Echoing in ears

On Palm Sunday, four believers proclaimed their faith in Jesus Christ alone through baptism. Stephen and Ginger Jordan, who serve among the Agutaynen people in the Philippines, are so excited for these believers and ask you to pray for their growth in Christ.

Last week ended with a three-day Bible Camp. They had no idea how many would come to this camp. On Thursday, the first day of camp, they set up 120 chairs, and were ready to add more if needed. Well, they did not need them, as there were only 32 attendees.

Ginger mentioned later to Stephen that the believers were discouraged, and some were wondering if people even knew where the church was. Thankful for those who came, they began. The ladies began the worship time with songs, followed by their Filipino co-worker teaching the first ‘door’ of the Bible, the door of Noah’s ark. Throughout the morning, there were competitions, including verse memorisation and Bible drills. The morning wrapped up with teaching on the second ‘door’, the door of the Passover.

Later that afternoon, many of the believers, adults and attendees, gathered for a meeting. Stephen began the meeting with prayer, emphasised that God brought who He wanted to be at Bible Camp, and tried to encourage the believers. From that point on, there was a new spirit amongst the believers and a joy to continue.

Attendance increased on the second day and once again on the third day. In all, there were 70 attendees, aged 11 to 24 years old, and all but one was from Stephen and Ginger’s village. Seventy percent of the attendees were non-believers. In three days, the Gospel message was clearly presented six times by their co-worker and Stephen.

In the weeks and months leading up to the camp, Ginger, Luke, and Jonathan spent time choosing songs that emphasised the point of each message, and then practiced these songs so that the boys were ready to play their guitars for Bible Camp.  About ten ladies were given the songs and they also practiced together, putting actions for several of the songs and getting ready to lead the songs during the camp.  So, the Gospel was clearly presented, both through the messages and through the songs that were sung each day.

Please pray with them that these messages continue to echo in the ears of those who came until they realise that Jesus truly is the ‘One door’.  Thank you.