011-06-05T19:41:00.001+08:00

We are very excited to finally be getting started on the water project for the village. Knowing that this project was going to be a lot of work for us and the village people, we thought that it would be great to have the UK Summit team back with us again this July. Every year a group of people looking to be exposed to missions and people wanting to help out missionaries, come together from the UK to the Philippines. If you remember we hosted the team last July when we were trying to get our house to a point that we could move in. Chuck and Christina had such a great time with them, we knew that all of us as a family would love to have them with us too. Our leadership decided that it would be a great fit for the team. We are really excited to host them.

This is the team as they met for a weekend orientation. (2 people are missing)

What will they be doing?

We are bringing fresh water from a spring into the village so the people can have clean drinking water. This will also help them in the times of dry season when there is little water in the village wells.

There will be lots of digging, laying pipe, mixing cement, burying pipe and so on. There will be so much for them to do.

Ga’dang people will be helping too.

Last week Chuck met with the men in the village so we could get them started on the prep work involved. The hope is that we can get the pipe in the ground from the spring to the village before the team arrives in the second week of July. Everyone was very excited and looking to help however they can.

Will you pray for us as we plan and work on this project?

There is still lots of planning to be done. The people in the village are getting their rice fields ready for planting in July, so helping dig trenches will take away from that work.

Pray for the Summit team as they plan to come. Pray they will all get along and learn more about missions while here.

Pray for the finances for this project. We need about $3500 to pay for all the materials. For more information, send us an email. Or go to NTM's Website to find out more.

Pray for us as we balance language study and working on the project in the weeks ahead.

Another Junior

2011-05-31T18:44:00.001+08:00

Shortly after returning to the village in April, our neighbour had her baby. She was very willing to have Christina and I attend the birth of her third child. Our plan was to just sit back and observe how they do things.

It didn’t take long into the pushing stage, that we realized that we were going to be needed to lend a hand. We had already known that her first 2 children were very hard deliveries. It was very scary to watch and even help as she pushed for about 3 hrs before the baby was born. I spent so much time praying for her and that little baby. We learned so much by watching and helping, in how they do things. This was the first baby that we have ever seen born. We are so thankful that mother and baby were ok after all that hard work.

I do my best to visit almost every day. I don’t want him to be scared of the white lady!!! His most favourite thing to do just as soon as I get him in my arms…is to pee on me! It is the running joke now. Yesterday as him mom passed him to me, she said he didn’t have even a cloth diaper on, just little shorts. Of course I took him and of course within minutes I was wet!

Here he is not long after he was born.

Now here he is at 5 weeks old. I think he was trying to smile at me!!!

What a privilege it is to be a part of this family’s lives.

A little toy

2011-05-31T18:38:00.001+08:00

Last week as we were helping with the preparations for a birthday party, one of the kids pulled this python out of a water can. It was quite a site to watch as some of the girls were a little freaked out by it. But the boys didn’t seem to bothered by it. One of the men spent some time playing with it as Kyle watched. We later learned that they eventually ate it. (Snake tastes good. Just not a lot of meat on the bones.)

New puppy

2011-05-31T18:30:00.001+08:00

We wanted to introduce you all to our little puppy. Our dog Jojo had her first litter of puppies a couple weeks ago, although only one was born alive.

Here he is at just after he was born.

Now here he is at 3 weeks.

We are considering a name with the meaning fat. This little guy just eats and eats. We are really enjoying having this puppy around.

Sad news- Melagros

2011-04-10T17:26:00.001+08:00

We just received word this afternoon, that after a couple days of being sick, Melagros has passed away.

We had been told that with her having cerebral palsy that someday she would likely get sick and that it would be bad and then she would likely die quickly.

We are very sad for this loss and sad that we are not able to be there with this family.

We won’t be able to be home in the village until Wednesday or Thursday. We will plan to see the family right away.

Please pray for Melagros’ family. Pray that we would be light to them in this time of sadness.

Colouring

2011-04-09T20:41:00.001+08:00

Many days I have little girls coming up to me saying, “Ate…colour???” Although the word colour doesn’t quite sound like we are used to hearing it, I have learned what they want to do. The kids in the village love to come and colour on our porch! It is one fun thing that our girls can do with them.

When Paul and Chelsea Linscott were planning to come last November they asked us what they could bring. The first thing that came to mind was colouring books. They had many people give them colouring books and thus they brought a large stack with them.

This is what the stack looks like now.

The ones on the right are fully coloured. The ones on the left only have a small number of pages left.

Every time we are in Manila we look at all the book stores to see if they have any colouring books. Sometimes they are hard to find and are often thin and expensive.

If you would like to help supply our porch with colouring books and crayons please send us an email and we can give your our mailing address or we can direct you to someone that will be shipping things to us in the coming months.

2011 Community Projects

2011-04-09T19:38:00.001+08:00

#1 WELLS

One of the community projects that has been sitting on the back burner of our minds, so to speak, is to improve the availability and quality of water in our village. This was one of the original requests of the people when we asked them if we could live with them 3 years ago. Currently our village has several shallow wells, some of which do well even in the dry season, as well as a small river which is used for everyday tasks such as bathing and washing clothes.

It has been our desire to improve the existing wells, as well as bring fresh water into the village from a spring located about 2 km away in the hills above. We have been able to repair several of the wells in our village over the last year, thanks to one of our supporting churches in Ontario.

Recently it came to our attention that the 2 neighbouring villages next to us have only one well in each of them, and at the moment are not doing so well for water. Before coming out for break this time, we agreed to help them by providing the materials needed to install some more wells in their villages.

The cost for materials to install one pump is approximately $100. We would like to replace 2 existing wells in our village and install one new one there. In the two neighbouring villages we need to replace the existing wells and install 2 new ones in each.

That is a total of 9 new pumps and pipe we would like to provide for these 3 villages.

In the process of getting this blog post ready we spoke with Adam from Bethel EMC, in Lion’s Head, Ontario. He has told us that they would like to care of the funding for this entire project! Praise the Lord! These villages will be able to have more water very soon.

#2 FRESH SPRING WATER

As for bringing water in from the spring up in the hills. It will be a significant project, as we will need to build a small collection reservoir at the source, install a 500 gallon holding tank at the village and approximately 2 km of durable water line. This is going to cost approximately $3500.

We are also looking to see if anyone would be interested in coming over to help us with the water project. Please let us know if you are interested. We’re open to the possibility of a small team coming to help with it or individuals. It would be an awesome opportunity to be a blessing to the Ga’dang people as you work alongside them.

If you would like to give to this project please contact us at chuck-shannon_talbot@ntm.org or go to Give Information for more information, you can then click on the Donate Now on the right hand side of your screen. Please be sure to include our names and what project you would like it to go towards.

#3 RICE

Another project we are looking at is a result of Typhoon Juan, which passed through northern Luzon as a category 4 typhoon last October. It happened just as many were beginning to harvest their mountain rice crops. As a result, much damage was done to the local people’s fields, as well as their other food sources such as the fruit trees. As we have talked with our Ga’dang friends, they are telling us that many of them will run out of rice to eat soon because they need to hold on to some of the previous year’s crop in order to plant again. Rice supplies were already being stretched due to the 6 month drought in the first half of 2010 which caused widespread rice crop failure and/or extremely poor harvest.

The local authorities have been able to help some in offering free rice seed, but it has only come in the form of seed for low land wet paddy rice. Unlike mountain rice, which cannot be bought as seed, paddy rice seed is readily available anywhere in the country. Mountain rice on the other hand, must be seed from the previous crops. Most Ga’dang people only grow mountain rice due to the hilly terrain and so were unable to take advantage of the offer.

It has been a good opportunity for us to observe the community spirit and sense of strong family connections as we watch the Ga’dang people work through this together. Many are sharing their reserves of rice seed with others so that everyone will at least have a little to plant in June. We are amazed to see the resourcefulness of them as well as they come up with opportunities to provide the necessities to survive.

We will continue to watch and be open to how we may be a blessing to the Ga’dang people in our area. It may be that we will need to purchase sacks of rice to pass out to them to help them make it until the next harvest in October. The average Ga’dang family of 6 can consume a 50 kg sack of rice (which costs about $40) in less than 2 weeks, especially when there is nothing else to supplement the meals. That’s a lot of rice in a village of 100+ people!

All donations are tax deductible and we receive 100% of the money donated.

Solar Power Project

2011-04-09T19:16:00.001+08:00

Living in an remote area brings with it challenges for accomplishing everyday tasks, such as providing a consistent and reliable power supply to the house. We didn’t realise how much we take for granted that we can flick a switch to turn on a light or plug in the computer and not have to think about starting the generator first. Up to this point that is what we have to do to have power in our house.

Fortunately we have a small Honda generator that is fuel efficient, and so we run it for several hours each morning to charge up batteries, etc. while our twin tub washing machine is being run. I also have to turn it on again each evening to charge up batteries again and have lights inside the house.

We are hoping to be able to make the step of purchasing solar equipment in the near future. This will help minimise the amount we need to run the generator, and therefore be more cost effective. Just one more way we can be good stewards of what our financial supporters bless us with.

It is going to cost about $10,000 to set up our house but we can get started with a basic system for about $5,000 (we would still need to run the generator for a couple hours a day.)

If you are interested in helping us with this project send us an Email for more information or go to the New Tribes Mission of Canada website and follow the links to give.

Zach

2011-04-09T15:54:00.001+08:00

During this past February, we were blessed by a young man named Zach. Zach is currently visiting the Philippines for several months through another organisation to expose himself to the many aspects of missionary work. Although we didn’t personally know him, we were approached about the idea of allowing him to visit us for a few weeks to see what missions is about from the tribal missionary perspective. Of course we said yes!

During his time with us, we tried to give Zach a wide variety of opportunities to experience life with us. He sat in on my language helper sessions, visited with the local people both in our village and the neighbouring one, and even got a taste of birthday food tribal style. Of course I had to give him opportunity to do a little work around the house as well.

One of the things that stood out to me though was the amount of time he spent simply playing with and talking to our kids. In some ways it was like Zach fit right in with us, whether he was playing peek a boo with Jenna, piggy-backing Sophia or building a fort with Kyle.

It was a good reminder to me as to the importance of our kids in our ministry amongst the Ga’dang people. They can see the relationships we have with our children, and hopefully it’s a good example of how we (and they in the future) have a relationship with our heavenly father. It was also a reminder to me to not ignore the spiritual needs of our children as we minister here to the the tribal people.

Please continue to pray for us as we focus our efforts not only on the Ga’dang people but also on these little ones in our family. Their spiritual well being is just as important, if not more so.

Zaldo and Tintin

2011-04-09T14:11:00.001+08:00

I’d like to introduce you to another couple we are getting to know here. Zaldo has been mentioned in the past, as he’s my main language helper. I first met him when Erik and I made our initial survey to this area, I did not know at that time how important Zaldo would be in becoming a part of the local Ga’dang community. Not only has he been very patient with me as I struggle to learn his language, but he has been a huge blessing in acting as a ‘go between’ when I’ve needed to negotiate or otherwise communicate with the other people in the village.

When we returned to the tribe from our Christmas break, Zaldo informed me he had a girl friend and was planning to get married. We were very excited for him, especially as he is 33 years old now and it is uncommon for the guys in Ga’dang culture to wait this long to find a wife. Needless to say, we wanted to meet the girl but she was extremely shy of us. It did happen eventually and everything is looking like they will get married shortly after we return to the tribe this time. Zaldo even made sure to ask us when we planned to return so that we could be sure to be back in time to participate in the wedding.

It has been a great cultural learning opportunity already for us as there are events in Ga’dang culture that must occur leading up to the actual wedding day. One such event which has already happened was a procession of the family and village elders from our village going up to Tintin’s family’s village to announce the engagement. It was a time for traditional music and dancing, killing a pig, all the elders giving advice to the couple to be wed, and of course the two families discussing the date of the wedding. As we found out, this ‘date’ decision alone can take days!

Pray for Zaldo and Tintin as they will soon begin their lives together. We look forward to seeing the day when the Lord uses this couple to bring the Gospel not only to our village but also to the one where Tintin’s family lives as well.

SSayy Whhatt?

2011-04-09T13:13:00.001+08:00

I’ve finally started the next step of the process of our reason for being here in the Ga’dang tribe. Hurray! The Lord has blessed me with a language helper, Zaldo, who is eager to assist me in this daunting task, even when it hurts his ears.

For example, we were practising making sentences using places to go to, how we got there, who went, and when we did it. Sounds simple, eh? Maybe in English! Here’s a sample: “I rode a water buffalo to the school yesterday”. In Ga’dang I should’ve said; “Naddaffuwak se ageskwelan se gafi.” This is a case of not easier said than done!

Notice the double consonants? Zaldo, along with everyone else listening was able to hear it when I didn’t say those double consonants right. Then there’s the ‘a’ sound, which can almost sound like a short ‘u’ (as in cut)or ‘a’ (as in cat) instead of ‘a’, as in ball if I’m not careful. Those really hurt his ears!

Here’s a few more fun ones with double consonants I twisted my tongue around:

Nallakarak – I walked

Sintaw naggabwatannu? Where did you come from?

Ansa nadingngangngo? What do you hear?

The trick (I think) is to split the doubbles between syllables without making it too obvious. That offten gets funny looks too.

Pray for us as we dig into the language here and try to make sense of it. Clarity of speech is essential for when we present God’s Word to them someday, hopefully not too far in the disttant future.

Melagros April Update

2011-04-09T00:27:00.001+08:00

Over the last 3 months we have been helping a little girl with cerebral palsy because she was so malnourished and her mother didn’t know what was wrong with her.

We have been so happy to see her and her mother come to us each Monday to get Melagros weighed. Then we send her home with more formula, baby cereal and vitamins.

