Today’s Better Together seminar was well-received and as Angelica said,
“I believe a lot of marriages were healed today.”
Scott’s presentation in this marriage seminar is high energy, and it sounds like God is answering our prayers for his health and stamina. Tomorrow, these pastoral couples will learn some of the practical how-to’s of raising disciples who raise disciples.
Friday’s Prayer Requests:
1. Good health for all members of the Phillips family; Mark and Liam had upset stomachs yesterday. = {
2. The pastoral couples at the Tandem Conference to gain clear understanding of the principles presented in Saturday’s disciple-makers sessions; productive Q&A as the Conference concludes.
3. A successful throat surgery and recovery for Pastor Gil (“Hill”); details TBA as we have more information.
Friday’s Details:
Our team has sent us some pictures from the past few days. Prayers are being answered and both parts of the Tandem Conference (the disciple-makers seminar and the marriage seminar) are making an impact of these dedicated pastoral couples!
First, as they were driving up the mountain from Villasis to Baguio on Wednesday, they stopped at an impressive waterfall.
Back row: Whitney, Mark, Scott, Front row: Korbin, Liam
And it looks like Scott got up close and personal with the waterfall.
Scott and Mark tag-teamed some of the DM seminar sessions on Thursday, and I really wanted to put a great picture in here of high-energy Mark teaching. Unfortunately, although the rest of the attendees were attentive, the framing of the picture had the most prominent man in the foreground looking bored. Sigh. It just didn’t give the right vibe, so I’m going to leave that picture out, but we do all appreciate Mark!
Then on Friday, Scott taught the Better Together seminar.
That seminar includes a lot of solid information, as well as a fair amount of humor that most couples can relate to, and as it grows more serious in the afternoon sessions, Scott gives the couples some time to find a quiet place to talk about what they’ve heard and ask each other to forgive them for wrongs they’ve done. That part of the BT seminar is always a very serious time when God does some powerful things in the couples’ relationships. As they dispersed for this time alone together, some couples found places in or around the conference room…
… and some went outside.
On a lighter note, Scott always invites each person to write down why her husband is her hero or why his wife is his princess, and then some of the couples are invited to share what they wrote and small prizes are given to the winning princess and hero. Here are a few of those couples on Friday.
Reading why he’s her hero
Headed toward a kiss = )
They look so happy!
And here are all the happy Tandem Conference participants, including the “delegates” (pastoral couples), our national directors Wilson and Angelica, Scott, and Mark and Whitney.
Front row far left: Wilson and Angelica; Standing far right: Mark (bald and bearded) and Whitney;
Back row with the big head (HA!), Scott
While the couples were talking to each other alone today, Scott had a break for a few minutes, and he sent this message for all of us TTC partners:
“Thank you so much for your prayers. I just told the story of my second wife, and the room erupted in applause! They are all pastors and pastors’ wives, and they could so identify with the story of my affair with Ministry. The guys and the wives are now discussing the story in two men’s groups and two ladies groups. I believe God will do a great and deep healing in the lives of these couples. Your prayers are making a huge difference. Thank you!”
Good news! The three-day Tandem Conference began on Thursday with over 30 attendees who are all excited and totally committed to becoming disciple-makers!
More news: Two of our team members are having health challenges and need our prayers immediately.
Thursday’s Prayer Requests:
1. God to minister powerfully to the pastoral couples through Scott’s Better Together marriage seminar on Day Two of the Tandem Conference.
2. Scott’s esophagus/swallowing issue to resolve and not recur (details below); peace for him, and plenty of energy to teach on Friday.
3. Total healing for Whitney who seems to be fighting traveler’s bronchitis.
Thursday’s Details:
Day One of the Tandem Conference went well. Our team even held a sample DM group with the attendees so they could experience what happens in weekly DM groups, and it looks like four new online DM groups will be starting with these couples as soon as they return home from the conference. We are praising God for a great kick-off for this new season of disciple-making throughout Luzon in the Philippines!
