Polillio Mission Trip

LEADERSHIP MODULES

Praise God for a fruitful time in Polillio! We had 3 meetings (approximately 7 hours) of Leadership Training Modules as part of our ministry focus on this trip, along with many other activities. The Lord wants us not only to pray for workers for the harvest, but to help prepare workers for the harvest…

REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE

We were able to also attend to some urgent repair and maintenance needs at the mission base. The following picture is one of our team working on top of a terrace roof in a precarious spot. I was amazed when I him saw him trimming a board there in that spot, and in those unpredictable weather conditions (it had been raining off and on that day). I will include some more pictures of our trip at the end of this post.

Trimming board on Terrace Roof

Praise the Lord there was no accident! It’s was very high!

L300 Van Breakdown

I left the rest of our team at the mission base there to continue on with the ministry and work, and returned home. Driving back with our old L300 Mitsubishi van (see picture below) from the eastern coastal area (where we catch the ferry out to the islands) over the mountains, and into the Laguna/Manila vicinity, I noticed that the steering was becoming increasingly loose. The clearances on it were so bad that it was alarming. Although I could still control the steering, I needed to move the steering wheel so far from side to side, in order to get the needed steering responses.

I knew that it would be difficult, if not impossible to continue on my way through Manila without getting the steering repaired. Once, while driving along I needed to move the steering quickly to avoid a vehicle. It was without accident, but the steering responded slowly because of the looseness of the steering wheel. I knew I could be in very dangerous trouble if I continued on, especially in congested traffic. The traffic in Manila is often unpredictable, with ‘stop and go’ and sometimes crazy traffic patterns, with lots of motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic to watch out for and avoid. When I got as far as the outskirts of Metro-Manila area (Antipolo) I knew I still had approximately at the very least 3 ½-4 hours to go before I would make it home. I was heading into the evening with going home traffic. That is potentially the heaviest traffic time of day along the way.

Desperately, as I was driving along, and looking to the Lord for help, I randomly, spontaneously turned into a service station to try to look for someone who could help. I noticed a shop toward the back of the lot area that looked like it might be of assistance. It looked a bit run down, so I didn’t know what to expect. It had a “Lube” sign over one of the doors, so I decided to see if they knew where I might be able to find some help. I was able to get there right before closing time. One of the mechanics immediately.took a look at it. Come to find out, he was very experienced (had been doing mechanic work for 22 years)!  He knew exactly what my steering problem was, what to do about it to get it fixed, where to get the parts, and was willing to fix it! All of that combined seemed like a marvelous, miraculous answer to prayer for me!

It was too late that day to get the parts since stores were in the process of closing. However, he kindly allowed me to drive the van up on the racks in his shop for safe-keeping, over-night. Also, there was a suitable hotel within walking distance nearby, so I was able to get some good rest, and did not need to stay over-night in the van. Praise the Lord that I didn’t get stranded along the way, or encounter a dreadful accident!

Early the next morning (before 7:30 a.m.) the mechanic was already back at the shop to start working on the van. He found that there were multiple parts that were worn out and broken in the steering linkage (see the treasures below). He ordered them and had the new parts delivered that were needed. He replaced the damaged ones, and had the van ready for me to get back on the road again by around 10-10:30 a.m. that morning. What a relief! The van steered so differently after the repair (almost like the difference between night and day). I had no trouble going through the rest of the Manila traffic after that, and made it back home safely, PTL!

The mechanic was amazed at the poor condition of the broken and worn-out parts that he needed to replace, and marveled. He said there could have been an accident, because the steering condition was accident prone… (see pictures below) I am keeping them for a while as souvenir treasures, and a reminder of my experience…

When Colleen heard about it, she choked back tears. She had been so impressed to pray for my safety, and the Lord heard and faithfully answered our prayers! We give praise!!

MORE PICTURES taken ON POLILLIO MISSION TRIP

I am including some some other pictures from our mission trip below. You’ll see a variety of pictures, from repairs, to people and ministries, and even a sea turtle we had fun with. A fisherman in the congregation brought it by for us to see after he caught it in his net. Sea turtles are amazing, and beautifully marked! The saying “slow as a turtle” certainly didn’t apply to this one! When we let him loose back into the sea, he swam away so fast it was almost like a ‘shot out of gun’. They swim so fast! He really moved on out – ‘lickety-split’!

Sea Turtle (1)

Sea Turtle (2)

Sea Turtle (3)

Sea Turtle (4) — Letting it go…

Repairing the Nippa Roof on Church Building

Nippa for roof

Bamboo Repair on outside of Church Building

Fisherman sharing his catch at a meal – Lapu-Lapu

High School Teacher and his family visiting Sunday morning service for 1st time (with our resident pastor/caretaker).

After a Sunday Morning Service