God's answers

I will admit, I can be weak in faith at times. I suppose all the emotional highs of my trip have to be balanced by emotional lows now. As I sit and look at all that is before us, I admit to being a bit weak.

Tonight, I was having such a moment. Despite all evidence already given to me, I asked God, "God, I need to know You're with me on this." Again, there have been many instances where God has shown me that. But I am human, and as Psalm 103 reminds us, God "knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." So, once again God in His mercy answered me.

Less than half an hour after I made my petition, I received an email from Pastor Greg Begafria, pastor of Shiloh Bible Baptist Church Sindangan. You may recognize the recurring family name of "Begafria" as we continue these posts. The Fabulous Begafria Boys are all from the same family (some brothers, some cousins), and they are all ministers on Mindanao.

I had the privilege to meet Pastor Greg during my trip. I even was blessed to speak in his church. But his email to me was a blessing. Part of his email reads as follows:


Pastor Greg preaches
at his church in Sindangan


"The church is glad upon sharing you the good news. We have just baptized this morning 5 souls. To God be the glory! All of them were young people in high school.Thanks a lot for praying and for bearing with the missionary’s burden - that is all about souls being saved and follow Christ in obedience to water baptism."

What a wonderful confirmation! Praise God for answered prayers, sometimes immediately after I have made a request. How wonderful is our God!

Now, Pastor Greg has several prayer requests to add.

• Monthly goal of baptism and more souls saved (the church goal is 150 baptisms this year).
• High school ministries expand with the start of the school year (it starts in June in the Philippines). Particularly Sindangan National High School and Sindangan National Agricultural School are schools where the church hopes to have ministry. Perhaps these five new souls will be part of those outreaches!
• Praying for Christian children's books to assist with their outreach to children.
• Praying for the new opportunities for Bible studies with the military detachment. If you didn't see our post from a day ago about the fruit God is producing through military Bible studies in Ozamis, please check it out.
• Soul-winning youth camp in December (we will tell you more about this need at a later time).
• Church lot (we will tell you more about this need at a later time).

So please, join with us as we praise God for these five souls who publicly proclaimed their allegiance to Jesus Christ. And also join with us as we pray for these needs for Pastor Greg Begafria and the church in Sindangan. Also, please join your prayers with ours as Homegrown Harvesters tries to follow God's leading.

Do they not have a soul? Learning from Pastor Jun

There were many highlights to my trip to the Philippines last month. I met many amazing people and shared many exciting experiences. Of course, I got engaged and baptized my mother-in-law, and those experiences are hard to top.

But for ministry purposes, my conversations with Pastor Jun Begafria certainly were among the highlights of the trip. Pastor Jun is the founding pastor of Shiloh Bible Baptist Church in Ozamis City, the mother church for all the SBBC churches. He left his native island more than 15 years ago to plant a church on Mindanao. He had to learn a new language (though Tagalog and English are official languages, the islands have different dialects) and a new culture and adapt to a new surrounding. Now, the church has sent out 24 missionaries, and it has a goal to send out many more.



Pastor Jun speaks in Tampilisan.

 The first time I heard pastor Jun was May 25 in Tampilisan. He was the final speaker at the first anniversary service for the SBBC church there (his brother Raffy is the pastor in Tamplisan).

Very early in his message, God answered a prayer. As I have read and reread the works of K.P. Yohannan, the founder and president of Gospel for Asia whose ministry has greatly shaped my understanding of what Homegrown Harvesters should be, I recall that he urge Westerners to find out the vision of any ministry we want to support. So, a question in my mind for a long time has been, "What is the vision of the SBBC work?"

It didn't take long for Pastor Jun to answer that question. He spoke passionately about the eternal value of reaching souls for Christ. He pointed out that in the Zamboanga Peninsula, there are close to 4 million people and very few churches. Across Mindanao itself, there are 24 million people.

