TAP at Table Talk

Another blog post minus photos because I'm having some troubles adding photos.

"....work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." ~ Phil. 2: 12-13


Our sessions are underway.  On Thursday  afternoon  a brief overview of the ecclesiastical offices of Deacon, Elder and Minister  was given by Dr. Bredenhof. It was great to see the interest of 20 or so men coming out to hear the talk and take part in the question and answer period. Interesting to me is the cultural aspect of it. ..what's being said perhaps from a somewhat foreign context and then how it's being interpreted by those present. It can be a bit messy. Messy in the sense that what is being said is of churches that have a long established history and it's coming to a place where the churches are, as one pastor here puts it, " in their infancy".  The start up and organization of churches here can be complicated and not what we would see back home as being ideal.  But as I mentioned in my last post we trust in a God who is bringing it to completion. 

Our evening session was very well attended. Here the talks focused on Regeneration, Justification and Sanctification. Again a lively question and answer period broke out.  As we reflect on  our life of putting off the old and putting on the new we find comfort in knowing "it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." ~ Phil. 2: 13

TAP is very thankful to be able to make use of the beautiful  Table Talk Lounge. A reformed reading room here in the heart of Cagayan de Oro. It is a great resource for those in the city who are wanting to learn more about the reformed faith and the good news of Jesus Christ.   It's close vicinity to the university means they see a lot of young people enter the door. On Sunday's the Grace Reformed Church gathers for worship here. 

It's our hope that those pastors  we meet continue to be lights in the world and as they labour for Christ they know and are assured that their labour is not in vain. 

"..thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." ~ 1 Cor. 15: 57-58

TAP VIII

My blog posts have been sporadic at best. I see now that I posted an initial post last year concerning our trip and did not follow up. Perhaps I can do that now. Our time here last year was mostly spent cultivating our relationships and working on a service orentied project by constructing a large tent shelter at the Jireh Reformed Bible Camp. A venue that is used for an annual bible conference. The work went well and hopefully I can get a photo to you later.

We're back and armed with an instructor. Dr. Wes Bredenhof has kindly offered to help. We give thanks for this because it has been a struggle to find instructors who have the time to come.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace..."~Phil. 1: 3-7

It's been 6 years since our inaugural trip here to the Philipinnes. I've made the trip now 6 times. Why?

For one ...it's warm. It's a warm climate. What come with that is a people who are warm and kind hearted. It's been a wonderful experience. The place and the people have a place in my heart and I'm thankful to God for putting that on my heart.  I'm thankful for God allowing the opportunity time and again. God has certainly been gracious. 

God's grace is evident all around. We are witness of the growth of the reformed faith growing in the Philippines. Of church growth....of God's faithfulness in the work being done here in building his church.

"Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. " ~ Phil 1:17.  

It is certain that the work being done here on the ground is being done by sinful people. Equally true, the work is being brought to completion by a gracious God who works though is Spirit and Word. Praise God!  We have been blessed to come to know a lot of people here working to advance the gospel. The wonderful couple from whom we rent our condo, this is couple who have served here in Cagayan de Oro for more than 30 years bringing the gospel to the areas of the province most don't dare to go. The Grace Reformed Church who have had their struggles along the way and now serve in a big way the reformed reading room, Table Talk which serves to provide a place to learn and read about the reformed faith. The Jireh Reformed church and the excellent way in which they provide in example of being a hand and foot to one another. The reformed churches in the other parts of the country and the various other gatherings here who we meet and who are at different points of their journey in the truths of God's Word. We are all on a journey and we look forward to its completion. In the meantime may we all work and strive to bring glory and honour to our faithful God. 

What I hope TAP to be is a small expression of God's love and faithfulness. Of an example of long term commitment in building relationships for the sake of Christ's kingdom. Of learning from each other and encouragement. 

There has certainly been blessing  and may God bless our time here. 

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.

Reflecting on the Past Week

It's so wonderful to be able to worship God with His people here in CDO. We were able to sit under God's Word today  brought to us by Pastor Vic Barnales. Pastor Vic coordinated a visit he was to make with another reformed group  near CDO during our visit.  It was great to be able to catch up with him. 

