Shofar Mission Center

I Love You, Philippines!

2011-08-03T23:21:00.008+08:00

This is a great colored gecko I saw and loved! Beautiful view of the dam near Shofar. Crazy looking spider on the screen door. For myself, this trip has been many things all crammed into a short three and half weeks. Exhilarating, breathtaking, challenging, faith stretching, exhausting, magic sarap, heartwarming, humbling… all these things and more. Overall I am thankful to

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY, Going to Church in a hemi dodge........ ah what.. Multicab

2011-07-31T18:19:00.003+08:00

A "step dam" as some might say. To the left is a rice field. Beautiful Flowers One of my favorites, corn planted on the mountain side. Trust me it is a lot steeper then it looks. Sir Brandon Today brought about some very interesting activities. It was nice to return to FIC (Freedom in Christ) for our final Sunday and see our freinds there again. What a blessing it has been to

The Beginning of the "Lasts" 7/30/11

2011-07-31T00:19:00.004+08:00

Hello everyone! Tonight was our very last concert for the 2011 trip. The Andy Calope Band played two shows-one last night and one tonight. Both shows had a decent turn out...it seemed the more the music played the more people would come. I really enjoyed their music-they're the first "Josh Garrels"-esque band we've had. <3 The youth from Freedom in Christ joined us tonight which was way fun.

Gearing up for the home stretch

2011-07-29T08:25:00.013+08:00

We have been working hard for the last two and a half weeks, completing many projects from the work list, as well as unexpected ones that have popped up along the way. Brandon and Nick have really gone to town on the guard house, although everyone has helped out on this project at one time or another. The last piece of tin is about to be set in place and the finishing touches added on, to protect

Island Haven

2011-07-25T20:57:00.004+08:00

Hi y'all. Shofar is a beautiful place to spend some time but today I am going to talk about the travels we take and the words we speak.We had two concerts this past weekend. One was in Telavera and one in Buanoy. Saturday we picked up the band Ramoth Gilead and started setting up at the basketball court. Some people set up the stage, some watch the bags and some play games with the kids hanging

"You cannot add anything to the cross" -so they say

2011-07-22T23:28:00.014+08:00

Well well well. It has been a couple of days since our last post. This is because we were for some reason unable to connect to Blogger from our computers. Now it is my turn to give you an update. The team has been working like mad doing the following: working on the guard house, teaching bible class, doing school devotions, installing our state-of-the-art security system, and tons of other wee

Projects, church and kids, oh my!

2011-07-19T15:45:00.006+08:00

Hello from the mountaintop! It has been an eventful week, what with the concerts, projects and teaching we have been doing. On Sunday, the team split up between the Freedom in Christ church in Lutopan, and Jesus Christ is Lord church (a more rural church one of our teachers at Shofar attends). Our team members showed a Francis Chan video about the Fear of God and we had a discussion about that

Working for the Weekend

2011-07-18T08:24:00.036+08:00

....School, Projects, Concerts, Church, Youth, and even some Takyan. It was a jam packed weekend and "so worth it."The first concert was in Jaclupan near Tabanuk and the second one was in Calaju-an near Manglanilla. Calaju-an is closer to the ocean and a smaller venue; basketball court.The band, Fervent stayed with us over night. They are part of a church near Cebu City and also have a school. It

First times!

2011-07-16T10:43:00.008+08:00

Hello there!We sucessfully held our first concert last night with the band Fervent!It was a whirlwind of a day. Tom, Rachel, Jason, Amber and Brandon and Jeremy all left with the jeepney around noon or so to drop the equipment down at the basketball court. Tom stayed at the court with the equipment while the others split off into groups to hand out posters and verbally invite people to the

Concert: Take One

2011-07-15T09:23:00.003+08:00

Gettin' Concert Equipment OutRecessEh. Good to talk to you. We are all excited to put on the first concert of the trip. The band "Fervent" will be playing tonight and tomorrow, so we look forward to what God will do with these concerts. It's a huge blessing to be a part of the work over here and see also how concerts work. The culture shock and the landscape are still setting in but it is

2011-07-14T20:19:00.003+08:00

It’s only been a few days since we arrived, but I already feel at home. It hasn't really set in how far away from WI we really are, but I'm okay with that.The God we love is amazing! He has created the most beautiful and jaw-dropping scenes!We have been some busy little bees so far. Trying to get used to the time change and be diligent about our tasks. We have been working on different projects

We made it!