He spoke passionately about the need to continue in the work. He told about a study he and some others had done to assess the need on Mindanao. He reported that in a certain geographic area (the names of the cities meant little to me, and I ask you to forgive me for not knowing exactly the places of which he spoke), there were no Baptist churches at all. In fact, the gospel had done little to penetrate these Muslim areas.

As he spoke, he told of the indifference of some people to whom he had spoken. "That's under the arm of Mindanao." "They're Muslims." "It will be hard."

Then, with tears and shouts, he uttered words I will never forget. "Yes, they may be under the arm of Mindanao. Yes, they may be Muslim. Yes, it will be hard. But do they not have a soul? Will they not go to hell without the gospel? What price is too high to save a soul?"

There it was! Before I could ever ask him, in the first sermon I ever heard him preach, Pastor Jun told me what I had wanted to know. Providence of God again, as has often happened in my journey with this ministry. It would be one thing if Pastor Jun answered a question I asked him; it's another thing entirely for him to answer the only question I wanted to know, and to do so without me asking him.

Beyond the answer to my prayer, though, is the reality of what he said. Please understand, parts of Mindanao are off-limits to Westerners. There is no way for someone, especially a white man, from the United States to plant churches in these places on Mindanao. But God has raised up Godly men from that nation to take His word and His gospel to them.

There were many other evidences of God's work during the time I spent with Pastor Jun. The following day, I was blessed to speak with him at his home before the prayer meeting. He told me of other Americans who wanted to help, and as he described the best way that we could help, he listed several things that were already on my heart.

Case in point, he told of one American who encouraged him to travel to the United States to tell churches of the work God is doing. He had an incredulous look as he recounted telling the man, "Do you realize how much that would cost? It would take all of our church resources. It's better for me to stay here and minister." Of course, a faithful reader of our blog would know that our burden is to be the voice for these missionaries. How we will get to that point remains to be seen, but we trust God will provide what He has burdened our hearts to do.

Another time, a missionary was there who was still trying to raise support. The man had raised about $2,000, and Pastor Jun asked him, "Why don't you take half of that and give it to missionaries who are here. Just $1,000 can support 10-15 missionaries." Understand, this missionary's support was more than double what 10-15 indigenous missionaries would need to do their work. How much more work can 10-15 missionaries do than one missionary?

In addition to his duties on Sundays and Thursdays and his travels to the various anniversary services, Pastor Jun is also actively involved in Bible studies in the city of Ozamis. One of those places where he is able to hold Bible studies is the military base.

He shared with me a story from those Bible studies. The very day we spoke, he had a woman approach him and thank him for the Bible studies. This woman was a stranger to him, but she was so thankful to meet him.

She told him she was the wife of a certain officer, and "for 21 years, every time he went to the base, I had a black eye." But within the last year, the beatings stopped. She became curious. After asking her husband what had happened, he told her, "Come to the Bible study and you will see."

This officer had committed his life to Christ about six months earlier, and the change was so different, his wife noticed. After attending the Bible studies with her husband for a short while and seeing the change, she, too, prayed to receive Christ.

He shared another story similar to that one of a long-time drunk who stopped drinking all of a sudden, alarming his wife, and now both of them are members of Christ's family.

You see, when we ask for support for these churches, we are asking you to join with them in reaching their world. Right now, most of our focus has been on helping buy land or build buildings. But we hope to be able to offer monthly support to these men.

Even in a bigger church, such as the one in Ozamis, there are needs. Fares for taxis or tikads; bus fare; rent on the building; food and clothing for the pastor and his family. These are legitimate needs that come up, and often the pastors lack the resources to meet those needs.
 


Pastor Jun speaks in his church in Ozamis.

Pastor Jun's passion is evident, even in a short meeting. He spoke about the opportunities before them to reach the Muslims on their island. We must point out that some of the missionaries from the church are former Muslims. Some of the missionaries from their church were at one time Muslims, and they are now missionary pastors to their own people.

As you read this next part, keep in mind that Mindanao is home to at least two Muslim terrorist groups. Al-qaeda has a presence there, and Abu Sayyaf is one of the militant separatist groups on the island. There may be more, but I know of those two.

