Lucas and Naomi Lorenz National Culture and Language Study, Philippines Picking up the slack
A tribal missionary wears many different hats. He may act as doctor, researcher, buyer, farming consultant, weather man, builder, parent, consultant, language learner, listening ear, plumber, translator, Bible teacher, mechanic, and etc. all at any given time. One job that can become a frustration and very time consuming is maintenance and community development. When the missionary has to deal with those type of physical issues it can feel as if he isn’t accomplishing his ministry goals and yet, he needs the function of the house, air strip, water source or generator to be in prime condition in order to carry out his ministry. The role a community developer plays on a tribal team is very important
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Like a Paradise
If I wrote an article about all we did and saw while visiting the Southern Isnag it would be too long to read! Here are a few of the pictures I captured. We hope you enjoy
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Isolated yet not without Hope
Concrete walls, security wire, locked car doors, passwords, constantly checking our surroundings, guard checks, and carrying little of value are what are familiar these days. We are constantly confronted with the status system: expensive cars driving past poor people sleeping on the sidewalk; men collecting recyclables all day to only make enough to pay for one family meal; guarded communities with high class amenities next to hundreds of families living in a squatter area; college graduates waiting for work but unwilling to take a lesser paying job than their qualifications; friends living in debt they can never repay just to feed/clothe/school their children.
Lucas and Lito adding wire to the guest house center to heighten security.
In contrast to what we have adjusted to these past 18 months, life in the interior of the Philippines is much simpler. October 4-10 our family was able to visit the Southern Isnag work in Northern Luzon hosted by the Bamford family. What a change for us to not have cell service, internet, or need for cash! It was a load off our shoulders and indeed was like a vacation. The purpose of our visit had multiple facets:
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Hope to rebook
From the looks of the PAGASA weather report, our flight is not going to happen tomorrow morning. Typhoon Quiel has both increased in strength and moved farther south, making a direct hit on our destination. Hopefully we will be able to rebook…
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First Tribal Visit
“When we get to the mountains…”
As we have been anticipating the past 5 months, we are gearing up to take
our first family tribal visit.
All of us are really excited to be able to go visit the people in the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountain range of Northern Luzon. Our domestic flight is scheduled for October 1. Then on October 4 we will use the NTM helicopter to take us on the 26 minute flight to the village where the missionaries houses are located. Jonathan and Heidi with their two high school children will be our travel mates and hosts. Lord willing and weather permitting we will remain in the village for 7 days, flying out on October 11. Then back home on October 12.
There are several purposes for this visit.
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Retired and serving
One thing that I admire about my parents is that though they are of retirement age, they continue to work as to the Lord through volunteer and Christian service. We are blessed now to have them visiting us here in the Philippines. My dad is working with Lucas at the mission guest house doing remodel projects and maintenance. My mom is also helping at the guest house in small ways and spending time with our kids. Dad and Mom arrived here in early August and will be staying through the month of February.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week my mom and I were a part of a team who put together a kid’s day club for 18 kids ages 1-9.
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Student to Manager
One of the keys of being a missionary is flexibility. Living this way takes an extreme form and delicate balance in a foreign context. In the last two months, we have had to be flexible as we experience that God’s plan for our family is greater than our understanding.
New Tribes trained us to have a profitable ministry in a tribal work. However, God has trained us, through our life experience and natural gifts/ abilities, to have a profitable ministry in a multitude of areas. With God all things are possible and our desire is get the Word into the hands of desperate people. What if this means a cohesion of a support role on a tribal team?
One Year Anniversary
One January 27 our family celebrated our one year anniversary of living here in the Philippines. This was a very exciting, monumental day. In a way it seems like the common marriage philosophy, “if you can make it the first year, well then, it only gets easier from there.”
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Lorenz Link: A Bit Of A Mix
The above picture is of a refreshing dessert that is commonly found at most restaurants here in the Philippines. It is called “Halo Halo” which literally means “mix mix.” Although this dessert is served neatly with all its morsels in orderly piles, it looks vastly different when eaten. The consumer will take a tablespoon and jab through the morsels, shaved ice, and sweetened milk until this pretty array is a sloppy mess. Then he/she will take a bite. But watch out! “Was that a red bean, yuk! Let me see, where is the flan, banana, or sago. Those taste better to me!” When Solomon saw this for the first time he was so excited…
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Solomon’s 6th Birthday
Happy Birthday Solomon, April 3. We celebrated very simply but Solomon had a wonderful time. The Wednesday before, Solomon went to watch “How to Train a Dragon” in the theatre with Lucas, a friend, and the friend’s dad. Solomon came home very excited telling us all about the story.
Early on Saturday morning Grandpa Kelm came over with Solomon’s gifts. Grandpa called Grandma Kelm who was in Idaho so she could watch Solomon open his presents via Skype. That worked out very well. Solomon loved the clock, desk lamp, and floor rug for his bedroom. After that we ate breakfast while talking to Grandma Lorenz on Skype. We are so thankful for technology that allows us to actually see our family.
Around 10 am we, with our neighbors the Smiths, caught taxis to Market! Market!.
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