Volunteers can be used by God mightily in practical support of tribal missionaries.

The four-man team from New Zealand arrived by mission airplane.

They landed with eager hearts and hands, ready to work. Within just minutes, Gene Trudeau writes, they were hard at work. They had come to replace the Trudeaus’ rusty old sheet metal roof with brand new plastic roofing.

There was quite a lot of roof to replace. Most of it covers Gene and his wife, Carol’s office space, the space where they work on translation, writing Bible lessons, printing materials and laminating. The new plastic roofing is brilliant green, ordered with the hope of it blending into the surrounding jungle. (The flashy new green, Gene says, turned out to be a little less of a match to the jungle around them than they had hoped, but it is green at least!)

In preparation for the project, scaffolding constructed of poles was set in place by Manobo men who are also working on sealing holes under the corrugation to keep out rats, snakes and other unwanted would-be invaders.

Installing new solar panels for efficiency and economy was an important part of the renovation plan. “We are so happy to now have plenty of power to run our computer, lights and other equipment without having to run our generator for hours everyday,” Gene explains.

Adding to the blessing of a new roof, the volunteers from New Zealand also found time to build an addition to the office area to store office supplies, and accomplished some difficult floor replacement tasks.

“It was a real blessing having them,” Gene says. “If it were not for fellow believers like you praying, helping with funds and coming to do the needed repairs … we would not be able to continue here in providing materials for Manobo believers.”

God uses the faces, hands and feet of His people to accomplish His work. How might He use you?