Reap News

Dear Friends,

We read in James 1:17 that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Christmas certainly is the time that we celebrate the perfect gift that is Jesus and all the gifts that God has given to us all. It is said that in the Philippines, Christmas is only celebrated in the Brrrrr Months-September, October, November, and December! There is a hyper focus on the Christmas Season and all its trimmings. Decorations are up wherever you go, all the stores have Christmas themed music playing and the night markets are in full swing. It’s easy, with all the hustle and bustle that comes with Christmas, to lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. It’s wonderful to spend time with family and friends, to enjoy gift giving and parties, but we have to remember to keep our focus on Jesus in the midst of all of it.

Last month we were able to go to Palawan and speak at the anniversary of the church in BusyBees. We participated in the wedding of two of our former students, had a Pastors’ meeting, and another church service. It was quite the adventure getting there! We travelled by plane from our island to Manila and from there took another flight to Puerto Princessa, the main city on Palawan. Our flight was delayed several hours, but we eventually got there. From Puerto, we took a bus five or so hours to TayTay and from there went by tricee (motorcycle with sidecar) and then banca (boat) to the wedding site and back again. We took another bus to Busybees, only two hours, but over verrry rough roads – at one point they unloaded the bus and had the passengers walk across the temporary bridge to lighten the load. The roads have improved significantly since I first came in 1994, however when you go back into the villages, the access is still limited. On our return to Puerto, the bus had engine trouble and our trip ended up taking over six and a half hours. The plane was delayed several hours as well, so it was a very long trip all around. In summary, though travel often was difficult, it was wonderful to sense the Holy Spirit moving in love and unity among the pastors and believers.

Mom and I flew into Catanduanes and drove directly up North to a village called Oco, where I had been invited to give a presentation to the high school students for National Reading and Writing Month. I had been expecting fifty or sixty students, there ended up being somewhere between 400-600! It was a wonderful opportunity for mom and I, as we were able to share some of our testimony as well as the prepared slideshow. Both the students and staff were very receptive and very appreciative of our visit.

As we close out 2017, please consider giving to Reap so that we can continue helping and serving the Filipino people.

May your Christmas be filled with love, peace, and joy!

Amy, for Nels and Lorrie

Praise and Prayer Reports:

• Praise God for our safe travels to Palawan
• Praise God for the Spirit of Love and Unity among the pastors
• Especially Praise God for the gift of Jesus!
• Pray for our pastors and families
• Pray for our students in field training
• Pray for our pastors and families, especially this Christmas season
• Pray for an increase in giving to meet the monthly budget

Dear Friends,

The Bible is a book of relationships beginning with God and man in Genesis and continuing throughout the New Testament. God could have created us as one single unit, but He chose to divide us into “families”. All through the Bible He uses terms describing relationships to help explain spiritual concepts. The church is referred to as His bride and His body, each part doing his or her part and each joined to others to complete the body. In our natural body, every part must stay connected to the rest of the body in order to function. As in the natural body so in the spiritual body; we need to connect with others to grow and live life abundantly.

The older I get the more I realize that I need to be aware of the people God puts in our path. Each is an opportunity to share and listen, to help and be helped; to encourage and be encouraged. Sometimes we have the opportunity to choose our friends, but often the people that become our friends are the ones God puts in our paths. We share times together and they become our friends, the ones we are connected to in His body.

We were blessed to have Mike and Marcia from Bend, Oregon, come and share at the Pastor’s Conference and at some of our churches. Their sharing blessed the Filipino people and we enjoyed our time with them sharing past and present experiences. There is an old poem that says, “Make new friends, but keep the old. New found friends like new wine age will mellow and refine…make new friends but keep the old, new are silver, old are gold”.
We are able to be in the Philippines and serve the people primarily because of you, our friends. You are not just supporters, but natural and spiritual family to us. We are your hands extended to this part of the world and you provide strength, encouragement, and natural sustenance to us.

Pastor’s Conference

Our annual pastor’s conference was a great success! Over 20 of our churches were represented together with many church workers filling our building to overflowing. During the week, Mike and Marcia, Amy and Lorrie and I spoke as well as local Pastors. There was a spirit of unity and rejoicing throughout the week.The last day was a divided session. Nels and Mike spoke with the men and youth while Marcia, Lorrie and Amy shared with the ladies.The conference ended with a youth meeting Friday night where over 100 youth listened intently as Amy spoke.

We thank you for all your prayers and financial support!

Nels, for Lorrie and Amy

Praise Reports

• That the Conference was such a success!
• Typhoon diverted away
• Funds have come in to begin construction on the Chapel roof

Prayer Requests

• Safety while Traveling-We have several marathon trips upcoming and need prayer for protection and safety while traveling
• Upcoming meetings in Palawan
• Continuing Finances
• Christmas Outreaches
• Unity

Dear friends,

This past summer Lorrie and I traveled across the United States and visited with our friends, supporters, and fellow missionaries. As we traveled we were encouraged by many and hopefully encouraged many as well.