2011-07-13T08:04:00.003+08:00

After many hours on a plane and an hour or so (I think,) in a van, we're here!Everything is accounted for except for Nick's shoes. We lost those somewhere along the way but he can always borrow mine. We greeted Jones and Evelyn and Lando when we got to Shofar. The students greeted us with a very nice sign.Luckily for us we got to drive up to Shofar in the day time. Man what a place! I always knew

My Bags are Packed...I'm Ready to Go

2011-07-09T01:29:00.004+08:00

Yeah, our bags are all packed...finally! Brandon and I spent last night getting it all together and into the duffles..with a necessary DQ run in the middle of course! Tonight we'll find out if they pass the weight test.Uh, so we're leaving in approximately 2 days and 4 hours! That's wild!I'm definitely excited...most excited to see Shofar in real life and to finally meet all the faces of the

Getting packed......

2011-07-08T12:32:00.004+08:00

Tonight we complied the plethora of items we have been reserving and purchasing for the past year into a huge pile and split it up between our two army bags. The whole process took about 5-6 hours, I would guess. It would have taken a lot longer if we hadn't been encouraged to be getting ready for the trip all throughout the past several months. I did the infamous "last Wal-Mart run" today and

Now what?

2011-06-29T05:40:00.004+08:00

We worked very hard during this trip. I never got enough time to just sit and talk, but talking went on while we worked. We knew God wanted us there. The sore muscles and difficulties that go along with working at Shofar are exactly what God wanted for us. In return, He gave us the great honor of doing something for Him and also seeing the results of the work. I'm so thankful to have been able

News

2011-06-27T11:10:00.011+08:00

Last Sunday was fathers day and the kids made candy necklaces for the dad's, i wanted one but was denied..Monday brought a fun time helping to re-stabalize the "santol linkoranan" or santol (a kind of fruit) bench. Jear and Job helped with that. With no cost involved we just used what was available...a tree! Pretty cool but it will have to be renewed again in a year or two due to rotting.Also Job

While Your Away

2011-06-20T10:33:00.015+08:00

Well the first team is gone and I have to admit its a bit strange. In 2008 I had some fellow Americano's here. Now it's just me...After the team left I went back home to continue ministering. It was a bit different ride from Cebu without the team and truck. I took a series of Jeepneys and then a bus, with the help of Avegail who was going home due to a leg injury. That ride was not the most fun,

Blog ra

2011-06-15T13:58:00.021+08:00

Last weekend had some interesting goings on's. On Sunday the team split into 3 small groups and headed in opposite directions for the afternoon. Mike and Laura spent time with the FIC youth's doing a service project, Jeremy went with Pastor Lando to his church outreach near Sinsin, and the rest of the group went to teacher Jane's church near Toledo to spend some time with the youth group

Schools in for Summer

2011-06-10T22:33:00.005+08:00

School days, school days...life at Shofar has taken on a new dimension with the beginning of the school year. We've arrived at the end of the first week of school and the total enrollment is hovering at 42 students. The students seem to enjoy the ciriculum and many have jumped right in to using their netbooks. In fact, the enrollment was slightly higher than expected, which meant that Tim &

Team Split & First Day of School

2011-06-06T15:22:00.004+08:00

Today is the first day of School at Shofar! I'm sure there will be many more details coming over the next week. As a breif overview: so far today the teachers have been leading orientations of the classes, Mike did a quick demonstration with Junray how to use the laptops, we have taken pictures of each of the students for badges, printed materials for the students to take home (School rules,

Camp na Camp

2011-06-04T15:24:00.009+08:00

Hi everyone, We just finished a whirlwind weekend at the first ever youth camp held on the Shofar Mission grounds! The camp began just as the final nails were being pounded into the somewhat trialsome CR's... (they got plenty of use which made all the building effort well worth it!) The camp was a

Preperation

2011-06-01T16:19:00.010+08:00

Hello again all. Yesterday was testing for the school and there was a great turnout. Most will make it and be put into one grade lower than what they would in the public schools here. For less than half the price of a well known school in Manilla we are able to better educate the children here. How awesome God is.It's almost time for camp and we are well on our way to getting ready. The kitchen

Shofar Learning Open House!!!

2011-05-30T21:17:00.005+08:00

It was an exciting day today! ... well wait, lets begin with what yesterday brought us. We got to spend time with the youth group of Freedom in Christ. We are studying a video series with them called "Keep Climbing," and yesterday marked the first of a four part series. At the end of the study, we played a fun game where different groups needed to come up with as many songs as possible with the

Sunday,Sunday,Sunday

2011-05-29T08:27:00.006+08:00

Hi All, Well today the team is preparing to head to church at Lando's. After church we begin our Keep Climbing series with the youth (pray for us) this will the first of four sessions. Afterwards we will be rushing back to shofar to finish up some projects for the open house tomorrow. Yesterday Tim, Sharon, Mike and Sheena went to Cebu to do grocery shopping as well as pick up other

Can you tell me from where the wind blows?

