Thursday, May 24, 2012

Mindanao Memories!

(Note from Dennis. This is an article with more pictures and comments than usual. I hope you won't try to squish it into some busy morning schedule but will take some time to enjoy it with a good cup of tea or coffee. I have considered prayerfully and carefully each picture and comment chosen and I would be delighted if you would have time to do the same to the extent that it is possible. I don't think you will be disappointed! XOXOX)


Mindanao is the largest of the islands in the Philippines (even bigger than Ireland) and the most southerly. Our ALCA team mission trip began there this year in the big city of Cagayan de Oro in the north of the island. We were following the words of Jesus which he read from Isaiah 61 in the beginning of His ministry: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted....." And this year the message of healing came very close to home when Leona contracted a serious case of malaria which riveted our prayers and hospitalized her for two weeks. More about that later.
One of God's many helpless vulnerable children in this big city. Here occupying her one square meter of cardboard. Finding refuge in a corner on a smooth tiled floor outside of the glass doors of our hotel lobby. A comb is her one possession. She carefully strokes her lovely long hair with it, arranging and counting the hairs that fall each time. "But even the very hairs of your head are numbered" says Jesus. Randy opens the glass doors and asks if he can sing for her. The music brings life into her eyes and she begins to radiate hope. I ask if I can pray for her and she consents so I lay my hands upon her and comfort her with the words of Jesus. Her eyes light up further in the Spirit. Tamasen then fastens a pretty woven leather bracelet around her wrist. Heaven truly came down to earth as we shared those moments with her! That night when we went to sleep in our soft beds and she on her little piece of cardboard we knew that God had touched each one of us with this encounter. In the morning she was gone.
 
That Marigold Hotel was the center of our mission activities for the next two days. A big banner outside the lobby welcomed us and announced the theme of the Pastors and Workers Convention and Seminar as "PROCLAIMING SALVATION". 
Many gathered in the convention hall to hear our teaching and preaching on this theme. Fratt Aho and Randy Kinnunen enlivened the sessions with their spiritual music.
Leona Matson and Tamasen Tervo led a happy group of kids in stories from the bible - artfully bringing the story of Joseph's coat of many colors close to home with a paper 'coat' for each child. Leona as the mission veteran and Tamasen as the novice worked in perfect harmony. Leona continued her fascinating paper crafts and engaging lessons for the children wherever we went.

A lot of young people were present - here in lively conversation with Fratt and Pastor Gary Bertram.
 

The next day it was "up them (not-so-)golden stairs" to the Overcomers Church at the top of the mountain. There are about 130 steps in this climb, that is up the newly installed cement stairs. In years past they were made out of tires. A major improvement considering that a whole congregation mounts these stairs each time there is a service and Pastor Bert Senonis and his family actually live up there. EVERY single item that is needed for the church, their daily life and even water for drinking and bathing must be hauled up these stairs - earlier up the slippery mud-filled tires in the rain. That's Fratt and Pastor Bert's son Adonis on the long haul up.

Leading the singing in the service in the church at the top of the mountain. Pastor Bert's sons Bernie (left) and Jun-ed. All of his family are very talented and musical. The music they sing and play is very spirited and deeply spiritual.
Again a lot of very dedicated young people were present. Here we have three of them portraying how Jesus sent out two of His disciples on their miraculous mission of preaching the gospel and healing. They made it all very realistic. The two disciples then go out and find a crippled woman and debate whether they should actually try to do what Jesus instructed them to do. Finally they get up the nerve and proclaim her healed in Jesus name. To her and their utter astonishment she is healed and she begins to jump and praise God in Jesus. The two disciples walk away and one says to the other, "I don't know who was more surprised, that woman or me!" The young people performed several things that night and all with obvious conviction. Their presentations were like a complete sermon for me!


The next day we headed north and west up along the island coast and took a ferry to the beautiful island of Camiguin.

Before we left kids climbed up the sides of the ferry and dove from the deck to retrieve coins that people threw in the water. Here you can see one happy little guy in midair and another climbing up the side of the ferry with the coins he had retrieved - in his mouth!

Camiguin Island in full view. We were going there to hold a special day of services and seminars. On the way we were followed for a long time by a very large school of dolphins which made it quite exciting but were very hard to photograph. There are none in this picture.

