A Ministry within a Ministry - June 24, 2014

Our lives both as humans and as Christians are always in a state of fluidity.  We have certain anchors that moor us to pilings that do not move, yet although as believers we have a firm foundation the superstructure above is continually being altered.  Having Christ in our lives and having the Holy Spirit as a constant in our lives produces changes for the glory of our Savior as we learn to yield to His work in our lives.

I have often told my children as they were growing up that “You can never go home”, in the sense that when you return to that which in your memory has been classified and codified as “home” will not be the same when you return after many years.  The people in the neighborhood will have moved on, the school will be filled with students you do not know.  The buildings, roads and stores you once frequented will be different.  For better or for worse you simply cannot expect things to remain the same.

I am one personally who does not like change.  I want things to always remain the way they once were, except for in my personal walk with the Lord.

My thoughts this morning have been on a place called Faith Academy in Manila Philippines.  It was for so very long a central part of our lives.  My wife graduated from there, all of our children attended school there.  We knew all the people up there.  We knew all the teachers by name, all the staff members both Filipino and expatriate.  When we go up to Faith Academy these days there is that strange feeling of not knowing anyone. I wander around the campus from time to time and I remember.  I can hear my daughters cheerleading in the gym.  I can see them on the playground. I can see teachers and staff members that I grew to love.  I can see my daughters getting off the buses from Outdoor Ed. completely exhausted from a long week of adventures.  But things change.

Faith Academy has always been a ministry within a ministry.  There was the overall ministry of working with the national work, seeing men and women coming to know Christ and growing in their lives for Him. Seeing new churches established, orphanages built and schools organized.  But within that ongoing national work there was a sub-culture, if you will, a ministry within a ministry always going on up on that hill.  It was a school which was started for the education of the children of missionaries who were serving the Lord both in the Philippines and throughout the Pacific Rim or in all surrounding the Republic.  Here our children were given a world class education all the while being cared for and nurtured by a dedicated faculty and staff.

But things do not stay stagnant.  Over the years Faith Academy has grown.  Not only has the campus expanded and the staff requirements enlarged, but its ministry has expanded along with it.  It is more than ever a ministry within a ministry.  It has been transformed into a world class international school.  And in the transformation has become an opportunity to see the word of God be planted in the hearts of those beyond the missionary’s child’s hearts.   It is an opportunity to share the love of Christ and the wonderful salvation that He has provided to a new and growing group of individuals. Our eyes must be open to the wonder of the opportunity that the Lord is bringing in this new stage of life, for the school.

Some things however have not and will not change. One is the dedication of the teachers and staff who still come to Faith Academy short term or long term to serve the Lord.  They still come as those looking to the Lord alone to provide their needs.  No salaries are paid to faculty or staff, they trust the Lord to provide their month to month needs. And as costs rise in the Manila area and the availability of housing shrinks significantly we need to keep these dear servants of the Lord in our prayers.  Some are looking for affordable housing and are finding none.  Some are often forced to be in competition with other brothers and sisters in the Lord for the same housing as it comes available.  Pray for them as they look to the Lord for His provision and direction for their lives and ministry. Gone are the days when there seemed to be many homes available for rent at 300-400 dollars a month.  Time and demand have driven the prices to double that over the last several years.  Pray.

For those of you reading this who pray for those in the CMML handbook, remember those at Faith Academy.  A wonderful opportunity to serve the Lord is present at this school in the Hills of Valley Golf and as this ministry continues to grow and expand in many different directions, the Lord is using special men and women to bring His gospel to many and to help shape the lives of multitudes of future leaders in our local churches.  Uphold them in your prayers, support them in their efforts.  Call them, encourage them. At times they feel alone and vulnerable and a word of encouragement will go a long way.

I am so very thankful to the Lord for the ministry of Faith Academy.

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May 8, 2014 Greetings and Update from New Jersey

Well it has been a busy year, for which we thank the Lord.  Our travels this year have taken us from Connecticut to Chicago three times, Kansas City twice, St. Louis twice, Atlanta twice, Augusta, Several locations in Florida twice, Richmond Kentucky, Several locations in New Jersey while staying at CMML, Chambersburg PA, and Cincinnati.  We enjoyed a conference in Kansas City, Southern Florida, York and Cincinnati and one on Saturday here at CMML.  All of this was driving miles with the exception of the conference in Cincinnati.  While I was in Cincinnati for the weekend Joyce spoke at a women's conference at Greenwood Hills.  So it has been a busy and productive year.  Thanks to all who invited us to visit, it was such an encouraging year for Joyce and I.

