Forwarding Agents ROGUE VALLEY CHRISTIAN CHURCH M/M Bert BarerosM/M Bob Pruitt 1440 SO. OAKDALE P.O. Box 492784 S. River Road FjEDPOxHD, OREGOW 97501 3515 Aparri, CagayanGrants Pass, OR 975^7 January 1990 Philippines

Love is the theme of MESSAGES FROM MARY Ai^D BERT as 1989 draws to an end. "^Diis is how God showedHis love among us; He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live throu^ Him.This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (I John 4: 9-10) At this time of year as we have celebrated the Christmasseason, what joy it has been to us to know God*s love and the gift of His Son. Sometimes thingsget rushed, hectic, commercial, but all we need to do is stop a minute and think of God's loveand it all gets back in the right place, life hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas, aswe did, celebrating with some of the family. But no matter where we are or who we are with, thejoy of knowing Jesus and the joy of Christmas,when we remember that He gave up heaven to come toearth for us, should always be with us.

This Christmas was a special time for us. T/hen we were here in the States for Christmas in 1986Jordan, then barely-2, was thrilled with going to the mountains in the snow to get larChristmas"tree. Ihat is one of his best memories. So i^en it came time again, he was ready to go and hadlittle brother Jacob ready too. It was a beautiful day in the sun and snow. What beauty theLord has shown us I Vife got a beautiful tree (with dqt parents), brought it home and decorated itand talked about Christmas and Jesus, etc. Then before Qiristmas on our way to dqt sister's wevisited some other peoole, and Jacob wanted to know why they had Christmas trees also. We al]ienjoyed it very much.

There were several of you who sent special Christmas gifts to our family and we thank you. Andto those of you who sent extra financial gifts for the Home for Christmas, we thank you. Wehave not heard from the Home yet about their Christmas, but I am sure it is one that was happyand fun in the lord, ^ank you to all of you \dio not only make possible special times likeChristmas, but make it oossible for us to meet our everyday needs in taking care of the children.Prices have gone up, as we shared with you before, but because of your love and committment andtrust in the Lord the needs are being met. We praise and thank the Lord for each one of you andyour part in this ministry for our loird. We could not do it without you. We have been able toget back the child-care workers that we layed off, and so all the staff is there to meet theneeds of caring for the children.THANKSGIVING was a wonderful time for the Pruitt family. It was the first time in over 8 yearsthat all six of us brothers and sisters were together. There were 26 in our parent's house for4 days and what a time of fun and thanksgiving it was. It may seem like quite a crowd and maybelP"t_of noise_and_confusion with 12 children in the house, but the cousins had a. great ^time --playing together and got along very well. The adults could have used more sleep, but a lot of^siting and remembering had to go on in those 4 days. It was especially good to have the eldestbrother, Ernie Pruitt, and has family here from New Zealind. Cur special thanks to those whomade that possible. How much we all have to give thanks to the Lord for: our everyday needs andabundance, as well as the many extra blessings He gives. How good to be in a free country idierewe can worship and move as we olease. There are many who are not as blessed as we, and we mustremember them in our prayers and share with them the physical as well as spiritual blessings wehave.

^T Many of you are probably wondering about Bert's naturalization. In the Lord's timing, asonly He can do it, Bert had his interview and testing on Nov. 2?, at the time we were scheduledto be in the Portland area already (and we had been worrying about how to get there from farplaces, should we need to). There was no problem there and just this morning (Dec. 28) Bertappeared in the Federal Court in Portland and was sworn in and took his oath as an Americancitizen. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for this and have been helping us in anyway to accomplish this. This will enable us to have much freer and easier travel, as well asinsuring that if we had to make a quick exit from the Fhiliopines (\diich we pray will neverhappen and do not expect) we could all go together. We both love the fliilippines and we bothlove America and what it stands for. Our job is for the Lord and spreading the good news offreedom in Christ and eternal life.^ CHAPEL Thank you also, to you who have given for the chapel building project. We are hoping

+ fu helns done and soon completion of the building. Praise God that His church isnot the building but those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. But how thankful we will beto have the building to meet in.

