SSM Parent Meeting

Saturday YWAM Mountain Province hosted a meeting for the parents of the Student Sponsorship Ministry students. They came from various barangays such as Can-eo, Sacasacan, Sadanga, Sagada, and others. It was an opportunity to share with them what is happening with the ministry and get to strengthen our partnership in the discipleship of their children.

After introductions, Gilbert lead us in worship.

The parents, students, and YWAM staff did some activities that helped to illustrate Tom's message about following Jesus and working out our discipleship as a community. Patrick translated into Ilokano.

Then the student's performed the song, Walk With Jesus.

After a delicious lunch of rice, pancit, and sardines, we watched a slideshow of pictures of the students since the last parent meeting.

YWAM SSM students and parents

(with a few extras)

Glucose Testing

Every Friday, YWAM Mountain Province is providing free glucose and blood pressure testing for people in the Bontoc area. Weekly, we serve 30 - 50 at the clinic. In addition to the actual testing, we provide counselling on diabetes and hypertension management through healthy living. Prayer and open discussions of faith point patients to the One who can heal our bodies and our spirits.


Last week, a couple of the students from our Student Sponsorship Ministry assisted the YWAM staff that coordinates this ministry. One is a nursing student and the other is majoring in science, so it was beneficial for everyone. The students gained hands-on experiences related to their fields of study while at the same time learning to serve in mercy ministry. Patients and staff enjoyed the additional help to make the testing move a little faster.

Semester Break

Semester break has finally come! Before the SSM students head home to spend time with their families, the YWAM family headed to Mainit Hot Springs. Together we enjoyed swimming, games, singing, and great food.

Bottled Up

Today we prepared for the outreach we plan to do during the street dancing at the Am-Among Festival here in Bontoc. We put the labels you see above on 200 water bottles. While people are enjoying the dancing at the festival, YWAM staff and SSM students will distribute the water bottles. We pray that this effort will create opportunities to share God's love with the people of Bontoc.

FINISHED!

Please pray with us that we will be able to speak with people about the free gift of grace that has been offered to them. Pray also that hearts will be open to this message.

Updates from Bontoc

It is exactly a month ago when we last posted on our blog. Tom and Lisa who had been diligent in updating our blog for the last couple of months are now very busy being involved more and more in the ministry here in Mountain Province. They are also working hard on a YWAM Mountain Province website (ooops did I preempt announcement?) which will be more comprehensive in informing everyone of the many facets of what we are doing here in this part of the globe. Watch out for it friends and family....

To outline the happenings for the last thirty days, here are some:

Student Sponsorship Ministry

The staff (Tom & Lisa, Noel & Mandy) took turns in speaking and sharing to the SSM students on Tuesdays, while Patrick and Walter started to introduce the One Story strategy of sharing the Word to oral learners during chapel talks on Thursdays. The Fun Nights on Fridays continue to be the favorite ocassion for the students, with lots of games, laughter and now a new addition - food. The YWAM staff decided among themselves to join the students during Friday dinners, bringing their own potluck food to share with everybody. Some of the staff (mostly Tom & Lisa, Betty) join the students during their prayer walks and devotion times early in the morning.

Seminars, Teachings, Ministries

The male staff are now fast becoming professors and seasoned teachers, even invited out of town to share. Patrick & Walter went to Buguias (3-hour ride from Bontoc) to attend a seminar as facilitators and lecturers to a group of pastors who are aspiring to be members of the Moral Recovery Program (MRP) in that place. As a result, the ministers from different denominations will be joining the movement to help reform institutions and the government offices. They also conducted a seminar for a group of parolees under the Parole and Probation Office to help them reform and go back to the mainstream of society the Godly way. Tom for his part taught for two weeks at a Bible School, commuting daily to a nearby village 30 minutes ride away from Bontoc. He also speaks to the police officers of Bontoc during MRP on Monday mornings.

Patrick, Walter, and Betty are still busy with their One Story sessions crafting Bible stories in the dialect every week from Monday to Wednesday. Lisa with her family continue to draw kids to their Kids' Club every Sunday afternoon.

Noel and Mandy, as they slowly set up their home, continue to plan and prepare for the upcoming Family DTS on January 2009. Preparing programs, invitations, communications and intercessions for the school take up most of their day to day activities.

Rudy & Bridget with family are busy in their discipleship program in Can-eo Station Church meeting elderly men & women and young people during weekdays, and holding church services on Sundays. Rudy joins Walter & Patrick from time to time during MRP activities.

Tom & Lisa became caretakers for a few days when the Fegcans, Hines, and Betty all went to Baguio for necessary purposes. Alas, they missed Alayna's birthday...

And others....

On August 23, all YWAM staff and families went to Mainit Hot Springs for staff outing. The fun started when everybody had to walk (except the drivers and their helpers) 2 kilometers because a car broke down on the one way not all weather road and blocked our rides to the village where we are headed. Everybody helped carry the food and though it was a long walk the sceneries and fresh air made it easier. When we reached the swimming pool, the water was still shallow, thanks to the strong typhoon 2 days before the outing. This, however, did not dampen the fun as adults and kids alike enjoyed "swimming" and playing on the hot water while lunch was being cooked and prepared. We had chicken barbecue, pancit noodles, sticky rice, fruits, and of course lots of rice. Everything was fun except that those who wanted to have a "full swim" were not granted their wish as the water was still 3 feet when we left the swimming pool at 4PM.

