On Sunday, we attended Dad’s old church in Manila, Grace Gospel Church. His dad had taken him there as a child, and he had been a member there until he went to America. When he had attended, there was only one service. Now there are two English services with a Chinese service sandwiched in between the two. The Chinese service just happened to be at the same time as the former single service, and that’s the one we went to.

All of the songs were in Chinese, although we knew the songs in English so we could follow along. The sermon was in English with a Chinese translator, so we understood that. The only things that were difficult to understand were the prayers and one testimony. It was a little different than our church because some of the ushers were women. They also used red, velvet bags instead of plates for the offering.

Afterwards, we went out to some different places with Lola

On Saturday, we woke up at about 5:30am. We ate breakfast and left at about 7:15am to go to Uncle James’ dental office dedication. Uncle James had moved his office to the fourteenth floor of the World Trade Exchange building in Binondo, Manila.

Because of the size of the city, and the traffic, it took us an hour to get there. All of Dad

On Friday, we went with Uncle John and his brother-in-law to see the Taal Volcano. We ate at a restaurant called Leslie’s and then we went and looked at the volcano. On the way there and back, we saw tricycles, hundreds of roadside markets, water buffalo (carabao), pineapple fields, and shanty houses. I feel bad for those people.
Once again, the traffic was pretty bad. People were even driving on the shoulder (Dad and Uncle John called it the suicide lane) so that they could pass other people!

After seeing the volcano, we went and toured the boyhood home of Jose Rizal in Calamba. That was fun and educational. Outside his house in the downtown area, the main road vehicles were tricycles! That was pretty neat except for all the pollution from the diesel engines.
On the way home, something interesting happened. We were going to go to Starbucks but we missed the exit. However, instead of continuing on, Uncle John’s brother-in-law (the driver) pulled onto the shoulder, put the car in reverse, and backed up all the way to the exit’s exit!
At Starbucks, there were a few different things that caught our attention. First of all, we saw a Previa. Actually it was called a Lucida, and the neat thing about it was that the sliding door was on the opposite side of a normal Previa. At the Starbuck

Seven years ago this month, I visited the Philippines with my dad and sister Jennifer. It was my first time back there since my parents were missionaries to the Philippines in 1990. While there in 2005, I took a long an old Pocket PC and wrote about my experiences each day. This year, I decided to look back and read it, and share my experience with you. Hopefully you learn something too as you read. Thanks!

We made really good time [driving to Minneapolis from Mason City] so we got to eat at Old Country Buffet. Uncle Don took us to the airport and we got everything and everyone all checked in. We found two carts and returned them for quarters. After looking around in a shop too long, we missed the first half of the boarding but we still got on- and our seats were all the way in the back (which means we should have been one of the first ones to board)! Our flight was on a Northwest airlines 757-200, seats 43a-c. Our flight left an hour later than scheduled at 7:52pm CST.

We arrived in Los Angeles, California, at 11:17pm CST- 9:17pm PST. We walked to the Tom Bradley terminal where we met Lola, Uncle James, Aunt Lisa, Jon-Jon, and Josiah (Joseph’s son). For the next few hours we talked with each other and watched as Uncle James got all of his things checked in.

Our longest flight of the trip finally commenced at about 1:30am PST (3:30am CST) Wednesday morning. This time we flew in an EVA Airlines 747-400(386). There were many things that were different about this flight that I have never seen on previous flights that I have been on. First of all, those working on the plane helped us find our exact seat and asked us if we needed anything. They also handed out wet paper towels to wipe our hands with. They used the TVs to explain all the safety stuff too. They also served two-and-a-half really good meals.

We arrived in Taipei at about 5:30am, Taiwan and Philippines time (6:30pm CST, 4:30pm PST). At the airport we saw some interesting things, such as a monorail and some double-decker buses. I also found a coin on the floor- I think it is Taiwanese. Our last flight was on an Eva airlines 767-53EER, flight number 271. It was only an hour-and-a-half flight, yet they still fed us a meal!

