God got there before we did

It was a Saturday, around 2:30 in the afternoon, when we showed up at the Aeta village where we’ve been serving. It wasn’t Sunday, and it wasn’t anywhere close to a normal time for church. The families there don’t have electricity or phones, so there was no way for word to get around that we’d arrived.

One of the women there, Elisa, was sick with a fever when she heard a voice say, “The preacher is already at the church.” It wasn’t a person. It was God. So she came, and after the service, she was healed. We didn’t even hear about it until after we’d left. I keep thinking about that. God got there before we did.

Our Bible study organized that outreach, and we made a short video so you can see more of what God did. I’d love for you to watch it:

▶ Watch the video or download it to share at your church.

Here in Davao, our Sunday services haven’t launched yet. For now we’re focused on Bible studies, training, and gathering more leaders before we launch. Between 30 and 40 people are coming consistently, counting the kids, and we’re branching out into multiple groups.

Two Catholic couples have been coming, and I can’t stop thanking God for what He’s doing in them.

A friend of ours invited us into one couple’s home. The wife was so hungry to understand the Bible that right before we met her, she’d asked a Jehovah’s Witness to come teach her. When we came, God moved on their whole family. There was so much love and compassion in that room, and Jesus healed her son, who couldn’t move his shoulder.

Since then, the whole family has been hungry for God’s Word. She’ll wake up early in the morning and find her husband already up, reading his Bible. He’s still working some things out, but God is changing him, and there’s been real progress.

A lot of the Catholic friends we’ve met here grew up thinking they couldn’t know God personally, and many have never been shown from the Bible how to be saved. That’s why it’s been so refreshing for them to hear it plainly at our Bible study. You can know God. You can pray to Him directly, and He hears you. He’s a personal God who wants a relationship with you. Now they’re learning about water baptism, and they’re excited about it.

There are people all around you who are just as hungry as she was. I believe Jesus is coming back soon, and I don’t want to waste the season we’ve been given. Who has God put on your heart? Maybe it’s a neighbor, a coworker, or someone in your family who doesn’t know Him yet. Reach out to them this week and tell them what Jesus has done for you.

Would you pray with us for one thing? Since the day we landed here, we’ve asked God to put the right people around us, and that’s still our prayer. People make all the difference. They can make ministry fun, exciting, and a joy, and they can also make it exhausting. The right people are what we need as we build an English-speaking, Holy Spirit-filled church here in Davao City. We haven’t found anything else like it here, and we’re excited.

We’re so grateful for your prayers and your support, and I can’t say that enough. You’re making this possible. Your prayers, your giving, and your encouragement are throwing fuel on the fire. We love you guys. Thank you so much.

Blessings,
Justin & Anna

P.S. Mulinda lands back home in Georgia on Thanksgiving Day after a little over three months with us. She’s been a tremendous help to our whole family, especially Anna and the kids. Everyone at the Bible study loves her, and our whole community has embraced her. She’s also been a big help discipling those families. We’re really going to miss her.

If you’ve been thinking or praying about coming to serve with us here in Davao City like she did, whether for a short trip or a longer stay, just send us a note. We’d love to talk with you about it.