So where do you put the body...

So where do I begin??
My apologies for not writing. I've spent the past week in Leyte and East/West Samar and trying to piece together what I have learned from so many pastors in this region. For those that don't know, I've been working with Jim and Allene Latzko, missionaries with New Life Baptist Missions in Tacloban, Leyte.

Allene and Jim Latzko

More than 25 years ago, they planted a new church in this city and since that time have grown to more than 20 churches across the region.
The pastors they are training and sending out are incredible trailblazers in so many ways. They move into small accomodations, often with their families, and work to bring people to God in areas that are rife with poverty. One pastor has tithes of 4,000 pesos per month to run the church. That is less than $100. Others have significantly less. One lost a battle with the Roman Catholic Church, who uses the public cemetery it operates to keep people from leaving. How? If you aren't a Roman Catholic, you can't be buried in the buranguy cemetery! This leaves Christians with the very high expense of taking the body to another buranguy for burial.

However, despite confrontations with the Catholic church, poverty, gambling, illness and other serious issues faced by the people in their communities, the pastors are still bringing people to Christ.
Today I met with Pastor Arnold, who is gifted with the ability to delegate church functions to members who are growing in their relationships with Jesus. With the support of the local health workers, his church is giving away free medications to community members with prescriptions. He has church members who are witnessing to family members high in the mountains where he is unable to go.
While some new church buildings are being built, others would be considered sheds in the United States. However, these "sheds" are filled with Bibles, music, art and people filling its walls each Sunday. Bible studies are being held in people's home and the work of God is being done.

My job over the next few months is to digest everything I have learned and turn it into tools that New Life Baptist Missions can use to promote its efforts to others, including future missionaries.
As I sit here listening to the barking dogs, watching the geckos and packing my bag, it's amazing and sad to believe I'm leaving the Philippines tomorrow. I've made many new friends and have a newfound love for a country that one year ago I really wasn't that interested in coming to. Now I can't imagine not coming back.
The hospitality of Jim and Allene, both Western Baptist Bible College/Corban University graduates, has been awesome. My thanks to Allene who accepted my U.S. dollars and gave me pesos( I ran out) so I could buy some sweet Islander flip flops (yes, I guess I'm a true Filipino now). I resisted buying copies of the new Pirates of the Caribbean and Cars 2 movies on BluRay for $1 and Ray Ban or Oakley sunglasses for $2 so I hope I'll get a great discount from the real manufacturers when I get back for being so honest!
Once again, I would like to express my thanks for your support, love and prayers during these two missions. My hope is that I have been able to play a role in God's grand plan and that all of you will consider your own roles in His plan too.
God bless and I hope to see you all when I get home this weekend.
Sheldon

Mending Nets in Dagar

Sheldon, NOT going in the water!

Fundamentalist Baptist Church in Lawaan

Bible study in Lawaan, East Samar

Evening Falls in the Philippines

Fiesta in San Jose, Tacloban

Home Bible study

A return trip to paradise and on to Tacloban

There are few things greater for me than waking up in the morning and seeing a YouTube video of my youngest daughter singing Jesus Loves Me to an appreciative audience. That just made my day. My grin is 2-km wide right now!
My apologies for the delay in posts. I decided to take the weekend and relax and reflect on the medical portion of the mission I am on. As it is on any mission, the experience is truly unique and watching God work in so many ways is uplifting.
On Friday, we saw our last 90 patients. While we saw much of the same types of conditions, we also saw some medical conditions that we ask you to pray about.

This girl is six years old and has an eye condition. We don't know what it is, but she is losing her sight. Don believes it can be rectified to an extent with surgery, but we need to ask the right people and pray for guidance. We'd love to be able to find someone that has the ability/resources to help her.

We also met a man whose leg had been broken in the past and had a metal rod. Somehow, he re-broke the leg and bent the rod resulting in a deformed leg. It has an open wound that hasn't closed in a very long time and is infected and seeping pus. We gave him antibiotics, but he too will need prayer and possible surgery to close the wound.

It is always hard on the last day to say goodbye to patients. We did leave a lot of medication on the island in hopes that we can encourage a doctor to come and follow up with some of the patients and refill prescriptions as they are able. As I've said before, one of the biggest problems in the Philippines isn't a lack of doctors and nurses, but the inability for patients to pay the deposits or for the medications they need.