Next week we will begin the trek that will eventually bring us back to Manila in about 49 days from the writing of this update.  We will finish up here in New Jersey next Thursday and then head up to Connecticut for a couple of meetings then over to Chicago for a couple of meetings, then down to Springfield IL for a midweek, then off to St. Louis for a visit with some friends, then finally back to Kansas City where we will drop off the car we leased this year from Missionary Motors and fly out of Kansas City to San Francisco and visit with some friends and speak on the Lord’s day there.  Then on the 26^th we will board a plane that will take us back to the Philippines.  I am tired just thinking about it.

When we arrive back in Manila we want to immediately begin preparations for a surgery that Joyce needs.  Please be praying with us that the constant headaches that she has been enduring for so many years now may be relieved by this procedure. 

 

Then we will head up the mountain to our home in Baguio.  It will be good to be “home” for a while. 

 

Thank you all so very much for your prayers and support of the Lord’s work among us.  May he richly blessed you all. 

Sep 1, 2013 Ministry Travels and Family Visits

Greetings to you all this time from the shoreline in New Jersey!!

We arrived home in the States on June 23rd and enjoyed being here for the birth of our newest grandson Lucian who arrived on July 11th to our daughter Rachel and her husband Ian.  It was so nice to be able to be here to hold him and be around for weeks afterwards to bond a bit with him.

I was also able to visit and share at several of the assemblies in the Connecticut area during that stay as well.  We visited the saints at Branford four times and were able to do a series on Psalm 1 which I enjoyed very much.  We also had visits at Westville, Wellspring, Waterbury and Cheshire.  It was such an encouraging time for us. It was so good for us to have that time with good friends and family.  A special thanks to all of you who had us over for meals and great times of fellowship.
 
Currently we are at CMML in New Jersey and enjoying the quiet of this wonderful place the Lord has provided.  It is a great time to be refreshed.  We will be speaking at several assemblies in and around NJ for several weeks and plan on being here until the middle of October.  Yesterday evening I was able to join a group from CMML and the Belmar 5th Ave assembly to visit the Auditorium in Ocean Grove where Luis Palau was speaking for the last meeting of their Summer Sessions.  It was a nice time with a good devotional message followed by an old fashioned Hymn sing accompanied by the huge pipe organ.  A good time of fellowship and encouragement was enjoyed by all.
 
Joyce is visiting with her parents in Florida this week to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary, and is enjoying her time with family there. She will by flying back here to NJ on Thursday the 5th.

From here we plan on returning to Connecticut for a couple of days and then head out to Chicago. We will be in Chicago for three weeks speaking on Sundays at  Warrenville and Palos Hills, two assemblies that always feel like home to us. From Chicago we will head to Kansas City and visit with an assembly there, pick up a car from Missionary Motors in KC and drive down to Florida to be there in time for Thanksgiving with the Ken Brooks family…it will be the first time all the children of Ken and Elaine will be together for Thanksgiving in over 30 years.

Please keep our travels in your prayers.  We will be home this year for a number of months.  Thanks for all your kind notes and support.  Our Lord is great, and greatly to be praised.

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 1^st 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.  

February 5, 2013 Update

Greetings to you all, once again, from the mountains of Central Luzon. It has been a while since our last update. The busy holidays are now behind us and the new year is already over a month old, the time just seems to fly by.

The work of the Lord here is going along well, for which we give Him thanks. The Men's Conference in December went very well, there were several hundred men in attendance and the word shared was well received.

The daily home Bible studies are still producing some nice fruit for His glory and we are so thankful. We began the third Semester of Bible School at the Navy Base Assembly this past Lord's Day afternoon and attendance is still very good. This will run now until the second week of March. My preparations for Special Studies are all complete and Joyce and I will be heading down the hill for that week of classes on the 18th of February and returning home on the 22nd. They are expecting over 100 men and women for these classes this year since they are offering them free of charge to any full time worker and their wives. With that in mind I had to limit the amount of handout material I will be bringing. I plan on giving them a simple outline for each class. My subject this year is Expository Teaching, something near and dear to my heart.

 The Lord provided, through the women's conference in Chicago, funds which were used to help a poor family from the assembly in Baguio Gold. We were enabled to purchase materials for his family to build a new structure to live in. It is about double the size of the small shanty that they lived in for many years. Their home now has windows and a new roof that will not leak when the rainy season begins. It also has a concrete floor and new wood and siding for the walls...such a blessing. This man and his children have been faithful at the assembly there for many years. A special thanks to all who had a part in providing these funds for Habitat and Health. The funds also allowed us to help a woman with some medical work she needed done. So we are very thankful to the Lord.

 I am now beginning my preparations for our visit to Korea in April. I will have a rather full schedule while I am there but we are looking forward to spending time with Tim and Yolly Stafford, and to visit with the saints both in the Korean and Filipino assembilies.

Please keep Special Studies, the Bible School, the Home Bible Studies and the preparations for Korea in your prayers.

 Thank you all for your prayers and kind support of the Lord's work here among us. May He be glorified.