As Pastor Jun was talking about the vision in front of him, his eyes lit up and he said, "Mindanao Muslims are very respected in the Muslim world because they are so fierce. If we can reach them with the gospel, if Muslims around the world see them come to Christ, we can reach the entire Muslim world."

Read that again. And again. I want you to understand what he said. Right now, God has granted this family of churches the opportunity to do something that would shake and shatter the world of Islam. Do you want to be a part of that?

I must point out the contrast of his mindset and that of many American Christians. Instead of posting articles about the impending doom of our country by sharia law and highlighting the dangers Islam poses to our temporary and short lives, he is rejoicing that he lives near violent, passionate Muslims because he sees the opportunity to reach the whole Muslim world for Christ. Mercy, which heart is more in tune with Christ's?

I have to ask you to consider this. How do you look at Muslims? Do you see dangers to your American comfort, or do you see men and women who are trapped by a false religion and whose only destination is hell unless they hear and believe the gospel? As Pastor Jun asked us, "Do they not have a soul?"

Oh that we would have that heart! Oh that we would see Muslims moving into our country as a mission field, not as a threat to our way of life! Oh that we would consider the mercy of God, that we live in a country with easy access to the gospel, whereas these immigrants did not have it. Perhaps God is moving them to our nation to give us a chance to share the good news with them!

That's a sidebar. Back to our topic now. When you give to help support these pastors, you are a part of the work God is doing there. And whether they are reaching the Muslims, the Catholics, the Jehovah's Witnesses or the animistic tribes of the mountain areas, these pastors are reaching people with the good news of Jesus Christ.

As always, we remind you that if you are interested in helping us, you may give a tax-deductible gift through Love in Action Ministries. They are our partner ministry in Dothan, Ala. Please contact them to donate. Just mark on your donation "Philippines." Every bit of your gift will go toward the work in the Philippines. On a related note, please pray for Love in Action Ministries founder Ken Tuck as he battles some health issues. We pray for a speedy recovery.

To contact Love in Action Ministries, either use the hyperlink provided or see below.

Love In Action International Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 85
Dothan, AL 36302
To contact us by phone, call:
334-494-4995

To close, I will show you a banner hanging in Shiloh Bible Baptist Church in Ozamis. It really says it all about the ministry. Will you join us to help reach the untold millions?



Hanging in the church in Ozamis



Helping our brothers in Dipolog City

Pastor Mario Montero started his ministry months after his conversion. He doesn't flinch when he tries to explain how, a week before his church celebrated its ninth anniversary, he battled a crowd control problem.

"It's all by God's grace," he said. "I started with no literature, no Bibles, nothing. I didn't even know how to win a soul. I slept in the bus. It's all by God's grace."

On May 31, 2011, Pastor Montero and his flock at Shiloh Bible Baptist Church in Punta, a barangay of Dipolog City, on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, celebrated their ninth anniversary. Nine days earlier, on a warm Sunday afternoon, he talked with Homegrown Harvesters about the ministry.

The church has approximately a hundred members. And in the lot and building the church now owns, there's not much room left. This fisher of men is seeing his nets breaking. As they planned the anniversary, they realized they could only invite 400 people. If they put up a tent over the back, set up chairs under the mango tree and squeezed as much as they could.



As you can see, there's not much room left. This is the service Sunday, May 22, 2011.

"We would love to invite 3,000 people, but we have no room," Pastor Mario said.

Pastor Mario is a man of many talents. Before he converted, he worked in a monastery making images of the saints. However, through the witness of Pastor Jun Begafria, pastor of Shiloh Bible Baptist Church in Ozamis, the mother church for the SBBC family, Pastor Mario was converted on Oct. 16, 1994. One year later, he became a full-time missionary, going out to Lopez Jaena.

In 2002, the call to Punta came, and he and his family moved down to Dipolog City to start a mission work. Pastor Mario is the elder statesman of the SBBC missionaries. He was the first missionary sent out from Ozamis, and he has paid a steep price.

