The Jubilee Covenant...celebrating 50 years of YWAM

Last week YWAMers from around the globe signed the Jubilee Covenant........celebrating 50 years of YWAM

I covenant before God -- together with my brothers and sisters -- to make these my priorities until “the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea”
(Habbakuk 2:14).

1. To love the Lord my God w with all my heart, soul, mind and
strength, and to love my neighbor as myself (Mark 12:30-31)

2. To seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness above every
concern for my own life and future (Matthew 6:25-34)

3. To serve others for no greater reason than my love for God
(John 21:15-17)

4. To take up my cross and follow Jesus wherever He leads me
(Mark 8:34-35)

5. To do everything I can possibly do through the power of the
Holy Spirit at work in me to fulfifill the Great Commission in
this generation (Mark 16:15)

I recognize that as YWAM celebrates fifty years of ministry,
God’s Spirit is at work in amazing ways around the
world.

I eagerly want to do my part to make sure that “the flame
goes forward” and thus help fulfill God’s dream that every
individual might hear and that all nations may be impacted
by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I consider it a great privilege to be alive and called “for
such a time as this” – and therefore, by God’s grace, I commit
myself:

The Jubilee Covenant
celebrating 50 years of
YWAM

Greetings from a very, very wet & windy Sunday afternoon here in the Philippines!A typhoon is brewing and there is a large tropical depression causing havoc once again here in the Philippines!

Well with that what better thing to do than to give you a quick catch up on our lives here and of our future plans......

It wasn't raining on this day!

Over the past months as we have adjusted to our empty nest we have realized that our parenting has not really stopped but only changed due to the fact that our children are both living far from us and are no longer dependent on us.

Parenting has so many faces to it and sometimes we are sad , other times glad , and a few times mad . It also has it's times of rejoicing and of course many anxious moments. . However the best thing of all that we can do is to entrust our children to the Lord.. Yes it's the best thing to do but not always the easiest!

Three days ago we said good bye once again to our son Jonathan .He was here with us for three weeks between his work contracts. We were so happy that he chose us for his break! The weather wasn't perfect as we were still experiencing the wet season but we did manage to go for three swimming day trips!

Jonathan is reunited again with his Baguio friends...

We took a couple of swimming trip to the hot springs at the Klondykes

Snack time!..Korean noodles,hard boiled eggs, tuna sandwich, cookies and coffee

A week later we took a trip to the beach.....


Snack time again with Pancit Bihon (noodles with vegetable and chicken)

A perfect spot to just relax!

Jonathan left for Seattle Friday morning to join up with the NCL Cruise Ship the Norwegian Star.He begins a six month contract that will take him back to Alaska & Vancouver and then onto the Mexican Riviera, Los Angeles, and also the Panama Canal. We hope to see him again in New Zealand in March 2010.

Sorry but this is the only picture I could find..
..we are not being paid a commission for advertising :)

While we were on these swimming trips I was amazed to find some roses growing under the hot tropical sun.......

While Jonathan was here we received the great news from our daughter Joanna that she has been accepted to study Primary School Teaching this February 2010 at the Bethlehem Tertiary Institute in Tauranga. Of course Joanna was so excited about this as it has been such a long process and hope for her. Joanna has been living in Mt Maunganui New Zealand for the past 6 months. Of course it hasn't been easy for her this past year in changing cultures, nations, weather, friends and homes and at such a young age but we have seen her grow in the Lord during these months..Yesterday we received news from her that she now has a second job in which we see as God's provision for her in these difficult economic times.

Thank you Lord!

I love this picture (notice the feet ggrrhh!)

