In Davao City

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." Romans 10:17

Davao City is the  home of Durian fruit, a strange fruit that can overpower you with its pungent odour but entice you with its sweet taste. No I have never tried it and probably never will. 

Davao City was the last stop on our journey. Its a large city of around two million people. Here we met up with Pastor Vic Bernales of Davao Covenant Reformed Church. Pastor Bernales is a Mid-America graduate.

We held two morning workshops in Davao for pastors and church leaders. "Handling Conflicts in the Church" and "Handling Criticism and Opposition in the Ministry".  Twelve to fifteen church leaders of various churches took part. 

There were also two evening sessions for the broader community where Rev. Bouwers delivered four messages on  "The Amazing Love of the Father" in The Parable of the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:11-32) These messages were well received. One young lady mentioned to us later that she could not sleep that evening because of the wonderful things she heard. Another young man suffering from depression and other issues  also was sure to let us know how much hearing the gospel of grace meant for him as he deals with his struggles. 

One of the surprises of the evening was meeting a young lady from the Alymer URC church. She has been studying in Davao for the last year. She's quite thankful for the Davao Covenant Reformed Church and it's ministry. 

Our hope and prayer is that this small reformed church would continue to grow and be blessing to this city. 

                                                   

On our last day of our trip we were able to enjoy the beach on the island of Samal just a short ferry ride from Davao City. I have to say when I saw the covered beach area it looked strange. 

But as the day progressed I soon came to realize that if it were not for the covering we would all be "fried". The culture on the beach is to sit and enjoy food and fellowship. To sit, enjoy food and fellowship is something we regularly experienced in the Philippines.  It was no different that evening when we were able to fellowship at the home of Pastor Bernales along with the elders and a few of the members. It was a wonderful evening as we sat around the table and got to know each other a little better.

We are back home now and thankful to God for His traveling mercies. We are very thankful and encouraged by what we have seen and heard in the Philippines. The gospel of Grace is making inroads  in this country of mostly Roman Catholic persuasion. There is a hunger for the gospel and a focus on the reformed faith and confessions.  It gives reason to celebrate and for thankgiving. The gospel of Grace may come as an offensive smell to those who trust in themselves or in their good works. But so does the smell of Durian - yet many people have come to love its sweet, tasty fruit. It's our prayer that the Lord would richly bless the reformed faith in the Philippines and continue to bless those whom we have come to know. May it be that in the Philippines and around the globe that, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand." (Romans 15: 21)

"To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen." Romans 16: 27

Our Week in CDO

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. 

Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen! ~ Psalm 72: 18-19

It's Sunday morning  here in the Philippines  and it gives time to sit in the warmth of the day and reflect on God's goodness. Our time here in Cagayan de Oro gave much to be thankful for. Of those we met and attended the seminars there continues to be a hunger for God's Word. There is an eager desire to follow His Word and to give careful study of the reformed  confessions. It was exciting for us to see a good number of pastors and church leaders from a broad circle of churches  and other ministries here attend the seminars.  There is a reformed appetite that is growing and by God 's grace we hope that it would continue to grow and mature. 

Our morning continued in Balalung where we were able to worship with the Balalung Reformed Church.  Rev. Bouwers sermon focused on Lord's Day 36 & 37. This is a small congregation we have had a relationship with since we began here three years ago. Its liturgy closely follows that of many a reformed church back home. Having come from a Penticostal background the Geneven tunes have been like fresh air to them since in God's providence their instruments were washed away with typhoon Sendong in 2011. You might think it strange but they smile when they think of how their instruments were taken away from them. Geographically the church in Balalung is somewhat rural and this has made it difficult to attract new members. Convenient travel is something we take for granted in North America but here it can be difficult for a number of reasons.  However the church, despite her struggles carries on seeking to be faithful to God's Word and a light to the community around them. What turned out to be interesting this morning is that we found ourselves worshipping with  a group of some 20 young people from Faith International Academy in Davao who had come to Cagayan de Oro for a work project and decided to worship here with us in Balalung.

Having been treated to lunch we were off to the city and the Jireh  Reformed Church to join them for their afternoon service. They had invited Balalung to join them and invited Rev. Bouwers to preach. The text for the sermon was taken from Mark 14: 32-42.  They too desire to be reformed in their worship. Their liturgy is somewhat different than what we might be accustomed to but even with this there is a desire to learn and grow. They make use of the Scottish Metrical Psalter to sing the Psalms and they do it well. We've enjoyed their company and hospitality in the past and it was no different this time. We also want to thank them for the use of their building throughout the week as we held our seminars here, the facilities proved to be ideal. I should  also mention, as I go back to my thoughts in the morning, the wonderful time of fellowship we were able to have on Saturday at what will become Jireh's Bible Camp in the mountains. It's not completed yet but it  is well on its way. The conversation, the food and the sights made for great memories but more importantly strengthened friendships and gave food for thought.

It's been a joyous week. I would also like to thank the owners of our place here in Cagayan de Oro. It's been a great place to relax and reflect on our day. The owners of our condo  have laboured for some 30 years as mission coordinators bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to remote areas and Muslim populated areas in Mindanoa.  It can be dangerous work and so we pray for them and their ministry.

