WOW! Friday and Saturday's marriage seminar and vision-casting for the Foursquare pastors in Dagupan were tremendous and had excellent results. Then, after Scott preached there Sunday morning, he, Wilson, and Angelica drove S and S more than two hours to a hotel in Manila near the airport they'll fly home from on Monday. Wilson, Angelica, and Scott have now driven back "home" to Villasis for a couple much-needed "unscheduled" days before they, along with Pastor Daniel and his wife, fly to a whole different part of the country for their final Filipino vision-casting and marriage seminar of this trip. After that, Scott will scoot 1/3 of the way around the world to Morocco. = )
Sunday's Prayer Requests:
1. Rest, refreshing, and renewal for our Faithful Four: Wilson and Angelica, Pastor Daniel (who skipped the airport run), and Scott. Also healing of Scott's right elbow, which has been troubling him.
2. The couples who attended the Better Together marriage seminar to keep applying what they learned and communicate more deeply with each other than they have in the past.
3. Grace for the 15 DM coaches to quickly connect with their new group members and hold their first group meetings THIS month! Energy and momentum in each group and close relationships to develop naturally among members as they all share the same vision and goals.
4. Nothing to hinder what God wants to do through our team in the hearts of the pastors and couples coming to the Thursday/Friday meetings in Cebu City.
5. Safety for everybody and their luggage to arrive with them on all their various flights to various locations this week!
Sunday's Details:
59 couples came to the Better Together marriage seminar on Friday. They started with worship.
That marriage seminar is broken into several sessions, and near the end, there's always a time for each couple to spend some time one-on-one to confess sins, repent, and ask for and receive forgiveness. Angelica sent us several pictures of those special couples' times.
She said, "How can I start? 😊 We had 59 couples attended the seminar and it went, well.. more than we expected. As you can see from the pictures, there was healing, restoration and forgiveness going on. Just taking this picture a while ago, I said to Pastor Scott, 'I want to cry because there is no right words to describe that moment.' You can just feel the sincerity, and the atmosphere was great seeing all the couples having a heart-to-heart talk. 😇"
That evening, Scott, who had not been feeling well, said, "Made it through today's BT seminar. Yay! I didn't have any issues until it was over. Now I am super tired... Praise God for his grace! 🙌"
Scott, Wilson, Angelica, S, and S sharing dinner after the marriage seminar
Scott sent me this one-liner about Saturday's DM vision-casting: "386 people at today's DM seminar! 🤠"
Then on Sunday, Angelica (who always addresses me as "Ma'am"), sent this report: "Hello ma'am here [is] our update from yesterday's vision-casting. We had 386 who attended the seminar, and more than 100 signed up [to join DM groups]! We will find out the actual group counts when we will start our weekly gatherings. Please continue to pray for us."
By the time you're reading this, S and S are in their hotel in Manila and will fly out on Monday, arriving back home encouraged and refreshed. Our Faithful Four will rest and re-fuel at home in Villasis before flying from nearby Clark Airport to Cebu City. You may remember this map.
Our team's many meetings in the Philippines during this mission trip
The Philippines is an archipelago (string) of more than 7,000 islands, the largest of which Luzon, the island at the top of the map with our team's blue travel route snaking through it. From our command center in Villasis, our team is effectively expanding TTC's outreach into many other parts of Luzon, but their goal is to bring the disciple-making process to ALL of their nation. So, on Wednesday, they will fly to Cebu on Mactan island, and the bottom edge of the map. There they will hold a vision-casting on Thursday and a marriage seminar on Friday. Then Scott will preach on Sunday and fly on Monday from Cebu to Casablanca via Manila and Dubai!
Please take a moment to pray TODAY for our team and the folks they are ministering to. We appreciate your prayers very much!
The Pillars Summit on Wednesday was really great (details are below), and our team has a rest and prep day today before they launch into the biggest-ever Raising Disciple-Makers vision-casting this Saturday. Prayers are appreciated for that event, as well as for Friday's Better Together seminar for ministry marriages, and for Scott's health as he's dealing with cold symptoms.
Thursday's Prayer Requests:
1. God (through our team) to minister significantly to the many Foursquare pastoral couples and soon-to-be disciple-makers who will be at the marriage seminar on Friday and the DM vision-casting on Saturday.
UPDATE: There are now 109 couples (that's 218 people!) registered for Friday's Better Together seminar and 345 people registered for Saturday's DM vision-casting!!! Our team is slightly - maybe significantly? - overwhelmed, but they fully expect God's Spirit to minister to all the attendees AND and help them and the local DM coaches handle the administrative tasks well. They asked us to PRAY!
