Rachel and I are doing pretty well, just getting ready for the coming semester. It’s crazy to think our students will be back within almost a month.
Anyway, I guess I’ve kept everyone waiting long enough. Time for the Climbing for Christ Philippines mission trip update!
Well, the trip was amazing! It was an absolute success! God had plans for us beyond the scope of what we could see before the trip.
On the surface, our goal was to hike into the mountains bringing Bibles in the local Kankanaey language. We’d also be showing publicly the Jesus Film for the first time ever in that language.
At first, we’d only be going to the village of Badeo but God opened the door for us to travel to Mogcao as well.
Along with the other goals was bringing a student, Sarah Mellberg, along with us, keeping her safe, and making sure she had a good experience where God could use her.
Thankfully, we can check off all of those goals. Praise God! We brought in 20 Bibles to the area. It’s less than last year because the Bibles are becoming more and more scarce unfortunately.
We were able to show the Jesus Film to over 200 people. Most of them had heard the name of Jesus but out of those who had heard, 90% didn’t know much, if anything, about our Lord and Savior. Through the film, the Lord certainly changed that. It was awesome to see them hang on every word. We had packed rooms with people in the doorway standing on their tippy-toes just to get a glimpse. I imagine that’s pretty much how it was back in Jesus’ day with people just trying to get a glimpse through the crowds.
Looking back over our goals, Sarah also had a great time. She was a perfect fit for the team and a great addition.
But again, God had more than we ever dreamed of. I got to lead worship a couple of times once we finally tracked down a guitar. The first time was just for our team. The second time was just before we showed the Jesus Film. Both times were great blessings for me.
I also got to preach twice. The first time was out of Acts. I was just going to use the same sermon again for church the next day as there would be different people at this service. But then God told me I needed to preach something different. He just wasn’t going to tell me what that was until I only had 10-15 minutes to prepare the next morning. Talk about having to really rely on the Holy Spirit.
I preached for around an hour about how if we live for God, He will get us where He wants us. Sure, we need to pray and seek wisdom but we shouldn’t worry like many of us tend to do.
I don’t share that story to toot my own horn but just to say, “The Holy Spirit is awesome!”
Okay, moving onto more of God’s bigger vision. I know another big thing was that Rachel was encouraged by how passionate believers were there to live for God. Durango can be draining sometimes. It was refreshing to see their passion.
Oh and I can’t forget to mention, Sarah now wants to move to the Philippines after college to be a missionary. God was really showing and teaching her things on this trip. That in itself was a huge reason why Rachel and I were there.
We also got to go to Don and Molly McAlvany’s orphanage which was awesome.
Looking back, it was a great trip where God did amazing things!
Prayer Requests:
-Praise for the very successful trip and the connections we were able to forge for the future of the Kingdom!
-That the Holy Spirit would continue working on the hearts of the local villagers.
-For wisdom and discernment for C4C on how to move forward with best ministering to the Kankanaey people.
-That God would provide more Bibles for the region as there is still a great need.
Know that God did so much more than the few things I was able to share! Thank you so much for making this trip possible with your prayer support and financial support!
Cheers and God Bless,
Mike & Rachel
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