A Change of Direction

There hasn’t been must activity on my blog in recent weeks. It’s not because there’s little to write about, maybe that’s the very reason I’ve not got round to blogging. So let’s get on with it here!

In recent months we had been praying about returning to work in Thailand. Of course there is plenty to do here and its work we enjoy as we organise and lead mission teams around the world. But with changes in our family responsibilities should we finally consider returning to Thailand? Everything we heard from there indicated a great need for help, our question was whether after all these years we would be of any use. The answer to that question came in an email and subsequent conversation with one of the missionaries in Thailand. So within a few weeks it was decided that we would indeed go back to work with New Tribes Mission in Thailand.

Our main ministry will most likely be back with the Bru people where we previously worked but there is the possibility of additional areas of service. We want to do what we can and be a blessing. One thing is sure, we will need to spend some time refreshing our ability in Thai which is well past it’s ‘sell by date’, it will probably take even longer to retrieve our ability in the Bru language.

These are days when every area of life is a step of faith but we are excited about the future and look forward to moving back next year.

A Bru Lady

Early Days in Canada

Judith & Allan’s early days in Canada were not without difficulties. When they reached Calgary airport one of their suitcases was missing. All of the boys’ clothes and whatever special little toys they had taken along for them were missing. Then within a few days James was admitted to hospital. Once again his oxygen levels had dropped very low and it took quite a few days to bring these back to an acceptable level. James is now out of hospital. Medical staff at the hospital have been very thorough and are continuing to investigate his general health. They are now able to concentrate on finding suitable accommodation and beginning their ministry with GoodSeed.

James

What do you know about GoodSeed? Following is a copy of a recent regular email sent out from GoodSeed, read it, better still follow the link to their website.

Dear Friends,
I spoke yesterday at a church here in northern Ontario. The folks in the congregation seemed to be hanging on to every word as I shared the old, old gospel story using PowerPoint and visual aids. Though the post-moderns of our world would try to convince us that nothing is certain in life, it is obvious that the Lord’s people need a certain word. The Bible passes all tests of certainty; it is beyond reasonable doubt.
Recently I was showing a GoodSeed supporter our new website. He said, “Wow this is a real goldmine!” Let me mention these points:
All the products that GoodSeed has produced are available for no charge on the website. You can read any of the books we have produced or translated online. Any of the DVD’s we have created can be watched online in their entirety. No charge or fee for any of it.
This is only phase one of developing our website. By the way, no person in GoodSeed, including myself as the author, receives any royalty for the products we produce. It all goes into the ministry.
Once again, if you would be willing to login and write a short review of any of the products, it will be of great help to others researching our material. You input will weigh heavily in whether they take the time to read what is freely online for them. The same can be said of links. They help search engines rate us a little higher.
Pray for us as we fly back to Alberta this week. The ministry is very busy these days.
Thank you for standing behind us.

John (and Janice)

PS: Little James, the one we referred to in our last email is doing just fine after a hospital stay. He has been getting good care. Thanks for praying.

See: http://www.goodseed.com

The Ellingsgaards Arrive in Canada

It has taken a lot of faith, prayer, work and time but Judith, Allan and the boys were finally able to get on the plane for Canada at the end of this week. After they settle in to their new surroundings they will begin their ministry. Allan will be committing his time mainly to writing and recording music and possibly some work with computer systems. It's not easy having them leave and we'll miss seeing Benjamin (4) and James (2) but we are pleased they are serving God in this way.

Summit Mission Trip to the Philippines (part 2)

Travel Around Palawan
Travelling to and from the tribe required a few early starts and found us on a variety of vehicles, all of which worked fairly well. Leaving the mission guest house on Palawan we hired two 4-wheel drive vans to take us on the first leg of the journey to a lovely costal town of El Nido. Hidden away in the N. West of Palawan a good number of tourists still find their way to this place. An overnight there, another early start and we packed our supplies into a very tired looking jeepney for the next part of the trip. There was a water container on the roof that drip fed the radiator until the driver could stop at a river or other water source to top up the container – seemed to work ok! The tyres didn’t look the best and we wondered about the wisdom of carrying portable gas tanks strapped to the front – should make for an exciting collision! Of course there were people and goods inside and on top and some passengers hanging off the back too but we made it safely to the little fishing village where we got our boats to the island. With all our supplies transferred to two boats we had an uneventful voyage to the island, simply enjoying the remarkable beauty of our surroundings.

