Held for Ransom in the Hospital

In the past I wrote about a 3 year old little boy named Chariel who has a heart defect. At the Philippine heart center we learned that he has to has to have two corrective surgeries, but before this can happen we had to get dental work done. This little boys teeth were so rotten that they posed a potential danger to his heart. The doctors were worried that an infection in his mouth could cause problems with his future heart surgeries. Apparently, since Chariel has trouble eating and basically lives off of powdered milk all that was left of his brittle teeth were broken stumps.

This set Jessica on a search for a dentist who do the work pro-bono or at least at a discounted rate. The Lord was gracious in providing a dentist who specialized in children and who was willing to do the work free. However, due to his condition, she said that he needed to have his heart monitored during the procedure and due to his age she recommended that he be anesthetized so that he can sleep the the long and painful procedure.

This started our second search. This time we needed to find a hospital room with heart monitoring equipment and an anesthesiologist so that the dentist could do her work. Jessica arranged a room at the Philippine heart center. They told us that they were comping the room to us and that the anesthesiologist would wave her professional fees and perform her services for free. We thanked the Lord and set a date. After a cancellation or two due Chariel being sick the big day came. At first we were worried that we would not be able to go through with it because Chariel's blood platelets were low. They gave him a blood transfusion and retested his blood. As you can imagine, non of this went well for our little 3 year old who found the whole ordeal quite traumatic. Jessica played with him a bit, which seemed to at least temporarily get his mind off of all the poking and prodding.

Just before Jessica and I left the hospital we decided to get an estimate on our share of the costs so that we would know how much money to bring on the following day when we checked them out of the hospital. We were told that although the doctors services were free, we would need to cover the costs of the medicine and the over night stay for Chariel. Initially, they told us that we would have to pay around 5,000 pesos (about $100 US). We agreed to that since we had the funds in our budget. A nurse called billing for our estimate and told us that it would cost about 10,000 pesos. We were surprised and the cost doubling and were considering stopping the procedure yet again. First, we went to talk to the billing department in person. They told us that since we Chariel was put in a semi private room (at about $16 a day) that put him in a new category with new prices. After we shared his story and ours, they realized that he was a charity case and that we don't have a limitless supply of money. They assured us that except for the room cost, they would bill us the rates for a charity patient and that our cost would only be about 5,000 pesos. After much struggling, we were again joyful and gave the go ahead for Chariel. Latter that evening he passed all the test and was finally ready. The dental work went smoothly and the dentist pulled all 20 of his teeth.

This is where things began to get interesting. We showed up the next day to pay the bill and bring Chariel and his parents Charita and Ariel home. Looking at the last line of the bill we didn't see the word TOTAL followed by the number P5,000 like we expected. Instead we saw
the number P43,000 and change. Really shocked, we began to investigate. We learned several things. First, a complimentary operating room and use of equipment doesn't mean free. It means that they are allowing outsiders or non-staff members the privilege of renting their stuff. We also learned that this was not a bait and switch. It is just different here, they use different terminology and certain things are understood here that are not in the US. No one was trying to deceive us, in fact they were going out of their way to help Chariel and us, but the misunderstanding was a costly one.

We began the process of appeal in the hopes that the hospital would at least give us a substantial discount. However, the doctor in charge was not there so we could not settle the bill that day. Since the bill was not settled they would not let Chariel and his family go home, they had to stay another night and we had to pay for it. The doctor in charge gave a few thousand pesos off, but the price was still almost 8 times what they originally told us. Their advice was to return the next day to see if social services could help us. They said they would help for the heart surgery, but that they could not help with the dental work. The two day dental procedure end up being a almost a week stay in the hospital. Each day we tried to negotiate the bill cost us another 800 pesos. The resolution ended up being that the doctor said he would help us to recuperate some of our cost by discounting the heart surgeries. Lord willing this may end up working in our favor as a percentage discount of the much more expensive heart surgery could be a larger overall saving. We finally paid the ransom and brought Chariel and his family home. The Lord in His kindness has already provided the money for the dental work. We are hoping that we can get the first of his two heart surgeries done before the end of this year. Pray for God's will and timing in this situation.

To Jessica on our 18th Wedding Anniversary

Drawn to her...

Maybe its her smile that lights up places,
maybe its her laugh that brings joy to many faces.
Perhaps its her tireless giving of her heart,
perhaps its the emptiness I feel when we're apart.
Could it be from time together watching our children grow?
Could it be from the love we share and the way she lets it show?
Am I drawn to her because of the devotion she shows to me?
Am I drawn to her because of the commitment she has for our family?

