A Shift In Thinking
Kumusta! Hello from the Philippines! We hope you are enjoying the
beautiful changes that often come with springtime. As we all
transition from one season to the next and the passing of time, it is a good
habit to look back and remember God’s faithfulness in our lives. I was thinking
about the rich heritage of missions work that has come from the United States
and the Western Culture for centuries. Do you realize that the United States
has been sending missionaries out into the uttermost parts of the world since
the 1800’s; and can you name a few?
We should be proud of that rich heritage!
If you've gone to church in the States for very long you’ve probably been
exposed to missions and the need for it. Each church looks a little different in
how they choose whom to send, where to send them and how much money to
designate to missions work. Whether it's signing up for vocational missions,
going on a short-term trip, praying, financially supporting or meeting the physical
needs in your own community, most of us see our abundant blessings and desire
to share that with others! Paul talks about this in 2 Cor. 8 when he says that
we are to share our abundance with others in need.
Now, how about a newly reached country? How about a country that was once a destination for missionaries and missions work, being a country that now SENDS missionaries!
As I have shared before, the Philippines
is now considered a reached country,
meaning it has enough national Christians, churches, Bible schools and
seminaries not only to reach it's own people, but to reach out to other nations
around the world. This is exciting news! The sacrificial work of missions
minded believers sharing about Christ for decades has reached a place where
it's time to pass the torch. One problem Gilmer and I are running into is that many
Filipino believers don't realize this. When we share about mobilizing Filipino
missions we are often met with blank stares. This is where the shift in
thinking needs to come in. Filipinos have been used to being on the receiving
end of missions for over a hundred years that many haven’t come to grips with
the reality of acting on the Great Commission personally. (Matt. 28:16-20)
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| Gilmer just returned home from Taiwan on a short-term trip he took with a team from our church. There is a new team going out right now to unreached people groups here in the Philippines. Please pray for them as they serve there. |
What are Gilmer and I doing about
this? For starters we teach and instruct. When we have taught missions classes,
aka Missions 101, in the local churches we have seen an overwhelming support and
excitement for it. We’ve run into some skeptics but even those conversations
turn out to be great discussions where we can challenge their thought process
and call them to action.
For the first time in a while we feel
like this is a specific job and role that God designed just for us. Who better
than to teach and share with Filipinos about missions than a Filipino himself? Gilmer
has been working as a missionary for more than 25 years and is a living
testimony of God's faithfulness. He demonstrates that it's possible to be a
Filipino missionary even if you don't come from a rich family and a large
church.
Recently he has been on 3 trips to
different islands in the Philippines and one short-term missions trip to
Taiwan. The whole family was able to attend our PSC conference in Manila and
then travel 8 hours by bus to another church partner. Gilmer spends most of his
time meeting with church leaders and lay people to teach and train them in
missions work.
I have been asked “what is your role
in all of this” and as most of you have guessed it’s the support role. Looking
at my life experiences and personality, I can see how God has prepared and
designed me to fill this role. My everyday life looks very different than it
did when I lived in the States.
Like many of you, I make lunches, run kids to and from activities,
grocery shop and prepare meals, but the difference lies in unexpected power outages
for hours, no hot water, water randomly getting shut off completely and
doing all this in a congested Asian city that is consistently at least 90
degrees with 90% humidity. So while I am not
complaining about life here, I do want to paint a realistic picture. I see how
God has given me flexibility and patience to roll with this Filipino lifestyle (most of the time- sometimes I do loose it).
I’m also a part of a women’s Bible study at our church and in a women’s group of missionary wives. When I have the chance I handle a lot of the computer work
and office paperwork that goes along with living in another country and running an office with few staff (there are only 3 of us here).
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| Our ladies "Care" group from church at Christmas time. |
Working with the church has been a thrilling and busy time! We have a team right now in Muslim communities here in Mindanao and our Taiwan team just returned last week. All this has been possible by God directing us to work with a church here in Davao called CFC (Christ Fellowship Church). Although this seems like a direction change from what we were doing our first year here in Davao, it actually fits really well into our purpose- that is to see the Filipino people mobilized for missions.
Family Corner
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| Mother's Day!!! |
Here are a few highlights from the last few months. From Birthdays to family conferences, to long bus trips and back. Life has been busy!
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| Celebrating 15 years of marriage!! |
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| He's 12!! Go Caleb |
Serving Together,
The Paden Family
SEND Int'l in the Philippines
We would love to connect with you more. Please find us on Facebook- where I post more often or email us.
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