In June we attended a “Salt and Light” conference at Bethel Church in Redding, California. The emphasis was for us as Christians to positively affect our culture wherever we may live and work. The worship and teaching were excellent! After the conference, we returned to Alaska and met with friends, family, and churches.

As I write, we are in Ireland visiting our daughter Heather and her husband Noel and their children. Noel pastors a multicultural church in the city of Portlaoise and Heather is involved in children and women’s ministry. Lorrie has ministered at a women’s group and met with women individually. I have spoken at two of the services and look forward to meeting with the men’s group as well as with some of the leaders this week. As a bonus, we are planning a visit with our youngest son Jeremy and his wife Nicole in Finland. They attend nursing college there and plan to do mission work in Africa in the future.

After Ireland and Finland, we are scheduled to return to the Philippines where we will speak at our annual pastor’s conference in October. We are excited to be back with our friends and co-workers there.

While we have been traveling, Amy has ministered in the Philippines. She states:
“The last month has been hectic. Planes, vans, buses, ferries, tricees, pedicabs, motorbikes and good ol’ foot.
Over the river and through the jungle, to Camporag Church we went! Across a log bridge over a flooded river and through the pouring rain.
I was privileged to be the guest speaker at the Camporag Church’s fourth anniversary service. Getting there was an adventure, to say the least! The theme was “Standing Together In Unity” and this really resonated with me, as I have been pondering unity lately. There is so much through the Scriptures about Unity. As so often is true, we see this principle illustrated first in the natural, then in the spiritual. To be a fully functioning body, every part needs to work together in unity and the same is true for our spiritual bodies. Whenever a part is out of sync with the rest, it’s hard to get things done. Not impossible, for ‘With God, nothing is impossible’, but certainly more difficult. We need to build each other up rather than tear down our fellow Christians.”

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Nels, Lorrie, and Amy

Dear friends,

I just turned the youthful age of 70. Now to some that may not be seen as youthful, but then you are probably much younger. I say youthful because as the years have passed I still feel young in my mind even if my body doesn’t always agree.  I remember my mom saying to me a hundred years or so ago that she felt as young as me (I was in my early 20’s at the time) only trapped in an old body. I remember not being able to comprehend how she could feel that way. Now I can.

One of the concerns I have as I walk in the autumn of my life is the next generation.  I just read a survey stating “the number of freshmen attending America’s colleges who have left their faith over the past three decades has skyrocketed.”  We personally know of many intelligent young people who have walked away from the faith of their parents. I believe a major assignment we have as we see the winter of our lives approaching is to influence the next generation for Him.

There is an old poem called “The Bridge Builder,” by Will Allen Dromgoole.  In the poem the author says,

“…The old man crossed in the twilight dim; the sullen stream had no fears for him; but he turned when safe on the other side, and built a bridge to span the tide.  “Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim, near, “you are wasting strength with building here; your journey will end with the ending day; you never again must pass this way…the builder lifted his old gray head: “Good friend, in the path I have come,” …there followeth after me today a youth, whose feet must pass this way…I am building the bridge for him.”

One of the themes of the Bible School in the Philippines is:

2Ti 2:2* And the things that you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

We desire to teach what God has taught us through the years and train them to teach others as well.

Last month we had two youth camps, one at the Bible School facility and one in Palawan. Amy was one of the main speakers. She says;

“The theme for our camps this year was “Challenge: Accepted!”, and the Challenge was taken up by the youth attending, as well as those of us who were privileged to be a part of ministering and supporting the camps. There were 106 campers at the Virac Campus, with somewhere around double that  number with staff, counselors, and various assorted relatives helping out. The Palnab camp had 37 campers and forty or so support staff. Many games were played and much fun ensued, with a healthy dose of learning, worship and ministry to go along with it. Each day began at 4:30 with devotions and worship and continued on until lights out at 10:30, jam-packed with teaching sessions, worship, games, swimming, meals and fellowship. It was so wonderful to see the enthusiasm and boundless energy that these young people were filled with! Many of them accepted the call to serve and others rededicated their lives to Christ. This years theme was very appropriate for myself, as I was challenged to speak and minister even while I was sick, and did a lot of traveling-by plane, bus, van and Banca (boat), Tricee (motorcycle with a side-car) as well as by foot, through jungle, ocean and over exceedingly rickety bridges-and I am quite pleased to say that I was  not the one who fell off! It has truly been a whirlwind of a month, and I am glad to be home now (in Virac), preparing for the next school term and looking forward to all the new challenges and opportunities that will come!”

Thank you for enabling us to go and share Christ and His faithfulness to others!

Nels, Lorrie, and Amy