Our group divided to visit and preach in three different churches this morning.

 

 

It took awhile to get used to sleeping on the bamboo floor of the hut we were staying in, but most of us were able to sleep for a few hours at least.

 

The people in this village are definitely early risers! Several of the ladies began preparing our breakfast at 3:45 a.m., and the roosters even began crowing well before sunrise. The chicken they served us for breakfast was freshly caught and killed that morning. The entire village was out and about by 5:00 a.m. Everyone in our group was up and at it, walking through the village by 5:30 a.m. By 6:30 a.m., we had seen beautiful scenery, ridden one of the villager’s caribou, watched a spider fight, and played a pickup game of basketball on their “homemade” hoops with some of the young men in the church.

 

The children had assembled in the church building by 7:15 a.m. and were singing many familiar Bible songs. The kids were so kind and friendly to us throughout our stay, following us wherever we went. They were enamored by Bro. Moyer’s digital camera, and they loved it when he would take their picture. We enjoyed singing with them and playing with them. At 8:00 a.m., most of us sat down for a home-cooked breakfast while Michael Strouf taught the Sunday school lesson to the children.

 

The morning service began at 9:30 a.m. Bro. Thompson preached to the church which was packed with about 150 people. By 10:30, we said farewell to Pastor Brian and the wonderful people at the Bakyas Fundamental Baptist Church on Negros Island. We began our trek, walking back out of the village, catching a jeepney, riding a bus, catching another jeepney, and then back onto the boat to Iloilo.

 

Every person who was privileged to go on this overnight trip commented that the things they saw and the people they met touched them deeply and will never be forgotten.

 

 

We traveled to the Fundamental Baptist Church, pastored by Rodney Iwag in the town of Dumagas. Our missionary, Ricky Martin (Dr. Rcik Martin’s son), was our host and guide for the morning.

 

Because of the heavy rains of the morning, there were several people who were not able to make it to church, however sixty people still came to hear Bro. Apusen preach.

 

Following the service, we were treated to a wonderful lunch. It is so humbling to see the heart of gratitude that these people have to our Pastor and our ministry because of our financial support of their pastor and their church. They have so little in the way of material goods, yet they sacrifice so much to show us how thankful they are for supporting them.

 

 

Missionary Clark Graham took us to the Jesus Cares Baptist Church. When we arrived, the rains were falling heavily, and we had a little bit of a walk to make in order to get to the church. By the time we arrived, our Sunday shoes looked more like hiking boots, completely covered in mud. It was worth the minor inconvenience to see this young church and their people and to hear them sing, pray, and praise God for His blessings.

 

Bro. Tim Trieber preached the morning service to about seventy people. They listened intently and responded well. This group enjoyed a meal prepared by the people following the service as well.

 

By 4:00 p.m., all three of our groups had arrived safely back from their travels. We cleaned up and headed to the Iloilo Baptist Church for the evening service.

 

In the service, Bro. Tim Trieber led two of the congregational songs, Bro. Moyer led in the welcome song, and Bro. Thompson preached the evening message to the people. After the service, the Martins (father and son) opened their homes to our group for a time of food and fellowship.

 

We will be rising bright and early tomorrow to travel to several public schools to preach on our last day in Iloilo.