He will never leave you. ISSUE NO. 185
APRIL 20th, 2008
“Be strong and of good courage, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” -----Deuteronomy 31: 6
“I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendents begging for bread.” ---Psalm 37:25
“…for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] ---Hebrews 13: 5b Amplified Bible
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” --Matthew 28:19-20
Dear Friends,
Greetings once again in the name of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. “Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.” ---Jude 2 We pray that the Lord continues to strengthen, encourage, guide, and bless you, your family, church, and ministry outreaches.
The Apostle Paul wrote many encouraging Scriptures as inspired by the Holy Spirit: He asks in Romans 8:32&33 "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things”? ---and in Philippians 4:13 he states: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The reality is that God is for us, He gave the life of His only begotten Son so we could have forgiveness of sins and eternal life---He has, does, and will---provide for all our needs as we faithfully serve Him----and He also strengthens us to help us---to do all that he has called us to do in serving Him.
There will be challenges, and issues, and opposition to various degrees in our lives and service to the Lord, but He is always with us and He will always help us. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” ---I CO 15: 57&58 (God is on your side.)
May God’s grace & mercy, love & peace, and joy—touch you today, in a real and special way.
During my ministry trip back to the States, it was a blessing to be able to share with different churches, encouraging messages from God’s word and from some of the ministry experiences in the Philippines and other areas. It was also a blessing to be able to visit and fellowship with some family and friends. I was also able to be at my Mom’s 85th birthday party (only the 3rd time I have been able to celebrate with her in the past 16 years as I am usually in the Philippines). In these relatively short trips back to the States I am not able to fellowship with all of you as I would like to, but hope we can see each other the next trip back to the States, or here in the Philippines if you come to visit.
Emie and I would like to thank all of you once again, for your much-appreciated prayers, encouragement, and help to the ministry outreaches. “Thank-you” for your friendship and partnership that is helping us lead new people to Jesus.
In returning to the Philippines, on my 5th day back here, an event happened that could have ended several of our lives. In the last week before leaving the States I had continued to be busy and was tired. The night before I flew to the Philippines I was up late doing final packing for the about 16-hour flight. Also when one arrives in the Philippine they are 15-16 hours (depending on daylight savings) ahead of us in the international dateline. Because of this I like to when possible keep the first week on a modest schedule to adjust to the time zone, etc. But the first full week back we had an important youth camp and crusade scheduled on Biliran Is.
We were to leave for the youth camp on Wednesday April 9th and on Tuesday night one of our triplet girls, Hope got a fever, diarrhea, and was also throwing up. We were up much of the night and took her to the hospital early in the morning. She had an ameba infection and had to be admitted to the hospital. We had a reliable ministry helper stay with her in the room and had to continue to prepare for the youth camp as many people were arriving at our church to get ready to travel to Biliran Island. We stopped by and visited Hope and prayed before leaving in the afternoon, and were able to keep in contact with the lady in her room and the Doctor by cell phone.
When getting ready to drive to Biliran Island that afternoon to the annual youth camp, I was already fairly tired and still had some jet lag (yet we currently have no one else who can drive the Hi-Ace van). In the front seat of our van were Emie and I and our kids Gracia and Hugh. The back part of the van was filled with many teen-agers who were going to the camp. During the 90 minute + drive there I had gotten drowsy and was going to stop to rest at a church we have in Palarao where the passengers could use the restroom, etc. The road there goes through several large hills, which have some steep drop-offs. There are also trees and some boulders on the sides of the road in places, as well as some deep ditches. Emie and the kids were sleeping in the van and people were quiet in the back, until I heard loud shouts from the back and snapped to attention just as I was veering off the road and about to impact a sign post. It was too late to do anything; we hit the post and came to a stop. Less than a mile before there were drop-offs on the side of the road which were 150-200 yards down. In this case I had fallen asleep at the wheel and driven off the road in a small open field, which had no ditch but used to have a road sign post. None of us were realy hurt and the damage to the van was moderate and after some help we were able to get back on the road and continue. This happened about 4:30 P.M. in the Philippines but 1:30 A.M. back in the States, which my internal time clock had not fully adjusted from.
What happened was potentially very dangerous and fatal. I should have gotten out of the van and walked or stopped and tried to rest earlier, but I thought I could make it the extra 2 miles to Palarao. This was a wake up call and a warning and I receive it as such. It may even be a word of caution in driving for some of you reading this newsletter. I also believe it is a demonstration of the power of intercessory prayer and the mercy and grace of God.
The youth camp lasted through Friday and was a very encouraging time for dozens of youth. On Friday night we held an open air crusade in town of Biliran on the island of the same name and many people prayed to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord of whom 76 signed up to receive Bibles and ministry workers will be visiting and following up with them.
We came back to Tacloban and picked up Hope & Faith who had gotten sick also and brought them home. We had kept in close contact regarding their conditions by using our cell phones. If their health condition had required it we would have immediately returned from the Youth Camp, but thank the Lord, they both got back to good health. These situations are challenging but we Thank God that all things worked out well overall.
All other areas of ministry are doing well. The churches, radio broadcasts, children’s feeding outreach, helps ministry, and discipleship training are fruitful---new people are coming to know Jesus as their Savior & Lord, and grow in their faith in God. Thanks and God bless & reward you always for helping us share the gospel of Jesus.
In Christ’s love,
Gordon &Emie
P.S. Your prayers are very important and helpful. Please continue to pray for us for anointing, protection, provision, and in all areas as the Lord directs you. Thanks. Also, please pray we can soon find for Emie-- a very well taken care of, dependable, nice looking, bargain priced (Red) Toyota Revo Vechicle with a deisel engine .
