S.E.N.T. - Lee Coffey

Day 10

1/30/2017

Sadly, today is the final day of our time here in Loaog. I was scheduled to speak for the final chapel service. I had been praying for direction, and I felt like God just wanted me to encourage them not to let current hardship cause them to quit, as in quitting the will of God or backsliding. I tried to preach from Exodus 15:23-25 (I think) on "Don't Quit When Life Gets Bitter" Over the course of being here, I've gotten to hear the stories of several of the students; several are going through some terrible things. One girl was basically told that if she went back to Bible school, her parents would disown her. She chose to follow God. Some of the students at FGBI have family who fight against them going there, but I don't know of any current students who have been disowned by their parents and kicked out of the house. Funny how some people think FGBI is such a sacrifice with a family and a whole church for support, and then there's this young lady who gave up almost everything to obey God.
We had to say our goodbyes today. Yes, it will be good to be home in America, but we have all grown attached to the people here at FBI. Several of the students wrote us individual or group encouraging letters, so we would not forget them. Like I said before, it's ironic how I came here with a desire to minister to these people, and we all should have had that desire, yet by the end of the trip, I feel like this trip has helped me more than I've helped them.
Many of these students have a sincere desire to evangelize, my hope is that we have somehow left something lasting with these students, and that God has done something lasting through this SENT team. We cannot reach the Philippines ourselves, and some regions are even totally closed to outsiders because of danger; but these students, and more like them to come, can. We cannot all go, but if we can somehow invest something into others, who in turn reach others, the possibilities are endless.
This trip has been one of the best experiences of my life. I've learned so much about, well, just about everything, from the Petits, from Bro. Pahlman, the others on this team, the local pastors, and the students of FBI. I've gained a new perspective on things, and I've been reminded of what's truly important: the work of God that He left the Church here to do.

Day 9

1/29/2017

Got up really, really early today to get ready for service. I went with Bro. Petit to Pastor Sam's church, which happens to be over an hour away in the middle of nowhere. Bro. Petit joked that if the Philippines had a West Virginia, this would be it. It was a drive through rice field after rice field, with a bunch of wandering, unfenced caribou (skinny, weird water buffalo thing) everywhere. The scenery was amazing; most of the drive was surrounded by large mountains, with white clouds creating over the tops.
The lot fell to me to teach Sunday school to the church, while Lydia, Lorrayne, and Kendra taught the kids on a moment's notice. I have to commend them for being "instant out of season"; they taught on Jonah and the whale, regarding obedience to God. I have to commend Lydia as well regarding how good she has been with the kids, she really gets close and connects with them.
I tried teaching a modified version of a lesson that Bro. Peretic taught us one day in Soteriology class. The lesson was on practical sanctification and daily victory, overcoming by walking in the Spirit. It's not a question of "how" we can do better, how we can change; but it's about the "who" from Romans 7:24. That lesson made such a difference in my life, it really helped me realize how we put victory into practice; that's why I love teaching this lesson, because I wish someone had taught it to me earlier in life. There are three things you about can't go wrong talking about: Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, and Sanctification. I hope it helped someone.
Bro. Cody preached from the prayer of Jabez, and the altar service was great. I think the whole church came forward to pray, and being a smaller church, they slid all the pews to the side to accommodate everyone. Several prayed for a good length of time; Lorrayne put her arm around one lady and they both cried together for a while. I'm proud to see a member of my class being such a great altar worker.
Before night service, the team gathered to pray for the service, and Sis. Lisa had us each mention what we wanted to see happen. Most of us mentioned we wanted to see a young girl named Genirose filled with the Holy Ghost, in particular; she has been seeking every service for months. Just so happened, Bro. Pahlman preached on the Holy Ghost that night. We prayed with the students for a good while, but I'm not sure if any were newly baptized in the Holy Ghost or not.

Day 8

1/28/2017

Today was sort of a free day, being Saturday. Sis. Petit took us all to the Loaog market, the fresh, "ethnic food" market. It was interesting to see how coconut is processed and turned into shredded coconut. Then we played a small game of scavenger hunt to find Lorrayne. The real sight was the second floor, the meat market. I'll admit, between the sights and smells, it was getting to me. Talk about fresh, though; they had barrels of live catfish, and some of the fish on the display trays were still breathing.

