New Life

We want to be begin by thanking you for your friendship. This year has been full of both promise and trials. Thank you for standing behind us in prayer. We will celebrate Thanksgiving this week with another missionary couple here on APTS campus. You will definitely be in our thoughts. :)

Paige's broken foot is slowly healing. She is still wearing a brace but is getting around better.
Kent has finished the last of his writing and will take final exams next week.
We look forward to landing in Louisville on December 7th for a month long visit. It will a great joy to be with our family and church family for Christmas.

In other news, we had a beautiful day of Baptism at a local pool last Sunday. Several teenagers and adults committed everything to the Lord in water Baptism. They are rejoicing in a new start and we are so proud of them. Watching God move in power here is such a privilege. Two people on the street were healed of pain in their ankle and knees this week. Jesus truly is the great Physician. :)

Christmas is just around the corner and His Heart will be blessing the street children and families in our area with gifts and a party. Many of them would have nothing at Christmas if it were not for the ministry. Thank you for enabling us to be used by God and impact the Philippines with His love.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving. See you in two short weeks!

For everything, there is a season

Flooding in Manila, the capital city and where we go to the airport.
Kent with some of the people we minister to.
Landslide site that cut our city off from travel in or out for about 4 days. People carrying a pig by foot to use for food.

Flooding in our city

As I write this, I am reflecting on the strength of the Filipino people. The families in our city have faced destruction and adversity with such courage and faith. October brought two fatal typhoons and left hundreds of thousands with no home in Manila. Despite hardship, death, and higher food prices, the people remain faithful and hopeful. It has been such an incredible blessing to see their resilience and flexibility. We are humbled by who they are.

As with any natural disaster, the poor suffer the greatest. We are privileged to work with some of them in our city. We know street people by name and share in their lives. We are given the opportunity everyday to serve the Lord by being His hands and feet.

While we mourn the death of a member of our street church family, we celebrate the hope of Jesus. Nothing can separate us from his great love. We are thankful that the Lord has a plan in every situation. He is our rock and strong fortress.

New life is springing up before our eyes......literally. One of the street ladies who attends our bible study in the city park delivered a healthy baby boy last week. He has been named Angelo Kent.
What an honor!

The people in Purok 5 ( the neighborhood where we minister) are growing. The youth are witnessing at school and bringing friends regularly. We will be baptizing several church members soon.

Thank you for your faithful support, even in the midst of difficult financial times. We depend on you and are blessed to "go" on your behalf. May you reap a harvest 100 fold for the seeds planted here.


Video: I just couldn't resist sharing this. Lola, as we call her, lives on the street and attends weekly street church in the city park. She moves around town, carrying her bags with her. Like a true Filipino, she is already singing Christmas songs in October. We hope her rendition of Silver Bells brightens your day and makes you laugh. :)

Prayers and pom poms

Well, its been an eventful last three weeks. As some of you may know, it has been a devestating time for the Philippines this month. Two typhoons hit in a span of about 8 days. Massive flooding affected 3 million people in the capital city of Manila and hundreds of thousands still have nowhere to go. Hundreds of thousands of families are sleeping in schools and churches. Our city, Baguio, is situated in the mountians so flooding is less common. However, landslides make typhoons especially dangerous for the poor. A family of five was buried alive just around the corner from the seminary where we live. We just received word that 8 of the street boys we minister to were caught in a flooded stream and swept away. 7 were rescued. The eighth is still missing. Thank you for your prayers for the Filipino people. This is such a wonderful opportunity to share the love of the Lord and give people hope.

We'd like to especially thank Faith Worship Center for their generous gift for the flood victims. Your gift is enabling families who have lost everything to begin again. Food and relief is a tool for sharing and living the gospel. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Please pray with us for Angela, the director of His Heart. Her mother went to heaven on Sunday in New Zealand. By Gods grace, Angela and Yasmin arrived just in time. She is in New Zealand now and is unsure when she will return. In the meantime, the team here is carrying on. Thank you for your prayers for them during this difficult time.

