Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Update April 30, 2013 Korea Trip and Return

Greetings to you all from Baguio.  It is nice to be home. 
We enjoyed a very nice ten day visit to South Korea from April 12-23.  It was nice to be with our friends Tim and Yolly Stafford and to experience what special things the Lord is doing in their lives and ministry in and around Seoul.  
    We enjoyed a very warm welcome from many Filipinos and had the privilege of teaching a couple of Bible Studies with them at the home of Tim and Yolly.   This is a ministry that Tim and Yolly did not expect when they moved to Korea last year to begin a work for the Lord, but the Lord had other plans and He has used their warm and welcoming hearts to reach out to this group.  One night we had over twenty filling their small apartment. It was a special treat for me to teach this group in Tagalog and to speak to them as well in Ilokano, since some were from the Ilokano speaking regions of the Philippines.  At times I felt like I had not even left the Philippines, the smells of Filipino food cooking and the sound of Tagalog being spoken around me, made me feel right at home.    
  I was also given the opportunity to share from the word at two local Korean churches on the two Lord’s days we were there.  I have found the Korean brothers and sisters to be so very warm and welcoming and I have enjoyed their fellowship.  Tim translated for me at one of the gatherings and another dear brother took on that challenge the following Saturday and Sunday. We just continue to pray for Tim and Yolly and look forward to visiting again as the Lord allows.   We pray that the things shared will produce fruit for the Lord and His Kingdom.
    Here in Baguio the work continues on.  We are in the middle of the school break, which is vacation time here in the mountains.  May 1st is a holiday here and we are planning a tract distribution in and around Baguio for that day since many will be in town.  Normally it is the day of our assembly outing, but the elders decided this year that it would be profitable to use this day as an outreach.  We are praying that many will be convicted of their need of a Savior and that the Lord will use this activity for the furtherance of His Kingdom.
    We will begin the third “semester “ of Bible school at the assembly at Navy Base in a couple of weeks.  We are continuing our study in eschatology.  We will have five more sessions this time around and plan to cover chapters 12-16 of Revelation.  We pray it will be an encouragement to the saints.
    The home Bible studies will be starting up again this week after a brief break for VBS and for my Korea trip.  We pray that these studies may continue to be used of the Lord as a way of encouraging His people and also as a means of sharing the gospel with those who still do not have a saving knowledge of the savior.
    Thank you all once again for your kind prayers and support of the Lord’s work here among us.  May the Lord bless you as you labor for Him in your part of the vineyard.