We are amazed at the growth in this little girl. She has gained 2.4kg in 3 months!!! That is truly amazing. She is still small for the average almost 2 yr old but she is doing so much better then she was.

What a difference in her!

Thank you for praying for her. Please continue to pray for her and her family. Someday we will get to share with them about what Christ did for them!

Happy 1st Birthday Jenna!!!

2011-04-06T22:59:00.001+08:00

I can hardly believe that my baby girl is 1 year old today!!! This last year has flown by so fast. Jenna has been such a joy to our family. We love her so very much and can’t imagine our home without her.

Today we started our birthday fun with a chat with Nana! Then we went to our friends house for a swim and lunch. We had a great time with the Easton family. Then we went for dinner with our other friends, the Harada’s. Their daughter Grace shares her birthday with Jenna.

Here are some pictures and videos of our fun day!

That looks yummy!

No need for hands!!!

Give me more cake!!!

Wow, that was good!

First Flight

2011-04-04T11:22:00.000+08:00

Here we are in Manila for a break from the tribe, and after a week of relaxing and doing almost nothing (which is a good change of pace for us) it’s time to get back to work. That is, we head back into the village next week and there are still doctor’s appointments to go to, shopping to be done and of course blogs to be written before we leave. We hope to bring you all up to date on what’s been happening with us since our last break in December, while we have fast internet here in the city. (We’re hoping to change that soon after getting back into the village, but more on that in another blog.)

So without further ado, I think it would be appropriate to start with something that many of you have been praying with us about for well over a year now. For the first time, we actually flew out of the tribe in the helicopter! Hurray! For so long now we’ve had to travel for 2 days over land, hiring all sorts of modes of transportation from jeeps to karabaw, and hiking through the mud just to get in and out of the village. What a huge blessing it was to be able to walk 2 minutes away from our house, get into the helicopter, and ride 20 minutes to the NTM flight centre for northern Luzon.

Of course it probably won’t be the last time we’ll end up going through the motions of hiring and hiking. But, we can certainly appreciate the smoothness and simplicity of the helicopter, and be very thankful for the Lord allowing us to be able to get in and out even without it.

Please be praying for our pilot, Brian as he needs to go through a series of check rides with our NTM chief helicopter pilot who has already come over from the US once and will be back again in a month. The Lord has worked it out already for another pilot to fly with Brian next week so he can take us back into the tribe. (We thought we going to be back to hiking in the mud one more time, but the Lord is very gracious to us.) Once we are back in the village, we will need to negotiate a rental price for the land which we would like to use for the landing pad. This has already become a hot topic of interest with the villagers as it is seen as a prestige thing for the landowner. Pray for wisdom and discernment for us as we seek to be fair and show a Christ-like example to the Ga’dang people.

The following is a video clip of the first time the helicopter flew in. Enjoy, we certainly are!

First flight into our village.

Looking more like a finished house!

2011-03-28T21:18:00.000+08:00

During the first week after we returned home, Chuck continued to work on the house. The main goal was to get the porch railing and stairs done. And they managed to get it done. What a blessing it is!

He also needed to complete the office. So he would have a place to study.

The one wall was made into a book shelf. It didn’t take long to fill it!

After that Chuck went into full time Ga’dang language study. Off and on he had a couple guys continue working on some projects.

One of jobs that some men did was to plane down wood for flooring. Eventually we want to put hardwood flooring over top of the plywood floor we have downstairs. This wood is the stack on the upper right. The stack on the bottom left is waiting to be made into kitchen cabinets!

We also had a visitor for a couple weeks. Zach is a young man that is interested in missions. He came to stay with us to see what tribal missions is about. In the mornings he spent some time painting in the kitchen. It really helps to break up the all-wood feeling in the house.

The built in bench was also installed in the beginning of the year.

On Saturdays Chuck continued to work on some projects. It is a good de-stressor for him! He made us a screen door.

Over the next number of months Chuck will continue to pick away at projects on the weekends. First up is to put in kitchen cabinets. It has been my dream for years to have Chuck build me my own kitchen cabinets. It is finally my turn! I can’t wait to see them done.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support as Chuck has continued to work on the house and also as he has begun language study. (We will write more about that later!)

Returning Home

2011-02-05T15:15:00.001+08:00

How lovely on the mountains

Are the feet of him who brings good news,

Who announces peace

And brings good news of happiness,

Who announces salvation,

And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Isaiah 52:7

Not too many years ago I would have said no way will I be walking in the mud bare foot to get home. Now here we are January 2011 and our whole family ended up walking about 5 km bare foot in the mud.

We know that through our sacrifices the Ga’dang people will someday here the Gospel in their own language. Really it is not a sacrifice, it is a privilege.

Please continue to pray for us as we have begun the language learning process. It is not easy but it will be so worth it in the end.

Belated Christmas Gifts

2011-02-05T15:10:00.001+08:00

We had wanted to give the kids in the village a little Christmas gift but were unable to do it before we came out for Christmas break. So we did some shopping in Manila and wrapped 180 gifts for the kids.

The kids were very happy to receive their gifts.

This is the 1st through 3rd grade class.

We also gave to the 4th through 6th grade class, to the preschool kids and those younger then that.

New Neighbours

2011-02-05T14:49:00.001+08:00

It would seem that the house in front of our house is the latest rental property.

From August through October we had a substitute teacher and her family there.

Now we have some new people living there. My main laundry lady’s brother along with his dad and 2 kids are our new neighbours. The kids mom is an OFW, oversees Filipino worker.

This is Lisel and Lester. Lisel is 3 yrs old and Lester is almost 5 yrs old.

Please pray for these little kids. They really need a mothers love. It is very hard to see them crying for some love and attention. Pray that we can show them the love of the Lord and be a blessing to them.

Jenna Lee #2 at 4 weeks

2011-01-14T21:10:00.001+08:00

With our return to the village we have to stay in the town closest to our village for a couple nights as we prepare to travel in. This has given us the opportunity to visit again with Jenna Lee #2, our friend Elias’ baby girl. She is now 4 weeks old.

Our Jenna was very fascinated with the new Jenna!!!

Best Friends

2011-01-07T17:09:00.001+08:00

You would never know that there is 4 years between these two boys. Kyle is 10 yrs old and Ariel is 14 yrs old. They have been friends from the first time Kyle went into the village. Ariel has taught Kyle so many different ways to do things. What a great friendship they have. One day Lord willing they will be brothers in the Lord. That will be a great day.

Here Ariel did a perfect back flip and then Kyle tried! Guess it is something that he needs to keep working on.

Ariel has also been teaching Kyle how to pound rice. Ariel says this is how you get big muscles! Kyle’s desire for big muscles makes the pain of blisters on the hands not so bad most days!

Kyle has taught Ariel how to play Uno and Connect 4. Although I think they were making up the rules for this game. Maybe it was Connect 5!

Kyle will be sad when June comes and Ariel goes out to town to high school. They will only get to see each other on weekends.

A special honour!

2010-12-29T17:30:00.001+08:00

Over the last 2 years we have been blessed with Christian friend that lives in the town near our village. He has a multicab that he drives daily between the two parts of town bringing passengers back and forth. He has blessed us by being willing to take us to the waiting shed we hike from or picking us up there when we hike out. He has also helped arrange for jeepneys to take us in and out of the village with it was dry enough last year. He has made special trips to the bus station to help us pick up supplies that have come up from Manila. He has also given us free trips between towns from time to time. Elias has been such a good friend to us.

When we came out of the village for Christmas break we contacted Elias to come pick us up as we always do, several days before we hike out. He agreed to be there this time also.

When we got to the waiting shed he wasn’t there yet but texted us to say he was on his way. He told us when he arrived that he had to take his wife to the hospital first thing that morning as she was almost 9 months pregnant and having pains. But they had stopped and the doctor said she would deliver within a week. He left a cousin with her at the hospital and came to get us.

I, Shannon, always get the privilege of riding in the front of the multicab with Elias because in the past I was either pregnant or now have a baby to hold. This is always a challenge for me as his English is limited and my Tagalog is limited plus he talks to me like I understand everything he says to me in Tagalog!!! This day we talked about kids and the way it is in North America and the way it is in the Philippines. We also talked about his soon to arrive baby, a girl they told them. He asked me again the names of our kids as they still hadn’t picked a name for their little girl. It was one of my better conversations with him!

We arrived in town without trouble and Elias returned to the waiting shed to pick up all our cargo and bring it to us. Shortly after he returned with the cargo, Chuck received a text from him saying that while he was gone, the doctors delivered their baby via c-section!

He was the proud father of a little girl.

Then came the honour. Elias asked if they could give their new little girl the same name as our youngest girl, Jenna Lee! Oh course we said yes! What an honour it is.

The next day we were able to go visit the new Jenna Lee! Here she is.

The two Jenna’s!

Junior

2010-12-29T17:09:00.001+08:00

With each new baby being born in our village we get excited to be able to take a little gift from some ladies from Faith Evangelical Missionary Church in Wasaga Beach. They have sewn many baby quilts and sent baby layettes for the babies in our village.

Here is the latest addition to our village.

This little guy has a long name, that is Grandfather was proud to tell Chuck but all we can remember now is that they call him Junior!

We look forward to sharing many more baby gifts in the first half of 2011 as many babies are expected to arrive!

Some special ladies

2010-12-29T16:49:00.001+08:00

Some of you may not believe me when I say that I don’t easily make friends. It is hard for me to just get out an get to know people I don’t know.

I have been blessed though with some ways that help make it easier for me. All of these ladies work for me. Let me introduce them to you.

This is a young girl named Micah.

Each morning this last month she spent a couple hours cleaning at Christina’s house and then came to my house for a couple of hours to look after Jenna as I began Ga’dang language study. Jenna really enjoys spending time with her and Micah really enjoys spending time with Jenna. The job of being Jenna’s “yaya” (nanny) was one well sought after by many ladies. Micah gets teased about being Jenna’s yaya often but it is all in fun as those doing the teasing are jealous of her position.

In the New Year Micah will continue to watch Jenna in the mornings as I get more heavily involved in teaching our kids. We have just been doing a light course load up till this point but we need to get more serious now that we are half way through the school year.

This is Jovilyn.

Jovilyn has been such a blessing to our family. She comes each day to do the house work for me. She sweeps the floors, cleans the bathrooms, washes the walls, cleans Jenna’s toys and cooks us lunch (it is our main meal of the day) along with many other tasks. I don’t know what I would do without her. She is 28 yrs old and she and her family live in the house behind ours. They have 2 children and are expecting their 3rd in April.

This is Amelia.

Amelia comes 6 days a week, early in the morning to do our laundry. With 8 of us we manage to make our fair share of dirty clothes. We don’t have a washer or dryer like many of you have in North America. We use a twin-tub washing machine. Clothes are put in one side with water and washed for 15 min. They they are put in the spinner beside the washing part of the machine. Then they are rinsed in the basins seen here. Then they are put back in the spinner and then hung on hangers on the clothes line. Using the hangers makes it easy to hang the laundry under the house if it is raining or starts to rain or if it is just too cool and damp for the clothes to dry by afternoon. Amelia then comes back in the afternoon to fold the clothes. Amelia is just 19 yrs old and the mother of 2 boys. She is carrying MJ in this picture.

Here is Annalyn.

Annalyn was helping Amelia do laundry this last month as we had extra people in the house, making more laundry. Annalyn and Amelia’s husbands are brothers. They enjoyed working together each day. Annalyn is the mother of 2 children, a boy and a girl. Dennis Junior in this picture, is the youngest.

This is Crynalyn.

She helps Amelia every Monday doing laundry. She is 20 yrs old and is expecting her second child in May. This is her son, Nardz. He is 3 yrs old.

And here is my newest helper, Mildred.

Mildred has been so kind in helping Christina and I to learn to speak her language, Ga’dang! She gets to laugh with us and at us many times a day as we forget words and make a mess out of words we are trying to say. What a gracious lady she is. She is 24 yrs old and the mother of this little girl named Queen. She is also Crynalyn's older sister.

All of these wonderful ladies are very eager to make friends with me. Most days when they are done with the work I have for them they stay around on the porch just to visit with me. Now that I am learning their language they are eager to see what I know. Often they say things with a glint in their eyes, waiting to see if I understand them. They also like to ask me where my nose is or my eyes are! It is rather funny when I point to the wrong one!

Please pray for all these ladies. I pray that I can be showing the love of the Lord to them each day. Pray that His light shines through me.

December Update on Josilyn

2010-12-29T15:25:00.001+08:00

When we came out to Manila in October I was feeling rather discouraged with our attempts to help Josilyn gain so weight. We left food for her with another neighbour hoping that maybe she would be able to get more food into her. We had been only able to get very small amounts of food in her.

When we returned we learned that our neighbour did not spend time feeding Josilyn. This made us sad but we figured we would try to see if anything had changed for her anyway. Her mother commented that her appetite had increased in the weeks we were away.

We weighed her also and she was amazingly up about 100 grams.

So I mixed some formula in cup with baby cereal and tried her on it again. She gobbled it up. Each day I would bring this cup out and either go to her house or her mom would come to our porch. Sometimes I would feed it to her while her mother pounded rice or her mom would visit with me while feeding her.

To our amazement she was eating more then double what she was in October!!! And in just 4 weeks she gained 700 grams!!! She is now 7.1 kg!!! They are small steps but there is improvement.

The best part of it all was that each day I brought out the cup, she would look at me and then start reaching her hands out to try to get the cup! What a joy it was to see.

This time we left food with another young lady in the village for her to try to feed her. She seemed very eager to try to help them out. We shall see if she was able to feed her in just a couple weeks when we go home.

Thanks for praying for Josilyn. Please continue to pray for her and her family.

Melagros

2010-12-27T19:28:00.001+08:00

Please be praying for this little girl. She is about 19 months old. Her family lives just 25 min away from us in a neighbouring village. She is the youngest of 8 children. Her mother brought her to see us just the day before we left to come out for Christmas break.