In other news, the seminary hosted its annual missions night last week. Special mission services take place all week. Students from various countries showcase talent and do cultural presentations. We have an incredible banquet meal with lots of Asian home cooking. This year the Americans chose Monday Night Football. The guys ran slow motion plays to the Hank Williams' song while the ladies did cheers. It was a blast and well received by all.

We are really looking forward to sharing what God is doing here on our visit home in December.
:) We can't tell you how much we have grown and changed.


God bless ya'll.

Paige and Kent

The First Mangos

We want to begin by sharing a dream one of our church members had last week. It was a great encouragement and revelation for us all. She saw a lush mango tree. The fruit was ripe and juicy. Gathered around the tree were large crowds of hungry people. As each mango was picked from the tree and given away, it became bread that rapidly multiplied. A great miracle happened. There was more than enough bread to feed the families.

Its with great joy that we commissioned 6 ladies this week to serve as house church leaders and spiritual parents in Purok 5. These beautiful women will nurture and care for their people as numbers multiply and others from the community are reached with the good news. They will facilitate Bible studies and house church gatherings in their native tongue. They will be vessels for the glory of the Father. They will be and carry the Bread of Life to their village.

The journey has not been easy for any of them. Two of the ladies have lost husbands to murder.
They have struggled with poverty, addiction, and demonic strongholds. They face persecution from family members and others. But Jesus has captured their hearts and by his amazing grace..... they will never be the same.
The Lord has taken each one of their broken lives and made them a powerhouse for His presence. They are laying hands on the sick, praying with power, and loving neighbors they never knew before. This is our heart................and this is the heart of the Father, to see nations transformed and bow their knee.

Its times like these that we thank God for sending us here. It has been a life changing experience. We have received far more than we could ever give and look forward to all God has ahead for us. His plans are always good, always fruitful, and always full of hope.

Thank you for being a part of our journey and the Lord's purpose. We pray blessing and strength for you and your family. May fruit abound in your life as you invest in your own community.

See you on that side of the world in December. :)

Paige and Kent

Surprised by favor

Kent praying for one of the street boys at the opening celebration of the new center.
The building God gave His Heart this month. :)
Two children worshiping with us from outside last Sunday. I was inside leading in front of the window and didn't know they were even there. :)
The daughter of the building's caretaker..................a Muslim family. God is doing exciting things.


Well, it is a time of great promise and excitement here. After months of searching, His Heart has signed a contract for the rental of building right in our ministry area. It will serve as a training center for Filipino leaders who will plant new house churches, a place for tutoring, youth events, retreats, discipleship, accommodation for short term teams, showers for the street kids, feeding, and much more. We are stepping into a new phase of the ministry. The people are maturing and will be taking on more leadership. They are on fire to reach their community. We are believing for great things!

I can't help but marvel at what the Lord has done in such a short time. We worshipped together on the floor in a tiny tin house this morning. The ladies shared temptations openly and prayed for each other. It was a precious time.

Helen, the young woman that many of you have prayed for since our visit in December, is blossoming in a calling. She is now part of the leadership team here. She interprets, teaches, and loves the people with us. Jesus has changed her life! He is in the business of taking wild lives and turning them upside down for Him. I am in tears when I think about the potential in her.

Kent is studying for his last exam as I write this. We are planning to make a short trip to the beach for a couple days next week. I'm ready to relax and soak up some Filipino sun. Classes begin again September 15th.

Thank you for your support and prayers. Your heart for the world is changing lives.

God's richest blessing on you and your family.
Kent and Paige

When it rains, it pours

Where most of our church family bathes- They have no running water.

Beautiful Pilipino babies- I want to bring one home!

A couple of the ladies we are discipling

Darrel, one of the street boys, and part of our ministry sitting outside the place where he and other boys sleep. A tarp is fixed under a building deck.