2011-05-28T06:39:00.007+08:00

Well we are in the middle of preparations for the start of the school year on June 6. Yesterday we held a meeting with the Shofar teachers and aides to plan for the school open house on Monday. We also did some painting and cleaning to make the school more welcoming to parents. Please pray that we get a good response to the flyer routes we did on Thursday, and that we can find ~10 more students

Off the Beaten Path

2011-05-26T17:45:00.005+08:00

Strap on a sidebag, tighten up your Chacos, pack extra electrolytes and walk... for 6 hours straight. Today the team split up into 3 groups and hit the streets, mountains cliffs and paths to hand out invitations and information about Shofar Learning Center. Monday will be our open house, inviting parents and students from all the neighboring towns to come to Shofar, see the school and learn about

Going... Going...Gone

2011-05-25T10:14:00.010+08:00

Well, with all the preperation we traveled half way across the world to the Island that God has called Jesus Fellowship to to minister. It was a long journey but with drugs all things are possible...wait no...well kind of but not all things. Just sleeping on the plane when you've slept for 10 hours already. The trick is to sleep through the whole flight so that you 1. Are not tired when you

Small Hours

2011-05-22T13:12:00.004+08:00

It's hard to believe that in under 24 hours we'll be on a plane headed back to Cebu. A lot can change in 3 years and, no doubt, has. The addition of a school and the continuing expansion & updating of the mission center for starters (the second floor rooms were made of amockin the last time we were there). It's hard to know exactly what to expect, except the unexpected -- sure, we've prepared,

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2011-05-22T13:02:00.002+08:00

The bags are packed, but the “I just need to do one more thing” keeps me remembering that I’ll never be completely ready to go to this great country. The check lists get crossed off completely and new ones start. The preparations that started over a year ago are now coming to an exciting beginning. Now it’s go time; time to see old friends and make new ones, to be stretched further than I

Getting Ready

2011-05-19T07:07:00.002+08:00

Bug spray -- CheckSunscreen -- CheckMesquito Net -- CheckProtein Bars -- CheckEtc -- CheckI'm pretty sure that after the 5th time we have gone through the things we are bringing ... this last time with Carrie and Ryan (I was laughed at at how many protein bars we're bringing; I like protein...and we'll share :-)...we should be set...I think, I hope...I am confident, however, that God will provide

2011-05-19T01:38:00.002+08:00

Annie and I are so excited for this upcoming trip. Time has moved sooo fast though, it seems like it was just yesterday that we had 3 months to prepare, now we have 3 days. WOW!!!!! Please pray for us that what ever God has to teach us that our hearts and minds will be open to recieve it. Also please pray for the team as a whole as it looks like we will be hitting the ground running (nothing new

Welcome to the Shofar Missions Blog 2011...

2011-05-16T07:32:00.006+08:00

Greetings! The first team leaves 26 minutes from one week from now. That's only 11,106 minutes away! (I won't mention how many dog minutes that is....) Preparations are going well thus far. Time seems to have sped itself up to where multitasking has been rendered ineffective. Dual-multitasking has become the new multitasking. Please pray for us as we make our final preparations for departure this

"You say Goodbye, and I say Hello..."

2010-08-19T13:39:00.007+08:00

"...I don't know why you say good bye, I say Hello." Words have no worth for how much these children, staff, church, youth group, and inmates mean to us. How do you say goodbye to people who make you laugh, wish you a Merry Christmas in August, and support you as you make a fool out of yourself for being in another country?I now know what past teams have gone through. To say goodbye to people we

This Weekend in Pictures

2010-08-15T20:14:00.003+08:00

Here we are hanging out with the youth.May I be the first to introduce you to Shofar's newest building, otherwise known as "The Little House". We worked hard on Saturday to get everything painted. More playground pics...We are almost finished with the playground, we only need to attach a connecting rope bridge between the two structures.Tigger, the Salas family dog, awaiting Lechon Manok scraps

2010-08-10T21:59:00.005+08:00

One of the things I've appreciated being a part of this summer is to see how God uses our focused planning for His work. As we've continued to plan, plan, and plan more, we've been forced to confront problems head-on and be aware of both what lies behind us and ahead of us. This has had the effect of making us continually aware of how precious our time is. It keeps us asking for God's wisdom,

This week at Shofar

2010-08-07T20:22:00.000+08:00

So this past week has been one of trying to wrap up projects and working with the school. As far as the school goes this past week we setup a grading program for the teachers to record all of the students grades from each subject. We have also setup student record keeping, a calendar, and other teaching resources for the staff here to use at the school. Andy, if you're interested, they have

Saved by the Bell!

2010-08-03T13:00:00.003+08:00

Well it’s another week here at Shofar Learning! This past Monday was the start to a new schedule of classes. We have added some creative writing, reading, English comprehension, home ec, and speech classes. They also now get a study hall time to review class notes and to complete assignments. The other new change to the schedules included changing the Rosetta Stone classes to beginner and

Chan makes way to Manipis...

