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One of the great things about living in Thailand is that not many people speak English.  What?!  Does this make it harder for us to communicate? Most of the time.  Does it mean we have to study more to learn the language?  Definitely.  But so far, we have enjoyed the challenges of learning Thai- even those times when we thought we were ordering noodles and got white rice instead. Because English is valued but not always available, we find ourselves in a unique position to use teaching English as a tool to build relationships. Dave has built a relationship with a Buddhist man by meeting twice a week to practice English and Thai.  He has really grown to look forward to these days when he can sit and talk with his new friend.  Eric has also begun teaching English to several new believers from our church. Every Monday I go to the local bar area where I, and several other missionaries, meet with bargirls to practice English.  We are excited t...

We were blessed to minister at Capital LIfe Church on Sunday June 23, 2013. This amazing church is pastored by Bill Shuler, the former campus pastor of Oral Roberts University. It was an honor to minister at Pastor Bill's church.

I know many of you hold our family tight in prayer. For that we are so thankful. As you pray, could you make this declaration over us, our family, and our ministry? "Thank you Lord for the missionaries and their families. We ask that You would: Encourage them by Your Word and promises. Give them understanding, wisdom, insight and FRESH revelation. Help them to be strong in supernatural strength and ability. May signs and wonders follow them wherever they go. We pray for open doors of ministry, necessary visa’s, permits and extraordinary language aptitude. Give divine favor and connections. Open doors that no man can shut and make the impossible, possible. Comfort them in times of loneliness. Give them friends and relationships with like hearted people. Lift them above every obstacle that appears before them. Give them dreams in the night seasons from Your heart. We cut off every assignment from the enemy and we speak breakthrough in every area that is cau...

Some of you may know that when Chris and I were first married, we were teachers. We both worked in the public schools and in the private schools teaching third grade and preschool (Chris), and teaching middle school and computers (yours truly). This week we continued our teaching careers. Chris taught the parents of our Sonshine Center kids at their breakaway service. She spoke on the power their words have on their children. I taught the FUEL.PH crew on hermeneutics.  Going back to our roots: If you haven't yet been to FUEL , you really need to check out this place. Believe it or not, theological topics like hermeneutics are actually quite fascinating. She don't need no translator--Chris taught most of her lesson in Ilonggo. There is no time like the present.  Chris had the parents write positive and encouraging words for each of their kids so they could begin putting this lesson into practice right away.

People ask us what is our main job or ministry on the mission field. My answer, developing leaders. Training up the next generation of missionaries. Last week we had an incredible opportunity to train twenty one Filipino missionaries. In order to become a full-time missionary with our agency, you must first complete Missionary Preparation Orientation at the Go To Nations world headquarters in Jacksonville, FL. Chris and I completed this training back in 2003. This week Go To Nations held their first ever Missionary Preparation Orientation outside of their world headquarters, actually their first ever orientation outside of the United States. At the Sonshine Center, here in Iloilo, we held Missionary (Affiliate) Preparation Orientation with twenty one candidates. Cities, regions, nations and continents were represented by this class. I believe history was made this week. I also believe that this will be the first of many such missionary trainings to come. For decades missionar...

Once again Go To Nations interns have descended upon our dear city of Iloilo, the Timothy Internship Program of 2011 has begun. Once again we have a group of interns who will do things like children's ministry, medical missions, community development, teach in a Bible school, and so much more. As amazing as those things are, truth be told, these ministry activities are NOT the goal of this internship. Yes, they will touch many lives, joining in ministry activities already going on here in Iloilo. Yes, they will help change a squatter village through community development, they will help feed hungry kids on Saturdays at the Sonshine Center, and they will each get a chance to preach a Sunday message at an area church. However, all this ministry is not the end result we are seeking. For this internship ministry is not the goal. The goal is learning. The goal is to see these interns step out and do something amazing, perhaps something they have never done before, like teach in ...