The leader and trip coordinator of the ALCA teams to the Philippines for the past six years, Pastor Colin Kinnunen.


Pastor Bert Senonis - Head of the Overcomers Christian Fellowship Center of the Philippines, with whom we have worked closely for these past six years. In stature he is just a little bit of a man but in actual fact is bigger than life in many ways with his dynamic and visionary approach to the proliferation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in his country. One of his many gifts is the ability to translate.



As a part of this and other services many received Bibles as a gift from the Foreign Mission. This girl was both proud and pleased to have her first Bible!
And check out this animated team during a teaching lesson on the basics of salvation. "What are we saved from?!" This translator had no trouble either keeping up or in being expressive like someone else I know.

                                          And everywhere those happy, enthusiastic kids!!

Tamasen Tervo is a newcomer to the mission field but you never would have guessed it. As the youngest member of our team she immediately showed that she takes to mission work like a duck takes to water and inspired us all with her open, honest, accepting and forthright approach to everything that has to do with missions. No trouble for her to find friends or to come up with great ideas for supporting the mission on her own. Before you knew it she had arranged for the talented young Christian girl on her right from Camiguin Island to have her own guitar and promised to help with a church building project in another place. Yours truly was impressed!

Then it was back across the ferry for the long drive up the island to Kitcharao for our next engagements. The scenes are breathtaking, the landscape verdant but one of the vehicles that we were using was not in top form so the trip took longer than usual - about 8 hours in all.

The the next morning we were all bright eyed, bushy tailed and ready for the big crusade service at the open sports center. Pastor Gary Bertram opened the services and was able to take this picture in the time that his text was being read in the local dialect. Many different churches in the area were represented in this unity service. The music was very good and again the youth involvement was remarkable.
The spiritual food was rich that day, as was the luscious meal served after the service for the team and leaders at a local restaurant. Check out the scrumptious crispy chicken, the fluffy rice, tasty cooked vegetables, pork bits in a kind of sweet and sour sauce and the whipped cream/pasta/fruit/ salad plus fresh mango for desert. Not all of our meals were this sumptuous since most of them are basically chicken and rice. But I would say as a whole we have eaten well.


At a service at the local Overcomers Church the next day the youth were in abundance. Enthusiastic, exhuberant, committed!

Pastor Gary Bertram and Scott Hakala, both first timers on a mission trip, with two little Senonis girls. Both of these men showed real adaptability, sensitivity and a responsiveness to the leading of the Holy Spirit during their time in the Philippines.
Scott Hakala with the same two girls. Scott is a man of amazing potential which he powerfully demonstrated by preaching a heaven-oriented and Spirit-filled sermon at one of our stops.
And then the six hour drive back to Cagayan de Oro. I always marvel at how God blesses the life of a missionary - even in the smallest details. Here we are rolling along a fairly bumpy road with a lot of construction detours and when we stop in our van to wait in line for the flagman I look out and suddenly realize I am looking at a very beautiful view and feeling so blessed that I could be just at that place just then. A simple stop for construction folks, but isn't God always with us if we just look up (or out)?!
Back in the city, this time out at the church on Igpit Island. This is where Pastor Bert's son Bernie and his wife Daisy have an active ministry with the locals, especially the children. The building in this picture sits very near the sea and houses this ministry. It was recently roofed by contributions through the Foreign Mission.


The men of the ALCA team drinking the juice of coconuts inside the Igbet church. These coconuts are a gesture of genuine hospitality. From left to right Fratt Aho, yours truly, Scott Hakala, Randy Kinnunen, Gary Bertram and Colin Kinnunen.



For four years Bernie Senonis prayed for a motorbike to get him and his family back and forth to their ministry and even the place where they stay on Igbet Island. The place is quite far and completely inaccessible by car. Only a motorbike can make it the last distance onto and around the island.

Would you believe his joy and thankfulness when members of the mission team this year took him to a bike dealership and presented him with this new Honda. He just threw up his arms and cried out "Thank you, Lord!.....Hallelujah!
The fearless and tireless leader of the ALCA Team Philippines, Pastor Colin Kinnunen. One of the greatest strengths that a man in this position can have is flexibility and of course patience. Colin is blessed with both. "Rolling with the punches," as he puts it. Now as a member of the Central Board of the ALCA his responsibilities may shift but we hope and pray he will never forget his commitment to the Philippine mission.

