Monday morning here and I thought I would write an
update and share some about the regions we are doing missions in now – Deb and
I are super excited by all we are seeing the Lord doing 😊.
Man-ai
Yesterday
(Sunday) we headed up to Man-ai. You may remember that our mission team there consisting
of 2 families – Nonon and Jiejie Capitan and Jerrum
and Abigail Obsioma moved into Man-ai in August 2018. Funny as I was thinking
back and remember how Abigail slept between Debbie and I for quite some time
back when she was just a baby and we were treating her for TB. Today she is a
young woman, married with one little girl and a missionary in this budding
region of Man-ai.
Any
time you move into a new region and invest with finances and effort in
buildings and then send out young families, you can’t help but have some trepidation
in your heart wondering what God is going to do in there, whether the team will
make it or if the endeavor will fail etc.
Well
we set off yesterday morning with 24 pieces of fried chicken, 2 whole roast
chickens, 12 apples and a bunch of mangos to gift to the Man-ai team and help
with lunch. On arrival we saw that they had prepared a pot of frogs (which were
delicious – no wonder the French love them 😊) – a big pot of vegies and
pots of steaming rice. We feasted together on this great meal and then feasted
with them spiritually into the late afternoon as we encouraged them and spurred
them on with many things that God has taught Deb and I over our missionary
lives. This is so beautiful for Deb and me as we get older that we can have a
part in the oversight of all these young mission teams that God has budded out
of our lives and work – how privileged we feel.
Bottom
line is that we had a hugely good time and we are so encouraged – 14 months of
work and they are now teaching around 80 people each week in 3 different
villages – and most of these 80 are now saved. Deb and I can do nothing more
than say – “Thank you Lord!!! You do the work according to your desire, and we
give you thanks that we can come along and watch and have a part too.”
Keep praying for
the work in Man-ai – Our enemy is very busy and does not rest. But our Lord is
greater.
Baungon and Libona
These
are 2 new regions which are vast that we have been working in for about 3
months now. These people came looking for us and wanted us to come and teach
them. They had heard that we knew how a person can be saved and have a
relationship with God and they wanted to know too.
My association
with Baungon began way back in 1989. Debbie was suffering pretty bad from Endometriosis
and had surgery for one thing or another 11 times during our first 16 years on
the field. By the way, we learnt that you can still serve the Lord on the
mission field even with a condition like this. Back in those days our mission
leadership were discussing whether we should be sent home or not due to sickness
– Deb and my thought was that we could be sick just as good here in the Philippines as we
could in Australia – anyway, God enabled and we stayed and God used us in spite
of sickness. Deb has now been healed from her endometriosis for many years.
Anyway,
after Deb’s first surgery in Manila back in 1989 which was a total failure but
cost us a fortune, we sold our motorbike and some other assets to pay for our
medical expenses as we had very little support and a large debt for the
operation. We also had a chainsaw that had been basically ‘stolen’ from us and
taken to the region of Baungon. So, I borrowed a motorbike from my friend
Trevor and went in search of it as I needed to sell it so we could pay our
medical bills.
We
had lost the oil cap for the chainsaw and were using an old corn cob to seal
the hole, so the chainsaw was pretty easy to identify. As I got close, the road
conditions were extreme, and I lost control of the bike and began careering
down a hill into the bush and when I finally came to a stop the chainsaw was right
there in front of the bike. I took hold of my chainsaw and a guy came out of a
house and grabbed the other end. A struggle ensued and I ended up with a chainsaw
but surrounded by a bunch of guys who were not too friendly. The chief came
along within minutes and the end of the story is that they did not harm me, and
I also got the chainsaw back after the problem was sorted out. Well this is the
area of Baungon that we are now teaching in some 30 years later.
My
beautiful son in law along with a team from the Cauyunan region are teaching
several different groups there for several days each week and they are still in
the evangelistic stage of teaching. Deb and I have not gone up there yet since
the team started teaching but the people up there speak of us and one day soon they
will understand fully the truth of what Jesus said when he said – “I am the way,
and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except though me”.
Balintad Region
Headed
up by Flor and Mario Talo. There are around 50+ believers in this area now.
Flor and Mario have not been there a year yet but are working faithfully and
God is blessing their efforts. Amazing that Flor’s father held a M16 machine
gun to my chest some 30+ years ago as we prepared to move into Cauyunan. That
was back when Deb and I were still basically kids. We felt we were bullet proof
back then with some silliness in the whole mix – but God had a plan.
We
are in the process of computerizing this region – getting them a computer and
printer as we have done in several of the regions now. The more we can use
technology the better.
Ricodo Region
This
region is going great also. We were at their regional conference a few weeks
back and Deb and I slept the night there and it was a balm to our hearts to
soak in the fellowship and see what God has and is doing. There are many men
and women in this region who are teaching many people throughout their region.
Such an army that God is raising up.
While
there at the conference, a plastic chair collapsed under me and a piece of
plastic stabbed me in the rear end. Ouch!!! It was pretty bad for a while, but I
have basically recovered now.
We had a
beautiful baptism there on the last day of the conference and then travelled
back home the long way as it had been raining and there were several landslides
on the quicker route home.
This
is the region that Deb and I cut our teeth on and we continue to be greatly amazed
at how God is using our brothers and sisters there. Everything happening today has
grown out of this one small, initial church. God has hugely multiplied them and
continues His might work there to this day.
Lapoc Region
There
are many churches in this region and one of their great works is their outreach
into the primary schools where they teach many 1000’s of kids each week.
Please
continue to pray for all these regions as the Lord brings them to your minds; the
work is hard with many stresses and dangers. We need help with these through
your prayers and also we need tons of wisdom from above. We know God answers prayer.
Paul and Deb
We
continue to fit in where God allows us to. The New Testament should be off the
printing press real soon as typesetting and 2-3 layers of proof reading have
taken time but are done now.
Deb
and I are also currently working on revising the translation of our Old
Testament portions as it was some of the first translation that we did – many,
many years ago – and God has grown us so much in translation ability since then
so we want to revise all of this translation.
Also,
we are continuing to revise all of our evangelistic materials and are currently
on the 5th lesson. This project is going to take a year or so but
when we finish Lord willing, we should have this material up on the web in 3
different languages in different formats for people to access. We feel that the
technology of the day will help us reach so, so many more people than before, so
we want to keep ahead of the wave and make all of this accessible.
It
has been a super time for us since we have been back and later in December we
will go home for Christmas and then be back in mid-January for another round.
The good thing is that we can work on materials and translation from anywhere
in the world which frees us to spend some time with our families each year, although
most of our time will be invested in the ministry over here.
Health wise –
Deb is almost fully recovered from her shoulder surgery. My leg is a bit dodgy
but gets me where I need to go, and we are happy and encouraged. 😊
This is a looong update as I got to reminiscing a lot while
I was writing; so much to be thankful for and recognize our Lord’s hand in!