I'm surely drawn by her words of grace,
surely drawn by the smiles that are always on her face.
I'm drawn to her by her passion and her affections,
I'm also drawn to her by our spiritual connection.
Its been eighteen years and the sparks remains,
I'm drawn to her more now,
more than when we first began.
Happy anniversary Jess,
I will always love you,

Sean

The Weight of Poverty

Kuya Tony's familiar smile was gone. He would hardly lift his head as I looked at him through the bars of his cell. He was not in jail or under formal arrest, but he was being held in a local city detention center. I believe that the pressures of living under a bridge and caring for a wife and 7 children was taking its toll on him. Tony was working in our neighborhood driving a pedicab (a bicycle with a side car). The $5-$6 a day that he makes is not an uncommon salary here and one in which he and his family are grateful for. However, Tony's bike has been broken for almost a month and the owner of it was not taking care of the repairs. These problems and a fight between Tony and his older children proved to be more than Tony could take.
I got a text message on my phone that Tony had a break down. He was walking naked in the middle of the street before they locked him up. We I got to the lock up he was dressed and in his right mind, but I could tell that he was agitated. I was speaking fast Tagalog to me so I could n't get all that he was saying. He said, "Pastor, maraming kasalanan sa tulay" (there are a lot of sins at the bridge). He continued to tell me that some of his children did not respect him. I sat on the floor outside of the cell and tried to give him some hope. I told him that i would try to help him get his bike fixed so that he could work again. That seemed to cheer him up some. The barangay captain (a city employee) released him to us so that we could take him to the hospital.
As we were taking him to the doctor I learned that he had numerous episodes like this. He was actually on medication, but He said because he was feeling so good (physically and psychologically) and because of the expense of the medicine he decided to stop taking it. The nurse checked his records and scolded him for not coming in for regular check-ups or taking his medicine. She gave him a dose and set an appointment with the doctor for the following day. I bought him a 3 month supply of his medication and we returned him to his family at the bridge. I saw him again a few days later and he looked really good. Pastor Rick is taking him under his wing and I was really nice to see them bond through these events. Pray for Tony and that he will trust in God as he struggles to survive with his family in such hard circumstances. Handling such a hard life under our own strength is more than most of us can bare. I pray that as he trusts God more and becomes more satisfied in his circumstances that he will even be able to get off his medications. Lastly, pray that he will be able to work again as a pedicab driver and that he will have a more responsible employer.

Sharpening our ministry focus

With our ministries of teaching increasing, Jessica and I are forces to make some tough choices for some ministry transitions. Starting the first week of August I'm teaching a group of men who minister to the Philippines military on Mondays. On Tuesdays I teach a group of men who minister to the poor living south of Manila. On Thursdays Jessica and I will teach a group of bible students. I will teach them the basics of how to interpret the bible and Jessica will help them to sharpen their English. We also meet others throughout the week for bible studies, mentoring and discipleship.
In addition to the above ministries I am preparing and improve syllabuses for several classes, (how to interpret the bible, Old Testament Survey and preaching). Jessica continues to work on material for teaching English as a second language. Lastly, I have to continue working on my studies for the doctoral program in taking at Talbot.

With all these ministries and a few others not mentioned we are finding ourselves having to cut out some ministries that are not essential to the vision that God has given us. So after two and a half years we are stopping our home bible study. We had a great time taking our friends through Luke and Acts and were blessed to see them grow in the Lord. We will still see many of them as we encourage and counsel them. A few others we will try to integrate into a cell group we work with.

The other area of transition is my involvement at the bridge. I will still be involved in ministry there, but the way I have been doing it will change. I will be more involved with mentoring pastor Rick and developing leaders there. I will be less involved with the day to day ministries at the Bridge and the surrounding area. Even things like giving medicine to the sick or rides to the doctor will be done through pastor Rick whenever possible.
I met with pastor Rick yesterday to discus future plans for out reach to Manalo Bridge and the surrounding Manggahan area. We are planning to do a monthly outreach where we will show films like the Jesus Film, cartoons for the kids, testimonies, drama, and a gospel message. We hope that this will give us more opportunities to start new bible studies in the area. Pray for God's favor as we ask local businesses and land owners to let us use their property for free or a small price for these events.
Pastor Rick and I also began planning his preaching schedule. Pastor Rick has not taken any formal training for preaching and does that best he can, but I believe that I can help him a lot in this area. I gave him two books for us to study together ( "How to read the bible for all its worth" by Fee and Stuart, and "Biblical Preaching" by Haddon Robinson). In addition to these books we are outlining the Gospel of John together and writing out its main preaching ideas. I am going to help pastor Rick (for the first time) preach through a whole book of the bible. I believe that this will greatly help him and the biblically illiterate people that he is teaching. I will keep you posted on his progress. Please pray for us all.