Her mother says that when she was 5 days old she died. Then she was alive again! But she cannot sit, roll over, follow you with her eyes, reach for a toy and so many other things a normal 19 month old can. She has had a poor appetite for a long time so she weighs just 9 1/2 lbs.

Thankfully we had deworming medicine on hand for the whole family plus formula and baby cereal. Her mother was very happy to get these things to help her out. We are seeking advice from a doctor friend here in Manila to see how we can best help her.

Please pray that we would be able to help her to get the right nourishment that she needs and any other help that we can give. Pray also that we will show the love of the Lord to this family.

2010 Reflections

2010-12-24T19:47:00.001+08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

With Christmas just 1 day away and finally a spare moment to myself to sit at the computer, I figured it was time to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR

I also wanted to take a few moments to reflect back on this last year. So much has happened and so much of it is hard to explain in words, but I will try.

At the end of 2009 we were looking ahead to a big year in front of us. We had finished getting much of the building material ready for our house in the the month of December, with hopes that we would have help building our house in the New Year. In the first week of January it was just going to be Erik and Chuck doing all the building. With a few days a fellow missionary volunteered his time for a couple weeks to come help. We also had confirmation that 3 guys would be coming from New Zealand in February. Within a couple more weeks two more guys from one of our supporting churches had booked tickets to come help build in February also. Then another missionary that was en route to the Philippines said he would be coming too. It was so amazing to see the Lord bring all these people together to help us build our house. By the early part of March our house had a roof and was closed in on three sides! It was truly amazing to see the work accomplished. Chuck spent nearly 8 weeks in the village during that time, while the kids and I spent 4 weeks there.

In mid March we all headed to Manila to await the arrival our baby #6. During the time we waited for Jenna to arrive, we spent many hours in meetings with our field leadership regarding our team and our co-workers. By the end of all those meetings it was decided by the Petersons that the Lord would have them move to Manila and be involved in ministry there. This saddened us very much but we also could see the Lord working in all of us and we know it was what He wanted for us all.

On April 6th, six days early, Jenna Lee Talbot arrived. She weighed in at 6 lbs 8 oz. She just had a very little bit of blonde hair. She was named after my mother, Jennifer, and myself. My middle name is Lee. She is a perfect fit to complete our family. She has been a joy for the whole family. As her hair gets longer, it gets more and more red. I just might get my red headed little girl after all!

By the end of April Chuck started to make trips to the village to continue to work on the house. In mid June we went as a family to the village for the first time since Jenna was born. This was also the last trip that Jessica, our kids school teacher, would make to the village before returning to Canada to attend Bible School. We had a good 2 weeks in the village. The people were very pleased to see Jenna. It was the end of a 6 month drought in the Philippines so it was very hot and dry in there.

On July 4th Jessica flew back to Canada and just days later a group of 12 people on a UK Summit trip came to help work on the house for almost 2 weeks. Chuck had a great time with them in the village. They were able to get a lot of work done on the house. It got to the point that we were able to move into it.

In August we made the final move into the village, into our house!!! It was very exciting and very scary at the same time. There was so much packing to do in order to move and so much unpacking once we got there. The house had many things not done on it so it was a challenge to get organized. Plus the school year needed to begin for the 4 older kids. There was so much to be done but we made it through our first 7 weeks living in the village.

We were encouraged by leadership to take a short break about 7-8 weeks after moving into the village as it can be stressful for the family to be in there for the first time for so long. So in mid October we came to Manila for a rest plus to get some immunizations for Jenna and a check up for Hala. After 10 days in Manila we were to head back home with visitors, a family that is in Tagalog language study. But just days before we were to fly north Typhoon Megi/Juan came right over our village. It caused much damage to the trees and rice in our area. We still don’t know exactly to what extent the people suffered lose of rice. They only plant once a year, thus harvest once a year. So this crop it supposed to last them till next October. Many have said they lost up to 75% of their rice. Typhoon Megi delayed us 2 weeks in our return to the village. Finally in early November we returned home with our visitors. We almost didn’t make it as there was heavy flooding in the north. But we finally did get home.

The Eastons spent a week with us and when they left a single lady came in to visit for a week. Just days after she left, the Linscotts came in for almost 4 weeks to help work on the house. What a blessing it was to have all these visitors. I was able to start language study with our co-worker Christina. What fun it is to be able to learn to speak their language.

A lot of work has been done on the house this last year. There is still work to be done but it will be Saturday projects. Chuck will begin full time language when we return in mid January. We expect it to take Chuck about 2 years to learn to speak Ga’dang to a level where he is able to translate Bible lessons and teach in their language. We look forward to that day with great anticipation.

This year Hala turned 11 yrs old in January and is soon to turn 12! Chuck was next in line with his 35th birthday. Then came Jenna being born on April 6th. Eli became a teenager on July 1st, turning 13 yrs old. Kyle turned 10 yrs old in September and Charlotte was right behind him and turned 8 yrs old. Sophia had her 3rd birthday in October. In November I turned 33 yrs old and then we celebrated 15 yrs of marriage. Where have the years gone to? We have been so blessed.

This year was filled with so many blessings and a big one was in the gifts that so many of you gave towards the building of our house and the regular support we receive so we can stay and work here with the Ga’dang people. Thank you so much for your prayers and your giving.

What does 2011 look like for us???

It will be filled with a lot of language learning. This will be our main focus this year. Chuck will spend his days learning to speak like they do. Along with that he will being learning their culture, how they think. I, Shannon, will be homeschool the 4 older kids and also doing some language study.

We are looking to the Lord this year to bring along some new co-workers to join us in the work of reaching the Ga’dang people. There are several families in Tagalog language study right now but none will be done until at least the end of 2011. We are also seeking the Lord to provide a school teacher for the kids sometime this year. Having someone else teach the kids will free me up to be involved in language study.

Thank you so much for all your prayers for us in 2010. Please continue to pray for us in 2011. It is going to be a challenging year.

In Christ,

Chuck and Shannon Talbot

Eli, Hala, Kyle, Charlotte, Sophia, & Jenna

The waiting game

2010-11-04T15:54:00.001+08:00

We came to Manila almost 4 weeks ago with plans to stay here for just 10 days. We had doctors appointments and shopping to do. Then typhoon Megi (Juan) came through. This added 2 extra trips for Chuck to the tribe, first to secure the house, then to check and make sure the house was ok.

We ended up cancelling our return flight because we didn’t know how the road was to get in. It was blocked with fallen trees up until early this week.

So Monday we decided to rebook our return home tickets. With that we booked our hotel for on the way in, we shipped our supplies by bus and made arrangements for carabao to come out to get our supplies. Our friends the Easton’s also decided that they would rebook their visit with us too. We were scheduled to fly today. They are scheduled to fly tomorrow.

Yesterday a fellow missionary that lives up north was scheduled to return up there to his home.

Well, all our plans have fallen away!!! Our friends flight was cancelled yesterday due to heavy rains and flooding up there. He was scheduled to fly on the same flight as us today.

So, off we all went to the airport this morning, knowing that it was still raining very heavy up there. Just after we arrived at the airport and got to our check in counter, they announced that our flight was cancelled!!! We then waited until they rebooked our tickets. So now we are re-scheduled to fly Saturday.

Did you notice that??? Saturday is our return flight. This means our visitors will fly up the day before us!!!

As we look at the weather radar, it is looking like the rain has stopped for now, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t start up again. It has been building in in the evenings.

Please pray for us as we wait it out another couple days here in Manila. We are so thankful for a dry place to stay. This will make 4 weeks in Manila for us.

This is all of us and our stuff as we left the airport this afternoon. Just think we have to lug all our stuff back to the airport again Saturday!!!

Typhoon Megi (aka Juan)

2010-10-25T21:19:00.001+08:00

As many of you have seen and heard from the news over the past week, our tribal area was directly hit by very powerful typhoon. Typhoon Megi, also known as Juan here in the Philippines was a category 5 when it made landfall last Monday. Even after passing over a mountain range and crossing approximately 100 km of land it was still raging at category 4 when it hit the hills of Ga’dang territory. The 250 kph winds literally ripped whole trees out by the roots or snapped them in half, mangled rice fields, and damaged houses.

Our plan was to return to the village this past Friday after our 10 day break in Manila, taking the Easton family who are in Tagalog language study with us to visit. Those plans quickly changed with the passing of the typhoon. Instead Dennis Easton and I headed north on our own to check out the damage and see if Christina and our houses were still standing. We arrived in the village Wednesday afternoon after hiking in, while climbing over many fallen trees along the way. The sight we saw can hardly by described with words. The normally thick, green forests looked as though a giant upside down blender had gone through them. Very few trees were left untouched by the storm. Rice fields looked like they had been tied into knots and rolled over. Houses were missing roofs or parts of them. Praise the Lord, neither Christina’s or our house was damaged in any way.

As I talked to our Ga’dang friends over the next 2 days and walked around looking at the damage in the fields and gardens, it became evident that the next year is going to be very tough for many of them. Virtually all the mountain rice was knocked over and/or pulled out of the ground at the roots. They are now busily trying to harvest what they can before any more rain comes. Some of the rice was ready to be harvested and can still be salvaged, but many of the fields were still green and therefore now lost. All the fruit trees, including mango, banana, papaya and many other varieties were damaged or destroyed from the strong winds. These and the locally grown vegetables which were also damaged are an important part of the diet for our Ga’dang neighbours, as it supplements the rice they eat with each meal.

This comes as a doubly hard hit for the Ga’dang people as they are still recovering from the drought which plagued most of the Philippines during the first 5 months of this year. At that time many lost their crops due to lack water then and/or were unable to replant their fields. As a result, they are now coming to the end of their reserve supply of rice and are saying they will not have enough to use as seed and eat until the next harvest. When I asked what they will do to provide for their families, I was told they will try to find work somewhere. There should be some government assistance available as well, it’s just a matter of knowing how to access it.

On the bright side, this has opened up some doors of opportunity for us. We will see what we can do to help in getting government assistance, and if need be, provide rice, etc. for those who are in need. Some of the men in the village who were before very quiet around me have opened up and are more willing to talk. We look forward to the day when as a result of this calamity we are able to share the Good News of the Gospel with the Ga’dang people. Hopefully it will be because they saw that we really do care about them as people, not just physically hungry but spiritually as well, and we are offering that which can satisfy.

by Chuck

Facebook Pictures of Typhoon Megi's damage in our area

The kids!!! Just some recent pictures!!!

2010-10-19T21:51:00.001+08:00

Outside and downstairs

2010-10-16T22:20:00.001+08:00

This is the front of the house. The siding is now done!

All the shutters are on but the ones on the upstairs on this side.

This is the kitchen and dining room. Kitchen cabinets are still not done but we will get to it eventually.

We have a bathroom with a tub and hot water shower!

Now we have stairs to the upstairs!!!

Upstairs

2010-10-16T22:00:00.001+08:00

This is the girls room. Their beds are now together.

The boys are still sleeping in their tents until their beds get put together!

Some small things are just as important as the big things. Towel bars!!!

A shower and toilet upstairs!!!

This will become my linen closet!

Rain = running water = hot showers!!!

2010-09-20T09:43:00.001+08:00

Last weekend our good missionary friend Bob came in to finish the plumbing in our house. We had sewage pipes already but no water pipes.

In the process of getting things ready for Bob, an important fitting for our water holding tank was cracked. Thus the tank had to be emptied in order to fix it.

Over the weekend all the plumbing was finished and the fitting was fixed but we had no water to test the system. The night before Bob left we decided it would be best to pray for the rain to wait till Bob left. No one likes a muddy hike. The Lord answered our prayers and it didn’t rain. Bob made it out with no trouble and little mud.

That Monday afternoon we added “RAIN” to our to-do list. A few hours later we had a light rain. We joked with Christina that we need to be more specific in what we need to do. So we added “HEAVY” to our “rain” to do. Within a couple more hours it started to pour!!!

In just 55 minutes this barrel was full and over flowing!!!

That made one more thing to stroke off the to do list.

That night I had my first hot shower in our house!!! It was so nice.

Wee little girl

2010-09-19T21:03:00.001+08:00

We have introduced this family to you before but we want to ask you to pray especially for little Josilyn. She is turning one this month and is so very tiny. She weighs just 6 kg.

A week ago we asked the family if we could give the baby some formula and baby cereal to help her as we are concerned for her. They agreed with no problem. So twice a day she comes to our porch with either her mom or her sister. We have tried formula, baby cereal mixed with formula, a special malnutrition drink, and now peanut butter but she is just not wanting to eat or drink. We get very little into her. It doesn’t seem to matter if it is her mom or sister feeding her either. Please pray for her and us as we try some different things to increase her weight and health.

This is after 5 days of feeding her while in her mom or sisters lap. She finally came to me and sat in my lap for about 10 min!!!

Please continue to pray for this family.

Moving In!!!

2010-08-19T21:28:00.002+08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

This is just a short update to let you know that the time has finally come to move into our house with the Ga'dang people!!! This is very exciting and very scary all at the same time. There is still a lot to do on the house but we feel that we can live in it while Chuck works on it.

Please pray for us tomorrow as we hike into the village. It has been very rainy here and this makes the trail very slippery and muddy. It will not be an easy hike. It looks like the kids will have to walk some if not all the way too. This means Chuck is carrying Sophia, now weighing in at 30 lbs and I will carry Jenna, now over 15 lbs. This will not be an easy task for us. Pray pray for us.

I would normally send out an email to everyone about what we are doing but my mailing list in on my computer in Manila, at the repair shop. So please share this information with everyone that knows us!!!

Thanks so much for your prayers.

