Last March our partners, the Harmons, came to a decision that they could no longer minister in the Philippines due to health reasons. This left a great hole in the I-Wak work as there was no one left to minister to the people. But by God’s grace a neighboring tribal group that had been reached by missionaries back in the eighties have sent out a family and a single lady to fill in. For the last 3 years the Haradas had been visiting this group, strengthening relationships with them. The youth from our home church also visited this tribal group when they came for their youth trip to the Philippines last summer.
In tribal evangelism we do not do alter calls or invite people to pray as the tribal people associate these actions as “works” of salvation instead of simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ’s payment for sin on the cross. Instead we wait for the Holy Spirit to work in people’s lives as they trust in Jesus’ work and manifest fruits of the spirit. After Geff taught through the scriptures last year for 9 months in their own language, he presented the Gospel to the tribal people on Nov. 15th,2006. He was able to interview a few people before he returned to Canada. One of the ladies in the tribe said “ No one has taught us in this way before. We couldn’t understand before and now you have made it clear to us.” These people were coming to a clear understanding that Jesus was God’s promise of a savior and full payment for their sins and they needed nothing else. It was with great joy and sadness that the Haradas left for furlough, as they longed to remain with the emerging believers and encourage them in their faith.
We have just received an update from the Ibaloi teachers. They have reported to our joy that over 60 people are currently attending the meetings and are now beginning to sing the praises to God. They are turning from their “old ways” of fear and darkness towards God’s new ways of peace and freedom in Christ. This confirms that indeed God’s spirit is working in their lives. They have also reported as well that two other villages have asked that they be taught as well thru the scriptures in the same way as the people were in our tribe. Praise God. Only time and good teaching will tell whether these people will indeed mature in their new faith. Please continue to pray for them and the Ibaloi missionaries who are serving there now.
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