Interesting Reading

Currently I am reading a fascinating book about contemporary China entitled Oracle Bones. I am not an expert by any means regarding China, her culture or her history but I have found this to be an interesting introduction.

I have also enjoyed reading a blog regarding theology which I am sure others will enjoy.  It is Faith and Theology and is located on blogspot as well.

Men

Sunday, November 18, Pastor Reuben, Pastor Virollo, Japeth and myself went thirty miles south of the church and into the hills to attend a joint men's fellowship. There was a great meal (whole roasted pigs, chicken soup that was the best, rice and young coconut) and excellent group dynamic activities. We did things together as teams and the leadership helped us to "process" what happened and what we can learn from all this. We sang together, prayed together and just stood around and talked. There were about a hundred men in attendance with several of the pastors being former students of mine. It was just one of those times when you are very glad you are doing exactly what you are. The men in the picture are from a small mountain community two hours further south. The man in the jacket holding the microphone is their pastor, Mehroy Parantar. He and his wife have been in that small community for eight years and it is a delight to see their ministry there. Thanks for helping to make this possible.

Naga Kids

For the past three Sundays I have been doing something I have not done for about 13 years, and I am enjoying it. Carol invited me to teach the youth at the Sunday School outreach in Naga which is conducted in the mornings before we go to church. I am really having a great time. There are between 50 and 90 children each week. They come from homes where the income levels are very low, lower than you are currently thinking.

I get to teach the students who are in secondary school and above and currently we have fifteen students with a slight preponderance of females. We are outdoors so do pray that we will not have rain to often. High tech presentations include crayons, pens, clipboards, student books and chairs. I am having a great time. Some of my students are in the tiny picture.

Children

My brother, Mark, and his wife, Miriam, just had their first child last August. This event triggered some thinking on my part. We, Carol and I, have five children sprinkled from 29 years to 11 years. I have often just assumed their presence in my life like living room furniture. My brother in turn, while just a few years my junior, is enjoying his first. It made me think about the furniture in our lives. Truly our children are the best blessing that we can enjoy. I suppose I may have something else to say when we have grandchildren (that will be April 2008). Well, I need to get to work but I was just wanting to express my thanks to God during this Thanksgiving season, for our children.

This is something I never thought...

Last night, the two young ladies who work in our home and myself slaughtered two rabbits. Some of you are aware that we are raising rabbits as a potential community development project, well, we are not raising them for pets so it came time to slaughter and I pulled out the manual and literally read step by step as we went through the process. It was interesting that these two young ladies, Aimie and Luna, knew more about the process than I did, even though they had never been around rabbits. Just one of the life skills that modern society removes from our portfolio.

Raising rabbits has been interesting and I do think there is potential. This country is the size of Arizona with a population of 80 million. Traditionally they have depended on fish as a major component of their diet but the fish are disappearing so we are looking for alternatives. Got any other ideas?

Home

I am back in the Philippines after being away for four months or so. It is good to be with Carol and Mark again. I will be seeing David (away at boarding school) in a few weeks.

Last Sunday, September 30, I went to our small church and one of the gentlemen said to me as I came in the door, "Welcome home!" If I had any doubts about coming back, that greeting settled them right away. Carol was not feeling well so I took the teachers to the Sunday School and it was a good reminder about what it means to live without many of the nicer things of life. Things I enjoyed in the United States and enjoy at our house here in Cebu.

Just wanted to thank everyone for walking with us through this path! Vance

Spending the Night in Jail

Wow, I bet that got your attention. Actually I was not even close to jail but a friend of mine was because he is a missionary in a Middle East Country. He is now home, along with the rest of his family and I praise God for that. I had the chance to talk to him. He was water to my soul. He did not over state the drama, in fact he downplayed what happened to him. Most of what he talked about were his friends that he left behind and how he wished he could have said goodbye. I have never experienced anything like that. I consider my conversation with him to be one of the more significant "God sightings" I have ever experienced.

We need to remember that some of our brothers and sisters do not get to enjoy the blessings that we do. 

