Chris and Lynne Strange Your missionary connection in the Philippines A Little Gift
Colorful confusion!
Busy missionary moms need a substitute granny on occasion. One mom who is also the pilot’s wife texted that her pilot husband needed to fly into a tribal location which meant she needed to flight follow. Which meant she had to stay by her computer and radio while he was in the air to the village until he returned to the hanger. Which meant her daughter would miss her second day of ballet class. Unless a Lola (Filipino for ‘Granny’) would take her to class.
We are in the sorting, tossing, packing and re-packing stage of our preparations for furlough. It’s overwhelming with all the details of getting cargo shipped to the USA in a month, coordinating several domestic flights for remaining ministry as well as arranging our international flights. All very important, tedious, dry and boring details. All the plans being made then scratched and blocked for no other reason than to teach us humility. And the endless phone calls that end in frustration because the new information doesn’t match the information that was given yesterday that was very critical to us ending up in the United States – together.It was just not a good time for me to take off from all of that.
On top of that, my hair was dirty since I hadn’t planned on leaving the phone or computer for weeks! Or at least until that one room was completely sorted and packed away for the move. Also Chris needed to use the car we borrowed. On top of that I’m feeling burdened that we have two patients from the village in the hospital in a town three hours one way over broken roads and I hadn’t visited in over a week.
And she needed a lola. I’m the only lola here right now. So I washed my face and pulled my dirty hair into a clip, hitched a ride with Chris and his friend and headed to ballet class.
Ballet class! Excited girls of all ages and sizes flitted in colorful, bouncy tutus, tights and ballet slippers. Little beginner ballerinas hopping and twisting and pointing toes in a chaotic display of utter confusion! I smiled then laughed as I chatted with the mothers, dads and lolas in the sidelines snapping pictures at the little dancers every move.
And I prayed. I prayed for my daughter-in-law and my little granddaughters on the other side of the world doing exciting things that I miss forever. I prayed for the grandmothers (and the granddads) on the other side of the world missing forever this moment of beauty their little granddaughters were creating.
And, I thanked God for the gift.
Teamwork
Repairs Being Made
This is our first look at the repairs on our airstrip and we were delighted that we could see all the work scraping off the grass and leveling the strip well past the little waiting area we lovingly 
call the ULA International Airport.
We are very grateful to the Lord for:
- the many folk that gave sacrificially for all the labor costs and supplies for the repairs
- our partner, that he could arrange his schedule in Australia to come back to the Philippines for the month of April to do the ground work and supervising
- for safety for the village people working by pick axe, shovel and muscle power in the blistering heat *Please pray for unhindered work on their farms as this is normally the busiest time for getting the land cleared and burned before planting
- for our missionary pilot for his expertise in directing the repairs necessary and his willingness to hold flights until he could make the overland trip into the village to assess the situation first hand
- for safety for Chris to travel the hazardous roads in a borrowed truck (thank you co-workers!) buying supplies and transporting people and those supplies so they could make the trip into the village
- for all those who remembered to pray for the whole process and continue until the plane safely returns to our village and for the continued work God is doing among the Banwaon
After all, it takes a TEAM!
Ministry Miles
Most envision a missionary teaching or studying the Bible at a desk surrounded by resource material with a squeaky fan blowing the bugs out of his face.
But sometimes he sits behind the wheel in a hot car barely moving over broken roads. Trip after trip, he sleeps in tiny hotel rooms with limited electricity, cold showers and sketchy food. Sometimes he shops, in scavenger hunt fashion, searching in four different cities ducking in and out of countless, dark, dusty stores that only stock one or two of the 90 needed items to get all the hardware for the airstrip repairs. (There is no one-stop shopping here!)
Chris traveled over 2796 miles (4500 K) in this ministry month. Not the usual miles racked up in the seat of an airplane. Road miles. The slow and painfully bounced, jerked and slammed to a stop kind of miles. ALL OF THEM. Literally.
The national highway that circles northern Mindanao, the island we serve on, is under major repair. Because it is majorly in disrepair. Heavy rains caused the road bed to wash out from under the asphalt surface causing a ‘peanut brittle’ effect. The road works crew then scoops up this brittle road one lane at a time with a bulldozer that tosses it aside while all the traffic uses the ‘free’ lane. And not in servicable sections like you might imagine. This roadworks project covers the entire national highway!
Actual forward speed
V-e-r-y slowly uses the free lane. It is not at all unusual to sit 2 hours while traffic passes in that lane. Over and over again all along those many miles. Why?
Because the national highway is the only roadway that takes you around the island. Why would Chris do all those miles when the road is such a mess? When the driving and sitting all those hours causes leg and back cramps that wake him in the middle of the night? When he would rest at home just one night to turn around and make the painful trip all over again? FOUR TIMES in THREE WEEKS? Why?
Because it pleases God when missionaries work as a team. We share the privilege to serve Him as part of the New Tribes missionary team here on Mindanao, not just partners in the translation team for the Banwaon.
