Everything is great here in the Philippines. This morning Ramon Canals and I went on a run at 6:30a.m. and it was already nice and hot and humid. It was neat to run next to fields of palm trees.
Our meetings have been going well. I have a wonderful translator named Vigie. She comes to the hotel each day to practice our sermon for that evening. My church is the Tiaong Church which is the closest to the hotel, 5 kilometers… so I think that is about 3 miles.
Vigie, and I have become great friends. She is 41 and has two daughters. Her husband, Medel, is one of the drivers. Their family has an evangelism ministry of their own. They are an inspiration to all of us here. This morning Vigie and Medel came along with us and went running at 6:30 a.m. Ramon and some of the kids will go running with us, and Dan when he can.
The Tiaong church is a wonderful church. Their members are on fire to serve the Lord and tell others about him. They
operate like a true church family and it is exciting to be a part of that. They refer to the church members as brethren and
call you their sister or brother.
Outside they set up a speaker so people who walk by can hear what is going on in the church. They do not have air conditioning in the church so the door stays open with fans blowing. Each night the attendance has grown. We have
lots of kids and tonight even after the kids left the room to go to their program, the church was full and people were standing outside looking in to hear the presentation. It sure has been a wonderful experience to see people thirsty to
know about Jesus and the Bible. Most people here do not own bibles and they walk to the church.
On Sabbath we went to a few visitors homes. What an interesting experience! Vigie said that one of the elderly ladies that we visited always had a sour expression on her face. When we visited yesterday she was, as Vigie said, “Radiant!” She was smiling and very sweet. The elderly lady said that she learned in the meetings about smiling and so now she smiles. The lady’s daughter said that since going to the meetings she has so much more patience. Another lady said that before the meetings, she felt like she was a nobody. And now she feels like a somebody.
After Saturday nights’ meeting, I received the best compliment one could ever hope for. One of the church member’s said that she could see the Holy Spirit in me. The church has people praying while I speak. I was told that already 4 people are ready for baptism. (We haven’t got to the baptism topic yet.)
I can really see God working here and we’re not through yet! Keep us in your prayers.
Categories:
