Take it to the Rim: D-Now, the FIlipino Way

This isn't a critique of the American church, but having led D-Now for a church in America, I see the inherent flaw in how we do it.

What altered my mindscape was having a team of a half-dozen orphans live in our two-room house with us, pushing the total up to 15, and listening to them as they followed us around and spearheaded as we championed the Gospel around Ilijan. We got to be the leader in a "Come and See" discipleship - the biblical way. The result of that was the gospel being shared with 38 households in less than 24 hours, what a praise that we could see the Word spread to the corners of the villages and the fire in the children's heart winded us to an extra gear of evangelism as well.

Pray for those children that they'd be adopted by Christian, loving homes. 
Pray for our thirty-plus new contacts, that we could do the appropriate followup with them.

Praise for Maurice, a granddaughter of Tatay L, who shared the Gospel for the first time and is pursuing the Lord actively in her life, she could be a bastion of Christ in this community after we leave.

Speaking of "after we leave,"pray for D and C, who are aware that they are in charge of the ministry once we leave, which is in two weeks. We are handing the keys of the ministry to a 15 year old and a 22 year old who is only there in the summer. Pray the Lord would carry this burden for them, and that they'd play their part in building up Ilijan.

Praise for Nanay A, a woman who has genuinely accepted Christ in her heart. Pray her faith would grow as she prays for her family's salvation - which was our first indicator she was serious about her faith.

Pray for us, because once you round third and see home plate, it becomes progressively easier to envision yourself there. Pray we can focus on the task at hand in spite of the fatigue.

Praise we were able to share the gospel after a day of true labor - moving rocks and mixing concrete to fix up a house. The end result? A chance to share with a man the splendors of the gospel.

This upcoming Sunday we'll have our last house church service, pray and expect the Lord moves.

The laborer is worthy of his wages.

The Firstfruit frustration

Since week one, you've heard about Jasmine and her new found salvation, but the challenge of baptism proved itself ugly to the Roman Catholic side of her raising, and it was almost like we reverted to square one when we presented her with the idea of baptism. Her story of growing in her relationship with the Lord completely flipped - pray that she'd see what it means to follow the Lord in obedience, because there is nothing we as men can do, only Him.

Praise for Peter  - of the brothers Ronald and Peter so often mentioned here - as it appears he has come to know Christ. Pray that his salvation is real, which is as he described... "A huge weight lifted off my shoulders." 

Pray for our team, the language barrier, the physical nature of playing basketball, and the endurance of going this long without our normal lives seems to be catching up to us, and grace seems to be dripping from what was once an open faucet. 
Pray we'd have patience, understanding, grace, mercy, and forgiveness with each other. 

Praise that we baptized Christian, once of the many that live in our house. He seeks to pursue the Lord and grow in his relationship, even to the point of going with us as we reach out to the community. Pray he continues to grow in faith. 

Some of us are noticing the Lord's call on our lives in different ways now - the result of living a life dedicated to Him in the most literal way. Some of us are thinking full time international missionary, some of us are not. Pray Jesus continues to pull us into His plan for us. 

-Take it to the Rim

New Real Estate

We have a new house, which is further proof the Lord doesn't call us into comfort. As soon as you get acclimated to a new culture in another hemisphere, it's time to uproot! Thankfully we abide in the vine and not in our room.

The praises and requests from the past week are many, including the baptism of Tai Tai Lino and his grand daughters. The best part is we didn't seek them for baptism, they sought us because they read the bible commands them to be baptized. What a praise!

Continue to pray for Ronald and Peter, who are each weighing the cost of what it means to follow Jesus. They are so close, please pray for them, that they would see eternity is worth so much more than worldly discomfort.

Please pray for our translator Kewin, who is experiencing familial issues and needs the strength and perseverance of Jesus. As we lift him to the Lord, please do as well, he needs to feel the love that does not come from man.

On a semi-related note, pray that the American portion of our team would pursue understanding, gentleness, and patience with Filipino culture. There's no team tension, but there will be if we don't stay focused on the Lord.

Praise that team camaraderie is an all-time high, laughs, jokes, and smiles are the replacement for groggy faces rising to catch the 6:30 jeepney.

Praise for our newest team member, Christian, who has joined the fold and visits houses with us as we lead bible studies and prayer walk. Praise as well for Darwin's continued growth, and the fact that his house is the one we live in now. Pray they both continue to grow and seek the Lord.

Pray for Jasmine, who has faced the cost of following Jesus - her strictly Roman Catholic husband telling her that we should not be having bible studies at her house. Pray she would continue to seek Jesus, and she has invited to come back at her own cost.

Pray for Michelle and her family, who are seeking Jesus and asking questions about what it means to follow Jesus.

Pray for a family we have code named "The Pink House", whose infant is battling fever and the grandmother is in the Hospital. We delivered a message for them and I pray they'd come to know salvation as the Lord wills.

