The Calling
I have always had a desire to go and preach in the Philippines, after being there in the Navy; I had a desire to do right where I had sowed darkness and wickedness. One of my classmates from PBI, Missionary Bob Criss, had invited me numerous times to come to Borongon City, and preach at a Bible conference he has in September. In the fall of 2012 I was listening to a Christian radio station and there was a Filipino Pastor preaching, I was stirred up by the Holy Spirit to go, so I contacted Br Bob and told him I would come as the Lord provided. That Christmas we received an unexpected gift that made this trip possible. Through many different events the Lord showed his hand in this trip. My wife’s passport was delayed and had to be resent twice because of bureaucratic bungles, which turned out to be the Lord’s hand also. If her passport had went thru the first time I would have booked the flight at a cost of $1200.00 each as it turned out when we finally did get her passport they had dropped to $987.00 Praise God!
That September we flew to the Philippines and again we saw the Lords hand all the way. The long flights, a 21 hour day to Manila, the next day a short flight to Tacloban, and then a 5 hour van ride to go 140 miles to Borongon City. What a blessing when we reached our destination to not be moving down a road or flying was a great relief. There were banners welcoming us to the meeting, one in particular stands out by the Criss’ children “Welcome Home Br. Greg and Sister Anna’. I was able to preach and teach 5 times in the course of the 4 day meeting. I made some new friends who were very gracious and told me to get in contact with them when I returned. At that time, I didn’t think I would be returning as a missionary but the Lord has a way of guiding and directing through circumstance, prayer, and scripture. My first thoughts, why would the Lord want me here? There are 2 events out of many that tugged at my heart. The first was the opportunity to play basketball with some street kids. These young boys really impressed me with their ingenuity as they had made their own back board, and hoop then nailed it to a coconut trees. They allowed me to play a game with them and it was a blast. Afterwards, I gave them gospel tracts, and witnessed to them. They invited me to come back, and I said we will see.
The second event, happened when a young couple who professed to be Catholics came to the Sunday morning service at Bob’s church. I was stirred up by witnessing the pagan idolatry in the city that week, and the Lord gave me a message for Sunday based on the two temple cleansings by our Lord Jesus Christ. The young couple talked to me later and their words brought joy to my heart. They told me, “Your speaking struck at our heart.” They thanked me for preaching.
On our return to the United States I could not get these events along with some others out of my mind and heart. I asked the Lord for clarity and confirmation that I could go forward, doubting nothing and nothing doubting. This confirmation was given to me in particular on a Monday evening at our home church by a guest preacher Jason Lieberg from Helena MT.
The text out of Song of Solomon that was highlighted in his preaching was chapter 7:10- 12, “I am my beloveds and his desire is toward me. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.” He was preaching on your relationship with the Lord, not on missions but the Lord used these verses, along with other things to confirm the call for myself and my family to go to the Philippines as missionaries for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Neh.2:18a Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me. I have been able to see the hand of the Lord in enabling us to get to the Philippines as a family for an extended survey trip. By God’s provision, we arrived in Cagayan De Oro on the island of Mindanao on August 14th 2014. This is the southernmost island of the Republic of the Philippines. We are serving alongside Dr. Sutek and his family. We participate in the church services of Bible Believers Baptist Church and the Institute of Biblical Ministries for the Philippines. Our ministry includes preaching and teaching in the Bible institute, weekly publick ministry, hospital and nursing home ministry, prison ministry, as well as Bible studies in the public schools and in private homes. The ministry is very rewarding and I can rejoice in the God of my salvation! That my Lord would let me have a part in something exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think is really amazing. I have seen my sons lead young people to the Lord at the Park. We will have people ask for tracts and start reading them right there. Then you make your way back to them and ask “Do you understand what you’ve read?” Engage in conversation having a joyful time as the light goes on in their eyes and the Holy Spirit does his job on a heart looking for the truth. The Hospital ministry is very unique. It is the free hospital and if this is the course of free health care, it’s scary looking as you will see in the pictures attached. There are 6-8 beds per room sometimes 2 to a bed in the maternity ward. We are able to go into a room sing a verse or 2 of song, give a testimony and then leave a preacher behind to preach a 5 min message as the rest proceed to the next room. We are given this liberty on a floor which has 8 rooms. I have been able to lead a few to the Lord here, conversed with a Muslim pastor, and encouraged a multitude of Christians.
