Summer whirled by

Sorry for the late post. Jay has been gone more than he’s been home. He just left for Mindanao so I’m going to update you all as much as I can. Jay has been traveling with Pastor Paul for the past 6 weeks. They were the main speakers at a youth camp in the Northern Provinces where they ministered to a group of youth who have committed to being worship leaders. Our worship team accompanied them there and taught individual workshops. During their stay they endured record temperatures. The day after coming home, my mother and sister arrived from the NW. We had a wonderful week showing them the beauty of the Philippines. We played the tourist, which was fun. The day that they flew out of Manila, Jay and Paul flew to Thailand. One of Paul’s missionaries is in Thailand. Paul had not been there, so it was good for them to see exactly what was happening there. I’ll let Jay elaborate more when he returns. After arriving back in Manila, Paul and him spoke at a Four Square Church youth camp. They were there almost a week. Before they arrived, the leaders of the camp ministered to the local kids and led them all to the Lord. The camp had around 180 kids from all over the area and then approximately 35 that were led to the Lord who would come to the evening sessions. Jay said it was like he remembered youth camp back home except it was much hotter and there were a lot more bugs here! This past week he once again left to go to the Northern Provinces. This time to teach at one of the Free Mission Pastor’s church anniversary. Then, they stayed the week to teach at a Pastor’s Leadership Conference. The conference was held for pastors who wanted to get involved in the G-12 ministry. The concept of G-12 is to have 12 people who are mentored by the church leadership and in turn those 12 people mentor 12 more people and so on and so on. In effect, building relationships with people they already know and then leading them to Christ in time. It is working very well here. We’ve been very impressed how the church is growing through this concept. Jay returned home just in time for us to welcome our friends from back home, Howard and Leslie. They are here to lead a music and healing ‘festival’ in two cities in Mindanao. We are very excited to hear the praise reports from them. God is so Good! Well, that was the whirlwind adventure that Jay’s been on. Jayson and I have been at home. We’re trying to tie up his kindergarten workbooks in time for his grade 1 start date. I’m hoping to give him 2 weeks off before school starts. We enrolled him in the school at our church here. We felt like it was a good way for him to learn about the culture here and to help him learn the language. We took our big break in December and January so it is a little odd that he’s going from one grade to another without much of a break. In a few weeks we will celebrate his 6th birthday. The guest that we are most excited about coming to his birthday party is his big brother Greg. I can’t wait to give him a big hug. When Jay gets back, he should have some time to elaborate on this summary and to post some pictures. God bless you as you are a blessing to others.

Our Little Evangelist

Jay has been hanging out with Pastor Tony in Porak Sais. This is a very poor area with people living in shacks and sleeping on the floor. Pastor Tony has been pouring his heart into these people. Yesterday, Jay was invited to come help with a children’s outreach. Jayson wanted to come also. Jayson had brought some toys from the States and wanted to pass them out to the kids. During the outreach, they played games and for prizes, the toys Jayson brought were used. Jayson got to hand them out which made him happy. The time had come for everyone to leave when Pastor Tony asked Jayson if he would like to share Jesus with the kids. He said, “Yes” and proceeded to share how much Jesus loves them. He also told them that God loves it when we worship him and that we can worship God at home or at church or anywhere. God gets a big smile on His face when we worship Him, Jayson told the kids. He said a lot more, but you get the idea. Pastor Tony translated for him. Check out the pictures. It was pretty awesome. Of course, his parents are very proud.

Pastor Jay had a great experience visiting a newly planted church near the town of Ternede (tear na day). Ternede is a coastal town located on Manila Bay. He arrived on opening weekend of oyster season, so plenty of oysters were prepared for the guests that day. After eating as many oysters that they could, Pastor Jay and Pastor Moody met with the young adults under the mango tree. Pastor Jay taught them about their potential with God while Pastor Moody translated. The group then traveled from house to house through the rice paddys inviting people to come to church. Most of the people are considered “squaters”, meaning they are basically homeless people living on someone else’s property. They farm as a way to feed their families. The biggest dream that their children have is to be able to go to school. After visiting the families, they worked their way back through the rice fields to the mango tree. Once everyone showed up, the church service began. Pastor Jay taught the people about who they are in Christ Jesus and how to speak to their situation so change can happen in their lives. He shared the Gospel with them and spent time praying for them. They prayed for many situations where the people are being told to leave the land they’re living on. Pastor Moody is believing for a piece of land to build a church on and to house the people. The day was an amazing experience for Pastor Jay. Having God use him in speaking to the people was humbling. It just cemented in his heart that we are where we are supposed to be.