HOME We praise the Lord that all seems to be going well back at the Children's Home. Thishas been a year for strong typhoons, but we have come out well. We have all been concernedabout the country with the political problems and the recent coup attempt, but it has not beena concern or problem for the Home, as all has gone on normally. Ws are 400 miles north of Manilaand so not in a "hot spot" for this tyne of problem. But we must continue to pray daily for theprotection of the Home and the Lord's people in the Philippines.^ have received another baby, Cipriano Djlliente. who has just turned 1 yr. old. His mother ishaving some psychological problems and cannot care for the child and her husband. They also haveno permanent home, but are just squatters moving about. The father cannot care for the child ashe has farch for work and food. Vfe again thank the Lord and you for making it possible for usto help this child have the love and food and home he needs. We pray that he will grow to loveand serve our Lord, as is the prayer for all our children.We are happy to receive news that Jessie, who is attending Silliman University, is doing very well.His grades are better this year than last, and he is very involved in the different activities of

e school. It is a Oiristian University and Jessie is hoping to become a doctor someday,irlease continue to hold him in your prayers.

We are also very happy to hear that the Lord's family is growing. The report from our new pastor(the one we had for several years has resigned to continue his education) is that there have been7 baptisms recently, vfe oraise the Lord for these new babes in Christ and pray for theirstrength and growth in the Lord. Also the church is helping with a radio broadcast that severalwell trained men in our area are putting on. We pray that as the Word goes out that those whohear (some of them parents of our children) will respond to the Lord's calland give their livesto Him.

Just before Christmas we received an unexpected (Approximately $1,200.00) as the resultof someone putting the Home's name in a Kimberly-Clark raffle in the Philippines. The otherperson (we don't know who) received half of the prize and we the other half. We are gratefulfor the unexpectedJ

THE SATELLITE We are happy to announce that we have over $5,500 that has come in for theSatellite Home and another 5000 available from a church in eastern Oregon when we need it.Thank you to all of you who have given for this special project.HEADIIjG HOME i 11 We are scheduled to leave for the Philippines on Jan. 14 from Portland, Oregon.We fly at 6:30 AM on US Air, flight # 80. We will arrive in San Francisco at 8:10 AM. At1:45 P.M. TJe depart SF on China Airlines, flight #3, with a night in Taipei, Taiwan beforearriving in Manila on Jan l6, 10:45 AM their time.We are hap-^y to have Mr. Hugh Kafton from South Dakota accomparQang us back to the Home. Hu^is a retired nurse and feels strongly that the lord is urging him to come . work with us there.Please keep him in your prayers as he adjusts to a new life in a new country. It will beinteresting to see how the Lord will be using Hugh in His work in the Hiilippines.OUR PAHTMERS We again want to express our thanks to all of you \A\o are such a part of our ministry. Those of you \dio are regular supporters through finances and prayer, those who give nowand then, or one-time gifts; those of you who have housed us, fed us, prayed for us, encouragedus as we have traveled many thousands of miles. The blessings we have received from you cannotbe counted or written about on paper. Our meager THANK YOU will have to do for the time being.Hit vrtiat a glorious meeting it will be \dien we are all together with the Lord and you can seethose vrfio have come to know Christ as a result of your prayers and help. We praise and thankthe Lord for each one of you.We have an important request to make: Please make all checks out to the Philippine Mission,Churches of Christ and not to us or the forwarding agents personally (for tax purposes). Maywe also remind you that all checks should be sent to our forwarding agents, not directly to uson the field.PRAISES Comoletion of Bert's naturalization

Travel safety and health these months of furloughGod's provision for our needs through His peopleThe lord's constant protection and care at the HomeJessie's good work in school

PRAYERS The Hiiliopine Government and countryTravel safety back to the Philippineslan's eye to continue to healOur adjustment back to the PhilippinesHugh Kafton's adjustmentSatellite Home development

I John says "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and intruth." This is what we see in each of you ^dio are partners with us. Thank you all again.Have a wonderful new year 1990, the beginning of a new decade of working in and for our Lord.May his many blessings be on each of you.