Greetings from your wet friends and missionaries in Baguio, Philippines. We are in the middle of the rainy season and have experienced a few storms this month. Since we are on an island in the Pacific, the Philippines suffers from typhoons, monsoon rains, and landslides. With houses made of scrapmetal and other assorted items, it can be a dangerous place for the poor. His Heart ministry is helping to assist one family in our church right now. Last week, their house slid down the mountain during a storm. The mother Vilma was outside at the time of the landslide. She is bruised but miraculously okay. Thank you for your prayer and support that enables us to help families like these rebuild their lives.

In other news, we are in exciting times for the ministry. As some of you know, we have searching and praying for a building to house a center for months now. Well, this month an amazing door has opened. We have found a building right in the community where we minister. It is literally only a 10 minute walk for our families! Please pray for Angela, the His Heart Director, as she negotiates and attempts to secure the place. The building will provide showers for the street people, house discipleship classes and retreats, store emergency food and relief, and better establish our work in the community. We are ready to step into a new phase and opportunites to bring the Kingdom to Baguio.

In the last few weeks, we have seen steady growth in attendance at our house churches. People are being touched and are spreading the Word. New families are coming in. God is doing what He does best- knocking on peoples' hearts. :)

On a personal note, Paige has been taking more intense language lessons and is gaining more confidence in Tagalog (Pilipino national language). Kent is working non-stop on seminary requirements and ministry. The trimester will end September 5th with the last of the the finals.
We have been trying new foods lately as we fellowship with friends from all over Asia at the seminary. Recent cuisine includes authentic Thai and Myanmar/Burmese food. Don't ask what. You may not want to know. :)

God bless you and your families as you settle into a new school year and close out the summer. Thank you for investing in us and the call He has on our lives.

Blessings from Baguio,

Kent and Paige Parrish

Grape Juice

One of the ladies hand-washing her clothes in front of her house
Some of the church family and Kent
Paige praying for one of the ladies
A cutie..........MJ....short for Mark Jeremiah

All is well here with us. We are counting down the days for the rainy season to end so we can enjoy island sunshine. It is a difficult time for our people as sickness is more frequent during bad weather. Thank you for praying for their health and safety as we battle typhoons this year. We are believing that no land slides will affect homes in our church community.

We wanted to share an exerpt from "My Utmost for His Highest" that was a challenge to us. Day to day life can be monotonous for everyone. Whether you live in America or the Philippines, the greatest joy among the monotony is the investment in the lives of others.

"God's purpose is not simply to make us beautiful plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us. When Mary of Bethany 'broke the flask of costly oil.....and poured it on Jesus' head' it was an act for which noone else saw any special occasion, in fact, "there were some who said..........why was this fragrant oil wasted?"( Mark 14:3-4). But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion. Our Lord is filled with overflowing joy whenever he sees any of us doing what Mary did- not being bound by a particular set of rules but being totally surrendered to him. God poured out the life of His Son "that the world through Him might be saved." Are we prepared to pour out our lives for Him?

Lord make us carriers of your extravagant love. Let us always be reminded that at the end of the day, what will matter most is not what we bought, what we did, or what we enjoyed...Its what we gave.

God bless you as you pour yourself out so that others can taste His goodness. Thank you for your sacrifice.



Paige and Kent

The wind is blowing!

One of the homes in Purok 5

Paige posing with one of ladies after climbing a rock in the barangay (village) where we minister.

Being church together


Hi to all. Things are picking up here as Kent has returned to school. He is taking the Book of Romans, Perspectives in Pentecostalism, and Spiritual Formation. It is a full schedule but he is of course excelling in it. Mean while, he continues to minister on the weekends and heads up the Tuesday morning street church program. It is there that we feed and minister to street children, vendors, and the homeless in the city park. We are planting seeds of love and seeing fruit from this time.