Morning in El Nido

Leaking already, we pack up the Jeepney

Along the Road

One of the Boats to the Island

On our return journey all went well until we got into the 4-wheel drive vans again. The roads were incredibly rough with massive potholes and trenches everywhere. The suspension broke on one of the vans so the drivers spent a couple of hours doing roadside repairs while we watched the world go by. Further along the road, and behind schedule for the drivers, there was an explosion followed by some serious hissing; the air-con system had blown. The driver’s solution to this was fairly quick and easy – open the side sliding door and travel with a nice breeze coming in. In his frustration he seemed to be taking a little less care, especially with the many dogs that lie on the roads. One poor dog just wasn’t quick enough and became the final statistic of our return journey.

Roadside Repairs

Watching the World go by

Second Project
Our second project and the one we had intended to be working on for the entire time was at the mission guest house on Palawan. Obviously we didn’t get as far with that as we would have but we did make significant progress with the beginning of a new building. This building will replace an older wooden one that has been crumbling down for a few years now. After marking out the area we dug the foundations, made up steel reinforcing cages and mixed and poured the concrete footings and floor. It was hard work mixing, wheeling and levelling all that concrete but the entire team pulled out all the stops to get the job done.

Touristy Days
Although we only spent a short time in El Nido as we passed through we couldn’t fail to appreciate its beauty. We were able to look around the town, swim in the sea and enjoy a meal on the beach at one of the beach front restaurants. Our accommodation didn’t register on any ‘star’ rating but who cared with views like this.

El Nido Beach & Bay

Children in El Nido

Before we left Palawan we spent a whole day ‘island hopping’ on Honda Bay. This is an unbelievable experience, white sandy island beaches, crystal clear water, beautiful tropical fish all around… …well there were many long days of seriously hard work in the heat, just in case you get the wrong impression!!

Starfish Island

Summit Mission Trip to the Philippines (part 1)

Tribe & Island
About 10,000 people from the tribe of the Calamian Tagbanwa live scattered in the northern part of Palawan. Marked by great poverty, they live a simple life, gathering their main livelihood from fishing and harvesting mountain rice on little patches of land.

They live in fear and spiritual darkness, held captive by animistic beliefs that demand they worship spirits, pray to their ancestors and sacrifice animals.

Konrad & Betty Binder and Nate & Megan Ingvoldstad are preparing to move with their families to live with these people. Initially they will be studying culture and language so they can effectively present the good news of Jesus Christ. They want to see churches established among the Calamian Tagbanwa that will thrive and function according to New Testament principles.

The island was a beautiful place and the people made us very welcome. As is often the case, the children enjoyed the activity and attention and always wanted to pose for photos.

Our Project

Our first project this year in the Philippines was to help Konrad with the construction of his house. Another group of men had been working on the house prior to our arrival, so at least there was a ‘roof over our heads’ while we worked in the heat on this remote little island. Facilities were minimal and our cooking, eating and general living area was a simple tribal style field house. We had an excellent cook with us who worked wonders in the ‘kitchen’ and an excellent team who took all the inconveniences in their stride. There was always something going on to liven up our days – and nights! We had to move our mosquito nets during thunder storms depending on the direction of the rain, and those downpours rendered the ‘comfort room’ out of action as it only had plastic walls and no roof! Then there were various little creatures that came to visit including a monkey who became a regular. One of his favourite places to sit was on the end of our clothes line. I don’t know if he didn’t like the coloured towel that was often drying there or if he just threw the towel down to make room for himself. Our work included erecting walls and a frame for solar panels, fitting doors and windows, painting and various other smaller jobs.