In His love,Bert and Mary

ROGUE VALLEY CHRISTIAN CHURCH1440 S. Oakdale 773-31^MEDFORD, OREGON 97501

MISSIONS DEPARTMENT

Horizons MagazineMissions ServicesBox 2427Knoxville, TH 37901

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage Paid

Permit No, 5^1Medford, Oregon

liiiiilniiiiiHiliinnllHlihlnlH hiln.l ililil

ROGUE valley CHRlSTIAiv CHURCHIW SO. OAKLIALE

MEDFCRD, OREGON 97501April 1990

ii/M Bert BarerosP.O. Box ^93515 Aparri, CagayanRiilippines

In joyful appreciation once again the MESSAGES FROM MARY AND BERT come from the Philippines.They say: "first of all we would like to thank all of you who made our trip to the States such ablessed time by sharing your love, prayers, homes, lives, and finances with us. 51ie 10months seemed like such a long time, but was made enjoyable and fruitful because of your loveand caring. Thank you all so much."HOME AGAIN I "Thank you for your prayers for our travel back to the Philippines. We had a verygood trip. We said good-bye to our family and friends in Portland (thank you to all you earlybirds who came to see us off). Hugh Kafton. a retired nurse, met us in Portland and we weretogether for the rest of the trip. (Hugh is now involved in being a grandpa and helping with thenursing work.) We flew to SanFrancisco vrtiere we were met by some old and new friends (they became our friends at the air port). We scent the night in Teipei, Taiwan; flew to Manila thenext morning. After a good night's rest we were off to visit with Bert's family and otherfriends in Cebu. We had a great and restful time there. Then back to Manila and on to the Children's Home. It is so good to be back. Wa were met by an enthusiastic group of kids both at theairport and at the Home. Jordan took off claying with his old friends immediately. Jacob was alittle slower in getting involved with the kids. Most of them remembered Jacob and were wantinghim to clay, so nulled on him, touched him, etc. But he did not remember them, and so did notenjoy that at all. It was quite an adjustment for him. After about 3 weeks he was off and playing, and now I have to look for him. After about 2 or 3 weks Jordan was again beginning tosneak ILocano, and is doing quite well now. Jacob is just beginning to use some. We praise theLord for their good adjustment, and for all your prayers for us.Our staff had done a wonderful job in running the Home while we were gone, and we praise the Lordthat no major problems came up while we were gone. The staff were very happy for our return,though, and of course hie are happy to be back.

SATELLITE HOME Things have been hopping since we got here. Right away we started looking into aplace and nlans for the Satellite Home, in Ifugao province. Praise the Lord that He has goneahead of us and prepared the way. We were able to "rent" a house and the owner began tellingpeonle that ve are coming to start a church, even though we had not mentioned that fact to him(the peonle there are hungry and ready for the Gosnel). Ihe "rent" of the house is our cost indoing needed repairs. We can use the house as long as needed, with the understanding that it istemporary. There is also land available for purchase, which ^we will be looking into soon, and making some decisions. BHajpPjlF^Our clan at the moment is to move some of the children here ^ Ta-''-'--' sthat came from Ifugao, and some staff, to the satellitehome |B*'around mid-May. There are many decisions to be made con- Wfjfll^cerning this move. Please prayt. We praise the Lord that "WHe has already begun suoplying the needed fUnds for this new venture. Thank you to those of you vriio have shared in 'this. Dick and Kay Davidson.,, from Libby,MT, who had been r"working for Ambassadors for Christ in Davao, Mindanao, ^ 'have now arrived here and will be moving to Lamut, Ifugao, ||||fe|||BBny.' twith the satellite Home to oversee the Work there. Our .vv, _ 'present chanlain graduated from the seminary March I6 andwill be moving to Lamut also and will begin the evangel- "istic work there. He is from another mountain tribe, and V j-'.-can easily understand the people and their culture and work wKm ' Iwith them. He is really excited to begin there. 97 SCHOOL ACTIVITIES have kept us busy. Michael was involved 3B|in a marathon run in which there were runners from all thehigh schools from Aoarri to Tuguegarao (l-g-hrs. drive). 9i^B9P,i^^BMichael ran for about 10 miles. Needless to say he hadsore feet the next day. We are proud that he could do so A Precious Boywell. There have been other programs to attend. Justtoday ou Charito graduated from high school. We are very proud of her. She came to us at 12 yrs,of age and could not even read the alphabet. It has not been easy for her, but she has been determined and has done much better than we expected. Charito clans to attend Aparri Bible Seminarynext June. We are very happy about that and pray she will do well and will grow in faith andservice. She hoces to go on to mid-wifery or maybe even ohysical therapy. Keep her in yourprayers. Arcenio will graduate from elementary school. It is a big sten from elementary to highschool--he also needs your prayers. We are proud of Sonia, Mary Grace, Jennepher and Joyce whoare honor students in cheir classes, [ife are proud of Jessie, studying in Silliman Univ. He isjust completing his second year; his lowest grade this year was a B-.VISITORS We had a blessing from the Peace Corps, as one of their workers gave us many seedlingtrees, vriiich our children planted and are caring for. We were also visited by a lady workingwith the Peace Corps in Special Education. She gave us some ideas and helps for our handicappedand slow learners. Sie will come again soon and we hope to learn more from her. Pray with usthat we will be able to share the Lord with her.