After that, the McMissionaries returned to their mission field for refreshments, and then headed to the mall for lunch. Several of us went to this Adoba place, which is some kind of Filipino food Chipotle; we all liked it, to the surprise of the Petits.

Last of all, we got the Filipino feast. Sis. Teresa made a huge meal for all of us, and it was fantastic: barbecue ribs, pork, veggie and cheese rolls, and the best ponsit in the Philippines. These people have little, but they are willing to give so much.

Day 7

1/27/2017

We had the opportunity to go to a Filipino funeral today. An elderly sister from a nearby church had passed away, and Bro. Petit preached the funeral, and was there with a group of us for what they call a necro service. The necro is basically a very, very long visitation; and Bro. Petit does these frequently. From this, I observed his heart to serve people, and saw a little more of what it takes to pastor, and to do the work of a missionary. Sure, there are a hundred other things he could do with the time, but he considers himself a servant of all these churches. Ministry is not a place for people who love to have their own time and their own lives.

Tonight was the night of the evangelistic/healing crusade; it was held in a town square amphitheatre. The crowd was rather large, all those fliers must have done some good; a lot of people passed through by the time it ended. "The Ambassadors" provided really good music and singing, although I couldn't understand any of the words (yeah, it was in Ilokano). Bro. Pahlman preached a tremendous message to the lost and those needing healing, "A Friend for Hard Times". The response was wonderful, many raised their hands wanting to be saved, and many came forward to pray, and for healing. Lorrayne went back to two ladies, and asked them to come and pray; they did, and both of them told her they accepted salvation! This is what I've been praying for, to see souls saved.

Day 4

1/24/2017

Tuesday was a wonderful day! We had an amazing move of the Holy Ghost in chapel. Hannah Morgan spoke on "Are You a Victim or are You a Victor?" And how even though we have had bad things happen in our lives, we don't have to live life as a victim, but we can have victory over our past. Sis. Petit had told us earlier that many of the students come from dysfunctional families and abusive homes. Many do not feel like they are good enough to be in the ministry. However, Tuesday morning the Lord spoke in a mighty way and several came forward to pray for the victory. It was a powerful altar service with tears and rejoicing.

Day 4

1/24/2017

This trip has definitely been one of new experiences. This morning, I was given opportunity, along with Timothy Hooks, to teach an hour of Systematic Theology. I have never attempted this before, and felt a little un-prepared to cover something as deep as the atonement of Christ; perfect timing for these Juniors to be in that phase of Theology, I love this subject, as well as theology in general. We attempted to bring in something outside of their notes, that we learned in our theology classes: the five ways that Christ suffered at Calvary; we did this because it made a huge impact on our understanding of all that went into Christ's death. I don't know about Timothy, but I feel I struggled quite a bit, and failed terribly to paint the picture as vividly as Bro. Hough had done for us.

Today was also my first chance to go to their PSM, Public School Ministry program. The FBI students picked who they wanted to accompany them on their day for PSM, and I was privileged to go with a young senior named Dave. I could tell when we arrived, that the kids had no clue what to do with this 6'4" skinny white guy, I got quite a few shy stares at the start. After Dave prayed and sang with the kids, I read them a retelling of the story of Noah. We had a lot of fun with the review game afterwards, and closed with another song and prayer. The kids were still a little shy and curios about me, but all it took was me giving one kid a high five, and suddenly I was being mobbed by nearly all of the 30+ kids in that class, wanting to high five the tall, white American; and for whatever reason, this continued outside on the playground with other kids. I never expected to have so much fun doing PSM! I'm kinda awkward around kids, I just don’t know how to interact with them; but from the opening song, to telling the story and all, and on until we left, I loved everything about this ministry.

It's funny, how we came here to try to help these students and minister to them, but they end up ministering to you. I had a conversation today with a junior named Gian-Carlo Hernandez. What started with him telling about his life and God's call on himself, he turned it around and was now encouraging me. Right then and there he asked to pray together, and he prayed that God would give me guidance.

