I can’t believe the month of January came and went so fast. There are so many wonderful things happening here in the Philippines and I’d like to share some of those with you.
This month we dedicated a lot of time to helping the spiritual growth of the church in Balacbac. The best way to do this is by spending lots of time with church members having Bible studies, praying together and accepting their invitations to a home cooked dinner. Rough life, I know. It has been really encouraging for my own spiritual walk with the Lord. Preparing for these Bible studies is something I look forward to. I find myself digging deeper into the word of God, looking up commentaries and praying about what these scriptures mean to me personally. And it isn’t just me who is leading the Bible studies, each of my team mates has led them (we take turns) and hearing what God has given them also builds me up. It doesn’t always go smoothly and sometimes, well most times, we can’t truly be sure the members of the church understand everything we are saying but this keeps us reliant on the work the Holy Spirit does.
One very specific Bible study we started at the end of the month was with Ate Vivian. Ate Vivian heard me share my testimony at a Social Services workshop a ways away from where we live. After our time of sharing she came up to me and Juliana, introduced herself and gave us a small piece of paper. After she had gone I opened it to read it. In it she told us she was touched by my testimony and desired we visit her to share more about Jesus. I texted her immediately to set up a time. That was on a Wednesday and that Saturday we had our first Bible study with her, her husband, and two friends. We have learned a lot about Ate Vivian and her family as well as the other people who were there. Her husband and her have knowledge of the word of God and were members of a church at some point but their faith was shaken and they have since left the church. The other two women are Ate Emily and Ate Jenny. Emily is not yet a believer and Jenny has some knowledge of Jesus, both are interested in knowing more and growing closer to God. We have also begun to teach Ate Vivian’s kids. My first lesson with them was about creation. I had a really fun time teaching these two kids who don’t know English very well. We laughed a lot whenever I said the wrong word or used it improperly. They taught me lots of Tagalog that day. The first time we went to visit Ate Vivian she kept saying “I know God brought you to me here.” I know He did too. I really look forward to seeing them again this Saturday.
My team and I received a wonderful surprise this month. A dear friend from Washington sent us a huge box full of supplies for kid’s ministry. We began to use them immediately. We held our first Kids Service and used many of the supplies. The Kids Service brought lots of joy to my heart. My mom has been involved in children’s ministry for as long as I can remember and putting this service together made me feel close to her and her heart for sharing the gospel with kids. We had worship songs led by Braden and April (youth member), a message on creation led by me and the youth with plenty of beautiful visuals made by Timo, food prepared and cooked by the mothers and the most creative games led by Juliana. Timo is working on a video of that day as I type! Can’t wait for you to see it.
Apart from these activities we do many things that are quite normal like go grocery shopping, sit at coffee shops, do chores, watch movies at home, cook breakfast and wash an endless amount of dishes. It hasn’t all been easy, but it has all been worth it. I know we are being shaped by our time here and I believe it’s for our own good and the good of others.
In Acts 8:26–40 I recently read the story about Philip and the Egyptian Eunuch. Philip was told to take a specific road and he encountered a man desiring to understand the scriptures. Philip took the time to sit with this man and explain what he was reading. Upon understanding, the Eunuch enthusiastically asked Philip to baptize him. That day I prayed my team and I would be led and used the way Philip was. Here in the Philippines the majority of people know about God because of their Catholic backgrounds, but most of them haven’t encountered Him personally nor do they understand scripture. At a glance one would question why MB Mission would send a TREK team here, but upon further inspection you would see the great need in people’s heart. The people God has sent us to desire to understand scripture, and to grow and my team and I are more than willing to take the time and plant and water seeds of the gospel. In other words be Philip in the Philippines.
Once again, thank you for reading and staying in touch. I miss my home, but I am finding more and more life-giving moments here as time goes on. I’m grateful for all moments, both the difficult and joyful. Stay tuned for more!
–Former Tabor College Admissions Counselor Jessica Garcia is serving the Lord in a different capacity. Garcia is on TREK with MB Mission, a 10-month discipleship in missions program.