Brrrrrrrrrrr!

We are visiting daughter Beth in Knoxville and woke up this morning to 4-5 inches of snow and it was still falling. We have had several wonderful days with Beth--Rodger even spent several hours volunteering at Johnson Bible College (where Beth works) helping stuff envelopes.

Next Monday, (Dec 6) we travel to Camp Lejeune (Marines), NC to Andrea and Mark's home and will be blessed to see our four grand-children. Dec. 7, Mark and Andie go to Portsmouth Naval Hospital for Andie to have surgery and we will take care of the grand-kids! We're looking forward to this time and have been preparing by taking our vitamins. Becky is 11, Tyler is 8, Thomas is 4 and Toby is 3. Mark and Andie expect to be gone for 6-7 days. We will stay there until Christmas. After Christmas Rodger will fly back to Illinois and proceed on to the Philippines as scheduled. Dixie will remain with Andie to help during her recovery and Mark will be involved with his unit as they intensify their preparations to deploy.

We have had a wonderful time with family and friends while we have been in the states. We enjoyed Thanksgiving with Rodger's family at his mom's home. Prior to that we attended the National Missionary Convention in Peoria where we reconnected with many of you and made some new friends too. Even though this trip home was not intended to be a working furlough we did speak at five of our supporting churches--we love to share all that God is doing with our supporters!

We have been richly blessed by God this year as He allowed us to share in His work in the Philippines. He is indeed a God of might and miracles--worthy to be praised! We started out the year not knowing exactly how God would lead and use us but willing to follow Him. Throughout the year we have seen His power as He opened doors of opportunity and provided the finances for us to go through those doors.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Eph. 3:20-21

May you have a blessed and joyous season of remembering the birth of our Savior.

Rodger and Dixie

YOUTH CENTER HAS FIRST WORSHIP

Last Friday night the first worship service was held at the Youth Center. The team expected around 60-70 students to attend so were completely astounded when more than 110 students attended. Our center is only 20 x 20 feet and the chairs inside were filled--some by two students. The stairs leading up to the center were also completely full.

The night was filled with singing intersperesed with short devotional talks.

Pray for those who attend the monthly worship service to have a desire to learn more about God's love for them.

DISCIPLESHIP CLASS

A few months ago we shared about Dinah, a young woman who came up to the Youth Center when she heard the drums. Dinah enrolled in a Bible Study and was baptized several weeks ago. Following her baptism Alma (Youth Center employee) invited Dinah to join a discipleship class with one other young woman. Dinah accepted the invitation and brought her sister with her to join the discipleship group. After a few weeks of the discipleship studies Dinah's sister and the other young woman accepted Christ as their savior and were baptized last Sunday by Eddie assisted by Alma. We rejoice as these two young women have given their lives to Christ and continue to study God's word with Alma.

This is the first time Alma led a Bible study and she was quite hesitant to do so. Here is Alma's response to the baptisms of Harlan and Kristina-Lyn.

"When I first learned I would be leading a Bible study I was worried about not being adequate to teach. I was scared thinking that the student might not believe me because I don't know how to do it. When Harlan and Kristina went forward to receive the Lord I was crying. My heart pounded so fast. I can't believe that they will receive Christ that soon despite the very short time we spent together in studying. I felt an inner joy. I was shocked when Pastor Eddie wanted to include me to baptize them but after the baptisms I was very happy. It was my first time to assist because I thought that only a pastor or elder must do a baptism. The experience increased my faith and confidence to share and teach somebody about the Word of God. It was a stepping stone to continue on and to become more effective to share the gospel."

Please pray for Alma, Dinah, Harlin, and Kristina Lyn as they continue to study scripture together. Pray for the three new Christians to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ.

SHEWMAKERS IN STATES

Rodger and Dixie are in the states for November and December to visit family, attend the National Missionary Convention, and visit with some of our supporters/supporting churches.
We are in close contact with our co-workers in the Philippines and are excited and amazed at the things that are happening.

November 1 was the beginning of second semester in the schools, at the Youth Ministry we are beginning the second semester of tutorials, Bible Studies and activities.
Some of the changes for second semester are:
Friday nights will include monthly worship services, Fusion nights (games and other interactive activities), music nights and mystery nights.
Tutorials in Keyboard (musical not computer) will be offered.
Full band practice will be limited to Wednesdays and drum tutorials will be scheduled so they don't interfere with Bible Studies. (I'm sure you can imagine what it would be like to have a Bible Study in the same room as someone practicing the drums!)
A big Christmas party at the beach is planned for December.
Thanks to internet we are able to receive photos of the current happenings and will update the blog.

Please pray for the team as they capably carry-on the work in our absence. Pray for hearts to be moved in accordance to God's will as we speak to churches and individuals regarding needs of the Youth Center.

YOUTH CENTER BURGLARY

Police dusting for fingerprints

This morning when Joel and Alma arrived at the Youth Center to open for the day they discovered that the Center had been broken into. From the evidence it appeared that after attempting to break in through the door the burglars were able to bend the bars that covered a window, break glass panes and enter. Once inside they destroyed the door frame in order to enter the office--where they proceeded to pry open the locks of all four desks. Items taken from the center were a desktop computer, monitor, keyboard, auto-volt regulator and about P2,000 ($45) in cash. They also scattered files and other office items around the office.

The team reported the break-in to the police who came to look at the scene, take pictures and dust for fingerprints.

We are all thankful that even though we have lost some items no one was at the center or injured. Normally the team would have gone to the bank to withdraw money for bills on Friday, but this week they hadn't--so we did not lose as much cash as we might have. Also, there were several guitars in the office that were not touched. We have learned some lessons regarding securing the Center.

Pray for the team as we move forward with our eyes firmly on the goal to make disciples.