One of the songs we sang this morning was Psalm 16. 

                God keep me safe! In you I put my trust. 

                To You I said, "You are my faithful Saviour. 

                 Lord, with your presence I am richly blest.

                 Apart from You I can expect no favour."

Dr.Art with Pastor R. Lapiz

Whenever I mention to a Filipino in Canada, Manila or on the plane that I'm traveling to Mindanao, they always have this negative reaction. They think I'm crazy." It's not safe!" Maybe I need to stop mentioning Mindanao, the response I get starts to make me nervous.  I'm sure parts of Mindanao are not safe. You can be sure we don't go there. We've limited our travel to areas we know to be safe.  Cagayan de Oro is one of those safe places. Not to say you can't find trouble here but in general its a very friendly place. It's the city of friendship.  I've never felt not safe here. Still our prayer is this "God keep me safe! In you I put my trust!"  We also pray for and are thankful for those who bring the gospel into those dangerous areas. We have friends here who have been involved in that mission for decades.

                I love your saints; with them I am united,

                And in their midst my soul will be delighted.

To be with the saints here in CDO and to worship a faithful God, a faithful Saviour. To meet with God in the fellowship of  the believers is such a delight. In the four years that I have been coming here it has been wonderful to see the continued commitment to the reformed confessions, to reformed worship. I have to say, I think their singing has gotten better.  May God continue to remember  the churches here with favour, may they continue  to be united in Christ....Apart from You I can expect no favour.

We are thankful for the opportunities to serve and for the possible opportunities that have come with meeting new contacts. We're thankful for the conversations we could have and to be encouraged by them. Yes we are here to encourage but admittedly we need encouragement as well, which is something I've come to realize more and more with our involvement here. If you have missionaries in the field they need your encouragement, they need to be lifted up in prayer. 

Something a little lighter.... With any of our instructors we ask they read a few books concerning the cross cultural experiences they may encounter. Here is an example.  I order an item from the menu.  Art orders the same. I get my order. Art gets nothing. What happened? I explained to Art, "I ordered a burger, you ordered the same."  This was  a new one for me. Usually I'm quite detailed in the order not taking anything for granted right down to what's on the the burger. Hence Art wanting to save this detail orders the same. Kept it simple. But what it simply meant was that we were sharing the burger.   Another lessoned  learned in the Philippines.   

Celebrating God's Faithfulness

 I happen to enjoy collecting antique clocks and on some old clocks you'll read the Latin words "Tempus Fugit" , "Time Flies". Yes as we get older time seems to fly just a little bit faster. Our  instructor, Dr. Art gets to celebrate his birthday today. It was great to see his surprise when our hosts provided cake. Who doesn't like birthday cake? It was delicious! We pray that God's steadfast love would continue to be upon our brother in the year ahead and beyond. 

Art's birthday and the study of the covenant has my thoughts turning to the generations.

"The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations." Ps.33: 11.    

 More often then not God's Word speaks of and marks the passage of time by way of generations. In the bible we read long lists of names, genealogies. Real names, real people. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David.  Generations of God's people have come before us.  Here is a list of names you may not know.  Lance, Nikki, Albert, Ronald, sometimes called Ronaldo, J.P., Jeff, Michelle, Kim, Ray  and there are more. Why do I mention these names? They are a generation here in the Philippines. They too mark the passage of time and these names give testimony of an everlasting covenant where God has said that He will be our God and we will be His people. These names speak of a faithful covenant God who to Abraham promised he would be the father of a multitude of nations. We can give thanks and praise to God.

"Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright." Ps. 33: 1.   

May this generation and the generations that follow here in the Philippines give glory to a covenant God. May God's name be glorified. 

"Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!" Ps 33: 12

This evening we concluded the seminars concerning the everlasting covenant God has made with His people. We want to thank the Jireh Reformed Church for once again hosting our seminars. We also thank the Grace Reformed Church for their work and promotion of TAP . May God continue to reveal His love and grace in the Philippines.

"Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 

that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. 

Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. 

