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All posts for the month July, 2022

 


The obligatory group photo at Compass Christian Church’s Seventh Anniversary service. We brought the Pequeño congregation together with the Visayan and English congregations in Buhangin for one big meeting. What a joy to see us all together again.

 


A typical “sari-sari store,” kinda like a tiny 7-11. We have long-time friends who have such a store attached to their home… but ever since Papa had a severe stroke two months ago, the money from everything they sold went toward his expenses. So they couldn’t replenish their stock. So they had nothing to sell, and no profit. With no profit, there was a desperate need for Papa’s continuing medical expenses as well as buying food and paying bills.

I had a long talk with them, encouraging the family to begin saving at least 5% of all future profits. This would be for emergencies, so that they could always keep the business going. They promised to do this, if they could get started again. To that end, thanks to our generous friends, we bought $200 worth of items to replenish their stock and be back in business, plus I took them to a drug store and bought two weeks’ worth of prescriptions for Papa.

 


Marc was a facilitator and Mara Joy a participant in a youth camp where many people were saved, including eight LGBTs. Lots of baptisms, praise God!

Seven years ago, we baptized Marc. He admitted later that he was only coming to our teen Bible studies because he was underfed and he loved Gina’s cooking, but eventually the Word transformed his life. We have seen him go from a shy teen to one of the loudest people in the church! 😛 Seriously, Marc is now a leader, and he does most of the translating when I need it.
Pictured with Ari, an Indian medical student.

 

 


Imagine this scene just outside your door! The city was doing construction just before our Bankerohan Bible study. Thankfully they stopped at the time we started worshiping.
We thoroughly enjoy our times in Bankerohan.

 

While we were visiting a rural place four hours’ away, a somewhat drunken man invited me to join a card game… with his bottle and pack of cigs right there on the table. I wanted everyone there to know that because God loves them, Christians also love them. The man knows drunkenness is wrong. He needs to know there’s still hope for his soul. (He never touched the booze or the cigs while we were there.)


“While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick… For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’” (Matthew 9:10-13)

 

I was prepared to teach Acts 13:1-12, but the conversation was so deep, we only made it to verse 5 in an hour. I love the Yonson family! Even the younger teens were fully engaged.
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During a post-Bible study snack in El Rio, two dogs and a chicken were begging for scraps. I suggested to our host that she give the chicken to the dogs. Then there would be no more annoying begging. But she didn’t accept my advice for some reason.
Animal lovers, I’m just kidding! 😛
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A couple of years ago we started a Bible study in Jennifer’s home, but the number of adults decreased and (even though we were doing adult content) the number of kids kept increasing… until it evolved into a kids’ ministry. Then Gina took over, and she has been training Fretche, Jen, BanBan, and others to lead the meetings.
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The Estoque guys are such a blessing. After I taught a Bible study at their home, the rain started, and I was shocked how quickly the dirt road there became undrivable. (The skies were clear when I arrived at their house. I normally park elsewhere.) Cornelio, Bench, Regie, and Ken got busy doing whatever they could for 20 minutes to free my vehicle from the mire. They all ended up soaked and muddy. But at least their mission was accomplished–I drove away quite thankful.
Lesson learned: park on higher, harder ground from now on.
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