2010-07-31T20:23:00.008+08:00

Friday we made our way into Manipis High school and were able to show Francis Chan "Stop And Think." It was a great opportunity and another great experience for all of us. Three of us spoke on different topics that would be a lead way to the video. Having the focus be to get their minds rolling with ideas and leaving Chan to finish the rest. The most exciting part of this adventure was the walk

I'm locked up, won't let me out...

2010-07-27T11:46:00.006+08:00

Hello everyone back in cheese country. The weather here is more predictable than in Wisconsin. It rains almost everyday. If it is cooler in the morning but yet clear enough to see the other islands, that means it will be a hot and sunny day, but that's as far as I can predict on the weather. The resent rain has made the road nearest to shofar kind of tricky and I feel like we are going

2010-07-25T19:40:00.000+08:00

Greetings from Shofar! Here we are, finishing up the weekend. We have had a busy weekend, filled with various different activities.Here we have Erik and Jonah, cutting one of the many boards which will become part of our playground. They guys worked on this on Saturday afternoon.These two pictures are at Spring Park Resort, which is where the school's parent meeting took place on Friday

Saturday

2010-07-21T21:43:00.009+08:00

Last Saturday, most of us spent time working on painting Shofar. The focus was mostly on the second story. There was some cleanup to do because of extra concrete left behind when the 3rd story (the school) was completed. Since no two containers of paint are necessarily the same color here, we mixed several containers together to ensure a consistant color on the building... Between brushes

Shofar Update

2010-07-17T14:30:00.000+08:00

So it's time for the bi-weekly blog update. The weeks seem to be getting shorter and shorter as the summer goes on. I think we will all be shoveling snow soon... This past week I believe we passed the half way point of the trip... Hard to believe huh? It has been a pretty rainy week at Shofar, whether that is because of the typhoon that hit Manilla or just because it's the rainy season I'm not

Going down the other side of the Mountain...

2010-07-13T14:21:00.004+08:00

Maayong Hapon blog followers! Well its been a busy last few days for us here. As Justin previously posted we now have the footings for the playground in, its exciting to see the playground start to take shape! Friday afternoon we officially opened the Shofar Sari-Sari. For those of you who are not familiar with the word Sari-Sari, this is a small village store that sells snacks and other staple

Construction, heat and cement bags...

2010-07-10T19:33:00.010+08:00

Well were off, the Shofar Learning centers kids amusement park is coming soon! today we poured the cement pillars for the "house" and tomorrow we will be digging a trench surrounding Shofar for the lazy river!! NO, NO I'm jokin! No lazy river! We did get the pillars poured today with help from Lando and the guys and it went well. It was a long day for all of us we started early this morning and

God Filled Weekend

2010-07-05T08:38:00.003+08:00

Saturday Night Lights: Pila Edad mo? That was a common phrase that Tiffany, Sasha, and I said to about 20-30 children who gathered around us as the guys were shooting hoops down the karsadaha at the basketball court in Cabanbanan. We were greeted by many faces and once the children found out we had popcorn, there was no escaping. We played hand games with them like: (give me 5, up high, on the

Just Another [Satur]Day in Paradise

2010-07-03T14:17:00.003+08:00

Its Saturday afternoon here at Shofar Mission Center and, having an open day, we are working on a variety of different things. Earlier this afternoon, Sasha, Erik and I took a walk to the basketball court of the closest barangay to ask about setting up the projector and watching a movie. So this evening, we will be popping popcorn, and settling in to watch a movie in Cebuano. So what else have

Continuing Education

2010-06-29T14:43:00.002+08:00

On Monday, our "school bus" driver, Antoy, drove four of us to Tabanuk and Cebu. Our goal was to pick up an order of books for school at the publishing house. The trip was a success and we now have Filipino language and history books for each student. We also picked up some big dry-erase boards and other odds and ends for the school. Fyre (see below blog) came along to help with translating.

Week in Review

2010-06-26T20:24:00.000+08:00

So what have we been doing for the past week... Well all of the gang except for me, Erik, went to jail in Toledo City both Wednesday and Friday. Wednesday Lando was busy and so they had one of the youth, Fyre, do the interpreting. The ladies played some of the JFB worship from a few years ago for the women in jail to do worship. Things have been in full swing with the school this week as we

School's back in session

2010-06-21T13:05:00.007+08:00

First of all let me say that the weather here is the same as it is in Menomonie right now; Rainy and cold- but as always still humid. Life here seems to be starting to become normal, like for example its normal to have a gecko fall out when you open the refrigerator door or to be referred to as "Joe" anywhere you go. But besides all the differences in the culture we are all starting to really

Plans for tomorrow, tasks for today...