CATCH UP TIME

For the past few months almost all of our time was consumed by the Youth Ministry, but now we finally have a little bit of time to get some other work done. We have been in the Philippines for 21 years and this is first time that Rodger has had time to work in developing a garden. The ground in our front yard is uneven so he is leveling it by hand, one shovel at a time. So far we have 1 squash , 8 basil and 3 tomato plants--not much but it is a beginning. It is relaxation for Rodger who loves to garden and grow things.

At the Youth Center the volumn of kids has seemed to even out--we think that the size of the center is the major factor, you can only put so many people in a room that is 20x20. We are in the process of interviewing applicants with a plan to hire one more staff person. We're looking for someone with a passion for youth ministry, able to lead Bible studies and tutorials. The next semester begins November 1 and we want to have the new employee in place and ready to go by then so we can increase our ability to work with more students. Pray for us to have wisdom and insight as we proceed in this.

Rodger spends one afternoon a week mentoring Eddie, the young man who is doing the administrative work on the team. Pray for their time together to be productive and a blessing for both of them.

Next week Dixie will travel to California and spend a couple of weeks with her sister and mother before Rodger joins her. We will travel to Illinois where we will spend time with Rodger's family and attend the National Missionary Convention in Peoria, Illinois. December will be spent in Tennessee with Beth and North Carolina with Andie and Mark and our four precious grandchildren. Then, in January we will return to the Philippines. (Maxie will stay with Alma at her home--for those of you interested.)

It's time to get going for today--updating financial records, final prep on a brochure.

Manila is experiencing one of the worst floods in several decades. We have a niece and nephew there - stranded in their home (streets flooded, not their home) and their youngest son is with friends across town. He had been to a volley ball game and is stuck with the rest of the team at one of the kids house (sounds like fun!) They are without power.

We experienced some rain and mild wind, but that is all.

The youth center continues to minister to students. The team is beginning to function more efficiently and coming to a better understanding of meeting the needs of the kids. We meet as a team on a weekly basis for Bible Study, communication, and planning. Thank you for your continued prayers.

CELEBRATE WITH US!

Today we celebrate the second birth of Dinah as she accepts Christ as her personal savior!
Dinah was mentioned in our newsletter as someone who heard the sound of drums coming from the Youth Center and inquired about what was happening. She joined in Bible study with Cherry, Youth Center volunteer, and later with Eddie.
Join with us in praising God for how He can use a set of drums and loud music to call out to those seeking Him!
Thank you to those who have given finances for us to purchase instruments, furniture and our other needs for the Youth Center. The free music turorials draws the students into the center--but it is the message of Christ that transforms lives. Others are considering this most important step for their lives--pray for their decision to be to follow Christ.

NEW LIFE IN CHRIST

Pray for Dinah as she begins her walk with Christ as Lord of her life.

Pictured: Eddie, Dinah and Cherry

Hi, we are still recovering from the battle of the bands. It was a wonderful evening, but did not happen without a lot of work before and after.

We estimate that throughout the evening there were over a thousand people who watched for more than just a few seconds as they walked past. It was a street party, and we were between the park/plaza and where a lot of people either parked their vehicle or caught a trice--so there were literally hundreds of people walking by constantly.


We used the flatbed of a truck as part of our stage, (parked in front of youth center, perpendicular to sidewalk) and hung our banner as the back drop. In front of the truck, Rodger "built" a lower level stage 8 foot by 16 foot, using two courses of cement blocks for height and putting ¾ inch plywood on top as a floor. The team was surprised at how well it all worked. When we first recommended using a truck as the stage they looked at us as if we were from Mars. No one had ever done that before! We have several long pieces of black fabric that were used in the past with the hand-mime groups, that were used as skirting around the truck and plywood, so it did look good

One challenge was finding a sound system for the outdoor event. One we thought we had lined up, wasn't what we expected. Andy (team member) went to Davao to check on renting amps, and woofers but ended up renting an entire sound system for the night for just $300. It included all the instruments, amps, woofers, mics, the big mixer board, all the cords, a team of 6 people to set it up, run it, and tear it down. Oh yes, it also included two professional sets of pole lights. It was a steal! List price was supposed to be $600 dollars, but somehow Andy talked them down.....gotta send him shopping more often!

The street didn't close to vehicle traffic until 3 PM and the street party was to begin at 6 pm or so. Our “battle of bands” was scheduled to begin around 7 pm ish.

Dixie and Rodger got there around 7:15 and the program began at 7:30. Another vendor set up right next to us on the street, selling beer and had a lot of tables for their customers. We had the church pews and they were set up to define an area of seating for our use, kind of in a big circle on more than half the street (it's a four lane street).

We had two M.C.’s, one a local radio DJ and the other a good friend and they did super. As soon as the first band started playing we had an audience of over 500! All of those in the beer drinking place were watching and those beyond it were also watching! It was amazing. I think we were the loudest thing on the street. The speakers were about 10 foot high by the time they were double decked, on scaffolding, and of course, you could feel the thumping of the bass in your body.

16 teams registered to compete. After the 4th team, the ground wire burnt in two and.....darkness. Rodger was up in the youth center and saw it happen so knew what the problem was, and it was on the electric company's side of the meter.

All 6 of the phone numbers for the elect company yielded no one answering, prayers went up. Finally, a member of one of the churches who had a band competing, had another number of the elect co. that proved to be successful. However, it took another 45 min before they arrived and was another30 -45 min for the repairs. We were back in business after a one and a half hour intermission.

During the time we were down, fireworks were shot off at the park. Many of the audience left but returned as soon as we had power again, if not more than before.
We continued. It lasted until 1 am but, being in a party mood, no one seemed to mind.

The music entries were limited to Christian music, and we projected the words of the songs onto a "screen", so even if you couldn't understand the singers, you could read the words.