Day 3

1/23/2017

      I learned a thing or two about sacrifice in these two days. We spent most of this Sunday with Mom (Sis. Petit, as the Filipinos call her). First, after seeing just how different everything is, how much the Petits are involved in this country, and some of the extent of their ministry, I realize just what a sacrifice it is to be a full time missionary. There are culture and language barriers to overcome, and a whole lot of work! We think it's such a sacrifice to go to FGBI, or to surrender to God's will or whatever; until you come here and see just how much some people really give for the Gospel.

      On Sunday, half the team went to a church service in the morning and another in the afternoon. At lunch, Sis. Petit began to tell us about the pastora's (women pastors) that would be at the second church. Some time ago, Bro. Petit had asked these two to take the Gospel to an area of the Philippines that was isolated, dangerous, and had no surrounding fellowship support. They agreed, and started a work there. Two women, possibly not even married at the time, gave themselves completely to the ministry and risked even their safety to take Christ to an unreached region.

     Another example of sacrifice was the sister that interpreted for us during the second service. Sis. Petit told us about the time she saw that this woman (our interpreter) had no electricity or groceries in her kitchen. Sis. Petit asked her why, and found out that another family in that sister's church had no food that week; so that family ate that week and hers did not. Pastors and ministers here are so given to ministry, that's all some of them have; many of them having their church built onto their houses. These people are so selfless in their work for God, it's rather convicting to someone with an American materialist mindset.

    I was given the task of teaching Sunday school to the church on Sunday. I had been praying about what to teach on; I had lessons prepared, but I wanted God's direction. For the past few weeks, God has been dealing with me in different ways on the subject of love, love for people, and brotherly love. While flying to Manila, I felt the topic of love impressed on me; so, in a scatterbrained manner, I put together some thoughts, and finished it late that night. Using an interpreter was a very unique experience...I have never done that before! I felt like it was rather disjointed, but Sis. Petit said, that knowing that church, it was what they needed. I only hope it helped someone.

    We also had opportunity to handle the children's church that morning. It was so much fun! We put on a skit called "Henrietta's Heart House". It was about letting Jesus clean up your heart, because you can't do it yourself. I think these kids, and these people, have touched my heart more than I touched theirs.

Day 3

1/23/2017

This is only the 3rd day of being here, and I find that I'm getting more attached to these people with every day that goes by. Everyone has made us feel more than welcome; the Filipinos treat us almost like family. Different families, individuals, and churches have welcomed us with such warmth.

I, Timothy, and Bro. Cody had the opportunity to sit in on one of Sis. Petit's classes, for a question and answer interview. As the class went on, and we answered many personal questions about ourselves, and opened up about different personal subjects, Sis. Petit shared with us the stories of several of the students in that junior class. Hearing about the problems these young people face, the backgrounds they came from, you realize that they are just like us. We traveled half-way around the world, and it was like I expected them to not have very much in common, or to be somehow unrelatable with our group; yet I find they face the very same problems that we do. They have self esteem problems, questions about the call of God, relationship questions, and home life problems, just like many normal young Christians. Because several of us on this team have already been where these students have, I want to see God use these Sent team members to help the students here at FBI.

On a less serious note, the weather has been great (70-80, for all you people in northern American states that are freezing right now), and the food has been wonderful! I find I really like this ponzit stuff. I'm kind of a picky eater in some ways, so I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to eat much ethnic food here; but so far, I've liked everything I've tried (even the calamari had a good flavor).

Day 2

1/22/2017

When I arrived in the Philippines, I was definitely not prepared for how different everything would be. Shortly after arriving, we walked from our hotel to get a light dinner at McDonald's nearby. Just a short walk thru a few streets, and I can say I've never felt so out of place in my life. Although things may have looked completely different, there's still the same sin problem as everywhere else. While walking, we passed several homeless people sleeping on the sidewalk. There's homeless people everywhere in America, yes; but walking right next to them, seeing people in such a case up close, was a reality check of our greatest reason to be here: souls. There are souls here, as well as everywhere else, that are lost without Christ. This is what I want to see on this trip, people being saved. Sure, most of us are just Bible school students, so some may write this off as some kind of insignificant training trip; but still, this SENT trip may make the difference between heaven or hell for someone.