Yes...we ARE alive!

For those of you who are wondering if we fell off the face of the earth....we didn't. It's just been a crazy couple of months since returning back to Legazpi City. As I have time, I will try to post some of the things that have happened since our lives were turned upside down last November. Most of you know that we ended up returning to the States briefly during December and January. It was a wonderful, much needed break! The love and encouragement we received from family and friends meant more to us than words could ever express. Even though our time in the States was very hectic and didn't allow for much rest, by the time we returned here we felt much more prepared to deal with what lay ahead.

As of about a week ago, our computers/internet/network are all up and running! Hallelujah! All major appliances are back in working order and/or new ones have been purchased. The school room has been completely cleaned and repainted and put back together and school is once again in full swing. Our cable tv still has not been reconnected, but with everything else going on, there really hasn't been time to watch tv anyway! (However, we are really missing Fox News and the Mavs games!) We've been told that we'll have cable by the end of March, but I'll be surprised if that actually happens.

As of now, we have decided to stay in our house. We've looked at some other options, but they were all in worse shape than ours. We had a call from a realtor yesterday and he still has one option for us. Please pray for God to give us wisdom concerning our housing. If we stay here, there are some definite things that will need to be done before next typhoon season - mainly dealing with some drainage issues. Our landlord has been wonderful through the whole process and has been very willing to send guys to do the repair work. That is a HUGE blessing.

There have been so many things that have happened in the last 2 months that it may take a while to get everything posted. We have had some wonderful times of fellowship with our friends and colleagues here.

For the first time in a very long time, I can say that life (almost) feels normal again! However, there really is no such thing as "NORMAL" when you live on the mission field. But whatever it is that we are feeling, it feels nice. Thanks for all the prayers that have been lifted on our behalf. If it weren't for God's people praying, I don't know that we would have made it through the last few months. It has been hard, but God is good and we are excited to see what He has in store for the work in this area.