Lately I have been trolling around other Christian blogs, and I am noticing a trend, the "edgy" or "hip" Christian bloggers are getting a large portion of the Internet, Christian blogging traffic. Cutting edge topics and arresting titles are the rule of the day. And this can be seen as a corresponding trend mimicking how the church is evolving, moving from the traditional to the more "today" or "hip." Instead of services, we have "gatherings." Instead of calling yourself a born-again Christian, you are a "Christ-follower." Who doesn't want to be cool? Who doesn't want to be considered very "now?" I find myself a little envious of the cool kid Christians, with the high traffic blogs, who are considered "real" because they have controversial blog posts and are unafraid to use profanity. But rather than confirm to this, so I too can be considered cool, I feel a check in my spirit (I know that's an ...

Most of you know that my recent post ( Stay Home ) was a bit of tongue in cheek. Here is how I really feel, or The Top Ten Reasons Why YOU Should Go on a Short Term Missions Trip: 10. It will get you out of your comfort zone. There is a time to move from the comfort zone into the courage zone. 9. Your heart will break. When you see poverty and dire need with your own eyes (watching it on TV does not count), your heart will be radically different, your compassion will increase. 8. Your faith will be stretched. Raising finances and then doing ministry in another country is not easy, it requires faith. Faith is like a muscle, the more you use it the bigger it gets. 7. Jesus told you to go, read Mark 16:15. 6. You are already qualified. Christ only needs you to say "YES" He will take care of the rest. 5. You will build relationships that will last a lifetime. When you do ministry side by side with other missionaries and national believers, you will share a bond that...

Top Ten Reasons You Should NOT go on a Short Term Missions Trip: 10. It will make you uncomfortable. The other side of the world is a weird place, different languages, different smells (some of them really bad). 9. There will be sorrow. When you see true poverty and dire need with your own eyes, it can be radically depressing. 8. This will not be a vacation. You have precious few vacation days at your job. Why spend them going to some poor, third world country? 7. It's not your calling, when Jesus gave the Great Commission He was not talking about you. 6. The food is weird--and you are a meat and potatoes guy. 5. Two words, JET LAG. 4. You might be moved by what you see so much so that you will want to start giving to missions and missionaries, and with the current economy can you really afford that? 3. You will be used. No one likes to be used. 2. You will probably want to do it again, and if you keep making these kinds of trips, it might ...

I found some interesting statistics here on short term missions trips. Who takes short term mission trips? 9% of American adults (only 3.5% of American adults went in the last 5 years) 11% of churchgoers 23% of evangelical Christians 12% of people ages 18-24 9% of people ages 25-43 7% of people ages 44-62 9% of people aged 63+ How do short-term mission trips affect those who go? 75% say the experience changed their life in some way 25% say it helped them become more aware of other people’s struggles 16% say it taught them more about poverty, justice, or the world 11% say it increased their compassion 9% say it enriched their faith 9% say it broadened their spiritual understanding 5% say it boosted their financial generosity In Matthew chapter 14 we read that Jesus saw the crowd and had compassion on them. There is something to be said about seeing things with your own two eyes. A person can read about missions in a newsletter (or a blog like this), or you can view a visiting missionar...

A paraphrase from Fearfully and Wonderfully Made : After the Second World War German students volunteered to help rebuild a cathedral in England, one of the many casualties of the Luftwaffe bombings. As the work progressed, debate broke out on how best to restore a large statue of Jesus with His arms outstretched. Careful patching could repair all damage to the statue except for the hands, which had been destroyed by bomb fragments. Should they attempt the delicate task of reshaping the hands? Finally the workers reached a decision that still stands today, the statue was fully repaired except for the hands. Formerly the unbroken statue had this inscription below it: "Come unto Me." Now the statue, minus the hands, bears this inscription: Christ has no hands but ours.

Mother Teresa was asked at the end of her life whether she was discouraged because after decades of caring for the dying and destitute in Calcutta little seemed to have changed. She replied, "No. God doesn't call me to be successful. God calls me to be faithful." An excerpt from this article .

