Grow Community Transformation Resource and Training Ministry Center-- August 26, 2009 Update

This morning I wrote my Christian brother and partner in ministry , Mike Bucher. Mike and his wife Natalie founded Grow International Ministries. www.growourworld.com

I just have to write this morning…

First, we are getting ready for our first dry run through a Food Always in the Home Training, which will run Wednesday through Friday. This will mostly be for the benefit of Noel, Lito and me, but I have also invited Pastor Pong and some of the men from his church, and possibly some BBSI seminarians. We want to keep it very small, because we want to take time to talk about the logistics of operating this training session.

As I am writing, I can hear the buzz of machinery coming from the yard. Noel is using our new Craftsman—Briggs and Stratton Lawn mower. It is very sweet. I am not catching. I am mulching, so we can get those seeds back into the soil. The smell of fresh cut grass and exhaust is exhilarating. I picked this mower up at HRM Surplus on Pioneer, near Shaw Blvd. Chris told me about this place. I went to by a gas weed whacker, but they were out of stock, and then I saw this Briggs and Stratton and my jaw dropped. It was just sitting on the floor room all assembled. There were no sales people around. So I checked the gas level and it was full. I quickly looked left and right again, and then reached down and fired that pup up. It started on the first pull, and it was a sweet sound. I quickly turned it off as I had attracted about 10 sales people who were running toward me. And I said, “I will buy it”. It’s one of those mowers with the large back wheels. On the way home I stopped by the Home Depot near Ortigas and Meralco. I wanted to check out their Weed Whackers. They had three different models of the German made Stihl grass cutter. It had a six month warranty, and some kind of lifetime service agreement. A service center in Quezon City, and supplies I could get at that Home Depot. Maybe you can guess where I am going with this. I bought it! Here is my rational…. I just sold my blue Honda civic and had the funds available. But secondly, It was taking the guys considerable hours every week to mow and pick weeds with their hands, bolo and clippers. I thought that this equipment would pay for itself by getting our grass and weed cutting done in just a couple of hours, so they could focus on the house and Ag projects the rest of the week. So there you have it.

I have been working on ministry strategy stuff this morning. And I had this vision that whenever a team comes over to do work projects, or anything, I would like a pastor to come over to minister to our Filipino pastors. The pastor can come over with the intent to go through some material…….preaching, administration, quiet time and study, discipleship, marriage and family stuff. My hope and goal is to have pastors coming through here, so we have year around coverage. It is a great way to connect pastors and churches stateside with the work that we are doing here. Teams can come over for a variety of projects, but we should make it our goal to have at least one pastor available to minister to our pastors and churches.

Basketball….. Last night I had our first basketball practice with our Barangay select team from Penny Lane. It was basically a scrimmage so I could familiarize myself with names and faces, positions and skill level. The guys had a great time playing with each other. They were genuinely friendly toward each other, no machismo. Of course they wanted to win, but not at the expense of their brother or cousin on the other team. I was told that all of the guys are related in some way or another to each other.

While Pastor Pong and I were sitting, talking about the scrimmage and future ministry opportunities, he asked me if I would take on the youth team 19 Under from the area. These young guys are really fun, and we have connected well through the basketball, giving them rides, and a youth function we had at my house. I am looking forward to working with them, and getting to know them on a deeper level.

Excerpt from letter to Julie this last weekend……. “I drove my young guys from the Barracks Bible Church down to Angono this morning. I am coaching the youth basketball team from Penny Lane, /Faith Community. The young guys did pretty well. We won 61-44 over a team from the Angono Floodway. I think I had 12-14 on my bench, and I got about 10 guys in the game, so that went well. It was competitive through the mid-way part of the third quarter, and we began to push the ball up court (fast-break), and we stopped their offense they were generating around the baseline (short-corner). I have several guys that can rebound well and play physical, so that is something very nice to have. I had almost the whole team in the car. There were 12 guys, including me. The guys like having a coach and learning new stuff. I will coach them one practice and one game a week. This will be a good bridge to connect some of them with the church activities, and can have some bible study and fellowship at our house. We may want to get that basketball hoop over on the concrete slab, and then a foosball and ping pong table.”

Well buddy, gotta run. I need to go gather egg shells for making some EM Concoctions, and get some seeds and other stuff. I am going to go to the Palengke with the guys and we will pick some of this stuff up. Fish guts, Animal bones, Chicken manure, Bamboo, and some beverages containing yeast……… I have a list.

“Through our God we shall do valiantly” Ps 60:12… “I do not understand how God has made me. Joy, sheer joy and thanksgiving encompass me. Brother, this is great. We have never had it so good. God has done and is doing all I ever desired, much more than I ever asked. Praise God. He said, ‘I will never leave thee or forsake thee’. May I boldly say, ‘I will not fear…” I gain strength from the life and words of Jim Elliot. “He is no fool who gives up what cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose’. But I am human. I live on “this-side”. I experience daily the tension caused by the flesh. This is why our focus needs to be towards Heaven.

1 John 2: 3-6 (James B. Phillips translation) The life of a man who professes to be living in God must bear the stamp of Christ “It is only when we obey God’s laws that we can be quite sure that we really know Him. The man who claims to know God but does not obey His laws is not only a liar, but he lives in self-delusion. In practice, the more a man learns to obey God’s laws, the more truly and fully does he express his love for Him. Obedience is the test of whether we really live “in God” or not. The life of a man who professes to be living in God must bear the stamp of Christ.”

Pray for us this week and our training……….and working with our trainers. Pray that Christ will be our focus, as we work with our Pastors, Churches and Communities.

God bless and take care, Phil