We spent out last day on Limasawa in a large pumpboat touring the island, snorkeling and eating more than our fill of freshly caught flying fish, clam pulled right out of the water, rice, noodles, squid and other delights. We also had an opportunity to swim and snorkel. We saw a school of dolphins. Many fish, two sea turtles, some VERY large bats and jellyfish. I saw one very large jellyfish as I rose out of the water. My face inadvertantly came within inches of its tentacles. I didn't get stung, but was just amazed at how God could create something so simple and so beautiful.

We also said goodbye to our many new friends. There is no doubt we will see them again. Limasawa is on the World Mercy Teams radar as a place we can make a difference in. It may not mean sending another medical team, but working with local non-profits to help send medications. At this point, no decisions have been made, but we have a lot of praying to do as a team.

On Sunday I transitioned into my next adventure with New Life Baptist Missions. After riding in a minivan with 17 other people for several hours, I made it to Tacloban. I will be working with a group that is dedicated to planting new churches in communities around Leyte. Right now there are about 20 such churches with many great things happening. There is even an outreach to the deaf in several.
My job over the next four days will be to learn as much as I can about New Life and record the stories. I will do interviews, take photos and video and basically find a way to share what they are doing with others as well as create material they can use both here and when they return to the United States to share what they are doing and raise funds to continue.
Please pray that I will be able to capture the stories and find a way to tell them that will bless their ministry and God.
I also ask for your prayers as Mary continues her mission with Pastor Wen in the tribal regions of Mindanao. It's a very dangerous place for Americans, but Mary knows God is calling her to witness to and encourage believers in that region.
Thanks again for your prayers and encouragement. You are such a blessing to each of us and I'm glad to have you on my team during this trip.
God bless,
Sheldon

Day 10 - Mission Accomplished...for now

There are many things you learn while on the mission field. I learned an important one today.
When you find a beautiful shell on the beach, don't assume its inhabitants have left the building. If you put them in your camera bag, they will die, but before they do, exact their revenge with a near toxic odor that penetrates EVERYTHING it comes in contact with. I wonder if the Tamrac lifetime warranty covers stench?
Today was a fantastic day. I don't have exact numbers, but if we haven't seen or met nearly everyone on the island, I'll be surprised. Our day began with our little baby boy from Monday. The situation is different and complicated, because we just learned he is peeing from the umbilical cord stub. I took plenty of photos so Don can consult with some pediatricians once we get back to see how to follow up.
We have one young girl that broke all of our hearts. She has an eye condition that is very difficult to explain. I'll post photos in the morning. We hope to be able to tell people her story in hopes we might be able to provide the corrective surgery she will need to fix her eyes and hopefully prevent blindness.
We also saw a young boy with ringworm. It was right on his forehead and more advanced than I've ever seen. Just to note, ringworm is a fungal infection, not an actual parasite living in him. It is very treatable once it is discovered.
Once again, God provided everything we needed right until the end. We even have leftover meds to give to a local doctor. When a doctor has access to meds, they are likely to bring them to the island and use them on the patients. One of the biggest problems doctors have is a patients inability to pay for care. Most hospitals won't even see a patient without a $150 deposit.
Tomorrow we will once again return to Limasawa to say goodbye to our new friends, do some snorkeling and munch on my new favorite fish, marlin. We've also heard there are whale sharks that like to meander around Limasawa so we would love to see one. No, I won't have my camera in the water, so I'll just have to describe it if it happens.
I hope to write a more thorough followup tomorrow and post photos. Right now I need to get some rest.
Thanks again for following the World Mercy Teams portion of this mission and hope you'll continue to follow my adventures as I switch gears to work with New Life Baptist Missions based in Tacloban.
God bless and I really look forward to reading your comments.
Sheldon  