For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 

Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you." Ps. 33: 18-22

May God be Gracious to Us and Bless Us

Today is Sunday, the first day of the week, of all the days the best an emblem of eternal rest. This morning we made our way to the city of Imus , south of Manila and had opportunity to worship with the Zion Cornerstone Reformed Church of Imus. Before the service, there is Sunday School. The lesson today..."What is it to be blessed?"  Attention was drawn to the beatitudes and Psalm 67. If I can sum up the lesson with a few key words..."To be blessed is to be in Christ!"     Indeed to be found in Christ is all of God's grace and so may God be gracious to us. May His face shine on us. Psalm 67 happened to be our morning devotion and so it was interesting that Psalm 67 was part of the lesson.  What a comfort it is to know on trips such as these , away from our loved ones, that they too will sit under the blessing of the LORD, this day, in fellowship with the Church of Jesus Christ and that we have done the same.

I know I've  had these sentiments  before in previous posts but I find myself on the other side of the world and I find it an amazing thing to experience the Church universal  in such a real way.  "God's way is being known on the earth, His saving power among the nations." We can be sure our covenant God, Yaweh, is making a people for Himself throughout the world.

"Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth."

In the afternoon we traveled to Pasig, to the Zion Cornerstone Reformed church of Pasig. Interestingly we met a young brother from  Neerlandia. He's been conducting business here in the Philippines. It's a wonderful thing for him to be able to attend the church here. To be able to share in their hospitality and care. A blessing that comes with a church universal. 

We want to thank the Imus and Pasig churches once again for their warm hospitality, their faithfulness, their love for God and His people and wish them many blessings  in Jesus Christ. 

This morning we fly to Cagayan de Oro and will spend some time there. More later.

"God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!"

TAP VI Nurturing God's People in the Faith

By God's grace and wonderful provision we were able to arrive here in Manila safely. This is now my fourth visit to the Philippines on behalf of TAP. But it is our sixth time here as TAP providing theological instruction. During those visits we have been able to meet many people, many believers in Jesus Christ. It has been a wonderful experience to cultivate these friendships. The Filipino people are a relationship oriented people and this will serve us well as we speak about our covenant relationship with God. Dr. Art Witten will be our instructor, he has been a Christian educator, an elder in the Canadian Reformed Churches  and involved in various committee work for many years. We are very thankful he is able to serve God, TAP and the churches in the Philipinnes in this way.

 Today we have traveled to Malolos, a city north of Manila, about an hour, or two, journey north of where we are staying, which happens to be close to the international airport in Manila. The title of the presentation this morning is "Nurturing Covenant People in the Faith". The presentation is based on the late Clarence Stam's book, "The Covenant of Love -Exploring our relationship with God".   In the afternoon the presentation will revolve around the work of the Elders within this covenant relationship. 

 By my count there are some 45-50 people in attendance this morning.  A wonderful turn out, many of which traveled quite a distance to be here....although I'm quite confident not as far as us. Still it speaks of the eager desire to learn and to want to know God better. To navigate the streets of Manila is no easy task... at least not to these eyes. Navigating though God's Word can sometimes be difficult as well, so as we explore the beautiful relationship we have with our covenant God , may God be glorified and honored...may we be blessed. That is our prayer.

  This morning in our devotions we read from Acts 1: 1-12 and were able to reflect on those verses.  In those verses we read, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." The Holy Spirit continues to work and continues to be faithful in this promise. It's not to say the Philipinnes is the end of the earth, with tongue in cheek , I can think of other places that might fit that description better.  My thoughts turn to how humbling it is to know and to be a witness of the Holy Spirits work in the Philipinnes. The reformed faith is growing here, there is a hunger for the truths of God's Word and a real desire to witness among their communities, among their neighbours. 

"Today on weary nations the heav'nly manna falls; to holy convocations the silver trumpet calls, where gospel light is glowing with pure and radiant beams a living water flowing with soul-refreshing streams."

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.

Reflecting Thoughts

  Perhaps it might be good to close off this blog with some reflecting thoughts of our first training session in the Philippines. Thinking back, we can be thankful to God that all went well and that He kept us safe and was near to our families back home. We are also thankful for all the prayers and support from our Providence Church family and broader community!