No more avioding eye contact for Jerwin

It was a long process, but it was worth the wait. Jerwin may no longer feel the need to let his hair hang down over his right eye now that we were finally able to get a prosthetic eye implanted. His implant was relatively cheap; $60 plus about $100 for medications. Although 160 dollars may not be a lot of money for you or I, it is a lot for Jerwin and his family. Perhaps that is why they never dreamed that they could do anything for his damaged eye. His mom earns about 3 dollars a day and at that rate it would take over 50 days of her small earnings to pay for the implant. That makes it basically impossible for her and her four children to survive. Thanks to all our supporters, we were able to minister to them by covering their expenses and shuttling him back and forth to the hospital. The picture below is of Jerwin a few months ago. After they scraped off several layers of his eye. His eye lids began so drop making it look like he was squinting. I posted this picture on an earlier blog. This is Jerwin and his older brother JR at the East Ave. Medical Center where he was going in almost weekly to prepare his eye for the implant.


They finished Jerwin's eye while I was in California for some studies. Here is a picture that Jessica emailed me of how Jerwin looks today.

I hope that this will increase his confidence, but more importantly I pray that it will be a testimony of God's love for him and his family. I just learned that Jerwin's brother Oliver wants to start bible college which we about and we are excited to support him through. I will write more about that later.

A Room for Pastor Rick

This post originally appeared in our newsletter, but I thought that I would post it on my blog as well...

If I had opened that door three years ago I probably would have jumped at the sight of what I saw. The small room greeted me with about a half dozen flying roaches. These were big ones, not like the vertically challenged ones I’ve seen in the U.S. Like their cousins from the States, they took off running when the lights came on and they were fast. I stepped in the 9 X 6 foot room (approximately) followed by Pastor Rick. Even with its one florescent light it seemed kind of dark. The cement floor is uneven, it has a low ceiling, no bath room and the kitchen consists of a small 1 X 2 foot shelf looking thing sticking out of a wall with a drain tube running from the bottom of it and outside through a small hole in the wall.

Inside I was feeling bad about the question I was about to ask. “Pastor Rick, is this room okay for you then?” He had called me the day before to let me know that he found a room and wanted me to check it out. He told me that the rent is $32 dollars a month including electricity and water. That is actually $18 a month less than our budget. In answer to my questions about the room Pastor Rick said that the room would be fine. I reminded him that our budget allows for a little better room, but he said this will do for now, maybe we will find a better one latter. I paid his first month rent and a security deposit. We bought him some plates, dishes, cups, eating utensils, a fan, a pot and pan, a gas cooking stove, a foldable foam sleeping mat, and a few plastic chairs and table.

When I asked where the bathroom is located, I learned that he has to share one with four families (probably large families) and that it is located somewhere outside. I suspect that one of the reasons that he wants that particular room is not only that it is located just around the block from the bridge, but that it is situated in a large community of squatters. Although it is a relatively small area, maybe a couple of city blocks, there has to be easily a thousand people living there. I was surprised when several of the residents there recognized me.

We plan to have Pastor Rick start another bible study by his rented room along with another one in a near by neighborhood. We will also have monthly outreaches like showing the Jesus film and other movies with my projector and a generator that we plan on buying soon. Pastor Rick and I also plan on training up some of the faithful at the bridge to helping us in reaching out to the surrounding communities for Christ.

Even though poverty is all around us in the Philippines, many Filipino pastors are not moved by it and would rather minister in more comfortable circumstances. They might reason that, “I can reach the poor better from an affluent church”, but it’s not getting done. I am challenged by Pastor Rick’s commitment to love those who are harder to love and to go to those who most are afraid or unwilling to go to. Continue to pray for us, and especially for this brother who is willing to carry his cross daily and to give his life for the sake of the gospel.

Let There Be Light

They have been without electricity for several years, but that was about to change on this day. Jessica and I were on our way to the bridge with a gift that the Lord enabled us to give. A few years ago, being a part of providing a gift like this would have been much more difficult (we chipped in with a few kind hearts). In the States we were a middle class family at best. However, even with less than half the income we had when we lived in the U.S., we are able to do a lot more with less and we find ourselves in about the upper middle class here in the Philippines. It is in that position that we have been learning the joys of being able to use God's resources to bless others beyond what we were able to before. Since we moved here, we started a savings account for ministry and God gave us a great opportunity to use some of that savings (along with the help from others) to buy a generator for our friends at the Bridge.