In the house

We spent our first night in our new house.The furniture is not here but we do have air mattresses. We’ve had a hard time getting our crate of furniture released from the custom’s here. We know it will all work out though. We now have water, electricity and as of today internet. Yeah! We can now add pictures to the website. We’ve been busy preparing the house to move in. It is quite nice now. It was also nice to cook something for dinner. We had a chicken stir fry with noodles (not rice). We’ve eaten so much McDonald’s (they call it McDos here) and Jollibee’s (a McDonald’s wanna be) that we were happy to eat at home, even if it meant sitting on the stairs.

Yesterday we attended a leadership training seminar put on by the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International. The guest speaker was Dr. Myles Munroe. It was a very powerful meeting. There were approximately 5,000 people in attendance. Dr. Munroe had a great word for the filipino people there. God is moving in the Philippines!

Recently we traveled to the province of Tarlac. There, Jay preached at Pastor Zaldy’s church. He also interviewed pastors in the area to find out what the vision and needs are for their churches. It seems the biggest need is motorcycles for the pastors. We’d like to figure out a way to finance them with no interest loans through donations. While there, Jayson rode on a caribou (water buffalo). He was grinning from ear to ear. Anna-Lisa sat on it also. When the caribou started moving, she almost fell off, giving the locals a good laugh. It was definately an experience we won’t soon forget.

Last Saturday, Jay was the guest speaker at a Sweetheart Dinner. The couples were all dressed very nice. The church was fixed up nice too. It was very well done. Jay had a relevant message for them. At the end, he had them pray together like we were taught at a recent marriage seminar that we attended. It was a very powerful time.

Something that we learned from Dr. Munroe that just blew us away. In summary…God spoke to the earth when He created plants. God spoke to the waters when He created fish. God spoke to Himself when he created man. Plants can’t live without the earth. Fish can’t live without the water. Man can’t live without God. People all around us are dying because they are not connected to the Source of life.

As in any country that comes out of a dictatorship there is a heavy spirit of religion and oppression here. Join us as we pray against those principalities. We are also praying for the people to realize who they are in Christ Jesus so that they can rise up and make a difference in the morality of this country.

Philippine Arrival

We arrived in Manilla safe and sound. Had a pretty good flight here. We’ve spent the week looking for a place to live. We looked at a place last night that seems promising. As part of the church service on Sunday, Pastor Glen released us to Pastor Paul to help him here. Was a very emotional time for us. We are excited to do what God has planned for us in the Philippines. We took some time with Randy and Leah along with our friends who already live here, Jon and Alaina, and went down into an area where the poorest of the poor live. Was an eye opening experience. We saw the church that some friends back home, Byron and Lisa, financed. Also, spent time in Puerto Galera enjoying the beach and relaxed a bit. By tomorrow morning, all of our friends who escorted us here will have departed. Jay will be preaching this Sunday at Pastor Paul’s church. When we are moved into our home and have internet access on our computer, we will download some pictures for you to see. Right now, we are using someone else’s computer to communicate. Thank you again for all of your support and prayers. You are being used to further the Kingdom of God.

A new home

We found a house. It is a 2 bedroom with a small room downstairs that normally would be the maid’s quarters. We’ll be using it for an office. The house is 3 stories, the top one being a terrace which can be turned into a large room. We are in the process of painting and cleaning. The house has been vacant for a year and so needs a little help. The exterminator sprayed for bugs yesterday. No more ants. Yeah! We have a crate being shipped here with our beds and some furniture. It should be here about the time we are ready to move in. The house is in a gated community with a 24-hour security guard. There is a swimming pool and a play area. It also has a large outdoor clubhouse. It is very nice. We can’t wait to move in and get on with our purpose here.

Jay shared our testimony on Sunday when he preached at Pastor Paul’s church. He based the message on Psalm 1:1-3. It went very well. He will be speaking at the youth service next Friday night. The youth put on an exceptional service here with drama and music.

And so it begins…

You are joining the Peach family adventure. Jay, Anna-Lisa and Jayson are heading to the Philippines. We are getting ready to embark on the greatest adventure of our lives. As we busily work to get things tied up in America, Pastor Paul is planning our lives for the next year in the Philippines. We are ready to do whatever God has for us there. The process has been a little complicated but is well worth it. Our departure date is January 22nd. Pastor Glen and his wife Theresa along with Randy and his wife Leah will be accompaning us on the trip to help us get established. We are glad that you have joined us. We will be updating more often as soon as we arrive in Manila. Thank you for your prayers and support.