2. Good health for Scott, Pastor Daniel, and Pastors Wilson and Angelica; any assignments of the enemy against them, their bodies, their families, their finances, or their belongings to be ineffectual, in Jesus' name!
3. Much of our attention is currently focused on the Philippines, but at the same time, Take the Challenge's Disciple-Makers Movement involves many other people in many other places. So, please also pray for peace and comfort for Pastor Hillary and his family in Kenya. He serves as international director of the disciple-making movement in Africa, and his father suffered a severe stroke several months ago, leaving him paralyzed and bedridden. This week Hillary sent us this message, "This day Monday at around 3pm, it pleased the Lord to promote my dad to glory. Glory to His name."
Thursday's Details:
Here's what Scott and Angelica shared about Wednesday's Pillars Seminar, an evening and a day of ministry and teaching for those DM group coaches whose disciples are raising disciple-makers.
Scott said, "God is so faithful. We had an amazing time."
Scott teaching the pillars
He said, "The two new couples fit in well and the whole PDMM team embraced S and S. [The husband] is planning to get the 'Raising Disciple-Makers' book published and to begin distributing it among the pastors there. He also is eyeing a group of pastors and leaders to introduce to the DM process. He was moved and shared his vision to launch the [disciple-makers movement] in his own [closed] country! Our team prayed for them and asked God to raise up [that movement there]...
Prayer times were powerful
"... I shared a message with the pillars about how we are to build the church (the bedrock, foundation, coping and living stones). I talked about how the body is knit together by what every joint supplies (love for one another is the mortar). I had Legos on the table and had everyone built their piece together with others to build a temple for God in the Spirit. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, but are we providing a place for Him to dwell among us in the Spirit?"
Angelica said, "It was such a relaxing day but we've learned a lot from Pastor Scott, specially when he explain about us knit together. Last night also we were able to check our hearts. Pastor Scott shared about the Heart Disease. There is a lot of realization from his teaching last night and today... We were able to minister, prayed and encourage Pastor S and S."
Everyone praying for S and S
She continued, "We don't have a lot of pictures outside. Too bad because it such a beautiful place." I'll say! Isn't this lovely?
The beautiful view as they headed down the mountain
Scott said, "It is well. We are on our way home from our overnight meeting with all the pillars here in the Philippines DM Movement. It was a wonderful time bonding together." I (Patty) can identify six of the people in this picture. Wilson is to the left of My Hero, and Daniel is to the right. Angelica is in front of Wilson who is giving a thumbs-up over her head, and S and S, both wearing glasses, are seated in front.
The Philippines Disciple-Makers Movement pillars with special guests! May there be more pillars soon. = )
Thank you for your prayers today, and please don't stop praying! Our Faithful Four will be reaching even more potential disciple-makers on Friday and Saturday. They already have 15 trained coaches on standby, ready to lead however many new DM groups may be formed this weekend!
The view is great! Thanks in part to your prayers, our Faithful Four (Pastors Wilson and Angelica, Pastor Daniel, and Missionary Scott) are continuing to do much solid ministry work and have good success. Tuesday's Coaches Summit for group leaders and some very special guests went well, and the Pillars Summit - a retreat designed for leaders of leaders - will begin Tuesday night MO time.
Tuesday's Prayer Requests:
1.God's Word and Spirit at The Pillars Retreat to minister significantly not only to the attendees, but to our Faithful Four, as well.
2.Good health for Scott; his body may be fighting a head cold. The whole team to stay healthy and energized during this intense time of travel and ministry.
3.Over 100 Foursquare pastors have registered for Friday's Better Together Marriage seminar, and well over 250 are signed up for Saturday's Disciple-Makers seminar. Pray for no hindrances, distractions, or interruptions to adversely affect what God wants to do through those two days of meetings.
Tuesday's Details:
Tuesday's all-day Coaches Summit was different from a DM vision-casting (which usually involves 3-4 hours of information) or even a DM seminar (with 6 hours of instruction over one or two days). The Coaches Summit featured sessions specifically designed to minister to people who are already leading disciple-makers groups, and Scott said, "We have 3 teaching sessions followed by discussion groups. Pastor Daniel shared a powerful message about doing the work of him who sent us while it is day." The discussion groups allow the coaches to process and apply what they've just heard. Here, some seven groups are chewing on the "meat" they've been served.
