The Philippines

The largest crowds I have ever spoken to were in the Philippines.  The largest church I have ever preached in was in the Philippines.  Both of those places were in the path of Typhoon Haiyan. 

In 2001, I was part of a team that did a campus wide revival event at Central Philippines University, a Baptist college in Iloilo City.  My father-in-law and I then crossed over to another island and preached in a large Baptist church in the city of Bacolod.  As I watch the news and see the devastation, I wonder what has become of those people and of those places?

The teenagers and "twenty somethings" that I encountered and that I spoke to would be in their thirties now with families and children of their own.  What has happened to them?  What about their children?  It is troubling to see what has been shown in the news. I wonder what has happened to these places I know but that are not in the forefront of our media's coverage?

In a recent press release, I saw that the Texas Baptist Men will be sending a team to Iloilo City soon.  That brings me some sense of comfort but still there is a deep sense of curiosity of what happened to the people I knew and the places I saw.  The plaque from Central Philippines University still hangs on the wall in my office.  The people there were incredibly nice and amazingly hospitable.  I saw hundreds come to Christ while I was there - some pretty amazing things, a great harvest in fact.

The thought hit me that while I was there, God knew what would be coming to them in the future and part of what I saw were His preparations of souls for a future storm.  What I was unknowingly a part of was His plan to help people be ready to stand a test like this and even to be ready to face eternity.  I am humbled and awed when I realize the magnitude of His plans.  Even though He does not keep the storms from coming, He was preparing people spiritually for this storm and all the other storms that will come our way in this world. 

I wonder what He will be preparing us for this Sunday?

for the journey...

Tim

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11