Bittersweet

My week with Pops was very encouraging for both he and I, as well as for the people there in the tribe. While his two month stay there began with some discouragement,—due to the peoples’ lack of initiative—by now it is apparent that the trip has had a significant affect. For the past 6 weeks Pops has been meeting weekly with both community leaders and members from five other local sitios as well as Lamane. He has been challenging the elders from the local churches to be proactive in both discipleship and evangelism. While admonishing them in weekly meetings, Pops has given his words credence by filling his own time with daily scheduled meetings and using his free moments to make unannounced visits.
Another major focus of his time there has been to convey the principle of “living” Christianity not just being religious. As has been the case since before Christ even walked this earth, there is a general tendency for us to let our worship become rote activity with no real meaning or life. Pops has been challenging them to think of how this happens and to take action to apply Christ and their Biblical knowledge to their everyday lives. From discontent regarding situations concerning the mine to the simple difficulties of surviving he has been encouraging them to try to think and live as Christ taught and did. While it took some time for these thoughts to become more than simple words, over the past couple of weeks we have seen consistent growth. The elders and leaders from all of the communities have been asking very tough questions about how to live out their Christianity. Leaders told me that Pops’ consistency and attention to reach out and encourage those even outside their own immediate spheres has challenged them to be more proactive in encouraging and supporting one another.
All in all Pops’ time there has been a significant success. He feels like the amount of time for this trip was vital to allow consistency and to engender real change and accountability. Further, due to my presence over this past week, we were able to have some very frank talks with the people concerning logistics and we all feel that it would be ideal for Pops to continue taking this type of trip annually for the next several years. In this initial stage we’re thinking that he would try to make a two month trip every year, with ten month intervals, for the next five years and that we would re-evaluate the situation at that time.
On the downside of things, both Pops and I could use some real prayer concerning our health. Pops came down with malaria on the day that I left and the fact that this is his last week there makes it particularly difficult for him. Many of his meetings this week will be very hard for him to cancel due to his upcoming ten month absence, and for those of you who know what malaria is like, you know that it’s nothing to play around with—especially when you’re hours away from any hospitals, where it is very hot and there is no electricity!
On my end of things, I took a fall on the motorbike on my way out of the tribe. I was going down a very steep hill on a very poor road with a lot of loose gravel and ended up on the ground before I really knew what happened. Aside from numerous minor scrapes and bruises I’ve got extensive lacerations on my left knee and upper shin and a large second degree burn on my right calf from the tailpipe. On top of these injuries my body has been fighting the drugs that I’ve been taking for it and I have been pretty ill and in a lot of pain throughout my travels home.
As always, thank you so much for your ongoing prayers and support, I’m very blessed to report that they’re bearing good fruit! We pray that you are all doing well and that this report will be as encouraging to you as the reality of it has been to us. If there are any other details or questions that you’d like answered please do not hesitate to contact one of us. Thank you again and God Bless,

Tim Mewmaw

Ps. My email is: timmewmaw@yahoo.com

The Trip In and the Results of the Trip Out

Learning to pack Pinoy style

Keeping Uncle Scott in Business
Mufflers are not made to be leg rests!
...And, steep, rocky roads do not make the best slides!

A Quick Look at Transportation--Videos

Crossing Bridges, Fording Rivers and Climbing Mountains

On the way to a Bible Study

Marnuk

Fording Rivers

The view from the mountain top between Marnuk and Lamane

Pops In Action

Pops Listening and Teaching

Encouraging Couple of Weeks

Well, it's been a really uplifting couple of weeks for Pops. His partner for the Lamane ministry was there for a week with a short-term team from Korea. Jody was really excited to see Pops there and they had some good times of fellowship/admonition with some of the team and the local leaders. Pops has been meeting individually and in small groups with elders and potential leaders every day for the past couple of weeks. He has been very encouraged by their grasp of the Scripture and their understanding and acceptance of the challenge for them to be a Spiritual "light" to those around them. Pops says: "I've been working us in the sermon on mount. Narrow gate...Kingdom, and effectiveness being dependent on taking on the beatitude mentality. Really getting into meat of challenge/discipleship. Then at Lamane on Sunday PM, last week, went into James about the tongue [Jam 1:26], and read a lot. It got very quiet. Now, I've digested that even better, and see such a relation between that and the Mt 5 attitudes. I've been loving it." Pops also said that in his meetings many of the elders and others have had ah-hah moments where they are seeing connections between knowing Christ and how that should affect their interactions with each other and outsiders.
In other news, I leave for the Philippines tomorrow afternoon. It'll be a marathon trip taking 36 hours or more to go each direction, but I'm looking forward to seeing Pops and pray that I will be an asset to him and that God will help us to accomplish the goals that we believe he has put on our hearts. I could use prayer for safe and speedy travels and that I don't get sick either there or on the way. Overall, we could use prayer that God would continue to bless our work there and that He would use us to further His will, and help us to know what that is in this particular place.
Finally, thank you all for your continued prayer and support. I'm happy to report that, on top of the encouraging news from Pops, we have received all but a few hundred dollars of what we needed to fund this two month trip for him and all of what was needed to fund my own trip. Thank you all for, as James says, allowing your faith to be shown through your actions and not merely through words. God bless,

Tim M

Ps. I'll try to post another update on my way back home next Saturday or Sunday to let everyone know how the trip went.