Here's some quick updates from Alicia Heinz, our new field director. Enjoy the photo collage she made (at end of this post) & please keep her in prayer, she's our only missionary staff on site at Rainbow. Thanks!

We started the month by celebrating New Year’s Eve, and my birthday (Jan 1!)

The Kimball’s finally left and returned to the states. (I really do miss Susan.)

We took in 2 new boys: ages 7 and 2 (or so we estimate); they’d been abandoned.

A staff member of 16 years retired and we had an all-staff despedida (a going away party) for her.

We have several construction projects planned for the year and have just completed having the office roof painted and are now just starting to replace the damaged flooring on the outdoor patio. Next is repair work and painting of my house.

Had a birthday party for one of our little boys who just turned 1 year old!

Planted several new trees on the property (3 in front of my house =D) ‘cept now it looks like 2 died!!

We provided the money and supplies to install a water line for one of our past agape girl’s family. (She had to walk for 30 mins. just to get water in a can and then take it back to her house!) Now she, her husband, and 2 little babies can get clean water!!

We gave out over 90,000 pesos in relief money (over $2000) to staff and school sponsorship students whose homes and belongings were damaged during the Sendong flooding.

Started up a staff bible study (we meet 2x’s a week), and a missionary ladies’ prayer meeting.

A group of sorority/fraternity college young people came for a visit and brought snacks for our children and stayed and played and read stories to them.

We hosted visiting members from ABSNet, a country-wide organization, who oversee the standards and licensing of NGO and social welfare organizations; and then also hosted their 1^st Quarter yearly meeting. (This was really great because I got to meet several of the administrators of other local and regional ministries).

Took almost a week but I finally found a place to have our Rainbow newsletters printed in color.

One of our new piggies died =( We have no idea what could have happened to it! It had not been sick, no fever or diarrhea…but we think it may have been a poisonous snake or insect bite because it was so sudden.  We are hoping to buy 2 more this month.

Click here to download:

january_foto_collage-sm.pdf (103 KB)

This year we have much to be thankful for as we begin 2012. There were some lean times for Rainbow this past year, since many of our supporters have gone through economic difficulties. But the Lord has continued showing usHe's our provider.

One of the ways we were blessed this past year, reaching into this new year, is through a special project in Norway. One of our adoptive families helped organize a "Give and Share" open market. It was sponsored through the Julsundet School in Norway. They held what we call in America a rummage sale, in the Philippines it would be called ukay-ukay—selling various things from clothing to toys to food for raising funds.

They wanted to give from what they have to help us care for the children here at Rainbow. We are amazed at the incredible amount of funds they raised, and we are very blessed with their care and generosity! Here are some of the ways we've utilized these funds for the benefit of the children— a new TV and DVD player for the children to watch videos, a new washing machine (our staff wash a lot of clothes!), a new CD player for the children to hear their music, some wonderful toys for Christmas, and a long overdue remodeling of our kitchen (sink and counter) where a lot of delicious and healthy food is prepared.

Something wonderful about all this is how a link with an adoptive family in another country blesses our children (and staff who care for them), while providing work for a pastor friend and his crew, helping them and their ministry. God is good and we are blessed! Thank you Lord for all your blessings!

After only two full days of being a quasi refugee center, of sorts, life is returning back to normal at Rainbow. However, is it ever really normal? Not really. I brought the few families staying with us back to their homes today, but none of them are back to normal, as you can see from the photos here and in this album (http://goo.gl/5GzdV). 

Once the shock and fear of the flooding subsides, there is an understandable desire for things to return to some kind of normalcy. A couple of observations after our short stint of temporary sheltering some of our extended Rainbow family— home really is where the heart is—

and the Filipino Bayanihan spirit is alive and well. Even though things are not in a good state—no power, mud all over, broken walls and torn up roofs, no sewer system and so on—everyone wants to be in their own place.

One of the Filipino cultural traits is called Bayanihan, which (loosely) expresses the idea of helping one another in a time of need. I realize it's not just a Filipino trait, but it's still extraordinary to see those whose homes are destroyed or damaged assisting others in the same situation, along with those not in the same situation helping those in need.

 When I went to visit one our Rainbow family's home (orphans, but grown up now), the boys were off to another area devasted by the flood to help some friends clean up.

I'll not say much in this post, I'll let the photos do the talking ("a picture is worth..."). But one of the ways we are looking to help is with the rebuilding necessary for the families connected to Rainbow. We have no specific plans, although some initial assessment has been done, so we want to set aside funds as they come in for doing some rebuilding.

Most of the homes need new roofs (some were torn open to climb up on getting out of the water flooding in), and there are a few walls that need rebuilding.

 Another dilemma is the sewer (drainage) problems, and rewiring and reestablishing power to homes.

There's a lot to be done in the coming weeks and months. How it will be done and who will be helping (many of our usual workers are invovled with their own homes or surrounding homes already) is not clear. So, we would appreciate prayer for wisdom, guidance and provision as we look for ways we can help.

We haven't properly introduced our new field director, Alicia Heinz, so here's her first newsletter sent from the field. Alicia arrived in mid November and has jumped right into the work flow. We're glad she's here and partnering with us at Rainbow Village!

