Monday
Today was a day of effective ministry and exceptional scenery. Wake up calls came early as our delegation divided into two groups and left the hotel at 5:00 a.m. One group headed to the beautiful, clear water and sandy beaches of the Concepcion Islands. The other group journeyed through the tropical flora and fauna of the mountains in the city of Antique.
Group One (Tom Apusen, Rene Baltazar, Barbara Kiel, Medy Kochu, Mike Moyer, Jennifer Strouf, Mike Strouf, and Tim Trieber):
We drove for about two and a half hours to a boat ramp and open-air fish market. There, we rented our boat that would take us to visit one public school and five churches on four different islands.
Our first stop was at the Fundamental Baptist Church, pastored by Jenny Bayes in Igbon. Here, we enjoyed a meal prepared by the members of the church.
Then, we loaded up on the boat and traveled to another island. A long climb up a steep mountain brought us to the Aro Fundamental Baptist Church. The view from the top of this mountain can only be described as breathtaking. Each of us enjoyed a freshly picked coconut before heading back down the mountain. It was a pleasure to meet Pastor Jiji Garton and some of his precious members.
Today was the first day of no rain since we arrived at the Philippines, and it made our visit to each island that much more enjoyable. At our next stop, Bro. Tim Trieber had the opportunity to preach at a public school to more than 150 teenagers. After hearing the plan of salvation, the vast majority of the young people prayed to trust Jesus Christ as Savior.
On this island, we were also able to visit Pastor Balajandra and the Fundamental Baptist Church, where we ate another meal that had been prepared for us.
We visited one more island and were able to see one more church that our missions program has financially supported.
We made the long journey home, arriving back at the hotel around 7:00 p.m.
Group 2 (TJ Apusen, Mark Neal, Ken Reid, Lito Reyes, Michael Strouf, and Ryan Thompson):
We drove about two and a half hours to the mountain town of Antique. We arrived at a public high school at 8:00 a.m. The principal greeted us and gathered all of the enrolled students (more than 1,000). Coming from America, it was hard for us to fathom a public high school cancelling their first hour class in order to hear the Bible preached. Every school child that we have seen has been dressed neatly, and every young lady in every public school wears a modest skirt and blouse. As we arrived on the campus of this school, we were surprised to see a huge mural of the Ten Commandments on one of the exterior walls.
The principal introduced our group and allowed us to run a service. Some young ladies from Iloilo played an instrumental special and sang before Pastor Mark Neal came to preach to the young people. Every teenager stood during the entire service and listened very attentively. As we passed out tracts, they would immediately read the material and after Pastor Neal preached, hundreds raised their hands indicating they had accepted Jesus Christ as Savior.
From there, we headed to another public high school in Antique. Here, classes were once again suspended and every teacher and student (more than 700) assembled for a service. Following several special numbers, Bro. Thompson preached a salvation message for about fifteen minutes. Once again, hundreds of hands were raised for salvation.
The respect, appearance, and attentiveness of each student was astounding, given the fact that we were coming somewhat unexpectedly to a public high school campus to preach the Gospel of Christ.
A conservative estimate of those that trusted Christ in the three school services today is definitely in the hundreds, and most likely above one thousand. What a glorious opportunity for each of us to be a part of this effort. There is such a hunger and receptiveness for the Truth of the Bible.
Following our second service, we went to Pastor Alex’s church for a delicious meal. Then, we stopped Pastor Solomon’s church. This is another church that we have supported and given the money for the building.
Once both groups arrived back to the hotel, seven of the men in our group headed over to Iloilo Baptist Church to play basketball with some of their students and staff. We played the first game to 100 points versus some of their staff men. Needless to say, the heat and humidity provided a home-court advantage, as each of us were drenched in sweat, huffing and puffing up and down the court. Somehow, we were able to keep the game close and ended up pulling out a win in the first one. Then, due to our lack of conditioning, five of their college students, all who were barefoot, beat us by two in a game to 40 points.
We had a wonderful final day here in Iloilo. Praise God for His goodness in allowing us to visit this land, His guidance and safety in travel, and His great blessing on our ministry efforts.
We will be traveling back to Manila tomorrow morning and heading back to California tomorrow night.
Monday, September 24
Monday, September 24, 2007
