Health Care

Village 1 Health Care

Not this past Friday but the Friday before that, we crossed the river and took a motor bike to Village 1 (I call it village 1 because there is no stinkin' way that I'm going to be able to spell its name). It was there that we hooked up with one of our three Nehemiah rural health care teams. We were there just in time to see them prepare for their first round of village circumcisions. It may sound a little crude to we Americans, but Filipinos aren’t circumcised until they are around the age of 7. But, they don’t get the luxury of privacy, pretty much the whole village was there. The operating table- the local open air amphitheatre stage! Crazy, right? Not so much! This provided a great opportunity for this health care team to gain the trust and appreciation of the community. Instead of being treated as outsiders, they were being viewed as more like part of the village family. As a result, doors were opened to share the Gospel and lives were touched. Praise God!

Village 2 Health Care

After some door to door house-calls and Bible sharing in Village 1 that Saturday morning, we were off again. Back across the river and atop a Jeepney we traveled far into the mountains to Village 2 where the second of the 3 Nehemiah health care teams was located. When we arrived, they had just finished facilitating a free clinic at the BRGY Health Center. They were excited to see us and we were excited to see them. The rest of the day was spent doing Bible study with hungry new believers. Later on in the week, we got to spend more time with this team, doing circumcisions and door to door evangelism. Pray that this team would see a church planted in their community. There are hungry believers there who need a firm and steady foundation.

Village 3 Health Care

After our first day with village 2, we left early on motor bikes headed to Village 3 where the third of our 3 health care teams was located. The road to this village… could I really call it a road at all? They were so that a Jeepney wouldn’t even venture down it. Large logging trucks had cut deep deep ruts into the clay and what was left was, for lack of better words, a mess. Our motor bike fell 6 times… with us on it! But, praise God, no injuries. The ride took about an hour and a half. Finally we arrived in Village 3 where we discovered that we were just on time for Church (House Church with the team). We got the opportunity to stay with this team for 3 days and experience all the things they experienced and we were quite impressed. Their day begins with a hike, about 1k down the side of a mountain to the village spring. After taking a bath and filling water jugs, there was the hike back up the mountain in which case we were just as dirty as when we had hiked down the mountain in the first place. But, praise God this team gets to come alongside the people and do the things that they have to do every single day. We joined the team doing door to door evangelism each day and we even got a surprise invitation to a youth meeting with future BRGY leaders. We were able to share the gospel and our testimonies with them and schedule another meeting with all the youth in the community. Pray that these young people will see Gods love through this team and receive a desire for God’s truth.

After sharing in ministry with this team we went back the way we came, only falling once this time. We stayed with Village 2 team for a couple of days before heading into the city on a Jeepney on some business there. It was a long week, but we enjoyed many many blessings.

Pray that these teams won’t loose steam over the next couple of weeks.

Pray that the people will be open to the gospel.

Pray that Churches will be planted among hungry new believers.