Mission: Relief

Over the past couple of weeks, YWAM Mountain Province has been collecting donations for relief to areas affected by Typhoon Pepeng.  A generous amount of support was provided by Care Channel.  In all, 100 family packs were prepared.  Other donors helped mobilize and provide food budget for the outreach team.

The Tribal Discipleship Training School students, who are tasked to distribute the relief goods, are currently in Lubon, Tadian.  There they are assisting in spiritual and physical relief efforts, including distribution of a portion of the family packs.  The DTS team from Baguio that is on their outreach to Mountain Province will also be distributing relief goods in Lubon.  Early next month, both teams will distribute items in the Sadanga area.

Patrick, our base director and TDTS leader, is with the team and relates that the local officials are asking for help and relief for those whose properties have been damaged.  The officials confided that relief has been concentrated on those whose houses were damaged and the casualties of the typhoon.  But those whose rice fields were ready for harvest and washed out have gotten little attention.  Donations are still welcome to assist in these areas.  If you would like to help us bring relief to those in need, contact us at ywammtprovince@yahoo.com.

Below are pictures of the YWAM Mountain Province team preparing the family packs.

 

Sem Break

Semester breaks are upon us here in Bontoc.  The college has already begun their break.  The high school break begins next week.  So most of the students from our Student Sponsorship Ministry are now enjoying time at home with their families, glad to have exams behind them.

In a way, even the Tribal Discipleship Training School is at a semester break.  They have completed their lecture phase and are making preparations for their final outreach.  They intend to go to some of the areas in the region that were devastated by the landslides that resulted from Typhoon Pepeng.

During their midterm outreach in September, they served in the villages of Sadanga and Anabel.  While there, they applied what they learned about oral story telling as they shared Bible stories with the people in the evenings.  Because the rains often kept people from going out, the team visited people in their homes and also spent a lot of time in intercessory prayer.  A couple of times during the week, they went up to the gates of the village and prayed.  Several felt that doing so was a great privilege.  Click here to check out a video of their mid-term outreach.

Next week the TDTS students will be off again.  This time on their final outreach in order to fulfill the requirements of the school.

 

TDTS 2009

TDTS 2009

The Tribal Discipleship Training School commenced on the July 13.  The students come to us from five different provinces of Northern Luzon.  Annaliza and Jennie are both from Cagayan Province.  Delfin is from Abra Province. Felicidad is from Benget Province.  From our home of Mountain Province, we have Elvie, Fedrick, Nora, and Norma.  The staff also is from a broad geographic area.  Four are from Mountain Province, two from Australia, and one from Papua New Guinea.

This year the TDTS has gone multi-lingual, so we are enjoying the differences in language and the joy of being translated. We see the creativity of God in the way we speak and are thankful that God also grants understanding.

Our first week we got to know each other through orientation, introductions, and telling our personal stories.

Our lectures began with one of the founders of YWAM Mountain Province, Paulina Sablan. She taught on the topic of Hearing the Voice of God.  This was a great time of discovery as Paulina shared her personal experiences and the students enjoyed the practical sessions.

Other topics which will be explored during the school include:

• Boundaries
• Spiritual Warfare
• Godly Relationships
• Worship and Prayer
• Clear Conscience
• The OneStory Approach
• Relationships in the Body
• The Nature and Character of God
• Redeeming the Culture
• Missions/Discipling Nations
• Team Building
• Community Organizing

Besides the lectures and practical sessions, there will also be a mid-term and final outreach to help them put the many things they have learned into practice.

We wish them well as they learn to KNOW GOD AND MAKE HIM KNOWN!

 

Gilbert

Gilbert Fatawil 11/24/1981 - 07/06/2009

It is with sad hearts that we say good-bye to one of our Student Sponsorship Ministry students, Gilbert.  Yet we know that he is now dancing on streets of gold.  In this life Gilbert helped us worship the One we have not yet seen.  Now Gilbert sees Him face-to-face.

Gilbert was from the village of Poblacion Sadanga.  His father is pastor of the church in the village.  He was the 4th of 10 children, with 3 brothers and 6 sisters.

He was studying secondary education at Mountain Province State Polytechnic College, here in Bontoc, with hopes of becoming a teacher.  Prior to joining the Student Sponsorship Ministry, Gilbert completed Bible college which was a turning point in his life.

Gilbert will be remembered for many things.  Some are reminded of his beaming, slightly mischievous smile.  All of YWAM Mountain Province were blessed by his musical abilities and the many times he would lead worship during gatherings.  In reminiscing about Gilbert’s recent mission trip to Laos, one of the students who accompanied him spoke of his love for children and the games of duck-duck-goose he played with the kids.  Gilbert loved to play games and was a fun and fierce competitor.

In a recent survey of the SSM students and their plans, Gilbert wrote of his life’s dream.

The dream I had for my life is to be a example and be pleasing to the sight of God.

June, 2009

Those who knew Gilbert are confident he has fulfilled this dream.

 

It’s Now Official

We are going public. 

This site is now the official electronic communication site for YWAM Mountain Province in Bontoc, Philippines.  Please take some time to explore it.  Leave a comment and let us know you stopped by.