We're back in Davao, and we need your prayers

We have been back in Davao for a couple of months now. It feels right to be here. It also feels harder than we expected.

Re-entry has a weight to it that is difficult to describe unless you have lived it. You come back full of vision, full of purpose, and then the daily reality of it settles in around you. The transition. The unknowns. The slow work of rebuilding rhythms and relationships from the ground up. Our girls have just started school, which has been its own adjustment for all of us. New classrooms, new faces, new routines. They are doing great, but it hasn’t been without cost.

The cost of daily life here has risen sharply because of the conflict in the Middle East, and we feel it everywhere we go. Fuel prices have climbed 200%+ in some places. It’s affected nearly everything: transportation, food, and the basic cost of getting through the week. There are jeepney drivers here who spend long days on the road and come home with very little left after expenses. For some, what remains after a full day of work barely covers a simple meal for their family. That is the kind of pressure many people here are living under right now.

In our own way, we are living inside that same reality too. Some seasons remind you just how deeply dependent you are on the Lord for grace, wisdom, and daily strength. This has been one of those seasons for us.

And yet, God is moving.

We have restarted prayer meetings in our home every Thursday, and we are meeting with individuals who have a real heart to serve in the church. Anna and I are continuing to study Bisaya each week, imperfectly, but faithfully. We are also beginning to connect with Indian students here in Davao who are studying to become nurses and doctors. They are far from home, and we are praying for real friendships, open doors, and opportunities for discipleship as those relationships begin to grow.

These are small beginnings. And we are trusting that God is building foundations in this season that we cannot yet fully see. We believe the seeds being planted now will bear fruit in His time.

Would you pray with us? Pray for the Indian students we are beginning to connect with, that these relationships would open doors for real friendship, Gospel conversations, and discipleship. Pray for our girls as they continue finding their footing in the new school and make new friends. Pray for wisdom as we identify people with a heart to serve and lay the foundations of the church plant. Pray for the families here in Davao carrying the weight of rising costs, that God would provide for them and sustain them. And pray for Anna and me as we continue learning Bisaya, that language would become a bridge for deeper ministry, friendship, and discipleship.

Thank you for praying for us, for giving, and for standing with us not only in the exciting parts of missions, but in the costly parts too. We are deeply grateful. We do not carry this season alone.

With love,
Justin, Anna, and the girls