The Missionary Retreat in Baguio City was a great blessing and time of fellowship. There weresome new missionaries to meet as well as sharing with old friends. There were about 30 adultsand 17 children plus Rich Sheely from Good News Production (Singapore) and Janice and Fayc Rost-vitt. We also enjoyed having the Rostvitt twins here at the Home before going to Baguio.

FIRE! I i^nother exciting evert happened last month as we were returning from a school program.As we were walking uo the hill we moticed a lot of smoke coming from the area of our pig house.When we arrived we found everyone deeply involved in putting out a fire in the grass roof of thepen. Two of our boys had disobeyed our many orders to stay away from the burning garbage and hadbeen playing in the fire-and flipped some onto the roof of the pig pen. Praise the Lord, one ofour big girls saw it ri^t away and ran to tell the staff so they could put it out. Ws are sothankful that none of the staff and kids fighting the fire and even none of the pigs were injured.Our water pump was broken down at the time and the stored water was almost emptied Tidiile wefought the fire. Ihe two boys responsible got to carry a lot of water then, until the pump wasrepaired.. Vfe also had a fire on the hill behind us the other day, started by someone else, whichgot awful close. Wb spent a while wetting down the trees and grass by our fence and even puttingwater on the fire.

COMINGS AKD GOINGS The day we arrived from Manila we received a new baby, Eric, about 2 weeksold. His mother has mental oroblems and the fattier is unknown. He is growing very well and isa handsome, bright boy. The mother is undergoing treatment at the mental hospital.Several children had gone home just before we arrived- and we are sorry we did not get to seethem again. Rafael. Sheril. and Rowelyn. all abojut yrs. old, and Carlito. 5 were no longerhere. Since our arrival Randel and Rodalyn returned home to their mother and step father. Theirolder brothers returned home before. Our boy Amboli. l6 yrs. old, is no longer living with us.About 2 weeks ago he was transferred to a government rehabilitation center. Ws have had problems with Amboli throu^ the years with stealing,! and he was well at it again, and was alsogetting heavily involved in marijuana and drinking. All of our prayers and counseling seemed tobe doing no good. He is now away from those who were a bad influence on him and can receiveprofessional help. Please keep Amboli in your prayers, that he will return to the Lord andfollow Him, who can really heal him of these problems. He knows the Lord and His love, but needsto grow in it and surrender himself completely.CHAPEL Cur chapel construction is still at a stajnd still, as funds have been very slow incoming in. Everyone is feeling the crunch of inflation. We pray that soon we will be able tobegin again. If anyone would like to help please designate it on your check.

PRAISES:1.2.

3.

k.5.6.7.

Safe and easy trip backThe Lord's constant care and protectionThe Lord's provision and arrangement forthe satellite homeThe good retreat in BaguioFor each person involved in this ministryThe spiritual strength of our older girlsFor a good rice and vegetable harvest

PRAIERS:1.

2.

3.

4.

!Ihe many decisions involved in themove to the satellite home.The needed funds for every day lifeas well as the projectsThe summer activitiesvacations,camps, DVBS, etc.Amboli and the other big boys whoare being tempted by the things ofthe world

We want to thank each of uou who have given so generously and prayed so hard for us and thisministry of our Lord. Without each one of you who are our partners we would not be able to behere and to be sharing the love of our Lord with jbhese children and others in the community.Pray that our children will grow strong and remain strong in the Lord and will be great servantsof His. Thank you for letting the Lord use you to further His kingdom. May the Lord blessyour lives as you share and bless the lives of many.

In His love and labor,

j Bert and Mary Bureros

ROGUE VAIIEY CHRISTIAN-CHURCH1440 S. OAKDALE 773-3144MEDFORD, OREGON 97501

MISSIOiNS DEPAmjENT

Horizons MagazineMissions Services

To "iUe.

