Life has its ebbs and flows, times of transition and growth, and times of sadness and drought. This period in our life is one of  refocus and preparation. The Lord put an idea in our minds one day in the summer about returning to mission work. We left the Philippines in 2008 for medical reasons and those have been resolved. We will be moving back to Metro Manila on November 14th to work in the training of pastors, leaders, and students for service to God, the church, and the nations on the Philippines/Micronesia field of the Church of the Nazarene. This is a huge transition, possibly more than other moves we have made, but it has involved downsizing, selling our house, car, and significantly, leaving our son in college. We are now in traveling and speaking at churches, raising prayer and financial partners who will walk beside us in the coming years.

There are several challenges for us:

  1. Shifting back to the Philippine culture. The Filipinos are wonderful people, but they are different from the settings to which we have become accustomed. Manila is not the easiest place to live. We will miss the ruggedness and openness of the mountainous West USA.
  2. Language: This move will require us to become much more efficient at Tagalog than we were in the past.
  3. Packing, moving, shipping, and settling in: Much of the packing has been completed but other details remain.
  4. Ministry: We will be doing new type of ministry, though we have been involved in education and ministry for many years already. We want to be an asset to the churches and pastors, but this will take humility and lots of listening.
  5. Raising support for our new ministry: There are many expenses related to a move like this, including car, furniture, and personal care/insurances. We are thankful for a base salary and accommodations which will help with support.
  6. Family: Leaving family is not easy, especially leaving our son in college half way around the world. We feel the stresses of when Jesus told his disciples about the cost of following Him and leaving family behind.

In spite of these challenges, we feel blessed and inspired. We are not strangers to where we will be going. We lived there already for over seven years. But that will not resolve internal conflicts and culture shock that will arise. We have been looking for a new challenge and calling and God has answered in such a way that will grow us more into His likeness.