Click on "newsletter" at the right, then on November 2011 to see the latest newletter...

Some of you may remember a young man that accepted the Lord by the name of "Ram". This past sunday, July 31, we had the priviledge of hearing him preach a sermon to the Digos City Church. Following the sermon, four young people that have been attending a Bible study lead by him, accepted the Lord! Many tears of joy were shed during the service. The interesting discussion was by several of us sharing our reasons for the tears of joy... Of course the first and most important reason just knowing the committment and decision to accept Christ as their saviour! We are looking forward to others preaching in the near future. The church is asking the youth to preach one Sunday a month! Thank you for your continued interest in the Youth of Digos city.

The following was a note from the Youth Center today by one of the staff: "The team had a wonderful day today... we were amazed by the number of students today... starting from 10am-6:30pm the place was full of students...others stayed in the kitchen...some stayed at the libray... and this is the first time that almost all of the game materials were borrowed by the kids... also guitar and even keyboard... the tables were occupied... some used the benches as tables to play cards and chess and jenga..." Connor commented simularly that it was full all day, most days the kids come and go.

During the summer, one project was a "mission trip", where the youth and staff went to Butuan City and trained people there to do a Vacation Bible School, by doing one for them. We heard today that there were 12 baptisms after the team left. The ones that lead the next VBS in an area they wanted to plant a church, resulted in 8 more baptism. That "outreach" church is now averaging 60-70 in attendance! The Lord continues to amaze us in what He is doing!

Dixie returned from Manila today, after spending the last 5-6 days in the hospital with a friend (fellow missionary) who had major back surgery. We are please that Kay is doing well and hopefully be released from the hospital on Thursday or Friday.

The youth Center continues to be a haven for kids. Tomorrow they are planning a dinner and fun activities in the evening.

Time flies! Another School year is here in the Philippines. We have had students signing up for tutorials and Bible Studies this past week. School will be in full swing this coming week. On Wednesday we are planning a welcome party for all the students. Pizza is on the menu for a snack to be served, games are planned and challenges have been given to the "old timers" to bring new friends.

Connor Peoples has also joined the ministry for the next year. Connor is from Andover, Minnesota and is a recent High School Graduate. We are looking forward to his help and encouragement this coming year. He is already scheduled for tutorial and Bible studies.

We have two new employees: Cherry and Vincent. They are also scheduled for leading Bible Studies, Tutorials and other Youth Center responsibilities. Cherry just recently passed her board exams for Nursing, and Vincent is a recent graduate majoring in English. We are happy to have them on board!

I apologize for the small size of two of the pictures... I am not sure why some came out small and others large enough to see better. 17 left Digos to go to Butuan City on a "Mission trip" They were all in one truck - and had 5 flat tires before arriving. Butuan is on the north side of Mindanao, Digos in the southern part - about six hours apart, with good travel. I think it took more than 10 due to the flat tires. They are prepared to teach Vacation Bible School at the church there. As well as teaching, they are training the staff there to facilitate two more VBS's in outreaches they have started. They are dressing to emphasize the culture of the scripture and Bible times.

Not only do they dress the part, but they also act out the stories. Each child is given a "buff" to designate the group that he is a part. They have four groups, one is in the story time, one in game time, one in craft time, and the fourth in snack time. They then rotate to the next session. There were more than 70 children enrolled in the VBS.

Several of the mission participantes are new Christians - having accepted Christ this past year at the Youth Center. They are living their new faith by sharing Christ.

Wow, time does get away in a hurry. Kids had a lot of fun on the last day of the school year - scheduled games for the whole day. Winners of individual games won a Bible, group games won a small pizza for the team.

The Bibles purchased with money from VBS's last year have arrived and are being put to use. It is humbling to hear kids request a Bible instead of pizza!

ACOUSTIC NIGHT, FEBRUARY 15

Sixty guest purchased tickets to attend Acoustic Night at the Youth Center. A delicious meal of chicken was served while everyone enjoyed music presented by a new band that practices at the center.

Each ticket was good for two dinners and youth were encouraged to bring a parent or friend who does not yet know Christ as their guest.

Janice Varner started the evening off by playing the keyboard while guests gathered.

Pictured: the band and Master of Ceremonies, Ram, asking members of the audience to share their love story.

DAVID & JANICE VARNER VISIT FROM THE U.S.

We were thrilled to have company from home during February. They were here in time to help us make 30 doz. cookies for Acoustic Night at the Center.

In addition to helping cut out and ice the cookies the Varners spent time at the Youth Center, participated in several activities and helped us prepare our current newsletter for mailing.

Pictured with the Varners is Edna Garbosa on the left and Rodger on the right.

NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE ON LINE

Our latest newsletter is available on line. Go to 'NEWSLETTER' in the panel to the right to open our Newsletter files. Click on February 2011 to view the most recent news.

