Salamat Po

Kelsey and I are now safely in Kenya after an amazing two and a half months in the Philippines. We saw God working in the lives of so many people in Batangas City. Glory to God that He allowed us to be a part of it. We can only praise Him and say Thank you! (Salamat). Thank you Jeff and Kim Cruse for following God's calling to the Philippines over 2 decades ago and for starting Connect Student Ministry. Thank you to Atè Kenneth and her leadership and willingness to serve at Connect. Thank you to the other Connect "alumni" and church members who made us feel welcomed, who give to the ministry and who have a heart for discipling young people in Batangas City. Thank you to Josh, Marelis, Matthew, Drew, Noah, Noah, Caitlin, and Morgan (all students from the states who gave up summers and semesters of college to serve short term alongside of us at Connect). Thank you to all of the students who heard the word, believed and continued faithfully in Bible studies with us each week. You have all had a profound impact on our lives. We are now brothers and sisters for eternity, born into the same global Body of Christ! Thank you to all of our new friends and Connect Church family in the Philippines! You made our experience in your country so special and memorable!

I sent these verses I read on the plane yesterday to Kenneth and Roland, but they apply to all brothers and sisters serving and discipling there in Batangas City:

I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. Philemon 1:4‭-‬7 

The words of Paul here seem to really come alive when you experience exactly what he is referring to. This is how Kelsey and I feel about Connect. We will truly miss each of you. 

Since we have loaded up on the pictures these past 2 weeks, I will use the rest of this post to share quite a few of those!

I'll start with our last days of school! Kelsey and I were fortunate to be able to teach at a couple of senior highs in Batangas City. Our Friday class was an English class at Golden Gate College. On Tuesday and Thursday we taught a Bible class at STI. Here are a few photos from our last days of class.

STI Tuesday class.

Golden Gate Friday English class - session 1.

Golden Gate Friday English class - session 2.

STI Thursday class - playing heads up.

Next, about a week and a half before we left we had our first Café night at the Connect Student Center. There were probably about 80 people crammed into the house including student workers. The students did a great job passing out free tickets to other students at different schools in Batangas City. We had a live band made up of Connect members. We also served food and had an open mic time. There may be some video of me performing "Eye of the Tiger" with the band hiding somewhere. 

Kelsey, Caitlin and Morgan working at the registration desk.

Connect Band

Awesome crowd for Cafè Night.

Preparing to serve the food.

More from Café night.

One of things about Café night that you wouldn't know from the photos is that there was a downpour that afternoon. We worked hard in the rain trying to keep it dry on the porch with the tarps you can see. We had to move all of the stuff inside and then get it back outside when the rain stopped. We were still worried people wouldn't show up. Filipinos tend to treat rain the way we would treat 2.5 inches of snow in Knoxville - total panic. The rain finally stopped around 3 or 4, and the night was a success. 

Kelsey was able to stay pretty dry and capture some photos of me doing the opposite. Eventually you just had to embrace it. 

BAPTISMS! 

The highlights of my time in the Philippines were having the opportunities to baptize 8 different guys that I did Bible studies with. I shared photos of Emerzon, Josh, Clint and David in one of the other blogs. We also baptized a girl named Edelyn that Kelsey discipled on that day. Over the past 2 weeks In  baptized Geoffry, Ivan, Renz and Alqui. It is an awesome thing to witness these young people follow Jesus and make Him their Lord. They understand that obedience to Jesus is always the result of real living faith. Because of that they are thrilled to follow Him in believer's baptism as a first sign of that obedience. 

At Geoffry and Ivan's baptisms. We took them to a nice subdivision with a pool!

We had the baptisms for Renz and Alqui on the back porch at Connect on a Thursday morning before they went to school. 

Last Monday through Wednesday (2 nights), Kelsey and I were able to go with Morgan, Caitlin, Jeff and Kim to a place called Blue Crystal Resort on the island of Mindoro. This was about an hour and a half boat ride from the port in Batangas City. We had a really nice time relaxing and snorkeling. The Philippines is a beautiful place, and you can see some of that beauty in these photos:

Ferry ride to Mindoro.

Pool area.

Great lunch view!

Blue Crystal Resort!

Breakfast on our porch. 

You can see the reef where we snorkeled pretty well in these photos. 

Working on our Experiencing God lessons and having some quiet time. 

When we got back to Batangas City, we had less than a week left in the country. Sunday at church the students were able to take time to share what our time there had meant for them. Some of these students have been saved and baptized. Others are participating in weekly Bible studies now. There were lots of tears from them and us. Kelsey and I were able to encourage them and I shared a word about the Body of Christ and how we must all play a role for the good of the Body.

Please keep praying for Connect and all of the students. Pray that the older people there will have the availability and willingness to continue to disciple new students. Also, pray for God's provision for the church. Here are quite a few photos from this Sunday:

Geoffry - Not sure what he is doing.

Angelo, Exel, and Rap Rap - these are the 3 guys I did God's Invitation with.

Josh and Angelo

Josh

They call Ivan (far left) our true son, because he is the only Filipino there over 6 feet tall. 

Edelyn

David

Josh

Clint

Family

Going over students and where they are at on discipleship/Bible studies with Roland before we left.

James

Carlo, Kewin, Roland, Joel, Dustin - Connect alumni/veterans. 

Angelika - Kelsey did God's Invitation with her.

Edelyn

Elaine and Cendy

Kenneth, Morgan, Caitlin, and Leezette

Charles, Renz, and Alqui

Connect Church

The students took turns sharing with us. Kenneth is translating for one of them here.

James

Janelle - our "daughter"

Rap Rap

Alqui

Emmanuel

Renz

Leezette sharing a word with us. 

Roland will be coming on full time at Connect. He has the heart for evangelism and discipleship to these students. Please pray for him in his transition from the corporate world to full time ministry.

As you can see, Sunday was a very special day for us. We will never forget our time in the Philippines this year. I really hope we can make our way back in 2019. Here are a few more miscellaneous pictures to leave you with if you haven't had enough already! 

Worshipping 2 Sundays ago.

$5 U.S. for all of this at a local canteen

Kelsey and a new pet at Connect.

Jam Session. 

P15 ice cream cones!

Chow King.

A couple more from the rain.

Angelika and her pillow.

Caitlin, Kels, Morgan, Kenneth

Kelsey being the principal..

idk

Charles and Roland. Kelsey with the photo bomb.

Surprise birthday party for Evelyn and Morgan.

Kelsey leading Cendy and Elaine in prayer after a Bible study. 

My last Bible study at the park with these guys. Mike, Joseph, Johnpol, and Kio.

Last ride standing on the back of a Jeepney.

Dinner at Inasal.

Kelsey and Corrine - Last day at STI.

Kelsey and Emerzon - last day at STI.

Phase 10.

One more time!

We love Batangas City, Philippines! To all of our friends there, we love you. Continue following Jesus. Be steadfast and join Him in the good work He has already started there. 

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3‭-‬6

Until next time!

Clark