This years mission trip to the Philippines was another great experience. I can’t say it was at all times an enjoyable one, but it was definitely a memorable one. You know what I remember most? The kids smiles. They melt my heart.
Another thing that really hit me this year and last was the commitment and dedication many people have for God. One Philippine missionary made a statement I will never forget. He said, “I would die for these people (meaning the mountain people called Munyan’s). Jesus is coming back soon and they need to know.”
We were a group of 12 mostly from Kelowna and Kamloops area who split up into 5 different sites on the island of Mindoro. With me was Dr. Larry Shipowick and Pastor Mike Lowe, we spent 8 days at the Munyan village called Balangabang.
Each evening we shared stories, experiences, and bible truths about Jesus while our interpreter tried to keep up. One evening Larry handed out 5 Frisbees that had a Canada flag on them. The next day one of the missionaries asked me what it was that we handed out the night before. I said, “You have never seen that before?” She said, “No, the people think it is a plate.” We got a good chuckle out of that. So the next night we demonstrated how the Frisbees’ worked and everyone was amazed. They learned that it was a flying plate.
During the day, Larry ran a dental clinic while Mike and I did some visits locally and to other villages. Larry pulled out over 100 teeth during our stay. People came from many different mountain villages some 2 and 3 hours hike and all bare foot of course.
This time of the year, summer for the Philippines, water is a big problem for this village. There was nothing flowing from the water source pipe until night time when the usage further up the mountain was less. This became a big problem for cooking, washing, toilet and drinking water, etc… Some money was donated from several people in our Kelowna church and these funds will help to provide a better solution for water supply and the churches sanitation.
From all 5 sites, there was a total of 503 individuals who gave their lives to Jesus and were baptized.
There is much more that could be said but I don’t want to bore you with any more details. I know that it is very hard to relate to these experiences unless you were there.
About Troy McQueen