An unsaved lady came to the door with a prescription for some medicine for her sick child. Mark and Chris have a reputation of being the “Free Pharmacy” and we are staying in their house so we get the knocks on the door.
I laid hands on the kid and prayed with all the Holy Ghost I could muster, then gave the lady the P100 ($2.50) for the 3 bottles of medicine she needed, because we didn’t have it in stock.
She then equired about where our church met. I gave her instructions. She said she would make time in her shedule to attend church.
I was walking to a meeting on Saturday and the Bumbay (nickname for Indian money lenders) were out in force as usual. The interest they charge can be extraordinary. There is an estimated 30,000 Indian money lenders in the Philippines and in some rural areas they lend more money than the banks. As I walked I got to thinking about the price the poor are paying for electricity… about $2/week for one 11W light globe for 6 hours a night. Then God reminded me of Proverbs 22:22 “Don’t exploit the poor, just because you can”. Walking I wept, for what is going on here. Why should someone pay 20x more for electricity just because he is poor?
Saw a man the other day cooking a dog to feed his family.
Those bags are garbage, and he is probably using a couple of bags for fuel to cook the dog.
We are spending 3 1/2 months of our life this year in Baseco. It is kind of one of those situations where “it seemed good to us, and to the Holy Ghost” (Acts 15:28).
Mark Pedder often says that people’s first time on a mission trip is more about themselves that the people they are ministering to. God impacts us more about our life, lifestyle and ministry, than perhaps we have any real effect. Sounds bad, but it is really a good thing… Most people (especially young ones) on their first missions trip probably have grandiose ideas about the great ways God is going to use us on the trip. But probably the greater miracle is what transforms in our own hearts. God has a chance to show us the inordinate luxury of the lifestyles we live and our lack of compassion we have for the lost and suffering.
Missions and different cultures are not new to us, in our last position we helped plant a church of African refugees in Adelaide, Austalia. But still, how can you not be impacted and changed faced with living here, in Baseco.
Seriously, my kids have a better cubby house than most of the families with kids here. It’s just not right.
It’s been 3 weeks now since we arrived in Baseco and all the family is settling in fairly well. All have had their share of tummy wogs and the like. Except for me of course… In Jesus Name. I just don’t have time for being sick!
