Hagen Update: Training on Catanduanes

This past weekend, Steve had the privilege of accompanying the Terry and Michaelle (the other couple from our company who recently moved down here to Bicol to work with the national Bicolano people while we focus on the tribal people in the mountains - you can check out their blog at www.bicol4christ.blogspot.com ) to a nearby island to do a church planting training there. Since Steve has done several such trainings with local pastors in the past year, they asked if he would come and assist with this one, and he was so blessed during the weekend to be able learn from their many years of experience. They left Friday morning and returned on Monday, and we can thank Terry and Michaelle for the pictures since Steve doesn't usually bring a camera, and when he does, he normally forgets to take pictures. :)

The training was held on the island of Catanduanes. Even though I am sure that ALL of you study your map of the Philippines everyday and know EXACTLY where that is, I included a map here just for kicks. :) The circled section is the region where we live and work, the peninsula of Bicol. The arrow points to the island of Catanduanes where the training was held.

They drove a couple hours to the port city of Tabaco, then parked the car and boarded a ferry to take them over to the island. There had been a typhoon in the area a few days before this, and we had been praying that it passed through quickly so that they could make it to the island (the ferries don't run if there is a typhoon in the area). Thankfully, the weather was beautiful the day they were scheduled to travel there - isn't God good?!?

Here was the group that attended the training (Steve is taking the picture with Terry and Michaelle's camera). For those of you who follow our blog regularly, you will recognize the banner behind them from other trainings we have done - it is II Timothy 2:2 in Tagalog, and it has become the theme verse for our trainings ~ "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others."

While Steve and Terry and Michaelle all took turns teaching during the training, the attendees also had a lot of time to talk through the new information and apply what they were learning as they were divided into small groups for discussion and application.

The training went very well, and everyone said they had learned a lot, and we are excited to see how God will use it in the weeks and months ahead to start some new groups on the island of Catanduanes. One of the exciting results of the training and their study of the Word was that several of the attendees who had been believers beforehand decided that they wanted to be baptized in obedience to Christ, and the pastor agreed to baptize them (he had been reluctant to do so until they had "proven" their faith through an extended period of good works but after seeing examples from the Word decided that, if they wanted to, they were ready to be baptized as symbols of their faith in Christ). So a baptism service was held before they left the island, and the pastor baptized 3 members of his church.

Steve was so thankful to be able to be involved in this training. He was only home for 2 days, then he left this morning at 6am to help with another 3-day training, this time in the mountains. He will be home on Saturday. This one is with some of our local Filipino partners who have asked to be trained to plant churches in remote areas. One of the exciting things about this training is the fact that some of the pastors who we have trained in the past are helping him teach this time! Also, instead of doing the training here at our house, they are going out into a village about 1 hour away to do it. All the attendees will bring food, and they will sleep wherever they can find a place to do so in the village. What makes this exciting is that it means that this training will be very "reproducible" for them - which just means that they will be able to continue doing it this way long after we are gone because we are not providing any of the $ or accommodations. The pastors are excited about this idea and are already planning what villages will host future trainings. While this is very exciting, please do be in prayer for Steve as his sleeping and eating arrangements will be an adventure for the next couple days. Pray that he will be able to get enough rest and food to teach effectively and for health and safety in that remote village.