Many of the churches in town participated and several expressed their pleasure at having something Christian at the week long celebration of the city's day of foundation. We had a few real characters performing. In one group, the lead singer came from the back of the crowd and when he went up on the stage, we, along with a few others wondered if a drunk was "joining" the group and we had no idea what was going to happen. The band playing didn't seem to either recognize him or to overly mind his presence and after a couple of minutes he took the mic and put our minds to rest, that yes, he was indeed part of the group. It was fun; he leapt from the stage onto the pavement level, and did all sorts of antics. He was really a good singer. One gal with another band would remind me of a female Michael Jackson with her dancing ability. She also did some leaping and such. All had a great time.

Dixie went home after it was over at 1 am, but Rodger stayed and helped to put things away, getting home about 2:30.

VICTORY!

We had to be up at 5 am to help the Emissary Band from Davao get back to Davao. Rodger was going to drive them, until I recommended we let them take the truck back and we'd pick it up in a day or two. (several of the band members are employees of AFC and Marvin was among them. He is a driver that Rodger taught to drive) All we did was get the truck to them at 5 am and return home (but did interrupt sleep!). Dixie had a phone call to make to the west coast and had to wait until they came back from their lunch at 1 pm, which was 4 AM here, so after that, she just stayed up until 5!

After a night of no sleep for Dixie and little sleep for Rodger we were wiped out, but had scheduled a team dinner that day, so we cooked, took a bit of a nap and then had the team over for a Bible study, meal and fun from 3-8 pm. Someone finally asked if it was ok if they go home, and we gladly encouraged them to do that so we could go to sleep.

It was fun, but exhausting for everyone.

Well, now the city of Digos knows that the youth center is here--they couldn't miss us.

Rodger and Dixie are training the team on management. There are so many things they need to learn that are different from what they would do culturally, but things that are necessary if we are going to establish a viable, sustainable mission work.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Digos City is celebrating their 9th anniversary of being declared a "city" with all sorts of parades, street dancing, competitions and other events. On Sept. 8, the final night we are joining the celebration with a Battle of the Bands to be held on the street in front of the Youth Center.

More than 10 bands have registered to compete for the first prize of P3,000. Three judges will evaluate the bands to determine the winners.

The team has been working on the preparations: purchasing blocks and plywood for the stage, t- shirt printed for workers, trophies, equipment secured, publicity, and making contact with those who will be participating. The excitement is running high.

To keep the event moving, the Emmisary band will be playing before and between performances. Emmisary is a group from Davao City that have been playing together for several years and friends of the team.

One of our goals is that more people will become aware of the Youth Center and that more students will begin to visit us.

REGISTERING WITH THE GOVERNMENT

Pictured: Rodger at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) receiving Mathetes Tax Identification Number (TIN.)

Yesterday Rodger completed the final step of registering Mathetes Youth Ministry with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC.) After several trips to Davao City to see the lawyer. and SEC, filling out endless forms, gathering signatures, more trips to the lawyer and SEC, using a lot of White Out, photocopying everything, and shuffling all the papers into the proper sequence for each office--we are now truly open for business.

Registering with SEC allows our employees to be enrolled in Social Security, receive the Philippine Health Benefits, and as well as other government programs.

While Rodger was doing all the forms to register Dixie kept busy working with the Leadership Team to write the Employee Handbook and the Manual of Operations for Mathetes.

Mathetes Youth Center News

Eddie and Jolaida on the air.

Last week we were blessed with a staggering number of students using the Youth Center--438!!! God is blessing the ministry beyond our wildest dreams!

Movie Night was enjoyed by 70 students and Music Night had 55+ in attendance.

A few weeks ago one Jolaida, who works at the local radio station, visited the Youth Center. While there she invited Eddie to be a part of the Monday night call-in talk program. Jolaida and Eddie invite listeners to call in with problems and they give advice--lots of the problems relate to boy-girl relationship, family problems, etc. Eddie gives advice based on scriptural principles and of course takes the opportunity to invite students to the Youth Center.

We praise and thank God for this unique opportunity to reach beyond the walls of the Youth Center and into the homes of Digos.

MUSIC NIGHT

Pictured: Patient On Board. (notice their hooded sweatshirts-- it had to be 100 degrees with high humidity in the room as they were playing!)

Every Friday night is MUSIC NIGHT at the Youth Center. Two or three bands from local churches and colleges are invited to play each week. Last Friday the worship band from Digos City Church and Patient On Board from Polytech College were featured. This night is a wonderful opportunity for the Youth Center to meet new kids as well as providing a positive activity for the kids.

During the week bands come into the Youth Center to practice--they have to be limited to one hour of practice because there are so many bands wanting to practice! Check the photos on our Facebook page: Mathetes Philippine Youth Ministry.

Pray for opportunities to share the whole gospel with the kids who come through the door of the Youth Center. Pray for receptive hearts. 95% of those who come are Catholic.

Movie Night

This week the Youth Center began to offer a weekly movie showing on Thursday night. More than 50 students showed up to enjoy the movie and free popcorn.

When the Youth Center opened in June we purchased 30 chairs using the special Christmas gift of a Minnesota family--but the success and popularity of the Youth Center showed us that we needed more chairs. You may have noticed in our latest newsletter we put an appeal for someone or a group to give us funds to purchase 20 more chairs. Wednesday morning, the day before Movie night, we received word from a supporter that they would like to purchase the 20 chairs that we asked for in the newsletter. Rodger and Dixie went to Davao on Thursday morning to buy the chairs and that night they were all filled with a few kids standing to watch the movie.

I wonder....did we limit the number of students who came to the movie by our lack of faith in only asking for 20 chairs? Just as the oil provided in 2 Kings 4:1-6 was limited by the number of jars.

We praise God for each student who came to watch the movie and ask that you pray with us that the Youth Center will take this opportunity to share with them how much God loves them and how He desires to have a personal relationship with them.

