The Philippines

This was an unusual missionary trip

This December 2004 trip was a very unusual missionary trip for me. Instead of spending 2 weeks helping one missionary or Pastor out, we visited several spending only a few days at each location.

Pastor Eugene picked us up at the airport. Seeing him was an extra stop, because of scheduling our plane rides we had some extra days. I fixed his computer and he had some people from his church bring over their computers for repairs as well. While we were there we visited some huge malls. One was called “Mega Mall”, another was called “Market, Market”. They are 4 to 5 story tall malls with 150 to 250 unique stores in each mall. Most of the malls had a wing that was just electronic and computer stores.

Next we went up to the top of a mountain to visit Norm Holmes. Norm had a virus on each of his computers, and needed some other repairs. The view of Manilla from the top of the mountain was fantastic. A rich lady was trying to build a retirement resort. It was not getting maintained well even with a dozen people working for her. So rather than continue to pay for repairs, she leased it to Norm for $700 a month. It includes several buildings, a pool, and a small golf course. While there we rode out a typhoon. The Typhoon went North of us and the damage was minor, just a lot of tree branches down and we had no electricity for 24 hours. The power went out during a praise service, so they switched from electronic instruments to an old piano and kept right on worshipping.

Then we flew to our main destination, the island of Palawan. It is a beautiful tropical resort island. We were greeted with a banner and given shell necklaces. Then we stayed in the Kawayan resort. On the island we met Pastor Junior. He had worked for 20 years at a Bible school there, but now he oversees about 2 or 3 dozen churches throughout the island. I spent 2 days with Felix of Eagles Nest, networking and repairing his computers. Meanwhile Charlie and Debby went by a small boat to visit a fishing village. When they got there they discovered they were to preach.

Next we traveled North to the town of Roxias. There we had a Pastors conference for about 20 pastors and their families. These Pastors had a profound impact on us. One couple had left a successful tailoring business with two stores. They sold everything and moved to a village where they ministered to the villagers. Another couple had their house with their motorcycle burn to the ground, leaving them only the clothes on their back and their Bible. Another Pastor was trying to reach a tribe that poisons anyone who goes there. One family from his church had just returned from that tribe near death. They were recovering, but the question is, Who will go next?

On the way back from the conference we stopped to visit one of the village churches. We had an 8 AM service that was packed with about 40 people. They have no electricity in the village so they used a generator. The church is a shell of 2x4’s with no walls or roof. We had to cross some primitive bridges to get there. Leaving the village was even harder. Someone had cut a tree down across the only dirt road out. So we tried some walking trails with our Toyota truck. The first was impassable even for a motorcycle. The second trail however led us out to the main road.

The costs for staying in Manilla and Palawan were very minimal. The resort cost about $12 a night. For food and housing I spent only about $200, that is less than half of what it normally costs. I spent another $100 for gifts including scroll mice and printers for some of the Pastors.

Thanks again for your prayers and support on this trip! Here are some other pictures.