One of the men there said to me that in the past, they tapped into the near by power lines, (which is illegal and dangerous) for electricity until the power company cut all their lines. Since then they have been living in the dark, except for some glass bottles filled with some sort of flammable liquid and a rag/wick for light. They never complained about a lack of light. What disturbs them more than the darkness are the mosquitoes that come at night.

We pulled up to a group of excited men when we arrived with the generator. They greeted us and then quickly went to work. Lifting the bulky generator, which weighs about 100 pounds, they carried it down a little homemade wooden ladder and through the dark passage leading to their homes under the bridge. The usual curious little heads began poking out and looking at the big brown box. The children wouldn't understand what this clunky little machine is till after the sun sets.

As soon as the men set the generator in place, Kuya Edwin pulled out a box of wire. They began unraveling and straightening it.
Both young and old were involved as they stretched the wire that looked like it could run the length of a football field.

Edwin pulled out an old florescent light that he used to use when they had electricity. He wiped away what looked like years of dust and corrosion and prepared the wires, hoping that the it would still work. They pulled wire throughout the make-shift homes so that every family could enjoy the light. Jessica and I had to leave before they finished the job.


We dropped Kuyas Edwin and Tony and the hardware store to pick up a few more needed supplies. On our way to a bible study later that night, Jessica and I got a text message on my cell phone saying, "Kuya Sean, thanks, we all have light now. The kids are so happy playing in the light."

This generator will not only give them light and perhaps keep the mosquitoes off them at night, but it will also aid in teaching under the bridge and enable us to do film showings. We are planning on having a monthly movie night and a Bible message. We will invite the whole community, including their neighbors to share the gospel with them as well. With the generator, we can now bring in our own power wherever we go so that we can use our computer, projector, T.V. and P.A. system to share the good news that Jesus Christ forgives the sins of those who trust in Him alone.

I'm am excited that God allowed us to bring physical light into their lives, but I am even more excited that God has allowed us to bring the light of His Word into their lives. Many of our friends under the bridge have received Jesus as Lord and Savior. We are seeing lives change and generations who used to live in darkness, now living and growing in the true light. Please pray that God would continue to be gloried in their midst and for their continual growth, health, protection, work and sustenance. Thank you to all of you who make it possible for us to show them love through your prayers and support.

Sometimes Mother's day can cost a pretty penny

Mother's day turned out to be an expensive day for us. After church we took Jessica out to a nice Italian restaurant for lunch. It was a bit upscale for the Philippines and cost us around $30 to feed our family of 7. Afterwards, we went to get some tea. Kian was carrying the baby (Isabella) in her car seat and I was carrying my book bag on my shoulder. We set my bag under the table and Bella next to it. Soon after, Jessica, Grace and Tyler sat in chairs around the table. Kian, Christian and I went to the counter to order our drinks. We sat down and sipped our teas, read and chatted till the little ones got bored. When we decided to leave we packed up the baby and our things, but noticed that my bag was gone. I never even saw anyone near our table. Jessica figured that they must have grabbed my bag while I was ordering and she was distracted with reading or the kids. Inside my bag was my bible, a book for school and my PDA, (a little handheld computer) ouch! Perhaps worse than the value of the PDA is all of my information on it; including our phone numbers and addresses. I have copies on my computer, but we pray that we will not get another visit from the thief who took my bag. It is possible that he saw and white guys carrying a bag on the street and followed us into the coffee shop hoping he might get a computer. This is the kind of thing that can happen in any big city. I am just glad that the two times we have been robbed in the Philippines were not in our home. That seems scarier to me. I also praise God that my family is safe. I know this picture of Isabella is not related to this particular story, but I took it today and I just couldn't resist posting it.

Happy to Bid the Tarp Farewell

The tarp had had it. It was only about 6 months old, but between the heat, pollution, and heavy rains it was falling apart and could no longer shade us or keep us dry. During the rainy season the water would fill the tarp like a balloon till it gave way under the weight and pour out on some body's head. The last time I saw it, it was in shreds and could not longer be nailed to the block wall from which it used to hang. Some of brothers from Manalo bridge were more than willing to build a stronger, semi-permanent roof to keep us cool (as cool as you can get in the Philippines) and dry.

So Jessica and I jumped in our van along with Kuya Edwin and Kuya Tony to go the a local hardware store. We bought the metal sheets for the roof, nails and some wood for the frame. The men quickly built the frame, fastened it to the block walls and placed the roof on it. This has made our bible studies and fellowship time at the bridge much more enjoyable. It is also a testimony to the community. Next month I plan on getting more material so that we can extend the roof even further.

