ISAIAH 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
FAMILIES MATTER IN MISSIONS
One of the individuals who joined our outreaches in the Philippines was a single young man from Korea & Chicago who also is a teacher. After spending two months on outreach with the Family DTS he wrote the following:
Words cannot truly describe the incredible experiences I have experienced on this outreach with the Family DTS. It was such a unique experience doing outreach with families. I have learned so many things that I will never forget during this outreach. One of the most important things that I learned while here in Cebu is the true meaning of family. I was so blessed to have so many good parents gathered together in one place to observe and learn from. Of course, there are no perfect families or parents, but just seeing whole families living together in one small room for the sake of the gospel; parents and children working together as a team to do ministry together; being there for one another and taking care of each other whenever a family member is sick… these are the things that I’ve observed first hand which inspires me and helps me realize, “Wow, this is what a true Family of God looks like!”
BLESSING YWAM CEBU
In Cebu, our families were able to build a complete basketball court on the base and provide a safe, non-flooding floor space for their community meetings. We also were able to give to the mostly Filipino staff there enough funds to eliminate all of their debt. Families impact whole communities in ways that often annot be done by anyone else. Every staff member there spoke of hope for their own families (or future families) after witnessing our missionary families working together for the Kingdom.
LIVING LOVE – CHANGING THE WORLD
The below story is from a Canadian husband and father during their time in Cebu…
I had the opportunity to drive the Mercedes Van to beach clean up time. It’s a little rusty. A little old too. Not everything works on it… especially 1st, 3rd and 5th gear. This was an interesting challenge to drive through the crazy streets, honking the horn, dodging everything and never really knowing when you’ll find a gear that works. We had prayed that our cleaning at the beach would not just make the beach look good, but that it also would change the spiritual atmosphere. There was so much cleaning to be done on this beach… bags and bags of garbage quickly stacking up. An old man came up to me. “I know you, I see everything you do. Everyone. Everywhere you go. You are doing good everywhere! People noticing. People change.” At first this sounded really creepy to me so I asked the man how he knew this. “Facebook, everywhere you go people taking pictures and posting to Facebook group. We see your work in the community because of Jesus. It’s good. It’s the solution. Jesus is solution to problem. Thank you.” The next day I was sitting thinking about how to approach people. How can I say the right thing at the right time in a more effective way. It’s not always what we say that has the impact… but rather our actions. Sometime we really don’t realize that what we do… it’s being watched and stirring hearts. God certainly wants to be glorified through his children. The Father draws people to the Son by the Spirit. Later in my quiet time I read John 13:35 where it says, “By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Followed by Matthew 7:20 “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” I’m thankful for these daily practical lessons. Let’s not forget that one of our greatest witnessing tools is our lives demonstrating love.