Praying in a House

Yesterday, Sunday, May 6th, we had a visitor at church. A young lady from Mindanao. She seemed to really enjoy her time with us. At the close of the service Pastor told us that she had requested us, the whole church, to come and pray over their house. This is not an usual request. I have prayed over musical instruments, cars, motorcycles, jeepneys, and a house or two. This is a common way for people to acknowledge the Lord's provision in their lives and to ask God's blessing.

So, we all climbed into private or public vehicles and about twenty of us, adults and children, went to the house. We pulled up in front of one of the nicer houses in town and went inside. That is when I realized this was going to be different. People were nervous and quiet. Then Pastor explained why we were there.

Last week in the news I had read about a botched robbery that involved the killing of a young nursing co-ed. I knew that it happened in our town of 80,000 but what I did not know was that it had happened in this house. The young lady who had come to our church was asking us to pray for protection for the remaining tenants who were house sitting while the owner lived in the United States (this is a very common practice here). The other young lady who was in the house was very afraid. According to the current state of investigation, the murder happened five days ago, the robbers were known by the occupants and they came in the front gate and were allowed entrance through the front door. They discovered the young lady in the course of the robbery and killed her. They just took a few smaller items.

Pastor had all of us pray together on the first floor of the house and then we went throughout the house praying for the occupants and binding the work of Satan in that place. It was quite an experience. Please do pray for our small group of believers that they will continue to reach out to those around us and demonstrate the power of the Good News of Jesus Christ in our community.

How important are birthdays?

Last Sunday, April 22, we sang "Happy Birthday" to one of the ladies in our small church. This is something we do whenever someone in our small group has a birthday. This is not something that is difficult to do since we only have thirty-five to forty adults and maybe 15 children in the worship family.

That is where I had something to learn. Pastor Reuben told me yesterday that she cried while we sang. Something so simple touched her so deeply. How could we know this or even think that this would have such a profound impact on her? I am so glad that there are people like Pastor Reuben who remember to sing "Happy Birthday."

I cannot remember what was preached that Sunday, maybe I was the preacher, but I will remember the results of singing that simple act of grace extended to a lady who experienced it.

Please pray that we all will be faithful in extending grace to one another. Remember Jesus said something about a glass of water given in his name.

Easter a week later!

Today is Tuesday, April 17 and I am still thinking about Easter. I cannot believe how important the events of Easter are to my life and my ministry. Our Holy Week was spent with three days at our very primitive church camp in the mountains with 80 people from our small cluster of churches.

The most meaningful event for me was praying with our "family". We were Carol, David, Mark and our helpers: Aimee and Luna. Aimee and Luna prayed, it was awesome hearing them express their concerns about their families to our Father. Made the long drive worth it all.

Besides going to the camp we hosted one of my college friends who came to teach a class at the college. Steve Peacock of Eureka, California taught for four and a half hours each day for seven days and brought the seventeen students along with him on a journey through the gospel of John. It was fun seeing this country and its people through the eyes of our guest. He had a good time and we did as well.

Well, I need to go. Thanks for sharing the journey with me.

Waves

In January I went with three of our boys to Siargao Island so that Brendon (24 years) could try out surfing in the Philippines. You have to understand that we do not have waves where we live and seeing them here in the Philippines was a treat for all of us.

The only problem was getting there, it took the better part of 36 hours in each direction. It was beautiful and the four of us did this for less than $200 for three nights accommodation and food.

Two Saturdays out of Three

I will be attending a funeral this Saturday, February 17. That will make two Saturdays out of three. Sometimes it is just to often to be reminded about our mortality. The funeral two weeks ago was a person that was elderly (funny how relative that term becomes) but this time it is a man who died of cancer and is much younger than I am.

I suppose that is the dividing line. People older than I am are "ready" and those younger are "not." That probably says a lot about myself and my less than desirable attitude towards aging.

I have been reading Randy Alcorn's Heaven and finding myself saying, "Yes, of course, why didn't I think of that?" It is such a well balanced presentation of a topic that can quickly become unbalanced. Anyway, these two concepts have much to inform each other about, namely that heaven does change how I think about mortality.