The CDO - Cagayan de Oro, Philippines

We started our travels on a Tuesday morning at 6:00am leaving Kona, Hawaii and ending on Friday at 5:30 pm in Cagayan de Oro (CDO), Philippines - can you say tired?  It was pretty wild to see how well all the families with small children did with traveling that much, I think there was only one meltdown and he is 5 so I  say bravo to all those kids!  Nick and Sydney were amazing, they are great travelers, made to be missionaries!

We are staying in one room together with a bathroom and a shower, it is definitely do-able for us.  The big bonus is that we have air conditioning, thank you Lord!  It is very hot here with the average temperature of 95 but it feels more like 110 degrees with the humidity.  The people are very friendly and the children are so cute!  The YWAM "base" here in CDO is actually in someone's house which I have been told is quite normal, their hospitality is off the charts!!!  They cook all our meals for us and will even do our laundry for a small fee, they are amazing.  One of the things I have felt God telling me is to "out serve" our hosts, this will not be an easy task as they open their home to a bunch of strangers and feed us, but I am going to try my best.  I am trying to be better at posting and keeping everyone up-to-date on our ministry here in the Philippines.  Our internet is a bit spotty, so I will try to give word at least once a week.

God bless and keep us in your prayers!

My peace I give you. (John 14:27)

Two painters were once asked to paint a picture illustrating his own idea of rest.  The first chose for his scene a quiet, lonely lake, nestled among mountains far away.  The second, using swift, broad strokes on his canvas. painted a thundering waterfall.  Beneath the falls grew a fragile birch tree, bonding over the foam.  On its branches, nearly wet with the spray from the falls, sat a robin on its nest.  The first paining was simply a picture of stagnation and inactivity.  The second, however, depicted rest.
Outwardly, Christ endured one of the most trouble lives ever lived.  Storms and turmoil, turmoil and storms - wave after wave broke over him until his worn body was laid in the tomb.  Yet His inner life was as smooth as a sea of glass, and a great calm was always there.
Anyone could have gone to him at any time and found rest.  Even as the human bloodhounds were dogging him in the streets of Jerusalem, he turned to his disciples, offering them a final legacy; "My peace."
Rest is not some holy feeling that comes upon us i church.  It is a state of calm rising from a heart deeply and firmly established in God.
    ~ Henry Drummond

FAITH

I have been reading "The Necessity of Prayer" by EM Bounds and I find it amazing how prayer is bound together by faith in God.  I am so challenged by my "lack of faith" mostly in myself.  EM Bounds says this;

Faith deals with God, and is conscious of God. It deals with the Lord Jesus Christ and sees in Him a Saviour; it deals with God's Word, and lays hold of the truth; it deals with the Spirit of God, and is energized and inspired by its holy fire. God is the great objective of faith; for faith rests its whole weight on His Word. Faith is not an aimless act of the soul, but a looking to God and a resting upon His promises. Just as love and hope have always an objective so, also, has faith. Faith is not believing just anything; it is believing God, resting in Him, trusting His Word.
Faith gives birth to prayer, and grows stronger, strikes deeper, rises higher, in the struggles and wrestlings of mighty petitioning. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the assurance and realization of the inheritance of the saints. Faith, too, is humble and persevering. It can wait and pray; it can stay on its knees, or lie in the dust. It is the one great condition of prayer; the lack of it lies at the root of all poor praying, feeble praying, little praying, unanswered praying.

I want this to be part of my life, a part that just believes deep in my heart that I can have faith in God to complete the work He has started in me.

Miracles

What is a miracle?  The Webster dictionary says; A miracle is an event not ascribable to human power or the laws of nature and consequently attributed to a supernatural, especially divine power.  I know it may be hard to believe in miracles in the year 2013, but I have seen many as of late.  Last week, we had three families in our Family Discipleship Training School that did not have enough many to pay for the remainder of their tuition.  Consequently this meant that they would have to leave  University of the Nations if their tuition was not paid.  The amount needed totalled around $24,000.  We started to really press in and pray for these families, asking God that He would provide if it is His will.  Well I have to tell you, that not only did God provide all the money needed for tuition, He also provided extra for outreach. Praise GOD!!!!  He is so amazing!!  We serve an awesome God that loves us so much and wants us to feel blessed.  Thank you Lord for all your provisions!