As we descended on Manila we started to notice the busy streets, the tin roof houses, and the fish farms in the water. When we got off the airplane, the first thing we noticed was the heat and humidity. On our way to the baggage claim we were met by a small string band that played music for us to welcome us to the Philippines.

After we got through all the immigration and security things we went outside to load up. There we met Bing-Bing, another one of Uncle Joseph’s sons.

As soon as we got on the road, the excitement of our vacation really began. I saw my first jeepney(s) and the traffic was crazy but fun to watch. At one time there was three rows of cars driving in two lanes- and we were in the middle. People would switch lanes without using their blinker and most of the time there was only a one- to two-foot gap between their car and the others’ cars that they squeezed in between. I also could not find any speed limit or stop signs.

At one time, when we had stopped at a real stoplight, I saw a man walk through the rows of cars selling chicharone. Since then I have seen many more people doing the same thing. They sell anything from water to cigarettes; from rags and bananas to flower necklaces and even motorcycle helmets!

When we arrived at Uncle James’s house, we unloaded our luggage and then looked around at the house. It is a very beautiful house and it’s going to look even nicer when they’re finished working on it. We were quite surprised to find a spiral staircase hidden behind our closet when Jon-Jon walked into our room from our closet.
Rest of the day we basically stayed in our room and did nothing.

Meals:
Lunch in Philippines- Rice, chicken soup, milkfish, ice-cold boiled water

Supper- Rice, fried chicken, milkfish, fried chicken, Chinese sausage, bitter melon with eggs, jackfruit ice cream, cheese ice cream

9 days
13 concerts
9 churches
3 Christian schools
37 people
1 ministry tour that will never be forgotten

As a member of the orchestra at Faith Baptist Bible College, it was a dream of mine the past few years to go on a week-long music ministry tour. Last August I received an email informing the orchestra members that at the end of the 2011-2012 school year, we would finally have that opportunity. But halfway through the fall semester, that dream once again became wishful thinking when I received news that the tour had been cancelled.

Not only was I in orchestra, but I joined the handbell ensemble for the first time last fall. The orchestra and handbell choir always travel together, so the news about the cancelled tour was doubly disappointing to me. But what could I do? In a way, I wasn’t surprised by the cancellation because it had taken many years to actually have one scheduled in the first place.

But sometimes, God chooses to crush our dreams before fulfilling them, and when He does so, He demands more glory when He makes our dreams come true. In this case He temporarily took away something I wanted only to give it to me in a way I couldn’t have imagined.

Two of our orchestra members approached our college president, Dr. James Maxwell III, and expressed their disappointment over the cancelled tour. Dr. Maxwell, unaware that a tour was even planned obviously had no idea that it was also cancelled. So what did he do? He took it upon himself to re-initiate the tour and schedule the whole thing! Although the whole ordeal was confusing for awhile, I finally realized that the tour would become a reality, and my dream would come true after all.

Well, the 2012 orchestra/handbell ministry tour has officially began and ended. We departed the school at 1:00pm on Saturday, May 5 (only 24 hours after commencement), and we returned at 1:30am on Monday morning, May 14.

During that time we ministered in 9 churches and 3 Christian schools in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

It is so difficult to write in words just how well the tour went. Glorifying God through music is enjoyable enough. But having the opportunity to do it every single day for a whole week is a huge privilege. Yes, at times it can feel monotonous if the musician falls into the trap of simply going through the motions, and early on in the week I came close to adopting that mindset. But a renewed attitude of service each day helped me embrace each new opportunity to ring and string God’s praises (handbells and violin).

I suppose the easiest way to summarize the tour from my perspective without rambling is to list the highlights of the trip. I praise the Lord for the opportunity I had to travel with many fine musicians on such a fun tour and worship Him with my musical abilities.

I’m also especially thankful to Dan Bjokne (one of our vice-presidents) who came along with his wife to drive one of our shuttles, Dr. Maxwell who scheduled the tour and also joined us with his wife, and the two students who talked to Dr. Maxwell after the tour was originally cancelled. Oh, by the way, neither of those students actually got to come with us either, and yet it was largely because of their efforts that we got to go.

