It was the first week we were in the Philippines and we went to play basketball with some guys. When we finished, we walked by a skills center (welding) and a guy walked up to us and started to talk in English! We were surprised at first, but he was very nice. We ended up asking if we could play basketball with them and share our testimonies. After that, we started going back on a regular basis and having Bible studies. They were very receptive of our message, although many of them professed to be Catholic. They seemed interested from the beginning and each of our team members lead a Bible study with them. I remember several times going on their lunch break (which was 1 hour) and staying 2 to 3 hours talking about many things relating to Jesus and what truth REALLY is.
As the summer was winding down, several of the guys made Jesus Christ the Lord of their lives! We celebrated with John, Macarae, Odonis, William, Patrick, Argie, and Vinston. Then I shared with them about baptism and we made plans to baptize them all together. Two of them however, came to me and said they did not want to wait and wanted to be baptized the next day! So we baptized John and Odonis the following day! The rest were to follow, and the Lord proved Himself faithful through their lives. They will be leaving to work all around Cebu, so please pray for them that they would continue to be bright lights in the darkness where they work and to whomever they meet. Pray for the truth to be evident and revealed for each of these guys as they are searching for more answers. Thank you for the prayer!
- Phil