Back to Cagayan de Oro TAP VII

Philippians 2:25, 29-30: " I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need....so receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honour such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me."   Paul expressing his gratitude to one of his supporting churches for the supplies they sent with Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus served the church and the cause of missions by being a messenger of the church's love for Paul. They were ministering to his emotional and physical needs by way of Epaphroditus. With his efforts he helped advance the cause of missions by supporting the most effective means of missions and that is long-term missionaries.    With this example TAP is back in the Philippines. Our prayer and hope is that we can refresh and encourage the indigenous pastors of  young and relatively small churches by making another "short-term" trip. We also endeavor to continue to learn from them, learn about the culture and cultivate relationships.    A comment I heard a few years ago continues to resonate with me , "Thank you for loving us!" This has fueled a desire to go back and is a reminder of the blessings found in simply loving. What a great command. So with the lack of an instructor a last minute decision was made to come. Our trips may be "short-term" but TAP is committed to a long-term ministry of encouragement. Please pray that TAP may be a blessing to the reformed churches in the Philippines. The island of Mindanoa has become a hot bed for ISIS activity. We covet your prayers for safety as well. More on this trip later.