Balintad Temporary Church Building

Have a blessed Christmas and New Year!!

Our God is a mighty God…..His name is Emmanuel!

More than the sounds of many waters,

Than the mighty breakers of the sea,

 The LORD on high is Mighty!

Psalm 93:4

We are so thankful to have our son with us for Christmas break and thankful too for safety during the recent typhoon which brought heavy rains, flooding and landslides.

Wishing you a very blessed Christmas and New Year!!  Much love from us three!!!

Amazing News!

We have just been at an amazing Church Family Conference weekend in Lapoc!! Almost unbelievable and ourheads are still reeling as we try to get our minds around what just happened. Our God is truly an AWESOME God!!!!

There were 1350 believers who gathered for the conference from our churches, some of these churches are over 100 km away from Lapoc. They arrived on trucks, jeepneys, motorbikes and on foot from Ricodo, Man-ay, Limonda, Pigtaw, Ginitan, Sungay, Balintad, Pinatagan, Pigsag-an, Colawingon, San Aquino, Tagbak, Tumpagon, Cauyunan, Anlagan, Awang, Tinaytayan, Lapoc, Linawlawan, Migpait, Overlooking, San Abel, Limunsud, Lantod, Bisigan, Kilometro Disisayis, Indulang…… (The believers from the Tikalaan, Salimbal, San Doneseo, Kibanug, Dungguan, Malumpayad, Palalan and Gawgawon churches were not able to make it due to various reasons including distance, health and finances but hopefully next time they will be able to attend.)

The greatest challenges apart from their travel to get to Lapoc, were toilets and water! Amazingly, we got through the three days without running out of water and with everyone being able to take baths and use the amenities when they were needed but it took a lot of work behind the scenes to make this work and I think God was multiplying our water as it should have run out.

Above are pictures of the baptisms which took place last Saturday morning (Dec 2^nd) in the river of Sagayan, which is about two kilometers from Lapoc. Most of us walked there and it was an incredible scene to the unbelievers as they saw the huge crowds of people walking down to the river. There were 187 people baptized that morning and we celebrated this wonderful day with a special meal together of 10 roast pigs and lots of rice eaten down by the river!

The theme of the Conference was “The Great Commission” and we had a wonderful guest speaker from Birmingham, Alabama who spoke on Acts 1 in four sessions while Paul interpreted for him. The believers were very blessed and challenged by his messages as well as Paul’s message to them on the last day. Thanks so much Rick for coming and to SMC for sending him. You were all used of the Lord.

We had over 100 people staying in our house alone, hundreds staying in the church building, and we couldn’t keep count of how many were staying in our team member’s houses. The praise, the worship, the fellowship, the meals together….it was all so, so wonderful! Thank you so much for PRAYING!

Our time with Jubab....and other news!!!!!

Praise God for all of His blessings and for the privilege it is to be involved in translating His Word and being part of the team spreading the Gospel here in Mindanao!

Big news here at the moment is the joy and the preparations going towards our ‘Kaamulan’ which is a family conference involving all of our churches here. We are expecting hundreds of believers to gather and a big baptism as well.

There are huge amounts of firewood being cut in preparation for all the cooking that will be done, houses being cleaned and readied for guests, food being planned and speakers studying the Word and preparing to share wonderful truths that will encourage and feed the flock spiritually!

We’ll have more news to share about this conference before too long! On the translation side of our ministry, we are working this week on Matthew 7-8. Not many more months now and we will be able to tell you Lord willing that the whole Tala-Andig New Testament is finished and we will be in the final preparation stage before printing!!!!!!

On a family note, we are praising God so much for allowing us to have a wonderful visit with Jubab!! Jubab is doing great. He is super challenged to be a full time missionary in Japan. It is a really hard mission field and only a real small percentage of Japanese people know the Lord. Very Challenging. He wants to work with OMF in a ministry with university students and is currently applying to do an internship with OMF over his summer break next year. God has been working incredibly in his life.

During the 11 days we had there with him, we got to go to classes with him and also had opportunities to share with some of the students there in chapel times. We stayed in the guest apartment at the college together so we had lots of family time, ate all our meals together, got to hang out, watch movies, have lots of coffees and talks.  After the 11 days with Jubab, some dear friends took us on a holiday which was an amazing provision for us from the Lord. We really needed a break and the time was so special and so refreshing in every way. 

It was fun watching Jubab in action: doing dish crew, working on his assignments, going to class, meeting his friends and dorm mates…..it was such a precious time!!

Please pray for Jubab’s support needs as he prepares to go to Japan, first for the internship next summer and then as a full-time missionary. His support level is better than it was but he still in need of more regular support.

Please pray too for the upcoming conference, for the speakers and all the people who are planning to attend, for safety for all the travelers and that God will be glorified!!  

Rejoicing to be a part.....!

Last week we had one of the missionary families from our work in a place called Ricodo come to spend the day with us. They have a motorbike and they left their place about 6 am from Ricodo which put them here about 9am. So we had about 6 hours with them before they left to go back home.