I heard this quote yesterday, When we get to Heaven God will ask "Where are the others, or did you come alone?" By God's grace I will not show up to Heaven alone.

Last Sunday at Victory Christian Fellowship here in Iloilo Pastor Bong completed the preaching series on love. His series culminated with a repeating of the vows ceremony. Many couples from the church, including Chris and I, reaffirmed our marriages. Marriage can be a fragile thing. If you treat it lightly, tossing it around like a football, it can become weaker and you can strain the bonds that keep it together. However, if you treat marriage like it is a fragile thing, caring for it, not taking it for granted, treating it gently, like it is a delicate, fragile thing, then it will not become that--something fragile--but rather it will become stronger, something that will stand the test of time.

I know the "one thing." I know the secret of life. It is doing God's will. Obedience is the one thing. Everything else is just stuff in the way.

Recently Chris and I have been asked by our organization, Calvary International , to take on a different level of service here in Iloilo among the missionaries and projects in our region. Feeling the burden of these new responsibilities I feel that I need to do better job with self-education. So I have started reading Jim Collins' book From Good to Great . I am on chapter three, and I feel that I have already learned so much. So far what sticks out the most is the emphasis on humility. I don't know if the author is a Christian, but his book reinforces the biblical principle of how the truly great need to be truly humble. I am also reminded of the recent movie, Beowulf . Even though the recent film trashed the original story, I appreciate the tagline from the movie poster , "Pride is the curse." "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Matthew 23:12 Keep yourself humble, or the Lord will do it for you.

Another excellent message I heard during my trip to Davao was given by Lisa Cox (pictured), a member of the pastoral team from the States. She challenged us saying that we often would like to have the testimony without the test. Indeed the test must come first before we gain the testimony. Using the example of Abraham offering his song Isaac, she taught that you cannot have one without the other. Trials, challenges, and tests can be an opportunity for a testimony later. It depends on how we react to these challenges and trials.

I am passionate about a few things.  One of the things I am very passionate about is world missions.  As evidenced by recent life choices, missions and the world harvest is one of the greatest (second only to my family) passions and purposes in my life.  I recently had a very wise and more experienced minister give me some really good advice.  Linus LeFever of Acts 29 Ministries  was a member of the pastoral team on my recent trip to Davao.  He told me, "Don't let you passion turn into aggression."  Now what does that mean?  It means don't let something that you believe in so strongly become an aggression that pushes people away.  A person can be humble even though he has great passion for what he is doing.  Someone who has his passion morph into aggression is not so humble, and now we see his passion turning into a prideful arrogance.  This kind of aggression can lead to burnout.  I truly appreciate this piece of advice, and I am sure I will be chewing on this for q...

I believe in having a mentor. I believe in submitting to someone and being accountable to someone. I believe in finding someone who has more life experience and more wisdom, and spending time with that person to learn from and build relationship with. I am privileged to call Chaz Yandall my mentor. To talk to him, he would not lay claim to that title. He says we just hang out, becoming closer as brothers as we also become closer to Christ. Truly he does bless me as a great friend and brother. At the same time I learn much from him and his experience. First there is the uniqueness of his family. He and his wife Terrie have twenty six kids. That is not a typo. The full story of their very special family is another blog entry altogether. Also Chaz is a pastor and missionary here in the Philippines with almost twenty years experience on the field. Most of all is the strength and simplicity of this faith. He is truly a Christ follower. Today I had lunch with my mentor, to glean from his wis...

We just got back from the Camp Sonshine Center staff retreat. Our guests this year were none other then the founder of Camp Sonshine, Maryland, Pastor David Black, and his brother-in-law, Kurt Andre. Kurt is a consultant who works with organizations in strategic planning. We were blessed with his wisdom in helping the Sonshine Center ministry to set goals and plan for growth by setting forth a strategic plan. I have known David since 1991. It was great to see my friend again, and his son Josiah also came on the trip. The biggest thing I take from this time away is the importance of knowing and then staying true to your core values. Chris and I have been challenged to formulate our own core values for our family and our ministry.