It’s time to CELEBRATE!!

Life is teaming with activity here!  All kinds of committees are fast at work.  The wood-gathering committee got all the firewood together to cook 5 sacks of rice (100 lbs each!); the butchering committee killed the cow Saturday afternoon; the cooking committee started cooking that meat so it’ll be tender; more butchering of two HUGE pigs happened in the night; the decorating committee is making the place look beautiful; the program committee has been fast at work; the chair committee has gathered chairs from all over…and the committees keep on going!  In the end the clean-up committee will have plenty to do!  This is the norm for any function in Balangao…and it seems they all know what to do.  We from the outside stand in awe!!  It’s time to CELEBRATE!!  God has brought together a vast team—a need produced a vision.  That gave rise to sharing a message; God’s people responded.  Men (and even a woman) took leave of their work and places of service and volunteered uncountable hours and days and weeks of extreme labor.  Others gathered together finances, making personal sacrifices to bring together all that was needed.  There is no way to properly enumerate all that God has brought together…many gracious and extra-hour efforts from staff in Manila to fellow translator, Rudy, who has done SOOO much behind the scenes to the men who sweat buckets-full, hand-leveling a place, hauling cement, building…  God has made us RICH by deeply-bonding our hearts in awe and THANKS to Him for such friends in every corner.

Today we’ll be taking pictures and CELEBRATING!!  Wish you ALL could join us!

Love,

Jo

“You may make your plans, but God directs your actions.” Prov. 16:9

Dear Balangao Team,

      “You may make your plans, but God directs your actions.” Prov. 16:9

 Plans were set in motion to go to the Philippines July 5th to surprise everyone in Balangao and my siblings in Dibagat as we planned to do a side trip July 8 to Dibagat and spend the night! These were all set to go, as I made reservations in Manila to fly to Tuguegarao July 8 and then flying by helicopter to Dibagat 8th and on to Natonin the 9th, dedication 10th and return to Tuguegarao 11th and on to Manila! That was simple enough as our colleagues  in Manila do fantastic jobs in making reservations for us!!

 You have all be praying for this day to come as the BIG DAY OF DEDICATION FOR THE NEW BALANGAO OFFICE YOU ALL HELPED BUILD WAS SCHEDULED FOR JULY 10 IN BALANGAO!  My good friends George, I call Uncle G and his wife JoAnn I call aunt Jo were leaving Atlanta the same day July 5th to meet  with me in Minneapolis and on to Japan! However, uncle G called me and thought they would just go from Atlanta because it looks impossible to rendezvous in Minneapolis as all flights were showing booked from Atlanta to Minneapolis! So they were going Atlanta and I was going MN and we will meet in Narita Tokyo Japan! I got to the Charlotte airport at 7a.m. on July 5th and it was unusually packed for an early morning departure, but found out many flights were cancelled and delayed that night due to weather problems all over the area. Since I was on  a non-revenue flight even though I was high priority on the list, all the paying passengers had priority over me and I was unable to get on a flight on July 5th! All flights were fully booked and no way to make up time. So stayed home and the next day went again and it was wide open. A lady at the Delta counter in Charlotte questioned my 5 month before expiration date on my passport and that I was supposed to have 6 months, but another agent intervened and said I was good to go, so got on to Minneapolis at 10 am July 6. All were looking good, until I was called on the counter for my boarding pass to Narita, Japan! They checked my passport and all the agents were from Japan and they said I could not go because I didn’t have 6 months on my passport. I begged them to check again, and actually there was a clause that said – a Philippine national can go with less than 6 months as long as their passport did not expire on arrival in the Philippines and relatives will be there to meet them. However, they did not consider that one because I held a US passport and that applies to all US passport holders! So, they said they were sorry! They also said they would have been fined $25,000 if they let me go – so instead of arguing some more – I was reminded of the verse in Col. 4:5-6 – “Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” I also have a friend that said – “praying that God will use you for His honor and His glory” while on this trip. “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Prov. 16:3

   So I came back home from MN yesterday very disappointed but with peace knowing God had it all planned out – and praying that my attitude was that of Christ and those that I met and talked with yesterday from Delta would have seen the reflection of Christ through my actions!

    Of course the hardest one was to share the sad news to my Ina Jo and to uncle G and all those in the Philippines that I was hoping to meet – like missionaries with TAP, my family in Dibagat, colleagues in Manila, new students doing linguistics course and are recipient of the G.R.Roe scholarship fund for Bible translation! All these were more opportunities to be a blessing, but again God had other plans and put a deviation to what I had planned! I like how Brian (New Tribes helicopter pilot in Tuguegarao) put it -- None of this took God by surprise though. Of course the New Tribes helicopter has battery problem so we could not fly to Dibagat anyway on the 8th, and our team had to travel by road to Banaue and on to Natonin, so instead of taking one day – it will take two days to get to Natonin!

    My Ina Jo Shetler arrived in Natonin on July 5th, so would appreciate you all praying as they plan the dedication on Sunday July 10. They are going to have one cow and some pigs for the celebration! Uncle G and his wife Jo Ann will arrive Saturday afternoon in Natonin via Banaue along with Andrew and his family driving the HiLux to Natonin as well. A van from Natonin will meet them in Banaue and then take them to Natonin.

