The Major Tribe

So here is the second video from our recent trip to Palawan.  Just right click and Save-as here to download the HD version.

We flew in to visit Ray and Chris Pollock living among a group of Central Tagbanwa and Cuyunon peoples.  After many years of teaching there is a young church established with several men beginning to teach and take leadership in the church.  It was so exciting to see the first fruits of the work God has been doing there!

There remains, however, a great need for outreach, evangelism and discipleship locally and in the surrounding areas.  We celebrate the new life of the many believers there but God has made it clear in His word that His heart isn’t simply to see to new believers but mature disciples.  Please pray for the continued growth of the church there, for the Pollocks and Brooks families as they continue to teach and disciple and also for more labourers to come and help in bringing the Gospel to the Central Tagbanwa and Cuyunon peoples of Palawan.

During our time we had the opportunity to visit with Fredo, a Tagbanwa believer.  Below is an excerpt from a story about Fredo from 2008.

Missionaries Danny and Philippa Brooks wrote, “One night about two weeks ago, Fredo came up to our house while it was dark and said that he had something to tell us. He said that the night before he hadn’t been able to sleep and he felt the Lord wanted him to read his Bible. So, in the middle of the night, he picked up the Word of God and read Acts 20:35. ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

He went on to say that he had met other New Tribes Missionaries. “I know that there are missionaries in Mindanao, Palawan, Manila, and maybe even Luzon,” he said. “Please thank them all for me.”

When we met Fredo he shared his testimnony with us of his life before trusting Christ and of the things God is doing now.  He shared, "Right now, I want to serve Christ and in whatever the church needs I want to help.  I know I don’t have alot but that is what God has given me right now so I will do what I can with that."

Fredo and his wife have 11 children and he works hard to provide for his family but there is also a need for teachers within the church.  He is a pretty shy guy but despite that Fredo has decided to take on the challenge of trying to teach a lesson in front of the church.

As we got up to go Fredo thanked us for leaving our families and friends in the US and coming to the Philippines to serve.  It was a very encouraging visit for us.  It was humbling and thrilling to see God at work in the lives of these believers.  To see them taking the Word of God and applying it to their lives. 

Before we left Fredo’s wife brought us a bag of mangoes from their tree to say thank you.  We can’t send you the mangos but we want to say thank you as well for your prayers and support in bringing the Gospel to the unreached that remain here in the Philippines.  God is building His Church!

In Him,

The Major Family

Here is a quick video we threw together from our trip to Palawan.  We were so encouraged by our visit to the works there! This is the first of (hopefully) three short videos from our visit.  We head out again tomorrow for another week up north and will post more when we get back.

Right-click here and “Save as” to download the HD version.

Just to give a little background this video covers the first half of our Palawan trip into visit two missionary families (the Ingvolstads from the US and the Binders from Germany) serving to reach a group of the Tagbanwa people.  They are settled in and into language study at the moment.  We had a great time hanging out with them and the people there.

As we continue on in language study and look ahead towards moving out of Manila the time was a great reminder of the need that still exists here and of the things God has already been doing to prepare the way for the Gospel.  Even as the team is beginning language study they have already been able to demonstrate Christ’s love through things like medical help and water projects and God has used those things to build key relationships in the community.

A verse that came up several times during the week was Psalm 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds the house they labour in vain that build it.”  Since our first days in Bible school the testimony of missionaries and others in ministry has been that church planting among the unreached is an impossible task.  Impossible, that is, without God at the front leading and working.  A big part of what we took away from our visit this month was joy in the priviledge of seeing God at work!

Thanks so much for praying!

In Him,

The Major Family

PS.

Fishing is a big part of life in Palawan and I got to go out spear fishing with a few of the men.  Now when you see the string of fish I will confess… No, the entire string of fish is not mine… I shot one of them.  (Don’t ask how big.)  I will say that if it were up to me to feed the family from the sea we wouldn’t have starved… but… we might have quickly lost alot of weight.   Needless to say it was fun!

Naomi went with me to the open market called the "palenke" the other morning. She was my "kasama".  A "kasama" is the person that goes with you on an outing or does something with you that you might otherwise have to do by yourself.

