During the
past few weeks it feels like God has been taking us on a whirl-wind journey,
showing us more amazing things that He is doing than our hearts can hardly take
in.
No
pictures or words can describe it, but we will try to give you a quick sketch.
This is a
new group in the village of Malandog who our missionary team in the Ricodo just
started teaching.
This very
day, another group in Ligiron, an outreach from Cauyunan have heard about
Jesus’ death for them and His resurrection, and more of our Lord’s lambs have
been brought into the fold!
Two days
ago we made a quick trip to Manila and meet the whole team in person at the
Philippine Bible Society who have had a part in the type-setting and editing
and designing of the Talaandig New Testament.
They told
us the long-awaited news that the New Testaments are ready to ship to us on
Monday!!
We made
it back home around 10 pm last night, very thankful to make it out on Manila
before all transport in and out of Manila closes. Please pray with us that the
shipping of the New Testaments will still be able to go ahead next week despite
the quarantines and lockdowns to prevent the spread of covid-19.
In these uncertain
days with people not knowing what they will face next — amidst closures of schools and workplaces, travel restrictions,
face masks, panic — God has chosen this time to bring His unchanging Word
translated into Talaandig and available for the first time in printed form to
His people here!
There are
2,300 believers from our churches who have put their names down to come to the
launching of the Talaandig New Testament celebration to receive a bible and to
give thanks to God for His beautiful gift! And there are over 500 who can’t
travel but are waiting at home for their copy! (We can barely believe how many believers
there are now in our churches.) Now, we may have to delay the group celebration
or we may have to have several smaller celebrations but we won’t delay the
distributing of these very special, life-giving Bibles to these waiting
believers!
Another
very exciting event during the past few weeks were the seminars we have held
for the new evangelism material we are writing! Above are the pastors,
missionaries and others who are keen to evangelize, who attended the first
English Seminar.
After the
English Seminar, we held the same seminar in Lapoc only in Talaandig for about
60 Talaandig and Higaonon missionaries, pastors and evangelists. Paul told the
team during the seminar in Lapoc that he felt like one of the most blessed
missionaries to have them as his spiritual children and his co-workers in the
Gospel!! They are an amazing team!
In
summary, during the last few weeks we have seen the Lord bring salvation to
about 50 – 70 new believers, the New Testament that we’ve been working on for 20+
years is ready to ship and almost 3,000 people are waiting for their copy,
there were about 95 workers of the Gospel who studied the new evangelism
materials in the seminars, and ALL of this is God’s doing and amazes us!!