So without further ado, here is a rather extensive list of highlights from tour:
-A surprise visit from my family at the first concert in Albert Lea, MN
-Seeing people that I knew from IRBC at over half of the churches that we visited
-Trying to pick up a MinneSOta accent
-Mall of America and IKEA on Monday
-Receiving encouragement from people that were blessed by our music
-Opening my first sack lunch and finding a $10 bill as I pulled out my sandwich
-Frosted animal crackers
-No homework!
-Dr. Dougherty referring to my good friend Christian Cook as “Chin”, a nickname that is now common among Christian’s friends
-Como Park in Minnesota on Tuesday
-Impromptu “Jesus Loves Me” at the end of an evening concert
-Talking to hosts and playing games with them
-Bubble Talk in the shuttle
-Dutch Blitz in the shuttle
-Chin’s purple socks with his tux
-Learning about the history of different churches we visited
-Grilled pizza
-Camp Fairwood on Thursday
-Encouraging different friends as we talked about the school year and the tour
-Playing soccer with Dr. Dougherty
-Visiting two of Dr. Maxwell’s former churches
-Sleeping on a real bed, a fold-up bed, a 3/4 inflated air bed, a couch, and a bed made of multiple sleeping bags all in one week.
-Millennium Park and Navy Pier in Chicago on Saturday
-Getting a view of Navy Pier from 42 stories up in the expensive Swissotel in Chicago
-Pizza at our hosts’ homes after three different evening concerts
-Hilarious Mad Libs
-Teaming up with Chin to “Pig” Abigail Levy’s bed every single night
-Playing one of my favorite piano arrangements on a $165,000 9-foot Steinway grand piano
-SO many hilarious comments and a few blond jokes from Dr. Maxwell
-Eating tacos at three different churches and dubbing the tour “Taco Tour Twenty-Twelve”
-Handbell quartet
-Taking pictures 🙂
-Building relationships with godly friends
-Sharing snacks from the “snack box” and “snack bags”
-Ringing and stringing for God’s glory, over and over again 🙂

Yes, it was a dream…a dream come true.

So I’m 22 and I’m going to Faith Baptist Bridal College, and I’m still happily single. In fact, I’m exceedingly happily single. But for those of you out there who are searching for that virtuous woman, I have advice on how to get her after you find that girl whose value is far above rubies.

Forget the fancy restaurants and pretty flowers. Don’t bother to drive a nice car or waste your time on a movie that will keep you from talking to each other for two hours. If you want that virtuous woman, you gotta be unique. You gotta give her what she wants…and believe it or not, what she wants is exactly what you want.

Too often we try to be fake, and guys try to be someone else or give a girl something he doesn’t really have. Don’t do that. Be yourself, and give her what you both want.

So are you ready? I’m going to tell you how to win over the virtuous woman that Proverbs 31 talks about. I’m going to not only tell you how to do it, but how to do it on your first date.

First of all, show her that you trust her. When you plan the date, set a time, and expect her to be ready promptly at that time. Proverbs 31:11-12 says, “The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

Have you ever thought of time as a piece of music? Perhaps a concerto with millennia as movements, centuries as periods, years as phrases, and weeks as measures?

You and I are each musicians in the largest orchestra ever created, the universe as our hall, the earth as our shell, the angels as our audience, and God as the Maestro. We each have our own responsibility to play our parts correctly, but ultimately it is God who masterfully controls the performance and receives the credit for a piece well-played.

Several interesting melodies and dynamics were heard this year! False alarms of the end of the world, devastating tropical storms, sports scandals, and the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Well, as a violinist (or perhaps a utility musician) in this orchestra, I would like to tell you about the music of 2011 from my stand.

The Music
Measure 1: Mainly full of rests for me, but I had one exciting pick-up note to measure 2- my youngest brother’s first birthday. What a joy it was to celebrate the life of James, my seventh sibling.

