In FOLLOW-UP the next day is where we see the serious folks who want receive their Bible and sign up to be in a Bible study or church. That day several Bible Studies were started and one church. The gambling house men (with the guns) even showed up with their booklets filled out! They even said if there was a meeting in their Barangay (village) then they would attend. May the gambling house one day be a house of prayer giving honor to God! Praise the Lord!
It was a beautiful SUNNY afternoon as we drove into the village. We were greeted with the SHRILLING SCREAMS of a large mama pig being beaten, and tied down....They poured boiling water over her, more SCREAMS! It was an ERIE sound to hear this animal writhing and LITERALLY SCREAMING for her life. We were told that walking distance, just across the the basketball court (the town center), was the gambling house/hut. Later, the kids, and others on the team were saying they saw people with guns on them and under the tables. Again, RAIN threatened this evening's crusade! We prayed fervently, as the drizzle slowly turned into a down pour! God, what next?! Unlike other crusades, this rain didn't seem to let up. Just before we were about to call it quits, an option opened up. One of the neighbors graciously opened up their porch (with electricity) to let the band set up there. We quickly made a shift and the band's overhead tarps became the audience's shelter while the seven member band with instruments SQUEEZED into their mini stage--it was the answer to our prayer! With the rain still pouring, the pigs still continuing to SCREAM for their lives, and the activity of the gamling it seemed like we were light in the middle of it ALL! THANK YOU JESUS we did not give up! Our team continued as scheduled...the concert, Callis girls dancing and singing, testimonies given, Brian preaching, the Gospel of Jesus was shared. In the meanwhile, Pastor Cedric and Philip go into the gamling house passing out our Ang Sagot (The Answer) booklets explaining the way of the cross to our Savior. In this place several money holders carried guns on their body and under the tables. Before Pastor and Philip got out, already many were reading through the booklets!
In FOLLOW-UP the next day is where we see the serious folks who want receive their Bible and sign up to be in a Bible study or church. That day several Bible Studies were started and one church. The gambling house men (with the guns) even showed up with their booklets filled out! They even said if there was a meeting in their Barangay (village) then they would attend. May the gambling house one day be a house of prayer giving honor to God! Praise the Lord!
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Thank you for your prayers! (from 6/28/12)
We were told that today's program had a listener base of TWO MILLION! We were given a 1-hour time slot free of charge, without any limitations as to what we could share AND pastor was immediately receiving texts after the program aired. There was even a text from a listener from another provence saying that they would come to the concert/crusade in their area next week. Today, the mayor's office went well. He has offered to donate the use of the city building free of charge next week for our concert/crusade. We were able to thank Mayor Ortega and pray for him. Tonight's concert/crusade was threatened by the seasonal typhoon rains. In fact, yesterday, the school children were sent home to migrate with their families to higher ground. Our team prayed, set up a covered area over the sound and band equipment with plastic tarps and continued to pass out our flyer/invitations for the concert. Hanna had WAY too much fun playing in the warm rain--she was soaked! By the start to the end, somehow, somewhere, the sky opened up and there was no more rain! Thank you Lord. Many came to know Jesus tonight. Our prayers were answered (seeing the rain subside, imparting hope and love to all of those, now, His children. Wow! WE ARE blessed! Wow! Sorry it has taken so long to post. Internet is sketchy--and my phone doesn't always work here. As it is, I'm sitting by a wall to the neighboring property to write to you to get WiFi.
Please be sure to check out our updated photos on the bottom left from Flickr.com. I try to post some pics with thoughts as they come--some precious times / pics recorded there. Below I've listed a general schedule of our activities. We've had FULL days, much with little or no rest. I DO try to have the little ones nap each day so that they are refreshed for the evening concert/crusade. PLEASE PRAY! TODAY 6/28/2012 Our team has been asked to do a 1-hour radio program station DZNL FM 105. This is an FM station that will reach throughout the island of Luzon. We will be singing, sharing a few parables of Jesus and extending an invitation to receive Jesus. We're also going to pay a courtesy call to Mayor Pablo Ortega of San Fernando City (Capitol La Union). This is ALL before our concert/crusade tonight. It is a full day. PLEASE PRAY that the presence of God goes before us. That our speech is salt and light to those we encounter so that it creates a hunger and thirst for Jesus--something out of this world. Truthfully, though the schedule is rigorous, my heart and soul is FULL, it's what we are created for--to bring GLORY TO JESUS and to fulfill our calling to spread His Good News!
Day #2 (6/15) - Happy Birthday Grandpa Callis. Unfortunately, we pretty much missed this day
altogether. Day #3 (6/16) - We arrived in Manila 5:30am "the next morning", ... Saturday?, a bit tired, but ready for the next leg. Goal was the city of Lagazpi, which we would get to via a domestic flight; but the transition was a bit panicked. Our domestic flight was to depart only 40 minutes from arrival of our international flight. Being independent flights, we would have to collect our luggage, pass through customs, check our luggage in domestically, and get to the boarding gate. 40 minutes, huh? Thankfully, the San Francisco check-in desk united our two flights, which made it possible for a luggage transfer. Upon arrival in Manilla, our group of 26 passengers was personally escorted thru customs in Manilla, amazingly, and the connecting flight waited for us nearly 30 minutes. I'm sure it was a sight to behold: 26 Americans, their carryons and children, running through the crowded airport, removing shoes and electronics for security scans, etc., etc. ... Thank you Lord! And, thank you Philippine Airlines. Today (6/22) is the first day we have had access to the internet. So, here is some catching up...
Day #1 (6/14) - Despite our best efforts at planning ahead, there were some in our house that stayed up all night packing and preparing, and were still stuffing things into extra bags the last possible moment. Although departing the house was a bit hectic, we made it to our meeting spot in plenty of time, full of anticipation, (and hopeful that we hadn't forgotten anything important). Our flight took off at 10:30pm, California time. Although the flight was more than 14 hours, we all had a great time reading, talking, playing on-board games, and of course sleeping. For those of you praying for us, thank you! It went very well. PRAISE THE LORD!
Hello! Just a quick note to say that we made it here safely. After after almost 24 hours of travel, 2 planes and a driver to the our home base (for the next 2 weeks) we are settling in and prepping for our first crusade in just a few hours. The town we will go to first has a <1% Christian population/exposure. Please pray for the Lord's strength as we do tonight's crusade and that the Lord is glorified. We arrived at 5:30am in the Philippines, and were at our final destination by 9:00am. This happened to be just in time for breakfast - our 3rd breakfast of the day! After some authentic Filipino food and a decent nap, we
hopped into the cars and jeepneys (I'll try to get a pic of this for you sometime), and set up for a local concert. The setting is a school-sized basketball court with a small stage at one end, some boys playing basketball opposite, the sound of tuning guitars, with 20-30 locals just hanging out. The music starts, then a testimony of salvation, a drama presentation, more worship, a gospel message, and an invitation. Then, behind the lights that had been in our eyes, hundreds of local filipinos come rushing forward to receive the Lord Jesus. Wow! Prayer, healings, rejoicing, and dancing followed - it was simply wonderful. God, you're amazing! Here we are, the final hours before our departure! Please pray for us as we finalize the details, clean up our mess, say good-bye to family/friends and prepare our hearts for the work ahead. We covet your prayers.
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