God is doing so much here. We wanted to give you a glimpse of the testimonies pouring in from our people. Keep in mind that these people are squatters (they collect scrap metal to build their houses and move onto land) and always face serious financial need. Most of them have no work or do odd jobs on a part time basis, bringing in 3 dollars a day. Its amazing to see how rich they are becoming spiritually and how the Potter can take brokeness and use it to display His glory.

Here are some testimonies shared in house church a couple weeks ago:

Chato said that this week a lady came to her house.
She was sick and the husband was not home.   She
wanted someone to take her to the hospital.
Chato was busy doing things around the house
and was really tired at the end of the day.
God spoke to her  in her mind "Whatever you
do for the least of mine, you do for me".
She obeyed God and payed for the jeepney
fair to accompany the lady to BGH. As she was
in the jeepney, she was thinking " I don't
even know this lady." The lady then said
she had not eaten for two days and asked for
50 pesos. Chato said she had compassion in
her heart and gave her the money. She stayed
with her until she was checked into the
hospital and prayed with the lady. Chato
is learning to listen to God and obey
him and that He calls us to help others
in their time of need.

Jazel was beaming as she shared how she
had been touched powerfully by the Holy
Spirit on Sunday. She explained that
she had pain in her legs and back before
she was baptized in the Holy Spirit.
Since that day, she has had no pain.
She was able to squat to wash clothes
this week without pain.  She also
testified that her husband is having
an affair but she is now praying for him.
She believes Jesus is hearing her prayer
as her husband came home on time every
day this week.

Irene- I am hearing God speak to me about
going to pray for sick people.  Sometimes
i am afraid people will laugh at me and
have doubts but I believe God is speaking
to me and has given me this gift to pray
and see people healed. Jesus loves us.

Irene has prayed for several people and God has
miraculously healed them. :)

Helen- Helen said that when she
realized she could not afford to go
back to college this term, she didnt
know what to do. She was confused about
her future and disappointed. However,
over the past couple of months, the idea
of a call to ministry kept popping into her
mind. At first she laughed it off. But over
the last couple of weeks, God has begun to
give her visions.  She is seeing herself
sharing the word of God with young people
and their lives being transformed.  When
she ministers to the street boys, she feels
a deep love in her heart for them. She
believes that the Holy Spirit is guiding
her future and she wants to serve him with
her whole heart. "Sometime when I pray and
even in my dreams I saw myself doing
missions and with groups of people.
Sometimes I would just cry when I thought
about it."

Salome- Since I have begun coming to these
meetings, God has provided for my family.
Since I began in this church,there is
always work waiting for me. My husband's
job was supposed to last from Jan-March.
I prayed and asked the Lord to extend it
so that we could have more money for the
family. I asked God to keep the work
going until school started on June 1st.
Every week since March, my husband
has had work.  Even now in the middle
of June, he continues to work.  God
is blessing me so much.

Dalia- My daughter and son were sick
last week with a fever at times of 40 C.
I prayed for them and trusted God. I did
not go to the hospital because of money.
They are better now.  I am learning that
God is our helper and our healer.


Thank you for investing in these lives and
countless others. You are an important part
of what they are becoming.

God Bless you all.
Paige and Kent

Dog anyone?

Amy, a short term missionary here, caught a fish with a handmade wooden spear.

Wow! I got one!

Look at how tiny it is! Who knew Amy had that kind of skill? We pan fried them and had them for lunch.Amy sharing at a church service.

A hanging bridge we crossed to get to the mountain village. Notice the wooden planks. A little nerve racking. The drop below is farther than it looks.

One of the bridges we crossed

Dog meat. Yes, we did both eat it. It tastes a lot like beef. It was such a treat for the mountain family. We were their honored guests.

Hiking in the rain......absolutely beautiful.

There were some very steep drop offs but thankfully no one fell.Their oven...Kent loving some boys at street church.

Took the teenagers bowling for the very first time. Had a blast!
The Girls Purity Conference

Hello to all. Well, it has been a crazy summer. It seems like we haven't stopped since the beginning of April. Time flies when you are having fun loving people.

