Manila Day 235

Manila Day 227

Soooo good news!! I know what the problem was now!! Patty explained to me that based on my stool sample report from Monday, that I have giardia!! YAY!!! Good news because now after 3 weeks of this thing bugging me I can now take the necessary meds and get rid of it. I started taking some meds yesterday and I woke up this morning feeling like a new man!! Thank you all for your prayers. God is good and I praise Him for His grace and healing.

Manila Day 226

Well after about 3 weeks I am still struggling with this stomach bug issue. Although the lab told me today that my stool was A OK!! Good news I guess. Although it would’ve been nice to have an issue so that I can get some explanations as to why my stomach has been off and on feeling awful the past 3 weeks. Please pray that this would heal quickly as I am not sure what is going on in my gut. I am learning much during this time which is great. God is good and I am thankful and content in this situation because Christ must be glorified at all times and I will do so with my life regardless of how my gut feels.

The last two weeks have been full of video shooting for a large project that I am working on for ACTION. We finished the shooting on Saturday and are editing every day for the next 8 days. Please pray that this will be finished on the due date of June 5 and that God would be glorified much through it. Thank you for your prayers and your support.

Manila Day 219

Tonight there was a fire in Ortigas Center just near our place. I was able to stand on our 6th floor balcony and video some of the fire. Some of the flames went up as high as 12 stories. Debris was flying everywhere and large amounts of smoke filled the sky. We also heard many explosions coming from that area as well. Please pray for those involved in this and also for the firemen who will be working hard to get the fire put out.

Manila Day 217

First of all let me just express my deep appreciation for all of you who are partnering with me in this ministry. I am so humbled that the Lord has allowed me to be here in the Philippines serving Him in this capacity. I also know how much of a sacrifice you are all making in aiding the furtherance of the Gospel here in this country. You are all a part of this ministry and I thank you for that.

Over the last few months I have been monitoring my monthly support quite closely. The US economy seemed to take a dive this past fall and we are also seeing the effects of that here on the field. Personally, each month my support is very close to my monthly budget, however there is a problem that has come up. If for example more money comes in one month it goes into my “work funds” account. This is used for newsletters, mailings, and other admin and support raising costs that may come up. Since my budget hasn’t been quite met for the last few months, there are no longer any work funds. I am over $700 dollars in the negative with my work funds due to the lack of monthly support over the last several months. Will you please pray over this need for me? I would really appreciate your prayers as many of you are prayer warriors. I have been able to stay on the field thus far because of your dedication to God and to His word. Not one single day goes by where I don’t mention you in my prayers and thank the Lord for partnering with me in this ministry. I also know that God is in control of all things and His will is going to be done in this situation. I am fully resting in Him. Thank you for your prayers.

Manila Day 214

Manila Day 210

We had a great few days at Rizal Re-Creation Center for our men’s prayer retreat. There were 5 of us that attended and we really hunkered down and prayed hard for one another and the ministries that the Lord has given us. We met together several times each day for some worship, a short devotional and a time of prayer. Each time we met we learned more about one another and more especially how to better pray for one another. We were all so blessed by the time spent together and praying with one another. Our them verse was taken from Hebrews 10:24-25 which talks about spurring one another one and encouraging one another. We look forward to the next time we as men can gather together for prayer. We discussed options of getting together more frequently for a morning or an afternoon over some lunch and having a time of prayer. It is so crucial to continue to encourage one another and to pray together for one another’s ministry. It was a powerful time.

Front: Gary Root, Adam Hussey; Back: Jeff Anderson, Paul Ellis, Daryl Germaine

Manila Day 206

We had a great time in Coron, Palawan. Pastor Jovy, his two nephews (Stephen and Justin) and I went for a trip to see some of Pastor Jovy’s classmates from seminary. It was great to stay with the pastors and some other families during this trip and really see the work of the Lord in Coron and also to experience what the need truly is there for the work of the Lord. I will do a formal update on the trip in a few days with pictures and videos, but as of now I am getting ready to lead an ACTION Men’s prayer retreat for the next three days. 6 men from ACTION will be getting together for a prayer retreat to pray for our ministries and for the work of the Lord here in the Philippines. Our theme verses are Hebrews 10:24-25. We are excited about this time to share fellowship, prayer, and song together as we seek the Lord together to see the hand of God continue to move here throughout the Philippines. Please pray for this time of prayer May 6-8th. Thank you so much for your support of this ministry and the work of the Lord here. I would not be here serving the Lord without your support. Lord bless you guys.