Healthwise, Mark’s wife, Whitney, is dealing with symptoms of bronchitis. Feeling sick in a foreign country can be especially challenging; please pray for Whitney to recover quickly.
Also, several times on mission trips in the past few years, Scott has had a sudden situation of difficulty swallowing certain foods (usually chicken or fish) which seem to get stuck in his throat. Thursday evening he said this had happened again, his esophagus felt raw, and he was really exhausted. On Friday (Thursday night MO time) he will be teaching 8-9 hours during the Better Together seminar, so please pray for God to heal him and energize him!
Finally, we all know that we have an enemy who is not at all happy about what God is doing and will do during this mission trip. We also know that the Spirit who is in our ministry team is greater than any spirit that’s in the world! You might be thinking, “Yes, Patty, that’s true, and I’m sure somebody else will pray about those things,” but as our pastor has said, “Somebody else moved away!” We are depending on YOUR prayers for Wilson and Angelica, Mark and Whitney, Scott, and the pastoral couples at this conference. Our prayers – all of our prayers – really matter and are making a positive impact on various situations there.
Thank you for praying for our team in the Philippines now! = )
The Phillips family and Scott are settled in their respective places in Villasis in the Philippines and are now meeting with various local pastors and preparing to travel on Wednesday (Tuesday night MO time) up into the mountains to Baguio where the three-day Tandem Conference will be held beginning on Thursday. Tuesday has involved numerous meetings with old and new friends and much packing of clothes, equipment, and props for the conference.
Tuesday’s Prayer Requests:
1. The 19 pastoral couples (one pastor was in an accident and can’t come) who will be at the Tandem Conference to come with great attitudes, eager hearts, and their assigned “homework” completed; no technical, accidental, or relational distractions that might hinder the conference’s effectiveness.
2. Our team (Wilson and Angelica, Scott, Mark and Whitney) to be led by the Holy Spirit as they interact with each other and connect with co-workers in Baguio.
3. Everyone to adjust well to the time change and stay healthy; God-given keen insight for the doctors who are preparing for Pastor Gil’s surgery later this week.
Tuesday’s Details:
Our TTC National Directors, Wilson and Angelica, live with their three children and pastor a thriving church in the city of Villasis (“vill-YAH-siss,” population 65,000).
Here’s a brief geography lesson: The Philippines is comprised of two large islands (Luzon in the north, which includes the capital, Manila, and Mindanao in the south) plus 7,639 smaller islands arranged between and around those two.
Luzon is shaped like and just slightly larger than the state of Maine, and Villasis is located in a low-lying part of Luzon at an elevation of about 500 feet. Scott and the Phillips family are staying in two guesthouses in Villasis.
The Tandem Conference will be held in Baguio (“BAG-ee-oh,” population 407,000), a popular tourist destination known for its relatively cool climate as “The Summer Capital of the Philippines.” The Tandem Conference will combine a Disciple-Makers (DM) seminar and a Better Together marriage seminar for 20 pastoral couples from all over Luzon. After the conference and following six months of online training and mentoring, these couples will start and lead DM groups in their own areas.
This map shows the route our team will take from Villasis to Baguio on Wednesday (Tuesday night MO time). The scenic drive takes about two hours to cover a distance of only 50 miles. The reason it takes so long is that in those 50 miles the route gains over 4,000 feet in elevation! Baguio is up in the mountains, and it’s beautiful.
Some 33 hours after leaving home, The Phillips Four have finally landed in Manila with all their luggage! Our national directors, Wilson and Angelica Flores, met them at the airport and are currently driving them several hours north to Villasis, where TTC’s ministry in the Philippines is based. Meanwhile, Scott just got in the air this evening and will land Monday around midnight (MO time).
Sunday’s Prayer Requests:
Mark, Whitney, Liam, and Korbin to settle in to their guest house, sleep well, and begin to get acclimated.