Shannon for us all

Born again

2010-08-09T08:04:00.001+08:00

I’d like to announce the birth of another child into our family, our spiritual family that is. For some time now, we’ve had a pretty good idea that Charlotte was saved. More recently, both Shannon and I have seen evidence of that in her actions and what she says, particularly when we study the Bible together as a family. The other evening Shannon took the time to sit with Charlotte and ask her some questions about what she believes. It was obvious where Charlotte stands as she shared with Shannon and later with me about how she believes that Jesus died on the the cross to pay the price for her sins. She told us that she knows she can’t get to heaven because of her own good works, only by believing that what Jesus did is good enough. This is exciting for us as parents, as now 3 of our children have expressed their faith in Him. If as a missionary and a dad I never get to see any others come to know Christ as their Saviour, that’s ok. He has allowed us the opportunity to bring the ones closest to us to Him. That’s enough for me.

by Dad

We worked all day…

2010-08-06T22:50:00.001+08:00

As you know, we recently had a work team come from the U.K. to help us work on our house. The goal for the 2 weeks they were here was to get the house ready for us to move into it in August. We were able to accomplish that and then some. I have to admit that at first I was a little sceptical about the proposed skill level of most of this crew. The Lord quickly reminded me though that He more often than not chooses to use those who are not ‘skilled’ at what they do. This way He can be readily glorified as He should be for the things He accomplishes through us. Within the context of this work team, there were 12 of them, 6 guys and 6 girls. 1 was an experienced carpenter, 3 had a little knowledge of it, and the rest were simply willing to try and learn. That’s really all we needed. Everyone worked hard, learning how to swing hammers, read tape measures, and use power tools (without major injuries even!) to get the job done. I couldn’t have asked for more, so thank you to everyone on the U.K. Summit Team of 2010 who came to help us.

A teacher….just maybe!!!

2010-07-27T22:27:00.001+08:00

It has been our desire since Bobbi Easton came to homeschool our kids in 2006 to have someone homeschool our kids every year while in the Philippines. Having someone else teach the kids will free me, Shannon, up for language study and eventually ministry plus it keeps the kids at home with us instead of going away to boarding school.

Just this last July 4th, Jessica Wease left us to return back to Canada to attend Bible school. She was a wonderful teacher for our kids and we will miss her very much.

Since February we have been praying for a new teacher for the kids for the 2010/2011 school year.

About 2 months ago we shared with leadership that Jessica would be leaving us and asked them to pray with us for a new teacher. We were asked if we had contacted a young lady that was interested in coming last year but Jessica was already planned to come.

With life being busy, we didn’t get a chance to email this young lady. But then 2 weeks later we received an email… It was from this very same young lady and she was asking if we had a teacher for this coming year yet!!!

From there we started communicating with her, our leadership here and the NTM office in Sanford, FL. After several emails and phone calls everyone is in agreement that Dorothy would be a good fit for our family this coming school year!!!

This is very exciting!!!

It is not finalized yet as Dorothy still needs to fill out her application and raise some financial support to come.

Please pray with us and Dorothy. Pray that things would be completed quickly. Pray that she would be able to have enough people come behind her for support and to help with her plane ticket.

We don’t know when she will come but the new school year is just around the corner.

The house…….

2010-07-24T23:07:00.001+08:00

Here are just a few pictures of our house in the tribe. I will let Chuck write more in a few days but I wanted to get some new pictures up of the house for you all to see.

The front porch was added.

The front door was built.

Plywood was put up on the walls.

Shutters were made for the kitchen and dining room.

The walls and floor upstairs had a sealant put on it.

That is just part of what they got done. We will put more pictures up later.

Babies, babies, everywhere!

2010-07-04T20:59:00.001+08:00

Over the last several months there have been quite a lot of babies born in the village.

Here are just a few of Jenna’s future playmates:

From left to right:

Charon with baby boy Ray- 2 months; me, Shannon with Jenna- 2 1/2 months; Helia with baby girl Love Joy- 3 months; Amelia with baby boy Marlon- 1 month; Mildred with baby girl Queen- 4 months.

As we stood and talked that afternoon, one of the ladies commented about how we were all “dancing” with our babies, as we rocked and bounced them.

There were a few more that we didn’t get to meet this time too.

Notice how white Jenna and I are!!!

How did we travel to the village this time???

2010-07-04T13:43:00.001+08:00

We just returned from 2 weeks in our village as Chuck was preparing wood for a UK Summit Team to come next week.

We are still without a flight program on Northern Luzon so we had to travel by land. Here is just a little bit about our transportation:

We first flew domestic airlines north.

Then another missionary drove us to a nearby town where we stayed for 2 nights as we finished packing stuff to go into the village and Christina packed up her belongings.

Then we hired a jeepney to take us into the village. Well, the rains have now begun in our area and the road is getting muddier by the day. So we only made it 2/3 of the way in and then needed to hike. When we reached the village we had to ask the men in the village if they could go to where the jeepney was and collect our stuff. They were very glad to have some work to do and make a little money. In the end 9 carabao went out that afternoon. Plus the next day, several more went to get the plywood and even a young man carried some sewer pipe in on his shoulder.

When it came time to leave we knew that we wouldn’t be able to get a jeepney in to get us as it had rained every night for the last 6 nights. (We were praising the Lord that we didn’t have to haul water as the water barrels were always full.)

So we talked to the men to see if the kids could ride carabao again. That was not going to be a problem.

With Sophia nearing 30 lbs Chuck really didn’t want to carry her out, so we tried her on a carabao with mom!!! She didn’t like it as much as we had hoped she would but she did ride most of the way out. The problem was that she doesn’t like to hold on to the person that is carrying her. She is a little rag doll. So when we went down hill, we would just keep sliding forward. I am sure we would have had our knees wrapped around the horns if we hadn’t of gotten off and walked down the hills!!!

Christina had heard that some ladies will hire a horse to ride out when it was muddy. She asked around and found a … horse… to ride! It was rather small and didn’t much like the smell of a white lady!!! But Christina has experience with horses and was able to calm him down and ride.

Jessica figured she would ride a carabao too, if one was available. At first there wasn’t one, but about 10 min out of the village, one of the men had another carabao and she was able to ride with the owner of the horse. It was quite a lot of fun for her!!!

From the end of the trail we road back by jeepney to town. We spent the night there and hired a van the next day to go to town to fly back to Manila.

It was a lot of different means of transportation but it all worked out!

A teenager in our house

2010-07-03T11:31:00.001+08:00

On July 1st, our oldest son turned 13 years old!!! It is amazing that we now have a teenager in our home. It seems like yesterday that we learned that we were having our first child. I remember like it was yesterday what it was like to hold him in my arms and watch him sleep. I wanted to stay awake to watch him sleep to be sure he was still breathing. And now here he is a young man. He is taller then his mom and anticipating the day he is taller then his dad.

Eli is a young man who loves to study his Bible, learn about history and learn all there is to know about the countries of the world. He loves the challenge of math and does very well at it. Eli is loving every minute of having a baby sister in the house. He is eager to hold her and help in any way he can. He has learned that a 7 km hike really isn’t that bad and keeps in pace with his dad without a complaint.

It is truly amazing to see how the Lord is growing this young man. We are proud to call him our son.

Happy 13 th Birthday Elijah!

Where credit is due

2010-06-09T14:16:00.001+08:00

Particularly on the last two trips into the tribe, I’ve realised that there are several ‘skills’ or ‘tricks of the trade’ I’ve learned from people who have crossed my path in life and been using quite a bit. Without knowing these things, my tasks could’ve been much more frustrating and time consuming. So without further ado, let me share four of them that I’ve learned and give the credit where it is due.

First, and foremost, I’d like to give credit to my Dad and oldest brother, Richard. Ever since I can remember, I’ve enjoyed working with wood. Taking a piece of rough lumber and creating something useful and/or beautiful with it is something I hope to never tire of. I used to watch my Dad as he would work on making things in his spare time, and he would take his time putting so much attention and detail into it, so it would turn out just right. My brother Richard, hired me to work in his wood shop after I finished high school and then off and on through our missionary training. It was he who taught me how to inspect each piece of lumber, examine the grain and then work the wood with the grain in order to have it come out straight and smooth. He showed me how to think and plan through the process of creating things I’d never done before and were sometimes unconventional. This has proved to be very valuable as all the lumber we’ve been using for our house comes in a very raw form. (Just ask my Dad!) Each piece has to be inspected to figure out the best way to mill it down into lumber that is being used for everything from framing to kitchen cabinets. Thanks Dad and Richard.

Second, I’d like to recognise a couple of friends from our home church, who I had opportunity to work with at various times in between our phases of missionary training. Ron and Frank are two men that used to operate custom stair and railing businesses. It was while working for them that I learned the principles involved in laying out and building a set of stairs and railings. This has been so helpful to remember as I just built a temporary set of stairs to get up to the front door of our house. I’m also planning out the stairs for both the porch and inside the house, so it was helpful in knowing how to calculate the length of the stringers by knowing the height of the rise of the stairs and the width of each tread. Thanks Ron and Frank.

Third, I’d like to say thanks to Robert for showing me how to re-sharpen the blades of the thickness planer. Robert came with Adam from one of our supporting churches to work on our house back in February. I had commented to him how it seems to not take very long for the blade to get dull, because the wood we are using is extremely hard. He proceeded to explain and show me how to use a sharpening stone to simply put the edge back on the blades. What a difference it made! We are now able to get much more use out of them before needing to take them to Manila to be sharpened at a machine shop. Thanks Robert.

Fourth, let me express gratitude to Alistair for showing me a simple, little method of removing stubborn little screws. Alistair came with the New Zealand guys to help us on the house back in March. On one occasion he noticed I had the grinder out and I was standing over the thickness planer about to grind a slot into an Allen key screw (used to hold the blades in place). He showed me how to use a crescent wrench as an extension on the Allen key to give it more leverage. Amazingly, it worked, and has made a world of difference and saved me a lot of grief since then in changing the planer blades. Thanks Alistair.

Finally, (I know this actually makes five) I’d like to show great appreciation to Bethel Evangelical Missionary Church in Lion’s Head. It is because of them that we have been able to repair 2 pumps and replace 2 pumps in our village. One of the pumps, located near our house, which we were able to replace had been broken for years, and now it has become a main source of water for all the neighbours. They are thrilled to not have to walk to the other side of the village to fetch water anymore. So on behalf of all the people in our village, thank you everyone at Bethel EMC!

by Chuck

Rain, rain… Come again another day

2010-06-08T11:57:00.001+08:00

The rains are returning to Ga’dang land, for which we are very thankful, as it means our tribal friends have been able to get busy planting. It was so good to see the green sprouts of corn and rice in

all the fields as we drove along and then hiked into the village. The river is coming back to life and all the wells are beginning to give water again too.

This trip into the tribe was a productive one for me as we were able to get a lot accomplished. There were things to be done in preparation for our next trip as a family as well as getting ready for the U.K. Summit team coming to help us work on the house in July.

To get ready for our next trip as a family, all of our belongings, which were being stored in one of the rooms at Christina’s house needed to be moved down into our house. This meant closing in and securing one of the rooms to do so. Thankfully I brought a Filipino friend along this time to help me,Lito, as he did most of this for me while I continued on with other jobs. Lito was a great help to me, both as a ‘kasama’ (companion) and in all the work he did for me, no matter what it was, from moving boxes to cleaning out the water barrel before we hooked it up for water collection.

As some of you have heard, we have been blessed once again with a group of people who are willing to come over and help us get some work done on our house. This team, mostly from the U.K. will help me in getting the house completely closed in so we can move into it in August, after our annual regional conference. I have been blessed with a Ga’dang friend, Zaldo, whom I been able to hire and train to use the various tools and machines. Zaldo has been great as he helps me prepare all the lumber for the next phase of building on the house.

This time we were also able to replace one of the water pumps as well. One of our supporting churches agreed to purchase some new pumps to replace the ones that are broken (more on that in the next blog entry). Nothing like the missionary getting grubby dirty to draw a crowd! Before installing the new pump we needed to remove the old one, which turned out to be a slimy, mucky job in itself. But we got it done, and in the end the new pump was on.

By Chuck

Water, water, anywhere and not a drop to drink?

2010-05-29T22:27:00.001+08:00

As you know, water is a crucial part of life. We depend on it in so many ways. For our friends in the Ga’dang tribe, this is even more so the case.

Over the last 6 months we have been effected greatly by El Nino here in the Philippines, and our tribal area is no exception. Because of the lack of rain, many of the Ga’dang people were unable to plant their corn crops in January. Those who did suffered significant crop and financial loss. Fortunately, many of them were able to go out into the jungle and gather wild coffee and bananas to sell in town and therefore supplement their incomes.

By the time we left the tribe in March to come to Manila to await Jenna’s arrival, the wells in our village were producing very little water and the river was extremely low.

On the bright side, having it so dry made the road into our village passable, and we were able to have jeeps bring in supplies for us, our house and also bring our visitors in and out who came to help on the house. It also was a blessing for us as Shannon did not have to hike out of the village at 33 weeks pregnant.

I have returned to the tribe twice now in the last month. The first time, a friend and I went in, just overnight to assess the situation and see if there has been any relief. Unfortunately the situation had gone from bad to worse in most respects. All the wells except one had completely dried up and the river had also stopped running. As I talked with the villagers, they expressed their concerns to me about needing at least 5 straight days of rain in order to be able to plant corn and rice in June.

I returned again to the tribe two weeks ago, where I stayed to continue working on our house and do some investigating about how we could improve the water situation. Prior to my return this last time, it had rained significantly on 2 separate days, and so the wells were starting to give limited amounts of water, and the river had started flowing again just a little.

By the end of the week when I left though, we had no more rain and the water supply dissipated and the river once again stopped running. I will be returning again this coming week, and hopefully it has rained in my absence. El Nino is finally ending and a weather system containing lots of rain is currently passing over the north end of Luzon.