The life of a pioneering missionary is hard. The years have not been kind to him. Years of sacrifice have taken their toll. When he preaches, he has a persistent cough. During my visit, he battled a fever. A few years ago, he watched his oldest son die of malnutrition.

"No money for medicine, malnourished it broke my heart,but none of this things move me," he wrote in a 2006 email to an American pastor.

When I asked him about it, he huffed a two-word answer, paused for several seconds, and resumed talking about the ministry. My journalism professors would chide me, but I let it pass. I was looking for a story; he was looking to talk about ministry.

As there have been trials, there have also been lessons learned. One of those lessons is to use visual aides in his sermons. The Shiloh Bible Baptist Church family uses the King James exclusively, and though there are efforts to translate the KJV into the Visayan dialect, those projects cost money. Also, as he explained to me, "Filipinos understand the sermons better when you give them something they can see."

All good sermons come with outlines. Pastor Mario's are done on tapestry and stretched across the wall behind the pulpit.

Sermon outlines in Punta adorn the wall.

Once they are used, they do not go to waste. In fact, as we were talking, the church members were taking part in the discipleship time. We were fortunate, because it was a sunny day. During discipleship time, the church members practice teaching/preaching from the streamers. Men, women, even children learn to defend their faith by teaching lessons from the streamers.

It was exciting to see the different people teach the lessons, because they each saw something different from the outlines. With multiple scripture references, the teacher can take different angles as he or she follows the outline.

 

The adult men take turns teaching about the necessity of witnessing.



Is it effective?

"Everyone knows how to witness," Pastor Mario said. "Everyone knows how to teach the Bible. We have teachers who were converted by their students because the children know the Gospel so well."

In fact, to combat the issue of a lack of space, the church members hold off-campus Bible studies and extension services in places such as Moliton and Manukan.

  

One dear lady, in her 60s, is such a soul-winner, she only rests on Sundays. She holds a series of Bible studies every Monday with some assistance from some other church women. 



A teacher teaches the children about

the sheep and the goats

 

At the extension services, the men who are not called to be pastors but who nevertheless are able to preach use Pastor Mario's streamers. 



Another teacher instructs the children

As one career missionary to Manila told me, "When I first saw the streamers, I thought, 'I don't need that. What is going on here?' But then after a while, I understood how useful it is."

This dear brother is a body builder to support his family, and he preaches and teaches in Manila. He still misses home, though, and said he often calls home and asks Pastor Mario to preach the sermons to him.

Another missionary, this one who ministers among the Subanen tribe in the mountains, explained it this way, "When we have the drawings, they can see what we are telling them. We tell them Jesus died on the cross, but they are able to see it. We tell them He came out of the grave, but now they can see it (on the streamer). They understand."

 

Even the youngest get a chance

to show what they have learned.



My conversation with Pastor Mario was on May 22. As you can see from the photos, the streamers were stretched over buses and across walls outside.



On May 29, there was no way they could hold discipleship. As is often the case. The rains came. Rain is no small matter when there is only a dirt road leading to your church. The photo below is the exact same spot where the photo above of the teaching the pink streamer was taken. One week, teaching and discipling. The next, nothing. Such is the case for our brothers in Christ.

But we're not just telling sad tales. We are praying for solutions. In fact, one is just a short hop away.



The end of the property line
and the wall of the church



Just a few inches away from where the current church rests is a vacant 500sqm lot. It is priced at 500,000 Philippine Pesos. This translates roughly to $12,000 U.S. For $12,000, the property and all the paperwork can be completed.



As we always say, first we would ask for your prayers. Only God can raise this money to His glory. So please pray for this need. It is not the only one we have, but it is at the top of the list right now.

As you pray, ask yourself this question: What if your ability to learn the Bible depended on the weather? What if your pastor had to say, "Don't invite any more people. We're too crowded."?