Scott to sleep well as he flies, arrive refreshed, and retrieve all his luggage intact.
Peace and strength for Wilson and Angelica, and God’s clear direction as they, Scott, and Mark all pull together to complete preparations for the Tandem Conference later this week.
Sunday’s Details:
Once they had collected their bags, cleared customs and immigration, and met up with Wilson and Angelica, Mark sent this picture, saying, “We are on our way to Villasis. Quite tired from our sprinting to catch one of our flights ‘Home Alone’ style. But we are all here with all our luggage. Excited to get started, but first a little coffee and maybe a little rest.”
Amen, Mark!
Scott will skip the coffee, but I’m sure he will also be very excited to get started after a little rest. = )
L to R: Mark, Liam, Korbin, Angelica, Whitney, and Wilson, traveling in the ministry vehicle our partners recently helped fund!
Your prayers are paving the way for our team to be used by God in significant ways during this trip. Thank you for praying for them today!
Our Take the Challenge team is now at a mere T-Minus 22 hours!!! and counting until our next mission trip launches to the Philippines and beyond! Mark and Whitney Phillips and their sons, Liam (12) and Korbin (10) leave Missouri Saturday afternoon for a full month of disciple-making in the Philippines, and Scott Roberts (age undisclosed) leaves Sunday evening to join them there for two weeks before heading on to Nepal and India. For all their upcoming travel and especially for their ministry on the ground, we really need your prayers.
Thursday’s Prayer Requests:
No flight delays; everybody to have good flights, sleep well, land safely with all their luggage, and adjust well to the time change, culture, and climate. It’s very hot and humid in the Philippines right now.
Pastor Gil’s throat surgery to go well; for a supernatural recovery, total healing, and full use of his voice. (Note that the “G” sounds like “H,” so his name is pronounced “Hill.”)
All details for the Tandem Conference to run smoothly; no hindrances to all 20 pastoral couples attending, and God to do amazing things in each person’s heart, marriage, and ministry.
Thursday’s Details:
Preparations for this trip have been extensive because God has opened some truly incredible doors for raising many more disciple-makers in the Philippines. To that end, three big events are planned during this Philippines trip:
Tandem Conference (3-day Disciple-Makers and Better Together seminar, more details below)
All-Philippines DM Summit (open to everyone who is in a disciple-makers group)
DM Coaches Summit (special training for all the coaches who lead disciple-makers groups)
I know that all sounds rather overwhelming, but for right now, let’s focus only on event #1, the Tandem Conference, which will be held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, October 23-25. The first day will introduce the idea of raising disciple-makers and explain biblically why it’s such a priority. Day 2 will be a marriage seminar designed especially for ministry couples, and the final day will explain the practical how-to’s of raising disciple-makers.
The 20 pastoral couples from various parts of the Philippines who will be attending the Tandem conference have already committed to join the Disciple-Makers (DM) movement by first being trained via online DM groups for 6 months and then being the coaches who lead in-person groups in their own areas. This map shows with red markers where we are now (54 DM groups!) and with green markers where we could be in 12 months, primarily through the DM ministry of the pastoral couples who will be at next week’s Tandem Conference.
All of this expansion has been developing through Pastor Gil (“Hill”), an incredibly humble man of God who is in Scott’s Monday online DM group. Pastor Gil is a leader of a very large network of evangelical churches in the Philippines and has connections with and oversight of hundreds of pastors. He has been personally so impacted by the DM movement that he has strongly encouraged this subset of like-minded pastors to get involved. Unfortunately, Pastor Gil will not be able to attend the Tandem Conference as planned because of the major surgery he will be undergoing late next week to remove a tumor from his neck.
You can “meet” Pastor Gil inthis 1:30 video clip. He and we deeply appreciate your prayers for him, AND for Scott and the Phillips family as they all continue to deal with details and keep on packing and preparing to GO! It’s going to be an exciting weekend. = )
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