With the rain returning, so does all the mud. That means we’re back to hiking into the village until the helicopter is here. As I think about it though, that’s quite okay. I’ll take the mud and the wet. It means our tribal friends will once again be able to function normally, being able to plant their crops, and have water to drink and clean, etc.

It also helps put things into perspective for me too, as we also see the need for spiritual living water in the lives of the Ga’dang people. It reminds me of the the story of the Samaritan woman Jesus met at the well in John 4, to whom He offered living water. Already we can see how dry and thirsty the Ga’dang people are as they attempt to satisfy that ‘thirst’ that comes from not knowing Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. Their religion is only leaving them searching and unsatisfied. Please pray for the Ga’dang people as they wait for us to be ready to tell them the Good News and satisfy their thirsty souls.

By Chuck

And the total is…

2010-05-20T14:28:00.001+08:00

After just 2 weeks with his cast on, Kyle has managed to make for himself 152 pesos!!! 46 pesos are from real signatures and the other 106 are from all of you with your virtual signatures!!! This has been so fun for us to see how many people read our emails, blog and connect with us via Facebook.

Kyle now has a new cast. It is much lighter and doesn’t smell as bad!

Praise the Lord for a great doctor and for healing in his wrist. It will be x rayed again in 3 weeks and then maybe the cast can come off.

Thank you for praying for Kyle.

Helicopter Update

2010-05-13T15:09:00.001+08:00

As many of you know, New Tribes Mission works in many areas that are remote, and access to these areas over land can be difficult and very time consuming. To help in speeding up this process of getting us and supplies in and out of our tribal location as missionaries, NTM has set up an aviation program to assist us. Such has been the case here in the Philippines as well. In the past NTMA (New Tribes Mission Aviation) has used various types of fixed wing aircraft on our island, flying into places with what would be considered very marginal airstrips. Over the course of time, the flight program here has seen it’s ups and downs, and in more recent years, we have partnered with another organisation to do our flying for us, as we didn’t have a flight program of our own. That organisation is now in the process of leaving the Philippines and therefore NTMA is needing to once again set up it’s own program to assist us here.

As we have considered the options before us as a missionary organisation, it was realised that continuing with small airplanes on dangerous, often mountainous airstrips was not the best choice. Using a helicopter to move us and our cargo is much safer and a cost effective method. Praise the Lord, He has gone before us as a mission and has provided just the right helicopter (similar to the one in this picture) for NTMA to use here. Most of the funds have been provided, and we are hoping that soon the helicopter will shipped from the U.S. to here.

Here are some areas to be thanking the Lord and praying with us about as we prepare for the arrival of the helicopter:

1. A hanger and other facilities have been made available by another Christian organisation to NTM to use as a flight base in a city centrally located to several of the tribal works on our island. Our pilot is now here, getting settled with his family, and he and several other men are preparing the flight base/hangar to be ready to start operations when the helicopter arrives.

2. The pilot has been into our village to look at possible landing sites. He is in the process of getting all his legal paperwork done so he can fly here. In a developing country such as this, it can be a time consuming and costly process. Pray for integrity and smoothness for all aspects of this process involved.

3. Most of the money needed to purchase and ship the helicopter has been provided. NTM still needs $60,000 to cover the rest of the costs in getting it here in country. From there, there will be additional expenses related to customs, etc. and getting the helicopter up to the flight base where it will be assembled and tested before it can start flying into our tribal stations. NTM Philippines has a small airplane that was formerly used here, but needs to be sold. The proceeds of this sale would cover the cost of most of what is left to get the helicopter here in country.

What does this mean for us as we are getting set up in our tribal work? It will save us a huge amount of time and effort as currently we have to hike into our village, and use carabao with sleds to haul our supplies over the muddy trails. With the helicopter, at least 2 days of organising and preparation, along with traveling, would be reduced to a 15 minute flight. From a minimum 2 day process to 15 minutes! That adds up to a lot time taken away from learning the language of the Ga’dang people and teaching them God’s Word. It will also provide a much safer way for us to travel in and out of the tribe, and will be readily available to us to call on in the event of an emergency (as emergencies to happen, especially with 6 children!).

Please pray with us as we seek the Lord to finish providing what is needed to enable us to most effectively serve Him and take the Gospel message to the Ga’dang people.

Den-Den and Freda

2010-05-13T13:31:00.001+08:00

Let me introduce you to you another couple we’ve met in our village. Den-Den and Freda are a couple in their mid twenties, and have recently returned to the village where both of them grew up. They left the village several years ago to attend college and returned to get married in 2008. Freda is currently one of two teachers at the local public school a few villages away.

This past December we were able to give Den-Den and Freda a gift for their new baby, Mina Rose, including a quilt and some clothes. These items were donated and sent by our home church, Faith Evangelical Missionary Church, in Wasaga Beach, ON. What a blessing is to be able to do this on behalf of our church family and show the love of Christ in a practical way.

When we last visited with Den-Den and Freda they told us they were planning to stay in the village and build a house there. This last time I was in the village I had the chance to see that in progress. We are excited to know that young families like this are choosing to make this village their home. We look forward with great anticipation to when we will be able to share the Gospel with families like Den-Den and Freda, who will be the future of the Ga’dang church.

By Chuck

Broken wrist

2010-05-08T17:46:00.001+08:00

So many of you know that Kyle, our little monkey, broke his left wrist last Sunday. He was trying to jump from the picnic table to the monkey bars (in front of girls) and he missed.

We are very thankful for a hospital close by that was very quick to see him and put a partial cast on. We also have a great pediatrician here that just so happen to have an orthopedic surgeon in her Bible study group. He was willing to go to the hospital on Monday and check the x rays to determine what needed to be done. He needed to do a closed reduction cast and was willing to perform the procedure that very night, even though it was a holiday. Kyle was admitted to the hospital that afternoon to start the paperwork and an IV. Monday night at 8pm he was put to sleep and it was fixed. Praise the Lord for no complications.

I asked Chuck to take some pictures of Kyle before he left the hospital. Being that those two guys like to have fun, this is what I got……

Trust me, he was not in any pain!!!

He is doing very well with his arm in the cast. He doesn’t need help to get dressed anymore and has managed to play just as hard as he did before.

Chuck has made a deal with Kyle that for every signature he gets on his cast, Dad will give him 1 peso (less then 2 cents.)

If you would like to sign his cast from afar, send him a comment in the comment part of this blog. Let’s see how much money Kyle will make!!!

2 blessings, and praying for a 3rd!

2010-04-22T22:59:00.001+08:00

In 2006 we were blessed with a young lady, Bobbi Easton. She had just finished high school and then she came to live with us here in the Philippines to teach our kids. She ended up staying with us for 2 years.

While on home assignment in 2008, we began looking for our kids’ next school teacher. Bobbi led us to her friend, Jessica Wease. Jessica asked the Lord if she should help us by teaching our kids and He led her here.

We have been so blessed by both these young ladies. Now Jessica is leaving us to return home so she can go to Bible College. We are going to miss her very much.

So now we are seeking the Lord and asking you who can come help us for the 2010/11 school year. We are looking for someone that has completed at least high school. He or she may have just finished high school or be retired or somewhere in between. Could it be YOU? Could it be your SON or DAUGHTER? Could it be your FRIEND or NEIGHBOUR? Please pray with us. We could really use the help.

Here are some pictures of Jessica in the different places she has had to teach the kids this year.

Jessica started the school year by teaching at our house in town while house building was going on in the tribe.

On 3 occasions we were able to stay in the tribe while house building was going on. But school work still had to be done. Even at the kitchen table!

This is at our NTM Guest House in Manila as we waited for baby Jenna to be born and now for our house to be ready to move into.

For this next school year we will be living in the tribe. So Lord willing school will happen only in our house in the school room!!!

Send us an email if you or someone you know is interested in helping teach our kids. chuck-shannon_talbot@ntm.org

A new baby sister!

2010-04-10T22:58:00.001+08:00

The kids are loving having a new baby sister in the house. Well, except for Sophia!!! She is still trying to figure this little person out.

Here are some pics from the hospital:

Well, Sophia is working on getting to know her little sister now that she is home.

And I guess I should include a picture of me with Jenna Lee.

She’s Here!!!!

2010-04-07T08:38:00.001+08:00

We want to announce the birth of our new daughter.

Her name is Jenna Lee Talbot.

She was born at 9:47 pm in Manila, Philippines on April 6th.

She weighed in at 6 lbs 8 oz.

And is 19 inches long.

Mom and Jenna are doing great.

Thanks so much for all your prayers. We will post more pictures in the days ahead.

Paquito and Maribel

2010-04-04T18:54:00.001+08:00

Let me introduce you to the largest family we’ve met in the village. They are probably the most important family we’ve gotten to know as well. Paquito and his wife, Maribel aren’t much older than us, maybe early 40’s at most, but their 9 children span over 20 years, and they are grandparents as well.

Paquito, a carpenter by trade, is currently the baranggay captain of the area we live in. Other villagers have commented to us that he is smarter than them because he’s not just a corn farmer like the rest of them. That’s why he’s the baranggay captain right now. Being a carpenter, he and I have a little bit in common. (Some look at our families and say we’ve got something else in common too!)

Here are their children:

Mildred, who is 24, is married and recently had her first child. Like her dad, she is very quiet and reserved. She has only recently been coming around more to visit with Shannon and the kids.

Crynalyn, who is 22, is also married, and has a 2 year old son. Unlike her older sister, she has made every effort to be around us and figure out who we are since we first began staying in the village. Admittedly it gets a little tiring at times!

Geward is 18 and spends most of his time away at school. This picture is from the only time I have actually met him in the village. Paquito and Maribel have been able to send all of their older children out to high school, which is an expensive thing for them to do in remote areas such as this.

Novilyn is 14, and currently attending the same high school as her older brother in the town we were living in, about 30 km from the village. Within the next couple of years, she will be of marrying age, if she returns to the village to stay.

Fevilyn, who is 13, also attends high school with her sister. They generally come back to the village each weekend, but she in particular much prefers to live out of the tribe.

Ogelon is the same age as our son, Kyle who is 9, and they didn’t take long becoming friends when Kyle first went to the village.

Aubrey is about 5 years old. We see her, along with a crowd of other 3 to 5 year olds pass by Christina’s house every day during the week as they go to and from preschool. Even in the tribe, kids start their education at a very young age.

Aldren is 3, and we joke about him being the screamer of the family. Pretty much every day, at least once, he can be heard throughout the village as he wails loudly over something he’s not happy about. Beyond that he’s really a nice little boy!

Evie is two now, the same age as her older sister, Crynalyn’s son, Nardz. It’s funny to think she was an aunt shortly after she was born.

Erik and I first met Paquito when we had a meeting with the men of the village in 2008 to ask if we could move there. We explained to them how we wanted to learn their language and culture so we could clearly explain the Bible to them. When we finished talking, Paquito spoke on behalf of all there, welcoming us to live with them. He said they were looking forward to what we could teach them. Since then, he has been open as we get to know him and his family, and he’s been helpful to us in different ways as we get set up in the village. Please pray for Paquito and his family as the Lord prepares their hearts to receive the Gospel message one day.

By Chuck

Perfecto and Sinanduming

2010-03-29T13:54:00.001+08:00

Let me introduce you to the oldest couple in our village. We haven’t yet determined the exact age of Perfecto or his wife, Sinanduming, but we know they’re at least 70 years old, based on the stories he tells us of the American soldiers. They were in the area during WW2 when he was young.

I first remember Perfecto when we made our initial survey trip into the village. As we passed by his house, he insisted that we join him and his friends for some food and coffee. It hasn’t changed, as it’s not often we can pass by without Perfecto inviting us to join him for coffee.

Since then, Perfecto has continued to help us in any way he can. The house we rented while building Christina’s house is located next door to Perfecto’s house. He was often at the door offering food, etc to us, or checking up on us to make sure we were ok. He even allowed us to use his outhouse!

When I was in the process of figuring out where all our lumber was, we had a meeting with the people to discuss it with them. Perfecto was very bold as he voiced his opinion that they all needed to do whatever they could to help us and not cause problems for us, as we were there to help them. (This is unusual for them to speak out like this with us around.)

Sinanduming is the classic elderly tribal lady in my mind. Don’t let her elderly look fool you though. This woman could work circles around any of us any day. I’ve seen her carry 50 kilo sacks of rice and 5 gallon buckets of water on her head like it was a breeze. Not only that, but she’ll do it while climbing a muddy slope (I can’t even climb it on my own without being on my hands and knees!) with a homemade cigar gently clenched between her teeth.

Perfecto knows Tagalog and even a bit of English, which he tries very hard to use with us. Sinanduming on the other hand only knows Ga’dang and Ilocano. That doesn’t stop her from trying to communicate though. The other day she stopped me on the trail to ask a question. I smiled and nodded as she talked, not really knowing what I may be getting myself into. It turned out ok, as later she showed up with peanuts. She had heard we wanted to buy some, and had been trying to tell me that she had some to sell.

Please pray for Perfecto and Sinanduming. We are hoping they will be able to live long enough to hear the Gospel message. It has been a very slow process for us to get set up in the tribe and then learn the Ga’dang language, but it is for people like them that we see the importance of communicating God’s Word to them in their heart language. It would be so exciting to see them rejoicing and praising their Creator one day, especially after living in spiritual darkness for so long.

by Chuck

Juanito and Amelia

2010-03-25T20:30:00.001+08:00

Let me introduce you to a Ga’dang couple who we have been getting to know over the last little while. Juanito and Amelia have been married for about 3 years, he’s 28 and she’s 18 years old. They have one son, Narvie, who is 2, and Amelia is expecting their second child in May. I first remember Juanito when he helped me locate most of my missing lumber from our original order. (He took the time to hike through the jungle with me for a whole afternoon, finding the wood that others had cut but didn’t deliver because the guy responsible for paying them for me ran off with their money.)