Non-Profit Or^nizatiohU.S. Postage Paid

Permit No. 5^1Medford, Oregon

Soica

Forwarding Agents BDGOE VALLEI CHRISTIAM CHURCai M/M Bert mrerosM/M Bob Fruitt 1^0 SO. OAKDALE P0. Box 492784 So. River Road MEDFOflD, OREGON 97501 3515 Aparri, CagayanGrants Pass, OR 97527 1990 Philippines

mSSAGSS FROM MARY AND BERT"aiout with joy to God, all the earth I Sing the glory of his name; Make his praise gloidousiSay to God 'How awesome are your deeds I Come and see what God had done, how awsome hisworks in man's behalf." (Psalm 66:1-3,5) 'Diese verses are very apppropriate as I look oack onhow the Lord has been working and arranging and preparing the way for us and leading us in somany ways these last few months.SCHOOL VACATION TIME The summer months (April-June) were very busy. After school was out manyof the children went on vacation, visiting parents or other relatives. Vfe praise the Lord ali^are back safely. It was a haopy day when our family was complete again. We appreciate dilier-ent ones of our staff who took those who had no relatives home with them now and then so theycould have a vacation.

In April and May there were three different camps, and we had several children in each camp. Wepraise the Lord for the spiritual growth and interest we have seen in some of the children as aresult of the camps. Joel Ayumen, 13, idio came from the Lamut area and is now a_^sldent of theLamut Satellite Home was stirred and challenged by camp, had accepted Christ as his Saviour andhas been baptized and is walking a new life in Christ. Pray for him to be strong. We also hadDaily Vacation Bible School Team, with one of our children (Olive) and one staff being some ofthe teachers. They held DVBS here at the Home and in three other areas, teaching about 300children all together.SATELLITES til In April Dick and Kay Davidson arrived here at the Home. They were serving withAmbassadors for Christ in Davao, but have now come to serve with us in this ministry, with theidea of helping with the Satellite Home in Ifugao. We had a house available in Lamut, I^gao,given by some people \dio were excited about our work. The house is free of rent; we repaired it.We looked for a house close by for the Davidsons that would house more children, for the Lamuthouse is quite small. There was nothing more in Lamut, but we were told of a big house forrent in Bhgabag, Kieva Viscaya, just 10 minutes drive away. We visited that^house and the Lordjust seemed to have handed us what we needed. We are renting "ttiat house for $300.00 per monthfor one year. May 15 Dick and Kay moved to Bagabag to prepare for the children coming at theend of the month. Mich of May was spent in preparing the clothes and other needs of thechildren for moving.As a result of our two Satellite homes there are two new congregations now meeting. Ifi.onisio,who graduated from the Seminary in Aparri this year, and his wife are the house parents atLamut, and he is the Chaplain, holding services at both places, as well as Bible studies with

jthe children and calling in ttetown and with the children's parents.We are also looking into the purchase of some land in Lamut area for future j^rmahent homes.Please be in prayer with us as we consider this. We know the Lord can provide, but we wantto be sure we are in His will.NEVER A POLL MOMENT! June was an unbelievable month. Because of anticipated visitors movingthe children was postponed until June 10. June 5-7 Eldon and Sie Potts and their gang werehere. The lady from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) came on June 7~9*On June 8 Joc^ left for hi^ school in one of our Christian high schools in the Province ofIsabels. Then on the 10th DLck and Kay, three staff members, Hugh Kafton, and 12 children(ages 6-13) left for the Satellite Homes early in the morning. That was a very sad time for allof us as our family was split (but praise the Lord, the family spirit is still there as thechildren write back and forth and get chances to visit each other). IQie next day, the 11th,school be gan for all. The first week or so is spent in covering books, preparing uniforms,etc., etc. It felt good when those first 3 weeks were finished! On the night of the 8thBert left for Cebu vhere he attended a Board meeting of the Cebu Bible Seminary, as a newlyelected member. June 22 l&ry left to take Arcenio to the same school "sdiere Jody is studying.Poor Jo

