Translation Update

Last month as you know, Aling died and this was a major event in Lapoc. Her body was kept in their home for 4 days as lots and lots of relatives and many of the believers from many of the churches all came to help. There were over 500 people at the funeral and more than 100 who spent the whole 4 days in Lapoc up until the burial. So all the believers homes were full and hospitality was running at full steam. It was a beautiful time. During the evenings they had what they call a "vigil" --- this is where all the friends and relatives gather and talk about their relationships etc. with Aling and anything about Aling that they wanted to share. Many unbelievers also attend these vigils which go all night and Bible teachers preach the gospel each night to share the way of salvation with their friends and relatives who have not yet come to understand about salvation. There were people saved during these sharing times. God was honoured through the life and death of Aling. Ronnie is standing beautifully and many of the believers have mentioned to us that they have been greatly "refreshed" by Ronnie's testimony.

During the week of Aling's death, our translation partners in Lapoc were not able to help us on the translation. It was God's plan.  So we did not reach our goal for May - reminds us of the verse that says - "The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps." (Proverbs 16:9) We just came short by 1 chapter though so we completed up to and including 1 Corinthians 3. It has been a long haul and it has been a challenge for us daily but God has given us grace.

For the month of June we are praying to be able to complete up to and including 1 Corinthians chapter 8 or possibly even chapter 9. Please pray with us that God will give us all we need to complete this goal.

 

Another prayer point - About 3 km's from Lapoc the Philippine army are currently battling a rebel group (New People's Army). There is much gunfire taking place and a very large battle. This battle began last Saturday and probably many will be killed. One of our churches - "Anlagan" is right there at the battle zone and the believers who number about 50 in that area have all been evacuated. It is quite a critical. Please pray that God will keep the believers safe and provide for their needs and that they will be able to return to their homes and farms before too long.

Last News About Aling Until We See Her Again

Aling’s body was laid to rest last Thursday after four days spent celebrating her life. Ronnie thanks everyone for their prayers which have been sustaining him and his family as they go through their new way of every-day life, carrying the aching pain with them of a loved one who can no longer be heard or touched or seen. They know she is with our Lord Jesus but the pain of separation will affect the rest of their lives until they meet again.

The support base that helped Ronnie and his family through this time has been huge. His four brothers came and were constantly by his side. Fellow church-leaders and brothers and sisters from many of the churches came to show their support and to share in the grief of Ronnie and his family: from San Aquino, from Anlagan, from Tinaytayan, even 30 fellow-believers including church leaders from the far-away churches of Cauyunan and Tumpagon.

In Lapoc, the coffin is kept in the family home until the burial, and every night many neighbours, family and friends come and spend long into the early morning hours with the bereaved family. Even more so with the believers in Jesus – they gathered together for four nights in a row, preaching the Gospel to the unsaved who were there amongst them, singing songs of praise and remembering Aling’s life.  Ronnie held his grandson Adrian, and joined his brothers and sisters in the Lord as they sang and he shared a beautiful testimony about his wife. He said that all through her sickness, he never once heard her complain and neither did her children. She didn’t ask ‘why me’ or fight against all the sickness and pain, but patiently accepted all that God had allowed in her life. She loved getting visitors and even in the midst of her worst pain she would greet them with a smile and ask them how their lives were doing. She talked to Ronnie about there being lots of people that still don’t know the Lord that he needs to take the Gospel to. In all the suffering, she kept her joy in the Lord.   

Last Thursday there were 500 people at her funeral. Rodil (our co-worker) preached and many unbelievers heard a strong and beautiful Gospel message that day as they prepared to take Aling (only her earthly body) on her final journey to the grave. Rhonnie Jhon, Aling’s eldest son who is newly married, gave a testimony which included this triumphant statement:  “This isn’t a day of tragedy but it is a day of victory for my Mum.”  The Gospel was the center of hope during the service that was held before they laid Aling’s body in the grave.  The frequent comment among the Lord’s people in Lapoc after the funeral was, “Maybe someone trusted Jesus today.”

Sorrows and trials come to all men but,  “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12 

2015 Tumpagon Leg

Our Sister Aling

 

Last night our beautiful sister Aling went to be with our Lord Jesus at 11:00 pm on Mother’s Day.

It is 11 months almost exactly to the day since Aling was in hospital and they got the news that her cancer was untreatable. These last 11 months are full of precious memories for Ronnie and her family and they passed as comfortably as could have been possible, a beautiful brother in the Lord who is a great Doctor, supplied medicine for her palliative care that kept her pain to a minimum. We saw her just 3 weeks and 2 days ago and she was still able to laugh, to eat, to cuddle her grandsons, to sit up, to change her own clothes, to talk to us……..God has been so wonderful to her and to us.