In the last month, we have seen so much fruit from our ministry here. The youth have been on summer vacation and are changing from the inside out. With the wonderful help of Amy, a short term missionary from Bardstown, we hosted a teenage girls retreat. The girls learned so much and it was an absolute treat for them to have comfortable mattresses and hot showers. By God's grace, we are able to sponsor 28 children to school this year......that's exactly double last year and the very number we prayed for. :) God is so good. From this money, they will receive supplies, shoes, uniform, tuition, medical expenses, project fees, food incentives, rewards for grades, and spiritual enrichment. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all who gave so generously.

Other Special Highlights in April and May include:

We took the teenagers bowling one night. They were so excited. It was the first time for most of them. They didn't want to go home.

We just finished our 8 week School of Champions discipleship program for the adults. They continue to pray for the sick and see miracles happen. Several have been healed in the last month or so. We are so in awe of Jesus and how much He loves them.

The Lord continues to move in our weekly activities in the homes and with the street children. The people are growing. Its hard to believe how far they have come in less than a year.

We trekked into the mountains this weekend for a visit to the Igorot tribes. Kent preached twice and we had a wonderful time immersed in the mountain culture. Highlights included hiking three hours each way in the rain to get to the village, crossing 3 hanging bridges, and being served dog meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was an experience we will never forget.

Thank you for sending us. You are making a difference. We love you.

In Service to the King,
Paige and Kent

Oh Happy Day

Everyone decorated eggs- adults and children alike.
Eating eggs- what a treat!

Winners of Easter Sunday Basketball Tournament. They got gift certificates to Jollibee- a fast food place here.
Some basketball action

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy Easter! We hope you had a beautiful day celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. The ministry has had an action packed two weeks. The children here are now on summer vacation so we are in full swing with summer programs and outreach to this precious community.

Summer Splash

We have begun a weekly program for school age children. Because of God's favor, the elementary principal is allowing us to use the community school free all summer. Children come to have tons of fun playing water games, making crafts, and soaking in the presence of God- His river. The Holy Spirit is touching these children and birthing a hunger in them for more. One little girl last week had a vision of Jesus! We are so excited for all that these little ones are becoming!

School of Champions

We have begun a second 8 week series of discipleship for the ladies. We met Good Friday to worship, learn, and thank Jesus for the incredible price he paid. The ladies were powerfully touched and experienced the Fathers love in new ways.

Purok 5 Movie

Good Friday evening was spent showing a movie on a sheet at the community basketball court. This gave us an opportunity to reach out to other families and proclaim the goodness of God. New people are being touched each month. We are always surprised what God has in store for the people of Purok 5.

Easter Sunday

We celebrated Resurrection Day with an open air service at the community basketball court. It was a special time and a blessing to sing praises to Jesus and share the Word as families listened from their mountainside homes. We are believing this will be the beginning of change for many homes here. Visitors gathered at the back of the court but eventually moved forward as they were welcomed. Several of the new men were humbled by the worship. After the service, Kent organized a Father/son basketball tournament. It was a great success and drew several new men and boys that we had never met! The ladies and girls participated in an egg decorating contest. We boiled 250 eggs to give away and decorate. The people literally treated them like gold. We actually had some decorated eggs stolen before they could even be judged! We played games and enjoyed a wonderful time as family. What a day!

Thank you for your prayer and support. Without your faithfulness, none of this would be possible.

With much Love,
Paige and Kent

Victory over Darkness

Hello all. Thank you for your prayers. We have finished the trimester and are enjoying time together as we minister.

God has been so good to us. We are amazed at what he is doing in the people here. Many of them come from witchcraft and ancestral worship traditions. He is doing a powerful work in these families, filling them with light that dispels the darkness.