Lord, increase our vision.

TUTORIALS

The free tutorials in music and academics along with the free reading of books continue to bring in students during their free time from school. Last week a record number of 203 different students dropped in to the Youth Center, many just to hang out."

YOUTH CENTER

The Youth Center is located right in the middle of the city and is within easy walking distance from several High Schools and Colleges. The National High School (public school) located less than 100 yards has 20 thousand students this year! Access to the center is a stairway on the right side (painted green.)

We would like to apologize for the long silence! Time flies. We are having more than 100 youth coming to the youth center each week, for tuitoring, music lessons, and just to have fun playing games. We are also working on getting out Security and Exchange registration as a non - profit organization in the Philippines.

Also, Rodger was gone for four week on a trip to the US to take care of some personal business, as well as speaking with a few churches.

The Digos church held it's 30 anniversary celebration May 24. We took the opportunity to get our first complete team photo. From left to right - Joy, Dixie, Alma, Rodger, Andy, and Eddie. We are now able to make plans for the starting school year. We spent two days getting aquanted, planning, and preparing for the coming year. Schools start the first of June in the Philippines. We are having our first weekly team meeting this week, following Andy's trip to Cebu to accompany a student enrolling in Bible College.

When we returned from the mission trip, Peter Kohler's parents and sister were staying in our home. Peter had a "thanksgiving dinner" for the Digos Church in celebration of his graduation, finishing his intership and the visit of his family. The lechon was delicious and all enjoyed the time of fellowship. Peter has decided to stay in Digos for another couple of months.

The team took time to enjoy the area - swimming in the Iligan area. It was a time for the team to relax a while before the closing program on the final day. The "mission trip" proved to be a joy and blessing to not only those who participated, but those that received the teaching and the church that hosted the group. It was an exciting first mission trip.

The highlight of the week was the challenge each of the team members receive from reading a "mission book" of other missionaries lives.

THANK YOU

Our thanks to you and grateful hearts are lifted to God for being allowed to serve with the youth of the Philippines. Please continue to pray for us (Rodger and Dixie) as we train Youth Workers and Youth Leaders. There are more than 10 million youth on just our island…. "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Luke 10:2

MISSION TRIP

Team members building the partitions for the VBS




Rodger helping a class with their burnt match-stick crosses craft.

Steal the Bacon was a new game and enjoyed by all

The first Mathetes Mission Trip began yesterday with a group of 14 working together to share a Vacation Bible School with the children of San Simon Church of Christ. The Barangay (local government) has allowed us to use the community covered basketball court for the VBS. Yesterday walls of flattened and woven bamboo wall panels were built in the shape of an “X” providing 4 teaching areas.
The children of the neighborhood came to the ball court yesterday—a day early—so we had an impromptu time of singing with them. Today 54 children participated in the VBS. Many of the children who came were hungry (this is a very poor area) so tomorrow we will serve peanut butter sandwiches with juice for the snack instead of cookies and juice.
The purpose of the Mission Trip is to assist the local church but more than that it is to challenge the team members to consider God’s call on their lives and how they can be involved in missions. In addition to their teaching assignments, helping with meals, doing their laundry by hand each night, each team member must read one mission biography during the week, attend the class on Biblical Missions and participate in the Individual Devotion time. As they read the biographies of the pioneer missionaries of the past they are already commenting on how they are being challenged to increase their own faith and dependency on God.
Pray this week for: Alma, Cherry, Joy, MayMay, Vincent, Andy, Eddie, Julius, Jaynnie, Lolit, Jezreel, Rodger, Dixie, Mark. Pray that we hear God speaking to each of us through his word.
Pray for the San Simon Church to be faithful in following up the prospects.
Pray for the children to whom we are ministering.

CAMP

Peter, intern from LCC, shares in the baptisms at the beach along with Mathetes Team Member, Eddie

Camp isn’t all serious. The Amazing Race was a hit. The entire team had to get through the hula-hoop (without touching it.) Can you tell this was after the mud crawl?

Thanks for your prayers during the Southern Teen Camp. Six of the teens accepted Christ as their savior and were baptized during the camp. The baptisms took place at the beach and everyone took the opportunity following the baptisms to go swimming. Both the Northern and Southern Teen camps were very successful as some teens accepted Christ and most of those who were already Christian made commitments to strengthen their relationship with God and to serve Him more completely.

UPDATE AND END OF VACATION

The Baileys in front of their church. The ex-pat church rents the building on Sunday afternoon from the Chinese church—that is registered with the government.

Hi,
It’s been a while since we have posted anything here; technology is wonderful….when it works! Our internet server has been down for the last two weeks and no one seems to know when it will resume functioning again. From what we can learn two thirds of the Philippines is affected. Thanks for being patient with us.
It isn’t only in the Philippines that communications are delayed. For an unknown reason some of our mission mail in the states was greatly delayed in being delivered to our Forwarding Agent in Moweaqua. Envelopes that had been mailed in a six week period (a couple from Moweaqua) were all finally delivered on the same day. The lack of mail that brings in the mission financial support caused us some concern—especially during this economic situation in the world. We praised God when the mail was finally delivered but have no idea of what happened to it in the process.
God is moving in mighty ways in Mindanao Island and we know that we are blessed beyond measure to be accepted by God to be a part of what is happening with the young people.

VACATION
Last week we had the awesome opportunity to go to Shanghai, China! Bob and Amy Bailey and their three children invited us to visit them in their home—all we had to do was buy our air tickets. We were so blessed by their generous hospitality to us. They took us sight seeing over the May Day weekend and then when they returned to work they allowed us to use their driver and van to continue sightseeing on our own. It was amazing and to worship in the church for ex-pats (foreigners) as we realized that this opportunity is not available to most people in China. We thank God for this special gift from the Baileys. It was our first time to visit another country in Asia and we loved it.