Home from Home

Shower House

Work on the House

And in the 'Kitchen'

Although we had just a small team with us there were others from the Philippines who joined to help with the project including Paul & Cathy Wright from N Ireland. They have been in the Philippines since the beginning of the year and are making good progress in language study in Manila. I think they were glad to get a break from language for a while and we certainly enjoyed having them with us.

Our TeamPaul & Cathy Wright

The Lord Gave And The Lord Has Taken Away

In my last posting I mentioned that dad had been ill, since then he has passed away. The following paragraph from our most recent prayer letter gives some of the details surrounding his death.

'On our return from Peru we were due to spend a few days with friends in the States but a phone call from home informed us that dad wasn’t doing well so we came home directly. It was good to be back with him for his birthday but clearly he had not been recovering, a further infection had really taken its toll. He passed away a week later on 1st May. We were pleased he didn’t have a long or difficult period of suffering but miss him greatly. As for him, he is absent from the body, present with the Lord.'

A friend sent us these lovely words:

O think!
To step on shore, and that shore heaven;
To take hold of a hand, and that God’s hand;
To breathe a new air, and find it celestial air.
To feel invigorated, and to know it immortality!
O think!
To pass from the storm and the tempest to one unbroken calm;
To wake up, and find it Glory!

On May 1st John Murphy’s earthly life ended and he opened his eyes in Glory.

On June 1st Joel John Murphy entered this world in Peru. David and Alicia’s first son was a healthy 10 lbs 5 ozs.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the Name of the Lord. Job 1:21

Joel with his very proud big sister, Sarah.

A Mission Trip With A Difference

It certainly wasn’t how we would have planned the start of our trip to Peru. March 31st we were leaving for Dublin and on to Atlanta, Lima, Tacna and finally arriving in Ilo, South Peru on April 2nd.

Before we left I called with my dad in hospital and with my aunt in another hospital. Both had been poorly for a number of weeks. Dad had a pacemaker fitted but a prolonged period of serious infection had left him weak and with little appetite. It seemed the wrong time to be going but we felt our responsibility toward David, Alicia and Sarah and believed we should go ahead with the journey.

Another strange aspect of this ‘mission’ trip was the absence of a team of 15 or 16 people to look after, just Bobby and I going to visit David and family and their fellow missionaries, and to see the work they are doing there.

Our flights went well and we arrived as scheduled in Tacna where David met us. Almost immediately we went down with infections. The hectic weeks of January, February and particularly March had caught up with us and we were bound for an enforced rest. For more than a week we did very little but found ourselves sleeping quite a lot – it must have been really exciting for David and Alicia to see us again!

The Port of Ilo

Of course we did recover and were able to see first hand some of the work Irish Baptist missionaries are doing in Peru. In Tacna there is a theological seminary and a radio ministry to the local area. The Valley Azul Camp Centre is located at Ite. This centre has been under development for a number of years and they now have a well equipped facility for youth, family and church camps and for ministering to various groups, including pastors and church workers.

Based at the camp centre is the first short term evangelism team, ‘Mision Rescate’. Comprising of four young people from Ireland and nine from Peru, they have been helping run camps at the centre and have assisted local churches with special outreach and evangelism events. Another addition to the camp centre is the ‘Amazing Journey’, this will be used to reach school age children both at the centre and in churches and schools.

So there is a lot going on for David and Alicia now they have teamed up with Trevor and Christine Morrow, together they coordinate and run these ministries at the centre. They also work with a small group of believers in Ite town, trying to teach, encourage and support them.

The Morrow Family

We have often encouraged the parents of young missionaries to visit them and so to better understand their lives and ministries abroad. This trip was our opportunity to do that, to encourage and show our support for David & Alicia as they serve the Lord in Peru.

A Few Days in Arequipa

What Are These? - The Answer

Two weeks ago I posted a blog asking, ‘What are these and what is their purpose?’ I suppose its time to solve the mystery as some have been looking for an answer.

