Transformation

On Thursday afternoon we had another planning meeting with Julius and Roszel after which we went to KLB together to celebrate Julius' birthday. It was a lot of fun as we shared food together and honoured Julius on his special day. One of the highlights was a whole pig, what they call a Lechon. It was devoured within minutes!

Yesterday we had a leisurely morning before making our way to the Butuan orphanage that has been relocated until the present orphanage building in Butuan has been renovated. The interim building is a deserted and basically unfinished building where the children have a roof over their heads, and that is about it! It is a building site and the conditions are disgraceful. The orphanage building that is being renovated isn't much better and part of  KLB's vision is to eventually be able to build a home for abandoned children and orphans so that they can live in a safe environment and be fed and educated to give them a hope and a future. It simply breaks one's heart to see abandoned children and infants! I played a fun game with them that I taught them and for a moment I think they could escape their circumstances and have fun together. After a short word of encouragement we had food for them that KLB had prepared in the morning. It was an emotional visit but I praise God that He is the God of all comfort who comforts widows and orphans.

In the evening KLB had their first ever city outreach and set up a stage with sound and light systems to rock Butuan. The worship team did a fantastic job releasing the rhythm of heaven over Butuan and I shared the Gospel of the Kingdom with the many people that stood around the city centre square. We invited people for prayer to be touched by Jesus and many responded to the call. It was very exciting to see people being touched by God's Spirit. Some testified to feeling God's presence in the area of their bodies that were sick and a couple of people fell over under God's power. All this happenend in the centre of Butuan as many young KLB guys, dressed in their blue KLB T-shirts could be seen mingling with the observers and participants. Jesus' name was being made famous and KLB is building His reputation in Butuan! Hallelujah!

This morning was spent with the worship team and Frances and I taught them some of the basic principles of how we lead worship and why we do what we do. After a couple of hours of teaching, we spent some time practising entering God's presence together. These guys are hungry for God and fast learners. It was not long before we had entered God's presence together and God made His presence known. We are excited to see where KLB will take the principles we have shown them further as they develop their own expression and form of the essence of worship.

I praise God for the transformation that is already taking place as people are being touched one by one with God's presence and love. As KLB gets hold of the essence of the Kingdom we will see a steady transformation in the lives of the people here. Hallelujah!

This afternoon Frances will have a session with the young women of the church and this evening we will be teaching the church about Life Groups, their purpose and function within the church. I wonder what I will do with my free afternoon...Bo's or Robinsons? Maybe I can find some more strange things they sell here...

Let the little children come to me!

Glory to God!

Halelujah! A new coffee shop has been opened near the hotel so we could start the day with a proper Latte and a great conversation with pastor Berwyn and pastor Julius about building God's Kingdom in Butuan and in the Philippines. It was a great opportunity to hear what God has placed on their hearts and for us to share our passion for God's Kingdom with them.

We then made our way to the landfill (rubbish dump) where many people live. It is unimaginable that people actually live amongst the garbage and in the stench of refuse. These are the poorest of the poor but everywhere we went we were greeted with curiosity and joy! God has a passion for the poor and it was a joy to bless them. As we made our way back to the car we were asked by a local school teacher whether we perhaps had any paper and pencils for their little school right next to the rubbish dump. We told them we didn't but went straight to the supermarket to buy the items needed for 50 children and will give it to them tomorrow. I felt it important to reveal the Father's promise of "when you ask, you will receive!" What a privilege to reveal Abba's love!

After lunch in Butuan's only shopping mall, we had some time with Berwyn and Julius before going to the middle of Butuan to feed the street children. Sadly the government has recently issued a new law that does not permit street children to beg in public places so we only found a few that we then took with us (great fun for the kids to be in the car with us) to the orphanage - one tiny building for the whole region! We were shocked. We were shown into the building and saw the pitiful state of the interior. We met a dozen kids that had been brought in because of abadonment, sexual abuse and the like. We ministered to a little 10 year old girl that had been raped by her step-father and a 16 year old girl who had a 1 month old baby (she too had been raped). We spent some time with these broken kids and I spoke to them about how Jesus loves them and will never reject them. We prayed for them, sang with them, danced with them and fed them. I felt the Lord's compassion as I ministered to these children. Our God is the God of all comfort and a Father to the fatherless!

After our visit to the orphanage, we still had plenty food left so we made our way to the main bus terminal near the town centre where we gathered around 15 children to share God's love with them and feed them. It was another precious time as they listened intently to the message of the Father's love and how Jesus came to give them a hug from the Father. After the message I invited the children for a big hug and went round to each of them to impart the Father's love. It was wonderful to see how these little ones received Abba's love.

After feeding the little group we made our way to see the youth football teams pastor Julius coaches and ministers too. About 25 kids gathered as I spoke to them about how God has created them for a purpose and to be part of His team! We had a lot of fun and the kids really listened. After the message and prayer they too tucked into the meals Aaron and Rose had prepared earlier today for the various kids we would be ministering to today.


It really has been a day of contrasts and a day of experiencing the Father's compassion for the poor, the fatherless, the broken and the children. There is so much need here but at least we could make a difference to a few precious souls today. Thank you Jesus!

"People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he was indignant. He said to them, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.' And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." Mark 10:13-16