Some Filipinos call me Tita (aunt) Barbara, others call me Ah-teh (older sister) Barbs, and others just call me Ma’am. I answer to them all. Together with my husband Mark and our three children, we have served as support staff with Wycliffe Bible Translators here in the Philippines since 2009. Mark, who previously worked in aeronautics as an engineer, now is an IT point-person for the staff in our city, and on occasion, in another S.E. Asian country.
I homeschool our children part-time, and am involved in producing Scripture Engagement resources for use by translators in various languages. We love our work, the opportunity to see people engage with God’s Word in their heart languages for the first time, the warm Filipino and cross-cultural communities that we’re privileged to be a part of, and so many things about this friendly, happy culture.
But ahead of us loom many uncertainties. As we head back for home assignment at the close of this school year, and as we transition our twin daughters into college, we don’t yet know where we’ll be living, where any of our children will go to school, or what work we’ll do during that year. And because things in our current area of service are changing, we don’t even know whether we’ll be returning to the Philippines, or if we’ll be moving on to a new chapter at the end of that year. God, in His wisdom, has kept these things hidden from us so far.
So thank you for praying for us in the transitions ahead. As we say our good-byes, make this move, and wait for God’s guidance to become clear, please pray that we will stay in His presence, trusting His faithfulness for the future.
And He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14
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