Dear Philippine Team and Dibagat Team,

Dear Philippine Team and Dibagat Team,

            “What you have done will be praised from one generation to the next…..and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.” Psalm 145:4.5

The verse above expresses my heart of thanks to all of you who have been a part of the Dibagat Mission 2012.  Your part in helping us accomplish what we went to do in Dibagat will be rewarded by the Lord and remembered by the Isnags and even the next generation! Thanks to the guest house staff for giving us comfortable rooms, feeding us, doing our laundry and everything else that comes with scheduling our time there. The Manila office staff – you all coordinated our airport pick up, airline travels and finance needs, plus keeping our valuables in your safe! All the little things that we take for granted sometimes – thanks to you all! Thanks to Mike, Margaret, John, Jennifer and others who have taken us all over the city on tour and etc. Thanks to Brian and Katherine in Tuguegarao who scheduled our helicopter flights to Dibagat even on Sunday! Thanks for being a special part of our team, and taking the time to spend with us in Tuguegarao, getting our chartered bus for us and etc.  God used you all and  I praise the Lord for putting you all in a strategic way to make our time in Dibagat a wonderful and treasured experience. It is always amazing to see the hand of God picking His team each time we do mission trips! This was the 21st team I have (taken) sent to the Philippines the last 11 years and many of you have been a very special part! Some of the team members have been to Dibagat several times over like Reggie, James, Jim, Vernon, and Chris! It’s always a blessing for me to be able to call on these men each time I needed help! Of course you in the Philippines have been a special part the last 11 years of doing short-term trips to the Philippines and I am truly grateful to you all!

Of course having Rudy and all the Isnags coordinate our time in Dibagat is very much. The material all come from Tuguegarao brought to Kabugao by our special team partners – Rigos family! Our Isnag team take everything up river by canoes. They have hauled all the tons of sand and gravel, rebar, cement, plywood and all the building material we needed to do the project. You should have seen the tons of sand and gravel hauled up a steep incline almost a mile up the church carried on their back, or even a sack of cement and or ¾ plywood! They made all the 1200 hollow blocks from the river and carried them up the hill to the church! Yes, they said they wanted us to come and help them, and we worked together as one team! This was truly the work of God accomplished by His people!

Finally, I am thankful to the Lord for my wife Sandy and the rest of the team’s family as well! They stayed home and prayed faithfully and I know they missed us while away for 3 weeks! Then of course all those who have given towards our trip to Dibagat – faithful supporters, churches, friends and family who wanted to be a part! The Lord showed His working among His people once again, and words are not enough to express my own deep gratitude for all the He has done through His people!

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”
Psalm 151:1

With thanksgiving to the Lord for all of you,

Nard and Sandy and the Dibagat Mission 2012 team