Bayanihan-the Power of Working Together

 After our 40th Anniversary celebration the Bethany Isabela Leadership blessed us with a short retreat at the beach. Calm waters, warm temperatures and late afternoon breezes turned into a fierce storm at 1 am which had us all scrambling. The wind was so strong one of the pastors was stuck in the bathroom. He couldn't open the door due to the force of the wind. Others sleeping in tents had to flee for cover as the tents started 'lifting off'. Whew! what a night not soon to be forgotten!

The next day a truck carrying two ready built cottages could not transport his load to his beach destination - the cottages were loaded too high on the truck bed. The answer to their problem was Filipino "Bayanihan". When all of our pastors joined with the transportation company workers we were able to lift the cottages off the truck and walk them past the obstructions. What a beautiful picture of the ministry that continues in the Philippines 40 years after it was launched. As we work together and draw on each other's strengths, the work of God continues. 

Pray for our Filipino leadership team as they plan this month for a joint conference with Bethany Mindoro in May 2025. Normally, they have joint conferences every 2-3 years, taking turns traveling north or south. However, the two Bethany groups of leaders have not been together since 2019 so this will be a special gathering. 

Prayer Requests: 

1. Pray for us as we travel to Indiana with a Malaysian couple next week. Vincent and Helen direct an anti-trafficking ministry called Whispering Willow in Thailand. They are raising support to help women break free from prostitution. Their ministry includes health clinics, counseling, job training and spiritual care. We will be staying with friends of ours that have organized a coffee get together for them.

2. Pray for one of my (Steve's) friends that I have a weekly men's meeting with. Alan lives in England and has just discovered that his wife, Lorna, is ill and will need screening for cancer. They were going to join us and the other men from our online group in British Columbia for a reunion in September so its a disappointment for them and us that they will not be able to come. 

3. Pray for our trip Sept. 4-11 to British Columbia. We will get together with the other two guys from my online men's call (and their wives) and Alberta and I will also visit friends of Alberta's from her nursing days in Florida.

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta