Endless Summer Missions
The Summers Family: Missionary Associates to the PhilippinesArchive for Philippines
Time Warp…
Ecclesiastes 3: 1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
One of the biggest adjustments to life in the Philippines is the way time works here; or maybe I should say, doesn’t work here. It is not like America. As a youth pastor in Colorado, I would schedule an early coffee, meeting at the church, lunch meeting, afternoon connect time with student, and maybe an evening activity of some kind.
In the book, ‘Culture Shock: Philippines’ it states, “schedule one meeting or task for the day because that is all you will accomplish.”
When I first arrived here, I experienced this but didn’t really understand why; as I just rode around with senior missionary Mark Alston. After going it alone for a while now, I truly understand. Things are very different here. You have to be very strategic with how you do things.
IE. Businesses open at 9am. they close for at least one hour for lunch and siesta. They will all but shut down for merienda either mid morning or mid afternoon (maybe both). It take about 20 minutes to get downtown. That gives to the latitude to accomplish at least on task. Considering that in this culture relationship and hospitality are extremely valued, you do not schedule meetings back to back; like pastor friends of mine are known to do in the states. B/C 1 or more things happen:
1. your appointment will last at least twice as long as you would expect; with the main reason for meeting being the very last thing you discuss
2. thus you are late for your next meeting. or…the person you are to meet with arrives and joins the first meeting, thus negating the what you were to accomplish in the first meeting; meaning you will need to schedule a follow up meeting of the first appointment.
3. if you end a meeting sooner than your counterpart is prepared for or set a defined ending time (ie. ‘i have to leave by 11am, so we’ll have to keep this brief’) conveys that you are superficial, you don’t truly care about the person, and are only pushing to achieve your agenda at the expense of the relationship.
4. you arrive at your next meeting extremely late, which is ok, only to find out that the person has left to go home for siesta early and will meet another time. or…you have worked to be there on time, damaging relationship with the previous person, only to find out the person you are meeting with is late (typical) and you sit around waiting for him to arrive, by the time he does, it’s almost lunch and siesta, so he suggests a reschedule for a better time, when you both will be more rested and prepared.
5. Any attempt to do more than this only compounds the heartache; keep in mind you have about a 2 hour morning window and 2 hour afternoon window (now imagine trying to accomplish any kind of task associated with govt. (ie. drivers license).
By the time all this has unfolded, you are so mentally exhausted, you need your own siesta; at which point you begin to understand a little bit more about why things work the way they do. Over time you accept the realities of ‘what is’. And work within this framework. Amazingly, after much time in which it seems like nothing is happening, suddenly everything happens at once.
And so is life in the majority world. Welcome to provincial life in the Philippines.
Settling In
Check out our new website @: www.endlesssummermissions.info
As I write I am preparing for bed. It is only 8pm here. We operate by a much different schedule here. We wake up around 5am each day to experience a beautiful sunrise, drink coffee and spend time in prayer and bible study. With eagerness we anticipate what each day will bring, who we will meet and what opporutunities develop. By the time the sun sets we are exhausted. Right now we are still working hard to move in to our own place, help the boys get familiar with their new home, and just adjust to a new culture and language.
After a long, hard, stressful, and wonderful year, it has all come to fruition on being here now. There is much peace in my heart and I feel as though we have finally arrived at the destination we were traveling to for months. Thank you to all those who have supported us and sent us, we look forward to keeping you up to speed on our adventures in the coming months.
Christian
The countdown has started!
The faith adventure we have embarked on is calling us to take one more giant leap of faith. We have now set our official date of departure for the Philippines.
We will be leaving March 9th!
Words can’t begin to express the excitement and anticipation that fill our hearts. We have had so many incredible experiences this last year and journeyed into such a deeper relationship and reliance on God and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
One year ago we made travel plans to visit the Philippines and the Alstons and spend time experiencing the people and culture we believed God was calling us to.
Nine months ago, in faith, we resigned from full time student ministry at DRA to pursue becoming missionaries. At the time we had not received our official approval and clearance.
Six months ago we had barely begun to build the financial support we needed to leave for the field in the beginning of 2010.
Three months ago we were less than 50% of our needed monthly support and cash budget needed.
Two weeks ago we decided through prayer and faith to take another step of faith and leave for the mission field the end of February regardless of where we stood in regards to financial support.
10 days ago we began to fast and pray for a breakthrough in provision for the ministry we are called to.
Yesterday we received word that we have received enough funding for our first year! Praise the Lord
Thank you so much to everyone who has helped us get this far and close at the same time.
We are presently still $600 short on needed monthly support in order to stay long term. If you haven’t yet made a monthly pledge or even a one time donation; or know someone who may be willing to help us reach our needed budget will you let us know?
Please visit our Donate Now page to get more info on how you can help us reach our required budget.
Sir Edmund Burke stated, “It is a tragedy for him to do nothing, who can only do a little.”
Every little bit makes a huge impact collectively with the many who team with us to make this ministry become a reality.
Thank you for praying with us and for us as we begin the culmination of what we see as “God’s Call to Adventure.”
Destination: Philippines…Departing: Feb. 27th
We are getting so close! We are now nearly 70% funded for our monthly financial pledge needs required for us to receive clearance to leave for the missions field. We are so excited that it is hard to think about anything else as we spend the next few weeks preparing for our departure date.
We would love to have you join our support team both financially & in prayer. Would you claim one of the sponsorships below to help us reach our goal? Once each of these has been spoken for we will have met our financial goal.
Thank you so much for your continued support. May God exceddingly bless you and continue to increase your faith and fuel your passion to see people reached for Jesus Christ.
