Encouraging Couple of Weeks

Well, it's been a really uplifting couple of weeks for Pops. His partner for the Lamane ministry was there for a week with a short-term team from Korea. Jody was really excited to see Pops there and they had some good times of fellowship/admonition with some of the team and the local leaders. Pops has been meeting individually and in small groups with elders and potential leaders every day for the past couple of weeks. He has been very encouraged by their grasp of the Scripture and their understanding and acceptance of the challenge for them to be a Spiritual "light" to those around them. Pops says: "I've been working us in the sermon on mount. Narrow gate...Kingdom, and effectiveness being dependent on taking on the beatitude mentality. Really getting into meat of challenge/discipleship. Then at Lamane on Sunday PM, last week, went into James about the tongue [Jam 1:26], and read a lot. It got very quiet. Now, I've digested that even better, and see such a relation between that and the Mt 5 attitudes. I've been loving it." Pops also said that in his meetings many of the elders and others have had ah-hah moments where they are seeing connections between knowing Christ and how that should affect their interactions with each other and outsiders.
In other news, I leave for the Philippines tomorrow afternoon. It'll be a marathon trip taking 36 hours or more to go each direction, but I'm looking forward to seeing Pops and pray that I will be an asset to him and that God will help us to accomplish the goals that we believe he has put on our hearts. I could use prayer for safe and speedy travels and that I don't get sick either there or on the way. Overall, we could use prayer that God would continue to bless our work there and that He would use us to further His will, and help us to know what that is in this particular place.
Finally, thank you all for your continued prayer and support. I'm happy to report that, on top of the encouraging news from Pops, we have received all but a few hundred dollars of what we needed to fund this two month trip for him and all of what was needed to fund my own trip. Thank you all for, as James says, allowing your faith to be shown through your actions and not merely through words. God bless,

Tim M

Ps. I'll try to post another update on my way back home next Saturday or Sunday to let everyone know how the trip went.