Valentines

We had the privilege of seeing another soul being baptised into Christ this afternoon. Alvin is an RN associated with one of the colleges in Digos.

We are also enjoying the company of The Varners from "home".

Preparations are underway for a big week celebrating Valentines day at the Youth Center. We have activities scheduled for each evening this week.

Last night Babykiss was baptised. Tonight they went to the ocean again and I was able to witness the Baptism of Kevin. About 20 of us went down to the ocean to share in the joy of this occasion. Kevin came up on shore after the baptism and was shivering almost uncontrollably. They had forgotten to bring any towels, dry clothes or anything else. I mentioned this to him and he said "I was too excited to think about such"... I gave him my shirt (thankful for the excuse to be in a t-shirt.... cooler). The temperature is somewhere in the mid 70's.

Dixie had the privilege of setting in on a Bible Study with one of the students this morning. The girl had already decided she is planning on being baptized. While Dixie was at the center, she counted more than 60 students in various activities. The real joy is seeing that it did not even look crowded! The Lord does truly bless!

Return

Wow, We are sorry it has been so long since we have blogged!

We are back in Digos City. This morning, we were in the Digos City Church for worship and it was a humbling experience to see the increase in the number of youth! About 40 of the 60 that were baptized last year are now active in some part of the ministry of the Church! The others are not "gone" but just not always permitted to be an active part of the ministry by parents, schedules, or such. They need our prayers that their parents will be reached, hearts softened, or encouraged in some way, not discouraged.

I will try to get photos in the future. Ram (some of you may remember the pictures of his baptism on the blog or newsletter) was one of the lead singers in the praise and worship team this morning.

Dixie now has email lists working for updates! If you want to be on that list to receive email updates, please send us your email address to rdshew@yahoo.com and we will be happy to add you.

Return

On my last evening in the Philippines, we all went to the beach after the youth center closed for another baptism. Jereck was invited to the youth center by Joey Vilgonte, has been involved in Bible Studies and ask to be baptized.

Sunday, Oct 3, I see on the face book blog that two more have accepted Christ and were baptized after Church.

I have returned to the States this week. Dixie and I will be leaving in January to return to the Philippines. Rodger

new Life

"The trend is broken"... we are no longer just having baptisms in the evenings, but in the mornings, too! This morning, another young man gave his live to the Lord after being mentored at the Youth Center and being friends with some of the Christian Youth... We pray John will have a long and fruitful life in the Lord!

battle of the bands

The Battle of the Bands was a great success!

From the set up, to the tear down, there were sixteen bands that participated! The winning band took the audience and judges by storm... the were 5 points higher than the nearest competitor. The audience gave them the only standing ovation!

It is 2 am - I will try to get more pictures on Facebook-Mathetes Philippine Youth Ministry, tomorrow... thank you for your support!

In the Philippines

Rodger returned to the Philippines on Sept. 3. The trip was longer than expected but arrived after 50 hours or so, tired, grungy and ready for a nice long sleep.
It is great to see all the team and all is going well. Got one vehicle running after a major purchase or two for repairs... then when I was stopped by the police checking registration, I discovered that my Filipino drivers license had my nationality as Filipino!!!
We are preparing for the annual "Battle of the Bands" on Wednesday. Today we purchased the "prizes" or trophies for the winners. The picture is of Alma unwrapping them after returning from the store to purchase them.
Rodger plans to continue to improve the new youth center while he is here. It is being well used, but there are some things that didn't get done before that will make it better and more usable.

I will try to post a little more often while I am in the Philippines.

e-mail

Our "missionaries.com" email address is no longer valid. If you have sent correspondence in the resent past and we have not answered, Please send again. We were unaware of the problem for some time - we have no idea how long it has been invalid.

Please use rdshew@yahoo.com.

Rodger and Dixie are enjoying the visit of their grandchildren! The grandkids have helped harvest tomatoes, onions, potatoes and dress chickens... truly a field trip to the farm!

We hear that the ministry is going well in the Philippines in the new facilities. All are thankful to the Lord for his provision.

Mathetes Philippine Youth Ministry

If you are on facebook, you can watch the posts at Mathetes Philippine Youth Ministry. Eddie reports there have been more than 600 at the Center during the week, and 140 attend the Thursday night movie. Rodger will be spending the month of September in the Philippines.

Rodger and Dixie are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the grandkids the first week of August.

Eddie reported that they had more than 100 to view the movie this week! The new facilities are a blessing. They continue to have Bible studies and we are seeing young adults as well as the kids coming to Christ.

Rodger and Dixie are spending a few days with their daughter, Beth, in Knoxville, Tenn. We are looking forward to spending some time with the grand kids in Aug.