Updated January 29, 2025:

Dear brothers and sisters at ABC,

    The time has come for Natasha and me to hand off the “Culture and Language Acquisition” program managers’ role to another couple, so we can focus on our upcoming ministry in the tribe. We have enjoyed this past year of managing the program, and we hope that our investment into the newer missionaries has been a blessing to many. We are thankful that another couple who recently returned from “Home Assignment” is willing and able to take it over for the rest of 2025.  

    Looking ahead is overwhelming if we consider our own strength, but knowing the ability of the Lord, we can have excitement and confidence in the things ahead. Some of these things include: getting the government permissions we’ve received into writing, planning and providing for a big party in the tribe to kick off the ministry (this is very cultural), planning with our coworkers for the building of our houses in the tribe, then purchasing all of the materials and planning the logistics of transporting materials, hiring workers to help with the build, planning for and purchasing all food to feed the few workers from our city, (because they will sleep out in the village for 5 or 6 days a week, then return home 1 or 2 days a week). It’s kind of like planning a long camping trip and a house-build at the same time! There is no electricity in the village, and very strict laws regarding the cutting of trees for lumber, so we need to buy generators and welders, and will do steel framing for our houses. This will be an extremely busy and challenging season, so we value your prayers for the Lord’s strength in us, for wisdom and guidance and good health.

    Natasha, Eleanor, and Lily will be returning to the U.S. at the end of February, and they will spend about two weeks on the Central Coast to visit family and attend our niece’s wedding. I will stay here and focus on the work in the village. We appreciate prayer for their safety as they travel, and for sweet, quality time with our family.

   Finally, this Sunday I will be preaching at a rural church in another municipality about an hour from where we live. Please pray that I would communicate the gospel with clarity, as in many churches here, there can be much confusion about the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice apart from works.

   Thank you for your prayers and generous support. The Lord has been gracious to us and has worked through you in many ways to help keep us going in the ministry in the southern Philippines. May He be your all in all, grant you wisdom, sustain you, guard your path and fill you with His Holy Spirit so that the life of Christ in you would be apparent to all.

With love,

The Phillips family  

Ministry needs:

• Praise the Lord we were able to purchase a 4x4 pickup truck to get in and out of the village in our (Lord willing) years of ministry there, and this truck will also be helpful in transporting materials for our house build and our coworkers’ house build. The Lord has also graciously provided for the construction of our house. We are simply amazed. We will continue to save for solar equipment and DC appliances, though a chunk of that has already been provided for as well. We are so grateful to all of you who have prayed for this and for those who have given. To us this has been further confirmation of the Lord’s desire to use us to bring the gospel to this people group.
  

Thank you.

With love,

The Phillips family