For our team, pray for continued spiritual growth. It's been amazing to watch each other seek the Lord daily. Physical health is tremendous, spiritual health is blooming, and our mental and emotional health are stable. We love each other and this community.

-Lucas

2017 Take it to the Rim - The Harvest

The Barangay of I is a bountiful harvest; those who have lifted us up to the Lord have brought us to many people of peace, love, and interest.

Darwin, previously mentioned, has been baptized, and is referred to by his friends in school as "Pastor Darwin", a sign of his outwardness of faith even when we are not with him. Praise that he is such as a strong believer in such as a small amount of time, and continue to pray for his growth.

New into our daily fold are Jasmine, Michelle, Ronald, Peter, and Lino.

Jasmine, a Catholic woman raising two children while her husband works overseas, came to know the Lord this week and it appears her salvation is real, though only her, God, and the Devil know her true heart. She is seeking a genuine relationship with Jesus, and we are using the Word to speak to her the truth to her questions about purgatory, baptism, and praying to anyone besides God. Pray she would grow in her faith and that it would be true. Praise that she has come to know Him!

Pray for Lino who has prayed to receive Christ. He seeks a relationship with Christ and discipleship from other believers, pray that he would grow in his faith. Praise for an answered prayer request of his - after roughly two weeks of drought, we prayed for him in the name of Jesus that his crops would receive rain, and it rained that night!

Michelle, the aunt of Darwin, is one of that many family members that Darwin has in I. He has 56 cousins in the barangay alone! Pray we could effectively minister to Michelle and the family of Darwin, imagine if the Lord consecrated an entire family of this magnitude to Him, how gospel saturated the community would be!

Finally there are Ronald and Peter, two brilliant Engineer brothers with English as good as ours. They are not saved, but are asking all the questions that come with a convicted heart. They invited us for dinner and we explained the Gospel to them for several hours - the food was great! Pray they can come to know Jesus, because they are scared to turn their lives over to a God they cannot see, a rational fear.

Pray continually for our team, we've avoided physical injury and sickness, but the mental and emotional fatigue is apparent. 
Pray that we never grow content with what the Lord has already done for us, that we can constantly seek and disciple.

The Power of God

...and His incomparable great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 1:19-20

Team of the Day: Take it to the Rim

Country of the Day: Philippines

Please pray for team members to be in full reliance upon the power of God as they minister and share the Gospel.

Getting Established/The First Week

217: The approximate number of people we have shared testimonies or gospel with through basketball, door-to-door, or any number of personal ways of communication.
1: The number of people who have given their lives to Christ that was know of, and wish to be discipled.

His name is Darwin, the soft spoken 15 year old boy who has already proven the harvest is bountiful, and we workers already feel fulfilled, knowing that a lifetime of labor is worth one soul.

The adventures already countless, this summer already has story sharing with crowds of 30+, walking many miles to a spring deep in the jungle, running a basketball clinic, and much more to glorify the Father!

Here are some praises and prayer requests from one week of ministry:

• Darwin, that he'd be discipled and willing to grow in Christ. Praise that he is saved, and is now seeking baptism. 
• Ronald, Alex, Jasper, J.P., Maki, and many others unnamed who we are forming intentional relationships with. Pray the seed has been sown, and that it would bloom into a fruit ripe for the harvest. 
• Pray for an upcoming opportunity where we have been invited to teach at a local high school, that God could be glorified through this. 
• Pray continually for our team still, as we are coming to the hard and fast realization of what it means to be solely reliant on Christ for everything.

Korben and Lucas gathering children for a drill at our first basketball clinic, where over 50 people attended.

Our translator Kewin taking a selfie with many participants of our basketball camp, with John & Stephen posing!

Team leader CJ shares testimony and gospel with camp attendees 

-Take it 2 the Rim

Meet the Team: Take it 2 the Rim

Take it to the Rim is a team of five Americans and two Filipino translators using basketball to form intention relationships with communities around Batangas City, Philippines.

American team members

Roster
CJ: Team captain, second season, age 24, Small forward, 6'2", 180lbs - University of Arkansas at Monticello
Korben: rookie, age 20, Power forward, 6'3" 240 lbs, - Tennessee Tech University
Stephen: rookie, age 21, Point guard, 5'11", 170lbs, - Arkansas State University
Lucas: rookie, age 20, Center, 6'4", 220lbs, - University of Tennessee
John: rookie, age 20, Shooting guard, 6'0" 165 lbs, - North Greenville University
Kewin: fifth season, translator, 5'11, 78 kg, - BSU
Joel: fourth season, translator, 5'7", 70 kg - FEATI university

CJ's advice to rookies: "One day at a time"
Korben's most exciting thing about the summer: "leading the first person to Christ"
John's least exciting thing: "One word - Balut."
Kewin on why he translates: "Because God said so, even if you have a hard time."