Praise the Lord we got Slone's passport two days ago! Now we apply for the 'Exit Clearance' that allows him to leave the country...19 days and counting!
Jun 23, 2010
Have passport, will travel!
Jun 21, 2010
Closing, transition and moving
Hello dear partners,
Six months have passed by quickly since we've written you. Here's a look at what is happening with the Ballards:
* Slone Abram Ballard was born March 4, 2010! He is now 3 months old and doing very well. Austin and Maren are enjoying their new playmate and can't wait until he grows up and can play more with them. We are enjoying this precious gift from God.
* Rodney has made several trips out to villages to transport translators and help them with various projects. He also had the privilege of photographing a celebration of one translator's life and work among the Ifugao (see our blog for more on this).
* We are in the throes of closing down the SIL center here; of course we're also closing down our home and our lives for the past 4 years. Why is SIL closing this center? Over a year ago, the SIL administration decided that the number of translations to be completed is small enough that we no longer need a center of this size. While it's a good thing for a missionary to work himself out of a job, this has been an emotional time for so many who have lived much of their lives here working towards the cause of Bible translation. Please pray for all those affected by the closing of this center which has been in this community for over 50 years.
* Rodney has been doing some career testing and has become interested in pursuing photography in missions. What does this mean for us? The Lord is leading us to an African country where Rodney will work in the Communications department, and specifically as a photojournalist. In the meantime, when we leave the Philippines July 13 we will have a short furlough living near Joy's parents again. Rodney will possibly take some photography and writing classes as well during this time in the
States.
We will be in touch as we learn more of what our next steps will be. Of course, we appreciate your prayers for God's guidance!
Love, The Ballard Family
Apr 17, 2010
Celebrating Bible Translator Anne West
Recently I attended Anne West's 'Life and Work'- A time of celebration given in Anne's honor by the Amganad people she served in the Ifugao province of the Philippines. It was also a birthday bash as Anne is 75 years young and pressing on in her translation project. The day held a thanksgiving service...
...prayer, public testimonies, a slide show...
...heaping piles of food, music and traditional song & dance (NO I did not dance!). When it came time to dance, I suddenly found great interest in busying myself with taking more pictures!
The day's MC was Landing, who's father was Anne's first translation assistant. Here is Landing standing next to his father and holding his adopted son. 
Landing truly is a standing miracle. Born very premature, his entire body fit in the palm of his fathers hand. Landing remained very small for years to come, in fact at age 11 he weighed a mere 40 pounds. It was determined that he had 'Patent ductus arteriosus' (PDA), a condition where the duct that bypasses blood away from the lungs fails to close shortly after birth, starving the lungs of much needed oxygen.
While in surgery, the surgeon concluded that instead of having PDA, Landing had a hole in his heart and would need open heart surgery.
However, God intervened and the pediatrician talked with Anne, in secret, reassuring her that the initial PDA diagnosis was correct and that if the surgeon knew he was talking to her the surgeon would kill him. The pediatrician found a surgeon who agreed to do the surgery free of charge, at a different hospital.
Once he found the duct and tied it off the cardiac surgeon signaled an "A OK" to Anne who was watching the surgery from the viewing deck. Immediately Landing's arms and legs were moving frantically, receiving for the first time in 11 years the oxygen they needed.
While in recovery, Landing awoke and asked his father, "Dad, why are all those nurses standing around my bed?" As there was not a single nurse in his room the Holy Spirit gave his father the answer saying, "Those are not nurses, they are angels God has sent to take care of you".
Landing is a standing miracle. Long gone are the days when he was referred to as a "squatter", as children with heart problems often squat when they are short of oxygen. Landing is now a full grown man, with zero side effects from his childhood PDA.
Throughout the telling of this story by Anne, a recurring theme was that she continually found herself to be in a place where the only thing she could rely on was God. As I listened it struck me that we so often rely on Him...last, and instead rely on man and his machines. I was once again encouraged to fully trust Him who says "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel and watch over you".
Mar 6, 2010
Feb 27, 2010
Will it be a March baby???
To keep ourselves occupied while waiting for the baby (almost a week past the due date) I decided I would take Austin on the train. We found (on the map) what appeared to be a Zoological, Botanical garden & Aquarium just a short walk from the train station that we'll exit, being two stations down from where we got on. As is the custom in crowded portions of Manila, we transferred all the contents of our back pockets to the front, wore our backpack on the front, bought our tickets and excitedly boarded the train. Austin enjoyed looking out the window and watching as we hurriedly passed up cars and buses on the road below. At our stop we were able to directly enter a small mall (for the airconditioning, not the shopping) and weave our way through shops towards the exit on the street. After a walk of 10 minutes we reached our destination, only to find that the zoo is now a squatters village. Fortunately there was a nice man at the Jeepney stop who told us of a Wildlife center just up the street, which we quickly found and bought our tickets, P8.00 Adults and P5.00 Children, a total of about 28 cents US.
We saw a Philippine Eagle (the national bird), a macaw, a Brahminy kite, a pea fowl, monkeys, and a VERY large cloud rat (the size of three Chiuaua's). Austin got to swing on a mangrove swamp tree vine too.
It quickly became evident that this place is not frequented by many expatriates as we were stared at more than usual, maybe we should have been in a cage ourselves. All in all it was a great time.
Jan 16, 2010
Home away from home...Karao
Imagine that your work place is three and a half hours from home. This work place, sometimes a home away from home, is a tiny rustic shack tucked away in a valley with steep hills and a white-water river running close by. Outside your dinning room window is a lovely view of lush green rice terraces and the opposing valley wall. But not all is tranquil. Pigs, along with their aroma, live but a stones toss from your front door. The chickens that live under your house are clearly seen through the gaps in your wood planked floor, smooth and glossy from years of waxing with rough coconut husks. The adjoining lean-to which houses your "squatty-potty", is also shared with neighbors. Hot water is available, by heating it on the stove. Electricity, although available, is not terribly reliable and this house must be "down the line" as it only provides you with 211 of the usually supplied 220 volts. How long would it be before you began scouring the classifieds?
This 'home away from home' is going to be 'HOME HOME' to Bible translator Sherri Brainard this coming July after the Bagabag center closes. So Sherri is doing everything she can to get her simple residence ready for full time work/living.
Rodney, with colleague Tad Wulliman and workman Dionicio (Dye-oh-niece-ee-oh) took Sherri out to Karao this month for a very long work day of preparing her village house for future living. We installed two 'kit' bookshelves (made in kit form because they would not make it upstairs fully assembled), one kitchen cabinet, a spice rack, and chest of drawers...along with many other miscellaneous tasks like relocating electrical lights/wiring or shaving wood from her door so it will fully open without binding.
But Sherri's "shack" is merely a means to an end...that end being transformed lives of the Karao people, from having God's word in their language. Please pray for Sherri as she prepares for the next 7+ years, completing 36 years of Bible translation in the Philippines.
Dec 12, 2009
Davao Vision Trip
We just returned from a week-long vision trip to the Island of Mindanao here in the Philippines. As you know the Bagabag center where we work is closing next summer, so we took a trip to Davao City to see if the Lord is leading us to work there at an international school called Faith Academy Mindanao. Please pray with us and the administration as we consider whether the Lord is leading us to work at the school in their maintenance department.
Nov 19, 2009
Oct 14, 2009
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