Before we left Lapoc three weeks ago, Ronnie asked us to please thank you for praying for him and for Aling. He testified that your prayers strengthened them greatly.

We praise Our Lord Jesus that He died for us and that He does everything for His glory. He is our blessed hope and our anchor.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (ESV)

The Coming of the Lord

¹³ But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁵ For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Amen!!!

 

2015 Pastor's Conference On Book Of 1 Timothy

A wedding and a goodbye

This is our third day back from our Philippines trip and we haven’t come down from the mountain of joys, joys, joys!

One of the joys was on our very last day; Paul officiated at the wedding of Ronnie and Aling’s son Rhonnie Jhon as he married Christian, his beautiful, young bride. We’ve watched both of these kids grow up in the church at Lapoc and it was wonderful to be a part of their special day – one of the many blessings God gave us during our time there. God answered prayer and Aling was able to see her son married to his beautiful girl, although she was too weak to go to the actual wedding. Immediately after the wedding ceremony we went to their house to say goodbye as we had to leave for town to catch our flight back to Australia and this was one of the most painful moments of our whole visit.

Aling has been confined to her bed since last month and is failing a little bit more every day. Ronnie told us that he doesn’t think she can last much longer. In the last two weeks, Aling’s mind has started to drift a bit, she has high fevers that come and go. Painful lumps keep forming in her body which eventually break her skin and drain. The only relief from the agonizing and continual pain is the morphine which the Lord provides through a dear Doctor friend in Cagayan and we are so, so thankful for the gift of relief that God gives her and also that she can still smile and praise God with her lips and with her smile. 

Aling and I had a few minutes alone to say goodbye and I will never forget those precious moments that I lay my cheek against hers and both of us cried knowing that those would be our last minutes together on this earth. She told me that not a morning or an afternoon doesn’t pass by that they don’t think about us and miss us and I told her that I didn’t want to say goodbye to her yet and that I will miss her so much and that I love her. We talked about how we will see each other again when Jesus comes to take us all home. She is ready to go home to our Lord Jesus and it won’t be long now. 

 

The last day of our trip started with the wedding and then our goodbyes to Aling, but backtracking to the first week, we had a very wonderful four day conference with church elders, pastors, evangelists and missionaries from all of the churches which have been planted – 70 men in all, including six men from the fruit company who trained in Lapoc. Paul taught them through the whole book of 1 Timothy which has just been translated and we were able to give them the finished books of Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians and 1 & 2 Timothy. Thank you so much for your prayers!!!

The trip was full of awesome family times.  The beautiful and teary young lady who Jubab and I are cuddling is our very own Charly-Joy, Jubab’s beloved niece and our oldest grandchild. We couldn’t believe how much she has grown up. This was a very sad moment, hugging her goodbye last Thursday at the end of Youth Camp as she was going back home with the Cauyunan Youth Group. How we wish we could hold onto her forever.  We live in a world of goodbyes...so heart wrenching…but the goodbyes are only for a short time and then our Lord will return.

Is not My word like fire?

Another Beautiful Verse -  Jeremiah 23:29   “Is not My word like fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?  ----- God’s Word is so powerful and can shatter the hardest heart and draw a person to Himself. Let’s pray for our loved ones and friends.

I had all the intentions to put out an update at the end of March about how our translation went. But then before we knew it we were in the Philippines and had a God given amazingly wonderful time -- Deb will write a few updates over the coming weeks and we also have some video clips that Jubab made which we will put up on the web before too long. We will send out the links.

While in the Philippines, the highlight for me was to be able to teach the book of 1 Timothy to the elders and pastors who God has raised up through the work over the past 27 years. We taught them for 4 days and it was a tremendous time. All up there were 70+ elders, pastors and evangelists present.

Now - - -  God enabled us to reach our translation goal in March and we completed the book of 2 Timothy. We really praise God for the progress that He is giving us in the translation and we really praise Him for the prayer that you have offered up for us. He is sufficient.

The next goal - - - on Monday (April 27) we are beginning to translate the books of Titus, Philemon and 1 Corinthians. This project will take us (Lord Willing) 15 weeks. All up it is 20 chapters consisting of 480 verses. Please continue to pray for us as we translate. For health, encouragement, strength and a close walk with our beautiful Jesus.

Smaller goal – by the end of May we are hoping to have completed Titus, Philemon and up to and including 1 Corinthians 4.

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