VACATION

Hello from Shanghai!

We have been in the Philippines for 21 years and are taking our first vacation to another country in Asia. Rodger met Bob and Amy Bailey when he was visiting a church in Michigan a few years ago. Bob transferred to his company's Shanghai branch and invited us to come and visit-- and . . . . . well . . . . . here we are! The Bailey's along with their three children and Bob's parents visited us in the Philippines last February. The 3 1/2 hour flight took an extra 24 hours because the flight was cancelled on the day we were scheduled to fly.

We are including a photo of us with our good friend Jackie Chan taken today as we went up to the 88th floor observation area of the Jin Mao Building. The 360 degree panorama of Shanghai was unbelievable and beautiful. This is a holiday weekend in China, May 1st, so the Bailey family are all off work or on break from school. They are so graciously hosting us in their home and driving us around Shanghai.

We will return to Digos next week (May 7) in time to participate in the VBS Mission Trip to San Simon Church in Cagayan de Oro.

We are enjoying our time away but anxious to hear how God has used the teen camp to change hearts this past week.

Closed with love and prayers for you,

Rodger and Dixie

PS We really don't know Jackie Chan. We are posing with a stature (most of you figured that out.) In fact when we passed the statue and many other tourist were taking photos with it, Dixie asked who it was.....

Southern Camp

Our 1st camp for Southern Mindanao began today just 10 minutes from our home in Digos City. But, those 10 minutes are at such an incline that we have to drive it in first gear.

The camp has a small attendance, which we expected for this first camp but teens are there from several churches in the area. Pray for the campers to Experience God (the camp's theme) this week as they focus on true worship. Pictured here is one of the teams with their leader.

Our 10th Teen Camp held in Northern Mindanao had an attendance of 60+ campers. We are having early rains (usually the months of April and May have less rain) and the staff had to adjust the camp schedule to accommodate the weather. Instead of the annual Mystery Night activity it was switched to a Mystery Dawn activity with everyone getting up at 3:00 a.m. to participate!!!

Both camps have the same theme and lessons where they are exploring true worship; including how do we worship during the different parts of a Sunday church service (offering, communion, sermon, music, prayer, etc)

Pray for the Camp this week: Pray for open hearts, wonderful fellowship and good health for all.

We are going to be gone this week so even Maxie is up at camp!

Thank you for your prayers and financial support that underwrites these life changing events!

With love in Savior who is worthy of our Worship!

Rodger and Dixie

CHRISTMAS IN APRIL

It's the middle of summer in the Philippines and today we were finally able to give our Christmas gifts to the employees of Ambassadors for Christ. The gifts for all the children of the employees and children's home were donated by Moweaqua First Christian Church last summer....they took a long time to be delivered but the children and their families were just as excited as if it really were Christmas! We also had gifts for all of the adults that we purchased last fall.

In addition to the gift giving we were honored by the employees with a recognition program, receiving appreciation plaques and a delicious meal. Highlights of the program were songs presented by the children and comments by many of the employees.

PHOTOS: The table full of gifts for the employees. Rodger and Dixie expressing their thanks.

MISSING PHOTO

MARCH

We just discovered that we have referred to a photo in our newsletter that we were certain we had put on the blog--but it isn't here.

Here is the picture of Rodger climbing into the window of the pick up when we were moving and the couch was secured with ropes tied to the inside of the drivers door.

ARRIVAL IN DIGOS CITY

We were happy to arrive home after seven hours on the road. Our intern, Peter, stayed in our home while we were gone overnight to take care of Max the dog.

As soon as we opened the door we saw that Peter had accidentally left a bed pillow too close to Max's cage and evidently Max got bored! He tore open the pillow cover and pulled as much of the pillow stuffing as he could into his cage.

Prayer Request:

Pray for camp this week. Hearts to be touched, lives to be changed, Jesus to be exaulted. Pray for no one to become sick or to be injured.

Pray for the Southern Teen camp that will begin April 27. This is our first camp in the south-pray for many to attend.

Pray for the Mission trip to San Simon, May 11-19. Pray for our preparations and open and receptive hearts in San Simon.

ON THE WAY TO CAMP

Our pick-up with 14 passengers on their way to camp.

After the Easter Sunrise Service and breakfast at the church we began the 250 mile trip back to our home in Digos City. At the same time Mathetes Team Members Eddie and Andy along with several others began their trip from Digos City to Cagayan de Oro for the Northern Teen Camp. They were traveling in our pick-up.

We were just leaving Cagayan when Rodger remembered that he hadn't given the key for the gas door to Eddie. The gas tank was about half full so we made plans to give them the key when we met them on the road. They brought a container with five gallons of fuel along with them, just in case they ran out before we reached them--they could add it when they got the key.

In the Philippines we all jokingly say "there is always room for one more" in any vehicle and this day was no exception. We met them on the road before they ran out and gave them the key, but there were a total of 14 riding in the truck. Seven inside and seven in the back--plus their luggage and supplies for camp.

We were happily surprised this morning when we learned that the pastor of San Simon Church, Jezreel, was a camper at the Teen Camp in 2004--before he attended Bible College. We are humbled when we realize how God has used our efforts for Him to further His kingdom.

HAPPY EASTER

Photo: In front of the San Simon church with the ones who are financially helping the church.

We had a wonderful Easter Morning as we attended the sunrise service at the San Simon Church of Christ. Here the churches plan the sunrise services to end as the sun comes up. The worship service began at 4:30 a.m. and was a combination Easter and 2nd Anniversary service for the church.

We were at this church to make final plans for the Mission Trip in May. This church is only 12km from the city of Cagayan de Oro but many of those kilometers are on very rough dirt roads. San Simon is the poorest of the barangays in Cagayan de Oro City and is mostly neglected by the city.

