Dear Alana, Amy, Chris, Kara and Kiana,

I said goodbye to you just a few nights ago. I just want to thank you again for coming and giving of yourselves. Thank you for leaving your mark on the Palawano and on us. You’re part of the family now. Please keep in contact.

After 10 months of working together, everything changes for us now. We will have new staff arriving in a month, and we will start the cycle of training and integrating over again. You have returned to the States and unpacked the pieces of your lives you put in storage when you left. But just as a child outgrows various toys at different stages of life, do you get the feeling that you have outgrown some of yours?

Your 10 months in Palawan was a season of growth and change for you. There were times of agony, intense joy, loneliness and homesickness, fatigue like you never imagined possible, and real-time evidence of being used by God to save lives, mend wounds and minister to hearts. During these months you learned a new language and culture, made new friendships and gave of yourself in ways that perhaps you didn’t even know you could. Though at times you longed for a more predictable schedule and more down time, you gave of yourself and found fulfillment. Through this you have changed. Just as a growing child can’t go back to being smaller again, you’ve changed in ways that can’t be reversed. You will always have a perspective that is different from others when you hear the word “Palawano,” for you know them in an intimate way. You have a unique understanding of the word “primitive,” because that is how you lived for 10 months with many fond memories. When you hear the term “spiritual warfare,” you have the perspective of a seasoned warrior, for you have done hand-to-hand combat with the enemy of souls, and won.

As you get reacquainted with your home culture, there will be many temptations to revert to what you were before, to forget the lessons you’ve learned, to feel that the experiences you had were something long ago and far away. But, just as we discussed the evening of our parting, I want to remind you to be alert. Remember how you used to wake up in the morning and pray, “Lord use me today,” and you knew He would? You had needs surrounding you, you had ministry tools, and you knew your own frailty. Back at home, it may be easy to forget that you have those same tools with which to minister to your community. Just as you knew God sent you to Palawan and to the Palawano people, He has returned you to America to help people. Just as you were purposeful in getting close to Palawano people, be purposeful in developing genuine friendships and a sense of community with the people God will bring into your life. Just as you were willing to live a life of self-sacrifice in order to draw near to the Palawano people, resist the overwhelming temptation to slip back into self-dependency and acquisition. Determine to live below your means to make available resources to bless others. Just as you knew you needed God’s Spirit to be with you each and every day to protect you from the evil one and to give you strength, courage and wisdom for the tasks of the day, you need the Spirit of God to fill you and surround you and keep you alert to the hidden dangers of your own culture. Do not neglect your time with God each day; you need it now more than ever. It is easy—so easy—to sink into complacency and comfort. Don’t neglect being part of the body of Christ. Genuinely throw yourself into the ministry of the Church. Make every effort not to go back to sleep, even when those around you are in a stupor, just going through the motions of church. Perhaps your alertness and activity will arouse your brothers and sisters to the danger of sleeping through these end times.

Remember how we discussed the dangers of our electronic age? You mentioned how easy it is to consume hours of time finding out what all your friends are doing online; to stay up too late at night and then not be able to get up early in the morning for consistent time with God. I want to encourage you in your efforts to control the electronics in your lives rather than allowing them to control you.

I imagine you won’t easily forget your first month in Kemantian—the electronics fast. Do you remember how it was to have no Internet, no cell phone usage, no iPods, recorders or computers? You felt as if your props had been pulled out from under you as you purposefully cut these things out of your life in order to focus on fully becoming part of your new environment. Some of you felt a bit angry at being required to do that. And yet you persevered. In the end, you found that the hold they had on your life was weakened. I remember after that when one of you brought your iPod and asked me to keep it again for several months. You realized it was hampering your spiritual growth, and you wanted it out of your life until you could manage it and not have it manage you.
I challenge you to fast from electronics again. I challenge you to find ways to make sure the electronics in your life are simply tools and not all-consuming. Remember that personal contact with people is more fulfilling than any electronic connection.

Be fascinated by Jesus. Be ever alert to where He is working and what He is doing in your life and in the lives of people around you. Be guided by the Holy Spirit to be used by God in ways you never imagined possible. Remember how you found yourself doing things far beyond what you thought possible? God wants to do that again and for the rest of your life.

Love you,
Minan
(Minan, what the student missionaries call me, means aunt in Palawano)

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