One of the ladies that attends our house church shared an incredible story with us this week about God's miraculous power. Bee (name changed) and her sister Iri live in Baguio while their parents live in a village in the mountain provinces. Both ladies have just become Christians in the last few months through the ministry. Last weekend, when Iri went home to visit her parents, she found her mother terribly sick and in bed. She was getting worse and the family could do nothing in the way of medical care. Iri was afraid and sensed an evil presence in the room. She wanted to pray for her mother but was unsure how to do so. The father of the family had never been open to Christianity.

Iri texted her sister Bee and asked what she should do. Bee replied "I don't know but the Holy Spirit will teach you how to pray". So Bee prayed from Baguio as Iri layed hands on her mother and voiced a simple prayer.

At that moment the father saw a bright light and had a vision of Jesus standing in the family home! The mother was miraculously healed and got up out of bed!

Iri and Bee are now convinced of the power of Jesus and are praying for their entire extended family to know Him. We are praying with them for even greater things in their family and village. God can never be out done. He has already won the victory.

May the Lord increase our faith to believe for the impossible.

Thank you for the ways you invest in us and the Kingdom of God in the Philippines. You are a vital part of all that's happening here. Thank you for sending us.

Love and prayers,
Paige and Kent Parrish

Potential

Children part of the daily feeding program at a local school
Showing the love
Receiving Baptism certificates

Hello to our family and friends back in the USA! We are nearing the end of another trimester at APTS. Kent will have three final exams in the next two weeks. Paige will also have one. So it is crunch time..........but it will all be over very shortly. The Philippine summer is April and May so we will have a vacation from seminary and time to focus on expanding new ministry opportunities.

How can I describe what has been happening here over the last month? It's like a new beginning....a springtime of blessing for so many of the precious people we minister to. God is doing a new thing in families. Many of the ladies we have been pouring into for months are receiving healing from deep hurts in their past. One lady testified that her depression has left after she was powerfully touched by Jesus. Another cried one Thursday as she told of having nowhere to live but rejoiced that God has blessed her family with a tin house. Its stories like these that make what we do worth it.

The team is excited for the summer break and plans to jump into additonal outreaches, retreats, and vacation bible school for the children. We are expecting incredible help in May as we will have a short term missionary (Amy from Kentucky) join us for a few weeks. God is readying the harvest.

A group from the University of Tennessee just fundraised to help us with our daily feeding program. Their money will feed 35 children everyday for over a month at school. The program, coordinated through a local elementary school, seeks to prevent children from turning to the street. They receive love and a hot meal daily. Many of them are also sponsored to attend school through the ministry.

As we continue to seek out the broken, God is changing our hearts as well. It occurred to me that I have not noticed or thought about our church family being poor for some time now. We are surrounded by poverty but they are not poor to us. With the eyes of the Father, we are seeing nothing but potential. The heavens are open and He is pouring out everything we need.

Thank you for feeding, touching, and loving with us. You are appreciated and missed.

Paige and Kent

Love that Changes Things

One of the street kids receiving dental care
Time with God

Hello all! Hope you have had a wonderful wintery February. Baguio is beautiful this time of year as it hosts the annual flower festival. Parades and little garden exhibits make the trip into the city extra nice.

We have been so busy this month with both school and ministry. His Heart hosted a team from New Zealand for the last week and a half. It is AMAZING to see the doors God is opening for us through visiting people in their homes and loving them. Three people were healed in our Sunday morning village service this week! Praise God for that! Kent has begun a weekly house church for men and teenage boys. We are believing for great transformation of families through this. We had an awesome retreat last week in which people were set free from bondages of their past. They have traded tears for the joy of Jesus and we are so blessed to watch them grow.

His Heart continues to meet the needs of many street people every week. This week, we made a trip to the dentist and ob-gyn with members of our street family. After 2 teeth were pulled, David's smile was even brighter than before. He had experienced real love....the kind of love that changes things.

Thank you for helping us reach the orphans, widows, and the poor of the Philippines. We appreciate you so much.

The Parrishs