The church members are thrilled that we are having our Mission Trip there and are willing to help us however they can during the Mission Trip. They are excited to have the help with their VBS and know that they will have many prospects to follow up after the close of VBS.

10 YEARS OF CAMP

Photo: Rodger and Dixie surrounded by some of the youth from the Butuan City Church at the Anniversary. Everyone in the photo has been touched by the camping program.




Hi, Happy Easter to You,


We will be on the road for Easter this year. On Saturday we will drive to the north side of our island (Mindanao) to make final arrangements with the San Simeon Church for the mission trip in May. We will spend the night and attend the 4:30 a.m. sunrise service.


The first camp of summer begins on Monday, April 13, and a capacity group of campers is expected. The facilities can only accommodate 85 altogether. This year the theme is on the camper's relationship with God and the theme song is "I am a Friend of God"--a favorite song of mine.


A couple of weeks ago we were invited to attend the special 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Butuan City Church of Christ. This is the second church of the urban churches that we started on Mindanao. There were approximately 150 in attendance and the services and activities of the day were planned and led by the youth of the church (remember youth includes up to 30 years of age if you are single.) The "youth" did a terrific job and it was with amazement that we realized that all of the ones leading are products of the teen camp!


The purpose of the camp "A F.L.A.M.E. in Mindanao" is being accomplished by God. F.L.A.M.E. stands for: Fellowship, Leadership development, Adoration, Ministry and Evangelism. The goal to evangelize, mature them in Christ and to equip them to serve in ministry is exemplified in the Butuan City young people. The Flame has spread and tranformed the church.


We thank God for allowing us this opportunity to see some of the fruit from the ministry of the camp. Another "fruit" we have the privilege to see is growth and maturity of the two young men are now leading the camps and working with us full time in Mathetes Youth Ministry! Eddie and Andy, both of them have received part of their training for ministry from the camp.


Please pray this week for camp:

Pray for the campers who will attend with their friends-but are not yet a friend of God--that they will accept Christ

Pray for the campers who will be challenged to give their lives more fully to God to use as He will.

Pray for the staff--that they will allow the Holy Spirit to use them as they yield their lives in service to the campers

Pray for safety in travel for all as they ride to camp and then home again.

Pray for the health of the campers and staff: pray for no sickness to spread through the camp

Pray for the families and churches of the campers: pray that God will bless them for sending their best to camp and for them to be encourage the campers when they return home on Saturday, April 18.

Pray for Eddie and Andy as they make the many decisions that we used to make for the camp. They have many requests for financial assistance and other minor situations they are now making the decision on. Pray for us to support them and encourage them in their enlarged roles of leadership.


Thank God and Praise Him for how he has used camp in the past to ignite a passion for knowing and serving Him in the hearts of the previous campers and their churches.

Meet Maxie

Hi,

Here is Maxie, our Yellow Lab. He is about three months old and we have had him just a week. Already he will sit on command, but he is forever looking for something new to chew. The joys of puppy-hood! It's been a while since we have had a large dog and we have forgotten how fast they grow. The carrier/cage we got for him and thought would last for a few months is quickly becoming too small. Thankfully he is a good traveler as he is making the daily trips with us to Digos as we wind up our move. Our new goal is to be completely moved to Digos by March 10. Just have the really big pieces of furniture and appliances to go.

This week we have taken two days to travel to Malaybalay City, in the mountains of Mindanao. We have our first two team members, Eddie and Andy, and they are searching in the city for a location for the mission trip in May. We need a place where those on the trip can live and sleep as well as conduct Vacation Bible School each day. In 45 minutes we will go and talk with the pastor of the church the boys think would make a good location for the trip. We've decided on the theme for this year's VBS lessons: "Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life."

In the Philippines March is graduation month. Students are preparing for summer vacation and we are in full swing now as we prepare for our summer camps and the mission trip.

Peter (intern) preached his first sermon in the Philippines last Sunday and did a great job--in fact they asked him to preach again in two weeks. He has moved into his own house and is in the process of gathering furniture. He is hosting a youth Fun Night on March 23 and so far he only has 2 chairs.

Please pray for us (Rodger, Dixie, Eddie and Andy) as we lay groundwork for Mathetes Philippine Youth Ministry. Pray that we will build on the foundation of Christ and will always remember that this is not our work, but it belongs to God. Pray that we will be faithful to our call and be His tools to reach the young people of Mindanao with the truth of the Gospel.


With Love in Christ,

Rodge and Dixie

PS Please pray for us to locate an efficient way to get on line. It seems Digos doesn't have reliable high speed internet except at the Internet Cafes and there we are not allowed to use our own computers, we have to pay by the hour, and have to travel from our home. Pray for a solution and for us to have patience. Thanks.

Peter--the Intern

Hi, it's been a couple of weeks since we have had an opportunity to write to you on this blog. A lot has happened.

February 4, Peter Kohler, from Champaign, Illinois arrived for a 6 month internship. Peter is a preaching major and senior at Lincoln Christian College. The photo above was taken as he was moving from our house in Digos to his own house. He has been staying in our house and helping with the painting and other repairs before we move in--but today he will spend his first night in his own home.

Peter is already involved with the youth groups in Digos City, learning Cebuano and getting acquainted with the Philippines.

We still live in Davao City but travel each day to Digos to work on the house--almost all of the rooms are painted now and Rodger is involved in putting up wall cupboards in the kitchen, installing 110V electrical outlets in each of the rooms and replacing ceiling there is excessive rain damage. The trip is only 40 miles but it takes from 1 1/2 to 2 hours each way over rough roads and a lot of tractor/trailer traffic on the two lane road. We anticipate moving into our house at the end of next week, February 27. Every day we carry more things down there.

