Duane and Diane Arender
Missionaries to the Ilocano people of the Philippines
Potters Clay Ministry Volume 2 Issue 2 2-06-06
SAVED
Are you excited about being saved? While most say they are; how many of us actually are? I am glad that Jesus died for me. He loved me enough that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 5:8b. That is something to be excited about, that is something to shout about and that is something to take to a lost and dying world. January 2006 is gone and will never comeback. Some of the people that crossed our paths will never pass our way again. Question is did we let that excitement about being saved become a witness for the savior. How many people did you witness to about Jesus? When we are excited about a ballgame and our team wins we all get excited and tell everyone. Well guess what, our team wins. So we need to get excited and tell people about Jesus. The Bible tells us to "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations" Matt. 28:19a I know that most cannot go to foreign countries as missionaries but, we all are missionaries and the U S is a nation, so you can go to your neighbor , neighborhood , or community. I just want to encourage you to be a witness for Jesus. He is worth it.
December trip to the Philippines
Friday December 2nd we woke and went to a place called Tublay. Again we did a medical mission and one on one soul winning. It was another great day in the Lord. I witnessed to a young man who spoke no English. That left me in a position to see if I could actually win someone in Ilocano. I had an interpreter there but I told him to see if I could do this since we have been studying the language for about 7 months. Did God bless, you better believe He did. We won him to Jesus in his native tongue. He was as excited as we were by the time we got through praying. That afternoon we were in a house of a real old lady who was catholic; sure wish we could have won her as she died about a week ago. As we got ready to leave the mission that night the doctor with me was walking down the steps in the dark and missed the bottom step and took a bad fall. We found out after we made it back to the states that he had cracked a couple of ribs and fluid on the knee. That scared me to death. Doc went back to the hotel and my self and Boomer went to do a bible study. We had some of the new converts there and that was exciting as I talked about the heart being deceitful. God truly blessed today.
Saturday we got up early and went to Ambiong to a Medical Mission for the day then late Saturday we went and did a Bible study. It was done in a hurry as it was outside and getting dark and the family we were at had no lights or electricity. They lived in a small hut with one room and it was about a 7feet x 7feet square and the side of a mountain. After we were through we went down the mountain to do a Bible study at another house. At this house I saw God’s hand work again. After the Bible study I was talking to a Filipino man about my age and he said something that floored me. God had laid Laos on my heart as most of you know and I had been praying about a contact there. Well this man ask me when would I be back in the Philippines and I told him this coming summer God willing and then he told me that he would be back in the Philippines by then. I ask him where he was going and he told me "Laos" for 2 months. My mouth just hung open, I could not believe it. I told him I had been praying for a Christian contact in Laos and now I have met a person that is going in and that is incredible. I won’t say what he does but he told me that he would pray about contact and that he would contact me when he got back to the Philippines sometime in the near future, so please pray for his safety and that God gives him somebody to give to us to be able to go in to minister to those people. There are over 100 people groups in Laos (with some groups having over 100,000 people in them) that have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are excited. I am excited about being in the ministry. God is opening doors and doing things in our life that only He can do. I praise His Holy Name. A Name above all names.
Sunday December 4th was another busy day as I got up and went to Tublay again. I preached at aSimbalay (house church) and had a great time. I also gave out some Basketballs and volley balls and nets. And my sincere thanks to South Main Baptist Church of Malvern because they provided the Balls and nets to the mission at Tublay. That day after church we had a baptism. I baptized two young men in their language of Ilocano. "Binnonyagak diay kabsat ko nga lalakay iti nagan iti Amo iti Anok iti Espirito Santo". That was exciting. After lunch of what I hope was chicken and the rice I was sure of, we went to do a Bible study up in the mountains in the rain. We went by the court yard where the ball ended up and before the day was through some teenagers had been won to the Lord just because some one cared to give. I have found out that because of what was given out at that meeting many more have come to know Jesus because they play then they hear about Jesus. Thanks South Main. We also that day gave out some Ilocano Bibles and left need some more that we did not have with us. Enough for now. We love you all. Thanks for praying.
Duane and Diane Arender Missionaries to the Ilocano people of the Philippines.