Greetings from the windswept island of Catanduanes!
POSITION OPENINGS
Anyone looking for an assignment in the Philippines as a business
manager? While the salary is not so good ($0 per year, you raise your
support), the benefits are truly heavenly (treasures in heaven). Our
current Field Director is moving on to pursue another assignment, so we
are in the process of selecting our next Field Director. We are also in
need of a business manager to help keep our mission afloat in the
Philippines, which frees up the field director to do the job of caring
for the missionaries on the field, making contacts and increasing our
influence with our Filipino partner missions, setting the vision and
tactical plan for the field, and creating new ways to partner with
others to continue the advance of the Gospel in the Philippines. While
these 2 jobs do not meet the expectation of what most people consider a
traditional missionary, they are critical to the operation of the
mission and enable the missionaries who are planting churches to
continue their work. In our modern times, however, the job of business
manager now has a new dimension to it. As the world continues to be
"globalized", and Christians around the world begin to cooperate like
never before in the working out of the great commission, the role of
business manager requires a lot of creativity. New challenges arise in
moving money internationally, learning how to set up small businesses in
restricted countries, and forming partnerships between tribal church
associations and Western organizations. The business manager today is
someone who will travel to some exotic locations, learn about doing
business in several different cultural contexts, and thrive on
creatively applying their financial and business knowledge in new ways.
Anyone interested in a role like this? If you are tired of the 9 to 5
and would like some adventure, send me an email.
TYPHOONS
We get several typhoons every year, but this year the typhoons got some
international publicity. When typhoon Ondoy dumped 20 inches of rain on
Manila in a period of just a few hours, it caused massive flooding in
the city and it is estimated that 80% of Manila was under water.
Getting the entire annual rainfall amount of southern California in just
a few hours would cause flooding in most cities in the world, but Manila
is especially prone due to inadequate drainage systems and tons of trash
that clog everything up. A lot of people lost everything and are still
recovering from the damage of the storm. World Team missionaries in
Manila were able to organize efforts to help many of those affected
through a missionary school. The administration decided to cancel
classes for a week so that the students and faculty all volunteered
their time in the communities to help those in need in various ways.
BAPTISM
Baptism in Filipino culture is full of meaning. When someone is
baptized as an adult in a church other than the Roman Catholic Church,
it means they are changing their religion and turning their back on the
Catholic Church. It is for this reason that people wait so long before
being baptized. For some, they are not ready to give up their
traditions in the Catholic Church which they have grown up with and are
a part of their culture. Others are afraid of the persecution that will
undoubtedly follow a baptism, including being denied a place to be
buried, as the Catholic Church owns the only cemetery in town. Still
others don't know what the Bible says about baptism and are satisfied
with their christening as an infant. We led our group of leaders
through a 3 week series about baptism in the Bible. We believe it is
time for many to make a decision, and so they are discovering the truth
about baptism from the Bible. The reactions of many are encouraging as
they see the need to be baptized as adults even though they had been
"christened" as infants. One person commented, "I realize now that
believing must come before baptism. How can an infant believe?". After
the third lesson on baptism, we put out a sign up sheet for those
interested to sign up for a special class on baptism to prepare them for
the actual baptism. Everyone signed up! We are thanking God for this
as it means that people are truly trusting in God and maturing in their
faith as they show they are willing to face persecution for following
the truth in the Bible. Please pray for these leaders as they take a
stand in their community for God. And pray for them as they are
persecuted for their faith and their desire to follow Jesus. The
baptism will take place this Sunday with over 20 people who have signed up.
WOUNDED SOLDIER
My teammates Tom and Teng and one of the men we are discipling went to
visit some of the remote towns of Payo. On our way home, we came upon a
motorcycle that was laying on the side of the road. We thought someone
may have crashed, so we stopped and looked around to see if someone
needed help. Just then a man came out of the jungle walking towards us
holding his arm wrapped in a blood-soaked t-shirt. He said he was a
soldier, and they had been ambushed. He said his two companions were
killed. We loaded him onto the back of my motorcycle to take him to the
nearest hospital. The 30 minute motorcycle trip on rough roads was hard
for the man as each bump was painful. I didn't see the extent of his
wounds until we got to the hospital, and then I was amazed that he was
able to stay conscious on the back of my motorcycle. There was not much
left of his right fore-arm, and the doctor said he would be transferred
to the provincial capitol to have it amputated. We are thankful that we
were not caught in the line of fire, or that the snipers did not target
us. Pray that God would somehow use this for His glory. (Background
information: communist rebels and government troops have a long standing
conflict, but clashes like this are somewhat rare on Catanduanes)
In Gods Hands,
Bryan
