August 2001

Dear Friends,

Here are a couple of stories from recent months here in the Philippines.

In Northern Luzon we attended the graduation ceremony of the Ecumenical Theological Seminary that is located in Baggio. Afterwards, we were invited to a graduation party for one of the graduates. At this ceremony the young graduate stood up and told the assembled guests about the struggles he went through before following God’s call into the ministry. He debated long and hard, he said, as to whether to become a minister. At the time he received God’s call he was enrolled in a computer and economics course at the university. If he had followed this "career path," he would have been able to earn a comfortable living and would have been able to support his family. As the only son of the family, the family welfare rested on his shoulders. This responsibility will become especially burdensome when his father dies. He had grave doubts about whether he would be able to fulfill his responsibility to his family if he followed God’s call. He prayed long and hard and then wrote a pleading letter to his father begging to be allowed to change his course of study. His parents had long been members of their local church and understood their son’s dedication to the church and to God. They gave him their blessing. Upon graduation he was called to be the minister of his home church. Many members of the congregation were at his celebration to wish him well and to welcome him as their new pastor.

One of the great surprises we have been given while at the seminary were the turkeys Rachie talked about in her letter to the children of the church. It is interesting that things just sort of happen to you here in the Philippines. These turkeys are a good example. In the spring a student told me that he was going to go on internship for the next year. "Would you," he asked, "be interested in taking care of some turkeys?" I told him that I knew nothing at all about turkeys but that my mother had taken care of turkeys in Nebraska when she was a little girl and had told me that they were incredibly dumb animals. We left it at that. About three weeks ago, a student came to me and asked whether Ray had talked to me about turkeys. I told her he had mentioned them to me. "Well," she said, "the turkeys he left for you are at my house. I can no longer afford to feed them." So now I have turkeys. I buy food for turkeys. In fact I may arrange to buy a male turkey so we can have baby turkeys. In fact, yesterday some of the students who do odd jobs for money built an enclosure in our side yard. Our neighbor’s chicks live there as well. I think I even heard something about ducks. I’m not quite sure whether or not they will be my ducks or Josie’s ducks. I draw the line at pigs. I find it all a bit amusing.

Thank you for your prayers.

Love,

Mary Nebelsick