2010-06-19T21:10:00.004+08:00

Wait! It's been how long? and we only have how much time left? That's all I could think about today as the six of us sat down for a while long meeting discussing the to do's and plans for what seems to be little time left here. We have priorities and projects, one will be the building of the playground for the school as you see the barren ground in the picture. Another will be that we are going

Maayong Buntag ug Babay

2010-06-17T11:47:00.001+08:00

There are now so many faces to say good morning to. Beautiful, excited, mischievous, kids, all waiting to settle into their desks for another day of school. It took a lot of work to get this school up and running and at first it seemed overwhelming. God, however, can handle anything. So He made it happen, we just got to be a part of His action. Two jeepney routes picked up all the children

Bands and bugs.....

2010-06-15T15:04:00.018+08:00

Shofar sho good!!! We've just ended our weekend tour with "Skul of Fish" pronounced school, a ska band from Cebu City. They've got everything from drums, trumpet, saxophone and more. We picked them up on Saturday for the first gig in Balamban which turned out to be a real good show. No problems or friction of any sort. Then they played again on Sunday night in The Barba Sports Complex in Toledo

Mountain Top Experiences

2010-06-12T11:19:00.003+08:00

The short term group has been very busy over here, helping get everything ready before we leave. With less than a week left, we all really want to make our time here count.One of our biggest projects has been making curtains to go around the sides of the third floor and keep out the rain. Earlier this week we purchased a large roll of blue and white striped tarp material and 10 foot metal poles.

It's All Happening!

2010-06-09T20:43:00.003+08:00

We've had an exciting week here in the Philippines. One of the most exciting events was the Orientation of the Shofar Learning Center. The parents and students who will be attending the new school came to see the center and find out more details of the curriculum that would be taught. To be able to see this dream and work of God come to realization was a sight to be hold. Now we are working on

Vegetables, eggs, bread...chicken feet

2010-06-03T09:53:00.009+08:00

The short term team finally made it! After a long journey arriving at Shofar, Evelyn showed us all how to make lumpia for dinner. Lumpia is similar to a pork spring roll. We were in a jet lag induced haze, but we had a really good time. The next day the short term team had the chance to help with the last of the placement tests for the children. They were extremely well behaved! On Saturday

...Smarter than a 5th Grader

2010-05-31T19:39:00.003+08:00

Our first day with the Youth Group at Freedom in Christ church was a great time. It helped that we got to know many of them already at the reatreat last week. We showed them a video of our life back in Wisconsin (lots of snow, cows, etc.) We also played the always-exiting Telephone Pictionary...Today we began testing the potential students for Shofar Learning. This is our first of three days of

Dili Joe Dinhi

2010-05-29T16:06:00.005+08:00

It's Saturday afternoon. The youth camp ended this morning, which means that we had to go home to Shofar and take care of things, like laudry, cleaning, burning trash, etc. The youth camp was a huge blessing to us, because we really had a great opportunity to get to know the youth in Freedom in Christ Church. We are really excited for tomorrow to go to church and to youth group in the

Hey Joe!

2010-05-27T07:26:00.005+08:00

Yes, we are here finally... after 24 hours of traveling by plane and waiting in various airports we have arrived to the beauitful island of Cebu. After walking up the mountain we were at Shofar! To say the view from Shofar is breathtaking is an understatment we are truly in a tropical paradise. Later that night we all drove to Lutopan and ate with Lando and Evelyn at their home

Game TIme!

2010-05-13T10:08:00.004+08:00

Well, I have come to realize the importance even though I have not mastered it living with a willing attitude. Much in this life is new to me and certainly this mission, I have had to train my mind to live with a willing attitude and to react on the truth. I expect this trip to challenge me, and I wish I could tell you in what way's. I have my ideas of what those challenges may be but funny

Getting sober

2010-05-12T20:20:00.002+08:00

Looking ahead to the next three months is a little... sobering. Realizing that such a great opportunity lies before myself an the rest of the team makes me sit back and consider the gravity of it all.It's been fun over the past few years to watch the long term teams as they gave us their weekly updates at Wednesday services. But, it's going to be quite different this year as *we* give the weekly

Didn't the last team just get back??

2010-05-12T10:52:00.001+08:00

That's what it feels like at least. In less than two weeks we will be boarding a plane and heading to a few of us on the trip into the "unknown". You can learn as much Cebuano and cooking skills as you want but the real final lesson and test hasn't happened yet. I can say I am looking forward to seeing the sights, sounds and smells, more important is meeting the people I have yet to meet. What

To Do's and Not To Do's, that is the question...