Measures 2-9: Somewhat busy as school started back up at FBBC. Lots of notes, but nothing overwhelming. Having taken music lessons from the Maestro himself I was well-equipped to take on the part I was given. Some of the fortes included two weekend ministries at Bennington Baptist Church and two more weekend ministries at IRBC winter retreats.

Measure 10: Another respite I fondly refer to as Spring Break. Not as restful as measure 1, but still a welcome rest before several measures of ear-pleasing craziness.

Measures 11-13: A mighty crescendo and accelerando toward an enthusiastic fortissimo! The theme of these three weeks was Missions Conference. As president of the Student Missionary Fellowship at Faith, I had many responsibilities in relation to Missions Conference, and I loved them all. I was blessed with such a good group of people to work with, and the conference went smoothly. The sessions were challenging, and God was glorified as we asked God to “enlarge our hearts” toward sharing the Gospel.

Measure 13 ended with the incredible privilege of being a judge for the Digital Media category at the Iowa Talents For Christ. TFC had such a huge impact in my life during my high school years. After competing for six years and accompanying on the piano for one year, 2010 was my first year doing nothing for TFC, so I was excited to once again participate in the event.

Measures 14-18: Another climactic buildup ending in an exciting half-cadence. With school and my additional involvement in

“Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:22-23

Today is a new day.

Today God’s mercies are new.

But today, God is the same.

For 20 years my dad worked at Kraft Foods Jell-O plant in Mason City, IA, the source of every single Jell-O cup on the planet. It was a physically-demanding job, especially after my dad was severely injured in an elevator accident 10 years ago. Add to that his age and the demands of taking care of a growing family at home, and his full-time job continued to take a toll on him.

But nevertheless, it was a job that met the needs of our family, a family which now includes 8 kids, all of which are about 3 years apart, ranging from one to twenty-two-years-old. For 20 years God provided a stable job that sufficiently supported our family.

However, for several years now, we have been praying that God would allow Dad to finish up his time at Kraft and provide another source of income. Dad’s schedule required him to work a cycle of four days and four nights, and he missed church half the time too. The job wore on him both physically and spiritually at times.

We started a new business three years ago, God’s Eternal Masterpiece, but that wasn’t enough yet to allow Dad to leave Kraft. So the question was, when would that time come?

Well, yesterday was the day. Kraft is downsizing, and yesterday was Dad’s last day of work. Today is a new day, and Dad doesn’t have a regular-paying job.

But God is not new today! His mercies are new, but His character is the same.

By God’s grace, Dad was able to retire yesterday with enough finances to support our family for the next several months. By God’s grace, Dad is home in time for Christmas and he will be able to spend lots of time with family. By God’s grace, we have plans in place to help us earn an income right out of our home as Dad looks for another job. By God’s grace, Dad gets to go to church with us regularly.

By God’s grace, we have no reason to worry and fret and every reason to hope and rejoice! (Matthew 6:31-34)

10 years ago when Dad had his accident, he could not walk for almost a year, and therefore he could not work. We had five children in the home at the time, and God provided for all of our needs and more. 10 years later, God will continue to provide for this family that now has eight kids, and He will do it above and beyond what we can expect or imagine.

Yes, I will miss having my closet at college packed with 600+ pudding cups that Dad brought home. I will miss the Kraft brand foods that we could buy in bulk. I will miss some of the other food-related benefits that came with the job. But “is not life more than food?” (Matthew 6:25)

When you pray, don’t always expect God to answer the way you had in mind. God answered our prayers, and today my dad doesn’t have a job. But why is that okay? Because God is sovereign and in control and He will provide.

Today is a new day. Today’s God’s mercies are new. But today, God is still the same.

“Great…is your faithfulness…”

Oh, and did I mention that my dad is home for Christmas?

Man was originally flawless. God created man in His image, and both his body and soul were valuable testaments to the glory of God. But man has sinned, and now his body is worthless, a holding place for a human soul that God still considers valuable.

John 3:16 says,

It is so satisfying to be part of something special, significant, and lasting.