Manila Day 196

Updates

Doug Nichols and his wife Margie are here visiting with us. They arrived last Thursday and have a very full plate ahead of them. Doug is speaking several times each week at men’s prayer meetings, church services, and pastoral leadership consultations. Margie is lined up to speak with many of the women of ACTION and also of local churches around Manila as well. It is really good to see them here in the Philippines.

I have begun language school as of 1 month ago. I am currently only going 2 hours each week but starting June 8th I will be going full-time, which is 5 days a week two hours each day. Please pray for that. Pray that I would study and work hard to learn Tagalog as it is my goal to teach my hometown church discipleship material in Tagalog. We are going to have the material translated into Tagalog and that way I will be able to really speak to the hearts of the youth here in the Philippines. I am very motivated in learning this language, please continue to pray for me as I learn and grow more in it.

I will be traveling tomorrow to an island called Palawan. I will be there for 10 days. I am traveling with Pastor Jovy and his two godsons. Pastor Jovy is the man that I am working with in discipleship with the youth. He is a great man and a joy to be around. There are several churches that we will be visiting and fellowshipping with. Please pray for safe travel and also for good health. This area is an area known to have malaria. Many of you know what happened to me in Uganda last June 2008 so please pray that I will remain healthy and that those little buggers (no pun intended haha) will stay at bay.

Manila Day 186

“May my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.” -Bob Pierce, Founder, World Vision.

You know, if I truly believed this, my day would’ve turned out a whole lot different. 

In my periphery I see a woman sitting alone two tables across from me. Her hair, unkempt. Her shirt, dirty. Her fingernails, black with dirt. She looks over at my sandwich and then quickly looks away. I hold the sandwich away from my mouth as I look at her. Her back is hunched over. She is talking to herself and looking around at others as they walk in. I freeze.

It was 8:45am at the local McDonalds and I was waiting for a friend to arrive so that we could go out to a video shoot together. I walked into the restaurant and bought a sandwich. I sat down and began to eat. Not long after I see this woman two tables over. The more I observed her the more my heart began to break. She seemed so out of place as if she was right off of the streets. She was heavily contrasted by the other people who had the latest clothing style, jewelry and hair-do. I froze as I really began to feel for this woman. I then took another bite of my sandwich and I literally couldn’t swallow. My throat was totally closed up. I began to run through several scenarios as to how I could help this woman. “I could give her some money for food. But then she might take the money and go buy booze or drugs.” “I could ask her if she wanted anything to eat. But then she will be embarrassed and not accept my offer.” “I could go up to the counter and give an employee some money and ask them to give the woman something to eat. But then they might not want me to “feed the beggar” and increase the chances that she will be in each day doing the same thing.” Two words can describe what I was doing here…SELF-FOCUS. I was so focused on self that I couldn’t even see past my nose. If I had taken the time to ask the Lord to give me wisdom on how I could serve this woman, I am sure that the focus would’ve shifted very quickly from ME to the LORD. Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-39, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (ESV). If I truly was living this out I would’ve loved this woman the way that Christ commands us to. I ended up dropping my sandwich and walking out of McDonalds. I was broken. I was so repented about what I had done, or in this case, failed to do. It was such a good, but hard, reminder for me to “walk by the Spirit.” To walk by the spirit means to love God with all that is within us, love and serve others, look out for the interest of others, putting them above your own. 

My question for you is the same one that I asked myself. What is it going to take to get you to think outside yourself and serve others? Is it going to take a hungry, dirty, street woman to get you to do this? It wasn’t enough for me! What is it going to take to break your heart so that you might look out for the interest of others? Let us pray for God to break our heart for the things that break His.