Choosing Life

Last year I posted about a seminar we did at IGSL called “Life before Birth.” That seminar came about because I realized that many of our students and graduates do not have a clear understanding of what abortion is and why it is wrong. I invited a Christian doctor to visit our school and teach the women in our wives’ program about the topic. A few months later, I developed another version of the seminar which I taught to our third-year degree students in their Social Issues class. While we were on furlough recently, God brought me in contact with Claudia Walter, a friend of a friend who has a passion to equip Christians in Asia to respond to the tragedy of abortion. (How a met this lady is another story!) This is a photo of Claudia with her husband, Deiter.

Specifically, Claudia dreams of equipping Asian pastors to equip the believers in their areas of influence. She is a nurse who was a missionary in Nepal for many years. After that she began directing a crisis pregnancy center in the U.S. We heard that Claudia and her husband were going to be in Asia, so we invited them to visit our school and present her seminar. She has done a lot of research and a lot of work in putting the seminar together, making it connect with an Asian audience.

You know, even after God has shown me, time after time, that our students need this seminar, somehow I still keep dragging my feet. I don’t know why. I think it is a spiritual battle. I keep resisting the big amount of work that is necessary to promote it and set it up. Last week, when I was still feeling that way, I came across this passage in Proverbs 24:11,12 during my quiet time.

Rescue those being led away to death;

Hold back those staggering toward slaughter.

If you say “But we knew nothing about this,”

Does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who guards your heart know it?

Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?

I can’t claim that I know nothing about the situation. There are 26 million abortions performed in Asia every year. Many of our students are unaware of the problem, but I am in a position to educate them. And they are in a position to influence thousands of other people, who can in turn influence others. So God keeps reminding me that I have to do my part.

So we did it! Last Saturday we offered the seminar for about 60 participants, and yesterday for about 25 more.

After the presentation, the students were divided into small groups according to countries, to talk about how they could apply the training in their countries.

My heart ached when a group of students from a communist country said that their government requires families to have abortions if they have more than two children, and that if they speak out it would be considered an “anti-government activity.” So we talked about creative strategies of sharing the information in small groups, so it would not attract attention.

We asked for their input and feedback, and got many good ideas about how to make the seminar better and more relevant. I smiled when one participant from Thailand said, “The pictures are nice, but it would be better if their faces were Thai.” I agree 100%. So our dream is to see this seminar evolve into many versions, where the people in the photos look like the people in the audience, and where the language on the screen is the language of the people listening. Our students have the ability to do it. So . . . pray for the next phase of Choosing Life – where our students will change it to make it fit their world.

We need your prayers . . . we want to produce a prototype which our students can adapt to their own needs. We plan to make several versions, one more “scientific,” one more biblical, etc. Pray for me!

Why Am I Sick, Lord?

I would like to introduce you to our good friend Raquel. We are in the same Growth Group in our church, Greenhills Christian Fellowship North (or GCF North). We have known Raquel for 25 years. When we were young CCC staff members doing campus ministry, she was a young college student involved in our ministry. She spent many years working with Philippine CCC herself, and later became a teacher. Now, she has almost finished her PhD in Clinical Psychology -- she'll be defending her dissertation next month.

About four years ago, Raquel discovered she had breast cancer, and went through months of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. She recovered very well, and so far, she's free of cancer. Around the same time, another couple in our church, Bong and Dory, went through a trying ordeal when they learned their daughter Polly had brain cancer. She too, recovered from the treatment and is cancer free so far. Here is a photo of Dory and Polly.

Other members in our church, on the other hand, died of cancer or watched their loved ones die of cancer. Raquel, Bong and Dory recognized that people caught up in the pain and confusion of dealing with cancer need help. They formed a support group called Rainbow Ministry. The group has been going for two years now, and has ministered to many, inside and outside our church, by walking alongside people who are dealing with cancer. A few months ago, Raquel had the idea of offering a session to the Rainbow Ministry group on what the Bible teaches about illness. Many people look at it as a punishment from God, and are confused about how Christians should respond. She asked James to develop a lecture on the topic, and we came up with the title, "Why Am I Sick, Lord?"

James provided a biblical overview of what the Bible teaches about sickness and healing. The audience really enjoyed looking at the topic together.

After the lecture we had small group discussions about how we could apply what we learned.

Finally, Raquel used her training as a counselor to teach the members how to provide a listening ear to those who are facing illness. The man on the right in this photo, who is doing the demonstration, is Bong, one of the Rainbow Ministry founders.

We always say that our ministry is full of variety! "Why Am I Sick?" was a good example of that.

Yehey! The Box Is Here!

There are lots of photos in this blog! I will just tell you the background and let the photos tell their own story. A good friend of ours from Kentucky, Linda Dunagan, has been an advocate of our children's school at IGSL from the time we opened it five years ago. She prays for us, gets others to pray for us, finds books for our kids, gets others to find books for our kids, is excited about what we are doing, gets others to be excited about what we are doing, and on and on. She is a great gift to us. While James and I were on furlough recently, Linda started collecting books and puzzles for our kids, and raising funds to ship three big boxes to us. Linda and Susie (another friend from Kentucky) sent the books, and we've been looking forward to seeing those boxes. A few days ago, the first box arrived. We made the kids wait for our photographer before we allowed the box to be opened, and they nearly died of anticipation! And then of course, they had to pray and thank Jesus for the box . . . so they had to wait a little more. FINALLY, the box was opened, and they have been reading ever since! It is so much fun to watch them enjoying the newly expanded library. Thanks, Linda and Susie, and ALL the friends in Kentucky who made this happen!