Thursday, December 10, 2020

 

Wow...we don't know where to begin! Since our last update, we have really experienced tangibly just how faithful God is, in all things. It has now been about two and a half weeks since we arrived in the Philippines, and we have been taken aback by the welcome we have received, and the kindness and generosity of the Faith community. 

We have been blessed to be able to stay in a furlough home until our apartment is ready for us to move in. Just this past Wednesday, we signed the lease to our apartment, and plan on moving in next week! Our landlord was so kind to repaint the apartment and change some specific things we had requested. Our lovely new neighbors are also part of the Faith community, and they have been kind enough to show us around.

Our quarantine period ended just in time for us to be able to attend Faith Academy's Staff Christmas Banquet. We were finally able to meet most staff face to face. Yes....face to face. We were and are so grateful for the opportunity to be physically surrounded by our coworkers! We have since also been able to go into school and work in our classroom and office, still connecting with our students online though. On Thursday we had a tour of the campus, and what a testimony of God's plan, provision, and heart for the nations it is! 

Currently, we are in the process of looking for a car. We have been put in contact with a reliable liaison who will help us find and purchase a good quality...but affordable...car,  and help us with the mountain of paperwork. Our liaison is a pastor at a local church, who has been helping missionaries and expats in this way for nearly 30 years.  We are hoping to find and purchase the car before Christmas break so that we can go and explore our new home a little.

How second semester courses would be administered has been up in the air for a while. We now know that all of second semester will be given virtually. Although this isn't the news everyone was hoping for, we are still grateful that we are able to be in country and be in community with the other Faith staff.

Here are some pictures of Faith Academy High School Department!

                  



Now that we don't have to wait for visas or flights, and are actually in county, we have some specific prayer requests.

- We still need $1, 365 per month in order to be fully funded. Please pray that God would lead others to become financial partners with us in order to be fully funded. 

- Our car search is on! We are praying for a reliable car within our budget.

- The school is loaning us some basic furnishings for the time being. We hope to be able to gradually
purchase some furniture of our own.

- With a move comes a transition. Please pray that we are able to transition smoothly into our new home. 


We also want to reiterate that we want to know how we can pray for you in this partnership! Please send us any prayer requests you may have to egbert.alyson.botha@gmail.com.


March