S.E.N.T. - Sis. Lisa Peretic

Day 6

1/26/2017

It is sad to see the trip starting to wind down! We have had such a wonderful time here in the Philippines! The Lord has truly had his hand on each service.

Lydia and Lorrayne spoke in chapel today. Lydia spoke on how God has called us out, and Lorrayne spoke on defeating the Giants in our lives. As Sis. Petit gave the altar call, she called the seniors up to be prayed for. She told them that they needed to overcome some giants in their lives before they graduated. I prayed with Loribelle, and I cannot describe it in words, but she broke through and received the victory. As she laid slain out in the Spirit, Sis. Petit told us that she had never seen Loribelle get a hold of the Lord like that before.

Several other seniors were strengthened by the Holy Ghost. The altar service was probably the best we have had so far. God is equipping Filipinos to reach the Philippines! It is encouraging, yet so challenging to see these students seek the Lord.

On a lighter note, we were invited to a Necro (a viewing) and a funeral. Tara, Hannah, Bro. Cody, Bro. Pahlman and myself went to the viewing. It was an interesting experience. First, the Ambassador band sang probably 8-10 songs, and then Bro. Petit preached, the family went through the viewing line, and then the family took turns speaking. The whole event took about four and a half hours and then Bro. Petit said we needed to leave because they were still singing and talking.

What was so unusual and slightly humorous was that there was a paid videographer at the funeral. Here it is customary, if the family can afford it, to have a videographer at the funeral so the family has the memories recorded. However, you can tell that this is definitely his full time job because he had a big camera with a four by four inch LED light above it (probably had 100 bulbs in it) that he would run around sticking in people's faces. Most people avoided looking at the camera, but it was extremely awkward because he would just come up and stick it in your face.

Well, we were sitting next to the band area (Bro. Petit jokingly called it the mosh pit) and four of the Faith Bible Institute boys were sitting facing us across the way. Every time the camera man would come in front of them, the first one, Dave, would manage to keep a straight face. However, the other three would have to hide their face or they would burst out laughing. It made us laugh until it was our turn to have the camera guy stick the camera in our faces.... Then we realized how difficult it was to keep a straight face!

The Necro was very interesting, and although it wasn't a serious service, we did have the opportunity to pray with the family and get an idea of what funerals are like in the Philippines. Surprisingly, it wasn't an overly somber service, but more of a casual memorial service.

Thursday was an amazing experience between the outstanding altar service and interesting cultural aspects we got to be a part of!

Day 4

1/24/2017

On Tuesday, we also got to be involved in Public School Ministry. Each member of the SENT Team was paired with an FBI student and went to a classroom. I was paired with a senior, Loribelle, who interpreted for me as I read the story. We had the first grade age group. The kids were fairly well behaved (for first graders - haha) and Loribelle was amazing with the kids. She gave it her all in the interpretation, songs, and memory verse. After we were finished, we sat outside and she told me that she loved children's ministry and hoped to be involved in it after graduation. However, she said she struggles because before she was saved, she was very rebellious. Others from home have told her that she's the same person and can't do anything for God because of her past, but she told me she knew God had changed her and she was no longer the person she used to be. She is a very sweet girl with a heart after God. Please keep her in your prayers.

The latter part of our evening was free and we spent some time talking with the Bible School students and fellowshipping with the Petits. Part of our ministry is to encourage the missionaries and spend some time with them. We've enjoyed talking with the Petits and learning from them. All of the Bible School students are so friendly and respectful. It's my hope that each of our students can be a good example and friend to the FBI students.

Day 3

1/23/2017

Monday was a wonderful day! It was our first chance to be in chapel with the FBI students. Timothy preached on loving one another, and it was exactly what the students needed at the time. Sis. Petit had us gather together at the end to pray one for another.

Monday morning was also the morning of the Pastor's Seminar about how to help grieving families. Bro. Pahlman did an excellent job teaching practical and biblical responses to grief. Towards the end, he dealt with the fact that God wants to heal our wounded hearts and strengthen us. It was a blessing to be able to pray for the pastor's and pastoras that were there. It was wonderful to see these dedicated men and women receive a touch from the Lord.

That afternoon we got the chance to play volleyball with the students! They're actually pretty good and we had a blast! They got a kick out of Tara and Lydia's "amazing" volleyball skills and we had a good time of fellowship with them. I even learned how to say "the boys are losers" in Ilacano! They all laughed at my attempt, but we had a good time.

We did not have service Monday night, but we enjoyed watching the FBI choir practice for the Evangelistic Crusade later on this week.

Only a few days into the trip, we've felt the presence of the Lord and there has been a wonderful spirit in every service.

Day 2

1/22/2017

Greetings from the Philippines! It is sunny, warm, and full of friendly people! Today we had the opportunity to minister at four different churches and we had a wonderful time.

