Happy New Year

We rang in the New Year on the roof deck of our 22 story condo, and though the fireworks roared both near and far they could hardly be seen do to all the smoke. Manila seemed to be a war zone. It reminded me of the ongoing spiritual battle that we don’t always see but always hear the roar and feel the effects of. But we can find comfort in the Lord that though the world seems out of control, he is in control and he has a purpose for you and for me amidst the chaos. John 16:33 says: "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace, In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." We would like to urge you as we start the New Year, to seek out the Lords will for you and your family and to serve him diligently. "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11. It has been both a tremendous adventure and a trying time as we have spent the last ten months here in the Philippines. Everyday we are learning more about the grace of the Lord. He is truly gracious to continue to meet and surpass our needs as we minister and attend language school here in Manila.

Language school has really been a spring board for both Erin and I. We have learned so much thanks in part to our amazing teachers and mostly to the Lord for giving us clear minds to acquire a new language. It is much harder the older you get, and though we are not old, we haven’t used this part of our brain in quite some time. But our teachers are patient and diligent, and we continue to make improvements every week. Praise God that we both passed our first evaluation, Erin with flying colors and me with a number of misspellings. Please continue to pray for us, as learning Tagalog will provide us with the ability to communicate the Gospel in their native language. Surprisingly many missionaries never take the time to learn Tagalog since so many people know English. We hope that learning the language will be further confirmation of our desire to reach the Filipino people for Christ.

We are excited that this March we will be able to share with many of you face to face about what the Lord is doing in and through us here in the Philippines. We are planning a short trip of only one month in the states before returning for the Philippines. Please pray as our schedule will be hectic. We have many errands to take care in a short time, but are trying not to take too much time off from language school. We will be arriving Feb 28th at 8:00 p.m. and have no definite departure, though we are trying not to stay in the states much longer than a month. We hope that we will be able to get together with many of you to share about the ministry that you our supporters so graciously allow us to partake in. We are equally excited to hear about what the Lord is doing in your lives. After all we are all missionaries we just so happen to serve the Lord here in the Philippines.

“Flying to the mission field, we often forget that we are flying over the mission field.”

Love in Christ,
Justin and Erin McDonald