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A Call to the Feast in the Kingdom of God
April 10 2008 / ShareHim in Philippines North B, Mar. 14 - Mar. 29 '08 #282by Francine Lee
Campaign Site Narrative from San Bartolome, Batangas in Philippines North B. The speaker assigned to this site was Francine Lee.
I have just returned for my first overseas mission trip. The last mission trip I took was to Mexico during Christmas break during my junior year at Laurelwood Academy. Now 35 years later, the Lord called me to the Philippines. I had the opportunity of ministering to the village of Jordan on the slopes of Mt. Makiling in Batangas province of South Luzon. The people of this village primarily make their meager living from “recycling” from the dump their homes surround. Some live in the upper village and make their living collecting and selling coconuts “buko” for one peso a piece. The meeting place was a dusty plot under a large blue tarp. Rough benches were provided for seating.
My focus had been to be totally dependent upon God for strength and power. I had been reminded of the promise “Be not afraid, but speak and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee for I have much people in this city,” Acts 18:9-10 and of the verse “not by might nor by power but by my Spirit” Zechariah 4:6. This vision from Zechariah 4 of the two olive trees and the golden bowls and the golden pipes was fresh on my mind with the knowledge that I needed to be an open channel through which God desired to pour out His Blessings upon the people in Jordan.
The pastor of the district had provided me with five young adults to support me. They had arrived in the previous weeks or days and had begun bible studies and home visitation in preparation for the meetings. I was told that I was the first foreigner in this village at the end of the road.
With the greeting Magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat (Good evening to all of you), I began the first of 18 sermons based on the ShareHim format on Friday evening March 14, 2008. The meetings were attended by between 70 to 100 people.
Many days I, along with the translator and a layman from another town who had moved in to help, visited and prayed with the families near the meeting site and surrounding the dump. Loud speakers which blasted out the sermons to a distance of two kilometers could be heard by all in the neighborhood including the majority land owner whose home was higher up the mountain and of which I was unaware until later.
Various calls were made at important junctures in the sermons with increasing response for the crowd. The numbers climbed from 26 to 37 by the final Friday night meeting. After I left, I was informed of about 20 more who wanted to be baptized. Most were in their upper teens or young adults. A few younger children and several middle age folks also responded. One lady stated she had been looking since 1984 for the truth and had recognized it when she heard it. She and her adult son were baptized.
I had the great pleasure of welcoming these precious souls into the kingdom of heaven as they climbed out of the baptismal pool. Our home church made sure they received a new bible with study helps in the back. I wrote a short note of encouragement in the cover of each.
When it was time to go home to “planet Alaska,” I left a part of my heart there and hope to return again soon and see how God grew and built the harvest in that part of the world.
Marantha, so we don’t have to say paalim po (good-bye) ever again.
My focus had been to be totally dependent upon God for strength and power. I had been reminded of the promise “Be not afraid, but speak and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee for I have much people in this city,” Acts 18:9-10 and of the verse “not by might nor by power but by my Spirit” Zechariah 4:6. This vision from Zechariah 4 of the two olive trees and the golden bowls and the golden pipes was fresh on my mind with the knowledge that I needed to be an open channel through which God desired to pour out His Blessings upon the people in Jordan.
The pastor of the district had provided me with five young adults to support me. They had arrived in the previous weeks or days and had begun bible studies and home visitation in preparation for the meetings. I was told that I was the first foreigner in this village at the end of the road.
With the greeting Magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat (Good evening to all of you), I began the first of 18 sermons based on the ShareHim format on Friday evening March 14, 2008. The meetings were attended by between 70 to 100 people.
Many days I, along with the translator and a layman from another town who had moved in to help, visited and prayed with the families near the meeting site and surrounding the dump. Loud speakers which blasted out the sermons to a distance of two kilometers could be heard by all in the neighborhood including the majority land owner whose home was higher up the mountain and of which I was unaware until later.
Various calls were made at important junctures in the sermons with increasing response for the crowd. The numbers climbed from 26 to 37 by the final Friday night meeting. After I left, I was informed of about 20 more who wanted to be baptized. Most were in their upper teens or young adults. A few younger children and several middle age folks also responded. One lady stated she had been looking since 1984 for the truth and had recognized it when she heard it. She and her adult son were baptized.
I had the great pleasure of welcoming these precious souls into the kingdom of heaven as they climbed out of the baptismal pool. Our home church made sure they received a new bible with study helps in the back. I wrote a short note of encouragement in the cover of each.
When it was time to go home to “planet Alaska,” I left a part of my heart there and hope to return again soon and see how God grew and built the harvest in that part of the world.
Marantha, so we don’t have to say paalim po (good-bye) ever again.