tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1273606449206498622024-03-13T19:21:21.712-07:00A Lump of ClayAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05814865858591247917noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-127360644920649862.post-78523613709797245062014-05-04T05:06:00.001-07:002014-05-04T05:06:44.155-07:00A Pelawan Camp MeetingHi friends,<br />
I just wanted to update you all on what has been going on up in the mountains as well as in the lowlands of Palawan.<br />
One thing that I was happy to experience was a visit to the village of Emrang, about a 2 hour hike from where I live in the mountains. The people who live there are so eager to learn about God. It was a good experience to be able to visit them and hopefully keep them thinking in the direction of God.<br />
This last week has been campmeeting in the lowlands. All of we staff came down from the mountains on Sunday and then all our guests arrived on Tuesday. The whole experience has been a blessing to me and it is neat to see the Pelawan church members growing in their faith as well as people expressing interest in baptism.<br />
There was a baptism on Sabbath in the ocean and then that evening we enjoyed footwashing and communion together under the moon and stars with all our brothers and sisters. People gave testimonies afterward and it was heart-touching to hear their love and thankfulness to God in their voices.<br />
I have been growing close to my family here in Palawan. It is wonderful to think of the day when we will all meet together dut langit! (in heaven).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05814865858591247917noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-127360644920649862.post-64284375718876944762014-01-15T02:12:00.002-08:002014-01-15T02:12:05.433-08:00Back in Palawan!I am back in Brook's Point Palawan and will hike into the mountains tomorrow morning. God was good to send me friends along my way here to look after me and make sure I made it where I needed to go. Possibly that story I'll share later because I'm at an Internet cafe and my time is almost up.<br />
Thank-you for your continued prayers and support. Being here to share Jesus would not be possible without you! What a day it will be when we get to heaven and see the fruits of our labors at Jesus' side!!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05814865858591247917noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-127360644920649862.post-63275493115467318742014-01-09T13:50:00.000-08:002014-01-09T13:50:19.538-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying over Palawan on the way in. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hike in<br /> </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My house in Kensuli</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My kitchen</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L6dYhUGK6eY/Us8D7eEhrJI/AAAAAAAAAIY/pzZio50Bcxc/s1600/IMG_0196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L6dYhUGK6eY/Us8D7eEhrJI/AAAAAAAAAIY/pzZio50Bcxc/s1600/IMG_0196.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The water tank in Kensuli where ladies wash everything - clothes, dishes, roots, etc.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids love climbing this tree right by my house</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QLPEwIGKFSw/Us8D8x_N06I/AAAAAAAAAIs/GwLDL1p45bU/s1600/IMG_0310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QLPEwIGKFSw/Us8D8x_N06I/AAAAAAAAAIs/GwLDL1p45bU/s1600/IMG_0310.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loving kids on my porch </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2D-krM3mV5o/Us8D-CrZ6hI/AAAAAAAAAI8/OkhWsd8I_ic/s1600/IMG_0409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2D-krM3mV5o/Us8D-CrZ6hI/AAAAAAAAAI8/OkhWsd8I_ic/s1600/IMG_0409.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the way to get some coconuts</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9JWd42pN6Iw/Us8D-SdqE4I/AAAAAAAAAJI/XuME5ZpYpi4/s1600/IMG_0412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9JWd42pN6Iw/Us8D-SdqE4I/AAAAAAAAAJI/XuME5ZpYpi4/s1600/IMG_0412.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the boys climbing the coconut tree.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2OoIcAghcts/Us8D-iKVIUI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/cjyn1yyt4rE/s1600/IMG_0446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2OoIcAghcts/Us8D-iKVIUI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/cjyn1yyt4rE/s1600/IMG_0446.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preparing coconuts. They're very mependay (skilled).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LZrcfHnvmJI/Us8D_M0l8KI/AAAAAAAAAJs/p892W0pHT2E/s1600/IMG_0516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LZrcfHnvmJI/Us8D_M0l8KI/AAAAAAAAAJs/p892W0pHT2E/s1600/IMG_0516.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the girls I teach teaching a Palawano girl violin.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wvusJzrEBsY/Us8D_-PKLdI/AAAAAAAAAJY/s9HaF5gEb-Y/s1600/IMG_0547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wvusJzrEBsY/Us8D_-PKLdI/AAAAAAAAAJY/s9HaF5gEb-Y/s1600/IMG_0547.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The church group in Kensuli plus a few extra people</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UvLuYd1BS5U/Us8EB4-jrtI/AAAAAAAAAKA/eA-yC2gpamg/s1600/IMG_0596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UvLuYd1BS5U/Us8EB4-jrtI/AAAAAAAAAKA/eA-yC2gpamg/s1600/IMG_0596.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All my dear little friends!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JoCKF1UlrUI/Us8ECHBrhZI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/fo3F1WNSiuA/s1600/IMG_0597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JoCKF1UlrUI/Us8ECHBrhZI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/fo3F1WNSiuA/s1600/IMG_0597.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These children are just so adorable!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05814865858591247917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-127360644920649862.post-413952666259976862014-01-02T16:06:00.001-08:002014-01-02T16:06:34.744-08:00A Story From KensuliHere is one of the articles I wrote in Kensuli November 5, 2013.<br />