Just the month before we added some concrete steps to make the climb down the dirt embankment safer. Soon we will have a generator to power lights and a projector so we can show movies (like the Jesus film) for monthly out reach events. God is continuing to move and bless this community and as it responds to the gospel. Pray that leaders will continue to emerge and grow and that God will give me wisdom in shepherding them and loving these precious people.

Testimony from a Missionary to Muslims

At a conference on the Island of Mindanao in the Philippines I was challenged by several testimonies given by Filipino missionaries working among Muslims. It took me several hours and to edit the audio and is by no means a studio job, but I think it is worth listening to and I hope that you will take the time to down load and listen to it. You will hear some of the reality that our brother live with everyday. What you won't hear is that these men and women are going out with a lot of love and zeal, but very little solid training.

People like the man giving the testimony are just the kind of people I desire to come along side of and train. These workers are passionate and ready to give their lives for the Lord. I want to sharpen them so that they will bring God more glory as He uses them more powerfully and stragically. Be blessed.

Updates

Following are updates on previous blogs and opportunities for you to join me in prayer as we trust God and watch Him do wonderful things.


Jerwin

Jerwin is the young man living under Manalo Bridge that I recently wrote about. I'm took him to East Avenue Medical Center to have his eye prepared for a prostetic. That was the first surgery of a two part procedure. So far he had surgery to prepare the eye socket and next week he will have a second surgery to install the eye.

When I visited him the other day I could see that he was in a lot of pain and the bandage over his eye was pretty dirty. I’m sure it is a challenge to keep it clean living in the environment that he does. I bought him a clean one and some medicine to help with the pain. I’m confident that when it is all done he will be pleased with the results and have no regrets.

Jerwin and I had a nice time talking during our last 3 office visits. He is a junior in High School and is interested in studying electronics. His mom makes about $3.00 a day which helps to support the family. Jerwin has 5 brothers and sisters, but his mom is unable to support them all so some of them live far away with their grand parents. I helped his older brother J.R. get a job driving a pedi-cab in our neighborhood, which should help the whole family out financially.

Jerwin seems to show interest in the Lord. A couple of weeks ago I got him a book for new believers or interested non-believers. He has read half of it so far. At the book store I noticed that he liked comic books so I bought a few that teach the gospel. I'll keep you posted on Jerwin's progress.


Pastors at the bridge

At the moment it appears that it will be just one pastor working under the bridge. The other man, Robert is getting married so he won’t be joining Pastor Rick to minister under the bridge.
Pastor Rick has been impressing me over the last few months for several reasons. First, he has been showing initiative. He has taken it upon himself to go to the bridge early every Sunday to teach the adults there in addition to the afternoon bible study. Second, when it appeared that I could not afford to pay for his rent and food he said that he was willing to live under the bridge with no electricity or running water so that I could afford to support him and his ministry (a room under the bridge is a lot cheaper than in the near by area). Since then, someone has given the money to rent a room for him near the bridge; A room with electricity and water for at least the next 10 to 12 months.

The other thing that has impressed me about Pastor Rick is his insight for the needs of our friends at the bridge. Knowing that they don’t have electricity, he is helping me to get a generator for them. It will only cost $300 to $400 and he has already raised the first $100. The people are excited at the thought of having light at night and at the fact that the light will draw the mosquitoes away from them. Pastor Rick also has plans for helping them build a community bathroom and for making some stairs in the common area. These stairs should make the area safer for the whole community.


Tyler
Tyler hasn’t had a big asthma attack in a few months now. The doctor has us giving him a new medicine in the hopes that it will prevent future attacks. He was doing well till earlier this week. He is starting to have coughing fits again, but his breathing isn’t too bad. We have been using the nebulizer several times a days. I get nervous whenever he coughs a lot because I hate seeing him having a hard time and I dread having more long nights of watching his breathing or extended stays at the hospital.


Chariel

Chariel is the little boy who has a whole in his heart. At his last visit with the doctor the doctor told us that it is better for Chariel to wait a year. That way his heart will be bigger and better suited for heart surgery. Another advantage to waiting is that he will only need one surgery. If he has heart surgery now, it would only be a temporary fix until his heart gets big enough for the permanent fix. Chariel’s dad Ariel is still a regular at the bible study under the bridge, however, his mom has been hit and miss.


The Master’s Academy International

With the help of friends we are trying to establish TMAI. This will be a training center that is affiliated with The Master’s Seminary and John MacArthur. Lord willing, a few other graduates from the Master’s Seminary and partners her in the Philippines will join me here to train men in expository preaching, church planting, and teaching the various “ologies.” Then we will send them out to minister throughout the country and abroad. Pray that God will work to make this happen in His perfect timing.

