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.

Heaven while looking at the neighbors

Today I am preparing to preach tomorrow. Pastor Reuben, Hermie (our student intern) and I are working our way through a series called, Transformed. It basically looks at various passages in the Bible that talk about change in our lives. A few weeks back I preached on Transformed by the Truth. I tried to talk about the role of truth in our lives and the need for a commitment to the same (just got done reading a short book by Michael Green on this general topic and found it very helpful). Tomorrow it is Transformed by Heaven. I dug through the pile of books by my bed that still need to be read and found Randy Alcorn's Heaven and once again reminded myself that this needs to move up through the pile to the top.

As I was reading I came across Hebrews 11:16 which says, "But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." As I looked up I saw the sixty to seventy homes that are behind our house, very small, very simple. Some people are going to really appreciate that city.

Lord, as I preach your word about the wonders of the New Earth, please help me to communicate the little that I do comprehend as these people need the hope that it can bring.

Two days ago I was driving in our city and saw someone riding "piggy back". On a school playground, this would not be unusual but these were young men. As I drove by I took a closer look, the one who was being carried had a serious problem with his legs and the other young man was carrying him. Suddenly any problems I had just seemed so trivial. Would I be willing to carry someone like that? Why didn't they have a wheel chair for him?

Driving around our city can be a very powerful experience. If you would like to read a lengthy account written by one of my co-workers in Manila, just look for Sean Ransom's blog on this same site. It is about the man under the bridge.

Sunday is always interesting but...

Sunday is always an interesting day. But yesterday (October 1) was special for several reasons. I went to the airport at 5:30 AM to pick up our latest guest, Norm Merrill, who is from my home church in Battle Ground, Washington. He is here for one month to work on networking several entities in the area of Community Development. Maybe I will write another blog entry about this when I know more about what we are talking about.

Upon picking him up at the airport we went straight back to the house, grabbed breakfast, he got a shower and the rest of us got ready for church. We proceeded to Naga and the next three hours were filled with children (47 attended the Sunday School that Carol has organized) , walking around the immediate community of the church (this is a potential area for a community development project) with Norm so that he can get a better feel for the level of poverty that is around, attending the adult Sunday School (translating for Norm and participating in the excellent discussion), and attending worship service. During all of this we were informed that one of the young adult children of one of the faithful families in the church (I was a sponsor at this young man's wedding a few weeks ago) had been accused of possesing drugs. He had been put in a police station holding pen where they (the local police) had informed the parents that if they would give the police the equivalent of five months salary (without a receipt) they would let him go.

Like I said, it is never boring.

After church we went out to eat and then Carol took the boys to buy school clothes and I went home to get ready to speak at our church's outreach in a neighboring community. We went and had a good time with the people. I spoke on Colossians and the great list of things that Paul was thankful for. If you want to be encouraged, go and read the first half of the first chapter of Colossians.

I then took several people home and rounded up the relatives of the incarcerated young man, including his wife. We went to the original holding center and they told us that he had been transferred. We then drove back over the same road that we had come on to return to the city hall detention facility. We then found his parents there ahead of us. We were able to give him some clean clothes and talk to him. His parents had talked to the very helpful elderly gentleman who was in charge. He informed them that they would post bail to get their son out but this time there would be receipts for which I was thankful.

I got home at about 7:00 PM. Ate pizza and went to bed.

This morning the mother asked if I could loan them some money for the bail and I gave them some morning that I received this morning. I would like to ask everyone who reads this to pray for this young man. He claims that the drugs were planted on him, which is totally within reason but he needs to examine where he spends his time and the company he keeps. I went in support of the young wife, the parents and the other members of the church that are very concerned.

The holding cells were something else. Just cardboard on the floor and while we were there the men and women could visit each other in plain view of everyone. I just could not believe it. Things to learn everyday.

Teaching is what I do

This past two months I have enjoyed teaching a class of 35 students at the Evangelical Theological College of the Philippines. This young lady is one of the students. We have been talking about Understanding and Communication the Word of God. It has been an experience that I have found very meaningful to me.