I always see Juanito smiling when I come by, and he jokingly tells me he’s ok, even though their life is difficult. He enjoys carrying his son around, and I always see the two of them walk by the house early in the morning, Narvie in his dad’s arms, as they go to Juanito’s sister’s house to visit them. Juanito has been a great help to me in working on the house as he eagerly gives it everything he’s got. Whether it’s mixing cement or hand planing wood, he doesn’t slow down.

Juanito has also been there many times when we’ve needed cargo hauled in or out by carabao. On more than one occasion he’s taken one of our girls up onto his carabao to ride so they don’t have to hike in the mud. He’s also proven himself trustworthy in going to town to fetch supplies for us, whether it’s gasoline, LPG, and other supplies.

Amelia has been busy doing our laundry for us while we are in the village. 6 days a week she comes to collect it so she can wash it in the river. I’ve never seen my clothes come back so clean! Early each morning we hear her down by the river, as they literally beat the dirt out of the clothes. (It’s an amusing process to watch!)

The thing I appreciate about Amelia is her willingness to come by the house and visit with Shannon. Usually each morning after finishing the laundry and it is hung out to dry, she’ll come and sit on our porch to visit. Even though they can only communicate at this point in limited Tagalog, she’s still been a blessing to Shannon as she helps her get to know the other ladies and children of the village.

Recently, Christina’s house was broken into by some men from another village while we were not there. Juanito made the effort to find someone with a cell phone and text me about it. He was very concerned about whether or not anything was stolen, and the possibility of someone else getting in again before we could secure the house once more. Erik was able to go in and investigate, and Juanito along with another man helped him secure the house better. Juanito didn’t have to do this, but because of the friendship forming, he cares enough about us to watch out for us.

Please pray for Juanito and Amelia. As kind and helpful as they are to us, they are still lost in their sin and going to hell. They still don’t know that Christ died on the cross to pay the price for their sins and that this alone is enough to have a personal relationship with the God who created them and loves them very much. They don’t understand that trusting in that alone is good enough to give them eternal life, once and for all. Ga’dang people believe in a form of reincarnation so they must do many good works for their eternal salvation. One day we will know the Ga’dang language and be able to share the Gospel with them. We look forward to that very much.

By Chuck

Helping Hands

2010-03-22T15:02:00.001+08:00

So here I am, finally sitting down to say thank you to all who have come over here to help us get our tribal house to where it is today. THANK YOU! At the beginning of the year we had no idea how it was going to all come together, but the Lord reminded us to simply trust Him and watch Him make it happen. In all, 8 men came from various places literally from around the world to assist us.

First, Grant came. Grant is a single guy and friend of ours whom we have known since our Bible college days more than 10 years ago. He also is serving with NTM here in a different region. Grant was with us for two weeks in January and was a great blessing in helping to finish preparing the lumber. Thanks Grant.

Then came Adam and Robert from one of our churches back in Ontario. Adam told me that he really felt the Lord wanted him to come and help, but didn’t know if it would work out. Everything came together, and Robert was willing to accompany him. They were here for 10 days, and we were able to get the 1st floor plywood down and walls framed. Thanks Adam and Robert.

Plans for the next 3 guys didn’t come together until 2 weeks before they showed up. Tosh, Dave and Alistair arrived on the jeep in the village which came to pick up Adam, Robert and my family. Talk about perfect timing! Only God could make it happen as smoothly as it did. These 3 came from New Zealand, and boy could they work! They framed up the second story, put up the roof and got the siding on 3 sides of the house. Thanks Tosh, Dave and Alistair.

While our New Zealanders were here, Ryan also came in to lend a hand. Ryan and his family are enroute here in the Philippines to serve fulltime, and he wanted to come beforehand to see what’s happening. We were able to make good use of him as he helped me with much of the bracing inside the house. Ryan was able to see firsthand the tribal work in the beginning stages as he watched us building not just our house, but also relationships with the local people we will one day be able to share the Gospel message with. Thanks Ryan.

Of course, where would our house be without Bob. Bob and his wife are serving here as associates from Australia. His building experience as a professional contractor has been invaluable to us as he has helped to orchestrate this building project from the beginning. Bob was able to come in again and help during the time the guys from New Zealand were with us. Thanks Bob.

Finally, (I know, this makes more than 8) Erik was a huge blessing to me. He kept busy going in and out of the tribe, picking up supplies and people, and ordering parts for the thickness planer (more than once!) from the U.S. He and Grant planed thousands of board feet of lumber and carried many gallons of water. When Shannon and the kids left, Erik jumped in and became ‘chief cook and bottle washer’. He kept everything running smoothly behind the scenes in so many ways. Thanks so much Erik. Much appreciated.

By Chuck

March Updated House Building Needs List

2010-03-21T16:30:00.000+08:00

We want to thank so many of you who have contributed to the building of our house in with the Ga’dang. What a blessing you have been. We have updated our needs list so you can have a better idea of what we still need to purchase. If you are interested in helping out, just send us a note and we can head you in the right direction.

Materials

Corrugated metal roofing-– $1320—We have enough money for this.

~~20 sheets 1/2” marine plywood-- $510~~

~~foam insulation-7 rolls-- $840~~

~~4” nails-6 cases-- $135~~

~~Gutter-- $90~~

~~Spade & drill bits --$120~~

Utility knives & blades --$30

door knobs– 12-- $360

white caulking- 24 tubes-- $90

3” hinges --$285--$200 received Thank you

Sewage & plumbing supplies-- $480

Hudson’s Floor Urethane-- $720

Laundry faucet--$30

~~Kitchen sink faucet -- $50~~

~~Double kitchen sink-- $240~~

Toilets, vanity sink & faucet – 2-- $240

Shower stalls -2-- $240

Showers head/hose --$15

Light fixtures, switches, face plates-- $85

Electrical outlets (220/110V) --$15

‘cigarette lighter’ outlets (DC)—$90

Wiring – 12/2, 14/2, 14/3 --$60

Pulleys – 34-- $150

Plywood for interior walls-$480

~~Sheet metal for window shutters-- $210~~

Plywood for window shutters --$425

Gas for generator-- $200

~~Labour- 4 guys for 36 days (6 weeks)—$900~~

Household
small wood stove
1 large kettle
Stove top percolating coffee pot
Pressure cooker
~~Cereal containers~~
8 ct. DC freezer or propane refrigerator- $1200
Gas dryer- $400

Total still needed--$5,395

Plus we need about $10,000 for solar equipment.

Thanks for partnering with us to see the Ga’dang reached with the Gospel.

Upstairs Tour

2010-03-05T21:17:00.003+08:00

Here is the upstairs of our house!

Still lots to do but so much has been done already!!!

2010-03-05T15:54:00.002+08:00

This is a tour of the first floor of our house.

Outside our house!!!

2010-03-05T15:20:00.002+08:00

Here is a walk around the outside of our house!!!

We have a roof!!!

2010-02-27T14:02:00.001+08:00

So today was a great day as Chuck was able to send out pictures with one of the men in the village who was coming out to get supplies for him.

I am so excited to see the progress they have made this week. And even today they have accomplished so much more.

So here a few shots for you to see.

By Wednesday afternoon they had this much done.

By Friday afternoon they had this much done.

Today they were finishing up the roofing on the second floor and then starting on the siding.

Doesn’t it look great???

So here are some pictures from the inside. For those of you who don’t know what the floor plan is, it will be hard to visualize but some of you just might like to look anyway.

So the picture above is looking into my dining room, kitchen and eventually pantry. On the opposite side of the center wall will be our bedroom, bathroom, schoolroom and living room (can’t see in picture). Chuck is standing in the office taking the picture.

This is the second floor. Chuck is standing in the front corner from what will be a bedroom for a school teacher. The first room down the hall will be the girls room and then the boys room at the end.

This is the back corner of the second floor. Standing in the boys room.

Just another couple of views of the house.

Praise the Lord for all the progress all these men have been able to do. Continue to pray for them as they work for another week.

Making progress!!!

2010-02-25T23:33:00.001+08:00

Since my last post so much has happened!!! I will try to fill you in and not be too long!!!

So the first floor took longer then they expected but the flooring was put down and then the first floor walls went up. All this took just a week to get done.

It was so very exciting to see our house start to take shape. Not all the interior walls were finished when we came out of the village, so Chuck was so kind to lay out some chalk lines for me to get a feel for where everything will be. What a nice hubby I have!!!

While all the faming was going on, 3 village men worked with the thickness planer and electric hand planer to get the siding ready for the house.

Erik spent several days working along side this guy, teaching him how to run the thickness planer. We are very thankful for his eagerness to work and willingness to learn.

Chuck tells me that most of the siding is ready to go up now.

This past Monday was the end of our 4 weeks in the village as a family until after the baby is born. We had planned to stay an extra week but decided that is best to be out sooner rather then later as we didn’t know what the weather would do. This time of year is usually very wet in our area. This makes the roads a muddy mess, making it impossible for a vehicle to get in and out of our village. But with the last 3 months being unusually dry, the road is in great condition. (For a mountain road!) We praise the Lord that we were able to ride in and out of the village. I really don’t think I could have done the hike out at 33 weeks pregnant, and I think my doctor would not have been very happy either!!!

The Lord worked out all the details for people coming in and out of the village. Adam and Robert needed to head out of the village with us and at the same time 3 men from New Zealand came into the village. It was perfect timing.

The jeepney was loaded with 5 guys, their tools and belongings. Plus 40 sheets of plywood that are for the second floor flooring and shutters of the house. Along with that came some gas to keep the generators going for all the equipment. All this was made possible by a generous gift from the people at Adam and Roberts church, Bethel Evangelical Missionary Church in Lion’s Head, Ontario. What a huge blessing and answer to prayer that was. Their gift also purchased the sheet metal for the window shutters and will pay for the wages of the village men that are working for us. Wow, God is so good to us!!!

Here are Adam and Robert on Christina’s porch. They are worn out after a week of hard work in the sun.

Now here is their relief crew!!!

Don’t they look ready to get to work??? I am afraid they won’t look so energetic when they come out next week!

You may recognize Bob on the right. He is a fellow missionary that has been helping us off and on with the building of our house and Christina’s house. He was able to greet these guys and bring them into the village for us. Thanks Bob!

In just 4 days, these guys were able to get the 2nd floor joists up, the 2nd floor walls up, the rafters, and roofing on the first floor done and the rafters on the second floor done. (only half the house has a second floor on it) I will post pictures as soon as I have some but it might be next weekend.

Thank you for all your prayers. Continue to pray for all these guys as they work. Pray for health for them too. Along with these 4 guys, is Erik, our co-worker, Chuck along with Ryan, a missionary that is planning to come to the Philippines to work once they complete their partnership development time. That’s 7 guys working hard to get our house closed in!!! God is so good. And that is on top of the other 3 guys he already used in the last 5 weeks to help us.

Men at work

2010-02-25T23:33:00.000+08:00

I just wanted to post some pictures of all the work that was done last week as Adam and Robert were here with us.

Here they are hard at work!

Does that look straight to you???

Several of the water pumps in the village were broken also. Robert was a huge blessing to the village people as he repaired 2 pumps and took apart another one to find that it just needed to be replaced. Just before they left to return to Manila Adam purchased 3 new pumps for the village. Chuck hopes to get the one that is completely broken replaced before he comes out next week. What a huge blessing this is to the people in the village.

Another day some men came to Chuck to see if they could get some help as a vehicle that had come into the village to get bananas had broken down. Robert again was rather handy with knowing how to help them and the vehicle was repaired. Not everything is all work. Here Adam is learning how to play a game similar to jacks with the village kids. They use stones and sometimes a little ball.

It didn’t take long for Robert and Adam to find out that relaxing in a hammock is a very nice thing at the end of the day!

Thank you so much Adam and Robert for all your hard work. Thank you for the fun times and all the laughs too. Thank you to Bethel Evangelical Missionary Church in Lion’s Head, Ontario for sending these 2 men to us. What a blessing and encouragement they were and are to us.

So what did the ladies and kids do???

2010-02-25T23:19:00.001+08:00

Every time we are village we spend much of our day just doing daily tasks. Everything just takes longer to get done.

With no rain, we needed to haul water from the village pumps to do just the simplest things. We had to keep a bucket full of water by the kitchen sink for dishes, by the bathroom sink to wash hands and by the toilet to flush it. Plus we needed water available for baths for those dirty grubby men and children. We also filtered water for drinking constantly. It is amazing how much water those men can drink. We just don’t think about how much water we use until we have to pump it and carry it to the house. Here is Hala doing her part carrying water in a pail on her head, just like the village girls do.

This time I decided to start to train some house help for me. When we move into the village I will have a new baby and 5 other kids to take care of plus the task of starting language study. I need all the help I can get. So on Saturday's I had a young girl come to learn how to make bread and make simple meals. We also made some cookies too. I was able to teach her to clean the bathroom and even how to clean the floors. What a blessing it was for me to have her there to help. Simple things to us were not so simple to her. For those of you who bake, you know that 3 tsp equals 1 tbsp. You also know that 1/2 cup plus 1/4 cup equals 3/4 cup. She did not know these things, let alone what measuring cups were. We had lots of fun together trying to communicate.

Jessica taught the kids every morning and into the afternoon but once she was done that she headed to our house to help out the men as they worked.

Christina worked along side the men all day, everyday. She was a huge blessing to them.

The kids did their school work and then were off to play with their friends. They made a fort, rode water buffalo, played new games and coloured with the kids. Sophia became a visitor to many people this trip. She kept trying to head off to visit other houses when I wasn’t looking. She is feeling very comfortable in the village now.

We were also blessed with being able to see a new baby that was born just a week before we left the village. What a sweet little girl Queen is.

Chuck also turned 35 years old while we were in the village. Notice all the smoke from those candles!!!

Will it be a house???