If  you are interested in helping us as we raise this money, you may give a tax-deductible gift through Love in Action Ministries. They are our partner ministry in Dothan, Ala. Please contact them to donate. Just mark on your donation "Philippines." Every bit of your gift will go toward the work in the Philippines.

To contact Love in Action Ministries, either use the hyperlink provided or see below. May God richly bless you for your consideration and your gift.

The adjacent lot in question

Love In Action International Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 85
Dothan, AL 36302
To contact us by phone, call:
334-494-4995



More of the lot



Such great blessings

I have been in the Philippines more than a week, and we have met some great men of God. These missionaries are working tirelessly among their people to bring them the Gospel. It is a humbling experience when seven pastors meet your airplane, and when they ask you to speak at their churches and their prayer meetings. I have been blessed to speak in Ozamis, Punta (Dipolog City), and Tampilisan. I will speak in Sindangan this Sunday then in Punta again on Tuesday. I have spoken a total of five times already (twice in Punta, then on Thursday, I spoke at Shiloh Bible Baptist Church Ozamis and at a missionaries' prayer vigil following that meeting).

I am so blessed. After the Thursday night service at SBBC Ozamis, my future mother-in-law told her daughter (and my fiancee) she wanted to be baptized. She had prayed to receive Christ about two years ago, and she decided after the Thursday service she wanted to be baptized. When my fiancee told their pastor (he traveled with us to this meeting), Pastor Mario Montero commissioned me to baptize Mrs. Javier. So, after I preach at Sindangan on Sunday, we will travel back to Punta, Dipolog City, where my mother-in-law will be baptized.

I have met so many Godly men these nine days. It has truly been a blessing. Pastor Mario gave us some wonderful, God-given advice about our ministry, and we will accept the advice. The future of our ministry will be to support the churches in their attempt to get property/buildings and to have monthly support. These pastor missionaries begin their ministries with no support at all. Sometimes, the cost is very high when they perform their ministry. These are the greatest needs.

As per Pastor Mario's advice, we will no longer try to raise funds for the anniversary services. Pastor Mario has been in ministry for 12 years, and he advised us that the anniversary services and other church projects are designed to let the people pray and see God raise the funds. His fear (and we agree) is these pastors and their flocks may learn to rely on Americans instead of God, so we will limit our fundraising to helping with church lots and buildings and monthly support for pastors.

As one of our pastors, Pastor Greg Begafria shared with us, often times, the need for a building and lot take up so much of the pastor's time, the ministry can suffer. So, our call from God is to assist these men with these needs so they can do the work God has called them to do.

We will be updating with prayer needs and building information in the coming weeks. Some needs are urgent, and we want to help these pastors as soon as possible.

Please keep us in your prayers. We look forward to what God will do.

I'm here

Not much time to update, but I made it safely. I will update more later, but please continue to keep the ministry here in the Philippines in  your prayers. God is working among the pastors here to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to their own people. Please pray that God will supply the needs for these pastors and the lay leaders who also work to reach the people. Please pray as we seek to be able to raise funds for these dear brothers.

Well, I don't have a lot of time, so I will wrap this up. Please keep the prayers going! Aloha.

Praying big prayers

Today, we want to share with you a prayer request from the southern part of Zamboanga. Preacher Leopoldo Yungod believes in asking for grand things when he prays.

This man was sent to Suba-nipa, a port that connects Olotangga with Mindanao (we are using our source's spelling of Olotangga, though there appears to be an alternate spelling), in 2010. In the most recent prayer list sent to us by our source from the mother church in Ozamis, Preacher Leopoldo made some bold requests.

The mission's goal for 2011-2012 is "300 souls to be saved, added to church and serve faithfully." Before the first anniversary set for Nov. 21-22, the goal is "100 saved and baptized."

We share this one with you because there's nothing you or I can do except pray for this. Sometimes, in our American self-sufficiency, we want to focus on what we can do for people. Sometimes, we think that when we give or raise funds,  it is our money and our wisdom and strength that provides. But in any case, it is always God who provides. Even so, only God can bring 300 souls out of spiritual deadness into faithful, loving service, and only God can add 100 souls before November.

