Manila Mission Daily Updates

On Sunday night I will be leaving for a nine day trip to Manila. There I will be participating in the annual In Service Institute leadership training event for the leaders of the Urban Church Planting Project. I will join Pastor Jim Hayford in conducting several sessions of this strategic event designed to equip the pastors and leaders of the 100 new churches and 40+ schools that are part of this project.

If I find internet access I will be updating this blog as often as possible, with photos, news and prayers requests. Stay tuned...The first update will probably be on Tuesday.

Update: Friday, May 19th
CAB Team Heads Home
Pray for them as they make the long journey (20 hrs., 3 flights) home. Early reports are that they had a very productive and effective outreach.
Here is a recent email I received from team leader D.J. Vick:

"I wanted to send you all a brief update on our mission in Manila!
Our team is unified, healthy, being broken, and having an absolute blast!
We have ministered to over 300 children through VBS & Basketball Camps!
We have played three big games in the evenings (won of course) and shared testimonies and or drama at half-time with hundreds of people!
On Sunday my group had a fourteen hour day being about 5:45 am! I preached four times that day. The Holy Spirit gave me so much strength we I spoke in the 6 pm service I felt like I had just woken up from a refreshing nap. Praise Him!
Here is a brief story from today...
Today was intense. Since our entire team was in one community we sent half the team out in small groups to talk with people in the community, mention the church, and pray with people. Cass came back saying one family had a baby whose head was all cut up in the back and looked incredibly awful, I mean bad. She, Kyle, and our friend Jason (from our first trip here) went to purchase medication her. We prayed this morning for God to give us opportunities like this and He did! I am overwhelmed with Him!"

We've been praying for D.J. and Jenny Vick's Daughter, Makayla, who broke her arm at home and is recovering from a serious fracture.

Fire in Marikina
The photos on this page include Pastor Jim visiting a fire ravaged community that destroyed the homes of 38 families last week. They live about 10-15 yards from a UCPP church in the community. Right now we are prayerfully strategizing how we can best minister in this situation. Pray for Pastora Tess Talili as she reaches out in her community.

Wednesday, May 24th - Update

We are now in the middle of the 3rd day of the In Service Institute here at Tagayta City. I have not had access to a computer until now. The one at the conference center crashed and the internet cafe was "offline" until now.
This city is built on the rim of a huge volcanic crater with a lake in the middle. (Like crater lake). It is a dramatic setting and is more pleasant than Manila.

The training seems to be going well. The 200+ leaders that have gathered here are fully occupying the 5 story hotel where the conference is taking place. Pete and I are in a basement room -- making for a long walk to the top floor where the meetings are held (there is no elevator). The food here is "authentic" (lots of fish and rice). The men stay on one floor, the women on another. Everyone is having a good time and are hungry to learn and to grow. Being away from the city for a week is a real special time for these men and women.

Please keep Pastor Jim, myself and the presenters in prayer as we face the challenge of teaching cross culturally with a bit of a language barrier. Pray also for the Holy Spirit to work to encourage and to empower these leaders. The conference ends on Friday night. I learned that Baby Hyla is walking now and is two years old.

Thank-you again for your prayers -

Friday, May 26th

The last two days have been going really well. These workers are amazing people -- most of them not only work in the slums of Manila, but they live there as well. They are eager to learn especially because of the challenges that their work presents. We have been challenging them to think outside the box and to plan strategically and prayerfully. Traditional church models do not work where they live. They have to be innovative, resourceful, intentional and community focused (of course they most of all need God's grace, wisdom and power). We located a place for next year's training events as we have outgrown the current facility. Pastor Jim left last night following one of the most fun parties I have ever been to. We had a cultural night and the eight divisions of leaders all presented a "talent" or cultural presentation -- they included music, drama, costume, dance -- and a whole lot of laughter and comedy. We had two whole pigs that were served, along with ice cream, traditional foods, fruits, and much more. These people know how to have fun.

Today is my last day here and I have three sessions to do -- one on house churches, one team building activity, and the closing session tonight. Thanks again for your prayers. I may get a chance this afternoon for a trip to the volcano located in the middle of the "crater lake" that this city is built around. We'll see.

Saturday, May 27th:

Today is a bit of a rest day. I think Pete and I will go and look for a hotel for the upcoming Manila Plunge. Besides that I will be trying to rest a little after the full week of ministry. Tomorrow we will be visiting UCPP churches after I run a 25K race that is taking place here in Manila at 5:30 a.m. It should be fun, hot, but also a long run --Pete is going to run the 10K or 5K, as is Cameron and a couple of their relatives. Hope it goes well. I will approach it casually, but 25,000 pesos is a pretty good prize...

Later in the moring we will visit the church that had the fire along with at least one other UCPP church.

Sunday a.m.: This morning I ran the race -- 25K = 15.5 miles. It was brutally hot and more than I was ready for. I drank a full bottle of water every 2K, and jogged all but the first 10K. There were two olympians from Philippines. I had fun and tried to make sure I finished. Ended up somwhere in the top 15. It was still fun even though it is an adjustment for me to approach a race casually. There were about 5000 runners, so it was quite an experience - by far the hottest race I have ever done. Now we're on our way to visit churches...

Last Day

Completed this "mission" by locating a hotel for the upcoming "Manila Plunge". We also visited the houses that are already being rebuilt after the fire. It was great seeing that entire community working together to provide housing for those who were displaced. The people had been flooded out of their temporary "tents" the night before during a heavy thunder storm. Eight families had crowded into the church for shelter. EFC has made a significant contribution to this relief effort. Arrived at Seatac this morning (Tuesday) at 2 a.m.