What an absolutely fantastic month of January it has been
here in the Philippines! Threads of Hope with Alex and Chris Kuhlow in control and Aninuan Christian Church in Puerto Galera, Philippines have been
incredible. There were definitely some hilarious moments as well as many photos taken. Let me tell you a bit about the month:
(Alex and I)
Time has really escaped me as we have sure been kept busy.
We maintained a schedule that didn’t even leave us time to get into trouble.
Every morning we would have breakfast at 8AM and then devotions at 9AM. After
devotions we would do some kind of physical/manual labor that included weeding, brush fires, trimming, cleaning, and even concrete work. We would typically have
lunch around noon. After lunch our afternoon would be a bit more flexible in
terms of what kind of ministry we would want to do. We went to the beach for
the purpose of meeting people and developing relationships with locals there.
After developing some relationships we would follow up with trips back to the
beach or to their house and meet and talk with them. It was a blast as we
really got to know them. Other times we would play with the local children on
the church grounds or play basketball with the youth. Sitting and relaxing is
necessary for the Filipino way of life which was difficult for me to adjust to
since I always like to be on the move and doing something.
(Certified in concrete work in the Philippines)
Saturday afternoon’s JoJo held children’s programs which I
always helped with. We typically visited five different villages every Saturday
afternoon spending a little over an hour at each one. JoJo would tell a Bible
story in the local language, Tagalog, for the children to understand, and then we would
talk about the story all together. After the story discussion we would do a
little coloring or drawing. If there was any time left at the end, we would
play a game. I really enjoyed this ministry and the children absolutely were
thrilled when we would show up every Saturday. They really enjoyed the snacks
or candy they received for saying a good answer too!
(one of my favs: playing with the inner tube in the villages)
(Jojojojojojo)
Sunday’s were often busy too. Church started at 8AM sharp as
more than 1,000 Filipinos filled up the plastic chairs. We sang songs, both in
Tagalog and in English as the congregation would bellow out songs they knew
well which was so cool to hear. About an hour after the service started, Pastor
Al would dismiss the children for Sunday school, with two classes then being
formed- the youth and the smaller children. Two times I was able to teach the
youth and two times I was able to stay in church and teach the adults.
(Giving Sunday school illustration)
After the first Sunday in Aninuan, Pastor Al requested that
I preach the following week. I agreed, but didn’t have a topic or any idea really
of what I would preach on. God soon told me through others that I should preach
on the topic of “Jesus Knows your Pain.” That Sunday I talked to almost 1,000
people about the pain and suffering that Jesus went through. I explained that
Jesus went through exactly the same pain that we went through though it was
thousands of times more intense. I explained that Jesus knows what we are going
through physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I talked about the scapegoat
imagery in Leviticus 16 and the suffering servant found in Isaiah 53. I then
tried to push across the point to make Jesus’ heart our heart, and that we
should try to alleviate others who are suffering. I ended with two very good
points that you should watch in the video below. Though it was super difficult
to get past the nerves and anxiety of preaching, I was very happy that God gave
me the words to say and I had time to prepare the words in the days before.
Two weeks later I was able to preach once more- on the last
Sunday we had in the Philippines. This time was slightly different though, as I
had asked Pastor Al to join me up front for translation reasons. I was able to
preach while he translated and added explanation when necessary. This sermon
went even better than expected and better than my previous one. Though a
completely different discussion, it was exactly what the people needed to hear.
Titus 3:1-8 was the passage where I taught from. It included the question: What
does God think of you? God thinks you are four things: precious, perfect,
privileged, and profitable. Most of this video will be live on the blog soon so
you can check it out. Watch two minutes or all of it and you can get an idea of
how it went! Hope to have it up before India, but I won’t- sorry! I will get it up as soon as possible. It is worth watching.
This has been one of the best months on the race yet– and I know
many of my squadmates agree. I was stretched by Pastor Al and by God to preach
and really get even more out of my comfort zone than I was used to. Ministry was
fantastic; we grew and unified as a team, and just had a lot of fun bringing
Jesus to the island of Mindoro.
(Ate Marina and Kuya Al)
For the last three days i have been in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It has been a relaxing and refreshing time as I have had a date with my old team, Fierce Pursuit, and lots of time to hang out with my friend Liz who really has guided and helped me through tough times while on the race. I love these times together as a squad as it is encouraging, replenishing, and strengthening.
(Fierce Pursuit date)
India tomorrow! Updates to come…
