“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, 'Thus far the LORD has helped us'“ (1 Samuel 7:12, NIV).
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While serving as the pastor of the Filipino American Christian Church, we would occasionally give Ebenezer Stones to leaders and volunteers. Why, you might ask? Well, for one thing, the word Ebenezer appears in one of our community's favorite hymns: "Come Thou Fount."
Secondly, and more importantly, the Hebrew word Ebenezer means “stone of help” (eben = stone; ezer = help). It comes from the book of 1 Samuel. Samuel served as the first prophet of Israel (Acts 3:24) during a tremendously pivotal moment in the history of God's people.
In chapter 7, Samuel gathered the people of Israel at Mizpah. The Israelites were brought there to fast and confess their sins; to turn back to the Lord and humble themselves before Him. News of their arrival in Mizpah had reached their enemies, the Philistines (not the Philippines, mind you, but the Philistines 😊). The people cried out to the Lord and asked of Samuel, "Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines" (1 Samuel 7:8). The Lord responded, "thundering with a mighty sound" (7:10) and throwing the Philistines into confusion. The Israelites drove them away, and at the point between Mizpah and Shen to where the Israelites drove the Philistines, Samuel set up a stone and called its name Ebenezer, "for he said, 'Till now the Lord has helped us'" (7:12).
Samuel wanted the people to remember, not just for a few days, but for years, decades, and generations, how God had come to the rescue of His people when they humbled themselves before Him. They were vulnerable, their enemies were approaching, and they did not deserve God’s rescue because of how unfaithful they'd been in the past. And yet, by His grace and by His mercy, God intervened.
We handed out Ebenezer Stones (like the one pictured to the left) to commemorate great successes that the Lord had given to us; landmark moments in the history of our church. We thanked God, acknowledging that it was the Lord who brought us together, and that it was the Lord who granted us success.
Just a couple of weeks ago, the Lord granted our family a tremendous milestone! WE HAVE BEEN SERVING IN CEBU FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR!
And what a year it has been! I wish I could give each and every one of you an Ebenezer Stone. The Lord has helped us to reach this milestone by putting all of you in our lives. Your love, prayers, support, and encouragement have helped us make it through an indescribable, and unpredictable, 2019-2020. Looking back, it's almost hard to believe that we ...
transitioned to life in a new country
cared for and bonded with the most amazing children (there are presently 76 children at the Shelter, plus 3 adults in our Wally Johnson Transition Home)
experienced the death of a resident just before Christmas
said farewell to two amazing and beloved friends (the Healy's)
in March, began what turned out to be a seven-month (and counting) quarantine to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
and so much more!
Thank you for being a part of this; for being a manifestation of the Lord's help in our lives!
UPDATES AND HIGHLIGHTS
Over the next couple of weeks, we will be posting highlights from our first year in Cebu; share a few fun stories, maybe some more recipes, and tons of pics. We wanted to start doing this leading up to our one year anniversary in late September, but the heavy rain-storms in the Philippines have wreaked havoc on our internet connection.
In the meantime, I'll start with this ...
CHRISTMAS IN SEPTEMBER
September marked the 6-month period of our quarantine and lockdown in Cebu. That's right, about half of our first-year in Cebu was spent navigating a pandemic; dodging barricades, making plans, adjusting those plans, and ultimately trusting in God to ensure that the Shelter, and our family, remained healthy and stocked with supplies.
One of the side-effects of the quarantines in Cebu has been unpredictable/limited shipments making it to the island. This was felt indirectly by certain items going out of stock for weeks at a time (e.g. - flour was extremely hard to find for the first couple months of the quarantine). More directly, mail and other items sent directly to the Shelter also experienced delays.
Then, in the middle of September, right when our family was starting to really feel the strain of being locked down for six months, two huge balikbayan boxes arrived from the States! It was like Christmas in September and was a HUGE encouragement!!!
We can't say thank you enough to our brothers and sisters in Christ! Thank you for your loving generosity; I can't even begin to describe in words how much these boxes meant to our family!
Tessi got the honor of opening up both boxes, as you can see in the pictures below. Thank you so much Waterbrooke Christian Church for the books, puzzles, treats, and blessings!
And thank you FACC for the gifts, candies, essentials, and love 😊.
It was just absolutely amazing to us! It's as though the Lord whispered in your ears exactly what we needed to make it through this unique time. We are so blessed and honored to have your love and support. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!
Now that our home internet is back, we'll post our backlog of updates over the next couple of weeks. For now, we'll leave you with the following praises and prayer requests.
PRAISES
Heather's visa situation has been resolved! Back on September 17th, her one year balikbayan visa expired. This visa is granted for free to spouses of Filipino citizens. Fortunately, government offices began opening up more and more around July/August, and Heather was able to get a tourist visa to continue staying in the Philippines legally. It's funny, because with travel restrictions, we pretty much have to stay put, visa or not. But praise God for allowing us to cross that hurdle. A tourist visa is pricier and has to be renewed at one, two, or six month intervals.
Our kids have started another year of school! Along with the balikbayan boxes pictured above were boxes from my family in California. Their shipment had all of our curriculum for the next school year ... YAY! The box from my family came with treats, as well as clothes from the kids' grandparent, and school work. As you can imagine, the textbooks didn't get quite the same reaction from the kids as everything else ... haha.
Cebu has a city-wide facemask and face-shield mandate. That means that both of those items are required in all public spaces; you basically need to have both of them on as soon as you step outside your door. Fortunately, Heather and the kids have kept themselves busy by crafting reusable facemasks! When we came a year ago, Heather brought some fabric and crafts to help with the kids' transition. Praise God for giving her the foresight to pack those supplies!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Please pray for continued health and safety. The number of active cases in Cebu, and in the Philippines, have been dropping steadily over the past month and a half. Because of this, the government has reduced much of the Philippines to the lowest-level of quarantine (Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine). This allows for the opening of certain businesses at 50% capacity (cafes, restaurants, clothing stores, etc.) as well as other more essential businesses at 100% capacity. It also means that buses and other public transportation will be running at reduced capacity as well. Please pray that the relaxed quarantine measures don't lead to a resurgence in coronavirus infections.
As government offices open up (such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Inter-Country Adoption Board) we are navigating the new processes involved in having children referred to the Shelter, as well as the new processes for placing children with families (both nationally and abroad). Pray that the Lord would continue to bless, lead, and guide us through this. The last thing we would want is for our ability to care for children to be hindered. We'll provide more info on this topic in an upcoming post on the CSC blog.
It's rainy season here in the Philippines, and it has been an especially wet one. There was already flooding in downtown Cebu along Mango Ave. Please pray that everyone is able to stay safe and healthy as tropical storms come barreling down on the islands. Below are pictures of a thunder storm I tried to capture with my phone camera.
Thank you all again for praying with us! May the Lord continue to bless you and keep you safe. We don't know when we'll be able to come see you again in person, but know that you are in our prayers always!
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