Rich and Lynn Bright Serving in the Philippines New and Noteworthy
Over the last three months the Lord has allowed us to be part of a positive change in the life of one of his precious little ones. We have been so privileged to be able help a young boy who was born with a severe cleft lip and palate. He is from a Northern Island where our co-workers the Binders are serving. The boy was severely underweight that when he was brought out of the tribe the doctors could not operate on him immediately. So, our family and missionary partners all took on the task of getting him healthy. Over several months we fed him lots of milk and ensure and other foods and vitamins. Co-workers from all over the Philippines helped in searching for and shipping nutritional essentials and supplements to aid the effort. We were so grateful that the Lord blessed our efforts and the boy put on about 4 kilos- 8 lbs. It was still not really enough but we prayed and the doctors finally approved him for the corrective procedure.
He went in for the surgery and everything went extremely well. When he woke up from the surgery this little boy smiled for the first time in a long time and was able to speak clearly. I (lynn) cried when I first saw him after the operation. He looked and acted like a totally different person. He held his head up and looked you in the face whereas before he would not. We want all of you that support us to know that you have had a part in this work of God. Your prayers and support are for something so much greater than we are sometimes able to describe to you. This child was blessed and we were blessed because you all, that answer God’s call to serve, have been faithful. Thank you. Please, if you have the time we’d love for you to flip through the pictures of this young boy’s transformation
We also ask that you
1. Please pray that because of this experience this young boy and his family are receptive to the Gospel, so that that their hearts may also be transformed.
2. Pray that all of us who are in contact with this family will be faithful to represent our God and share the Gospel well.
The Philippines in March
Dear partners,
First off we apologize that it has taken us quite some time to update you, things around here have been very busy. We just wanted to give you a quick update so that you can be informed as to what God is doing over here and how you can keep praying for us.
God is doing some great things here in the Philippines in answers to all of our prayers. This last month has been extremely busy and extremely hot. Walking around is like taking a shower. By God’s grace we were able to keep all our missionaries supplied and working in their tribal locations. Despite not having any rain since November the humidity here is at an all time high- an odd thing during a drought. This means that some plants thrive and others don’t. We are blessed that the garden we have is doing well to keep us supplied with vegetables like tomatoes and peppers. We pray though for those who depend on agriculture who are suffering because of the lack of rain.
Recently we (Rich mainly) have been managing a construction project at our guesthouse here in Palawan. There was some much needed renovations and repairs that needed to be done on existing building. The guesthouse is very important to the missionaries here because it is a place for missionaries to come and rest when the come out of the tribe. We are nearly finished the actual construction, just the electrical is left but unfortunately we have had to halt constructions as the funds have run out. Please be in prayer for this as we only need another 6000.00 dollars to complete The project. We are praying and confident that God will provide the means in His own time.
In summary
1. Praise God for granting Rich the skills and talent to be able to oversee construction projects that arise.
2. Please be in prayer that God will supply the funds needed to finish the project
3. Pray that the drought will lift and farmers crops will thrive, but if the drought remains pray that those of us who are blessed reach out to those less fortunate.
Wedding!
This past December our oldest son John was married on the beach here in the Philippines. We’ve had many requests from friends for us to post pictures; so here they are. We hope you enjoy them. We were so blessed to have all our kids together for this blessed event! This wedding, like our daughter’s, was such a powerful reminder to us of God’s love, care and faithful provision for our family over the years.
We’re Networking
We’re in the process of updating our blog, so check out our new pictures, updates and other information. We’d love to hear from you!
Also: check us out on facebook or follow us on twitter
What We’re Up to Now
Our current role as a part of the New Tribes work is the buying and shipping of essential goods to our partners in the remote tribes on the island of Palawan in the Philippines. We scour markets finding the best prices for fresh produce, medical supplies, clothing and other essentials that are crucial to the work they are doing. Along with the physical support we are also the link to the outside world for these scattered groups. We take great care in delivering letters sent by friends and family, along with providing them with developing news and weather over shortwave radio. If there is ever an emergency situation, we are the first line of assistance.
Welcome!
We’re the Bright family. Thank you for visiting our NTM blog! You can see some photos and some brief information about us here, but we’d love to hear from you! Send us an email at rich_bright@ntm.org or use the contact page on this website. We’ll include you on our email list so you can keep up with what we’re doing. You can also find out more about what we’re doing on our facebook fan page.