Alicia served at Rainbow several years ago, and filled in as an interim field director for us when Susan and I needed to return to the US, in the spring of 2005. After her time at Rainbow, she went to India where she served for a few years with a church near Chennai. She has been living with family in Northern California for three years, where she's been in fellowship with Calvary Christian Center in Alameda, CA.

We're glad she's at Rainbow once again!

Click here to download:

1st_Newsletter_Nov.pdf (1.33 MB)

One of the great blessings of Rainbow's ministry is seeing children united with families. Over the years, we've often been asked if it's hard to say goodbye to the children when they are adopted. Of course, when you get to know someone and care for them, there's a certain amount of sadness in saying goodbye's. But one of the core beliefs Susan and I have held since the beginning of Rainbow's ministry is this—every child needs to have a family of their own, their own dad and mom (and siblings too!).

Over the years we've seen this inherent need in every child, young and old. Right now there's even a label put on a generation of young people in America that makes this point—"the fatherless generation." I'm not sure who is included, but this has been a problem in the rest of the world for years, decades, even centuries. What we do at Rainbow is a very small part of what is done throughout the world. And we're glad to play our small part in it.

A few weeks ago, we had two wonderful families from Norway come to meet their new children. The bonding of the children went very well, and it was a sweet time hearing the testimonies of these two couples. One family had two daughters, with one adopted from China. The other couple have waited several years to become a family. Both couples had been waiting for 3+ years for this moment.

Being a part of the process of seeing families bond with abandoned or surrendered children is sweet. We count it a privilege and it's one of the blessings Susan and I enjoy while here. One of the ongoing prayer requests we have is for good Christian families to adopt the children in our care. Now you have a little background for that request.

Adoptions aren't just one of the things we do at Rainbow, they're at the core of who we are as a ministry. It reflects our heavenly Father's heart—"You have been the helper of the fatherless" (Psalm 10:14). This is expanded on in Gal 4:4-7—

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (ESV)

So, at Rainbow, adoptions truly are blessings—for the children, the adoptive families, and all of us in the Rainbow ministry family.

As the early morning quiet gives way to the start of a new day, Susan and I sit on the porch of our former home of many years. In the background children's songs play as the babies are brought outside to enjoy the morning coolness. The chatter of the yaya's (caretakers) is preceded by the cacophony of pedicabs (motorcycle-taxis) and thousands of roosters in the pre-dawn darkness.

We are blessed with living in two beautiful places on opposite sides of the world. In northeast FL, we live by the beach and are surrounded by beautiful wetlands for miles. We also enjoy having our four grown children and their families (including 2 grandchildren!) living close to us. At Rainbow, we have an extended family reaching around the world, and friendships of 20+ years.

In Dumaguete, life is much simpler, although it has changed much in the past decade. Twenty years ago, there were few choices available for food and phones—now there's a plethora of possibilities. Everyday life at Rainbow has gotten much simpler and quiet. Three long-term missionaries have just returned to the US (see previous post), and there is half the number of children from times past. King Solomon said, "For everything there is a season..." (Eccl 3:1).

We are enjoying a quieter season for now, though still busy with many daily concerns. We've learned before that quiet seasons are usually short-lived. Looking back over the past twenty years we've seen many lives changed from despair into hope. We've also seen many changes—some very difficult and challenging—all are part of the fabric of Rainbow's story.

For now, Susan and I are going to enjoy this quiet season while it lasts. We are looking forward to what the Lord's direction will be for the next year. One of the things often considered is the idea of writing the story of Rainbow. The thing is, it's not just one story, but hundreds of stories—the stories of all the children and girls, and those who have served at Rainbow over the years, not to mention all the adoptive families.

If you've got a story to share, please send it to us— directors@rainbowvm.org — we'd like to start compiling some stories and even post some on our FaceBook page [http://goo.gl/AtoDr]. Also, keep checking for our relaunch of Rainbow's website...hopefully it will happen this week.

 

Long-term missionaries have to get used to a lot of goodbyes, but eventually they have to say their own. The word of the week was "bittersweet," as Mike Yost described how it feels to move on to a new season of life, after several years of ministry and life in the Philippines. Mike, his wife Sheryl, and their son Aaron, along with Karen Tellefson, have been saying a lot of goodbyes the past few weeks.

They've served faithfully at Rainbow Village Ministries in many ways and beyond the Rainbow itself, building lasting friendships. Goodbyes are hard on those who stay and those who go when relationships develop over many years. Everyone at Rainbow will miss them greatly. We appreciate them for doing such a great job over the years, caring for the children and living out the Gospel in many ways beyond Rainbow.

Please keep them in prayer over the next few months, as the transition back into your home culture can be difficult for many reasons. Susan and I know this well, as do our daughters, Becky and Leanna. The Yosts and Karen will be going to different place in CA, but what the future holds is still to be revealed.

If you'd like to leave some greetings and thanks for Mike, Sheryl and Karen, you could post them on the Rainbow FaceBook page [http://goo.gl/AtoDr].