Greetings -- We are here in Lucena City now, and our first day of conferences is today. We have NOT adapted to the time zones yet so we fight sleepiness all afternoon and then when we finally get to bed at night only can only sleep a few hours. Up at 4:45 a.m. today!!!
To catch you up with what is happening so far.....Our flights we nice, uneventful, and long of course. It was about 26 hours of total travel time from the time we left Minneapolis until we arrived in Manila. We rested our first day in Manila and Jane came to be with us later that first day after we arrived. On Sunday morning we ministered at a churh in the Manila Marikina district, which is an area that was just recently affected by the floods. They have cleaned off main roads in that area, but there is MUCH distruction and many people were totally wiped out of house and home. Pastor Sharon preached a message on "Feed your Faith, Starve your Fear." The pastor told her after the service that most of his congregation is very fearful of another typhoon coming and of more loss and distruction. It was a God-sent message to the people!
That church was having Pastor Appreciation Day that day so there was a meal after the service and we were invited to join them. At the meal we were able to more people about the floods and the loss. One of the assistant pastors had to walk in the flood waters for over seven hours to get to where his home was to see if his family was safe. He doesn't swim and so he just held on to things along the flooded area to keep up. When he arrived at his home, the waters were up to the second floor of the home. His wife and children were on the second floor and safe, but the waters were getting very close to them as he arrived.
One horrible after problem is sickness now. The waters are full of rat urine and people who have walked in the flooded waters with cuts or open sores are becoming diseased. Those that have stood in the waters are having poison enter in all sorts of ways, and many people have already died from this. We were able to give financial aid to the pastor of the Marikena church for rice and food to be purchased for those he knows who need help. He said over 2,135 people have been relocated because they lost everything. They are still finding dead bodies in the clean up operations. It's one thing to see this on "the news" and another thing to see it first hand. It's very very sad.
We also did a hospital visit to a lady who is a very good friend of Jane's. She has been fighting kidney disease for many months, and was in the hospital in Manila getting dialysis. We spent quite a while with her, praying for God's intervention and healing to her body. As we were driving here to Lucena City yesterday, Jane got a phone call that Susan is now having fluid build up around her heart and lungs. We prayed for a long time in the car yesterday on her behalf. Pastor Sharon is asking everyone we know to start praying for this lady. She is a wonderful person and she and her husband have been very good friends to Jane. Her name is Susan Foo -- husband Dick Foo. They are Chinese believers. Susan needs a miracle in her kidneys, and other areas of her body that have been affected by the kidney problem. Thank you for standing in the gap for Susan and Dick.
Today we start our two daye conference, Pursuing Passion. Pastor Sharon will teach four sessions and I will teach two. We are expecting a minimum of 200 pastors and leaders from the region to attend. Jane has many pastors coming in from all over the region for the event. Thanks to your generous giving, we are able to offer bus fare and meals to them so that they can come. We want to thank you on their behalf for your generosity in giving to make this possible for them. You really have know idea what a blessing it is and encouragement to their ministry.
Please also pray about the typhoons. Today we hear there is one possibly hitting the very northern part of the country. That is several hundred miles from us, but the nation has really been devasted by the past two typhoons and they do not need any more destruction. Please pray that these storms cease and disipate over the ocean.
We will now try to report every day. Internet has not been easily available until we got to this hotel, which has wireless in the restaurant. That's where I am at the moment at 5:52 a.m. having breakfast and typing. I'm already dressed for the meeting with makeup on, ready for the day ... at 5:54 a.m. hahahahahaha
Also, remember I am typing on a laptop, so please ignore my typos and other "issues" We love you all and thank you for your continued prayers! Talk to you soon!
Love,
Pastor Sharon and Nola
PS: I am having BIG problems using the Group email to send this. I had to individually click on names in my contact list, so I am sure not everyone in the group email gets this. Please pass the emails and information along to those you know who have not heard from us. It is just a quirk of the system here, and I can not spend time trying to figure out what is going on. So just pass the info on if you hear of those who haven't heard what is going on here.
THANKS!!!
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