The ministry is beginning to get off the ground as preparations for the first Young Professionals Mission Trip in May is being planned. We are limiting the 9 day Mission Trip to 20 participants, ages 21-30. Our purpose will be to lead a Vacation Bible School for disadvantaged children in Malaybalay City (up in the mountains.) We will also involve the participants in a seminar on Biblical missions and what is their role in the Great Commission. Dixie will be writing the VBS material.

We are expecting a new addition to our family. We made arrangements to buy a yellow lab. It is a male, 10 weeks old as of yet remains un-named. If you have a suggestion for a name we are open to hear it. The pup will join us next Monday--and become our guard dog.

Not much else is new--moving is about all we are up to these days. We covet your prayers as we start working on the Mission Trip, Teen Camps, and Sunday School curriculum work. We praise God for his faithfulness to us each day; for our strength to do the work He has given to us.


PRAYER REQUESTS:

Wisdom, clear direction and unity as we work with our Filipino team. We are working on our goals, purposes and strategies--pray that we will do this with a realization of how this will affect eternity.

Former forwarding agent Mary Kay Jarrett; Recovering from a stroke. She has been in the hospital for four weeks but is scheduled to be discharged on Feb. 18. Pray for her to continue to have the strength and courage to overcome the stroke effects.

Feb 27 or 28 we will have a party for the AFC employees to give them their gifts we had planned to give them at Christmas. Pray that we will have a "good" leaving and will be able to continue to work side by side on Mindanao with AFC.


PRAISES

God's mercies are new every morning. Each morning before I read the scripture for that day on my "Read the Bible in a year" program, I write down the needs I have for that day, God is faithful and sometimes very humorous in how he gives me direction each day regarding the needs I wrote down. What a mighty God we serve whose Word is truly living, active and able to meet our daily needs.

A BUSY WEEK

Photos: The bathroom and Rodger by the kitchen sink

Hi,

We had a wonderful time this week hosting the Bailey family from Shanghai. The wife broke her foot a few weeks ago so some improvisation was needed for her to get to and from the beach resort but we managed it. Their visit was a blessing to us and they have invited us to visit them in Shanghai later in the spring--we're giving that possibility some serious thought.

Last Sunday was our first time to once again worship with our "home" church in Davao City. More blessings as we saw how the church has continued to reach out in ministry and evangelism. The two hour service flew by.

Thursday and Friday we went to Digos to sign contracts, pick up keys to the house and see about getting the water, electricity, telephone, and Internet connected. Everything was going along smoothly until the woman who told us last week there was "no problem" to install DSL looked up when Rodger entered the office and said "we have a problem." It seems there are no more DSL ports in Digos City. The telephone company was promised more DSL ports the first quarter of 2008....it may be a while.

Digos is classified as a city and that means they have a different tax set up with the government. There are a couple hundred thousand people living there and several colleges and training schools. So far the best place we have found to eat out is Mc Donalds! Only problem is when we go there we are beset with vendors wanting to sell us all manner of items (sunglasses, pirated DVD's, comic books, etc.) It seems there aren't a lot of foreigners in Digos, so we are the center of attention. But, the people are extremely friendly and helpful--so what if no one knows where the TV cable company is located? They each sent us on an interesting wild goose chase. Finally Rodger got in a Tricee (motorcycle with side car) and I followed them to the office. We do feel like we are on the Amazing Race-- "we'll pay you money to go to the cable office and we'll follow you." We did that with two offices yesterday.

We were excited when we discovered the Davao Ace Hardware store can mix paint colors (this is a new advancement in Davao.) We purchased some paint for the interior of our house and today (Saturday) Rodger and another man are down there painting.

Some plans we have for preparing the house include, having bars installed on the windows that don't already have bars, installing a couple of room air conditioners, building a couple of free standing clothing closets, putting a "T" on the faucet in the bathroom so we can have a shower, painting all of the inside walls, raising the height of the kitchen counters. We think it will take us all of February to get these things done. Rodger will do most of the work himself--or will oversee it. While he is busy working on the house I will be sorting and packing all of our personal and work things to be moved.


Wednesday, Feb, 4, our intern Peter arrives from Illinois. Peter is a ready to graduate from Lincoln Christian College and coming here for a preaching internship. We told him in advance he'll probably get to help us with our move.

I've rattled on long enough--it just feel so good to be at a coffee place that has Wi-Fi (in Davao of course) and to be able to work on line!!! YEA!

We look forward to another wonderful worship service with our brothers and sisters in Christ tomorrow and pray that you too will be able to join with others in worship.

With great love for you in Christ,

Rodger and Dixie


PRAYER REQUESTS

Continue to pray for Mary Kay Jarrett as she is recovering from her stroke, she is making great progress! We talked with her on the phone this week.

Pray for us to have the strength, energy and wisdom each day to do the work God has placed before us.

Pray for God's leading in the lives of those whom we have invited to join with us in ministry in Digos City.

Pray for Peter, our intern. Pray for him to adapt well to the temperatures, living conditions, and culture.

PRAISES

The refreshing visit of the Baileys.

God's Word that daily gives us encouragement and strength to continue on.

The Moweaqua Congregation in Illinois--our board, our forwarding agent, the elders, the ministers and our friends who stand with us. They bless us!

SUCCESS!!! WE RENTED A HOUSE

It only took one week of searching to find a house. We decided to expand our search geographically to Digos City, a one hour drive south of Davao City. Digos has a population of around 200,000 and the cost of living is much lower than in Davao.

After just two days of driving up and down the streets and calling every telephone number we saw on a gate or utility pole advertising a house or apartment for rent we found "our" house. It had the features we were looking for: plenty of space to live and work, a big living room area for gatherings, made of cement (not wood), a sunny yard where we can raise some vegetables and flowers and a big kitchen.