Iron sharpening iron as real-life DM group situations are discussed
Our team also has some special guests in attendance this week. S and S pastor in a closed country. They want to learn more about the disciple-making process Take the Challenge has developed, and they made quite a journey to the Philippines to be with our team for a week.
S and S in one of the discussion groups
Scott said, "S and S are participating. They each have private interpreters during the sessions. I am so blessed by the PDMM (Philippines Disciple-Makers Movement) team we have here. One DM pastor traveled 8.5 hours to go pick up S and S. They arrived in Villasis at 12:30 AM." Now, that is true dedication and a servant's heart! It shows what kind of people our DM coaches are. = )
At the close of today's summit, those coaches who have disciples who are leading groups traveled on to a different location for the Pillars Summit on Wednesday. Scott said, "There are two key couples who were not invited [to the Pillars Summit] because they have no "grandchildren," but I felt they should attend the Pillars Retreat. So I asked them on Monday night if they could stay Tuesday night and Wednesday. One is a college professor, and the other works as assistant to the vice mayor. Both quickly agreed and made arrangements to join us. Praise God!" So we have high expectations for what God will do among all those pillars on Wednesday!
Our Faithful Four in the Philippines continue to appreciate your taking time to PRAY regularly for them. The intensity of what they are doing is high, and we know the enemy has them in his sights; but greater is he who is in them than he who is in the world!
Everything is going well for our traveling team in the Philippines: Pastors Wilson and Angelica, Pastor Daniel, and My Hero, Scott. They have now completed 5 of their planned 11 vision-castings, from which TEN new DM groups have been formed, and at least one of those groups has already begun its weekly meetings! We praise God and thank you for praying for our team!
Sunday's Prayer Requests:
1. Many of the Filipino DM coaches to attend the nationwide Coaches Summit in our base city of Villasis ("vill-YAH-siss") of Tuesday; for all the coaches to be encouraged, trained, and motivated to instill in their disciples the determination to "pass it on" and coach their own groups. So far, about 40 folks have registered to attend (details below).
2. A refreshing and affirming time for the "pillars" at the Disciple-Makers Indeed Summit at the Pugo eco-resort on Wednesday (pillars explained below). Our team to be Spirit-led in preparing exactly what to impart during those sessions; more pillars to be established
3. God to minister powerfully to the large cohort of Four Square pastors and pastoral couples who will come together for a marriage seminar and DM vision-casting on Friday and Saturday this week.
Sunday's Details:
After a couple days of discomfort, Scott's back is now "fine," his sore right arm is "not getting worse," and he's totally over the jet lag, so that's all good news. It's now Monday morning in the Philippines, and although Scott has a lot of prep to do for the upcoming meetings mentioned above, Monday is officially a much-needed "off" day for the team. I think that means they get to breathe a bit. = )
The Coaches Summit (#1 above) is an opportunity for everybody who leads a disciple-makers group in the Philippines to gather for a day of refreshing, additional instruction and training, and sharing testimonies and challenges with others who are experiencing many of the same things. In these settings, the coaches are always encouraged by each other's faith.
That evening, those coaches whose disciples now have disciples who are now coaching groups ("pillars' is what we call such disciple-making "grandparents") will travel a couple hours out of town to a nice eco-resort where they will spend the night before having a special Pillars Summit (#2 above) on Wednesday. Those who are now overseeing generations of groups need different instruction and support from what first-round coaches need, so our team will work hard to nurture them well; this helps prevent burn-out.
I'll explain more about Prayer Request #3 in the next update, but suffice it to say that those meetings on Friday and Saturday will be one of THE most significant opportunities ever for the expansion of the disciple-makers movement, so our partners' prayers for that two-day event are vital!
And speaking of expansion, when I talked with Scott on Saturday, he couldn't tell me fast enough about all the things going on THIS VERY WEEK with Take the Challenge and the DM movement around the world. He said, "What God is doing is an absolute EXPLOSION!" So here are a few quick bullet points about the explosion, in addition to everything currently happening in the Philippines!
Abuja, NIGERIA - Scott ministered at Pastor Godfrey's church eight years ago. Pastor Godfrey contacted Scott this week about discipleship, and by the time you read this, Hillary (DM national director in Kenya) will have just completed a Sunday night online vision-casting for 12-15 of Godfrey's pastors..
Maradi, NIGER - A new Hausa-speaking DM group will launch on Monday (tomorrow), coached by Pastor Terah who is in Scott's Morocco pastors group.
