Mission Trip to The Philippines

When you hear about a certain place and ministries for 20 years by a number of people who have influenced your life it obviously builds a desire to experience and see that place. The place I'm talking about is the churches, children's homes and bible colleges on the Philippine Islands. So this past July I traveled to the Philippines to be a part of a ministry team to preach and teach in the Kingsway Fellowship International of the Philippines conferences. It truly was an event that will be etched in my memory for years to come. After an extremely long plane ride, I arrived in Tarloc City at 3:30 very tired but excited to get started with the weeks events. The mission house was a welcomed sight after 20 some hours of travel with very little sleep. The roar of jet engines is just not the kind of tranquil sounds that will lull a person into a deep sleep, not to add the comfortable seats and the bounce of occasional and sudden turbulence to rock you into a deep sleep of never, never land. But, thank God it beats the alternative of traveling by auto and boat. Thank you Jesus for the miracle of jet travel.The mission house is a concrete two-bedroom suite with kitchen, bath and wood or tiled floors. As I looked around it occurred to me that this place looks familiar. Oh, yes this place looks somewhat like Mexico with some upgrades like electricity, running water and an air conditioned bedroom. look out slumber land here I come. Three and a half hours later the alarm went off, not the clock radio inside the room, it was the roosters in the back yard crowing. Not one, but several, all in a row. Now that's my kind of a wake up call, green acres style. Off to take a shower, can you say COLD? WOW, THIS IS EXHILARATING. You know what's coming when there is only one on-off handle in the shower, but nothing can prepare you for what is about to come through that shower head. Icey-cold water, now that was a quick shower.After breakfast of mango (Delightful) with egg and cheese omelet, Mama Lee and I headed for a suburb of Tarloc City to Full Gospel Lord Jesus Christ Church. We were met with smiles, handshakes and a excitement that can only be interpreted as "We welcome you and are so grateful that you've come." I was energized by this display of hospitality. If you like being wanted, needed and valued then this is the place to be. What a lesson in Hospitality!!! I've never been so overwhelmed with people who wanted to serve and make you feel comfortable. The service was full of good music, worship and celebration. The thing that I observed the most in the churches was their passion for worship and the quality of music was beyond my expectation. We were feed a Hugh meal after the service, then we returned to the Mission house were I was able to rest a little before traveling to Pastor Solomon and Elizebeth Ventura's children's home and bible college. True Vine ministries is truly one of compassion for orphans and students who don't have the means to send their children to school. They house, feed, cloth and educate 48 students by faith. They depend on God speaking to his people to help with financial giving. Did I mention Pastor Solomon has also planted many churches the mountain region in the north. You can't get to these churches in an auto, it takes putting one foot in front of the other until you reach the village churches. Wimps need not apply for this ministry position. It takes a person with dynamic faith and perseverance along with a love for the lost. Pastor Solomon is such a man. He gave us a tour of the Facilities that is modest at best. As a matter of fact the kids sleep in beds with no mattress, just a piece of plywood on a frame. Of course it comes with a sheet and pillow. It's by design, if you're going to someday go to the mountains to plant or pastor a church then you can't get comfortable. The students greeted us with smiles, hugs, and inside the worship hall was a beautiful drawing saying "WELCOME DR. RON BREESE FROM KALONA USA. If they were out to get in my heart, it worked - mission accomplished. They made it very clear that we are not a guest, we are part of the family. They sang, worshipped, danced and filled our hearts with joy. We enjoyed our time with these students and left with a information of each child, what their personal circumstance was (many are without mom or dad so we have become mama and papa) and autograph copy signifying our place in their lives. As you can see that I've been here for 1 day and experience everything that would make a successful trip.Monday was a travel day and we drove back to Minilla to meet up with the other team members. Dr. Alan Miller, Bishop Bill and Sherry Jenkins, Ashley Bench and Juan-Claude and Mila Sterling for a week of one day conferences called "Word Fest" in which we would encourage and train many pastor's and christian workers. The people we would meet in the next few days have stories to tell about God's work in and through their ministries. We rejoice to be a partner to these men and women of God who are faithfully serving people thoughout the islands.The theme for these Word Fests was "Meet for the Master's Use" from the text II Timothy 2:1-6 and vs. 20. We conducted 9 Conferences in 9 Cities over the course of three weeks. I personally was involved in 3 conferences at Quezon City, San Fernando City, and La Tinadad which is located high on top of a mountain about 5,000 ft. above sea level near Bagio City, which is known as the Summer City of the Philippines. American Solders and government officials would retreat there to escape the heat, now it is a thriving city of 350,000 people. During the conference in La Trinadad we met 2 pastors who had walked 5 hours to get to a bus stop, then ride an hour to get to the conference. There are 100's of pastor's just like him seeking a place to be feed and encouraged. Our final stop was the church at the end of the road. This church is located at the end of a step downward winding road. Pastor Gideon and Dita Labagan has a thriving work which involves preparing bible college students. He and his wife along with their two children are very musically talented which we were blessed to hear. It was a joy to minister in the church and our time of fellowship was very rewarding. I'm looking froward to a return visit (the Lord willing) and serve in strengthening the churches in The Philippines.