Times of Transition
Transitions are a reality - changes in people, in friends and acquaintances, in jobs, in family make up, in where we live and for some those transitions will take us to places where we can only imagine. Many of us are familiar with the book of Joshua, it was a book about transitions, about crossing rivers and entering into promise lands, it speaks of promises as they relate to the past and the future, and encourages us that God has promised us that he would give to you and I every place where we set our feet.
When darrell and i first placed our feet on the island of Mindanao in the Southern Philippines in 2006, we never thought or could even imagine where and how God would use us. Initially our hearts were to share the gospel and teach people how to evangelize, little did we know that God would be using us in the area of providing horses to enable Tribal Pastors to be able to reach beyond their geographical borders, and to bring safe clean drinking water through the Bio Sand Water filters to Filipino people groups that have no access to safe clean water.
This past year we have seen God move in and through the ministry in such dynamic ways. We continue to facilitate Evangelism Training Camps, introduced the Alpha Program, network with fellow missionaries and non profit ministries who are impacting the kingdom of God and the nation of the Philippines. We are excited for the many ways that God has given us the ability to serve Him, and trust that God's provision for the future is the people we serve and to whom we minister.
"We need to look ahead to the those we serve as the focus of our Mission, and that alone will help us in our times of transition."
Darrell and I have totally supported our daily and personal living in Davao through our business, and in the past several years we have seen a decline in our clientele due to a week economy and some unforeseen circumstances beyond our control. We have continued to depend and trust the Lord in and through this time of transition. Over the past year, we have seen Gods hand moving us forward in faith to begin trusting the Lord for full time support to continue doing the work of the Lord here in the Philippines. This is a big step of faith, as we haven't been able to rely on our business income this past year. As we reflect on how God has provided for us through the past years, we can only stand in awe of How he has taken care of us here on the field. Now in this transition time of ministry we have seen Gods hand beginning to move us away from being a tent maker ministry which , in general a tentmaker refers to the activities of any Christian who, while functioning as a minister, receives little or no pay for his or her church or ministry work, and supports him or herself by additional, unrelated work. It is our prayer that as we move forward that God would speak to the hearts of those who will stand together with us in prayer believing with us for God to continue to bless the work of the Lord in the Philippines, and to be Gods hands extended to the lost, thirsty, hungry and dying.
We extended our sincere heartfelt thankfulness and appreciation to everyone who has invested into the ministry and realize that this could not be done without your generous love and support and abundant prayers.
Prayer Requests:
- God will open doors to ministry while we are here in North America
- We are currently home in Canada due to an illness with a family member, please pray that God would use us to bring wisdom and comfort.
- For the ministry team in the Philippines, for their safety, health and provision.
- The rainy season has taken its toll on the nipa roofs at the ministry center. Cost is $500.00
- Personal provision while home on furlough and for our return tickets back to the Philippines.
- That we would be used by God to minister to family, friends and to be an encouragement to the body of Christ while we are home.
P.O. Box 503
Dr 11, Riverview
What a great group of pastors! They were so enthusiastic to learn and develop their horsemanship skills and horse care. It was evident that these Pastors had a desire to learn. 
travel to be with us in Davao, where he spoke at several churches. The power of God moved and many were touched and healed in their bodies. One church said that they had never experienced that level of excitement and power of God in their church before. Ron also participated in our last Horsemanship training as well as a trip to install two bio 
sand water filters. We were so blessed to have dad here with us. Dad said that his trip was very full and rewarding and reminded him of earlier ministry days here in the Philippines.
We are thankful that God has used us to introduce the ALPHA COURSE to the leadership of ANCF, Davao City. In April they started the program with their young adults and it has been an absolute success! One of the home groups has begun the course last Thursday.
Darrell and I arrived safely home to the Philippines January 7th after a long 16 hour flight from Vancouver. How nice it was for us to come back to our home in Davao and have everything in its place and ready for a much needed sleep. We have adjusted quickly to the time change and climate, in fact the Philippines has been experiencing a bit of cold weather, which is unusual. 24 Celsius requires an extra layer of clothes, unlike the -0 weather that we came from. If this is any sign of what is to come then I think we need to prepare for some extremely hot weather.
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Cross Culture Ministries is blessed to be able to partner with Hope Mountain Center for Transformation, which focuses on holistic ministries that include theological education, agricultural training, livelihood training, mission’s mobilization, medical missions and children's ministries. Just recently Darrell and I had the opportunity to visit our good friends Pastor Tim & Gloria Hagquist who are the developmental coordinators of the Hope Mountain facility here in Davao. Last year three of their tribal pastors and an agricultural intern from the U.S. took the five-day horsemanship training at our Cross Cultural Ministries facility in Valencia City, Bukidnon. They had expressed the great need there is for the training of Tribal pastor/farmers to properly care for their horses. To this date 8 of their Tribal Pastors have received training through the Basic Horsemanship Program; we look forward to teaching more of their Tribal Pastors in the near future. What a tremendous blessing this couple is to us, we appreciate their friendship and their mentorship to us in helping us to better understand Tribal people and their culture.
The first week of April I will be traveling and speaking in Butuan, Mindanao with Sis Anita, then meeting Darrell & Shannon in Davao City, Mindanao. A few days in Davao and then we're off to our ministry center in the heart of Mindanao, Valencia City. Darrell & Shannon are setting up a Tribal Pastors Basic Horsemanship Training Program where I'll be ministering to the Tribal Pastors and assigning more horses to the pastors. We will also be installing bio-sand water filters and touching many lives with the Gospel of Good News. An EXCITING TIME!!! 
The first week of April I will be traveling and speaking in Butuan, Mindanao with Sis Anita, then meeting Darrell & Shannon in Davao City, Mindanao. A few days in Davao and then we're off to our ministry center in the heart of Mindanao, Valencia City. Darrell & Shannon are setting up a Tribal Pastors Basic Horsemanship Training Program where I'll be ministering to the Tribal Pastors and assigning more horses to the pastors. We will also be installing bio-sand water filters and touching many lives with the Gospel of Good News. An EXCITING TIME!!! 
