It was February, 2000…….the three
of us were in a torrential rain on the motorbike. The poncho Paul was wearing
was just long enough to drape over Jubab’s and my head, keeping the worst of
the rain off us as we continued on. Our immediate concern was to reach the
river before it flooded and cut us off from Lapoc. Jubab was strapped onto my front in a baby
sling and I held onto him for dear life as the motorbike bounced and zigzagged
over the rugged roads. It seemed like a pretty foolish undertaking for two
parents to be making, but for the Gospel’s sake, we were willing to make this
trip, and the motorbike was the only way into the remote village of Lapoc.
My heart skipped a beat when I
first laid eyes on the “Kinamanglan” incline. We were within reach now of Lapoc
but the pouring rain had turned this precarious part of the road into a small waterfall
and rocks were being washed down the hill towards us. This was one of the many
times over the years that I would hop off the bike and walk through parts of
the road that almost seemed impassable.
Strangers arriving in Lapoc
always cause excitement, but this day was extra exciting as it was the eve of
the wedding of the village leader’s daughter.
We were ushered into their home which was filled to overflowing with
wedding guests and almost surreally, as nightfall came, I fed Jubab and changed
him while my ears overflowed with the sounds of many voices, pigs squealing,
firewood being chopped, an obnoxious drunk man being put in his place, children
being called by their mothers……..We sat and observed and wondered what changes
the Gospel - which we soon planned to preach to the strangers milling about us
– would bring.
After a while, a more ominous,
angry sound could be heard above the wedding feast preparations and pigs
squealing. From what we could gather, some cows had been discovered missing and
an angry group of fierce men were gathering and talking loudly about going after
the thieves with guns which they soon did. Late in the evening, with Jubab
heavy in my arms as he slept and my back aching from the punishing trip we’d
had that day and the lack of a warm bath and a soft bed……we were served an
evening meal of rice and some pork soup. And I met Ann-Ann.
Ann-Ann was the bride to be who
was also about to become our goddaughter. It is custom in Lapoc to ask someone
to be your child’s godparent at their wedding and we had been asked. This was a
real honour for us being so new there and basically still unknown to them. At
that time, we had been given permission by the village leader and his council
to move into Lapoc but we still had to talk to them about where we could build
our missionary teams’ houses and we were hoping to start getting building
materials on site soon.
The wedding day started at the
crack of dawn with some bloodied thieves being publicly shamed and jeered at as
they were paraded into the village. A huge crowd soon gathered and a chill went
right to my bones as we heard people saying that they should just be killed
right then and there. The three thieves looked absolutely terrified and
remained in terrible discomfort, thirst and fear through the whole morning
while the village leader proceeded with his daughter’s wedding and put off the
final decision of what to do with them. We weren’t there when they eventually
got back to the village ‘trial’ of the thieves but I like to hope that they
weren’t killed.
Ann-Ann and Nening were married
and as their godparents, we became part of their family. It took Paul and a
team of men with him, from Feb – Nov, 2000, to build our team’s five houses and
the Clinic. The rugged trip it took for us to get in and out on the motorbike
was the same way that most of the building materials had to be brought in. It
was a miracle how God provided and enabled so much building and work to get
done so quickly.
By Nov. 27th, when our
team moved in, Ann-Ann was 8 ½ months pregnant and only eight days later; she
gave birth to her first baby, a son who she called Rere. We look on Rere like a
grandson and we’ve watched him become big brother to Cyril and have seen him
grow from baby to teenager with his little brother right on his heels.
Recently we got a letter from our
goddaughter Ann-Ann, now a leader of the Women’s ministry team and a faithful
servant of Jesus as is Nening, her husband. This is what her letter said: “I
have really good and special news….yesterday, the church leaders talked to the
young people individually to ask them if they are saved and to find out what
they understand. They talked to Lalay, Bretny, Poks, Jun-Jun, Chie, Rere, Cyril
and others. I was so happy and so thankful to the Lord for them. They said that
all of the kids they talked to understood clearly about salvation and also
about baptism and they are going to be baptized the next time we have a
baptism. You know what I did as soon as the church leaders had finished talking
to the young people? I went straight over to ask the leaders what my kids had
said and they told me that they said they were saved through the Lord Jesus and
both of them had been able to clearly explain why they were saved. This is the
thing that makes me happier than anything else possibly could because there is
nothing more important to me for my kids then their relationship with Jesus!”
This is the photo that Ann-Ann
sent us of Rere sharing his testimony with Rodil, one of the elders at the
Lapoc church. Duyduy and Ronnie were listening as well.
Our lives are so intertwined with
Rere and his whole family. They mean the world to us and we praise God for the
Gospel which is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. We
remember the eve of his parent’s wedding, when we sat and observed people who
were strangers to us and wondered what changes the Gospel would bring to
them….well this is one of the changed lives and the story keeps unfolding…..
Please pray for us as we go back
to the Philippines on June 6th for a visit to Lapoc, Cauyunan and
Tumpagon. Pray for Rere’s love for Jesus to grow and grow……and pray for Rodil,
Ronnie, Duyduy, Gabril, Max, Dodong, To-to, Marlon, Rodney, Jomar, Jerome,
Ruel, Udi, Sani, Toto and the many other church leaders, that they will not
grow weary, that they will encourage one another, that they will endure to the
end, that they will resist the wiles of the enemy and stand strong against sin,
that they will study the Word diligently, that they will increase in wisdom and
humility and that they will be kind and gentle and patient shepherds of the
flocks that God has entrusted to them.
Here is another picture we
recently received from Lapoc of some of those very ones we named above. They
might look like they’re going out on a joy-ride here but it is no joy-ride.
They ride through dangers and trouble and rain and rugged roads…..and they do
this every, single week. They are not
ashamed of the Gospel and they are seeing the Gospel’s power at work!! Romans 1:16
