Philippines: Barangay Dulangan | February 26
Our surprise first stop of the day- Filipino National Headquarters! The police chief came and told the staff there that we would be teaching on spiritual reformation, and that he was very excited to hear what we had to say. Everyone introduced themselves and I started the sermon that I had hurriedly prepared the night before. I was so happy; God really showed up and guided me through it, it seemed like a pretty powerful message!
I can’t stop thinking about what a crazy opportunity this is! It is mind blowing that this is not only allowed, but specifically sanctioned by the government. There was even an official attendance log and on the letterhead it said “Spiritual Reformation meeting”. Just think about that for a minute! Paul had explained to me that the country had gotten really bad, and the people in uniform/authority were seen as particularly bad. The new government wanted so badly to change that image, so they gave power to the priest and the pastors to come into any government place and teach. Now, that authority has mostly been handed over to just Christian pastors. That’s absolutely unreal!
Afterward my sermon they offered us mayonnaise sandwiches and some drinks to show us honor. Biggest miracle of the trip- I finished my sandwich!
We left and drove to an elementary school in barangay Dayhagen. They greeted us and offered us Mountain Dew in the glass bottles made with real cane sugar- awesome! There were about 350 students. I went into 4 classrooms and gave a testimony, and explained the gospel. There were about thirty to forty students in each class and 100% responded, including teachers! I told myself, “I never ever want to forget the sound of their voices praying together.”
We left that school and drove back towards the base to an elementary school in Pilar. We were led all the way to the back of the property, where the principal met us. He asked us all to come under the mango trees so he could address us. I couldn’t tell if he was happy or upset. He told us that he had just heard who we were and our purpose for coming....uh oh. Then he smiled and said how incredibly thankful he was that we had come! Apparently he was the only Christian out of all of his staff. He talked about the longing in his heart to see the hearts and minds changed in his school and how he wished he could do more, and that we were an answer to prayer! Phew! So we split up and did our mini-crusades in each classroom. I’m pretty sure 100% of the rooms I went to made a decision for Jesus. These kids are so excited to have this hope.
That afternoon we drove out to barangay Bayuyan with the follow up team, where our turnout was all women. There were about twenty women who agreed to join or start Bible studies. Later we found out that they had land picked out to start a church- the first one in the Barangay! We stopped and prayed over the land.
We could have stayed forever, but we had to drive to barangay Dululang for the healing concert.
Amy and I actually danced with the kids tonight! I know, shocking. I got up and did a whole greeting in Kreyol. The Filipino translator acted like she understood every word and translated it into the local Tagalog dialect- it was hilarious. Paul closed with a MASSIVE alter call, probably a couple hundred! Many, many, many new believers, first timers tonight. Also, many, many reported being physically healed- one line saw four people healed from back pain in a row. BAM BAM BAM. Wow! Pretty good way to end the day.
~ Joel Doorlag