wonderful party. We are so thankful to all also vriio worked with Eldon, purchasing gifts orgiving money to help with the party. It is certainly a very special time for us.ACCREDITATION! Last year while we were in the States Alice, from DSWD, came to evaluate ourHome for accreditation. She made several recommendations, many of which ve followed. Whenshe left she said she was going to recommend us for accreditation. She very much enjoyed hervisit here and the love that she saw, and received, from the staff and children. Praise theLord for working again.SCHOOL FIGURES We have supplied the schools with students very well again this year. All to-get her we have 7 children in high school. Jessie is still studying at Siliman University, andCharito is in her first year at Aparri Bible Seminary. We have 23 elementary students here.In Bagabag are 3 and Lamut 3 In our kindergarten we have 8 beginners, 7 advanced, and 2handicapped.' In Lamut we have one advanced student, and 4 beginners in the Methodist kindergarten in Bagabag. James is still in the deaf school and Maureen in a school for the deafand blind. Ihat does not leave too many home during the day. But the mornings and eveningsare very busy.

LITTLE BLESSINGS We have been blessed with 4 more children. In May2 month Leah was brought to us by her grandmother. The mother hasmental and emotional problems and could not be left alone with thebaby. The grandmother had to support them. Leah was a tiny one, but .is growing. June 10 Gener, Zi raos., came to us from Mountain Province.He was also brought by grandparents. The mother was not capable of p, .. ' IHp '^caring for the baby, and the father is young and unable. He is a very Mhappy little boy and growing fast. June 30th Dennis.5t. and his bro- K . 'kther Jeffrey, 3t joined our family. The family was abandoned by the 'y %father and the mother was notable to support her 5 children. The 3 ; * 'oldest are living with other people. The mother is also suffering :depression and emotional upset because of their condition and thechildren are 2nd degree malnourished. Dennis is blind from the 'measles whe n he was 3* He is a very intelligent boy and does not let ' BShis lack of sight get in his way. He is able to see light and we . .. W;. ^ ywill be taking him to the specialist as soon as possible. There issome hope. Pray for another miracle.

Our letter would not be complete without extending our thanks to all 'of you -bAio are a part of this ministry. We know that many of you are Dennis and Jeffreyupholdi^ us in your prayers. Those of you who give financially or bj giving clothes, etc., artan important prt of our daily life as well and are answers to our prayers. Recently we enjoyedthe ^sit of one of our children and her family. Sherry Ann and her husband and two daughters-spent a week with us in May. I a hard J:ir.e thinl^ing of Bert and I as grandparents, out wedo have several grandchildren". Last June 10 our Gloria had a nice little boy named Kenneth.We are thankful that they live very near, and this is one grandchild whom we will be able toknow and see grow up. It brings joy to our hearts also to see the parents, our children,raising their children in the love and Word of God. We pray they will all stay true to ourI^rd. They would never have known the Lord without the children's Home. Thank you again toall who have made this ministry possible.

Dennis and Jeffrey

In Christ's love,Bert and Mary Bureros

EARTHQUAKE BULLETIN I! letter written July 18, received August 1: "Praise the Lord we are allsa.e and ever^hing is okay. We were registered at 4, which is plenty enough for me. Bert wasin mgabag and it was much stronger there. You probably know more about the damage, etc., thanwe do, as the news is not too much here. There were some cracks in the cement walls at Bagabag.but haven t noticed much here....There are a lot of sad people right now, and they don't haveall the equi^ent here to help like in the States. Bert came home today and the road was fine

(Bagabag) south I think he said the SIL (^cliffe) plane counted9 landslides. ...They expect about 1 month before the roads are repaired and we can receive-

regular service from Manila. So there may be some problems with supplies."