    Again, each of you who have gone to Natonin – Daryl, Kyle, Brad, Austin, Matt, Robinson, Bob, Linda, Robert V, Rob, John, Isaac, Elden, Andrew  and Dave –  seen this project from the beginning and its  completion – I am grateful  to the Lord for you all and your families who let you go – especially Leshia and Jennifer! To you who have given your resources to make it a reality – David, Allie, Tom, Leigh, Ron, Nancy, Darryl, Babs, Del, Tim, Allon, George, JoAnn, Charlie and Marian -  I am truly grateful as well, and without any of you this office for the Old Testament team, Majukayong and Mangali NT’s  would not have been completed in 3 months and a dedication on Sunday July 10 would have just been a dream! I am also grateful to the Balangao teams – Grace, Joanne, Robyn, Ignacio and all the folks there who have hosted our teams and helped – I am grateful to you all too! To our teams at the MNL office – and guest house – thanks for all your help! Truly this was truly a great team God put together to accomplish His purposes for His glory!  I am so grateful to my wife Sandy who always reminds me that this was God’s project and that He will provide as always! She keeps teaching me to TRUST in the Lord with all my heart!! 

    Finally, I am grateful to my Ina Jo for all the work she has done and given to the Balangao people, and the privilege of helping provide an office for their Balangao Old Testament team and the Majukayong and Mangali NT teams! This is truly His work and we will give Him all the praise for what He is going to do both now and in the future – for the next generation!! 

And ----

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Cor. 4:118

Serving Christ together for His honor and glory,

Nard

Ps. I hope to see some wonderful  pictures on that dedication and Brad will put them on the blog!

A day traveling

Please pray as plans are being made for the celebration.  Pray for all the people that are starting to travel towards Balangao.  Some by foot, some by jeep, some by plane.  Pray for good traveling weather, right now typhoon2000.com says there is no active tropical weather over the area, but there is a tropical disturbance south of them.  The forecast is that it will stay south and west of them.  Pray for the people of Balangao and Natonin that don’t know about this celebration but will hear about it, pray that they will be touched by God.  Pray for Joanne, Robyn, Grace and Ignacio as they prepare for the Celebration, but also for the work that is ahead of them on the Old Testament and other translations.  Pray for health and protection from harm and dangers as the work continues.

We will put updates on the blog about the celebration as soon as Nard gets them to us.  I will be traveling also but should have access to the Internet to keep the blog up to date. 

But God Knows

United States, Philippines, Canada, Australia, Russia, Singapore, Luxembourg, Belgium, Malaysia, Guam, Jordan, Macedonia [FYROM], United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, China, Hong Kong, India, Nepal, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Israel, South Africa, Lebanon, Mozambique, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, and Mexico.

Look at where this blog has been read from. I don't even know where some of these places are.  Maybe some were just surfing the web and stumbled upon it, maybe some heard about it from a friend.  Some were traveling and keeping track of loved ones working on the project.  No matter what the reason this just like every other project that goes on throughout the world is a global project with an eternal purpose.  We thank all that have read this and that have touched this project and left your finger print.  Let it be by praying, money, letting a loved one go work, or sweating on the work site. We are encouraged by what has taken place here in Balangao. 

There were names added to the book in heaven because of this project,  I can only imagine, But God Knows. The work is done on the building, but the work is continuing on the translations.  How many people will travel from Balangao and this region and spread Gods love? Only God knows and many we will never hear about, But God Knows.  Some we will talk to, some we will not, But God Knows.  We don’t know all the ways that people helped with the building, But God Knows.  We don’t know all the ways some have helped with the New Testament translation in years past, But God Knows.  We don’t know how many people will help with the Old Testament translation in small or large ways, But God Knows.  Thanks to all the people that have gotten the project to this point, we might not have named you in the blog, But God Knows.  Thanks to all the people that will help finish the project, we don’t know you by name yet, But God Knows.

Praise God from whom all Blessing flow.   

The Celebration in early July

A day Building...with God you can move mountains

Greetings to all! And praise be to God! By His power, and provision the Bible translation office in now completed. The past several days have been very busy for the team. Lots of details needed to come together to finish. By God’s grace we actually finished several days ahead of schedule. Over the past few days, we completed plumbing, painted second coats of paint on interior and exterior walls, finished retaining walls, landscaping, exterior trim was finished, kitchen cabinet was installed, and today we cleaned up the project site, organized our tools, and packed them up for the 5 hour trip back to Bagabag in the morning, then on to Manila Saturday. Today we all shared lunch together that Grace and Joanne prepared. As Kyle, Robinson, and I reflected on the whole project, the first thing that came to mind was; that it is not about a building, but about the Word of God. Specifically the Word of God that has the power to change lives. We reminisced about arriving and getting!
  Our first look at the building site. I remember saying to the Lord, this is going to be hard work to build this on the side of a mountain, but with your strength we can do this. We have been blessed to be part of this project from the first shovel of dirt, to the last look back as we walked away, amazed at what God has done. The real work continues; Bible translation! That is the work that transforms lives through the written Word of God. Our lives have been impacted through this experience, relationships were stretched at times, as cultures worked side by side, but our lives were changed for the better through this experience. We can now say we have friends, more importantly, brothers and sisters in Christ here in Balangao.  Thank you for being a part of this great work of Bible Translation.  Some gave, some prayed and some worked.  My challenge to you is this, will you now continue to pray for the ongoing work here in Balangao!
Sincerely in Christ,
              Daryl & the team

The team at the front door of the office.

The office looking back up the hill with the new steps and the church in the back ground

A look back - this was day 2

The "keys" are handed over

Last look back with Grace looking back at us. 
Next up celebrating Gods great work!