Niamey, NIGER - Five of the eight pastors who attended a DM vision-casting breakfast on Saturday (yesterday) have asked to join a new DM group there.
NEPAL - Scott just heard from Pastor Samuel that the "Raising Disciple-Makers" book has been successfully translated into the Nepali language, and they are now looking for a publisher to get the book printed prior to Scott's trip there in November.
Embu, KENYA - Pastor James held a vision-casting in Embu with 78 pastors this week, 45 of whom registered to join a group and begin the DM process. Rev. Jane will do the follow-up and launch the group(s).
All that is in addition to everything going on now in the PHILIPPINES, our two DM groups in MOROCCO, a vision-casting with pastors in PERU and COLUMBIA, and some interest in a future expansion into VIETNAM and/or THAILAND! As you can see, the footprint of disciple-making is exploding in many nations of the world, and that is why we are always asking you all to pray...
- for Scott and those who handle the administration of Take the Challenge,
- for our staff missionaries (currently our national directors in the Philippines and Kenya),
- for our consulting missionaries (who make short-term trips into new nations and coach online groups),
- for our pillars in various nations,
- for our DM coaches around the world,
- and for those who are joining DM groups for the first time.
YOUR prayers matter today, and we appreciate you very much!
Thank you so much for reading these trip updates and praying for our team. = )
Thursday's Bottom Line:
Our "Faithful Four" held their second vision-casting in Kalinga with three more new DM groups forming(!!!), thanks to Pastor Daniel's months of investing there. And now, they have just completed their third vision-casting in three days (WOW!) in Ramon. They are all working very well together, but the pace, the travel, the heat, and the many hours of standing and teaching are also draining.
Thursday's Prayer Requests:
1. God to give each team member grace, patience, stamina, and strength; each of them to have the rest they need and time to prepare for whatever is coming up next.
2. Scott's physical body to "make it through" this fairly intense week of travel and ministry; specifically, his back to stay healthy and the discomfort in his right arm to end.
3. Clear communication between the coaches and the new DM groups they are setting up in each of these new areas; the groups to start promptly and be energizing and life-giving for the participants.
4. The Holy Spirit to guide the formation of our first-ever South American online DM group; it will start this coming Monday with attendees from Peru and Columbia! (Details on this in our next update.)
Thursday's Details:
I simply MUST tell you about Pastor Daniel and his commitment to see disciple-makers raised up, no matter the personal cost.
Pastors Wilson and Angelica live in Villasis, and they have formed disciple-making groups with other pastors and church leaders in their area, including Pastor Daniel, who was powerfully impacted by being in a DM group. Very soon, he wanted to bring that process to the people in Kalinga, where he had pastored in the past. Although Kalinga is six hours away from Villasis, for the past two-and-a-half MONTHS, Pastor Daniel, who is not a young man, has traveled to and from Kalinga every week on his motorcycle(!) to lead a DM group there. The people he has been discipling in that group spread the word, invited other area pastors and church leaders to attend our team's vision-casting there this week, and they are now the coaches who are forming and will lead the three new DM groups in Kalinga. This is very exciting!
I was about to wrap up today's update when Scott sent me a voice message about our team's time in Ramon, which is where they drove after the vision-casting in Kalinga.
Kalinga (great!) to Ramon (initially no-shows) to Nueva Vizcaya (3 days of meetings)
At 9:00 AM, when the six-hour vision-casting was scheduled to start, there were ZERO people there! By 9:20, Scott was about ready to cancel the whole thing. He learned that the folks our team had worked with to arrange this vision-casting were part of a denomination whose local overseers were not pleased that they had not initiated the meeting, and because their denomination already has a discipleship process, they had forbidden folks of that denomination to attend. = {
The disciple-makers movement is not associated with or limited to any denomination. Our seminars often have pastors and church leaders from multiple denominations and non-denominations in attendance. Thankfully, our team is not easily deterred so they hung around, and after about 45 minutes, a few people did come. They were wonderfully attentive and open to what our team shared. God really put everything together and as a result, a new DM group of four or five people is now starting there!
Finally, because cultural things are often fun and usually interesting, here's a picture Scott took a few days ago. He said, "Culture shot - double-decker tricycle. It takes passengers on top and also below (although the lower level is currently empty)."
Double-decker trike
Can you imagine tooling down the road in that?!? Thankfully we don't have to imagine your support during this mission trip because we know you are joining your faith with ours in PRAYER. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
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