We are blessed to have a number of friends who help send us as missionaries with their prayers and finances. We have been planning a two month trip (from the end of June 2007 until the end of August 2007) to Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao, on the southern island in the Philippines, for the last several months. Recently, we began asking all our supporters to pray that nothing would happen to prevent us from going to Mindanao. I believe God laid that prayer on our hearts for a reason, and now we are seeing the fruits of God’s answer and protection.
Here is why:
1. In the past few months, the governments of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia all issued warnings against travel to Mindanao. Australia even advised its citizens on May 25, 2007, to consider leaving the city of Cagayan de Oro (as well as a number of other cities on Mindanao). All of the countries issued very strong warnings.
2. Despite the fact that we are flying approximately ninety (90) people and will be providing airlines more than $100,000 (likely almost $200,000) to fly all of us, the airlines were very unwilling to work with us.
3. The base leader here in England, who has organized many large outreaches, including three or four others to the Philippines, had never failed to obtain airline tickets for the outreach participants more than two months in advance of departure. We are leaving on June 27th.
4. Although the base leadership travelled to the Philippines in February to set everything up, the hotel where the group has stayed in years past let us know just this past week they cannot accommodate us prior to July 6th, about 8 days after we are to arrive.
5. The base leader, who is leading our school, had petitioned his youngest son’s school for permission to take him for three weeks on the outreach, but the school gave notice two days ago that they would not authorize the absence.
As a result of these things and other small issues that all added up to cause the base leadership to question whether God was leading us to change our outreach destination, they were diligently asking God for direction. Meanwhile, we had no clue about any of these things going on except for the governmental advisories. They even made tentative arrangements for an outreach into Africa and
Because of the latest issues of school permission and loss of our accommodation, the base leadership laid out a “fleece.” On the evening of May 31st, they prayed that if God desired for us to stay the course to Mindanao that our airline tickets would be confirmed on the following day (which was yesterday, June 1st). In spite of the fact that they had never confirmed tickets for so many to the Philippines so late (less than four weeks from departure), every single one of our tickets were confirmed yesterday.
So, the prayers that our trip to Mindanao not be prevented have been answered. We are going. We don’t have a place to stay, yet, and may be living in homes or in a church for at least part of the time. There still is the threat of terrorism and bombings. Nevertheless, we are unafraid because we believe God clearly told us to go and He has a plan for us in and through this.
Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray that our trip to Mindanao will not be thrwarted and pray that we will hold nothing back, offering ourselves completely as living sacrifices. Pray that God will multiply many times over our offering. Pray also that we will have accommodation that maximizes our impact for God’s Kingdom in Mindanao, and that our team will remain in unity throughout.