Originally posted by Elder Gus Harter
(This article was posted on web page of Free Grace Fellowship)
My observations and views:
Many areas of the Philippines are very thickly populated. Manila, the capitol has over twelve million inhabitants. There are other cities with over a million. Davao City (Where Elder Harter lives) has 1.4 million. I do not readily know the distance from Manila to Davao City, but it virtually requires travel by air. Many of the churches are a far distance from each other. We covered many miles by air on the various trips to the churches. We also made a very interesting trip by jet boat which involved walking a gangplank to board the ship and to exit the ship.
Traffic in the various cities was very frightening to me. Traffic was moving virtually in all directions. Traffic entering from the side would inch into the road and eventually force a vehicle to stop to allow entry. In the midst of all the traffic individuals would be walking—-some would be merely crossing the street, and others would be attempting to sell various things, often being bottled water. School children (wearing uniforms) would often be marching along the edge of the various roads as it seemed that schools were everywhere.
On the edge of the road (on both sides) in what we would consider the "right of way" would be a continuous row of dwellings which also usually had various items for sale. This land belongs to the "government" and the individuals have a kind of "squatter’s rights" to have their homes there so long as the government allows them to do so. These dwellings were made of almost anything—often with old metal roofing for walls. Nothing separated one "home" from another except a thin wall.
People are almost constantly moving along the edges of the road (going somewhere, I guess). Jeepneys abound. Bicycles are sprinkled in the midst of traffic making progress when possible. Motorcycles are darting in and out of the traffic. The slow moving cars, trucks, buses, and every conceivable type of conveyance are often only inches apart. With all of this conglomeration, I did not see a single crash. Yet, I would not dare drive in that kind of environment.
No one ever had to pick me up and carry me. However, it seems that everyone was very considerate and made things as easy for me as possible. Brother Darrel made sure that the airlines that we traveled on did have a wheelchair and an attendant to make it very easy to get from place to place in the airports and this saved Darrel and me from spending time in the long lines that seemed to be necessary everywhere.
Elder Harter had inquired of me (some weeks before the time of our arrival) if I would be willing to help ordain some ministers without ever hearing them exercise their gifts. I immediately replied in the affirmative because I have often done so several times here in the states. My thought is that I certainly have respect to the judgment of my brethren and I have confidence in them sufficient to participate in an ordination.
At one of the churches Brother Darrel and I were requested to have a discussion of the T.U.L.I.P. after we had preached our regular messages. Brother Darrel discussed Total depravity and Unconditional election and I discussed Limited atonement and Irresistible grace. We left Preservation for Brother Harter to discuss. After the discussion there were several questions asked and answers were given. Nobody seemed to be in a hurry. A number of ministers were present who were not (yet) members of the PB church. One did decide to become a PB and an arrangement was made, and we witnessed his baptism by the local pastor. (at a late hour in the night)
An arrangement had been made to have a ministers’ meeting lasting from our last Tuesday night, morning and afternoon and evening (night) services on Wednesday, and the closing service on Thursday morning. Brother Harter did let me know that I had "freedom of choice" as far as subject selection. Brother Harter did want Brother Darrel to discuss the subject of Responsibility and the subject of Family. One very interesting feature of the services during this meeting was that on Wednesday and Thursday mornings Filipino ministers gave a devotional at 6:30 am and then breakfast was served at 7 am. Three sermons were given on Wednesday morning and three more on Thursday afternoon and three more on Thursday night. An hour was devoted to each sermon. Each sermon also had a translator involved so that the entire group could understand what was being said. (I had some difficulty in this area, but everyone was very considerate. Brother Darrel would hold the microphone for me so that I could turn to places in the Bible. If left alone with the "mike" I would often forget to hold it up to my mouth. It was easy for me to appeal to a time when Moses had help in holding up his arms, and Darrel and the translator made me feel that I had help on both sides.
At the ordinations (three good brethren were ordained) there were demonstrations of strong understanding and explanation of the doctrines held by Primitive Baptists. I did appreciate the thorough questioning and the explicit answers that were given. These brethren that were being ordained already had a very strong background in the doctrines of the sovereignty of God and when they learned the proper understanding of the role of the gospel they were equipped to become able ministers of the Primitive Baptist Church. They have the understanding that the gospel does not quicken into eternal life but that the gospel gives instructions to those who have already been quickened to eternal life by the operation of the Holy Spirit which works directly and immediately on the objects of God’s eternal election. They also know that many of the elect of God will die without every hearing the voice of a gospel minister. These ministers also know that there is a "time" salvation distinct from eternal salvation. ( I could not tell a difference in the manner of the ordination of these brethren from what is practiced by our churches in the United States.)
However, the feature that struck me very strongly from the very first and grew continuously throughout our visit was a combination of fellowship and Christian love. I could sense from the first meeting that these people were my brethren and sisters in the Lord. It was a growing and binding relationship.
While it is not likely that I will every make this trip again, I trust that I am thankful to God for the strength granted to make the trip. It is a very high point in my life and I expect the experiences of this trip will be "re-lived" in my mind often in the future. My prayer is for the welfare of the Lord’s kingdom in the Philippine Islands.
May the Lord continue to bless Elder Harter and his wife in their labors in Philippines is my prayer.
If any of the members of FGF have questions, please feel free ask. The Lord has been wonderful to me, and I remain,
Your little brother,
Gene Thomas
P.S. Much more needs to be said. Brother Darrel has a journal and I will depend on him to give any specifics relative to the individual churches that we visited
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