Merry Christmas- Maligayang Pasko- Maayong Pasko
Those are the languages that we speak here in Mindanao. (Tagalog and Cebuano or commonly known as Bisaya. Bisaya is almost the same as Cebuano just adapted over time to form different words and phase from area to area.)
As Gilmer introduced him at church to the mens group, they were all equally excited. The man from Luzon (the northern island where Manila is located) was excited to share about his work and opportunities he has to share with Muslims on a weekly basis. The mens group at our church were excited because they have heard about fellow filipinos reaching out to their own countrymen, but had not had a chance to meet many in person.
He shared stories with them about being involved in the lives of the children by helping them in an after school tutoring program, thus opening up doors to reach their families. He shared about the community work they are involved by providing work and means for families to better support themselves. He shared stories with them about people coming to understand Jesus as more than a prophet but as God himself, and in turn how they are impacting the communities.
Great work is being done right here in Mindanao, on an island where the majority is and historically has been Muslim. Filipinos are reaching out, sharing, and serving in places foreigners are not always welcome! This is just one example of the need for more workers, but there are many others in many countries around the world. We need more filipinos to go!
We have had the great opportunity this year to work with and teach about 7 different groups from 4 different churches. We taught an in-depth class about missions and the role and need missions plays in their churches and lives. We are getting these groups together for a Christmas party this Saturday to share with them about more opportunities to serve on short-term teams if they feel called to go. We would appreciate your prayers for this and for more open doors this next year to work with even more churches.
Praises:
- For all the open doors and opportunities we've had this year. It has been a busy year and we are grateful for the chance to be here serving the filipino church and training up new missionaries for the future.
- Gilmer was invited to be part of the pastoral team at our church here. This is a huge praise and will really help to move our church toward being a mobilized and sending church. CFC (Christ Fellowship Church) is a large church here in Davao with many daughter churches in the area.
- We have 4 active Go Groups now in Davao. To see what a Go Group is you can watch here. Go Group Video
- We were overjoyed to have my parents and nephew come for a visit last October! We were very excited to show them what our lives are like here in the Philippines and explaining what we do is so much easier when you can actually see it.
Prayer Requests:
- Christmas party this Saturday (your Friday if you are in the States). The purpose of this party is to get all the groups we have trained this year and share with them opportunities to serve on short-term trips this next year.
- Continued prayers for our family would be much appreciated. School for the kids and health for Luke. He's sick right now with a fever. Pray also for a restful Christmas season, Gilmer parents will be joining us this Christmas for the first time ever! Julie's back is hurting again, please pray for healing.
- Prayer for more help for us here in Davao. There are so many open doors but only 3 of us working down here. Our prayer this next year is to have some more help with the work.
On The Home Front
Here are a few family pictures and highlights from the last few months. |
| Don't worry that's not a real water buffalo (Carabao) that Luke and Damien are riding on. |
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| All of us on an outing when my parents came last October. |
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| The girls :) |
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| Touring some filipino sites. |
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| That jeep doesn't seem that small until you look at the picture and see how big we look!! No wonder Dad had to duck his head! |
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| This is only the second time that both of our parents have had a chance to see each other. The last time was 8 years ago! |
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| A little cousin time with haircutting :) |
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| Date night for the adults! |
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| Saying goodbye is not easy! Notice Josiah's not to happy face :( |
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| On the way home from Manila, to see off Nana and Papa and Damien back to the States, we had a little accident. Who knew that there are doctors in the airport just for this kind of thing! |
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| This is how Luke watches all the tournaments his sibling are doing lately. |
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| Nhaya singing a solo at church!! |
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| Fun times with friends at Thanksgiving :) |
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| Helping out at a Christmas party outreach for local kids. Gilmer is at the bowling stall. |
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| Josiah is helping at the pin-the-tail on the donkey stall. |
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| Nhaya is painting faces! What a fun day. |
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| Handsome husband preaching at church! |
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| A lot of power outages lately makes for romantic candlelit dinners! The preparation and cleanup are a little harder though! |
Wishing you a Merry Christmas from the Philippines to all of you around the world. Praying for a joy-filled time with family and friends.
Blessings,
The Paden Family
(Gilmer, Julie and our crew)
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