<br />
I have been in the village of Kensuli now since October 6. It is starting to feel like I belong here now. I spend my days teaching Sandra and Sheena in the morning. Then we break for lunch and have a little more school time in the afternoon. After school I go visiting different homes and learn the language. One time when I went to visit Nika, who lives just a little way down the hill from me, she asked me if I wanted to learn how to dig cassava, or kumbahang. I was happy for the opportunity to do hands-on learning so we headed to her garden. She first cut down the kumbahang plant and then carved the wooden stem into a sharp point. With this sharp stick she started digging until she hit the root. She let me try and I was definitely slower than her, but she encouraged me and I dug up two of them.<br />
Later, when I was about to leave, she set aside four roots and said, "These are yours, but I don't have a container to put them in."<br />
"I'll just use my hands," I said. But she found a plastic bag and stuck them in it. I thanked her and she said, "No problem, but it's very dirty."<br />
The Palawanos are very quick to give their visitors something, whatever it may be. And when you say thank-you they usuallly are very modest and say something like, "Oh, but it's not very much," or "No problem, but it's very dirty."<br />
There is much to learn from their simple, yet happy, way of life. It makes me wonder sometimes, "If I had only as much as they do, would I still be as happy as I am now?" I pray the answer is "yes" for all of us because we have the best reason in the world to not only be happy, but to have true joy, and that is Jesus! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05814865858591247917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-127360644920649862.post-61166227228849952822014-01-02T15:23:00.000-08:002014-01-02T15:23:25.134-08:00The First Few WeeksI thought I would post one of the stories I wrote early in my time in the Philippines even though it has been a while since it happened.<br />
<br />
We arrived in Puerto Princesa, Palawan on Thursday, September 12. That afternoon we drove the 4-5 hour drive down to Brooke's Point where we spent the next few days at Minan's (Mrs. George's) house. The following Sunday the three of us new student missionaries moved to the farm for Boot Camp. The farm is where the project grows rice to support all the workers and to provide work for some Palawanos. There at the farm we stayed in a roomy thatch roofed hut and learned to live and talk like Palawanos. We had a native lady teach us how to cook the local way, wash clothes by hand, open and grate coconuts, etc. We also hand pumped our water from the pump nearby for showering and washing dishes and clothes.<br />
The farm is a very peaceful place, and I enjoyed it there although at times the different lifestyle was tiring since I was not used to it. During those times though, I would look up at the beautiful mountains in the distance where Kematian lies nestled, and I would remember why I was there at the farm. Learning the Palawano way of life would help me better relate to the people in the mountains when I got up there.<br />
This last weekend was my first big lesson in flexibility. It was my last weekend in the lowlands before going up to the mountains. Plans literally changed overnight. Friday evening we were planning to go to visit a church in Malis, a town nearby. The next morning I learned that Kaylin, another student missionary who has been on Palawan a year already, and I would accompany two patients to Puerto for testing.<br />
It definitely was a different Sabbath as we rode up to Puerto in the ambulance and then worked on coordinating care for the patients. The tests ended up not happening until Monday so we stayed in Puerto longer than we had planned.<br />
Thankfully both tests showed no major problems. Monday night both patients and I were able to leave Puerto while Kaylin stayed behind to take care of the hospital bills. When we got to the hospital in Brooke's it was nearly midnight. The patient needed a bag of fluids which I had to go get from another hospital just down the street. Thankfully there was a helpful man who took the patient's husband and I there and back in his trike. The patient was taken to her toom and her husback came with me to try to find a trike to Minan's house. It was getting more towards 1 am now and there were no trikes available. Again God provided and a willing person took me home on his motorbike.<br />
I went to sleep that night very thankful for a God who takes care of all the little logistics in life and who I can trust to care for the bigger things too. Thank-you for all your prayers! I know prayers can do some powerful things when they are directed to the One who holds all power. He even has the power to drastically transform lives -- ours included. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05814865858591247917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-127360644920649862.post-34252846735994270072013-12-12T14:12:00.000-08:002013-12-12T14:12:06.700-08:00Back Home!Dear friends,<br />
I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying this Christmas season. I am back home (in the States) until January 12 for my sister's wedding and am taking advantage of the Internet connection!<br />