The week after the rest of the men in the team left two Vacation Bible Schools were scheduled. That's when Leona went down for the count and Tamasen had to take over together with our new arrival Brooke Seppala from Greer, South Carolina. Those two gals just hit the ground running in the strength of the Lord and did a fabulous job. That's Brooke standing up and Tameson down to the right.
Here is Brooke with a passal of the happy young students ay their VBS in Igpit..... taking a pause out by a bay of the South China Sea. Brooke is such a natural child magnet and a true servant of the Lord who just glows in their company. She spent two weeks with us. She and Tamasen, who had never known each other before, made a wonderful team in bringing the life of Jesus into the lives of these children with egaging Bible stories, songs, games and crafts. Both of these young women were also a wonderful help for Leona in her time of trial.

Leona's trial

And what a trial it was! For many agonizing days as Leona landed in the hospital and got worse and worse, the doctors were stymied as to what actually ailed her. Of course malaria was suspected but it wasn't showing up in the battery of lab tests that she underwent. It was also thought that it be another Asian plight - Dengue Fever. Dr. Frias hardly slept making sure he was doing everything for Leona possible but struggling with a quandry. Violent headaches, high fever, chills, stomach pains, no ability to eat and the like filled her days and endless nights. A dropping blood count made transfusions necessary and had us making night trips to the Red Cross blood bank and bringing back units of blood in little cardboard boxes to the hospital.


Not until Friday night, seven days after she had contracted the fever, did a very tired Dr. Frias show up in Leona's room with a blessed piece of paper in his hand from the Provincial Examination Center laboratory with proof that she actually had malaria. He was very relieved. Now he could immediately begin the malaria medication which he had with him. He had had trouble finding the quinine he would have preferred to use but he got started anyway. We even scouted all of the major pharmacies in the city that night but to no avail. He finally located the quinine, however, the next day. He then very confidently told us that the worst symptoms should begin abating the very next day and she should be considerably recovered within three days. It was hard to believe, but then with God all things are possible. Dr. Frias is a believer.
On the third day Leona and all of us here were blessed both by a remakable recovery and by the arrival of her brother Milo from Canada. A real day of rejoicing!! Milo has proved to be a virtual marvel of brotherly kindness and know-how. And we are not alone in our rejoicing. The whole Senonis family rejoices with us. For the entire first week they provided round the clock vigilance at Leona's bedside since the other three of us were quite fully occupied with the VBS programs. One who deserves special mention is young Jun-ed who proved to be a servant far beyond the call of duty during that week.
Many of the happy Senonis clan arriving at the hospital in their little yellow cab truck with Brooke and Tamasen to share the joy with Leona on "Recovery Day Three". Pastor Bert and his wife Aludie are all but hidden under the canopy. Standing on the right is the driver and oldest son Adonis Senonis who established the first contact with Pastor Colin Kinnunen and our church in America back in 2006.  Since then Pastor Colin has led 6 mission team visits to this country.

The lovely Philippines filled with the promise of a new day for Leona and all of us who love the Lord.........an unforgettable sunset over the rice fields.
(Note: The photos in this presentation are a very limited selection of those taken by almost all of us on the mission team. I am really proud of these pictures. The technical support in gathering and attaching the pictures was all done by Leona Matson - which she actually finished at the end of her hospital stay!)

Leona is scheduled to be discharged from the hospital in two days, on Saturday. Brooke has now returned to South Carolina. Next week Leona, Tamasen and I are scheduled to depart the Philippines. I know that this has been a long report with many pictures but for some prayerful reason I don't feel that there is anything that could have been left out in an account of this month of indelible memories. I know that none of us who were here on this mission will every forget it. I send this report on behalf of all of us. We are just so very very thankful for all the prayers that have been sent our way even as we hope you will continue to pray that Leona's strength will have returned sufficiently for her to leave, too, at the appointed time.

In all these things we are more than conquerers through Him that loved us! Romans 8:37

In God's love and wondrous peace,

Dennis
 
 
 
 
 

Monday, May 21, 2012

From Russia with Love!

