Trip to Dasal Baptist Church -April, 2012

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