Currently, I am taking a group of about 15 men through hermeneutic (how to interpret the bible). After we finish hermeneutics we will proceed to expository preaching. These men may be the foundational group for the training center and I have learned of a few other interest groups who want their men trained.

New prayer update posted

Click Here

Reaching Muslims for Isa Al Masih (Jesus).

From where I am sitting in the Cagayan De Oro City airport, I can see many Muslims. I am on my way back to Manila from the Island of Mindanao. I get stares from time to time in Manila, but I'm getting a lot more of them here. It's probably because white guys are more of a sight Mindanao. I'm one of two in this room which was packed with some 400 people up until the last plane flew out a few minutes ago. There are only a couple of terminals here and all the departing passengers fit into one large room.

I came here for a 4 day conference that focused on partnering
with Filipino nationals, missionaries, American Churches, and any one else who is interested in reaching Muslims for Christ in Mindanao and other countries. As a result, God has filled my heart and mind with new ideas, questions, and more passion for reaching Muslims. For years it has been one of my desires to reach the southern most Islands of the Philippines where the majority of Filipino Muslims live.

I already know that it is dangerous for whites/westerns in many areas in Mindanao and that they are obvious targets, but I learned from some of the speakers at the conference that whites/westerns can actually jeopardize the safety of the national workers if they are seen with us (white/westerners). The best plan for western missionaries is to help train Filipino nationals is to do it from remote locations, like in Manila where I live, or to meet them in safer locations near them.

I listened to the testimony of many Filipino men and women who are putting their lives on the line everyday to share the good news that Jesus Christ wants to pay the price of sin for those who trust and follow Him. They shared about the difficulties of living and ministering on Islands among rural communities with no running water or electricity. They are giving their lives to serve people, many of whom want to kill them. Some have already been killed and some of them know that there are people out there who have been paid to kill them. One young man said that before he leaves every morning to minister, he gives his wife and two young daughters big hugs because he knows that each day could be their last together on this side of heaven. A team of three missionaries told of how their pastor friend and his daughter were shot multiple times (19 times for him) and how the team was warned that they were next. The fled for a short time, but have since returned to continue to preach the gospel. I join them in the belief that Jesus is so worth it. He is worth much more than our lives. Scripture says in Luke 9:24-25,

[24] For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. [25] What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

The Filipino missionaries plead for more training, support, and co-laborers to work with them to reach the many unreached people of the Philippines; which their research show to be over 2 million people. Let’s all do our part, weather it is training, supporting, going, or praying, let work together so that the nations can hear about and see Jesus in and through us!

The Proclaimer

A friend of ours who has been involved with ministry in the Philippines for many years was visiting from the States. He gave me what is basically a solar powered MP3 player equipped with its own speakers. It best thing about it is that it has the entire New Testament in Tagalog on it (It is called the Proclaimer). I thought, “This would be great for my friends at the bridge because they have no electricity. When I gave them the proclaimer last Thursday I couldn’t tell if they understood what it is because looked puzzled as I demonstrated it to them. When I returned the next morning to pick up a young man named Jerwin for a doctors appointment I had a surprise. I walked down the path leading to the common area where they hang out, but didn’t find any one there. The usual site of smiling faces greeting me and little ones running up to me calling out, “Kuya Sean” was absent. I thought that maybe it was because I was there earlier than usual. When I turned the corner I to Kuya Edwin’s home I found a group of them huddled around the proclaimer listening to the Word of God. What a joy that was to see. I encouraged them to listen to it together as a group, but I didn’t think they would do it early the next morning. I hope that this becomes a tradition for the whole community. Pray that they will grow to love God’s Word and through it, they will fall in love with Him and become like Him.

Sometimes the blind can see better than the sighted

Jerwin is a 19 year old junior in High School. I meet him under Manalo Bridge where he and his five siblings live with their mother. His father died 5 years ago from a heart condition. His mom is supporting the family by selling skewers of barbequed meat at an out door market. Two of her six children live many hours away with their Lola (grandmother). I suspect that they live apart from their mom and the rest of the siblings because their mom simply can’t afford to take care of them all.

When I first met Jerwin I noticed that he is blind in one eye one. He appears to have no retina at all as his right eye is solid white. I suspect that it is just covered by a film. He is a quite young man and my oldest son Kian started a friendship when he discovered that Jerwin plays the guitar.

Today I'm writing this blog at the East Avenue Medical Center with Jerwin. I brought him to the hospital to see if they there can do anything for him. After the initial consultation with the doctor we learned that his damaged eye cannot be saved.

With my limited Tagalog and Jerwin's limited English I learned that when he was about three months old, he somehow cut or scratched his eye. Then he got some kind of infection that virtually killed his eye. The doctor told me that Jerwin’s left eye is good, but he can't even detect light with his right eye.

