LANSING | While he was a student at Illiana Christian High School, Mike Van Prooyen took two summer mission trips to work in the Philippines with a group from Faith Church in Dyer.

It was the third trip that had him hooked.

His mother, Colleen Van Prooyen, of Lansing, went on that third trip with him.

"He loved the people there, and he really wanted to learn more," Colleen said. "We came back in March of 2006, and he went back to begin school in May 2006."

Mike, 20, began attending the Word of Life Bible Institute in Calauan, where he had met a woman during his third trip to the country who worked for the camping ministry at the school.

Mike and Pretty Durendes, a native of the Philippines who is fluent in six languages, were married in November 2006. Their son, John Michael, was born in October 2007.

"He (Mike) will be graduating in May, and they have just been accepted to have a two-year, short-term mission position out there," Colleen said.

Mike will be working for WOL at the University of the Philippines, where he will be able to evangelize young people and be available for those who have questions or problems.

"The goal of Word of Life is reaching the youth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ," Colleen said.

Colleen said she believes that Mike and Pretty will continue to call the Philippines home even after their two-year assignment is over.

Colleen said that Pretty visited the U.S. for the first time last summer, and that she feels her native country is a better place to raise children.

"I think that western culture is pretty materialistic, and they lead a very simple life," Colleen said. "They (Filipinos) have so little, and they still are so happy. They're much happier than us Americans are."

The couple and their son live in a small, cement block house. Pretty washes some of their clothes in a nearby river.

"They live in a rain forest, basically," Colleen said.

Mike will return to the states in May for a few months in order to raise funds.

WOL is not affiliated with a specific church, and those who minister must raise approximately $1,400 a month to cover living expenses and to contribute to the ministry's work fund.

Mike's grandmother, Lansing resident Joan Van Prooyen, said that she is happy that Mike found his calling.

"I just don't like it that he's so far away," Joan said. "It takes a long time to get there."

Joan said that her grandson was an avid golfer in the states and that he had to give up his red pickup truck when he left the country.

Joan said that Mike has expressed to her what a thrill it has been to see the large number of people who have accepted Christ during his time in the Philippines.

Mike called his mother from the Philippines on her birthday last week.

Via a phone interview, he said that he felt the Lord leading him to the Bible Institute in the Philippines.

"The longer I was here, the more I just felt this was where God wanted me to be," he said.

Mike explained how different life is in his new surroundings.

"Nothing's the same," he said. "Very different culture, climate. Right now it's about 85 degrees, sunny."

A bean bag tournament fundraiser will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 8 at the Faith Church in Dyer to help Mike and Pretty purchase a vehicle in the Philippines. Prizes, including a 19-inch HDTV, will be awarded and a $25 donation will include lunch, and a T-shirt for those who register by Feb. 16.

Those wishing to attend or help sponsor the event can contact Mike's parents, Colleen and Randy, at thevps10555@sbcglobal.net.

"He'd like to have a vehicle because it's rainy season and it's pretty hilly there and all he has is a motorbike," Colleen said.