Prayer walks

 This past month, God has been calling me to do prayer walks around Cordova. To squeeze in the time, I get up at 4am and head over there to see the sunrise at 5. It's so peaceful and calm at that time of the morning and I can really sense the presence of the Lord as I walk. 

I'm contending in my prayer time for His guidance on our work. As a foreigner here and a missionary, it's my job to share the good news. However, from all my reading and research, the truly successful missions were preceded by a significant amount of prayer. 

Thankfully, I'm working with the right team at Cebu House of Prayer who back me up in regular times of intercession. 

Please pray with me as I seek him. We want to do His will and not mine! 

 

Pioneering

The steps to getting established are many. Having been in missions for nearly 14 years now, we have seen many ministries start and fail; many projects seem successful but ultimately don't achieve what the original vision intended. We have been gathering information and looking at what works and what doesn't when setting up a new ministry and pioneering new work. 

We are aware that we are not 'reinventing the wheel' and there are many people doing similar work here, but the approach we're taking, particularly in regard to the therapeutic services that we're wanting to offer are rare in the Philippines - particularly play therapy and other after care services in the community. 

Right now, a lot of our work is desk-based, trying to complete all the necessary requirements to make 4Freedom a sustainable and longterm mission work that will benefit individuals, families and communities in the Philippines for generations. 

The process is intentional and gradual. We pray that, as the Lord leads us, we will be faithful. At home we have bookshelves full of stories of pioneering missionaries, whether that's Mary Slessor or Hudson Taylor, who fearlessly dedicated their lives to serving others. We use these stories as inspirations to keep us going, especially on days when we feel like giving up. 

With 4Freedom, the vision was received by Becky in 2017, shortly after arriving in the Philippines. She had a very clear picture of the four freedoms: Freedom in Christ, Freedom from Slavery, Freedom from Poverty and Freedom from Pollution. I also felt that this was a word from the Lord that, together, as a married couple and as a family in missions, we were to embrace this vision together. It was a daunting and exciting time. 

Visit from Grandma

We had such a lovely time in January with Pete's mum visiting for a month with her friend Janet from church. They enjoyed their stay and we visited the south and north of Cebu island. They also met the ladies and saw some of our work, and left last week. 

Good news: after much praying and work, we have received “pre-approval” for our SEC (charity) registration. This has been a big piece of work and we’re grateful to be taking steps forward in it. The pre-approval has a very short deadline for us to complete several documents and submit them for final approval. Our social worker has compiled these documents, and it is just a matter of the board of trustees signing them. That is easier said than done, with our chair of the board living in Manila right now, we’ve had to send the documents up to him first. All the documents have to be signed by all the trustees. 

Valentines is a big deal in the Philippines. Lots of people do activities for the event and shops, café’s and restaurants are all adorned with love hearts and various gift ideas for the one you love. Pete had the privilege of teaching a group of former drug dealers (they’re called surrenderers – those that have chosen to change their life during the Duterte regime’s war on drugs). It was at an event called “together forever”, hosted by a church in Cordova. There was buffet food, the place was decorated beautifully and it was a chance to bring fun, games and deeper community relations. Pete was the keynote speaker for the evening and it was a great opportunity for Pete to share the gospel in light of the only eternal relationship. We have till death us do part, but what happens beyond the grave?

After the talk, the pastor led the congregation in a pledge to turn away from our sinful ways and towards God. The whole room stood to make the pledge. It was a really moving event. Please pray for these drug surrenderers.