Thanksgiving in the Philippine Islands

Just a brief testimony about last thanksgiving (don't laugh just because I said brief - it could be)

As most readers here know, I was introduced to the Philippines because I work for a company that has tech support call centers there and I have been sent there 3x by them to train and coach the agents. Last year at Thanksgiving I was in Manila with Brother Paul Perkins. They spent each thanksgiving on the field by driving to Batongas (~2hrs away) and having a traditional thanksgiving dinner with another missionary. So, I had the privilege of joining them. I cant tell you what a blessing that was. I had not missed a holiday with my wife before since we have been married and to be away from her and the kids was tough enough. It was nice to be with some people that love Jesus and to share a bit of the traditional experiences that I would have enjoyed at home.
I cant say though that it was a normal thanksgiving. We did have a big meal but then we all had this great idea of going to pick up some of the men from Missionary Avery's church and play basketball. For the next couple hours we played basketball in 85 and humid weather on an outdoor court at the foot of a beautiful mountain after eating a big meal. When we were finished I was exhausted and was becoming dehydrated. I had already been there a week and a half working all night and being part of ro. Paul's ministry during the days. I recognize now that it was foolish for me to have played since I had to train the new agents that entire night.
Since it was the holiday in the states but not over there the agents would come in but it was the night that I had the entire shift to train them...
As we were driving back toward Manila I tried to catch some sleep but the roads and vehicle are not always conducive for a guy my size to rest. I got back to the hotel in time to clean up and rest for about 30 minutes. When I got to the 37 story skyscraper the call center is in I was quite sick.
HERES THE TESTIMONY
I called my wife almost immediately upon arriving and let her know that I needed to be prayed through the shift because I was miserable. I then said goodbye and headed up to the training room to set up. Within 30 minutes the Lord showed tremendous mercy on mercy by answering the prayer of my precious wife.

I am thankful to be able to spend thanksgiving today with my wife and family. I am thankful for my God that hears and answers prayer, I am thankful for a wife that prays for me and I am thankful that I can eat well today, will not be asked to play basketball today and do not have to train all night tonight, AMEN!

ON A SEPARATE NOTE -
The Philippines and the US have shared the same independence day of July fourth for a number of years.

As I was considering thanksgiving I remember how I was in the Philippines just a couple weeks before thanksgiving in '05 and I was also there on thanksgiving last year - '06. I remember distinctly that the Filipinos did not consider our day of thanksgiving as a holiday and so I thought I would look into whether they have one etc.

I found this blog post that gives you a touch of history if interested. (I did not verify the validity of the information on this post and we know we should not believe everything we read - except in the King James Bible!)

In reading the article though I learned first that it seems that the recognized date for independence day has since been changed for the Philippines.

I see that the official date for thankgiving for them is September 21.
It turns out that they don't make all that big of a deal of their thanksgiving. There was no famous speech given at its inception, the date is nothing to commemorate like the survival of the pilgrims etc.

In fact, it seems like how we might treat a Presidents day or something. The banks are off, maybe some other businesses etc but the rest of us work and no one pays much attention to it.

Christmas in the Philippines is a different story though. That I will leave for another post.

Tear up your Script - Part 2!

Well, it has been a busy but productive last few months. Since Mid-october I had the privilege to be a part of a great men's conference, fly to mississippi and preach a number of times there, continue preparation for deputation, meet with with my pastor, work on language learning with my family, a whole lot of house cleaning and preparation for our new baby girl and then of course her arrival! We have had a wonderful Christmas and are excited about what God is doing and what we trust the New Year has in store if the Lord tarries.

The very first post that I put on this blog was about how God had already made a change in what we were expecting upon arriving to the field. We anticipated teaming with a veteran missionary as we got settled. We started planning with that expectation until the Lord saw fit to change that.

Praise the Lord that sometimes we get to see God's infinite wisdom played all the way through in its perfection, revealing His will and how he has accomplished it in ways we never would have predicted (Isa. 55:6-11). That just happened with us. God has given us some great answers to prayer of late and now God has made something very clear about preparing us for the field.

We anticipated originally working in Baguio with Brother Paul Perkins and family. They spent 10 years in the Philippines and took me in on my trips. He became a great friend and mentor very quickly. Over the summer they were on furlough and he was asked to act as the interim pastor of their sending church in Ocean Springs, MS - Grace Independent Baptist Church. Over the next few months God worked powerfully in his heart about staying in MS to pastor the church full time. In the mean time God confirmed that as He closed the door on the work he intended to take over in Baguio upon return. His burden for missions and the Philippines had not wavered at all and as he yielded to God changing his direction, he wondered about his continued burden for the Philippines and also about this young missionary family (us) that was planning on joining him on the field early on.

