26 Nov – 1 Dec 2009
(We publish the report of Elder Boaz Boon (Calvary Tengah BPC) who visited
Gethsemane Mission Churches in the Philippines.)

Thank God for a fruitful mission trip to the Philippines – visiting the mission stations of Gethsemane B-P Church in Cebu, Bogo and Bohol from 26 November–1 December 2009. The team comprised Dn Peter Phoa and myself (26 November–1 December) and brother Ricky Chng (November 27-29). 

Cebu
I visited Gethsemane BP Mission Church in 2005 and 2007. Thank God for Rev Reggor and his team, serving the Lord faithfully (including his wife, Carol, and their daughters, Ruth and Naomi). The church has matured spiritually and grown in numbers over the years.

Dn Phoa and I arrived on Thursday to spend some time with Rev Reggor and Preacher Edsel before they left for Singapore to minister at the family camp of Gethsemane BPC held in Seremban, Malaysia. Amidst the strong Roman Catholic and other cultish or cultic influences (e.g. Mormons and Iglesia ni Cristo), the Lord has sustained the ministry of Gethsemane B-P Mission Church. It has recently started The Gethsemane Care Ministry, led by Preacher Eli who has recently graduated from FEBC. There is much potential in this ministry – reaching out to ex-drug addicts and their families for the Lord. At present, they have taken in one person, namely ‘Gee’. There are many more in the queue but a stringent interview process is in place to identify ‘genuine candidates’ who desire to quit drug addiction. I opine there is much room for growth in this ministry. It is working towards self-financing, just like the Care Ministry of Gethsemane BPC in Singapore.

At present, the church premises in Cebu is becoming too small to accommodate the growing congregation. They are looking at a bigger building nearby. I have encouraged them to take the step of faith in ‘extending the tent’ for the Lord. In addition, with the new place, God willing, they will be able to start night classes in Basic Theology. This could possibly be the ‘genesis’ of a Bible College in Cebu. May the Lord glorify Himself through this ministry. Dn Phoa and I also visited Preacher Richard Tiu’s family. His mother has recently undergone successful breast cancer surgery and will be going for a knee replacement surgery next year. Preacher Richard has taught many courses in the Bible College of East Africa (BCEA) in Kenya for about three and a half years after his graduation from FEBC. At present, he is waiting on the Lord to get a work permit to co-labour with Rev Dr Koshy in editing the Bible Witness publication in Singapore. We also visited Preacher Eli’s family. In our visits we sang hymns and Dn Phoa would share from
God’s Word to encourage those present. I love to eat the sweet mangoes in Cebu and in that day alone, I must have eaten more than 10 of them!

Bogo
Brother Ricky flew into Cebu on Friday and together we were driven by Preacher Richard to Bogo, straight from the airport. The scenic three odd hours drive with sea view and sugar cane plantations was simply
breathtaking. On our arrival, we visited Preacher Domi’s parents’ home at San Antonio. He has converted the old home into an outreach to the villagers – mainly youths and young children. Within a few months, the Lord has given them about 60 youths and children. The place is being extended. When we were there, the rear extension of the premises was in progress which when completed could accommodate another 60 people.

Thereafter, we visited Bogo town and we drank coconut water to quench our thirst. Somehow, we didn’t see anyone selling sugar cane juice even though Bogo is a huge exporter of sugar cane. We thought it might be good business to bring our Singapore sugar cane machine and set up a stall there! That night, I preached at their Prayer Meeting. To my pleasant surprise, 100% of the congregation of about 30 odd people turned up. Preacher Domi expressed thanksgiving to God for the attendance at Prayer Meeting, which has been very good since the church started about a year ago. Members shared freely to praise the Lord for His blessings. What a wonderful Prayer Meeting! Indeed, the powerhouse of the church is its Prayer Meeting. Hence, with about 30 odd people in the Bogo town church and about 60 people in the San Antonio outreach, the Lord has blessed Preacher Domi with about 100 souls in barely a year. The Lord has provided an effective help-meet for Preacher Domi, Sharon. She is expecting their first baby while yet serving fervently – being a Singaporean, she is adapting very well to the Filipino culture.

The next morning, we had breakfast fellowship in a beautiful resort in Bogo soaking in the sunrise at about 6.00 am. The sun rises at about 5.30 am in Bogo. It was at the breakfast fellowship that we discussed the possibility of our CtYF visiting Bogo on a youth mission in December 2010. We are praying for the Lord’s direction in this matter. Thereafter, we visited several homes to encourage them in the Lord. The people were very hospitable. We were treated to a sumptuous lunch at Preacher Domi and Sharon’s home (amazing – we could still eat!), we ministered to the villagers in San Antonio and the 60 odd youths/children who come every Saturday afternoon. It was a blessed time – Preacher Domi spoke to the children with lots of animation while Dn Phoa spoke to the youths who were most attentive.

After that meeting, it was time to say goodbye. With about 24 hours spent in Bogo, and having done so many things in so short a time, parting was sad. Indeed, our trip was packed back-to-back with so many activities. At about 5 pm, we set off for Cebu. The sky was still bright, but soon after that nightmare began! The scenic route turned pitch dark coupled with lots of heavy vehicles carrying tons of sugar cane (definitely many times overloaded) with their dangerous driving. Not to mention other vehicles coming out from nowhere zooming in front, sideways and before you know it, a person was dashing across the road...it was a complete nightmare for the next three hours. At one moment, I almost prayed, “Lord, into Thy hands I commit my spirit” (Psalm 31:5). I was the front seat passenger witnessing all the madness of the night drive back to Cebu. Thank God for safety.

Bohol
On the Lord’s Day (29 November), I preached at Cebu Gethsemane Mission BPC in the morning. After the worship service, we had a lovely lunch fellowship at the church premises – members cooked and brought the lunch. Thereafter, Ricky had to fly back to Singapore (as he didn’t have enough leave to stay longer), Dn Phoa, Preacher Eli and I made our way to Bohol via a twohour ferry ride. The Bohol church usually conducts their worship service in the morning, but with special arrangements, it was held in the afternoon so that we could minister to the people there. Dn Phoa preached to an attentive congregation of about 30 people. Preacher Edsel is the pastor of Bohol BPC but he has gone to Singapore to attend the Gethsemane BPC family camp. Hence, Preacher Eli accompanied us. After the worship service, we had dinner fellowship with Bucio, a faithful brother in the Lord and Hansel, a 19-year-old Bible college student.  They accompanied us during the visitation the following day. We noticed that Bohol city was very quiet after 7.30 pm. We then realised that people in Bohol normally sleep at about 6.30 pm and wake up at 4 am. That is interesting!

Altogether, we visited 8 homes. It was a wonderful time getting to know the people, their way of life and their struggles. Dn Phoa and I took turns to share God’s Word and we sang hymns at every home to encourage them. We witnessed the Lord’s bountiful blessings upon Preacher Edsel in his ministry in Bohol.

Conclusion
We have received many blessings from the Lord in this short but fruitful mission trip. May the Lord continue to grant us the love for His work in the mission field and to encourage the missionaries there with our prayers, giving and visits as He leads (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:58).