May '17 Update: From Tina's Perspective

Hi Everyone! It’s Tina this time, giving a little recap of our last trip to the Philippines.I was privileged to be able meet up with Tim in Cebu after he had taught a week-long module in Davao City. He hadn’t gotten there yet when I arrived so our hosts, Mel and Marie Caparros, picked me up and took good care of me until Tim’s flight got in.

Focus on Personal Evangelism

That night, Tim taught John 9 at an outreach church in an area where many call centers are located. During their summer months, this church has focused on personal evangelism for 8 weeks in a row and they wanted Tim to preach an evangelistic message for both their Saturday night and Sunday morning services.Then on Sunday afternoon, Tim preached to a different outreach church. It was a full and rewarding weekend meeting many new Filipino brothers and sisters and seeing the gospel going forth in their community.

Great Strides in the Expository Preaching Module

On Monday through Saturday, Tim and Sean Ransom began the expository preaching module with this group of hard-working pastors who sat in class from 9-5, then went home and did homework in addition to their normal pastoral responsibilities.  When I asked one of the younger pastors how the module was helping him, he replied “I feel confident to teach the psalms after this class.”  He also said that he noticed the preaching of his classmates noticeably improved from last module. Praise the Lord! Tim and Sean were also greatly encouraged by the improvement they saw as well.

The Privilege of Teaching the Women of Cebu

During my time there, I also had the opportunity to spend time with the women, offering encouragement and exhortation from the Scriptures. On Wednesday evening, I was with 30 pastor’s wives and encouraged them from God’s word about the great privilege it is to serve alongside their husbands to see souls saved and matured. Then, on Thursday night, I spoke to several hundred mothers and grandmothers, motivating them to invest in spiritual lives of their children and grandchildren.[gallery ids="821,820" type="rectangular"]On Saturday, while Tim was teaching the module in an adjacent room, I taught an all day seminar on  “Why Am I Angry?” where I was also able to share my salvation testimony and the gospel to more than 350 women. The ladies said it was very challenging and helpful to them. I was humbled, and a little intimidated when I later learned that I was being televised to the outreach churches. After the conference, I was in more photo-ops than I think I ever had been in my life (including my wedding! Ha!). I was also extended a gracious invitation to come back in 2019 to teach at their Women’s Conference which would include women from all 100 outreach churches of Living Word Christian church.During the week, many of my afternoons were spent in sweet fellowship with dear sister, Marie, as well as other pastor’s wives or women from the congregation. Then during most evenings, if I was not teaching, I was reunited with Tim to enjoy dinner and time together. Another sweet blessing on this trip was that Tim and I were able to stay a couple of extra days after our ministry opportunities were done to tour Cebu.

Encouragements to My Own Heart

As I reflect on the trip, I was so blessed to see and hear how the Lord is saving and growing people in Cebu. Another thing that I really appreciated about being among these believers was how they savored worship. There was an extended period of singing and scripture reading before the preaching of God’s Word. Some even lingered after service to pray in their seats.I also heard of the commitment of this body to pray as a whole church and even fast together a few times a year.  I reflected on this quite a bit during my quiet mornings at the hotel and hope to make some changes in my own life as a result.

Prayer Requests

• Thank you for praying for our safe travel and health for our trip. We are grateful to the Lord for his care for us while we are gone.
• Please continue to pray for Tim’s work on his dissertation. Praise to the Lord that he has finished all of the class assignments and can now focus on the dissertation. Praise also that the Lord allowed for him to turn in a draft of the introduction.
• Continue to pray for the Filipino pastors who are in the training that the Lord would continue to give them understanding on how to study the Word and skill in how to preach it. Pray for them as they work on their passages for preaching from the Psalms and Proverbs.
• Please pray for Living Word Christian Church in Cebu and for Soli Deo Gloria Christian Church in Davao, that they would be faithful to make disciples. Pray for pastors Mel and Jurem and their families that God would strengthen them for the work of the ministry and protect them from the attacks of the evil one.