This month we have the great privilege of serving Pastor JoJo. He is a full-time pastor who works in Malaybalay and the surrounding Barangay’s (districts). We are being hosted in Barangay Can-ayan, a district of about 500 thatch hut homes.
Pastor Jo Jo spends every day doing house visits. Over years of going door to door, making friends and serving the people, he has a Bible Study route where families have him to their homes once a week. We hit about 6 or so homes per day, 3 in the morning, and 3 in the afternoon (sometimes more, sometimes less). What does that look like with 7 crazy gringos in toe? Well, we enter precariously. The floor of each home is typically dirt (mud since it rains a lot lately), or bamboo slivers perched delicately upon just a few less-than solid beams. Just today one of my teammates broke through a few slats in the floor. Many times the homes are hanging off the edges of cliffs or sides of the hill and look like they may topple over at any moment. But, as we take our shoes off and enter with warm smiles, our gracious hosts go to great lengths to make us comfortable.
Then the introductions… Once we have all become acquainted, Pastor JoJo suggests what we should share with the family. Sometimes he asks us to give a testimony or 2, other times he asks us to lead a Bible study on some topic such as salvation, prayer, or faith, and still other times, we are doing skits and Bible Stories for a group of children. It is different every time. No preface, no preparation, just walk in, shake some hands, receive your assignment, and …. Go! I LOVE this kind of Spirit lead ministry! This kind where all you have to rely on is the Lord! It is so exciting to have no expectations other than that the Holy Spirit will show up. And He always does. He always gives us a word to share that will meet the family where they are at and build their faith. I will be sharing some of my favorite visits in a later blog :0) After we share, we take prayer requests and pray with the family. That too looks different in each home. Pastor JoJo knows the families well and lets us know the best way to pray for them. Sometimes we hold hands in a circle, other times we pray with the laying on of hands. Sometimes one or 2 people pray, other times, we all pray ‘with one voice’ as he says. Seeing the beautiful dance between his relationship with the people and his ability to hear from the Holy Spirit and give us room to hear from the Holy Spirit is such a beautiful thing!
(this is one of the locations Pastor JoJo and his wife started doing Bible Studies that grew so much that they built this little meeting area)
Right now, Pastor JoJo is basically a single father to 3 adorable children. His mother in law lives with them while his wife has gone to Hong Kong to work. They were not able to continue their work in the ministry and also feed their family, so they made the heart wrenching decision for the wife to take a 2 year contract. Their heart to serve the poor and give until it hurts is such a testimony of what it means to share all that you have. The work they began together is now being carried on by pastor JoJo as they continue to ask God to provide financially so his wife can come home. He was working also as a night security guard to make ends meet, but he was getting so little sleep that it was impacting his ability to minister. The people Pastor JoJo reaches are the poorest of the poor. People who cannot get to a church because they spend all day looking for food for their families. The poverty here is the deepest we have seen yet. But his work is making a lasting impact! When we ask Pastor JoJo why he continues to serve despite the hardship is creates for his family, he replies that he cannot bear to see these people go to hell. He and his wife desperately want them to know the love of Jesus.