I enjoy going to the market on saturday mornings!  It’s a great opportunity to get some fresh fruits and veggies for the weekend.

As we stepped out of our apartment building Naomi said a cheery "Hello!" to a little 6 month old baby boy.  I asked her who he was and she just said, "That’s Mathew."  She skipped along the busy, dirty streets like she didn’t have a care in the world.  As I talked with Naomi I was so amazed at her ability to adapt to this culture and her delight at just being in the Philippines.  She is always so kind to all the people that want to greet her when we go out.

She casually talked about how old she will be when we go back to America and what we might do.  Not with longing in her heart but with a spirit of adventure.  I share that spirit of adventure with her but I also like to think she gets it from me.

I am compelled more and more to capture my thoughts on life.  Not just life here but the life that we have in Christ.  I realize these days are precious, challenging and adventurous.  I thank the Lord for Naomi. I thank the Lord that He called our family to this life and for the strength that He provides!  May His name be glorified to the ends of the earth!

T

The jeep ride home!

Love,

Bana for the Major Tribe!

Weddings remind me that our amazing God ordained this institution for His Glory and for our good. We had the privilege to take part in a wedding for our friends Jane and Ken.  Jared and I served as "Ninong at Ninang" in the wedding.  In Filipino weddings it is typical to have several sets of "Ninongs" or God parents.  Jared wore a traditional shirt called a "Barong Tagalog."  There are many styles and types of materials for the Barong but this particular style is for formal occasions like weddings.

The most common color of dress for a Ninang to wear is cream or white.  This as you all know is very hard for an American because that is a big no-no in the States.  I went shopping with a Philippina friend of mine and I kept saying, "Are you sure that I should wear white?"  I was glad that I did because that was the color everyone else was wearing.

All the the girls looked so beautiful in their dresses!

This little boy looked so cute in his Barong!

My sweet friend Jane!

 Congratulations Jane and Ken! We had a great time and got plenty of Tagalog practice!

Love,

Bana for the Majortribe!

On March 12th Evangelince Grace Major turned 2 year’s old!  She is such a sweet blessing to us. Tea parties have been our thing for a while so we celebrated her Birthday with a tea party.

Maligayang kaarawan!

(thats "Happy Birthday" in Tagalog though you won’t hear many people say it, its more common just to say… "Happy Birthday") 

We have our share of wildlife here in the city of Manila but one of our not so favorite creatures is the common cockroach. We have killed a few in our time here so i thought I would show you a picture!  I’m sure ya’ll were dying for these pics.  Besides these things being the size of Texas we are pretty sure Eve got bit by one a few weeks ago.  Gross-out alert! – (They say that when cockroaches are thirsty and can’t find a water source they go for your tear ducts while you sleep.)  So ever since then the battle has been on and it’s not looking good for the cockroach.  Lest you feel sorry for me one of our veteran missionaries told a group of ladies that when they lived in the tribe they could not turn their backs on any food or it would be swarmed with cockroaches.  Armed with my hefty jumbo can of Baygon I can handle one or two. 

Love,

Bana for the majortribe!

So the fireworks I saw at the fair grounds growing up didn’t hold a candle to what we witnessed last night!  The whole night sky exploded!  Imagine a city of 14 million people and no restrictions on the size of the fireworks.  Appearanly just about anybody here can go buy the big mortars and stuff the experts only get back home.  I snapped a bit of video before midnight lastnight, you can click on the image above to watch.  (It may take a little time to “buffer”…patience is a virtue   Keep in mind that it only got bigger after this… and louder.  We hadn’t planned on waking up the kids but when we checked in on them in their rooms they were sleeping with their hands over their ears… so we just got them up.

Happy New Year and may God contiune to lead you and draw you towards Himself,

The Major Family

Here is a sneak peak of our Chirstmas Pictures!  I love the girls new Christmas dresses.  That brings me to Blessing #2 for being a missionary in the philippines… cheap childrens clothes!  I am in love with these dresses and the children wearing them!

Love,

Bana and the Major Tribe!