One of the assignments was to write a biography of the man born blind in chapter 9 of John's Gospel. One of the students wrote the following:

And God spit in the dust and made mud and put it...

Just think, God made mud. What a very human thing yet God was living with us and doing things right in front of our eyes, or at least the eyes of the people that were alive at the time of Jesus. This student's simple comment has been coming back to me in so many ways, God lived here. He did things for and with us.

He went to weddings, funerals, fishing expeditions and visited people in their homes. Just imagine, God came to my house yesterday.

Teaching is such a challenging process. It leaves me open to the ideas and suggestions of others. Others who do not have the academic credentials that I have but do see the world in ways that I do not think of.

Thanks for joining me in this exploration.

Going to the Mountains

Sunday, July 2, several of us went up to a mountain community along the main road going to the other side of the Island. We have committed to encouraging a family there in their walk with the Lord. There were about eight of us from the small church that we attend. They go along for encouragement.

I was the speaker and so after a good time of singing I preached for about twenty-five minutes. It was just good to be with the family that we visited and the "team" from our church as well. I gave several rides home and as we went down the road they were discussing things that were happening at the church, like the mother that attended Sunday School with her child. The four or five young people who have been attending youth fellowships because of their involvement in the Sunday School.

Then they started telling jokes in about two languages (at a minimum) and they included me. Yes, I do feel at home here, even when the cultures are so different and half the time I do not know what is going on. Thanks for sharing this experience with me...

How Much Should I Give?

June 15 was another prayer meeting at the church we attend. One of the men (Verolo) that attends this prayer meeting is actually working with another small church up in the mountains. That church has a family living in their community that is living there without any support. The father (Max) had a business that went under and they are living in a house that another man is allowing them to live in rent free. They have several children and the man is trying to plant papaya. This is all well and good but it takes a few months for the plants to bear fruit so in the meantime they have next to nothing.

Back to Verolo, he works at the church in the mountains as a volunteer pastor. The nearest church gives him $32.00 per month to help with transportation. At prayer meeting Verolo asked us to pray for Max and his family, especially that they would have food on their table. In passing Verolo mentioned that he had given half of his honorarium to Max last month.

My tithe seems very small.

Another Year

June 13th found me standing in front of 32 (it has since grown to 34) eager faces. They are taking a class called Understanding and Communicating Scripture which means that I get to help them jump into understanding the Bible and then learning to communicate the same. A tall order for anyone, whether student or teacher. We have an additional challenge, they are listening to me in English and Cebuano. They understand some English, some Cebuano and three other languages. Welcome to the post Tower of Babel world!

One of the greatest joys is looking at the list of places they come from. Four of them come from a small church in the community of Kadjukan. The church's name is Mountain Top Evangelical Free Church. These students come from one of the most remote parts of the island where I live. They have come from their small village to a metropolis of one million where there is water that comes out of faucets (most of the time) and electricity that is in the walls (most of the ...). They do have one advantage, they speak Cebuano as their first language.

There are two young people who come from the first church that Carol and I attended 22 years ago in Butuan City. One is a young man who is the son of a fisherman that we got to know at that time. What a priviledge of have their child in my class. The student wasn't even born at that time!

There are a further three that come from a small group of islands that speak a different language (we have over a 100 languages in the country). This language group has a New Testament translated by their uncle, a Wycliffe missionary.

Not your average group of students but I wish you could be there with me every Tuesday morning.

Stealing Laundry

The other night, during the start of prayer meeting, there was large commotion about three doors down the alley (there are not streets and to call it an alley is even pushing it). I asked what was going on (understanding when everything is calm, is hard enough, when things get emotional, forget it). They said that someone had lost some of their laundry from off their line.

I guess that describes the level of poverty here that clothes hanging on the line are not safe. People steal them, sell them for quick cash and buy drugs or just food.

I think of the vast amount of clothes that are donated to Goodwill every day and then try to reconcile that to clothes being stolen off the line.

We really are not in Kansas anymore...