And yes, we had fun celebrating the birthdays of the YWAM Mt. Province staff girls, Annalise Maxwell on August 8, Glenice Fegcan on August 10, and Alayna Maxwell on August 29. They are all jewels... Till next post.

P.S. Sorry no photos to show all of the above happenings (our camera broke down). Will try to gather photos from the other staff for next posting.

SSM Fun Night

Tonight the staff and students of the Student Sponsorship Ministry joined together for Fun Night. It was a full evening. We spent some time together in worship. After a while, the gongs came out and it became a festival with some traditional dancing.

We also enjoyed celebrating the birthdays of Glenice and Annalise.

After dinner, cake, and ice cream, we played a game of Suspended Jenga.

Welcome Hine Family

YWAM Mountain Province is pleased to welcome the Hine family. Noel and Mandy, with their daughter Sarra, arrived Thursday from Australia.

They bring a wealth of experience related to family ministries and are planning to launch a Family Discipleship Training School in January of 2009.

We are excited to have them as part of our growing team.

Student Sponsorship Ministry Updates

The students in SSM increased this school year, 2008-2009. We have 20 students now with the addition of 8 more students (5 girls & 3 boys). Two of the girls were prior students who stopped for one semester and came back to continue their schooling. Because of their number the apartment they had been housed in became too small for them as they have only one bathroom. In the mornings, the students (3 or 4 at a time) cue for their 10 minute use of the bathroom. With the suggestion of the building owner and after much prayers we decided to transfer the students downstairs to the 2nd floor with 7 rooms by faith. Their rent would be more than twice what they used to pay. The students are happier with more space and more restrooms.

Three of the students are due to graduate at the end of this school year on March 2009, 2 Crimonology students and 1 teacher. We thank the sponsors for faithfully providing for the food, rent, and other needs of the students. Special thanks goes to Ruth Ellen and Doc. Last summer (April in the Philippines) the students and the staff received 2 packages of clothings from the USA courtesy of Ruth Ellen & Doc. Thank you for continuing to pray for the provisions and needs of these students. Only seven among the 20 students have sponsors and whatever they received is shared among all the students.

Lisa Maxwell has been doing a good job teaching and sharing with the students on Tuesdays during discipleship nights. And on Fridays during fun nights, Tom has been ready with his teambuilding activities.

Og-okhod Bible Storytelling Festival

At the end of June, a team from Australia joined us at YWAM Mountain Province for the Og-okhod Bible Storytelling Festival which was held from July 6 to July 15.

The Og-okhod Bible Storytelling Festival was facilitated by three teams working together: the Core OneStory Project team from Mountain Province, the Australian Og-okhod Short-term Mission Team, and the Northern Philippines Mother Tongue Translators Association (NPMTTA). The team was divided into two groups. One group was dedicated to each of the target communities, Sadanga and Sacasacan.

At the beginning of the festival, the team was expecting the people to be tired from their work during the day to bring in the rice harvest. But they were excited to see how the people not only stayed awake but engaged in the stories throughout the festival. In fact, the nightly attendance grew from about 20 the first night to 50-60 adults and about 120 children in both Sadanga and Sacasacan by the end of the festival.
During the ten days in the villages there were many activities. Each afternoon the teams would visit people; building relationships, praying for them, telling the stories, and inviting them to come to the evening program where the stories would be retold. In the evening program, the stories were dramatized with songs. At the same time, people from each community were trained to tell the story and practiced so that they could share the story at the evening program. After the evening program, all who attended processed the meaning and implications of the stories in small groups and worked to memorize the stories. At the end of the festival, those who memorized 5 stories were awarded a t-shirt and a Bible for their hard work.

The Australian team supported the local team members by, among other things, serving meals, cleaning, and serving coffee and pandesal (a type of roll) each night. This allowed the local team members to share the stories in the tribal dialects. Many of the team became ill during their time in Sacasacan and Sadanga. But they worked through their illness to share the stories.

The Sacasacan group had to hike to and from Sadanga each day. That meant a 45 minute hike each night in the dark, and usually in the rain. One team member, Jason, made the trip several times a day as he brought the pandesal from a bakery in Sadanga to the team in Sacasacan then returned for the evening activities in Sadanga. Of course, he then had to return with the team later each night.

At the conclusion of the festival, a celebration was hosted. A fantastic meal of pork and chicken was served with all of the people of the community. The people from both villages remarked about how good it was to have believers from so many denominations and backgrounds coming together to share the Word of God. They are eager for the next festival so they can enjoy the stories and fellowship once again.

OneStory Partnership

One major ministry of the YWAM Mountain Province team is the OneStory Partnership. This is a global partnership involving YWAM, Wycliffe International, Trans World Radio, International Mission Board, and Campus Crusade for Christ. The mission of the OneStory Partnership is to develop, initiate and facilitate oral strategies to communicate God’s Word to oral peoples who are unreached or Bibleless, resulting in sustainable, indigenously led, reproducing church planting movements which transform lives and societies to reflect a biblical worldview. Patrick, Betty, and Walter spend several days each week serving as members of the Core Team for this project. The Core Team in Bontoc is composed of members from the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church, YWAM, Pentecostal Church, and the Baptist Church. This One Story Project is overseen by the Bontoc Scripture Society of which Rufina is Board Secretary of the the Board of Trustees.

The team has worked to translate an initial 12 stories and is working toward a goal of 60 stories which can be communicated orally. The stories are designed so that the content and style is culturally appropriate yet accurate. The intent is that the stories are memorable so that they can be shared orally and dramatically.

For more information about the OneStory Partnership, please visit: http://ywamonestory.org/partnership.htm.