The doctor went on to tell me that they would do a painful procedure (she said that in English so I hope he didn't understand that part) to remove his damaged eye, perhaps just the top layers of it, and then install a prosthetic one. Most of the cost is covered through a ministry called Resources for the Blind, and a few other organizations. Jessica and I will just cover the cost of the medicines and travel expanses.

Jerwin has been floating in and out of the bible study at the bridge or listening from a distance. I'm praying that between the Lord meeting this need, the teaching of the Word, and an up coming youth camp that he is planning on attending, that God will touch his heart and that he will receive Jesus as both Lord and savior. This situation reminds of Bartimaeus. He is a man in the bible who serves as a good example that sometimes the blind can see better than the sighted.

In Mark 10:47 we can see that although he was physically blind, he had 20/20 spiritual sight. It says that:

"When Bartimaeus heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Without function eyes he was able to see what most men and women in the world miss; That Jesus is the Son of David, the promised messiah, the savior that God had promised to send into the world. He also knew that his only hope was to cry out to God for mercy. I hope that Jerwing will SEE this as well. Pray that even though he is blind in one eye, that he would not be blind in any way to the gospel. Also pray with me that God will not only work in Jerwins's heart, but also in the hearts of his family as He uses me to minister to them.

Pastors to the Bridge

With the ministry at the bridge growing, I see that my friends there need more attention and training than a one hour bible study each week. I want someone who can be at the bridge several days a week teaching the families about God and training them to serve Him. I asked my friend Pastor Noel if he was willing to let one of the men he has been training and who has been working with him minister at the bridge. He liked the idea because he has a heart for the poor, God being glorified through the preaching of the gospel, and it gives opportunities for more training. He suggested that instead of sending one man that he send two.

After talking with some of his men, he found two men who are willing to move near the bridge to shepherd God’s people there and to reach out to the neighboring communities with the gospel. Pastor Rick has been minister for over a decade and Pastor Robert is a student in Bible College. However, I am faced with two difficulties. Pastor Noel’s church is barely able to pay its own bills and is unable to help out these men financially. Jessica and I decided that we will scrape together enough money to pay their rent and we might be able to contribute towards their food each month, but we can’t afford much. We found a small room in a house for these men to live in. It is about 12’ x 7’ and goes for $50 a month including water, electricity, and a bathroom. Food will cost about another $100 a month. For now, their serving the bridge is on hold till we can find people willing to help us support them and their ministry. For now they will come each Sunday to help Pastor Sonny teach the bible study.

The second difficulty is the human tendency to struggle with change. My friends at the bridge have grown fond of Pastor Sonny and some are struggling with his inevitable moving on, (he is working on a few other church plants in other cities) and some are struggling with embracing the new guys. Having been apart of situations like this several times in the past has helped me in dealing with this. This is why I have Pastors Rick and Robert working with Pastor Sonny and slowly transition in over a period of several months. My hope is that the will eventually be accepted, respected, and loved as they build relationships and lovingly minister to the people at the bridge.

Join me in praying for all of these pastors as they serve the Lord. Pray that God will provide all there needs and also consider being a part of the means that God uses to do this.

I knew the "what", but now the "how" is getting clearer

I went to Thailand feeling good about what God had done through us in the Philippines over the last couple of years. While studying Tagalog fulltime, we were still able to lead a bible study at our house and start another one among the poor living under Manalo bridge. Having just finished the classroom part of my Tagalog learning, (with the exception of an optional course) Jessica and I found ourselves at a crossroad. What next? Actually we knew the 'what', we have known for years, even before we arrived here we knew that God called us to train and send men and women from the Philippines to reach the Philippines and everywhere else Filipino's are scattered abroad to work. The question we are looking at now is "How?" Do we plant a church first and from there, some time in the future start the training center? Do we work in and with an established local church and start the training center through it? We could also just go straight to work on establishing a training center.

I felt excited about all those options and was open to others, but seeing positives and negatives in each kept me from rushing into a decision. I decided to wait on the Lord for an answer as we prayed about it, sought counsel, and learned more about the different ways to do the 'what' that God has called us to. It was in Thailand that I believe God put me on the path to the next step. After talking with the leader of our mission and the South East Asian overseer of the Evangelical Free Church Mission, God began to work in my heart. I told them the three options that I mentioned earlier and they encouraged me to pursue what they called the 'big rock', the vision that God gave me before coming out here. They said that training and sending nationals to plant churches is much more strategic than Jessica and I planting them ourselves.