We stayed in contact and prayer for each other as God was working us both through our respective preparations/transitions. Before long, God began a new work in both of our hearts. God started directing me in prayer regarding deputation and how Brother Paul and I could continue that mentoring relationship. God started to show Paul as he took over this church that his burden for the Philippines was not going anywhere. There is a young family in the church that has yielded to the call to the Philippines themselves and others that go over on a yearly basis. Brother Paul recently took some of his men over for about a month and the church is also planning a trip for their teens to the islands next year.

Without me saying anything to him about it, he started discussing ways that he could help me, the burden God has given that church for this land, the couple who is also preparing for that field, the revival that God has been doing in peoples lives there etc. He suggested that we both continue to pray and asked if I would go down there to visit and preach. So I did at the end of October. The church has a wonderful group of people, very warm and kind. I felt like part of the family right away, everyone knows each other and I quickly learned that southern hospitality is alive and well. It was clear that God has been working there mightily. As we discussed deputation and ministry, God made it clear that access to this family, their local church and the burden they have for Asia would be monumental in my preparation, development and ministry once on the field.

Back in March my family traveled to TN to meet with Dr. Charles Keen. He told us at that time how beneficial it would be to spend a year at a missions language and training facility. We prayed about the school that he was referring to but never saw God leading us there. The reason became obvious as Paul Perkins went to Mississippi. Here we have access to a training center, acocuntability point, language school and more - all specifically catered to the Philippines. Praise the Lord for the way He clarifies His intentions and orchestrates the lighted path for our feet to walk down through His word.

So I met with my Pastor here in Rochester and shared with him this incredible opportunity. As we discussed how many missionaries will spend a year at a missionary training school or in language training prior to departure it was obvious that I had access to all this and more from this Mississippi church and pastor not to mention the long term benefit of communication from the field. We prayed together and both agreed that taking advantage of these great resources would be the most effective stewardship of our time and allow us to be sent as equipped as possible for what lies ahead. We agreed that it would be wiser for those reasons for us to transition to Grace then to base in Rochester and not avail ourselves of what God has given us access to.

It also provides many other benefits:

• Language training


• Culture, government and history preparation


• Practical help with things like visas, licences, insurance, cost of living, contacts etc


• Anticipation of short term groups coming over in the future


• A high level of accountability from a Pastor that is a veteran to that field


• Ready access to a pastor eager to mentor more preachers and missionaries


• The prayer of a congregation that has a special connection with and burden for that land


• Another brother and sister also going to this field (different area) to pray and learn with


• To help establish this growing church as a complete sending agency for homegrown missionaries
  
• Common bond and friendship between my wife and sister Monessa Perkins - she has been a great blessing and resource to Steph already!


• It is a solid, doctrinal church with a passion for God, a fire for souls and missions, a love for families, solid standards, great music, great preaching, a firm stand on the KJV, many great brothers and sisters in Christ and a shared burden to see the Philippines become a Gateway to the unreached of Asia
  

In a way this is a bittersweet thing for us. Our best friends, our family and so many that have invested in us spiritually are in Rochester. The call, though, is to a land 12k miles away so separation is part of the call. We have incredible support and encouragement from everyone in Rochester as they see God's hand on this transition.

To redeem the time is to go through this process of deputation with prayer and willing hearts - learning, witnessing, preaching, sharing our burden and trying to be a blessing to others. Between our meetings though, this trainsition will allow us a base at which we can make incredible strides in learning all that we can about ministry and our field from a man of God that desires to be a mentor, trainer and sender.

Naturally it will take some time to be able to transition away from work, sell our home etc. In the meantime we will begin setting up meetings up north and continue to enjoy the wonderful friendships and ministries that God has given us up here.


Praise the Lord for his sovereignty in all this, truly it was no coincidence that Paul Perkins replied to an email about a bible student coming to the Philippines on a business trip two years ago.


Praise the Lord for our Christian family and church here in Rochester that are so loving, supportive and understanding of how God is moving. We look forward to a continued wealth of friendships that we cherish here.



Praise the Lord for the lessons learned while waiting on Him.


Praise the Lord for His burden for souls in the Philippines.


Praise the Lord for allowing us the privilege to serve Him

We appreciate your prayer - for the sake of God's glory, for the reputation of His name, for the reward of His suffering, for the salvation of souls and for the use of us your fellowservants
- Aaron, Stephanie, Autumn, Anna, Sarah and Emma Joy Putney