We have quite a history with this couple as the wife, JingJing, was brought to us in Cauyunan back in the beginning days of our work, 'dead'.... back when she was a child, aged 12. She had malaria and went delirious with fever, until her fever went so high she'd stopped breathing and so they had rushed her to our house from where they lived in Tumpagon. The night they arrived with her and laid her down on the Clinic floor, she was unresponsive, basically dead. Her parents were new believers and we gathered around her and we prayed and God started her breathing again. We couldn't give her any medicines or fluids orally because she was in a coma, but we inserted all the malaria medicines and fluids rectally which kept her alive for the next 4 days until she came out of her coma!! And slowly she recovered but she had what seemed to be fever-coma induced psychological problems. It took about a whole year for her to return to her normal self.

Years later after she was married and pregnant with her second child, her and James were sent by the Tumpagon church to Lapoc for missionary training with us and a couple years later they were sent out to Ricodo to work with another couple over there. While they were in Lapoc I delivered her second child. James woke us up at midnight and I went to their house and had James go wake up one of the young neighbor ladies, Nanah, who I was training to deliver babies. While he was gone, it was just JingJing and I in the house for about 15 or 20 minutes and she was groaning and panicking because the pain was much worse than her first labour. I was glad when James and Nanah arrived and I had some extra sets of hands because we were able to get her up from the bed and into a standing position which eased the pain slightly by shifting the baby's position. She was having unusually terrible pains in her lower back (probably because her bub was facing up and was fairly large) and it was quite a job calming her and reassuring her through the pain she was having but eventually she made it through the labour and he was born at 7 am (a very dark purple colour and he didn't take a breath for about 60 - 80 seconds or so which was very stressful). They asked me to name him and I named him Aiden. He is now in kindergarten which gives a bit of an idea how long ago that was. Anyway, just reminiscing a bit .... but this is the James and JingJing who visited us last week. 

Paul bought 3 beautiful bangos (milkfish - the Philippines national fish) before they came, and we had them ready in the fridge all de-boned and ready to fry. We marinated the bangos overnight in white cane vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic and when they got here we fried it until it was crispy. This dish is called 'daing bangos' over here. We also had a bowl of chicken livers (a delicacy) ready to adobo which we served with boiled eggs once it was cooked. For the rice, I mixed part glutinous rice with normal rice and cooked it with grated ginger and coconut milk. Food is a beautiful way of enjoying time together and celebrating the joy of just being together!

Every week when we have different ones of the church leaders and missionaries out here to stay, one of Paul's and my goals with the visit is to spoil them with lots of good food and to make them feel very loved and appreciated as they are pouring their lives out for the Lord and the Gospel. It wasn’t all just about the eating though! (Although that was one of the very enjoyable parts of their visit!) We also had several hours to talk to them about their work, their plans, their marriage, their co-worker relationships and to pray with them as well before they left to go back home to Ricodo.

Days like these ones with James and JingJing have to be some of the highlights of the ministry of the Gospel! How sweet the fellowship is with fellow labourers of the Gospel!! We love to cook for them and serve them and to help them on in their journey in any way we can.

As you think of James and JingJing, and their partners in the work, Roel and Irene, please pray for them. Daily they face the demands and joys of building the church and spreading the Gospel. They are doing a great work in Ricodo and we rejoice with them over the 30 new believers that they just baptized last month.

PS. Ricodo and all the different villages we mention are all churches that have been planted by the believers that we have been training and discipling for the past 30 years:  believers from our first church in Cauyunan and then from other churches as we have been able to plant them. Today there are approximately 30-35 churches all up in the areas where we work and about 127 bible teachers teaching thousands of people each week. It is almost too much for us to fathom.

Same-Sex Marriage

   

 

My Dear Co-Workers in the Gospel and whoever else who may see this article on line,

As you no doubt know we are currently in a same sex marriage debate and postal survey in Australia and almost every time you turn on the television you will hear about this debate.

God designed the rainbow and it is an incredibly beautiful sign. Something we can look at with awe and remember that it signifies the promise God made to mankind that He will never again destroy every living being through a world flood as He did in the days on Noah. If you would like to read about this event please look at Genesis chapter 6 through chapter 9 with particular reference to the creation of the rainbows in Genesis 9:8-17 and the purpose of this beautiful sign.

God created marriage also which is even more beautiful than a rainbow (in my opinion). We can read completely how God created a man from dust and then a woman from the man’s rib which would complete him and give him joy and fulfillment in more ways than one. To be his companion and partner as he passed through life. I have been married for 33 years and for most of that time Deb’s and my marriage has been utterly beautiful. As we continue to experience our God designed marriage, we stand in awe at this creation of God. God created marriage to be between a man and a woman. This is not negotiable and can be plainly understood as we read through the early chapters of Genesis. It is not God’s plan that 2 men or 2 women use His invention of marriage as it was not designed for them. Marriage is sacred and is an ordinance for only 2 people of opposite sex. Just like the rainbow, marriage is God’s design and it is beautiful.