2010-05-12T05:49:00.004+08:00

How do you prepare to go over to a country you have never been to, let alone go for three months? A lot of prayer, a lot of advice, a lot of reading, and a lot of lists. It doesn't seem real to me yet and people that have been there say that it is not real until you get on the plane. So I am preparing for something that I have never seen, smelt, tasted, or touched. But God is in control. I am

My New Summer Weight Loss Program

2010-05-10T08:35:00.003+08:00

Some people who have recently spent 3 months in the Philippines say that they lose a few pounds due to the healthier diet, the opportunities for much more exercise, the lack of temptations to eat what one might crave, and of course ALL the sweating going on! With that in mind, I wonder how much I'll lose. I also wonder how many "pounds" I'll lose spiritually speaking. So what is it that I

2 Weeks before takeoff...

2010-05-10T08:27:00.000+08:00

It does not seem like it was all that long ago that Tiff and I were at Shofar for the three week trip last summer. The last year has gone by incredibly quickly. Day by day I have a mixture of nervousness for the upcoming trip as well as excitement. I realize that I will have struggles on the trip, that there will be many difficulties but I am also nervous that I will go through the trip without

We are coming home!

2009-08-19T22:46:00.003+08:00

Are bags are packed, shofar is clean and we are ready for sleep, if we can sleep... Bye bye Philippines, hello America.See ya SundayLD

Onward ho!

2009-08-15T19:55:00.005+08:00

Quite a view huh? As we are saying our goodbyes, finishing our projects, and making our plans... Every so often God likes to remind us of where we are... Believe me when I say it seems like 1/3 of the beauty is actually captured in these pictures...Since our last post, the steel has been removed and the workers are starting to reinforce the roof to putting the steel back on... they are working

raraar raarar arrr....(in a Kabong voice)

2009-08-13T19:54:00.002+08:00

First of all, I'd like to say that I forgot to mention how much we will miss Kabong when we leave!!! Every time, and I mean every time we come home with the truck he comes running from Tomas and Shirley's house just howling like we've been gone for weeks! Awww, so cute.Today, this is the progress that was made on the Shofar roof! The workers are doing such a good job, and we are very glad to

The beginning of the end

2009-08-11T19:34:00.009+08:00

The weather has taken a turn for the beautiful - I can't get enough of it! Andy and I try to get a walk in whenever possible, even if we only make it the front porch... aaahh. It has also made reconstruction safer. As Ryan and Carrie worked on the signage for the radio room one afternoon, Andy and I went to Upper Camp 8 to finish the black outlining on the mural.Things are quickly coming to an

Pressing On

2009-08-07T19:21:00.012+08:00

It has been almost a week since we lost part of the Shofar roof in a wind storm. Since then contractors have been contacted, materials have been purchased and delivered, and initial work has begun on the reconstruction. This will be a major undertaking as working with full sheets of roofing steel is difficult in the first place, then add in a nice steep pitch, factor in that falling off the roof

How BOUT that. ("...this beautiful view from the top of the mountain...")

2009-08-03T10:57:00.010+08:00

Just an update. We have been dealing with some strong winds lately, as LD was saying in her last post. Yesterday (Sunday)...a part of the Shofar roof came off. Andy, Laura, Ryan and I were just starting the youth in Lutopan when this occurred. Thomas got a hold of Londo, and we headed home, conveniently taking some of the youth guys with us to help clean up. Well, the winds have died down a

We're not in Kansas anymore

2009-08-01T15:22:00.006+08:00

SO, it has been an interesting couple of days. It has been windy and raining hard. Thursday and Friday we had most our school classes cancelled. Instead, Andy and Ryan reinforced the roof so that it wouldn't blow off. They both were up last night many times checking rain and wind... This morning everything was still there.Today we were expecting a scheduled power outage for 1/2 the island for

Let's Paint!

2009-07-30T16:15:00.003+08:00

Today, we started the morning off in a video conference with JFB back home. After the call was finished we set off to Loay... We taught Pilgrim's Progress and finished off the school name.One of the schools that we have been involved with over the years is Upper Camp 8. Last year's team primed the back wall in effort so that this year's team could paint a mural... The awesome thing that we have

Sunday busy Sunday

2009-07-28T08:04:00.009+08:00

This past weekend brought some new teaching experiences for Ryan and I. Sunday Ryan was able to teach the disciples class before church at Freedom In Christ (Lando's church) as well as the sunday message. Av had her first experience at being the translator. Ryan taught some sound biblical doctrine on the topic of God's love. We couldn't understand everything that Av was saying but we

Gusto ka mas popcorn?

2009-07-25T11:44:00.005+08:00

Friday night, we were able to have an outdoor movie in Cabanbanan. (which is right down the road from Shofar) LD prepared the popcorn, and lots of it. We had three big bins full, and thought it would be nice to bring cups to serve it in to anybody who showed up. The idea of an outdoor movie was ....pretty weird for everybody, I think.There were sooo many kids that showed up, it was awesome. We

Can you say paint?

2009-07-23T14:00:00.011+08:00

Paint is the name of the game this week. Oh yes, we are still in the schools and jail this week, too. It's been busy, with lots of stuff to do. The truck radiator is being replaced today so were are out of a truck but the walking has been good for us. As Ryan already mentioned in the last blog we painted Lando's church last Saturday/Sunday. It was fun to paint next to kids that have never painted

What a blast!

