General Report
April 2012
An Introduction and Thanks:
Well it is good to be home and I want to
personally thank all of you on behalf of Sarah, Courtney and myself for all
your prayers and support. It was a tremendous trip and we are so blessed to
have such great prayer support and concern for us while we were away. In
addition, on a personal note, I also want to say publically that my greatest
thanks and delight is in the support and sacrifice of my family. Jill and the
kids are so supportive and in partnership with this ministry, but they have
also sacrificed much. But after consulting with all of them and Jill in
particular, we wouldn’t have it any other way; we have been so blessed in the
Lord just being a part of this and our ‘little’ family is as close as ever!
Great Company!
Sarah and Courtney were great companions to
have on this trip with me. We bonded well; yes, even me and Sarah! We shared in
the Word almost each and every day, both about our experiences and about what
God was teaching us through His Word. We grew as friends and benefited from
each other’s support and prayers especially when we were forced to go outside
of our comfort zones! And most importantly, Sarah and Courtney really connected
well with the church members and the community; the people really loved having
them there. So thanks Sarah and Courtney for your support and the blessing of
coming alongside me to encourage our brothers and sisters at Dasal Baptist
Church.
An Overview of the Trip:
·
We landed in Manila on Sunday
evening about 11pm and then arrived Monday morning in Dalumpinas at about 4am.
After a bit of a sleep I introduced the girls and got reacquainted with the
community members and some of the church members.
·
After a bit of recovery we had
our first Bible Study on Tuesday evening and I began a study through the first
2 chapters of the book of Philippians, on a topic entitled ‘Growing in Christ’.
Over the course of the two weeks we examined the following points…
o
Growing in Christ Involves and
Close Communion with God through Prayer
o
Growing in Christ Involves
Becoming Open with Sharing your Faith
o
Growing in Christ Involves
Cultivating a Life of Humility like Jesus (Easter Morning Message)
o
Growing in Christ Involves Believing
that Jesus is More Satisfying than Anything
o
Growing in Christ Involves
Learning to Read and Understand the Word of God (Last Sunday in the New
Building)
o
We also had a Q&A Bible
Study on any question that they wanted on the last Thursday
·
Sunday Morning after the
Sunrise Service we took participation in a Dedication service at the home of
one of the church members Arlene.
·
Easter Sunday we drove 2 hours
to Baguio City in order to ensure a good internet connection and we held our
Skype session at about 12:15am on Monday morning.
Some Highlights!
1. Building a Close Relationship
in Christ with Pastor Rolly
More than any
other trip we were able to spend a lot of time with Pastor Rolly and his
family; which was mainly do to the summer break from his teaching
responsibilities at the local high school. This ensured that we had a lot of
time to grow in relationship, talk about the present ministry and discuss the
future of our relationship as churches. This time of fellowship was by far the
highlight of our trip and I have left this time feeling even more confident in
Rolly, more assured that we have progressed with this church plant in a wise
manor and also excited to see where things will go from here.
2. Interview with Pastor
Rolly
After a number of takes
and bloopers, we were finally able to record a video interview with Pastor
Rolly which I believe will help all of us feel more connected with our brother
and be able to uphold him and his family in prayer until you can personally
meet him and his family one day in the future.
3. Witnessing the Fine
Progress on the Church Building
The Church
building is really progressing well and by the end of April they should be
close to being complete. This will entail the completion of the building with
painted interior and exterior of all buildings, tile floor, all doors and
windows, lights and wall fans. The projects that will be left unfinished will
be the landscaping and cementing of the lot in the front, side and rear of the
building. This can be completed in time in the future years.
4. Observing the Spiritual
Growth in Many of the Members of Dasal Baptist Church
It was so good
to experience the joy in singing and in the study of the Word together. It
seems that they are eager to learn and grow and by the comments made from
Pastor Rolly and from many of the church members, there is true gospel growth
happening there at Dasal. Even though it is not as formal or in appearance the
same as Elk Point Baptist, in spirit, it is definitely observable.
One of the
surprised highlights though was being able sit down with Pastor Rolly and Mario
Balino, one of the members that has been attending for some time now. He has
agreed to position himself to one day become an Elder alongside Pastor Rolly
and Uncle Boyong. We encouraged him to continue to grow in the qualities that
we have observed and that one day, hopefully soon, Pastor Rolly and the church
will be able to install him as one of the Elders.
5. Meeting with Jun Fabra
and our Interview Together
And lastly, it
was great to have Jun and Amy Fabra of New Tribes Mission come from Manila to
meet us for an afternoon of fellowship. The process of Association and
Membership is still underway and we hope that the church will have membership
status with the New Tribes Baptist Churches very soon now. Also it was a joy to
be able to interview Jun Fabra as well for you, so that you can meet in person
one of our new missionaries.
In Christ and for His Glory!
Jason Goulet
Associate Pastor
Elk Point Baptist Church