Dear Praying Partners in the Isnag Ministry,
Praise the Lord! God answered your prayers! In our Good Friday morning service, about eighteen people came forward to commit their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. God convicted them through the message on the seven last words of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Bible study we had on the shattered loyalty of Peter during the arrest of the Lord Jesus Christ.
During our “sing and share” time in our Easter morning service, people gave their testimonies on how God touched their lives. One grade school teacher said, “When I was listening to the message, it was as if my heart was being stabbed repeatedly. My body was even shaking at the words ‘I am thirsty!’” A young man shared what he learned in another Bible study on “the road to Emmaus.” He said, “I learned that we should not get discouraged even if our expectations are not met.” An eighty year old man who loves to use metaphors also said, “I learned that we must have our faith constantly tied around our waist.” There were several other heart-warming testimonies from the people whose hearts were stirred during our three- day celebration of the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There were other heart-warming events that happened earlier in the week. On Wednesday, an older woman came to my house and shared with me what happened to them that day. A sack of rice that she was planning to get milled, and their breeder drake were stolen. When she expressed her dismay to her husband he responded, “Don’t worry about it. That means blessings for us!” She thinks he said that because he is getting senile. But she also said, “My husband forgets many things now, but he still knows his Bible very well!” I think what he said was not due to senility, but rather a sign of changed life and Christian maturity! The husband had been a church leader for several years, and he has led many people to the Lord Jesus who are now members of the Dibagat Church.
On the same day as I was preparing my message for Friday morning, the quietness around me was broken by the children singing at the top of their voices the Isnag translation of, “Unto to thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul! Show me the way to your will, O Lord.” Also, later that day somebody came to pick up thirty four copies of the Isnag Bibles for a high school teacher, who would distribute them to his students.
God continues to work among the Isnags; calling, nurturing and then using them in His work. We continue to do cross-generational evangelism. Please pray for the following summer ministries.
Ø Our Youth Camp in May. Please pray that the parents of the young people will commit themselves to helping build shelters, a kitchen, a meeting place, and latrines. As we have done in the past, we will hold our camp at a river bank for three days and four nights. Please pray for the leaders and for me as I prepare the Bible study, devotional materials and messages.
Ø On April 22-27, I will be mentoring a consultant-in-training. We will be checking a translation of
I Thessalonians and Philemon. Please pray for physical health and mental stamina for me, and a quick and teachable mind for my mentee. I hope to release him as a full-fledged Bible translation consultant after this session.
We know that God will continue to do great and might things as we commit ourselves to prayer, asking him to continue enlarging His kingdom. Thank you all again for the assurance of your prayers, and we can expect great answers from God.
Joyfully serving the Lord Jesus Christ in partnership with you,
Rudy
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