  It was a joy to be of service to God and to our brothers and sisters in the Philippines. God gave us much reason for joy!  There was a genuine desire to learn of the Reformation. There is genuine desire to follow God’s Word faithfully and return to the truth contained in it. A number of pastors whom we had contact with already had a good understanding of the Reformed doctrines. This is something to be very thankful for.

   Our time in the Philippines allowed us to become more familiar with God’s people there, to strengthen relationships and make new ones.  We also were able to learn of the difficulties and concerns of those desiring to follow the Reformed faith. Following God’s Word comes with a cost and the cost for these brothers and sisters is very real. Pentecostal pastors with once sizable congregations are now pastors of congregations with few in number.   Support and finances becomes a concern. Still though there is reason for smiles. (Filipino people are known for their smiles even in hardship.)  “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”(James 1:2,3)  During our conversations it was evident that there has been blessing and a knowledge that our faithful God would continue to bless their faithfulness.  

   Please pray that these young congregations continue to stand firm in the faith, continue to be watchful and to be strong.  “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (1Cor.16: 13,14) Please pray that they, and we, continue to love one another. “Love does no wrong to a neighbour…” (Romans 13: 10)

   The journey for these congregations will not be easy, but we rest in the knowledge that through the Word the Holy Spirit is at work in the Philippines. We trust that Christ continues to gather, defend and preserve a church for Himself. We can take great comfort in knowing Christ, seated at the right hand of God…seated in glory, has received all power and authority in heaven and earth. It is He who governs all things to our benefit, even at this very moment.  May God be praised and glorified! 

Malolos

Tuesday was a travel day. Early in the morning we flew to Manila. In Manila we had planned to meet with some other reformed missionaries who are working here. There was a little confusion in our communication so the meeting never happened.  From the airport we had already planned to go to the Mall of Asia so we needed to find away from the airport to the mall. We needed to find a taxi.  Finding a van would be ideal. We would ask the first nice van we saw pull up and drop off his passenger. Turns out it wasn't a taxi but after asking the owner of the van, he was gracious and  offered us his van and driver to drive us to the mall. We never expected that! 

The mall was large and modern with many of the same stores you would see back home. It also included an ice rink. People could rent skates and skate on the ice. There were not many good skaters but they all seemed to enjoy themselves. 

Later in the day we met up with Pastor Melo who had flown in later. With Pastor Melo we traveled to Malolos north of Manila. 

About 14 pastors and church members attended the first day of lectures held at the  Grace Community Church. Here again it's evident there is a desire to learn. A desire to learn more of the Reformed faith.  Like the church back in Cagayan de Oro they have a Pentecostal background.  The Lord is working here as well to bring about change. Something to be thankful for. 

Today  Dr. Bredenhof will continue with the Reformation Church History course.

Please pray for the continued reformation of the church here. 

On to Manila

This past Sunday we attended the  Balulang Christian Alliance Fellowship in the morning where Dr.Bredenhof delivered the message from Matthew 20:1-16. In the afternoon we went to the Kagay-an Reformed Church. Dr. Bredenhof preached a lesson from Lord's Day 5. Pastor Melo translating for both services. It  was again a previledge to have worshipped with them.

In the evening we were invited by the Jireh Reformed Church (Congregational) to a pig roast. They are a neighbouring church in the area. Pastor Lapiz and some of the members of the church attended the lectures. It didn't take long and the pig was gone. It was another memorable day.

Today we had a few meetings with our brothers here. It was a time to reflect on what God has been doing in the lives of these young men and their families. It was a time of encouragement.  We are also able to note there is much to be thankful for.  Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters here . They do  not have an easy situation. 

In the evening we were back in Balulang for a farewell meal. It was also a time to learn some more Genevan Psalms. We want to thank out hosts in Cagayaon de Oro. Thank you for your hospitality. Thank you also to the Shackleford's, being  able to stay at your place was a real blessing. 

Tomorrow morning bright and early we plan to fly to Manila. The Lord willing, TAP will  be offering an abbreviated course on Reformation Church History  north of the city. 

Please pray for traveling mercies. Please pray the lectures would be well attended  and be a blessing to all.