Did You Know?…We Need You!
Did you know?…as missionaries with the Assemblies of God we are 100% funded and supported by a network of friends, family & partnering churches. We are not funded by our national office, known as the AG World Missions Department, in any way. So we need you to help us get to the mission field. 100% of your monthly pledges & one time donations go to our moving costs, including travel, missions school, and living expenses while in the Philippines.
Did you know?…that when you begin making monthly donations to our missions acct., the money you send goes to building our cash budget requirements which will fund our move, schooling, vehicle needs & more once we leave.
Did you know?…we can’t leave for the Philippines until we have $3000/month in pledge commitments from our support network turned in to the national office. We have reached the 10% mark for monthly support.
Did you know?…that even a commitment of $25/month will make a huge difference in helping us become missionaries.
Did you know?…we have reached the 50% mark for our cash budget requirements that will fund our move.
Did you know?…we need: 2 supporters @ $250, 10 supporters @ $100, 20 supporters @ $50, & 20 supporters @$25 to make our ministry in the Philippines a reality.
Did you know?…you can set up an automatic monthly contribution to support us or donate now online.
Did you know?…that you make the difference…Thank You!
My First Marathon
As some of you may know, I have wanted to run a marathon for some time. I received my initial motivation from my sister, Rachel. After each having 2 children, we both wanted to shed those last few “baby weight” pounds and just get in better shape. I like a good challenge, so I was determined to train for the 26.2 mile race.
The race that I have chosen is the American Discovery Trail Marathon on Labor Day this year (September 7th). It begins in Monument, CO at Palmer lake and ends at America the Beautiful Park in Colorado Springs, CO. Along with the personal challenge to compete and finish, I’ve decided to turn the race into a way to raise awareness and support for our family’s mission to the Philippines.
One of the many opportunities we have while in the Philippines is to combat the ever-growing problem of human trafficking. It breaks my heart that children are being exploited, and fighting this social disease will be one of my goals while there.
When I was a kid, our school held an annual “jog-a-thon” to raise funds for the different programs offered. We had neighbors, friends, and family sponsor us; some people donated a set dollar amount while others donated an amount per lap completed.
Essentially, that is what we are asking you to do. Christian and I are trying to think outside-the-box to raise the necessary funding to meet our missions budget. In hopes to continue raising the support we need to move overseas as missionaries to the Philippines, I’d like to give you the opportunity to sponsor me in my Labor Day “jog-a-thon.”
You can donate in 2 ways: make a per mile pledge or a one time donation. All donations are tax-deductible and will be receipted as such. If you need more information, you can send me an email at circularthinking@gmail.com and I will explain in more detail. If you wish to donate online, we have a “donate now” page which outlines the different ways this is possible. Check it out.
Thanks so much for your time! We are so excited about where God is leading us and cannot wait to move to the Philippines and bring hope to the people there!
Blessings,
Bridget
ps.: Our goal is to have 40 friends & family sponsor Bridget for $1/mile; will you be a part?
Thanks for your continued support & prayers. Remember to pray for Bridget on Sept. 7th, she is struggling w/ hip joint pain…
Christian
Missions Budget Finalized…bigger than expected
We finally received our final budget requirements, good news. It was higher than we anticipated, bad news…sort of.
While we know that God will provide the support we need to be able to go, the amount we expected to have to raise is definately more daunting than originally expected. There are many details and requirements that go into becomig a foreign missionary that we simply were unaware of. The cost of our prefield orientation, visas, immunizations, insurance, travel provisions, and basic living requirements can really add up quickly.
I’m not sure what is more daunting: the montly budget or the cash budget. The cash budget is 10x’s our monthly budget, but is a one time deal.
Our monthly budget requires repeated support from a broad spectrum of supporters, both individuals and churches. We know that ‘all things work together for good, for those who are called’. We also hold on to the truth that ‘for those He calls, He equips…’ Our budget requirements are a vital part of that equiping process.
Thanks for praying with us and for us as we trust God for His provision. Don’t hesitate to send us a message or call us with creative suggestions for fundraising or supporters who may be willing to invest in our ministry. In these tough financial times we know it can be tough for people to give sacrificially, but we know God blesses beyound our imagination we we fully place our trust in Him.
Our First Sunday…
Typically this statement would be reflective of a new ministry position at a church in which you experience what it will be like with the community of believers at a particular church. For us, it was the first time we shared our new ministry calling as missionaries to the Philippines with two different churches.
In the morning we spoke at Cedaredge Assembly of God and in the evening at Frutia Assembly of God. (you can learn more about them by following the link under our supporters – churches. Each of these amazing community of believers was encouraging and supportive. After literally never knowing anything else but attending the same church all my life, I am enjoying meeting fellow followers of Christ across the state. I can’t wait for the Sundays and Wednesdays to come…
“Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.” Heb. 10: 24,25 (the Message)
We got it!!!
We received word today that we are approved to be Missionary Associates to the Philippines! We began the process almost 2 months ago and have checked either the website or called nearly every day. The ladies in the national office were probably getting slightly irritated. We didn’t expect there to be any hold-ups, but were still a little concerned none-the-less. Approval came just in time considering we are speaking at 3 churches next week.
It is a huge sense of relief because now we can really let ourselves get excited about going to the Philippines! Our next big hurdle is now to raise the financial support needed to live and do ministry in another country. We are trusting in God to provide and to come through for us. As long as we do our part, we know we will find him faithful to our needs.
Thank you to all that are reading this for your love, support, prayer and thoughts. It means the world to us that you stand behind us in this next adventure God is leading us on.
Endless Summer Missions 