Four days, four countries...

Jason and I have made it to Indonesia! We are currently in Nabire, which is in the region of Papua, which is on the large eastern island of Indonesia- the island shared with Papa New Guinea. But before I go into our Indonesian adventures, let me fill you in on the ending of the Philippines, and our journey to Nabire. Because of our internet connection here, we'll be posting pictures at a later time.

As Jason told me, the Philippines could be summed up with one word- "Pastor." We spent the month giving Pastor Romy a one month sabbatical- the first one he's had in 8 years. From our time with Mamong, to leading Bible studies, to preaching, to spending time with the youth, Jason and I were missionary-pastors in the Philippines.

Every Sunday morning of the months was an opportunity to preach for Jason and I. While I've been continuing my preaching on the greatest commandment, Jason has been focusing on the topic of "Who you are." Jason and I would meet back up every Sunday afternoon after preaching in different churches with smiles on our faces. God does His thing every time.

Leaving our new friends was a bitter sweet moment for us- even now, we look back with fond memories of our Filipino family. Thank you all for a great month- we miss you and look forward to seeing you next time. Our final day was spent with my friend from New Jersey, Denart, who made the initial connection to the ministry in PI, and his friends from school- Dustin and Belle. We had our final Filipino meal and set off on the 31st for a 4 day/3 night layover in Singapore.

We were blessed to stay with Pastor Vic, Pastor Arnell, Pastor Jerry, and other Filipino Christians while in Singapore. We had times of sightseeing like our day spent on Sentosa Island as well as times of discipleship. The pastors had a powerful message of deliverance that left us challenged and praying. Times like those keep smiles on our faces and increase our faith in the way God works everything out in His timing.

For one of our days in Singapore, we decided to go to Malaysia. Since Singapore is only 40km long, our travel to the Malaysian border was only 30 min. and we continued to spend the rest of the day in the city of Johor. Jason sat next to a missionary from Mexico on the way to Singapore named Mariana, who accompanied us to Johor. We spent the day exchanging stories of God working, learning Malaysian, and trying new foods.

That brings us to our travel to Indonesia. On April 3rd, Jason and I flew from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at 1pm. At 4pm, we flew to Jakarta, Indonesia, where we met our contact and new friend, Steven. At 10pm, we flew from Jakarta to Makasa. At 2am, we flew from Makasa to Biak. At 1:30pm, we flew from Biak to our final destination of Nabire. I have never taken five flights to get somewhere before, but let me tell you, it is quite exausting.

So for the last couple days, Jason and I have been living in the beautiful town of Nabire, Indonesia.

A man named Daniel Alexander has been establishing schools and orphanages over the last couple years in this area for children from the tribal mountain areas of Papua. We have had the privelage of teaching English in one of these schools here in Nabire. All the students are great! We are greeted with huge smiles and high-fives everyday.

Over the next couple weeks, Jason and I will continue our teaching at the school. We also have the opportunity to fly into the tribal areas to teach English to those living in the mountains. We've been preaching and teaching at several church meetings and will continue to do so throughout the month as well.

Thank you all for your prayers- I don't know how else to say this everytime. Just know that we are truly grateful for your prayers for us and we hope you know that you are helping make a difference here in Nabire. All credit and attention goes to God for the great things He's doing. Til next time,

Jerry