We partnered with Church of the Triumphant Christ (CTC) whose main campus is in Cainta, outside of Manila. At this church, we were able to unite as one team to share in Sunday morning worship together. It was a blessing to get to lead worship at this passionate church! Our team had prepared two songs in Tagalog as well. I was worried about getting all those words right, but they sure seemed to love them anyway!The main focus for the trip was hosting medical clinics in poverty stricken areas. Our team included a doctor, two nurses, and a dental hygienist. We also partnered with more medical personnel from CTC. The first clinic was at a CTC church plant in Antipolo where we saw 45 patients. The second was in Binangonan where CTC is working to start another church. This clinic was held at a factory where they currently hold Bible studies and we saw another 38 patients. The next day, we held our third clinic at another CTC church plant in Bulacan. This clinic saw 62 patients!
These three clinics were all a great way to see different areas where CTC is working and to be a part of the ministries there. There were pastors and church leaders at each site connecting and witnessing to the people.
The fourth clinic was the biggest and it was hosted at the main campus in Cainta. This clinic saw around 250 patients! Even more amazing was that almost all of these patients also went through one-on-one spiritual counseling! There were 6 or 7 pastors/counselors meeting with people all day long. It was a beautiful sight to see how God was working through those meetings.
One of the main goals of this trip was to create a solid partnership with CTC in order to have an ongoing relationship for years and years to come. I feel that we made a successful start at this relationship and would be happy to consider returning for more joint missions.A huge eye-opener for me was to see the extreme poverty in which millions of people live. We walked through some of their homes and it was just unreal to see how they are living. But what was also a huge conviction is that these people still found ways to live with such joy. Kids would light up with smiles at the sight of a simple toy. Adults would bend over backwards to make sure that WE were taken care of during our visit. While many of them have so little by worldly standards, they have so much in God's eyes!
I was also greatly encouraged by how highly the Philippine people value relationships. They would share stories, carry on in conversations, and always valued others before themselves. We get too busy in our American lives to truly connect with people. I pray that we can realize that, find ways to cut things out of our schedules, and truly value the people God has placed around us.
Our team will be sharing our full report during the morning services at Edgewood on November 3 (9:30 and 11:00). If you're in the area, we'd love to have you join us to hear more.
Also, here are a few prayer requests that you can lift up with us:
1. Pray for CTC and their continued ministry to reach those in Cainta and beyond
2. Pray for CTC as they desire to plant another church in Binangonan
3. Pray for Edgewood as we seek God's will for further connections with CTC
4. Pray for the Edgewood team (and others who hear these stories) to learn from this experience, be grateful for the many blessings we have, and to continue to share God's love with those around us and those of all nations!
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| Joint EBC and CTC Team |