Talking about these little ‘images’, a Thai newspaper referred to them a ’scarecrows’. While this might be a reasonable use of the word they have a much more serious function than chasing away birds!

A closer look (and the ability to read Thai!) reveals a little sign attached to the ‘scarecrow’ which states that there are no children at that house who were born on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

People in North East Thailand believe in a spirit called ‘pe-bop’. It’s believed that certain people have a ‘pe-bop’ living in them and from time to time they must release it to wander around and ‘eat’ someone. The victim dies suddenly and without obvious cause.

According to the newspaper article some people had dreams about the activities of a ‘pe-bop’. In their dreams children born on Tuesdays and Wednesdays were particularly vulnerable. So a ‘scarecrow’ or image of a young child placed at the front of the house is an attempt to trick the frightening spirit, first to believe there are no children there who were born on those days and secondly, if the spirit did come to that house it might think the ‘scarecrow’ is a child and harm it instead.

Animism is the practice of appeasing and manipulating spirits; spirits of the fields, trees and rivers, village spirits, family and ancestral spirits and many more. People live their entire lives in fear of these spirits, their daily activities and action controlled by what they believe about them.

Only the Good News of God’s grace can free people from such an existence, bringing truth and life, forgiveness and salvation, peace and freedom. Romans 10:14-15

Ladies Mission Team To Thailand

Our team of ladies arrived safely in Thailand. They were surprised by some of the things they saw and heard.

We had told them. ‘You’ll not see rain…’, but our words were much less reliable that those of Elijah! As we went out that first morning in Bangkok the clouds were black and threatening. We managed to dodge the showers until boarding a river taxi when the skies emptied – on us. The rain passed and we dried out quickly, the only lingering affect was a few questionable hairstyles! Our credibility was dented a bit too as we were frequently teased, ‘You told us…’

On a more serious note, our team was taken aback as we visited the temple of the Emerald Buddha. Although in one way a beautiful icon of Thai tourism, the reality of the influence of Buddhism in Thailand shocked our team. The majority of people in Thailand are Buddhist, this with their strong animistic beliefs controls every aspect of their daily lives. This was one reason we were there, to begin to build up an impression of what it’s like for missionaries to work in Thailand.

Our tribal visits were all in the North East of Thailand so we travelled in an overnight bus to Mukdahan. The first missionary team we met was in the very early stages of their work. Having completed Thai language study they had been doing survey work to determine which village they should move to. It was during our time there these two young families were given permission to start work with the Pu Thai people. In another Esaan village we visited with a team where the work had been going on for a few years. They were immersed in the study of language and culture. Then finally we also visited a Bruu village where missionaries have been working for over twenty years. Here we stayed in the home of a young Bruu couple who are believers and had the privilege of meeting with the church on Sunday morning. One of the main tasks of the missionaries in this village is to continue translating the Bible. For this little church to grow to maturity they will need to have all of God’s Word in their own language.














Again the team was surprised by a number of things they learned in these places:
*To see a church established and brought to maturity requires a massive commitment and investment of time
*To do a meaningful work a significant amount of time must be spent in properly understanding the language and culture
*Even to get to the place where they can commence their work requires many moves and much upheaval for missionaries, especially those with young families


Throughout the rest of our time in Thailand there were other surprising things to be discovered, for example:
*You can drive for thirteen hours and only cover a small part of the country
*Thai people (and missionaries) can eat rice with just about every meal and don’t seem to get tired of it
*An elephant really can paint a picture with its trunk
*Almost the entire staff of a bank will come to your aid if you are trying to learn how to count in Thai
*It is so easy to make silly mistakes when you try to learn the language
*The number of scopes of ice cream one team member can eat – you know who you are!

What Are These And What Is Their Purpose?

During the week we returned from Thailand with the Ladies Mission Team. At the beginning of next week I'll be going to our mission HQ in England for a few days, when I return I'd like to post a couple of articles about our trip. Until then I want to leave you with something to think about. There are two photos below, both of them taken in the North East of Thailand. What are these and what is their purpose?