For the past 19 years, my wife Monika (Moni) and I have had the privilege of serving God by uplifting the “almost forgotten people” native tribes of Occidental Mindoro, Philippines.

God has blessed the efforts greatly and today we are ministering to 200 students in four elementary schools and 12 high school students in the only senior high school in the Philippines exclusively for native students.

It is a real joy to be involved in helping an animistic people, who are barely out of the stone age, into a personal relationship with Jesus. Of course, Moni and I have not done this by ourselves. God has sent us many co-workers over the years and this year we have 26 full time helpers. This year our international team is made up of 20 Filipinos, three Germans, two from the U.S.A., one Brazilian, plus Moni and me.

Since I have no idea what your concept of a missionary is, please allow me to share with you two co-worker’s experiences. Perhaps the best way to do that is to share their recent monthly articles. The first is a young female who will finish her last semester in college this year. She is from an Adventist family and all of her education has been in Adventist schools. Her article is typed as written, without corrections. Please give her time to develop her story. You will be glad you did.

Genuineness

Have you ever experienced to do something, which you don’t like, yet has a good outcome? If the answer is yes, well you are not alone, I too. I was raised in an adventist home and was nurtured to serve and be used in God’s service. I know how to recite verses in the Bible, retell Bible stories, sing religious songs and lead the programs every Sabbath, vespers and midweek. I reached college having the confidence that wherever I will go and whatever college teachers will give me, I can do it!

I was right with what I believed, yet not satisfied. Why? Oftentimes, I got discouraged and just wanted to give up! There was even a time when I planned to take my life, but thanks be to god, because his holy spirit still worked within me that time.

Whenever there is “week of prayer”, I will always feel the need of reformation in my life. However, whenever I try, I fail.

I have compromised many truths – the dress, the words, the thoughts and actions. I always go with the flow of my friends and became a mocker of those who can’t relate with the latest korean drama. (a common activity in the girl’s dorm) I lived in Laodicea.

On May 9, 2017, I joined Laymen Ministries. Honestly, I am not prepared mentally and emotionally. In spite of my unprepardness, I thanked God, because he led me to him! Here, I know more about him and still looking forward know more and more and share.

I was assigned in the village of Pinagbayanan. Since I already established my personal devotions, I thought life would be easier. I was wrong, because here in the village, genuine faith is needed.

During the first week of teaching, it seems I wanted to pour everything into my students. I wanted them to learn everything that I knew, but it was impossible. I was already discouraged to teach them. Thankfully, I am reading the lesson study guide and was encouraged by Paul’s reference in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10.

With just 26 days of stay here in the Pinagbayanan, I learned 3 major lessons that I will never forget. First, to spend time with God in the morning is to have an ample time for the whole day. I already experienced plenty of days without seeking God first. Those days were fruitless and lazy days. Here in the village, I proved, even if I have only less time to prepare for all the lessons, God is empowering me to think critically, and he is an effective teacher everyday. Second, to be an effective teacher is to allow the holy spirit to work within me, and not relying on my own strength. Proverbs 3:4-5 says, “trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct thy path.“ even with these favorite verses of mine, I still failed to trust him in every way. But, thanks be to God for he always stretches his hand and embraces me. Third and last, I have learned that whenever I pray to God, I should be watchful for the answer. For example, if I pray that I need his help to be humble, then, I need to keep silent when someone insists that her idea is right. It helps, because there’s no argument, but sometimes I speak with gentleness, as I oppose. It helped me not to say to say discouraging words and be not a cause of discouragement.

Now I have found the genuine relationship with God and my emptiness before was filled by his love. By God’s grace, there’s nothing to compromise anymore. Now, I say that I am a genuine servant of God, serving a genuine God!

Ivemae Alpuri, Age 20

The next article comes from a young man who also was raised in an Adventist family and was educated in Adventist schools.

I hate Tito Jim !!!

When I arrived here in Mindoro, Tito Jim told me that I will be part of the academy department of Katutubo Excel Senior High School. To my surprise, he sent me here in Agbalite to handle elementary and worse, my students are grade 1. I hate Tito Jim! I studied secondary education and that makes me qualified to be a high school teacher. Yes, I know that secondary teachers can teach in the elementary, but doing so is far from my imagination and I hate Tito Jim about it!

I was enjoying the comfortability of staying in the academy last june and july, the electricity, water, network coverage are all unlimited. You can enjoy it as long as you want! But Tito Jim sent me to Agbalite (a native village five hours away by boat) where the electricity is limited!!! I can’t charge my laptop, my phone doesn’t have network signal and that means I will not be able to use social media like Facebook and Instragram. The water here is a disaster, where the villagers most of the time cut or remove the pipeline for them to have water, without thinking that the community needs it as well. And with this case, I hate Tito Jim more!!!

During the start of the classes, I was able to observe a lot of things in the community, campus, students, facilities and more. There is a social problem in the community where parents don’t see the value of family planning; they look at having children as a habit that should be an ongoing cycle of their generation. They are not even thinking if the food is enough for the whole family. Our school campus is not as good as what the high school students on Kaupawan are enjoying. Our elementary students are not properly dressed; they are dirty and their hair is a mess. The facilities inside the school are limited, no generator or enough electricity where I can use audio-visual materials as I upgrade the system of learning for my students and with all this I hate Tito Jim again!!!

I kept on hating Tito Jim, but I forgot something; I was not here to hate people, but to share the love of God. I am not here to enjoy a fancy life, but to live simple as I reflect a christ-like character. My eyes are blinded by the negative things and I forget to see the positive things. I hate Tito Jim for sending me here to Agbalite, but as God directs me to the real purpose of education, I was able to turn that hate to love. I love you Tito Jim for sending me here, because this is the right place where I can empower my learners and the community to make a difference to eliminate poverty with adequate education.

I love you Tito Jim, because even if I can’t use my phone to connect to my social media accounts, I was able to maximize my time to make my lesson plans even better and have more time for my kids. Electricity is just a minor thing and my priority is elevating the acquition of knowledge inside the classroom. With water in the village it requires unity and educating not only the students, but also the community to the importance of water for the whole members of society, although it is a process!

I love Tito Jim because he let me see that extravagance is not the life that we should enjoy, but more on simplicity. There are things that are not present on the campus in terms of the facilities, but as a teacher, I can make an initiative to find solutions to these problems. I can also pray for people who are more than willing to extend their hands to help. I love Tito Jim even more because I was able to realize that I was blessed that I was raised properly by my mother and she was able to provide my needs and some of my wants.

Thank you Tito Jim that God sent you to direct my path to teach here in Agbalite. I know God wants me to learn more as a teacher and be able to touch the life of his people and draw them to his feet for salvation. At the end of the day, my prayer to God is, “help me heavenly Father to be an instrument in spreading the gospel with a good heart and help me see things in a positive aspect. I ask all this in the loving name of your son Jesus. Amen”

Daniel Prades, Age 28

Dear reader, I pray you were encouraged as you read how God is working in the lives of two of his willing ambassadors. If you have accepted jesus as your savior, you are an ambassador also (2. Cor. 5:20). I encourage you to break outside your comfort zone and join the fulfilling adventure of walking with Jesus!