Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. ~ Hebrews 12:3
21 states, 7 speaking invitations, multiple prayer fellowships, 5488 miles, priceless friendships, and countless blessings. This has been our work for the past 6 weeks! We hit the road on February 20th to go to Carlsbad, then stopped back at our house for a few days before heading out again on March 4th. Since then we have been driving, stopping, driving, stopping, etc.
We had 3 purposes for making this trip. Our 1st purpose was to share about what God is doing in the Philippines and how we have been a part of that for the past 8 years. Our 2nd purpose was to share about the role we believe He has for us as we prepare to return. Our 3rd purpose was to raise awareness of the need for financial support of this ministry in order for us to continue to serve Him in the Philippines.
Now that we are finished and back home, I will highlight some of the more adventurous moments of the trip. The car we were using was generously loaned to us by a friend in Temple, who also paid for replacing the radiator before we left. Our trip to Carlsbad was without incident, as we enjoyed driving across the desert in West Texas and spending time with friends we had not seen in over 8 years. The churches there sent us off with much prayer and fellowship, so that we left encouraged and ready.
After 5 days back at home to prepare for the big leg, we left March 4th. A big storm came through Dallas as we were driving North, and then we hit snow and ice in Missouri. Our last hour and a half in Missouri was going slow on small country roads to reach the New Tribes Mission Training Center just outside of Camdenton. I was able to encourage the missionaries in training there with a message about walking closely with Christ. After speaking there, we headed out to Lynchburg to spend a few days with Isaac and Bethany. This was a wonderful time – being able to see our kids where they live and are going to school. We had some chances to hike, and we stayed in a very nice bed & breakfast in Lynchburg run by a wonderful Christian lady (called House of Lydia – highly recommended)!
One highlight of our time with our kids was going to see the home of Thomas Jefferson – Monticello. He was an amazing man – one of the many visionary people that founded our country. He is a bit of a historical enigma – not exactly Christian as we would define it today, but probably within the realm of Christendom during his time. Neither was he wholly Deist, as history's revisionists would like us to believe. In any case, we should never forget our heritage, as it is one of the blessings God has bestowed on our country which has been of great benefit to so many today, and is one of the reasons we have the freedom to worship as we do without persecution.
The evening before we were supposed to leave Lynchburg, I noticed that coolant was pouring out from underneath our car. Oh my, we had already replaced the radiator – what could be wrong now? It turned out there was a cracked t-joint in the coolant lines, but the auto parts stores nearest Isaac and Bethany's house didn't have a replacement. I had to drive to the dealer across town, and halfway there all the engine coolant was gone and the engine started to overheat. I had 2 gallons of cold drinking water in the back, and I poured those into the radiator (not knowing at the time you aren't supposed to do that). This enabled me to arrive at the dealer before they closed and purchase the spare part I needed from them. It took about 2 hours to install by hand, but I managed to get it done by the Lord's grace, and we were able to take off on time the next morning.
From there we drove North, stopping in Maryland to spend the night with Ginny's uncle and aunt. What a great time of fellowship - we had not seen them in nearly 15 years! He also is an automotive engineer, and he advised me to have the radiator flushed again, since I had only filled it with water and we were heading further North where the temperature was still below freezing.
It was at that location that I realized something that I believe is important for us all to remember – an encouraging moment in the midst of dark times. In our country we often feel that our faith is under assault from many directions. Islamic terrorists murder and enslave Christians without remorse overseas, hoping to provoke a religious war. The world does not love Christians, and it never will. At home in our own country, we are often are labeled hate mongers because, while believing in a God who loves and forgives sinners, we cannot call something good which God says is wrong. So we stand up for the Biblical definition of marriage in a world that wants to cast down all restraints on public morality, and we are labeled with the most vicious of terms for this. Can we resist the force of public opinion that continues to marginalize us for what we believe? The world continually tries to remake God in man's image, and today they are pressuring us to agree with them.
Yet there in Maryland as I meditated on these things, I was surprised by the polite and humble way in which the mechanics at the auto shop worked on our car, turned it back over to me, said “God bless you on your trip,” and sent us off. That simple event reminded me that God still has His people here, all through our nation, well integrated into our whole society, and He has not forgotten. He works all things after the counsel of His own will, and though we may not understand why some things happen, we can trust Him. He will work it all out in the end. We can go through each day without fear, knowing that we are loved by our heavenly Father, and have been promised an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and does not fade away (1 Peter 1:4). We can also pray that those around us who do not know Him will soon come to faith.
