Apostolic Ministry

Yesterday the day began very early indeed! I was invited to speak from 6am - 7am at a local radio station that reaches the entire Philippines. I spoke about the reality of the Kingdom of God and shared the Good News with the people of the Philippines. It was a challenge to basically speak for 60 minutes with only a few breaks but it was an amazing opportunity to proclaim the truth to the nations!

After a short breakfast we made our way to KLB's Sunday meeting. The room was filled with people and there was a real buzz. The worship team had clearly taken hold of the principles we taught them the day before and very soon we were entering the presence of God. It was wonderful to witness how these young worshippers have taken hold of the essence and are now running with it. Frances shared a powerful message on the call of God and how noone is disqualified. It was a joy to be part of this dynamic new church family and we are excited to see how God will continue to bless and work through KLB to transform Butuan. One visiting lady said it was wonderful to experience the presence of God like that again after so many years.

We then had a scrumptious lunch together (with avocado shake, calamari, kinilaw, stir-fried beef, aubergine) and then made our way to pastor Berwyn's church in Cabadbaran - Mabini Christian Fellowship, where I shared on Proverbs 16:15 about the favour of God. It was very special to see the many children again and to see how they have grown and matured. After the service we made our way back to Butuan and stopped for some fresh Durian on the way. Durian is very smelly but tastes amazing. In the evening we had our "Abschluss" dinner with Berwyn, Julius, Roszel and Jasfer (an amazingly talented young drummer). It was a long day and after rolling home from Robinson's (the new shopping mall) to Dotties hotel, because of all the food we had, we hit the sack and were out for the count.

This morning we had to pack and check out of our hotel and enjoyed our last coffee with Julius, Roszel, Jasfer, Yrah Lee and Jonkris. Berwyn and Liberty and the kids then joined us and we made our way to the airport where they saw us off.

We have arrived safely in Manila and enjoyed checking out the Mall of Asia. Tomorrow we will spend time with our good friend, Mark who was part of KLF for a  year when he was in Frankfurt. Mark does sign language for the deaf and tomorrow we will visit his school where I will be ministering to some deaf students. We will probably be visiting Mark's family in the evening. Our return flight via Hong Kong is on Wednesday evening.

It has been an amazing 10 days here in the Philippines. I praise God for the wonderful things we were privileged to witness as He touched the lives of so many people. We really feel that we were able to fulfill the apostolic ministry of teaching, imparting, equipping, training and helping KLB to create Kingdom culture as they remain uncompromising in essence but flexible in form. We give God all the glory for the wonderful things He is doing and will do! We are looking forward to visiting next year again, hopefully with a small team.

Wind, Water and Fire!

Glory to God!

Today was our last day in Butuan. We were invited to minister at a large church in the city and we were encouraged by the presence of the Lord in the place and the spirit of worship we found. After a good time of worship, I preached on the faith that trusts God in the storm, that touches Jesus to receive healing and that honours the presence of God. I then led the church in worship as I encouraged everyone to worship the Lord from the heart and in their own words. As we did so the Lord once again manifested His presence and people began to weep and kneel before Him. It was wonderful as the the Holy Spirit seemed to blow through the room. As people came forward for prayer Frances and I ministered to the people and watched the Lord pour out His love on His people. One lady was healed as we prayed for her shoulder and could subsequently move it freely. She was in tears of gratitude. Thank you Lord! 

After a buffet lunch with the church's pastor and wife and some of their leaders, we made our way back to the hotel so that Christopher, Christine and Yra-Lee could swim in the pool. They loved it! After the usual Mango-shake Berwyn and I made our way to the radio station for another live broadcast. Frances, Liberty and Roszel had some time together and watched the kids. They also had to finalise some paperwork together. 

At the radio station I had another 60 minute slot and I spoke on the Kingdom and how Jesus came to preach the good news of the Kingdom and demonstrate the reality of the Kingdom. I shared the need for faith in Christ and new birth to be able to see the Kingdom and enter into it. I had a lot of fun and hundreds of people got to hear the good news! Praise the Lord! 

After the radio broadcast we dashed to the youth meeting at the Free Methodist Church. Worship was already underway and when I was asked to speak, I talked about the fire of God and revival. In response to the message almost all the youngsters came forward to receive the fire of God. It was awesome. I am convinced God is saturating this generation to spread the fire if His love and power. 

After the youth meeting we made our way to a restaurant for our final family dinner together. As we followed the car of Julius and Roszel and got ready to turn into the parking area in front of the restaurant, a motorcycle slammed into Julius' car! We saw the motorcyclist fly over Julius' bonnet but praise God no one was harmed! Julius' car, however, is quite bashed in the front. He then had to accompany the police and the motorcyclist to the police station - not the way we had planned our last evening together but I am so grateful that no one was hurt! 

Tomorrow we leave for Manila and are looking forward to spending some more time with Mark and his family. I am going to miss this place and what God is doing here. It has been a fantastic visit and I praise God for all that He has done and will continue to do here in Butuan and the surrounding area.

 "Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them." Acts 2:2,3