2009-07-19T20:31:00.005+08:00

This weekend was a blast that went by so fast! Saturday morning was when it all started ... Our plan was to go to Loay to paint the schools name and possiblily a mission statement... Can you believe that it rained? So we actually had a change of plans...On the way down to Lutopan, to Pastor Lando's church. We stopped off and picked up Martes and Mary Grace. Two girls from Camp 7 High School

2009-07-16T21:26:00.003+08:00

The last couple days have been some catching up since our excursion to Dumaguete and Cebu Cities. We are glad to be back into the schedule of school, jail, and youth...and of course radio work : )As we were saying, we are excited to go into Manipis tomorrow, and teach for the first time. It seems that the High School there will be a great opportunity. (assuming we can make it up the hill with

Aaahhh Dumagette

2009-07-14T10:51:00.006+08:00

A crew came to put a grounding system near the tower by Thomas & Shirley's. It was an elaborate grid system thingy. Wednesday was our last day until we left for Dumagette. Above, Andy and Ryan are putting the final touches on the outside bathrooms. Above is the completed roof at the Toldeo Jail. It was the first time the boys used the new space. They said it was great having a shaded area to

July, July!

2009-07-06T15:21:00.006+08:00

Hello all, just wanted to put up some pics today...We have been working on projects at Shofar, we were able to start painting the outside CRs, and there is a picture of them, half done. It ended up raining, so we had to stop until the weather got better. Another project we've been working on is putting egg cartons up on the walls of the radio room. (to make the sound quality better in there.)

Saturday, Friday and Thursday

2009-07-04T18:12:00.011+08:00

Saturday: We painted the interior of the outside bathrooms at Shofar. Just as we finished it started to sprinkle. We were glad that we didn't tackle painting the outside of the bathrooms. After cleaning up and a quick lunch we headed back to Toledo for the Youth Leadership study. Hanging with the Lutopan youth on the way there and back has been lots of laughs...Friday: We taught in the jail in

Wow, what a week... so far!

2009-07-02T08:47:00.008+08:00

Hey, we are back again... we do the best we can to keep you updated on how things are going... Monday, was a great day to sit down and get organized for the rest of the week. Part of our schedule for the week is getting some things done here around here at Shofar. We were able to finishing cement work on the outside"Comfort Rooms," do a little landscaping and prep work for our erosion control

Up and running

2009-06-29T06:17:00.003+08:00

I don't want to speak too soon, but I think that our schedule if finally falling into place. We have one more school that is still in question, but for the most part this week should be the begining of a "normal" week for us.So what is normal, you may ask. Well, first you take a hand full of elementary schools where we are showing a Cebuano version of the film "Pilgrim's Progress" and teaching

One Step Closer...

2009-06-23T17:56:00.006+08:00

Since the short term team has left us (sniffle, sniffle)...the long term team has been starting to discover how the summer will be with just the four of us. ...it's been great! Of course, there have been and continue to be challenges. We are still dealing with getting in the the Upper Camp 8 school, which is elementary ages, along with waiting to see about a highschool in Manipis. We have,

And then there were 4

2009-06-19T19:45:00.009+08:00

Below is a picture from a new school we visited - Camp 6 or Manipis. The kids and teachers seem really cool and seem to understand English and want to interact with us. Monday we will travel with Lando to visit the super nintendo (as Andy would call it) to hopefully get approval. The only draw back, is all the steps we will have to climb with the equipment. I was hoping for a concrete road on

One and a Half concerts

2009-06-15T10:52:00.007+08:00

Here's a brief rundown since our last post.Friday morning the long term team held their bi-weekly study in the Toldeo city jail. Of all the things they are going to be doing this summer the studies in the Toldedo city jail has been the first to get going. Friday afternoon we all met in Toldedo City and picked up the band, Haven, for our weekend concerts and headed to Balamban. The setup went

2009-06-11T16:38:00.005+08:00

Hey All...Life is good at Shofar. Its been a busy couple of days, and the weekend also has the potential to be packed with events. Tuesday, after doing laundry, we headed out to make contacts with schools. For the most part, the long term team has set up the schedules at the schools- Loay, Camps 7 and 8 and are starting to teach next week. Wednesday, we headed down to Toledo City to the jail. It

Ahh Yeah...

2009-06-09T11:09:00.005+08:00

Hi! We just want to keep you updated with all of the "going ons" here on the other side of the world. Since the "Arrival of the Fittest" we have hit the ground running putting on two concerts this last weekend with the band "Frontline". Friday we set up shop at the Lutopan Plaza... At first we were a bit concerned,we only saw about forty people sitting in the audience( most of them being small

Arrival of the fittest...

