There’s Something Happening Here…

Youth Leader Seminar (flip flops best) crop

On Palawan, whenever you see a pile of flip-flops outside a door, you know something is happening inside. Come on in and we’ll tell you about it…

Palawano Youth Leaders Seminar

We invited ten key youth leaders, and 18 came (that’s good math in the world of discipleship).

THEY SANG their hearts our in times of worship (in three different languages, including a song they wrote.)

THEY LISTENED attentively for two whole days while Bill taught through 2 Timothy, challenging them to make wise decisions and to use their lives to serve God, starting now while they are young.

THEY SHARED how some are being mocked at school by kids of other religions.

THEY CRIED about their parents’ spiritual needs and the need for unity in the Palawano church.

THEY THANKED us for coming, and wrote thank-you letters to the ones who underwrote the seminar.

and…

THEY CHEERED when we told them we would come back next year and do it again.

Palawano Young People's Seminar Group Shot

Who Are These Kids?

Their average age was 18-19. Among the Palawanos, most kids in this group are our “grandchildren.” When we first moved to the village in 1983, their parents were 3 or 4 years old–they were our daughter’s best friends and used to play in our house.

More importantly, they want to use their lives for Christ. They want to finish school and become school teachers back among their people, to be clinic workers and midwives and gospel preachers and pastors.

They are serious about their faith.

Youth Leader Seminar (Bill teaching good 2) crop

Thank you for praying and for supporting our ministry to make this kind of event possible!

Ten… Three… One!

Church Leader Seminar (group 1)

Palawano Church Leaders Seminar 2016

TEN PALAWANOS… What a joy! We just spent three days teaching ten Palawanos who are eager to grow in God’s Word, to lead and to have an impact in the church down south. They endured several hours of hiking through the forest and a six-hour, bumpy, rough-road ride squished in a van to come to Puerto Princesa for the seminar.

THREE DAYS… Bill taught through the book of Galatians, emphasizing the true Gospel of grace and addressing the dangers of legalism. To counter the recent false accusations about the accuracy of their Palawano New Testament, he gave an overview of the history of the Bible and Bible translations, and a quick “Intro to Bible Translation,” affirming the careful procedures we followed for nearly 30 years in transferring the message of God’s Word into Palawano. Hearts were touched by passages in Ephesians about the need for oneness in the church. We had a sweet one-on-one counseling and prayer time with one young woman who was especially discouraged, and a few meetings with individual leaders to encourage them in the task of restoring unity.

ONENESS IN THE CHURCH… Everyone was blessed and went home committed to healing hurts and reuniting the church with God’s help. Thanks for praying!

Please continue to pray for restored unity in the Palawano church!

Church Leader Seminar (Bill teaching 1)

Bill teaching Galatians to the group

Special thanks to a generous friend who paid for our tickets, and the generous gift of our church in Manila for making this seminar possible!