I have been back from the Philippines for about 12 days and today I leave with a ministry team to London.   I failed to anticipate all that cries for attention in between two international trips and have been insanely busy!   So I am just now getting around to posting some pictures (below) from the Philippines.

It was a very profitable trip.  We met with almost a dozen pastors and visited 9 churches in 4 days!  Beside speaking in meetings 2-3 times a day we spent considerable time in conversations with Pastor Nathan and Pastor Jun learning about their vision, challenges and discussing ways we can work together successfully.    They have a real vision for being able to support, encourage and equip many of the village pastors, but lack some of the resources to make it happen.   I think there were some “light bulb” moments for all of us as discussed how to create solutions for those challenges.    It is summer in the Philippines…and very hot and humid.

Thanks so much to all of you who supported us in prayer and with finances.    Below are some pictures:

Pastor Jun and Pastor Nathan:  Leaders of HarvestNET Philippines

Pastor Jun and his wife (a dentist) with Nielson.  I am so glad Nielson was on this trip.  Besides being a good friend, his knowledge of anthropology helped us with some great insights. 🙂

Philippines Community Church: Pastor Nathan’s church has a vision to expand so they can begin a Bible Training Center.

I am with the worship team at Nathan’s church.  The majority of the population is under age 20 and I am convinced that all Filipinos’s must be gifted musically!

We traveled north along the coast one day and visited some small fishing villages and rural churches.  The scenery was beautiful, but so were the people we met.  One of the villagers took a group of us on a short boat ride into the bay toward the ocean.  I was amused that the teenage girls spent most of the time texting.

This was the sunset our last night in Manila.