Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Philippines 2011 Update #3
We have just arrived at the IMB house in Manila and after dinner and a short night will be heading to the airport for our trip home at 3:00 am tomorrow (3:00 pm Tuesday in US). All are well. We had a great day of ministry in Maria Aurora yesterday; we praise the Lord for His hand in the work and partnerships we enjoyed on the Project as over 500 decisions were made for Christ. We will all have much to share when we arrive home.
Philippines 2011 Update #2
We arrived back in Maria Aurora about 8:30 PM last night after a long but rewarding trip North to Dilasag and Casiguran. Our team was tired but encouraged by what the Lord has done and provided. Some highlights are listed below:
We have had devine appointments! The charter bus could not make it all the way to Diliasag due to the rough terrain. After de-busing on three occassions so avoid or minimize the drag on the bus as it negotiated low dips in the rock and dirt Sierra Madre mountain roads, made worse by rains the night before, we finally had to stop and have a more durable bus to pick us up. Our 6 hour bus trip north ended up taking 12 hours. It was however the Lord's plan as we had opportunities to share with local Filipinos where we stopped near Casiguran; five prayed to receive Christ and others were invited to our Sports Camps and Medical Missions to take place later in Casiguran.
Our return to Casiguran was planned to be by another durable charter bus but ended up being on public buses. Again, it provided opportuntities to share Jesus with other local Filipinos, two young men professing to be 7th Day Adventists in particular. But because of the loud bus noise, the gospel ended up being shared to many on the bus. We were planting seeds for the Lord!
We had more than 100 children and youth attend each of our Sports Camps in Dilisag and Casiguran, and many more than that attend the medical and dental clinics. Our ParKway, CLF and Aurora Southern Baptist Church teams and have clearly demonstrated the body of Christ working together to share the love of Christ with others. Though hot and tired, and "our plans" frequently changing, no one is complaining but stepping up to embrace the opportunities.
We also held two worship rallies that were not as well attended as hoped but God's word were shared by our Teams and new believers have come to the Lord.
Through all our ministry efforts, more than 400 have prayed to receive the Lord! The pastors here will be following up with each to affirm their decision and disciple them.
We just completed morning worship here today. Brother Tony Sendaydiego preached and encouraged all not to miss the Lord's invitation to heaven.
Please pray for us as we have another Sports Camp, Medical and Dental Clinic and Worship Rally tomorrow in Maria Aurora, that the Team will get some much needed rest today to be refreshed for tomorrow, and that we will have safe travel back to Manila early Tuesday morning.
We have had devine appointments! The charter bus could not make it all the way to Diliasag due to the rough terrain. After de-busing on three occassions so avoid or minimize the drag on the bus as it negotiated low dips in the rock and dirt Sierra Madre mountain roads, made worse by rains the night before, we finally had to stop and have a more durable bus to pick us up. Our 6 hour bus trip north ended up taking 12 hours. It was however the Lord's plan as we had opportunities to share with local Filipinos where we stopped near Casiguran; five prayed to receive Christ and others were invited to our Sports Camps and Medical Missions to take place later in Casiguran.
Our return to Casiguran was planned to be by another durable charter bus but ended up being on public buses. Again, it provided opportuntities to share Jesus with other local Filipinos, two young men professing to be 7th Day Adventists in particular. But because of the loud bus noise, the gospel ended up being shared to many on the bus. We were planting seeds for the Lord!
We had more than 100 children and youth attend each of our Sports Camps in Dilisag and Casiguran, and many more than that attend the medical and dental clinics. Our ParKway, CLF and Aurora Southern Baptist Church teams and have clearly demonstrated the body of Christ working together to share the love of Christ with others. Though hot and tired, and "our plans" frequently changing, no one is complaining but stepping up to embrace the opportunities.
We also held two worship rallies that were not as well attended as hoped but God's word were shared by our Teams and new believers have come to the Lord.
Through all our ministry efforts, more than 400 have prayed to receive the Lord! The pastors here will be following up with each to affirm their decision and disciple them.
We just completed morning worship here today. Brother Tony Sendaydiego preached and encouraged all not to miss the Lord's invitation to heaven.
Please pray for us as we have another Sports Camp, Medical and Dental Clinic and Worship Rally tomorrow in Maria Aurora, that the Team will get some much needed rest today to be refreshed for tomorrow, and that we will have safe travel back to Manila early Tuesday morning.
Philippines 2011 Update #1
The team arrived safely in Maria Aurora, Aurora, our home base for our project just under 36 hours after we met at church to begin our mission. The flights were all on time and relatively smooth and the bus trip was good. Everyone is tired, as expected, but in great spirit. After a bountiful breakfast provided by our partners in Aurora, several of the team went for a walk to the downtown area of Maria Aurora and then crashed for a short nap. We will be meeting with all our Aurora Southern Baptist Church and Christian Light Foundation volunteers this afternoon for introductions, orientation and last minute planning for our project. We plan to depart for Dilisag tomorrow morning at 3:00 am and will be doing our first worship rally there tomorrow night.
The Lord has already had his hand on our project and answered prayers for allowing Elijah Chumley and Alyssa Wheeler to overcome last minute illnesses and join the trip and in providing safe travel. Tony and Fely had opportunities to witness to a seaman while on layover in Seoul and to workers at their hotel (they came a few days earlier than the rest of the team). Others shared about our Project as we traveled with our red team shirts on the planes and in the airports.
Please continue to pray for safety as we travel north tomorrow and that we will bold in sharing Jesus in our worhip rallies, sports camps and medical and dental clinics in the coming days. May the Lord be glorified in all we do!
The Lord has already had his hand on our project and answered prayers for allowing Elijah Chumley and Alyssa Wheeler to overcome last minute illnesses and join the trip and in providing safe travel. Tony and Fely had opportunities to witness to a seaman while on layover in Seoul and to workers at their hotel (they came a few days earlier than the rest of the team). Others shared about our Project as we traveled with our red team shirts on the planes and in the airports.
Please continue to pray for safety as we travel north tomorrow and that we will bold in sharing Jesus in our worhip rallies, sports camps and medical and dental clinics in the coming days. May the Lord be glorified in all we do!