Leaving Philippines

Two weeks ago I left Vancouver for Palawan Island in Philippines. Before falling asleep in the long 14 hour flight, I remember praying in Bob Pierce’s famous words “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God”. As I now write these lines from Manila’s airport on the way back to Vancouver, I can definitely return having the sense of being broken by what I have seen in Palawan: poverty, need, hospitality and faithfulness things that break the heart of God.

Along the past two weeks I had the privilege to see scarcity as I never saw before, meet people that I never met before, speak to the Palawan Association of Bible Churches, visit and encourage about 13 churches, notice suffering at levels yet new to me, speak to tribes that I never knew existed and meet a variety of pastors and deacons. All of these in a dusty awful truck (or sometimes traveling by pamboat) hovering an area of about 400 kilometers of bad, tough country road.

I have returned with a new sense of understanding my culture and God’s calling for us, those happening to live in one of the most blessed countries in the world. We are here to demonstrate God’s love in practice. They are not forgotten. We are here to minister to them, and with them to take Palawan for Christ. We invite you our donors to join with us again in this wonderful opportunity. God works, but thorough us.