Chris first made that roundtrip in four days to take me and my two friends to the pick-up point for our road trip into the village by motor bike. Then he supply shopped before he came back to pick us up again. Then he slept one night at home and covered the same painful journey adding a day to pick up our partner to make his motor bike trip into the village to repair our condemned airstrip. Then he returned home to sleep two nights in his own bed only to turn around to do the three day trip again and three days back with the New Tribes Mission Aviation pilot who went in to explain the specific details of the repairs needed on the airstrip. All four of those round trips literally fill the three week time frame.
Supply buying and mobilization was Chris’ part of the teamwork needed to complete the repairs on our airstrip.
God knows just how to plug each of us into the team to suit His purpose and plant a church for His Glory.
A Visit into the Banwaon Village
We count it such a blessing when God permits a visit into the beautiful Banwaon village that we think of as our jungle home here in the Philippines. We plan and the Lord directs our steps so even though we planned on a visit since last year, the weather, finances or transportation fell through. We accepted this as part of His plan, prayed and kept our options open.
We didn’t have the luxury of leaving the village the way we hoped. Our house was just locked and we flew out of the village with plans to return every two months to update and repair their Bible Portion Books, visit with our brothers and sisters in the Lord there, and slowly pack our house for our year long furlough coming up this year. Earthquakes and earth tremors coupled with heavy rains destroyed our airstrip. Chris’ back surgeries did not permit him to return by the arduous road trip on motorbike (see a slideshow of this trip by clicking here). We waited. Time became an issue as we have to send our belongings to America on a container by next month. We knew God has no problem with time, so we trusted His plan and waited for His lead.
God opened that possibility of my return to visit our friends and attend the little village Church, pack up our house and introduce two of my town friends to our friends in the village. We saw the opportunity and ran through that open door! Click here for pictures.
God also opened the door for our co-worker and translator in this village, Albert Castelijn, to return this month to supervise the needed repairs on the airstrip. One of our pilots, Joel Davis, made the difficult trip overland to explain the work needed so our airstrip can be safely used again. Please pray for Albert and the two hundred workers that are doing the difficult labor getting those extensive repairs completed.
We praise and thank God for allowing us to be here in the Philippines anticipating a working airstrip so Chris can return to the village to say good-bye before we leave. Our first year long furlough will begin when we leave later this year. We have mixed emotions revolving around that – joyous to reconnect with our family and friends back in America equalling the pain of leaving our family and friends here. Please pray for us. The good-bye ritual to our Philippine family in the Lord, friends and co-workers is started. It is difficult. Packing is difficult. All the details of a major move is difficult.
It is precious to us that God continually shows us the value of waiting upon Him and His plan as we go through this journey. Pray for us to be sensitive to wait for His leading and, just like before, run through the door that He opens for us!
Thank you for faithfully praying for these concerns. We are aware of your prayers through the strength and endurance given as the details fall into place. We are grateful, always.
Kaamulan
KAAMULAN
Kaamulan means “social gathering” in the dialect of the indigenous people of the northern Mindanao jungles. These meetings were called for weddings, peace negotiations, and rituals. Sacrifices and communion with evil spirits mark each one. In our town, every year there is a special celebration to celebrate the tribal peoples that originally inhabited this area.
Many tribes are represented in this festival that now benefits the town by drawing tourists and participants as hand crafted goods, displays of tribal sports and skills, food and art vendors delight visitors and locals alike. The sad news to all this is the obvious entrapment the spirits still have over these people. They fear and sacrifice to these evil beings that enslave every part of their lives. Please pray for the efforts to win these to Christ. Pray that the enchanting displays will not mask the terror these people live and die in every day. Pray for salvation.
Our Banwaon friends share how the spirits try even now to draw them back into that slavery. They share how the Holy Spirit enables them to walk in freedom and pass by the trees where the spirits dwell. They no longer fear what the spirits threaten to do because almighty God is their strength and the battle is won! Pray for their efforts to share this Good News throughout the tribes.
Here are some photos from Kaamulan celebrations: Click here
Diligence, Faith and Patience with Prayer
Tags: airdrop, Chris and Lynne Strange, flight, jungle, Ministry, supplies, village
Airdrop!
over the airstrip
We are becoming well acquainted with airdropping supplies into our village. Since our airstrip was condemned last year, we have not been able to get supplies into our village except by airdrop. Learning to pack for the airdrops was a learning curve since Chris is the one that gets to shuffle the bags out the open door of the plane and we wanted bundles to actually make it unharmed.
“OPEN DOOR?!!!”
Village News and Prayer Requests
Friends from our village in the hospital boarding house
“Inay Brin, Mahagsay ha masulum!”
My heart did a little leap when I read the “Good morning!” greeting on my phone screen last Friday. It’s only our friends in the village that call us “Amay” and “Inay Brin!”
Like A Child
I cherish Luke’s telling of Jesus’ desire to be with children. Like dutiful support personnel, the disciples were shooing away the exuberant little kids clamoring for His touch. They frowned at the parents and scolded them for pushing their little ones toward Him. The NLT version of Luke 18:16-17 says, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
Wow. Never… NEVER! Strong words from our Savior.
(just a side note: It’s an interesting study to find the verses where Jesus says “never.”)
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