ROGUE VALLEY CHRISTIAN CHURCH1440 S. OAKDALE 773.3144MEDFORD, OREGON 97501

MSSIONS DEPARTMENT

Bor242"7Knoxvllle, TN 37901

Non-profit Organization.U.S. Postage Paid

Permit No. 56IIfedford, Oregon

Forwarding .AgentsM/M Bob Pruitt278^ S. Hiver RoadGrants Pass, CR 97527

ROGUE VALLEY CHRISTIAi^ CHURCH1440 SO. OAKDALE

BEDFORD, OREGON 97501October (Almost) 1990

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FiESSAGES FROh MRY AND BERT**011 this day twelve years ago, a little girl was born. The mother was not married and had hadseveral men. She had been married in the past, but her husband, the father of three of her then5 children,had been killed. Now this new girl was born into the family, and that made fourfathers for the 6 children. V/hen this child was 2 months .old she was brought to the CagayanValley Children's Home, where her 4 older brothers and sister were staying (one child had diedbefore they came to us). Now we have a beautiful young Christian girl, trying hard to followthe Lord and His will in her life. Joy Joy has been a joy and blessing to us in the 12 years.She is now entering the time of life when everything seems to be difficult and confusing. V/eall know that adolescence is a tough time. But we praise the Lord that because of you whosupport the Home and make it oossible for us to care for, and love, and teach the love of theLord to these children, at least she has the Word and Spirit of God to help her through thesetough years. We oraise the Lord and thank each of you that we can help these children and givethem life, and raise them in the Lord so they have a chance at a idiole, well-rounded life anddo not have to follow the ways of the world, not knowing any other way. It is true some of thechildren choose to go the way of the world, but we pray that they will return to the Lord in thefuture, and they have a chance, having been brought up on the Word of God. Ihank you to all ofyou who have helped and been partners with us in this ministry.EARTHQUAKE UP-DATE At the end of the last newsletter there was a little note about the earthquake. Vfe praise the Lord that we did not suffer any damage in either Home. Hie quake was muchstronger in Bagabag then here in Aparri. It has affected us in that the road to Manila has beenclosed, first from the earthquake, and then from mud-slides caused by heavy rains. The slidescame because the earth had been loosened by the quake. Supolies have been slow coming in, butthe Lord had continued to supply, although prices have gone up, and we have not suffered.People are rebuilding their lives and things are getting more back to normal.VISITORS Here at the Home it has been normally busy. Kim Peterson and Dave Woodruff were hereon an internship from late June to early Seot. They srent some time in both Homes, sharingtheir faith and lives and haloing in many areas. Dave did some preaching and taught some Biblestudies, and spent time with the older boys, as well as other things. Kim gave her testimonyand gave of herself in different ways. I appreciated updating copy of the mailing list andmaking it easy for me. They were also able to spend some time in Cebu ;diere again theyshared. They were a blessing to us and we pray we were a blessing to them.Richard Foster visited from Japan. He and others have set up a Philippine Self-help Foundationto finance income-generating projects and have given some funds to be used for parents of someof our children. This is Richard's fourth visit to us and we always enjoy having him. Justrecently we were visited by a friend of Richard's, also involved in this program, John Wilsonhas visited us twice and we have enjoyed getting to know him. We are looking forward to theNovember arrival of Cindy Moreton, coming as an intern from New Zealand. Please keep her inyour prayers as she Drenares and travels.

POPULATION EXPLOSIONtf Our family has grown again. Rowena, 6, and Anabel,3. Negritos, abandon-ed by their mother and neglected by their father, were being cared for by other relatives, butAnabel was very sick with malaria. They have adjusted well and are sham girls. Tessie. aNegrito from another area, came at 9 mos. but was the size of 4 mos. The mother nursed her butdid not really have any milk. She was thin and always cry- ming, but after getting her stomach full she has done well, 1Eating is one of her favorite hobbies. Matet,7 was brought z %to us by people who had cared for her for about 4 years.The mother left her with this family "for a short time" B||||H 1""'1while she went to Manila, but never came back. The father ^ ^ ^has since died, but they were not married. Matet has sli^ ^jcerebral palsy. She cannot yet walk, but is growing strong-er every day and is trying. She has one weak hand, whichshe is trying to use, and her speech is some^^at delayed,but,again, she is improving. Her vocabulary had changed psdrastically, as it was made up of bad words before. They '-fhave disapneared now and we pray she will not bring them W : '''back in the future. She was not always treated kindly andfairly by the children and grandchildren of her guardians,but has been well cared for. Then came Eddy, 16 mos. old ^ \and 3rd degree malnourished. He is fattening up and isable to stand now, holding on, but prefers to sit. His ^mother died vrtien he was small and the father and relativeshave done their best, but have very low imcome. Thefather visits often. Victor, 5 mos., came from QuirinoProvince, He was a nice healthy baby, Victor's mother was ^raped by her father-in-law, so he is not accepted by the Rowena and Anabelfamily. Another lady took him in but her son, who supported her,did not like her having the child. So we were blessed with him, and he is a sweety. Heis getting too spoiled by everyone. TRIPLE BLESSINGS 1 Then came Peter and Paul, one year oldfrom Lamut. They are two of a set of triplets. We first saw them while visiting the satellitehome in Bagabag, They wanted us to bring Paul, the smallest with us then, but we knew he would