  By: Gregory Greve


 It has been close to a year since I was last in Russia which, for me, has been much too long a time to be away from this vast, wonderful country which has become so much a part of my life and heart.  As many of you know, I had some difficulties with the Immigration department in one of the Russian republics here last summer and was told not to come back to Russia without a "religious" visa for the next time I was in Russia.  I didn't know how difficult and time consuming getting that particular religious visa was going to be, but by our Father's grace, after much time, prayer and expense, I am now in Russia for the 19th time since I first began to travel here for our Foreign Mission over 11 years ago.


I began my trip in the Tula region and hit the road running, holding a service together with Pastor Vitaly Prasolov in Bogoroditzk with Russians of German/Lutheran heritage.  It's truly encouraging to see the Lord continuing to work in this city and among these people.  I also spoke at the regular Sunday service for the Ingrian Lutheran Church and later visited the old age home and then met and spoke to a new bunch of boys in the local detention centre.  The boys listened very attentively to me for over half an hour, which, I suspect, is about the maximum a person can hold their attention.  It's really precious when you see how the boys listen so intently.  These boys live in difficult circumstances to say the least.. Lord only knows for sure what effect His word will have in their hearts and lives.


From the Tula/Moscow region I flew to Ekaterinburg in the Ural mountains of Siberia Asia where I am sitting now in a wifi cafe with, for the first time since I left home, a bit of time to spend writing this trip update to you and answering other of my mail.  I have been here in this city for 6 days visiting many people and holding services.  This evening Brother Misha Ustjuzhanin and I will leave here and travel by train to the Chuvashian and Mari El Republics in the lower Urals.  I hope to meet and connect with many brothers, sisters, friends, and with many of the university students whom I've become acquainted with over the last couple of years in those areas.  I will also, by God's grace, speak to many new university classes/students while I am there.  As it is for us at home, bringing the gospel to government run facilities is always a sensitive matter, so please pray the Lord helps me to do this with wisdom and sensitivity.
Holding services for the German Lutheran Russians in Bogoroditzk

Me and sister Anna with gifts given to us by one of the ladies from the German Lutheran group. 

Anna translates for me when I serve in the Tula and Moscow regions


Visiting sister Valentina in a convalescent centre.  Valentina is perpetually optimistic despite the fact that she can not move or see.  When I came into her room, I put my arms around her and whispered into her ear 

"Valentina, do you know me?" It was so precious to see her smile widely and say my name with such tenderness.  She is one of my favourite people.



Pastor Vitaly Praslov holds Communion Service for the Lutheran Church in Schekino
Ilya, Svetlana and Anna - Young members of the Schekino Lutheran Church
Ministering at the Boy's Detention Centre in Pervomaisky - I began to come to this detention Centre about 9 years ago and have spoken to many, many groups of boys since.


Holding services in Garagka, a village near Ekaterinburg - Babyuska and Marat

Babyshka, Nadia and Misha

Holding services in Belayarka village with Marina and her family. Marina found grace to repent last summer when she attended one of our village services.  This winter she and her children were baptized when Brian Niemitalo and Misha Krupinov visited them.  In the photo: Alexi & Marina with their five children and friend Vova -

Zhenya, Daria, Natasha - Marina's daughters who were baptized last winter
Zhenya with one of the twins boys in their family - Vova in the background

14 year old Daria (Dasha) with her pet gerbil

Katya has enthusiastically been attending our services since I met her last summer here in Ekaterinburg. 

Daniel and Misha, long time friends and brothers in Christ who help me with the village ministry. 

Brother and sister, Kostya and Nona Rib (back right) arranged a visit for us to this orphanage in Ekaterinburg.

This was my first visit here and it went really well. Pray the Lord will open this place to us for many future visits and, by His grace, to a more intensive spiritual ministry. 
One of the many pictures I have taken of our dear and beautiful brother Sasha Melencheko over the years. Sasha died two weeks ago in a car accident.
Holding a "9 day" memorial service with family and friends for Sasha in their village.  I spoke at this service and also read aloud a letter Dennis Hilman wrote.  Sasha was a long time member of our Lutheran church in Ekaterinburg

Sasha's father, Vasily (dark suit - hand to face) and mother, Ludmila (red coat) can be seen in the centre of the photo.