Day 8 - Giving much from very little

The Day 7 Blog post "Day 7 (whatever it was) contained several factual errors. First, the word nanook is not the one for chicken, it is manook. I must have had Mork and Mindy on my mind or something when I wrote this.
Due to the insult to the local townsfolk, this will be my last blog. I am to be boiled with seasoned spices and served to the tiger sharks, in the way that the local squid are served to us.
Secondly, We did not treat and minister to 60 people, it was 90. So again, my apologies go out to anyone that may have been offended by my remarks. Please not, this is a blog of opinion and the facts may not always be perfect, but the quips and quirks, observations and personal experiences are very much from the heart.
Today we visited Barangay Tiana, which is the town that sits directly next to the one we were in yesterday.  Many of the 89 people we treated had the same types of chronic health problems we have been seeing on Limasawa - goiters, diabetes, high blood pressure and others. We've speculated the cause is genetic and not diet so there isn't a lot we can recommend on diet and lifestyle, however we have been able to give them medications that would have cost them several months wages to buy on their own.
The good news for those mothers out there, is that the baby boy is on the path of healing. Don's treatment yesterday and today has made a very noticable difference and we believe a third treatment tomorrow will have it well under control.
Speaking earlier of heart, I have failed to mention the people we are serving with. Out team is composed of six volunteers from Oregon and nine volunteers from the Philippines. This does not include the scores of people who live on Limasawa who have blessed us with their time and talents.

Pastor Wen and Orlun

I'll start with Pastor Wen. He is a traveling missionary who founded the Nazarene Church in Tacloban. He now spends his time traveling across the Philippines reaching out to the tribal regions to bring Christ's love. His heart and focus on who he serves are incredible and I am blessed to work with him.
Pastor Wen's wife Inday (pronounced N-dye) is working with her sister, Phebe.

Phebe

Phebe checks people into the clinic and to keep an orderly flow while Inday is working with Don as an interpreter.

Inday

Elena is working with Lea, pronounced like Princess Lea, as her interpreter to start a chart on patients.

Lea

Amber's nursing team of Shyne, Sherds and Wendy are a wonder to watch in action. You can see their confidence grow every day and their smiles are contagious.

Carol, Leslei and Jade

Leslei and Jade

In the pharmacy, Carol's team of Jade (the Cake Boss) and Leslei have been keeping the meds intact and delivered using full health standards. They are often the last faces people will see before they leave the clinic and have such a heart for the people. Leslei was great as she took a woman's baby and just walked around the clinic with her today.

Mary and Pastor Ruben

Mary and her team of Pastor Ruben, Anianito, Rei and Wen (today) and Pastor Glen (Monday and Tuesday) may pretend they are bringing the gift of sight, but they are our front line soldiers against the enemy. Together they have prayed for many people and brought several into new relationships with Christ. Even today, they prayed for more than one hour over a very ill woman who was dabbling in witchcraft. She gave her life to Christ and we hope that a spiritual healing will develop as well as a physical healing.

Lemuel

Lemuel has been my personal assistant and photography student. When he isn't following my various whims and playing goiofy games, he is learning the art of photography in order to take better photos when he is on missions in this country. Our jack of all trades is Orlun, who when not flashing a great smile at everyone is praying with people, interpreting, keeping the crowds orderly  or serving in any other role he is able. Juliana has been our prayer support team leader and like you, has faithfully prayed for our day-to-day missions and safety.
Last but definitely not least, there are those who prepare our very tasty meals and even spend their days fanning the medical staff to keep them as cool as humanly possible. They will do this for hours every day without pay - it's simply amazing!
Tomorrow we will hold our last clinic. The reality of this is setting in as we see our supplies dwindling and suitcases that are starting to be given away. We will return with very little if anything. Most of what we don't use will be donated to a local doctor who will distribute them among barangay (town) health workers to be given to the people.
Just so you know, it won't mean the blog will end on Saturday. I will take a day off and then start on my second mission in the Philippines as I work with Jim and Allene Latzko, Western Baptist Bible College, now Corban University, graduates, '77, who have spent 30 years in the Philippines helping establish   new church plants around Tacloban. My hope is to capture their work and through the power of visual communications, be able to spread the news about the good work they are doing with others in this nation.
I've gotta get some sleep, but before I do I'd like to make a few prayer requests. First, please continue to pray for our safety and health. We are all strong and would like to finish that way. Please pray for my family at home. Maddy had a bit of an emergency today. She's doing fine now, but just lift them up as you are able.
Please pray for me as I make the transition from one mission to the next.  Help me identify the best ways I can use my gifts and talents serve the Latzko's and their call to full-time missions.
God bless,
Sheldon