It was Friday when my wife, Venus, asked me to make a shelf for our books. We have plenty of books. I made it so quickly that I still had the time to make a spear gun out of wood. I love spear fishing! The male teachers had an agreement to spear fish that weekend. It took me quite a bit of time to finish my gun. I was proud of my work. I went inside the house and played with my baby girl. “Bang, bang, bang!” I exclaimed with a resounding motion. My wife told me not to do that and not to teach our daughter the use of a gun even if it was just made of wood.

I was not really contented with the spear gun that I made because I wanted it to be smoother. I knew I needed to help my wife take care of the baby because she needed to cook our food, but I wanted to make a masterpiece of my spear gun. So, I chose the latter part. God rebuked me for not helping my wife as I accidentally cut myself. It was a deep cut on the knuckles of my hand. I couldn’t spear fish now. I couldn’t play basketball either. ...

By Annalyn Altamirano, Missionary Teacher in the remote village of Pinagbayanan Missionary life in the field is really interesting! We touch all sorts of life. I feel that I’m standing on a pedestal. People expect that missionaries shouldn’t err. People think a missionary is like a saint.

When we came here to Pinagbayanan, I knew that I wasn’t prepared for a leadership role. I knew myself as an affable person that could easily deal with people; yet, I’m still a reserved type too. I wasn’t prepared to deal with the problems of others, hearing negative comments, and being corrected about my habitual actions which are not good for the others. In other words, I wasn’t prepared for a public life. Like Moses, as he murmured that He couldn’t lead the Israelites, God placed me here to learn the road of His will. ...

There are many wonderful things God has done for me and through me and many times by surprise. One thing I want to share is how God used my hand to heal a mild sprain of one of the children here. His name is Ranjay Parison, a two-and-a-half year old boy. His mother loves to bring him to my house when he gets sick.

One day, when they arrived at my house, I noticed that Ranjay was thin and cheerless and he had a fever. My co-teacher had given him medicine for the fever, but he still had the fever. I was in charge as doctor that week. First, I bathed him before giving him medicine. Every time I touched his shoulder to scrub with a towel, he groaned. I asked him why? He replied that it is painful. ...