So we pressed on, stopping in upstate New York near Albany, and spending time with an old friend from high school there. Our fellowship was warm, and the air was cold with snow still on the ground. After sharing with the church there, we also went to Boston to see supporters and friends, where it was still cold and more snow, but we had a wonderfully encouraging time with them. We then went back to New York, saw some precious cousins along the way, and got to spend a day in the Big Apple, and spent more time with old friends. When we left there, I noticed the radiator had leaked some more, so this time I bought some radiator stop leak additive and poured it in. Since then, it seems to have been ok!
The cold finally got to us when we stopped again in Maryland. We had hoped to take a day to go into Washington DC, visit the Smithsonian and some memorials, but it couldn't happen. A cough and a fever took hold of Ginny and Abby, and so we rested at the house of some other friends and tried to recover. It was what we needed. Before we left, we were able to share the ministry at our friends Bible study meeting. After that, we drove to Virginia Beach, stopped at the historic battleship, the USS Wisconsin, and then rested again for a few days.
Our last event before leaving to take the drive home was to preach at a church in Virginia Beach on Palm Sunday. What a blessing, to be able to share from the Word of God, and also to be able to share about our ministry, bringing the Gospel to the unreached people of the Philippines, and especially to the Palawanos. Now that we are back in Texas, we shall be earnestly preparing for our return to the Philippines. We still have many places to visit and many people to see before we go back, but the time has now begun for us to ready ourselves once again!
This is Holy Week. A year ago at this time I took our daughter to see the crucifixion re-enactments in Pampanga. It is hard to believe the year has gone by so fast! We have so little time on Earth before we will have to stand before God and give an account for everything we have done here. Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, a symbol of peace to the world that He was coming to forgive and redeem His people, not to conquer. The Prince of Peace was executed as a criminal with great shame. Yet he rose again from the dead, showing that God had accepted His sacrifice, and forgiven our sins against Him. Our faith started with commands of peace, commands to love our enemies, and a call to believe. So we press on with this call in front of us.
The scripture clearly indicates that Jesus' kingdom will not go away, while all the other inventions of man will eventually burn. Let us not lose faith in our Prince of Peace. As it says in the book of Hebrews, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
PS – I might mention that our co-worker Elise just wrote about the recent Palawano graduates of the high school where she has taught for the past few years. Many were able to stand up and give a testimony of their faith in Jesus Christ to unbelieving family and friends who were there at the graduation. It was a real blessing to see what God has done and is continuing to do among the Palawanos!
21 states, 7 speaking invitations, multiple prayer fellowships, 5488 miles, priceless friendships, and countless blessings. This has been our work for the past 6 weeks! We hit the road on February 20th to go to Carlsbad, then stopped back at our house for a few days before heading out again on March 4th. Since then we have been driving, stopping, driving, stopping, etc.
We had 3 purposes for making this trip. Our 1st purpose was to share about what God is doing in the Philippines and how we have been a part of that for the past 8 years. Our 2nd purpose was to share about the role we believe He has for us as we prepare to return. Our 3rd purpose was to raise awareness of the need for financial support of this ministry in order for us to continue to serve Him in the Philippines.
Now that we are finished and back home, I will highlight some of the more adventurous moments of the trip. The car we were using was generously loaned to us by a friend in Temple, who also paid for replacing the radiator before we left. Our trip to Carlsbad was without incident, as we enjoyed driving across the desert in West Texas and spending time with friends we had not seen in over 8 years. The churches there sent us off with much prayer and fellowship, so that we left encouraged and ready.
After 5 days back at home to prepare for the big leg, we left March 4th. A big storm came through Dallas as we were driving North, and then we hit snow and ice in Missouri. Our last hour and a half in Missouri was going slow on small country roads to reach the New Tribes Mission Training Center just outside of Camdenton. I was able to encourage the missionaries in training there with a message about walking closely with Christ. After speaking there, we headed out to Lynchburg to spend a few days with Isaac and Bethany. This was a wonderful time – being able to see our kids where they live and are going to school. We had some chances to hike, and we stayed in a very nice bed & breakfast in Lynchburg run by a wonderful Christian lady (called House of Lydia – highly recommended)!
One highlight of our time with our kids was going to see the home of Thomas Jefferson – Monticello. He was an amazing man – one of the many visionary people that founded our country. He is a bit of a historical enigma – not exactly Christian as we would define it today, but probably within the realm of Christendom during his time. Neither was he wholly Deist, as history's revisionists would like us to believe. In any case, we should never forget our heritage, as it is one of the blessings God has bestowed on our country which has been of great benefit to so many today, and is one of the reasons we have the freedom to worship as we do without persecution.