The SENT team was split up into two groups for the morning services. My team went with Sis. Petit to a service a few miles from the Bible School with Pastor Sonny and his wife. They are a young couple that is striving to do a work for the Lord in a church that has been through many hard trials. However, the Lord is moving and doing mighty things there! There was a wonderful presence of the Lord as we sang together. Lee taught on having brotherly love for one another in adult Sunday School, and Sis. Petit told us later that that subject was just what that church needed to hear.

During the main service as Bro. Cody preached, the students and I had the opportunity to teach Children's Church to a rambunctious, but sweet group of kids. We taught on being ready for the Lord's return. We put on a skit about a young lady who had received a royal decree inviting her to go with the King to his palace, but before she could go, she had to clean her house. As she tried to get busy cleaning her house, different people came in to try and dirty her house. Lying came in and tried to make her believe that the King really wasn't coming and she did not have to clean her house. Self came in and told her that she did not have to clean her house; her appearance just had to be right. Finally anger came in and told her that she did not have to obey the decree and no one should tell her what to do. As each person came in, they dirtied her house and made an even bigger mess. When the King came, he explained to her that she could not clean her house by herself, but he would help her get her house clean the way it should be.

We had a good time with the kids and they seemed to understand the theme well. Lorrayne did a great job at the end challenging the kids to put away anything that was keeping them from being ready for the return of Christ.

For our afternoon service, we went to a church that was also nearby the Bible School, but we got to ride on the motorcycle and sidecar! It was a lot of fun, albeit a tight squeeze as we are American size, not Filipino size. J

The Church we went to is co-pastored by two ladies who have a great burden for their area. Here in the Philippines, all pastors and pastoras are under a board and Bro. Petit and are accountable to them. We had a wonderful time in the Lord at this service. Bro. Cody challenged the church with a sermon called "A Love That Sends". He shared how each one of us should go out and share the love of Jesus with those around us. At the altar call, Sis. Petit spoke to some of the ladies in the church with unsaved husband's or lost families and challenged them to be a light. The women responded and had tears streaming down their faces as they intercede for their loved ones.

Our evening service was at the Bible School and we joined up with the rest of the SENT team. The students here are very sincere with a heart to learn and draw closer to the Lord. They are so talented!

Bro. Pahlman preached on being a disciple of Christ. It was a very challenging sermon for all. The students prayed very well and we felt the presence of the Lord in the altar call.

Day 1 and 2

1/21/2017

It is good to finally be in the Philippines!

Traveling with this year's SENT Team was quite interesting, as most of them had never flown before, let alone traveled internationally. Takeoff, landing, and turbulence proved to be quite a surprise for them... I looked up to see Tara vigorously punching the air as we were landing in Chicago and Lydia gave everyone a good laugh as she squealed when we touched down.

Throughout our journey, I began to think on the trip and the past experiences we had in the Philippines. The very first SENT trip FGBI took was to the Philippines in 2005. As an 11 year old, I got to experience my first taste of short term missions. Now, twelve years later, I'm on a plane headed back to the Philippines, not as a kid or even a student, but as the co-coordinator of SENT Missions. I never would have thought as a kid that God would open the door in the future to return to the Philippines with a group of students.

As we landed in Manila, we were greeted with warm, humid weather... Not bad for the middle of January! When we stepped outside, thrown into a mass of people and taxis, it began to settle in that we were really here and all of the things we had planned and prayed for were starting to happen!

Our taxi ride to the hotel was the pretty typical experience of the mission field - we only had about 5 near accidents! Compared to Haitian traffic, Filipino traffic actually isn't that bad, but it sure had the first time SENT members nervous!

On the short walk to McDonald's from the hotel, the students got to see what life was like in a foreign country - Homeless people laying on the sidewalk, stray animals, trash littering the roads, cars and motorcycles weaving through busy roads, and street vendors selling various wares. Although I have seen this picture many times, it never fails to remind me that I should be thankful for the life that I have. But more than just my lifestyle, these type of scenes remind me that I have something else they don't have - a relationship with Christ. And they need that more than material possessions.

God has given us some amazing ministry opportunities on this trip, but one of the ones I am most excited about is our chapel services and the opportunity to teach the Faith Bible Institute students. Even though we have been given a week and a half to minister here, these FBI students have been given a lifetime to work here in the Philippines. They will reach more Filipinos than I ever will, and just having an opportunity to help equip them to minister is humbling. One thing that has always stuck in my mind about short term missions is the Biblical concept of planting seeds in hearts. Some people plant seeds, and others water them, but God will give the increase. I hope to plant some seeds in hearts over the next week and a half, and it is my prayer that those seeds would be watered, and grow into something fruitful for the Kingdom of God.

Please keep us in your prayers! I would love to see the Bible School students that do not have the Holy Ghost be filled. There are also opportunities to minister in public schools, outdoor crusades, and neighboring churches. We need the Lord's strength and anointing!