We arrived back from Sagada on Thursday, a bit tired from the trip, but thankful to the Lord for His watch care over us. We left Tuesday morning and were quite surprised to find that much, of what was once rough dirt roads, had now been beautifully paved! The first three hours of the trip across the mountains was a relatively easy drive. Once we past Mt Data things went a bit down hill, as far as the roads are concerned, but the car ran well and handled the rough roads quite easily. There were a couple of areas where landslides were being cleared away and others where new road work was being done, but all in all it was an easy trip. It only took about 6 hours, whereas in the past it was an 8 hour excursion. The views we enjoyed were absolutely spectacular, it is hard to explain unless you travel it yourself, pictures just cannot tell the story.
We made some good initial contacts in Sagada over the three days. Most of the contacts were a result of the time that Mike and Beverly Smits spent there over 13 years ago. Many still remembered them and spoke very highly of them. We pray that we may be able to make further contacts on our next trip up planned for April, Lord willing. We are taking it slow and praying that if it is the Lord’s will for something to develop here that He will open the doors. Please pray with us.
Sagada has changed quite a bit since the last time I was there. It is no longer the isolated village it once was. There are internet cafes, cell phones, satellite TV and much more available than in the past. That is a good thing, I suppose, but also bad thing. There is construction going on in the center of town. Bigger buildings, three and four stories, which block out the beauty of the views from the small town yet meet the every growing tourist travel. It is sad to see, but I suppose it is helping the economy of this small village.
Overall, it was an encouraging trip. We thank the Lord for your prayers for us. Continue to pray that the Lord will give direction for the future. We plan to make a few more trips before deciding whether to seek a place to rent.
I have been a bit under the weather since arriving back in Baguio. I am a bit run down and I have a heavy cold. So please keep us in your prayers. I will be speaking at Navy Base tomorrow (Sunday Feb 17) and will also be joining the saints down in Fatima in the afternoon.
