A big piece of our work here is to help build up the body of believers that already lives here in Taguig. We have been partnering with the "Jesus Is Lord" group of churches. This part of our ministry is especially important, since they will be the ones who will continue to carry the torch of igniting the rest of Taguig with the love of Jesus long after we have left. They will also be the ones who will help to disciple those that we have shared the gospel with - this is crucial to the new believers in being able to maintain their walk with Christ as they are just starting out! We have been spending a lot of time building relationships with our local church contacts and the church body in general, attending Sunday services, small groups, Wednesday night services, and special holiday services (Filipinos love Christmas!) They are giving us lots of opportunities as well to preach and teach them whenever we are together. God is always faithful to give us the words to speak to reach His people, even when we have little (or no) notice that we are speaking to a group of people! This past Sunday I was asked to speak to a small group of mothers. I was touched and humbled by how much it meant to these women by simply my being there with two small children. God was moving their hearts to put away any excuse from serving Him, to follow Him fully - they saw that if a mom could be a missionary, then so could they! I encouraged them in this and told them about how God had waited to call us into full-time ministry until we had children, that it only deepens our relationship with God, and does not put it on "pause." We also prayed and talked together, and I was amazed at how much God was touching each of their lives; He is so good! A few fun encounters with this bunch:
We prayed for a woman's family members to come back together again - her brother and sister-in-law were separated and in the process of getting a divorce, and she was heartbroken over it, since they also had several children involved. She ended up coming back to us two days later, and introduced us to her sister-in-law - God had moved mightily in their hearts and reconciled them overnight!
God gave me a word for one of the youth here, so I took an opportunity to speak with him one afternoon. I ended up praying for him, and the Spirit moved on him in a new and amazing way - he said he had never felt anything like that before!
One of the women that helps with our meals came to us and asked for healing prayer over her knees, which had been hurting her. We prayed for her knees - but instead of her knees getting healed, the Spirit fell on her instead, and we ended up having to hold her up while we continued to pray! It's so fun watching God change our plans, His ways are so much higher than our ways. :)