The evening before we were supposed to leave Lynchburg, I noticed that coolant was pouring out from underneath our car. Oh my, we had already replaced the radiator – what could be wrong now? It turned out there was a cracked t-joint in the coolant lines, but the auto parts stores nearest Isaac and Bethany's house didn't have a replacement. I had to drive to the dealer across town, and halfway there all the engine coolant was gone and the engine started to overheat. I had 2 gallons of cold drinking water in the back, and I poured those into the radiator (not knowing at the time you aren't supposed to do that). This enabled me to arrive at the dealer before they closed and purchase the spare part I needed from them. It took about 2 hours to install by hand, but I managed to get it done by the Lord's grace, and we were able to take off on time the next morning.
From there we drove North, stopping in Maryland to spend the night with Ginny's uncle and aunt. What a great time of fellowship - we had not seen them in nearly 15 years! He also is an automotive engineer, and he advised me to have the radiator flushed again, since I had only filled it with water and we were heading further North where the temperature was still below freezing.
It was at that location that I realized something that I believe is important for us all to remember – an encouraging moment in the midst of dark times. In our country we often feel that our faith is under assault from many directions. Islamic terrorists murder and enslave Christians without remorse overseas, hoping to provoke a religious war. The world does not love Christians, and it never will. At home in our own country, we are often are labeled hate mongers because, while believing in a God who loves and forgives sinners, we cannot call something good which God says is wrong. So we stand up for the Biblical definition of marriage in a world that wants to cast down all restraints on public morality, and we are labeled with the most vicious of terms for this. Can we resist the force of public opinion that continues to marginalize us for what we believe? The world continually tries to remake God in man's image, and today they are pressuring us to agree with them.
Yet there in Maryland as I meditated on these things, I was surprised by the polite and humble way in which the mechanics at the auto shop worked on our car, turned it back over to me, said “God bless you on your trip,” and sent us off. That simple event reminded me that God still has His people here, all through our nation, well integrated into our whole society, and He has not forgotten. He works all things after the counsel of His own will, and though we may not understand why some things happen, we can trust Him. He will work it all out in the end. We can go through each day without fear, knowing that we are loved by our heavenly Father, and have been promised an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and does not fade away (1 Peter 1:4). We can also pray that those around us who do not know Him will soon come to faith.
So we pressed on, stopping in upstate New York near Albany, and spending time with an old friend from high school there. Our fellowship was warm, and the air was cold with snow still on the ground. After sharing with the church there, we also went to Boston to see supporters and friends, where it was still cold and more snow, but we had a wonderfully encouraging time with them. We then went back to New York, saw some precious cousins along the way, and got to spend a day in the Big Apple, and spent more time with old friends. When we left there, I noticed the radiator had leaked some more, so this time I bought some radiator stop leak additive and poured it in. Since then, it seems to have been ok!
The cold finally got to us when we stopped again in Maryland. We had hoped to take a day to go into Washington DC, visit the Smithsonian and some memorials, but it couldn't happen. A cough and a fever took hold of Ginny and Abby, and so we rested at the house of some other friends and tried to recover. It was what we needed. Before we left, we were able to share the ministry at our friends Bible study meeting. After that, we drove to Virginia Beach, stopped at the historic battleship, the USS Wisconsin, and then rested again for a few days.
Our last event before leaving to take the drive home was to preach at a church in Virginia Beach on Palm Sunday. What a blessing, to be able to share from the Word of God, and also to be able to share about our ministry, bringing the Gospel to the unreached people of the Philippines, and especially to the Palawanos. Now that we are back in Texas, we shall be earnestly preparing for our return to the Philippines. We still have many places to visit and many people to see before we go back, but the time has now begun for us to ready ourselves once again!
This is Holy Week. A year ago at this time I took our daughter to see the crucifixion re-enactments in Pampanga. It is hard to believe the year has gone by so fast! We have so little time on Earth before we will have to stand before God and give an account for everything we have done here. Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, a symbol of peace to the world that He was coming to forgive and redeem His people, not to conquer. The Prince of Peace was executed as a criminal with great shame. Yet he rose again from the dead, showing that God had accepted His sacrifice, and forgiven our sins against Him. Our faith started with commands of peace, commands to love our enemies, and a call to believe. So we press on with this call in front of us.
The scripture clearly indicates that Jesus' kingdom will not go away, while all the other inventions of man will eventually burn. Let us not lose faith in our Prince of Peace. As it says in the book of Hebrews, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
PS – I might mention that our co-worker Elise just wrote about the recent Palawano graduates of the high school where she has taught for the past few years. Many were able to stand up and give a testimony of their faith in Jesus Christ to unbelieving family and friends who were there at the graduation. It was a real blessing to see what God has done and is continuing to do among the Palawanos!
Pictures - these are not necessarily in chronological order, but it is a good sampling of some of the things we saw and did on the trip. The Lord allowed us to re-connect with many folks and share about the ministry He has called us to along the way. We are very thankful!
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