not survive the trip. So all three were confined in a government hospital near Bagabag for 5days before being brought to the Home. Paul could hardly have weighed 5 lbs. when I first sawhim. His legs were about as big as my thumb. Peter was not much bigger. Those two werebrought here, and James, who was healthier,went back home with his mother, but the Home inBagabag furnished his milk. But because of bad living conditions and poverty, he bas now joined the family in Bagabag for a while. This was to be the 7th child of a very poor ^turned out to be also the 8th and 9th and the mother could not nurse them. They are all gettingnice and round now.. They are good eaters. Peter can sit alone and is a h^pyhollering at me idien I go in tbe nurseiy. Paul is about to catch up to Peter. ^ ^we were here to helo or they would probably already be with the Lord. Mantes, 2, and I^ony,mos., are from a faidly of 4. The mother has been sick with cerebral malaria and needs helpand healing. The oarehts are graduates of the Southern Isabela Academy high school s^nsored bythe Mission. They are Christians and we are happy to be able to help members of our famly inthe Lord. Jerry, a Negrito from Ganzano, came at k mos. and 2nd degree malnourished. He star -ed out nice and healthy but the mother had lost her milk and had no money--in fact thefamily is malnourished. Jerry is fattening up now. In Bagabag, Gialita, 10 mos. ^heirfamily. She is the 6th child, the mother was 4 mos. pregnant, and the father was killed alogging accident. They are now very poor. Alben, Jomark,3, and Jerald, 2, are 7of 6 boys. The father has abandoned them and the mother is not from this area (she is Tagalog)and so she has no family to help her. We have the 3 youngest so she can try to find work tosupport the others and eventually take these 3 back home.We praise the Lord for all of you ho make it possible for us to help ttese chilton, teach themin the Lord, and also to have a chance to teach their parents in the Word of God ^d bring themto the Lord. One family in Ifbgao has really shon an interest iji the Lord,sta rting to have able studies. Pray for these families. It makes itchildren return to their homes if their parents are Christians, and we are always hapoy foranother saved soul.

Two children have returned to their homes. Redentor.6. came to us at 2mos.. '^^^malnourished because his mother died when he was bom. He is living wi^ the Relivedfather and older sisters. We were sad to let him go as he is a slow learner and has de^yedsneech but they really wanted him. We pray that he will be able to get an e^cation. ^era church near them~we hone he will be helped toi attend. Joel Ayumen., fmm mgao, was movedinto the Satellite Home last June. He accepted the Lord and was baptized and seemed to be doing well. Now all of a sudden he has rebelled and become a threat to the younger childmi^ mhas chosen to go home,! instead of following the, rules. This makes us very sad, and we knowSatan is trying to destroy him. He is 13 years old. Please pray for ^m.ANCBLS REJOICE 1 Sonia accepted Qjrist as her Savior and was baptized last month.^ y^will be true and strong in the Lord. She is 11 years old. We have several others about that_vprv inteilested in the Lord and we are teaching them also. Pray for teem to make

a true decision to follow the Lord.Because of the Middle ^East crisis, prices here have gone up. I ^rfouimd^to riveworld. Because of the gas price increase all prices have gone hfsa salarv increase. This on top of the increase in the number of children UW in all;, nachanged our budget. Vfe praise the Lord that we lhave had enough to meet the "'^ *each of you for your help. The Lord knows the need and we trust Him to supply. StartingTsth of Oct.^ Ld to iLrease salaries and budget. let usas well as this nation. When the Lord is put fnlrst, then there will be peace. But the Lerdcan work through bad situations.Again, may wo thank each of you for your part in this minist^. Churches, ' ^''camns, etc., are all so important in this wo^. Jfe need ^ hive victory innraviAff as Satan is trying to destroy and disturb the work of the lord. But we nave ^cxory inE!fricL^ "er%irand death. I?aise God for giving us life in HiJon, an^for for^^ngour sins. May we all"serve am to the fullest, giving our lives as a living sacrifice,sacrificed as life for us. ^

Bert and Mary

ftOGDE VALLEI CHMSTIAN CHDRCH ! Non-ProfitllM S. OAKDALE 773-31''^ J>er^t nI. SiMEDPOfiD, OREGON 9750| Madford, OregonMISSIONS DEPARTMENT

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