2009-06-05T08:56:00.009+08:00

The short term team (Tom & Becky, Erik & Tiffany, Jonah) have arrived in the Philippines, as of Tuesday. We did loose one day, but we lost none of our luggage...We had a very speedy changeover in Manila: Getting luggage, going through customs, exchanging money, getting tickets confirmed, checking baggage in just enough time to run to the gate and catch our flight.After shopping in the city of

The Shofar Minutes

2009-06-01T21:13:00.003+08:00

The truck:It was supposed be quick trip into Tabanok, but it didn't end up that way. We've been having some strange issues with the truck since Friday evening. It would die on us while we were driving home from the youth retreat. It continued to give us problems Saturday, Sunday and wouldn't start after stalling today. The group sat and watched the truck as Tim found a ride to Shofar, got his

The best of times, the worst of...well not so best times

2009-05-30T13:14:00.004+08:00

We have only been at Shofar for a few days now, and we are finding out quickly that things tend to operate at the two far ends of the spectrum with very little time spent in the middle. ex.Devil: Unexplainable frustrating problems with the sound systemGod: Allows us to cobble it together enabling us to show the film "Most" at the youth conference. There were over a hundred youth there from ages

We Are Here!

2009-05-28T12:13:00.003+08:00

Yes, the title probably tells you a lot. We are here. Things are good, we have been setting things up at Shofar today, getting ready for the rest of the team to come. We've also been learning how to hand wash our clothes, cook, clean, and fixing the truck! We are all very glad to be here, and to be able to settle in for the long haul. It's an awesome opportunity to see Shofar now that it's built.

Ready to go!

2009-05-12T09:58:00.000+08:00

Well, after much debate I have finally picked out my wardrobe for the Philippines. That being done I think I am ready to go. The months of preparation have steadily ticked by and here we sit less than two weeks until we leave. If I had another year to prep, I think that I would still feel unprepared and unqualified to be going on a missions trip half way around the world. But, if I have learned

Oy, Ikaw diay!

2009-05-05T06:25:00.005+08:00

Hey...Can you hear that? What your hearing is the clock tickin' down the time. All we have between us and an airplane ride is a discipleship conference and a wedding... Which makes my mind & body shudder just a little bit to think about. Then, there is the adrenaline junky side of me that is excited to see what God is going to do. Not only through us, but also in us.Like Tim says, "Now, is the

Well, Hi There...

2009-05-04T22:32:00.002+08:00

Hi. Caarrie here...I am very excited...yes, that's the word. 20 days now until we leave for Shofar. I can clearly see God working in all of us going on the trip. I know that there will be many many things we will learn over there (it's already starting) and that God will bless us muchismo! In these last couple of weeks, we have a retreat with our church in Black River Falls, in which I am

2009-05-04T20:03:00.005+08:00

Maayo, ako si Laura.You'd think a year before leaving for a long term mission trip would be easy; not so! Prepping for this trip has not been easy and quite different that what I thought it would be. This past year I have lost work, my youthful-feeling body, car keys 2x, the popcorn maker, a paper that has to be handed back in, my notebook with notes in it (which I think is upstairs) and my mind

Well, That Was Fun

2008-09-25T02:59:00.006+08:00

As the team returned from the fall of 2008 mission trip to Shofar,they each had something to say about their journey....• • •SHEENA: In writing my final thoughts all I can say is I hope there are never any final thoughts of this summer. God allowed our small group to minister full time for his glory for three months. We were able to meet amazing people who made our faith stronger, we were allowed

Youth Retreat and More

2008-08-19T22:27:00.005+08:00

Hello to all. This is Mike, posting via Sheena's log-in (for some reason Blogger won't let me uplaod pics through my account tonight). We have been busy over here as we approach shut-down time for Shofar. Last Sunday was our final Discipleship class at Lando's church. Jeremy taught and we had a good discussion about the character of God & how that impacts our daily lives & choices. After

Concert Numero Uno & Camp Otso School

2008-08-11T20:38:00.012+08:00

The first Ainos concert was this past Friday at Cantabaco. After getting back from Toledo Jail in the morning we spent the rest of the day setting up, picking up the band, spreading the word, and helping to have everything run as smoothly as possible. Jeremy put together some great radio promo's that ran throughout the week to help get the word out about the concert, so many people knew that it

These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Things...

2008-08-05T21:28:00.013+08:00

Hey family!Sorry it's been so long between blogs, our internet's been down for a few days. The good news is that a lot has happened since our last post! We've been really blessed over this past week to see relationships deepening with the people that God has surrounded us with in our community. We've had chances to talk with the teachers that we work with in the schools and hear their stories,

Dumaggette Bonanza!!

2008-07-29T18:20:00.007+08:00

Here are some random pics from the Dumagette trip Hope you enjoyed the show.