An Amazing story of faith!

Hi everyone we are Kevon and Jadine Bullock from Jamaica.  We have two girls Jada and Joanna (7 years and 1 year respectively).  A few months ago we were led to pursue a Discipleship Training School.  We searched for one and found the Family DTS in Kona Hawaii which suited us perfectly.  At the time, we were serving as Mission Builders at the Youth with a Mission base in Manchester Jamaica.  We felt led to do a Family DTS because we were serving as a family and really believed God had an amazing call upon our children.  We wanted to make sure we were raising them after God’s heart.

The journey to get to Hawaii has been one of Faith and Tremendous breakthrough.  It started out with God allowing us to get accepted for the DTS without paying the application fee of $100 US.  We were not working and so had no money to pay this but God caused it to happen.  Jadine and the girls were in need of passports to get here and God allowed one of our friends (we did not even ask her) to give us enough money for the passports and traveling to and from the passport office.  Following that, we were in need of US visas.  We prayed earnestly for this and, as the time was short, we asked God for a speedy process.  Ten days before the school started, a fellow missionary in Jamaica allowed us to use her credit card to pay for four visas – a total $640 US.   God caused us to receive enough money to pay her back.  We got our visa appointment for the very day we were to arrive for school – Thursday April 4, 2013.  We went to our interview praying for God’s favor. We received the visa that day, and miraculously was allowed to pick them up the following day, Friday April 5, 2013 – this would have normally taken five days.  The following day, Saturday April 6, 2013, we decided to leave our home (3 hrs from the airport) and move closer to the airport (45 min away).  At this time we did not know where we would have gotten the plane tickets.  We still had no money at all.  We kept on praying and trusting God.  The families that were already in Hawaii for the Family DTS were also praying for us among others.  Three days later, Tuesday April 9, 2013, we received a call from our school leader saying that there was a potential donor for our plane tickets.  We sent our passport Information to him and within half an hour we were printing our travel itinerary.  The following morning, Wednesday April 10, 2013, we were on a flight form Montego Bay Jamaica heading to Kona Hawaii leaving the island for the first time.  God is AMAZING!!!

Our vision as a family is to live God’s dream of taking the gospel to the nations.  We want to be a light to our nation and other nations of the world by restoring broken families.  God has called us to disciple the younger generation and send these young disciples into the nations with God’s word.

This family is living the life of faith in God for everything and HE has proven worthy of their praise. The Bullock's are in financial need for the remainder of their tuition fees for the Family DTS.  If you believe you are led to give to them, please pray about it and let me know.  We have an account set up for them at YWAM.

God Bless you!!!

We are headed to the Philippines in June and will be involved in many different ministries.  We need your help to serve these amazing people. It takes $5.00 per child to give them the necessities in order to attend school yet many children can not go because they don't even have that.  Please, pray about what you are to give, seek God's guidance in this and know that God will multiply the gifts and bless the givers!  Donations can be made through; Desert Song Community Church, 640 SW Evergreen, Redmond, OR 97756.  

These are tax deductible donations and every penny goes to the ministry in the Philippines. Thank you in advance for making a difference!

Scott and Katie Suderno

Changing Focus Ministries

Am I listening?

Sometimes I find it hard to listen for God's still small voice amongst the rest of the noise in my life.  I tend to ask God, "Why can't you just yell it at me instead of whispering!"  Then I would get it right!  But no, instead we need to be silent, spending time in God's word and waiting . . . . .sometimes waiting some more . . . . . until, HE speaks!  Putting our faith in a God who whispers can prove to be a challenge in our life of not sitting still, but it's worth it.

Today I was sitting and listening and God gave me a verse, Luke 12:52 - "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom."  I really needed this as a reassurance that God will provide for us during this time of beginning a new missionary ministry.  I know that He has chosen this path for us and we are to walk it out in faith.

If any of you would like to donate to our missions ministry, you can send a tax-deductible contribution to;
Desert Song Community Church
640 SW Evergreen
Redmond, OR  97756