2010-02-19T08:46:00.001+08:00

Last Saturday began as a somewhat slow day for us in the village. Chuck started with some texts and later some phone calls to see how the plans for our visitors/helpers/workers from Ontario were going to get into the village. We had hoped to arrange a vehicle to get them in here the same day they flew up from Manila. By noon it didn’t look like it would happen. Then suddenly, it all come together and a mountain jeepney was available to bring them in. By 3 pm they were loaded up and ready to come. We figured it would take 2-3 hrs to get here. Then at 4:15pm a large jeepney pulled up with a couple of white guys from Canada!!!

What a busy evening we had as we got them settled in and showed them around. We were blessed with some pizzas from our co-workers, that they bought for us to have for supper.

Then the work began. We figured it wouldn’t take too long to get the plywood down for the first floor and then the walls could get put together and up. But that wasn’t what happened. The floor joists had been put up back in August when Chuck’s dad was here and since then they have had lots of time to dry and curve and twist and bend!!! We really don’t want a curvy, wavy floor. So from there Adam and Robert (those white guys from Ontario!), began the job of levelling out the floor joists and laying the plywood.

After 3 1/2 days the floor was finally down and at the same time Chuck had all the main walls laid out and cut to size. They just had to be put together.

So today they started to put the walls together for the first floor with plans to stand them up tomorrow.

Christina and Jessica were also able to lend a hand in getting all this work done too.

This is so very exciting!!! We will get a house!

Please pray for the rest of our time in the village. We leave in just a few days, (the kids and I.) Adam and Robert also will go out of the village with us and will head back to Manila and then to Canada in the middle of the week. As Adam and Robert leave, we have 3 guys coming from New Zealand for almost 2 weeks, plus another missionary here, Bob, and another missionary that is on his way to working full time here in the Philippines. So with Chuck and Erik, it will be a total 7 men working on our house to get the rest of it closed in. Stayed tuned for more pictures!

Shannon (resident cook and cleaner!)

Siding, siding and more siding to come!

2010-02-08T09:22:00.001+08:00

It has been a busy few weeks for Chuck and the guys as they get as much prep work done before our helpers come to put the house up.

This week the planer parts arrived that we needed to fix the thickness planer but as it started to work on just a few boards, it broke again. We had ordered extra parts just in case but the part we needed was the one part that didn’t come!!! Thankfully we have been able to temporarily fix it so it will work to get some work done until the 2 guys come from Lion’s Head, Ontario, next weekend.

So here is what Chuck has been working on. This is siding for our house. It is a lot of wood to be milled down.

The spot that is empty also was full of boards but they were working on it when I took the picture. Plus there is still about another 500 board feet that is still to be delivered!!!

Here is a glimpse of some of the wood that has already been milled and cut to size for the house. There are many piles under the house of wood to be used.

Working hard

2010-02-04T09:00:00.001+08:00

Just a quick update to say that the work continues on getting everything ready for putting our house up. Chuck and Grant have been working hard all week milling wood, cutting it to size and stacking it up.

Next week our good friend Grant heads back to Mindanao and Erik will come back in.

It has been great to re-connect with Grant as we don’t get to see him very often. Pray for Grant as he has been waiting on co-workers to start a new work of tribal church planting on Mindanao.

Please also pray for Chuck as he has hurt his knee. We are praying that a day or two rest will help it to heal. Pray for healing for him please.

New way to travel.

2010-01-29T08:24:00.001+08:00

We headed into our village just the other day by a new mode of transportation, or at least it was a new for most of us.

Here we are all loaded up to in the first truck. We drove for about an hour and then had to transfer to another truck. The other truck was not able to go into town, just on the back roads in the mountains.

We then loaded into this other truck. It took quite a bit longer to get into the village then usual as the truck broke down a couple kilometres from the village. The kids, Christina and Jessica hiked the rest of the way to the village, while Sophia, Chuck and I waited for it to be fixed.

Stay tuned for more updates as we build our house over the next month.

Getting ready for the big build!

2010-01-21T23:35:00.001+08:00

We have had a busy 6 weeks with Christmas, our annual field conference and then getting ready for Chuck and soon the kids and I to go into the village.

We enjoyed Christmas together at home with our family and co-workers. We ate lots of goodies and had some great fellowship together. The kids even made Gingerbread houses with candies sent all the way from Canada. Thanks Miss Bobbi for remembering us.

Our annual field conference was a tremendous blessing to us. The speaker was soooo good. The kids had a great time with all their friends. It is amazing how kids just pick up where they left off in their friendships, even if it has been 2 years since they had seen each other!

We returned home safely after some supply buying and doctors appointments in Manila. We were very tired from all the busyness of those 2 weeks but we are thankful we got everything done.

Chuck, Erik and a fellow missionary Grant, went into the village at the beginning of this week. They are finishing all the prep that needs to be done to start framing. Chuck tells me they are getting a lot done. Praise the Lord!

I also had the pleasure this week of organizing a last minute trip into our village for another missionary and one of our NTMC representatives. We have known Ed Esau for years and it was a pleasure to give him the opportunity to see the work the Lord is starting amongst the Ga’dang. They made it in and out of the village in less then 24 hrs and had a great time.

I have also been in communication with a guy we know about him and a friend coming in February to help work on our house. The plans are still in the works, so please pray that all will work out for them to come. What an answer to pray this is for us.

If any of you by chance are still interested in coming to help out next month, send me an email asap and we can help you work out the plans to come and help.

The more hands we have, the faster our house will go up and the more work will get done.

I hope to be able to put some posts on the blog while we are in the village, but am not sure how that will go. So please keep coming by to see the progress we are making on the house.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

Shannon

January Updated House Building Needs List

2010-01-20T23:48:00.000+08:00

Materials

Corrugated metal roofing-– $1320—We have enough money for this.

20 sheets 1/2” marine plywood-- $510

~~foam insulation-7 rolls-- $840~~

4” nails-6 cases-- $135

~~Gutter-- $90~~

~~Spade & drill bits --$120~~

Utility knives & blades --$30

door knobs– 12-- $360

white caulking- 24 tubes-- $90

3” hinges --$285

Sewage & plumbing supplies-- $480

Hudson’s Floor Urethane-- $720

Laundry faucet--$30

~~Kitchen sink faucet -- $50~~

~~Double kitchen sink-- $240~~

Toilets, vanity sink & faucet – 2-- $240

Shower stalls -2-- $240

Showers head/hose --$15

Light fixtures, switches, face plates-- $85

Electrical outlets (220/110V) --$15

‘cigarette lighter’ outlets (DC)—$90

Wiring – 12/2, 14/2, 14/3 --$60

Pulleys – 34-- $150

Plywood for interior walls-$480

Sheet metal for window shutters-- $210

Plywood for window shutters --$425

Gas for generator-- $720

Labour- 4 guys for 36 days (6 weeks)—$900

Household
small wood stove
1 large kettle
Stove top percolating coffee pot
Pressure cooker
Cereal containers
8 ct. DC freezer or propane refrigerator- $1200
Gas dryer- $400

Total still needed--$7,870

Plus we need about $10,000 for solar equipment.

Thanks for partnering with us to see the Ga’dang reached with the Gospel.

How much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

2009-12-26T22:43:00.001+08:00

Well, the 2 weeks before Christmas Chuck decided to see how much wood he could chuck, or well, plane down to size for framing!

There was a lot of wood to be sorted, cut to size and planed to the correct thickness. As we have said before this wood is nothing like wood from Home Depot. Some of this wood is very very hard and really wears down the blades on the planers and the circular saws. Due to different circumstances, Erik was not able to make it back in to help Chuck in this process, thus his sharpening stone did not make it into the village either. Chuck worked every blade he had until they could be used no more. He was able to hire a neighbour of ours to help with all the work and it was such a blessing.

Here are some pictures of them working on the wood.

What happens after you run over the cord of the hand planer with the hand planer? Re-wiring!

It saves blades if you first clean off the mould and dirt that has become stuck to the wood.

This is the result of about 10 days of work. Plus there is another pile on the other side of the house that has been ripped to size but still needs to be planed.

For all of you wood enthusiasts, it was almost 2000 board feet of lumber ripped and over 1300 of it planed to thickness. Approximately 3150 linear feet of wood was planed, and the circular saws (He ran 2 alternately so he wouldn’t burn one out) ran over 5000 linear feet of cutting. That’s a lot of wood, but we’re not done yet!

Baby Gifts

2009-12-26T21:46:00.001+08:00

In those boxes our church sent us, they included several baby quilts and layettes for us to give to new babies in our village. These warm clothes and quilts seemed so appropriate at this cold time of year here. With the nights getting anywhere from 15-20C, it is quite cool in their houses at night. The gifts were very much appreciated. Thank you to all who contributed to these gifts.

This is Baby Mina Rose. She is almost 3 months old now. She was actually born here in town as after 3 hours of pushing she would not come. The men rushed her on a stretcher to town to have the baby. She laughs about the baby having such a big head. The mom is Freda and she is a school teacher in another village. Her husband is Dennis. They spend most of their time in the other village but both are from our village and come back often. They were very happy to receive the gifts.

It is culture here that they won't open the gift in front of the person giving it, so that is why you don't see the baby with the blanket or anything.

We had a nice visit with this family and their extended family. We even enjoyed a nice cup of coffee with them.

This is baby Francis Mark. He is about 6 weeks old. His mom is a school teacher in our village but is on leave now with just having had the baby. This is their 5th baby and first boy!!! Apparently it is the opposite of the dad's family. They have 4 boys and 1 girl last.

This is Josilyn. She is the baby of our neighbour. She is baby #6. She is being carried by her sister, Chona. She is about 9 years old now. She carries this baby around a lot. The baby is almost 3 months old now. Whenever I talk to the baby I get really nice smiles from her!!! Her mom is Itang and she speaks no English and limited Tagalog. She didn't say much when we gave her the bag with the gift in it.

But about an hour later she came around Christina's house with the baby in her sling, all wrapped up in the new quilt. She gave me that beautiful smile!!! I think she was very happy to receive the gift.

You can continue to pray for all these babies but especially for this last family. The oldest daughter of theirs is 15 years old and married and now pregnant too. This time we saw even more of the shunning that this family gets in the village. Pray we can be a blessing and example to the rest of the village and show Christ in how we treat them. It is very hard sometimes as the kids in this family are not very nice much of the time. They are mean and rude and don't listen, even though they understand what we tell them.

Gifts from Home!

2009-12-08T07:38:00.001+08:00

Since we came to the Philippines 4 years ago, my good friend Becky has been my Canadian supply buyer. I send her a list of what we would like, she checks the sales, boxes them all up, takes them to the shipping company in Mississauga and then sends me the bill.

(She promises to get me some fun rubber boots like that someday!!!)

We can get a lot of things here but some things are very expensive. Two examples are coffee and peanut butter. For a 1 kg container they cost about $10 here. That is about double the price in Canada. Cereal is another item that is usually about double the price and boy do we eat a lot of cereal. The kids haven’t grow to like rice and dried fish for breakfast like many Filipino’s!!! The shipping of these boxes is only $45 and the weight is unlimited. It takes about 6-8 weeks to get here and are delivered right to our mission office in Manila. We now have them sent up by bus to our place, which takes another 12 hrs. We get very excited when we here they have arrived in Manila.

Back in September our church in Wasaga Beach started collecting food items to send to us here in the Philippines. They filled up a box with food and another with baby quilts and layettes. We will give these quilts and layettes to the new moms in the village.

Thank you to everyone we sent stuff in these boxes. We will enjoy every granola bar, chocolate chip cookie and bite of Kraft Dinner. Thank you to all the hands that prepared the baby quilts and those who put together the layettes. I am sure the ladies will love these. I have 3 new moms to give them to later this week when we get in the village.

How can YOU help us???

2009-12-05T20:11:00.001+08:00

We had planned and hoped for a fellow missionary to be able to help with the framing of our house in the New Year but with the hangar needing some work before the helicopter arrives, he will need to spend a lot of time there. So we are asking YOU to pray with us to see some people come to help us get all this work done in January and February. We need skilled framers, other builders and just some general labours. Can YOU come and help us? For 2 weeks or up to 6 weeks? Can YOU pray that the Lord would bring just the right people along to help us? We are unable to have people come to help us from March till June because of Federal Elections in 2010, so January and February are the only months we can have the extra help. We know that we can get a lot done in those 6 weeks with help. Please pray with us in this. If you are interested, please send us an email ASAP so we can get working on the plans for this.

January and February is a beautiful time of year here on Luzon. The weather is in the mid-20’s and even cools to the upper teens at night. What a wonderful break from all that cold and snow!!!

YOU can be a part of seeing this foundation become a home!!!

Smile!

2009-11-30T08:45:00.001+08:00

When we’re working in the tribe,it’s always nice to be able to sit out on the porch in the evening and visit with people. They come by to charge their cell phones and flashlights while we’re running the little generator for the lights, etc. inside our house. Often there are no lack of tribal kids hanging around too. One of their favourite things is when we get out our cameras and start taking pictures. They love to look at themselves after the shots are taken.

Bob (a fellow missionary who came to help on our house for a week), Erik and I had a little fun of our own this time around as we were snapping pictures. They didn’t realise we were in the pictures until we showed them afterwards. It made for some good laughs.

On a more serious side, we were able to get a lot accomplished this past week: Christina’s water tank was installed

The floors in her house were finished being urethaned

We built a bodega (storage shed) under the one corner of our house to put all the supplies and tools as we start working on our house next

We poured a concrete floor in the bodega

As a bonus, we were able to move all the lumber in under the house to keep it dry while we mill it down

In December Erik and I will begin milling my wood to prepare it for building in January. Please pray that we are able to get it all done without tools, machines, generators etc. breaking down.

By Chuck.

How many girls can we have in one house???!!!