Will you join us in praying for this mission?

Flights of fancy (but I'm traveling coach)

It has been a while since we updated you, but that has not been because we've been lacking in things to talk about. Actually, the last several days have been very busy. As I write this, I am three days away from making my first trip to the Philippines. Lots of Bibles, some Sunday School materials, many boxes of chocolate covered macadamia nuts, even found room for some clothes just for the fun of it.

But before we talk about the trip, I want to remind everyone of our financial needs. Now, we don't ask any money for ourselves. Perhaps God will one day make us a full-time ministry, but right now, that is not the case. We exist solely to bring financial help to the Shiloh Bible Baptist family of churches, located primarily on Mindanao in the Philippines. All of your money donated through Love in Action Ministries goes to these pastors and missionaries. So, when we talk about "financial needs," we are talking about the needs of these dear brothers in Christ to help them continue their ministry.

We have many needs, and we are praying about a few projects. Two at the top of our list right now are the SBBC in Tampilisan's building situation, and the SBBC in Dipolog City's need for a new lot.

Tampilisan's need is $1,250. They need that to finish their building. They have part of the building, but they are missing some key pieces. Essentially, they have a roof and some support structures. But they are missing a ceiling, a floor and walls. Plus, they want to build a pastorium for Pastor Raffy Begafria. All of that is only $1,250. But that's about $1,250 more than these dear people have. Our original goal was about $2,200, so God has provided a good portion of this need. But the need is still there.

Our other need is for the lot for SBBC in Punta, Dipolog City. This church has about 100 members, more than their building can hold. They have been praying for a long time to be able to purchase an adjacent 500sqm lot. With cost of the lot and cost of the paperwork, the church needs $12,000. (As far as how much they are able to raise on their own, see the above statement for our brother in Tampilisan.) With this project, we are offering the ability to donate per square meter. Each square meter can be purchased for only $24. If 500 people send $24, we will get this need met quickly. Obviously, there may be many who can give more than that, but please consider if you can give toward this need. Pastor there is Pastor Mario Montero.

Both of these pastors will be preaching at an engagement party on May 24. The bride-to-be will have many of her unbelieving family in attendance, and she has asked these pastors to preach the Gospel at the party so her family can hear about God's love through Jesus. These pastors will explain how God provided Jesus as a sacrifice on the cross for our sins, and how Jesus was raised up from the dead so all who believe on Him can be justified from their sins and have the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit.

Once again, all gifts should be given through Love in Action Ministries. They are a ministry to homeless people in Dothan, AL, who proclaim the gospel among the poor. As we always do, we ask you to please consider supporting their ministry as well. They are more than a charity; they do share the Gospel with the poor and homeless, and they have seen fruit in their ministry. The contact information is available through the hyperlink and is listed down below.

Now, about my trip. I earnestly desire your prayers. I will be spending two weeks in the Philippines, meeting many people and speaking many times. In fact, I will be preaching in four services, twice on Sundays in Punta, Dipolog City, during Punta's anniversary service (May 31) and during the anniversary service in Tampilisan (May 25). I would appreciate any and all prayers for those meetings.

Also, I will be able to meet many of the missionaries at the monthly meeting. I have been asked to give my testimony there at the meeting. Please pray for the contacts to be made and the fellowship there.

Finally, I mention this last because I prefer to keep this blog about the ministry, but there is a personal aspect to this trip. That is all I will say about it, but I would appreciate prayers there as well.

Thanks for all the prayers, for Homegrown Harvesters, for the Shiloh Bible Baptist Church network of churches, for the pastors and for everything else you pray for. Please consider whether you can give. We are confident God will raise the money in His time. Consider whether you may be part of His answer to these people's prayers. We will try to update the blog as best we can during the trip, but it may be a bit of a challenge at times. But we look forward to sharing testimonies of God's grace and His work going on in the Philippines.

Love In Action International Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 85
Dothan, AL 36302
To contact us by phone, call:
334-494-4995