I arrived in Charlotte this last Tuesday morning and my parents and little brother, Kevin, came to pick me up. It is so nice to be home, but I do keep thinking of the people in Kensuli where I am working that I left behind. I pray they will stay true to God in our absence!<br />
My parents are actually moving to Arkansas on Tuesday. My dad will be working at Ouachita Hils Academy. So I am happy I will get to see their new home before I head back to Palawan.<br />
Some of you may be wondering how our project was affected by the hurricane. Thankfully, it totally missed us. We were in Puerto Princessa at the time for a Palawan-wide Adventist fellowship. We got a little wind and a lot of rain, but that's about all.<br />
I have really been enjoying my time in Kensuli. Kensuli is a small village about a 45 minute hike across the river from Kemantian, the main mission station. There is another missionary family there in Kensuli and I am teaching their girls, ages 13 and 15, in the mornings and part of the afternoons. In the afternoons and evenings I go visiting people at their houses or I play with the children. These times are focused on language-learning. I feel like I have learned a lot of the language, but at the same time, I still can't understand many of the conversations that go on around me. I know that it will come in time though with God's blessing.<br />
I am really thankful that I was able to start my time there in September instead of January. I feel like I have been able to develop some pretty close relationships with the ladies and kids in Kensuli already. One of the girls, who is 12 years old, told me that it's like it is sad there around my house when I am not there, but when I am there it is a happy place. I just thank God that He has blessed my house with His presence so that others can feel it there. Having experiences like that make me excited to go back. I am glad my year is not over yet!<br />
Please continue to pray for God's work among this people group. They are so precious, but Satan wants them for himself. Pray that God's light will shine into those mountain valleys and that people will see how much God loves them. Pray that God will give them strength to overcome the many temptations that Satan throws their way. The victory belongs to God and He will triumph in the end!<br />
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P.S. Be looking for more blog posts with pictures in the near future. I am planning to post some articles that I wrote while I was there, but didn't have Internet to upload them.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05814865858591247917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-127360644920649862.post-72528081608189741152013-09-09T17:21:00.003-07:002013-09-09T17:21:52.239-07:00I just wanted to leave my addresses with everyone before I leave.<br />
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For letters:<br />
Julie Glass<br />
c/o Kent George<br />
5305 Brooke's Point<br />
Palawan, Philippines<br />
<br />
For packages:<br />
Julie Glass<br />
c/o Kent George<br />
Bolos Lodging House<br />
Pangobilian,<br />
5305 Brooke's Point<br />
Palawan, Philippines <br />
<br />
God bless! Keep looking upward!<br />
~JulieAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05814865858591247917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-127360644920649862.post-58394459194862211212013-09-07T19:22:00.002-07:002013-09-07T19:22:37.453-07:00Two Days Left!Recently I got the news that my launch goal has been reached in full!
Praise God and thank-you so much to all of you who have made this dream
come true! The last few days have been a blur of activity ever since I
found out my departure date was only five days away. I am excited to be
leaving, while at the same time a little intimidated about the unknowns.
Thankfully, I have, as do all of us, a Best Friend that is flying with
me on Tuesday!<br />
I just wanted to praise God for a couple of the
things He has been doing for me while preparing to leave. This last
Thursday my mom and I went to the local health department to ask about
getting the typhoid vaccine. I had not gotten it yet even at this late
hour - just like the procrastinator I can tend to be! Anyway, the lady
went to see if they even had the vaccine. When she came back she
announced, "We have one left." Wow! I can just imagine God telling His
angels to save that one just for me.<br />
Another instance I saw God
working for me was with my camera. It had not been working properly and
sometimes wouldn't even turn on. I was pretty sure the battery was done
for so I went to the Radioshack in Bluefield, a town nearby to ask about
it. The man said it could be the battery or it could be the camera
itself. He didn't carry the battery I needed to test it anyway and would
have to order it. I did not have time for that so I asked him if there
were any other Radioshacks in the area. There were, but he said they
probably didn't carry the battery either. I left the store not knowing
what to do. I really needed a camera with me so that I could take
pictures of my mission experience to update people with and supply AFM
with photos as well.<br />
That afternoon I went to the Radioshack in
the other town near our home. The lady there checked to see if she had
the battery I needed and she did! She told me it cost $40 and that she
had a camera that cost the same price. "It's probably just a cheap one,"
I thought but I asked to see it anyway. It turned out to be just the
same specs as my old camera, just a Canon instead of a Kodak. The camera
had been marked down again and again until the saleslady told me, "Even
I bought one of them because I couldn't resist the deal. And this was
our <i>last </i>one." Instantly my mind flew back to the typhoid vaccine
and those same words I had heard just a day before. It really seemed to