2009-11-19T15:44:00.001+08:00

This week I was able to go to Manila to see the OB and do some shopping. Jessica had planned to go with me but was sick so I went with Christina, who was also sick. Then I did much of my shopping alone. Praise the Lord I was able to get everything done.

Monday I went to see the OB and then for an ultrasound. The technician was very surprised to here that this was my sixth baby, as are most people. We joked about having 3 of each boys and girls and then she began the scan. All looked great with the heart and everything else.

When it came time to look and see if the baby was a girl or boy, this is what we saw.

The lady chuckled and said, “the baby is sitting on its sex organs!!!” She again continued to look over everything and tried again to look. But we saw just the same thing. She showed me how the baby was curled into a ball but that there was more then enough room for it to stretch out. So I asked if I could poke around, so I did. I got some good kicks for that. She then looked again and finally the legs were spread out and as soon as I looked, I knew what we were we having. The lady said, “you wanted a boy, right?” I said, “Yes, but that is a girl, right?” She said, “Yes!”

Wow, what a shocker that was. I so thought she was a he!!! But we laugh as every time Chuck and I would talk about the baby, we would end up saying, “she or her!!!” So I guess our brains already knew what we were having.

On the bright side it is much cheaper to have another little girl. We have all our stuff from Sophia still. So we are thankful.

Don’t misunderstand. We are not sad at all about another little girl. We love our girls so very much. Chuck told the boys that now he doesn’t have to change what he calls them. He still has his big boy and his baby boy!!! Kyle is not so keen on the baby boy title but I think he likes being the youngest boy.

So thank you for your prayers. Continue to pray for this little girl as she grows inside me. I will be half way through the pregnancy on Monday. Wow, it has gone by so fast.

Tribal Treats

2009-11-14T09:21:00.001+08:00

Sometimes we tend to forget the simple things God has given us to enjoy eating when we live in a ‘pre-packaged’ society. Living in the tribe has opened my eyes to some interesting ‘delicacies’ that I would not have otherwise experienced. Some are very good and delicious, others I will simply say I’ve been there, done that and prefer a Big Mac instead.

One of my favourites is buko, aka fresh coconut. I even learned how to use a bolo (machete) to open it, once I bought one. Until then, I had to use my hatchet. Having said that, I think I’ll always be reliant on getting someone else to cut them down out of the tree for me.

When we arrived in the village last time, we decided to ask one of the neighbours about getting some bananas. We were thinking maybe one stock would be sufficient for our time there. The next day he showed up with 3 stocks of bananas! I guess he figured we really like them. We learned to be more specific in what we ask for.

One of the favourite village past times is to enjoy a cup of local coffee together. My dad even enjoyed that one.

It is typical here in the Philippines to have some sort of ‘ulam’ (meat) with rice at your meals. In the tribe, that means not just chicken and pork. One day, while on the trail our tribal friend killed a cobra. Needless to say, it didn’t go to waste. I didn’t end up tasting that one, although I was invited to dinner at his house that night. I politely passed. Our neighbour, Itang wanted to share her ‘ulam’ with us one day. It was a nice gesture, and the frog legs didn’t actually taste too bad. Others advised us not to eat the fresh water shrimp though. I didn’t complain about it.

By Chuck.

Home made toys

2009-11-10T07:05:00.003+08:00

Something we saw most of the boys with this time was a home made, bamboo type, spit ball gun!!! They would cut a piece of bamboo just to length to fit inside another piece of bamboo. Then would chew up little pieces of paper and stick it inside and fire!!! We think the boys like it so much because the sound is similar to an air gun.

Soon after Kyle saw his bamboo spit ball gun, another boy made him one. Then just the next day, Kyle came home with another type of toy. This was a bamboo papaya shooter!!!

Here is a video of Kyle in action.

Are we done yet?

2009-11-06T12:38:00.001+08:00

The goal for this last trip into the tribe was to finish up on Christina’s house so we can get moving onto milling the wood for our house next. But, as it so often goes here, things don’t always go as planned. Kids get sick, tools break, unexpected visitors come by, etc. For me, it can be a little frustrating when I’m attempting to accomplish something and it just seems like it’s never going to get done if I don’t stop getting interrupted! Such was the case this time too. Then the Lord gently reminded me that HE is really the one in control of our time and nothing comes our way to ‘interrupt’ me unless He allows it. I was also reminded that it would be foolish to think that it would be all easy, because we are in enemy territory. Satan doesn’t want the Ga’dang people to hear the message of salvation and getting Christina’s house finished puts us one HUGE step in that direction. Having her house done allows us as a family to stay in the tribe for much longer periods of time as we continue building the rest of our houses. Pray for me as I hope to be able to finish next week what I couldn’t last time.

Having said that, we did get a lot accomplished in the last 3 weeks in the village. I’m very thankful for Erik’s willingness to be away from his family in order to help me, and for the girls’ being able to lend a hand as they were able to. We were able to build and install a screen door and all the window screens, and seal up the entire house around where the walls meet the roof. We also built the upper cabinets for the kitchen, urethaned half the floors and finished up some other little jobs as well.

I could not have gotten that much done without their help.

By Chuck.

All creatures great and small

2009-11-06T12:29:00.000+08:00

Here are some of the critters we came across in the tribe. It’s amazing to see the beauty and detail God put into each one of them.

Eager to Play

2009-11-05T22:09:00.001+08:00

The kids are really making Paradi their home. Each day they would get up, eat breakfast and get ready for the day and then head out the door until they were called to start their school work.

The last week we were there, the village kids were on school break but our kids needed to continue to do their school work. It was very hard for our kids to concentrate as they would hear their names being called throughout the morning. Most days the village kids would stop by to say hi on their way to school themselves.

Most of the kids in the two neighbouring villages also know our kids by name. As we hiked out past one of those villages, we heard a little girl call Charlotte’s name. Then another little girl saw Sophia and said “Hello Sophia!” This village is about 45 min hike from our village. Amazing!!!

We hope you enjoy looking at these pictures of our kids playing with the other kids.

My theory is that she is teaching them what to do with Duplo, not taking them away from them!!!

They had a great time sharing the umbrella.

No matter where our kids went, there was always a following of kids.

The night before we left, it seemed that all the village kids came by to visit. They played in the dark together until it was time for our kids to go to bed. There were many hugs and sad goodbye’s.

Amazing what can be fun to play with, so long as you have friends to play with you.

Kyle loved riding carabao every day. His friend Ariel was in charge of moving the family carabao to different locations to graze. Kyle was thrilled to go along and help. He says he is even learning the noises to make to get the carabao to do what he wants.

Eli was eager to take pictures of the kids as he hung out with them. These are just a few he took.

Luxury

2009-11-02T19:57:00.001+08:00

Three weeks ago we as a family, including Christina and Jessica, headed into our village to continue work on Christina’s house. We wanted to be able to give Chuck as many straight days of work as possible without coming in and out to see us.

The trip began with that wonderful 10 km hilly hike. We were on the trail before 9 am with 8 carabao hauling our stuff in behind us. We had to leave some items behind to be brought in the next day as we are having a hard time estimating how many carabao we need. The next day 3 more carabao came out to get the rest, including our stove!!!

Our co-worker Erik also went in with us for the first 6 days and later returned for a few more days to help out. What a blessing it was to have the extra hands to get things done.

The first job to get done was to put a finish on the counter top of Christina’s kitchen cabinets. After the final sanding was done and a couple of coats of urethane, we were given the all clear to start cooking in her house. As us ladies started to set up the kitchen, Chuck and Erik made us a nice big kitchen table to eat at.

This was all luxury for us. If you remember last time we cooked and ate in a dark room, with a dirt floor, no sink and on a table that was too small. It is amazing what can seem so special for some of us.

We also were privileged to have running water, some of the time, if it rained!!! The first week we had enough rain but then it didn’t rain for 12 days straight. This meant hauling water to fill up water barrels to use for bathing, cooking, dishes, toilet flushing and filtering for drinking water. Praise the Lord for strong arms to haul the water to the house.

There is so much to tell of our trip. We will keep writing more stories and posting more pictures throughout the week. Keep coming back to check them out.

Copy Cat

2009-09-29T19:49:00.001+08:00

For a long time in our house we have asked the kids to show us their teeth when they think they are done brushing. We then tell them if it is ok to rinse or keep brushing.

This is Charlotte as she gets her teeth checked.

Sophia also loves to brush her teeth. As soon as we say, “time to brush your teeth!” Sophia is off running to the bathroom to get her tooth brush, meanwhile yelling “TEETH!”

A while back she started into the same habit the other 4 kids did when she thought she was finished.

This is what she does…

What a great little “Copy Cat” she is!!!

September School Success!!!

2009-09-28T11:35:00.001+08:00

Well, we are now into our 4th week of school here. It is hard to believe it is the last week of September and that school has begun. The kids are doing great. They are really enjoying having a new teacher!!! Jessica has settled in well to life in the Talbot house. We are a busy house and there is never a dull moment here. Jessica helps each of the kids when they get stumped on a question. Notice the “now I see what I did wrong” expression on Kyle’s face!!!

Each of the kids work independently on their work at our big table in the school room.

This year Eli switched curriculums completely and is doing well with his work.

Hala also switched to a new curriculum and is doing great. I work one on one with her in Math each day. Math is very hard for her but she is learning many new things. She has been introduced to multiplication now and is understanding the easy ones so far, i.e.: 0x, 1x, 2x, 5x and 10x. This is a great thing for her to start getting into her brain.

Kyle is doing a mix of old and new curriculum. He likes the old and the new stuff. He is a real thinker when it comes to doing his work but once he finally gets the new concept it sticks in his brain!!!

Charlotte is a busy little girl. Before we furloughed she had completed grade one with Bobbi. (that was a year ahead for her age) But when we enrolled her in the public school she had to do “age appropriate”, being grade 1. She did very well in her class and enjoyed all the new friends she made. When we returned to the Philippines in March, we decided to do whatever workbooks we could find to keep her busy. So seeing as she never actually started the second grade curriculum, we thought we would start her off there and see what she does. Well, these days she is doing 2-3 lessons a day. She will be done her grade 2 school books sometime into the new year. So now we look to see what she should do after that. I guess we keep moving ahead. She has a hard time sitting still but is a smart cookie!!!

So what about Sophia??? She is almost 2 years old and a very busy, talkative little girl. While the other kids are doing school, Sophia plays with her toys and often helps her Ate with the laundry in the morning. This means she gets her own bucket of water to sit and play in!!! (Notice the wet ponytails, guess what she just finished doing???)

Just the other day, Sophia sat at the supper table and yelled to everyone, “guys, guys, supper, eat, guys!!!” Supper was ready and she was hungry. Guess we should hurry up and get to the table next time!!!

Please continue to pray for the kids as they do school this year. We will be spending lots of time in the village thus making a school routine hard to keep.

Continue to pray for me and this pregnancy. I am still having morning sickness (actually all day sickness.) It has been 6 weeks of it now and that is usually the most I get but it just doesn’t want to go away.

What ‘wood’ be…

2009-09-27T15:21:00.001+08:00

As I am working on Christina’s cabinets for her tribal house I am reminded of the convenience we have back in Canada. Building a house or cabinets here involves a lot more work than 'back home’. It’s not just a matter of running to the Home Depot and picking up some nice, kiln dried lumber to work with. Just ask my Dad from his time here with us. Let me enlighten you a bit.

The lumber, after it is cut down in the forest, gets dragged by carabao (water buffalo) through the mud into the village. Then it is sliced with the chain saw into the required sizes… well sort of. (I asked for some 2 x 3’s for example, and the final rough sizes ranged from 1 1/2 x 4 to 3 x 3.)

Of course the lumber is not ready yet for construction. We scrape off the most of the muck (mud and other ‘dirt’) and try to stack it in a relatively neat pile so it can dry out a little. ‘Dry’ is a relative term here, so we can’t leave it for long as I’d be waiting for a really long time. And of course, the longer it is left to dry, the more inviting it becomes for mould to grow on it, termites and ‘bukbuk’ to eat it, and ants, scorpions, snakes and other various critters to make it their home instead of mine.

When I’m ready to use it, the wood has to be moved to the work site (wet, tropical wood is not generally light, just ask Dad) and prepared to use. The rest of the muck, which is hopefully dry be now, needs to be brushed off with a wire brush so it doesn’t destroy the planer blades. Then, it needs to be straightened out initially by chalking a line on it and ripping it with the circular saw. The hand planer gets rid of the bigger lumps left from the chain saw and cleans the piece up more to prep it for the thickness planer. We have been blessed greatly (thanks to a local church there in North America) by having this machine, and when it breaks down, which it has, the process becomes a much harder.

After getting it to the right thickness, the wood can then be straightened out more with the circular saw and/or hand planer, and ripped to size with our table saw (another blessing from one of our churches ‘back home’).

The trick in milling down the wood to be used is working it when it’s not too wet, but not so dry that it’s too hard for the machines. Also, it needs to be used shortly after it’s been milled before it dries out more and shrinks, twists, cracks or warps beyond use.

Having said all this, for those of you who know me, I am thoroughly enjoying being able to use my practical talents like this. It’s a lot of work, and some days it feels like the building process will never get done. But in the Lord’s timing it will, so we can move in with the Ga’dang people, learn their language, and be able to share the Gospel message with them. The Lord reminds me that we’re in the relationship building stage as well right now. Pray for us as we seek to build a good foundation in relationships with these tribal people. Just ask DAD.

by Chuck.

Eli in the tribe

2009-09-21T18:23:00.001+08:00

This past week I had the opportunity to take Eli into the tribe with me. It was good for us to have some Dad and son time.

While we were in there, he was able to lend a hand to me as we worked on Christina’s kitchen cabinets. I was glad to have Eli with me, and he enjoyed it too.

When asked what he liked about this trip, he replied “bathing in the river and eating wild pig!”

by Chuck