Over these past two months we have been doing a lot of preparatory work for the pioneering of Family Ministries in Thailand. Mel & I will travel to Thailand this October 20 to help the YWAM Thailand Family Ministry staff pioneer the Family Ministries School in Khon Kaen.
We will stay probably until early February 2010.
If you want to read more about this please visit the following:

http://www.ywamthai.org/khonkaen/familyministryschool.html

Before we go to Thailand firstly we will fly to Taiwan this September 26 where we will teach for two weeks in the Family Ministries School in Dan Shui Taiwan. . Our topics will include Styles of Communication, Family Systems, Parenting Styles, Shaky versus Firm Foundations in Marriage and the Differences Between Men & Women.

We have heard the good news that they have 20 plus YWAM students this year and will be doing the eight weeks outreach across the strait from Taiwan! This is exciting for us as you may remember that YWAM Family Ministries Philippines helped to pioneer the work there in Taiwan and to see the fruit of this is very fulfilling!

Passion Fruit

Atis (Custard Apple)

We hope to see many of you in New Zealand when we take our regular 3 yearly furlough for 3 months next year from March til May. It may be a little earlier depending on our time in Thailand and on Mel's processing for his NZ visitors visa. We are thankful to the Lord that we have a YWAM family who are willing to stay in the house we are renting in Baguio from October 2009 until June 2010 and are willing to cover the costs of the rent, utilities etc. Thank you for praying as this is indeed an answer to prayer!

Orchids grow well here!

Thank you once again for all the love and support. We cannot do this without you and we love having you on our team whether it be through friendship, prayer, or finances......

Blessings to each one of you! Mel & Brenda Hilario

Some Random Pictures taken in Manila on the last days of August 2009

Mel & I still enjoy a trip to Manila fairly often to pick up family, friends, outreach teams, guest speakers etc and if we have time we like to visit places that we frequented during the 1980's....Manila has changed a lot over the years however some places remain the same..One of the most recent additions to Manila would have to be the Mall of Asia with it's amazing stores and beautiful surroundings..

Well here are some pics of Manila ...I hope you enjoy viewing!

SM Mall of Asia commonly named as MOA..
Following are some scenes of and surroundings of this huge Mall.......

Mel & Susan on the walkway to view Manila Bay....

Manila Bay from the Mall of Asia

The playground in front of the Mall Of Asia (above and below)

Wonderful breezy views as far as the eye can see...


I love the order here....and the newness of everything!

Mel at Rizal Park in front of the flag pole with the flag flying at half-mast due to the recent death of former President Cory Aquino

More pics at Rizal Park..get your binoculars out and you will see me at the foot of the Warrior!

Strolling around Rizal Park with my sister as the sun was going down...perfect!


They have introduced this little train with a carriage to take you around the park....for a price...

We decided to pose in front of it and walk instead......

So spacious and clean!

Numerous flags flying!

Rizal Monument Rizal Park....

That's a Carabao....(National Animal)

Where are the 12 Million Filipinos that live in Manila?..Maybe they are all at the Mall!

All kinds of vehicles are available..how about this Eco-friendly one...well mostly...

A walk along Roxas Boulevard is so romantic.....
especially with hundreds of vendors trying to make a sale!

These banners were displayed every few yards along the water front due to the recent death of our former President Cory Aquino......

The wind was getting up as a typhoon was on it's way...
Personally I was enjoying the breeze and the salt spray.......

..No gasoline or diesel fumes either as the road was closed to traffic due to a ' family fun run '

.....no we didn't join but we did watch...Does that count?

....Here is the evidence....Mel watching the race

Moving on to Manila Cathedral

Mel in front of the Cathedral.....

Then it was off to Intramuros....

That's me on the right striding it out in front of some of the buildings there....

The guards were kind enough to allow us inside the old Spanish Buildings.....

Beautifully kept buildings....

Then it was back home to Shalom Guest House for the night.
.....the following day we drove home to Baguio...

Most of this month we have been preparing for our two week teaching trip to Taiwan at the end of September and doing some preparations for our four month stay in Thailand beginning October....However the highlight of September was our son visiting for three weeks....Our next blog will be some scenes from his visit...but until then God Bless and take care