me that God had saved that camera for me just as He had saved the
vaccine. I drove home that evening tired after a long day, but so
thankful for my God who cares about even the "small" things in life.<br />
<br />
Be
watching for more updates as I launch into the field. I'm sure they
will be few and far between since I have to dictate them to my parents
over the phone. But none-the-less, I hope to keep in touch at least in
this small way while I am gone. Please pray for safe travels on the 10th
as there will be a group of us flying out on that day. God bless!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05814865858591247917noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-127360644920649862.post-47309918503499722292013-08-26T10:12:00.000-07:002013-08-26T10:12:40.597-07:00God Has Ways!So much has happened in such a short time! As some of you know, I really wanted to launch for Palawan in September, but was reluctant to do so because of my sister's upcoming wedding in December. I decided to try to raise enough money so that I would be able to come back for the wedding in the middle of my SM year. So I sent out a slew of letters and let my church family know about my situation. As I was waiting to see what God would do, He started to impress me in many different ways that I should launch in September even if I wasn't assured of a way back for the wedding.<br />
First of all, the George's (career missionaries in Palawan) were telling me how big of a help it would be if I could come in September. Then my sister told me, "Well, if they need you that much, than maybe you should just go and let <i>us </i>fund raise for you to come back for the wedding." A few days after Janelle told me this I was having my devotions and reading 2 Corinthians 4:4-9. It was talking about the minds of the lost being blinded to the gospel. I told God I didn't want to contribute to that blinding. The treasure of the Good News is in us earthen vessels. I didn't want to keep that amazing treasure to myself! The beautiful character of the Father is portrayed in the face of Jesus. I wanted to go and, by God's grace, let the people see Jesus in me. The hymn "I Would See Jesus" came to my mind. "We would see Jesus, our weak faith to strengthen For the last conflict, in this mortal strife." Jesus is so beautiful!<br />
That very night, my sister Heather and I went to prayer meeting. I had sent out a note to the church telling the church members about my situation. After we sat down, the pastor turned to me and said he had a question about my note. It had sounded like I felt God strongly calling me to go overseas now, but that if I didn't get enough money to come back for the wedding, I was going to stay here anyway. He said it seemed like just the fact that they needed me so badly was enough to know that God was calling me there. Wow! I was so amazed at how strongly God had spoken to me that night through my pastor. I thanked him afterward for the advice and talked it over with my sister on the way home. When I got home, I told my parents and grandparents about the whole incident. It seemed like God was strongly leading me to step out in faith and go NOW!<br />
Then my grandpa asked me if I had ever thought of the option of using willing people's sky miles. He said that he and grandma had some themselves that they would be willing to let me use. To make a long story short, after searching and changing dates around we finally found a ticket that they were able to afford with their miles. God knew that I wanted to do His will and He graciously granted my heart's desire.<br />
The reality that I am leaving for Palawan in about 1 week and 1 day has slowly been setting in more and more. I know that the God who arranged things for me so wonderfully will also go with me as I work on preparing to leave and then learn to live in a different culture. Please pray that I will be able to learn quickly how to live like a Palawano so that I can relate to them and thus more effectively share the Gospel. Please also pray for the whole project as many prayers will help to foil the devil's devices. I am so thankful we serve a powerful God! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05814865858591247917noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-127360644920649862.post-91119784874372643282013-08-13T08:06:00.001-07:002013-08-13T08:06:48.439-07:00So training is over. It went so fast! I got home Sunday evening from the Adventist Frontier Missions training for student missionaries up in Berrien Springs, MI. It is nice to be home, but I do miss all my fellow SMs. It is comforting to know that we will all be out in the field at the same time and experiencing everything together, if not physically together.<br />
God has blessed in my fundraising for my student missionary year in Palawan. I still have about $630 dollars to raise before I reach my goal of $5000. If possible, I would like to launch in September so that the two missionary girls will have a home school teacher. I know God is in control and will provide as He sees fit.<br />
God has been leading my family to stay in West Virginia where we have been for the last eight years. All the other job openings in other states have been closing and God has been providing wonderfully for our needs. One huge blessing is that our family was given a new car. My sister Janelle and I's car broke down about a week ago. A few days after it broke down, someone came and asked our family if we needed a car. They didn't need one of theirs' anymore. It was perfect timing! That is just one example of how God has been leading.<br />
I am looking forward to serving God in Palawan next year. Being at training made me so eager to get over there! Hope to keep in touch!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05814865858591247917noreply@blogger.com2