Jojo
and Miling
Jojo and Miling and their three children
were victims of the volcanic mud from Mt. Pinatubo that has caused
so much damage in the central plains of Luzon. At one point the
floodwaters were about seven feet high in the street outside their
home. Jojo lashed together a makeshift raft and pulled his children
to a relative's home through the flood.
We met Jojo and his family during
this time through his sister Lani, a new believer in our fellowship.
Jojo began to study the Bible with one of our team members and
soon he, Miling and their oldest daughter trusted Christ. Then,
just as their faith began to grow, Miling was diagnosed with cancer.
As they began to study for baptism,
Miling's health deteriorated rapidly. Over-radiation left her
body with severe burns. Each day Jojo cared for his wife, a living
and loving example of God's faithfulness. Miling seemed to rally
for a time, but on a hot September night, she quietly passed away.
When I met Jojo that morning I put my arms around him and we both
wept. The first shaking words that came from him were, "I
am so grateful to all of you at the church because I know Miling's
with her Lord in Heaven. I am sure of this because she trusted
Christ for her salvation."
Since Miling's death, Jojo has been
baptized and is actively seeking to involve close friends and
relatives who are not yet believers in small group Bible studies.
He has become a cell group intern and is slowly moving into church
leadership.
Jojo's story is still very much in
process and his struggles are real and significant. But his life
is also a striking testimony of God's faithfulness to those who
trust in him, and to the reality, that the Lord continues the
good work that he began in Jojo's life.
Craig Johnson,
San Fernando, Philippines
Day
of the Dead
 "November
is ushered in here in the Philippines with the 'Day of the Dead'
on November 1. I had an interesting time witnessing on a grave
in Kiltepan as that date approached. During our EE training in
Kiltepan on October 23, my evangelical training team went to the
home of a young wife and mother. In the back of the home was the
grave of the grandfather who died three years ago. Family gravesites
are often located close to the family home and look like a concrete
box. This family put benches on the top of the grave and made
a small patio out of the gravesite. Mike's evangelical training team sat with the young wife on the grave
and presented the Gospel to her. She had read through one half
of the Old Testament and was confused about what God wanted her
to do. After hearing the Gospel, she made a profession of faith.
It was helpful when talking about eternal life to refer to the
object lesson of death that we happened to be sitting on!"
Mike Ballast \
Tax
Collector
My Evangelism
Explosion team had an appointment with a man - one of the chief
tax collectors in Mountain Provinces - who everyone said would
never accept Christ. The Lord, however, has been working in his
life through the recent illness and hospitalization of his wife.
"When the evangelical training team showed up on their doorstep they
were ready and eager to hear the Gospel and both the husband and
wife made a commitment to the Lord. We have begun a home Bible
study with them and are asking God to transform an entire family."
Mike and Carolyn Ballast
|