So we have a beautiful rainbow that has been hijacked to the extent that it signifies today to most people something totally different than God intended and something that God opposes.

And now, during these very days, some in Australia are trying to change God’s marriage design as well.

I will be voting NO without doubt as I do not want to and will not go against God’s plan.

I believe that Satan hates the rainbow, marriage and all of God’s promises and will continue to try to destroy all of them, right up until the day that our Lord Jesus returns to get those that have been saved through His giving of His life on the cross as payment for our sin. I will not agree!

So in short – Vote NO. 

As for how we personally look on homosexuals: Well they are people the same as we are and God loves them as much as He does me and He desires a relationship totally as much with them as He does with me. They can come to God through Christ just like I did some 35 years ago.

Just last month we invited a homosexual man to have lunch with us and we enjoy his company. We have shared God’s word with many homosexual people and have seen some get saved by placing their trust in Jesus. We have also seen homosexual people change their practices as they have matured in Christ, and they have married people of a different gender to themselves and have had children. In one of our outreaches in the mountains, 2 homosexual men who are living with each other are currently listening to God’s Word after many, many years of being together. We will see what God’s powerful Spirit will do in their lives if they are saved.

So we are not homophobic nor do we hate homosexual people – quite the opposite. We do want what God wants though and we will strive for it – even though we fall short at times ourselves in different areas and fail and can even be hypocritical.

There is so, so much more that could be said but it has already been said and you have heard it already. My encouragement is that we just look to God’s word when we make this vote.

If you disagree with me – please do it quietly as I am not writing this article to get into a debate or hurt anybody or to cause conflict. But we live in a democracy and I don’t agree with gagging people through anger and vilification when they do not agree with Same Sex Marriage that is contrary to God’s design.

Heaps of Love to you (even if you disagree with me)

Paul

PS ---- this is a circular letter that has been written by Paul Howells and is not aimed at any individual in particular. 

Personal stuff.....!

It was our beautiful son’s first birthday ever in his life without us last week (Sept 7). This was very sad for us but probably pretty okay for Jubab!  His days seem to be very full and he told us today that he has been tired, tired, tired!! But he looks good whenever we see him over video calls and he is enjoying his bible school studies.

There are weekly sports activities at college like flag football and soccer which Jubab is really enjoying and it gives his mind a chance to unwind, catch the fresh air and have some fun.

During our trip to Australia from Aug 4-Sept 9, we were able to do everything we hoped we would be able to and even more. God hugely blessed our visit there and we had many special times with family: joyful times and some painful times mixed together.

It was so good to see Paul’s Mum again and to see her looking good in spite of a very painful time she’s been going through as she waits for knee replacement surgery.

We spent time with Paul’s little sis and her family and my little brother and his family and got to see nieces and nephews which we loved!

My Mom had been going through some tough times with the aftermath of Dad’s battle with cancer and because of her exhaustion after caring for him so bravely and tirelessly to the end…… she was over exhausted to the point she couldn’t sleep well and her heart was playing up. It was so good to be with her on the trip back home to Brisbane after she’d away for 3 weeks with my brother and his family in Perth. It meant we could go with her to her doctor and monitor how she improved with the medications he gave her, and we were able to go visit Dad’s grave, help Mom choose a headstone and help Mom sort through some of Dad’s things. It made me miss Dad so much more to be back at Mom and Dad’s home, seeing his toothbrush and comb and shaver in the bathroom and all of his things……we even ate the last of the groceries that he had bought during his last shopping trip with Mom, even some potatoes and onions were still left. So as you can imagine, there were many moments when the tears felt very, very close and often spilled over.  I don’t know if God told Dad that we planted lavender and azaleas on his grave that day, where his earthly body lies waiting for the resurrection, and if Dad would have thought it was good use of our remaining time here on earth if he did know, but that thought made me smile and get teary at the same time. It made us feel a bit better anyway, that his grave looked a bit more cared for while we wait for the dirt to settle and the headstone to be made.

It was another painful time to say goodbye to Mom and leave her knowing there is still so much to do and she is still very weary and dealing with a lot of the aftermath of stress, but we hope we can visit her again before too many months go by and we know God is caring for her and providing for her and that she will get through this.

We got back to the Philippines the day before yesterday and Paul came down with a stomach bug of some sort – not too bad but keeping him feeling a bit miserable. Yesterday we took the day to re-group, buy some groceries and rest a bit….. but today (HURRAY!!!!) we are back into the translation work with the team in Lapoc and we are hoping to have the Gospel of John totally finished by next week!! Matthew chapter 2 is being drafted as well. 

It was our 33^rd wedding anniversary while we were away – we were actually on a plane flying to Australia that day but we count ourselves hugely blessed to have been married for 33 years and to have spent all of those years in missions!!!  

Today is Sept 13, 2017……. The rest of this week holds a lot more challenges, daily chores and daily choices and decisions, a lot to get done on the translation but with the promise of our Lord Jesus that He will be with us always………..

(It’s sort of a quirky anniversary photo but we thought we’d share it with you anyway!)