Alright, last one for today and then I will call it a day and write a few more tomorrow. The subject of this one is the man that I alluded to in the last blog with Jim. Pastor Eddie is one of the men that has dedicated his life to reaching this unreached population in the mountains of Minidinao. This is not a ministry that is just a good idea or temporary experiment, but this is a ministry you truly give your life to. There is no short term in this area. Pastor Eddie has already spent many years pouring into these people, and he may not even be the one that gets to see the fruit.
Whenever I run into a ministry like this one, I praise God. Everyday, I’m going out on the mission field, building what I think are long term relationships, but I can’t even imagine this. Men like this will spend several years just earning a voice and learning the language while trying to learn their way of life. These tribal people will listen to everything the Pastor has to say, but to have any real change, they need to see these men of one of them. These tribal people are untouched and will do anything to keep their traditions and livelihood because that’s what sets them apart. They could easily make their way down to the main towns and live like a majority of the population, but they choose to stay in the hills and keep separate.
I was able to talk with Pastor Eddie about his dreams and visions, and he believes he will see many of these people come to know the Lord. After-all, we hear the coming of the Lord will not happen until everyone has the chance to hear His message, and there are still people all over the world that have no idea who the man Jesus is that we are talking about. Pastor Eddie’s burden is to make sure these people hear the message of the Gospel, but not just hear it, but understand and accept the message. As much as he longs for the coming of Jesus, he doesn’t want these people to miss it. So until that day comes, he will work his way into these areas and build respect and relationships with these people.
As we hiked for hours, I just prayed and thanked God for these people because I don’t know many people that would answer this call. There’s not much to celebrate now and it’s TOUGH. People tell me prison ministry it is an “impossible” ministry, but I think it pales in comparison to this. At least the prisoners no the difference between right and wrong and know who Jesus is, even if they’ve rejected Him. These people need men like Pastor Eddie to give their lives, and I pray they would see this man and a true servant that loves them enough to give up everything…