The house does need painting on the inside, our first job! The kitchen counters are the lowest counters we have ever seen, but we have a plan for a counter on top to make it more usable. The bathroom presents some unique challenges. It is very small and the only things in it are a toilet bowl (no tank) and a water spigot about 18 inches from the floor. We are looking for ways to "make some lemonade with the lemon" in the challenge of this bathroom. The bedrooms have no closets--but that is a circumstance we've dealt with before. Even given all of these things, we are thrilled with the house because of the size and location in Digos. The lower rent (1/4 of what it would cost in Davao) will allow us to hire more staff for the ministry.

We have company coming for three days, Monday-Wednesday. It is a family from Michigan who live in Shanghai. We are excited to have visitors--it's cold in China now, and they are looking forward to the beach.

Thank you for your prayers on our behalf as we searched for a house.

Tomorrow is Sunday and we are looking forward to seeing our friends at church and worshipping once again with our Filipino brothers and sisters.

We pray that you will have a blessed and restful worship this weekend.

Love in Christ,

Rodger and Dixie

HOUSE HUNTING

Hello,

We are out trying to find a house to live in--but it isn't easy to do here. We have been driving up and down streets in the areas we might want to live in looking for little "For Rent" signs on the gate. Usually there is a telephone number to call and then we call for information on the house. Another method of renting a house is to drive around and find a house you like. Then you contact owner and tell them you would like to rent that house. If the owner of the house does not personally live in the house--it mostly likely is occupied by his relatives. The owner frequently will evict his family (who are living there for free) for someone who will pay rent. Trying to rent a house is an interesting and sometimes frustrating activity--please pray for us to be patient in our search.



All of our personal and work belongings that were left at AFC Home Base while we were in the states are in good condition; OK, so the microwave doesn't work, nor does the air conditioner, but other than that just some mold and dust on everything.



God is so good to us. He has given us so many wonderful blessings and protected our things--we are confident that He will continue to provide our needs.



Please continue to pray for:

• Mary Kay Jarrett; recovering from a stroke. She is past the critical stage and the doctor said he expected a complete recovery but there is some hard work ahead for her.


• Our house search


• Peter, our intern from Lincoln Christian College. Peter is a preaching intern and will arrive in February.


• The ministry that God has prepared for us to do in the Philippines--and us as we learn where He is leading us.

Thank God:

• For a happy and joy-filled reunion with our former co-workers at AFC. Many of them were apprehensive to see us--fearing we would be upset with them for the changes in Field Director.


• The beautiful, sunny weather in Davao City. We were having a struggle with the cold of the mid-west.


• His Word and Spirit that daily sustains us.

Arrival

Dixie arrived in Davao, tired but happy to be home. She now has the joy of straightening out her days and nights. I think I am getting close to being there! Please keep Mary Kay Jarrett in your prayers - she has had a stroke and we are very concerned about her. Those of you that have supported us for many years would remember she was our forwarding agent for several years before and when we first worked with AFC. Rodger

Rodger is in Davao

Rodger had a good flight to the Philippines and is once again in Davao. He has his days and nights all mixed up but that will straighten out with time. Dixie is doing her final preparation for her flight this Friday night and will arrive in Manila on Sunday, Jan. 18.

Dixie

Pictures

The family together for Christmas at Great Grandma's. We all had a wonderful time.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! WE'RE ON OUR WAY HOME

Wow! The last month flew by! We had a wonderful Christmas with both Beth and Andie at home and all of Andie's family (plus the two dogs.) The weather in Illinois ranged from ice, snow, cloudy, sunny, thunder, tornado warnings, windy, and even balmy for a short period.....something for everyone!

We are now in California at the home of Dixie's mother and Rodger is leaving tonight for the Philippines. Dixie will follow next Friday. We are looking forward to getting back to Davao City and beginning the next phase of our ministry there. First things first we will look for a place to live and get moved. We have 20 years of accumulation of personal and ministry things so this will not be a easy or quick task. We are also aware of the definite possibility of having to do some "repair or fix-up" work in any place that we will rent. This might include making the house rodent proof, repairing plumbing, adding screens to windows, cleaning, painting, installing 110v electricity and a hot water heater in the bathroom. Moving is a separate challenge as we will try to locate someone with a truck who can move our things.

An update on Dixie's eyes. She went to the eye doctor and her vision in the left was was greatly improved and about 80% of the pain she had been experiencing is gone. The doctor indicated that the condition is permanent and will require permanent care--thankfully the care needed is using an eye lubricant daily.

PRAYERS

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us during this time, please continue your prayers on our behalf:

• Safety and health as we fly to the Philippines AND re-adjust to the time and temperatures
• Direction, wisdom, patience as we look for a place with enough space for us to live and work and a place that is in the right location for ministry. A place that does not need very many repairs so we can get to work sooner.
• The actual move--to locate the right movers to work with.
• As we begin to serve -- pray for wisdom to know where to begin that will be most effective and most needed
• That we will remain faithful in our study of God's word and our willingness to follow His direction and leading--Forgetting what lies behind and keeping our eyes on the goal that Christ has set before us.
• Rodger has a persistant skin disorder, pray for it to be eliminated as he is able to go to the dermatologist in Davao City. Pray for the Doctor to give the right treatment.

PRAISES

• Dixie's eye continuing to heal
• The Moweaqua church members, staff and elders, for their encouragement and support of us and the mission work.
• Buck and Louise Schmahl of Moweaqua, taking us to the airport in the middle of the night
• Judy, Rodger's sister, who has accepted the responsibility of being our forwarding agent. Melissa, Rodger's mom, and Mary Kay Jarrett (former forwarding agent) have volunteered to assist her.
• God's faithfulness to us! He is leading and guiding us -- even though we cannot see the way we are confident that God is going before us and preparing our way! Praise the Lord for his new mercies every morning for us!!!