Please continue to pray that our gracious God would continue to guide these churches and others here as the Reformed faith takes hold. Please pray that God's name be glorified. Please pray that the lost and the broken here would come to hear and come to know Jesus as Lord.

May His name endure forever, His fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in Him, all nations call Him blessed! ~ Psalm 72:17

YET IT WAS KIND OF YOU TO SHARE MY TROUBLE

                            "Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble." 

                                                      Philippians 4: 14 

Our first evening lecture in Cagayan de Oro took place Monday evening. It was an introduction to the first head of doctrine, Divine Election and Reprobation.

I won't make this the topic of my post, rather it was a conversation I had following the evening which has me writing.  "Thank you for loving us. Thank you for loving us here in the Philippines." This is how the conversation began. The pastor whom I was speaking with knows of trouble. He knows  of being part of a large congregation that is now quite small after turning to the Reformed  faith.  He knows of struggles to come along side others. He knows of the struggle to find unity with other Reformed  Churches  and fellowships in the area as they iron out their differences. He is not the only pastor or church leader to experience such troubles, I've had many a conversation.

"Thank you for loving us..." I want to relay these words to those back home in Canada. I don't think I really understood this impact or aspect of our ministry here in the Philippines when we as TAP began but TAP is more than an intellectual exercise. There is a real appreciation for us being here in the Philippines. Yes, we are here to offer instruction. Yes we've offered advice at times apart from our topic and yes sometimes the advice was confusing in the cultural context that we didn't understand all that well.  But then to hear this, "Thank you for loving us..." What encouragement! Like so many times before, we have come to encourage and yet we are the ones being encouraged. 

(Just a note that the photo is of Pastor Rey, he is not who I was speaking with. But I know his sentiments are the same, as are his troubles. He just happens to be really photogenic.)

This has me thinking of our evangelistic outreach efforts back home. There are times when we are scared to reach out, afraid of making mistakes. Times when we hesitate because  we think we're not ready.  But sometimes we can over think these things. "Thank you for loving us." Don't we all want to be loved? Thanks be to God our Father for loving us, for not leaving us, for rescuing a helpless people from sin and death.  Amazing grace! Amazing love!

            "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us            and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." ~ Ephesians 5: 1-2. 

TAP V

It's been two years now since I wrote this blog and I struggled with taking it up again. I'm not a writer,  the pressure of keeping up with it and the fact that others would read it can be a little intimidating. I skipped over a previous trip I made last February. But as I read through the old posts, I realized how nice it was to reflect on God's goodness and the grace He has shown to us. It also has been a benefit for our instructors with whom I have shared it. 

      This is now TAP's fifth trip and my third. To date Dr. Bredenhof has taught Church History, Rev. deGelder ; Church Polity, Rev. Sikkema went through the Heidelberg Catechism. Rev. Witteveen gave instruction on preaching Christ from the five books of Moses and held some seminars dealing with proper exegesis of scripture. This trip, Rev. Bouwers will focus on the Canons of Dort. 

We've just completed our weekend stay in Manila and as I write we are currently traveling to Cagayan de Oro in the southern province of Mindenao. All the hustle a bustle of Manila is quite an experience no matter how many times you have been there. It certainly is an eye opener as you see the many people going about their day. Poverty, squatters and  filth, along with the smells draw your attention. But there is also material weath, beautiful sights and impressive infrastructure. 

      The Filipino people are a people who always have a smile on their face and I haven't come across any who were not ready to help. We had this experience the very first day. Normally finding a taxi  isn't a problem but outside of where we were staying things seemed different. We got directions to where we would find some taxis. I guess we were heading in the wrong direction. The fellow who had told us where to go saw our misdirection and offered to help. "Hop on", he yelled.  So the three of us climbed aboard his trike and took us there. "Free", he says with the biggest smile. It must have been quite a sight, I think everyone was smiling. 

        I mentioned poverty. But we need to define poverty. The poverty we are concerned with is a poverty of having a broken relationship with God.  So we have come to assist church leaders gain a better understanding of God's Word and the confessions that ground us in our understanding of God's Word in order that they might be better equipped to share with those around them the riches that are in Christ Jesus.

   Saturday  we had the opportunity to travel to Imus, just south of Manilla. Our hosts the Zion Cornerstone Reformed Church had advertised the lectures for the last month. The day involved five lectures covering the Canons of Dort and the comfort we find in them.

        Attendance neared  sixty participants most of which were young people not of a reformed church but who were struggling with what they were hearing in their churches and they were looking for answers. It was reported to us that a young man who was struggling with questions had even begun to attend the church's inquirers class after hearing about these lectures. Glad to say he was at the seminar and very attentive. He had done a lot of pre-study. We pray this day was a blessing for the church leaders who were there but also for those young people who came. May the amazing grace of God be granted to them in knowing Jesus with a better understanding of this confession. May they find comfort in the teachings of the Canons of Dort. 

     Sunday we were able to worship with two congregations, the one in Imus and it's sister church in Pasig. Rev. Bouwers was asked to preach at both these services. His theme "Bearing One Another's Burdens" from Galations 6:1,2. It was wonderful to gather with God's people and rejoice in Him with them. May God continue to bless these church's that they may be a blessing and a witness to the community around them.