From March 18 through April 16,
2004 I was in the Philippines for two
purposes, first, to strengthen the churches and the Christians on the
islands of Cebu and Bohol, and second, to meet with the other half of
my
mission team for our upcoming mission to Africa, to make plans and to
complete government paperwork necessary for that trip.
Both objectives were met on this
trip. The relationships formed with the church members in
Salvador, and with the local preachers on Bohol, form the
beginning of a long-term work in central Bohol. Although
commitments to Africa and India will keep us from devoting a major part
of our effort there in this decade, I am sure there will be profitable
work for us there whenever we return to Grace's hometown. This
is a solid, indigenous work, which is now spreading from Salvador to
Datag, and soon to nearby Carmen. It was a tremendous joy to be
able to share in God's word and in all that God is teaching us in our
daily life in Christ Jesus with these evangelists and Christians.
The primary emphasis of my teaching there on this trip, both public and
private, was salvation by grace through faith, apart from law (Romans
4) and the continuous cleansing of our sin by the blood of Jesus
Christ (1 John 1). In addition, I was able to teach several small
groups on Titus 2, focusing on the contrasting and complementary
teaching roles of the evangelist and the older women of the church.
Grace and I were able to solidify our
plans to join our lives together in God's service. Together we
decided to pursue the route of bringing Grace to the United States on a
fiance visa prior to our departure for Africa. This seems to be
the route with the least probability of long delays due to government
bureaucracies. Being together in one place for the first time in
two years we were able make substantial progress on both the
plans and the red tape. For example, we were finally
able to get a certified birth certificate for Grace, which had
been held up because Grace's mother's maiden name was mis-spelled in
the National Statistical Office records.