We were planning to plant a church over the next five years or so to get more experience in that area. We thought that was the "how" in begging a training center. However, my boss pointed out that I can still help in church planting with the people under the bridge, (and even other church plants that the church we are working with is doing) but, I will multiply ministry if I focus on training nationals to be pastors, church planters, disiplers and missionaries. He said that once the training center is established I can always bring in seasoned church planters to teach modules to train the men that I work with if they need more teaching than I have to offer. This all made a lot of sense, but Jessica I have to admit that it is taking a little while to get used to since we had thought for so long that we would be leading a new church plant to start off.

As I was processing this path to the "what" I starting thinking about how I should proceed. The leader of my mission suggested that I talk with another man who was attending the conference. The next day I met him for breakfast and shared my vision with him. He is currently training men to plant churches in Indonesia. I talked with him about partnering to train and send people from the Philippines to reach the world for Christ. It turns out that it part of his vision as well. He suggested that I start trying to train and send 10 people to Indonesia. As I go through that process, he said, I will be able to develop a working model that I could expand. From there I can seek partnerships with other Evangelical Free Churches and groups to train and send more men throughout Asian and Arab countries. In his case, he would take the men that we train in the Philippines and place them on church planting teams in Indonesia. It seems that the "how" is getting clearer now. Pray for us as week seek to train and send more workers into the harvest.

Ty and I

Even though it was not fun watching my son struggling to breathe, vomitting, and getting poked by various needles, I have to thank God that we are blessed with good medical care. I am also grateful that Tyler's asthma acted up here at home and not in Thailand where we do not know the language or our way around. Around last Thursday Tyler started running a fever, coughing, and vomiting. Once he fell asleep it seemed to settle down, but on Friday night his breathing became labored. I took him into emergency at about 3am. After arriving in the ER he seemed to be doing better and I started thinking, "It figures, when they examine him everything will check out fine, they'll send us home, and then things will flare up again." However, after about 2 minutes in the ER he vomited on himself and me. Coupled with a fever and labored breathing they decided to admit him. His fever got upto 103, but once they gave him some paracetemaol and got an I.V. with antibiotics and fluids into him his temperature stabelized.

Ty and I spent the next three days in the hospital. Although we had some nice cuddle time and I was there for him when he was being poked and proded, he asked about mom and grace a few times. Jessica and the rest of our kids visited us each day, which really lifted Ty's spirits. Ty hadn't really eaten anything for two and a half days . The I.V. helped rehydrate him and by Sunday his appetite seemed to come back. We were released today (Monday) and will return for an office visit on Thursday so that the doctor can check on him and help us determine a plan to help prevent him from having any more major attacks. Please keep Tyler in prayer over this.

Where Have I Been?

I'm sorry that I have not been able to keep my blog up lately. I have been here (mostly), but my internet has not. Apparently there was a 7.1 earth quake in Taiwan that damaged fiber optic lines that carry internet traffic from South East Asia. I has been very difficult for us to send and receive email and impossible for me to blog. I couldn't stand it any longer so I drove to our down town office to use their internet connection which I heard is better than ours. That appears to be the case because for the first time in almost a month I could actually log into the blogger web site. A lot has happened since my last blog. We just got back from our missions annual conference. This year it was in Thailand with the rest of the South East Asian missionaries from our group. We spent the first four days in Bangkok and then flew to Chaing Mai for a week long conference. We had a great time seeing the beauty of the country, spending time together as a family,
meeting other missionaries from all over Asia and getting some inspiring and motivational teaching from our leaders from the U.S. In Bangkok we visited many Buddhist (probably the largest religion in the country) temples. I kept thinking about Paul in Athens when I saw the many idols that filled the country. I couldn't help but fell bad for the many lost souls in this country who are worshiping false gods. Praise the true God that we have some new church plants in the country as well as a bible school. Pray for the believers in Thailand as they try to reach the lost in a country that is very resistant to the gospel.

In one temple that we visited, there was a golden statue of Buddha that was about as long as a football field and about three stories tall. People were on their knees praying to it, touching it, and giving money to it. I saw a crack on one side of it and wondered if any one else thought about the power or lack of power that a wooden god has who is dependent on men to keep a fresh coat of paint on it to hide it's imperfections. 1 Samuel 5 popped into my mind when I saw that Idol. I remember how the Ark of God was brought into the temple of the false god Dagon. The Bibles says that when the Philistines went into the temple the next morning, "When they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained."
I hope you enjoyed these pictures. Perhaps when our internet is working well again, Jessica will post some on our family web site (www.ransomreport.com). We had a great time and God gave us some great counsel regarding our next step in ministry in the Philippines. I will write about that the next chance I get.