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We continue to love people at every opportunity—spiritually and in many practical ways. For the past few months, the passage in Galatians 6:10 has been very alive for us.
At Home with Us
“Thank you, so much big sister, for making us feel like we were at home in India even for just a few hours,” a couple of Indian students told us. They continued to tell us that when we (the BCCL staff and some alumni) went to their apartment to celebrate Pallavi’s (not her real name for privacy) birthday, our chatter and laughter reminded them of their parents and relatives when they would gather during celebrations.
It was heartwarming to sit on the floor with these Indian youth to eat the special chicken biryani they worked so hard to cook and share birthday cake with them. These moments are just so special as we continue to be present in these young students’ lives.
Away from Family
We were excited to meet Jenna Merrifield from Alberta, Canada who arrived on the last week of March. This 22-year-old young lady is our very first Volunteer in Mission (VIM) in the Philippines field. Her church sent her to serve alongside us, and she will be staying with us for three months as she seeks God’s direction in her life.
Right from the get-go she’s been on her toes participating in BCCL’s various ministries, from playing guitar or leading prayer during our weekly prayer events to teaching family pastry recipes to the crew of our missional coffee shop; speaking on mental health well-being at a partner ministry’s event and attending Biblical training courses at night and getting to know our students; joining some of our students’ outreach ministries on weekends and learning culture. Since she’s also into sports, she has been joining the Filipino Indian basketball games in a community covered court and leading exercise time for the BCCL staff. Many times, she would just hang out with kids and the café crew as they practice their conversational English with her.
When asked if she’s homesick, during our weekly debriefs, for the fourth consecutive week, she would say, “Not yet. I’m occupied during the day and enjoying my time serving here so far.” It’s our joy to come alongside and mentor the next generation as they experience life in the mission field.
Feels Like My Second Home
We’re also blessed to have Carol Alexander, a friend from our home church, First Baptist Lodi, CA, come and join us in our ministries for three weeks. The Lord enabled her, with the support of our home church, FBC Lodi, to start an English school for kids in Northeast India in the early 2000s, giving hundreds of impoverished Indian kids hope and a future through free education. She hasn’t visited India, her second home, for a few years now. She misses her Indian family so much, so we invited her to come visit us and meet the Indian medical students that we minister to.
And so, she did. It gave Carol great joy to meet the Indian students that she felt like she was in her second home. She shared her testimony with them and about the school in India as well.
Family Away from Home
“You’re like a [spiritual] mom to me,” a young adult Filipino gal said to Claire. She continued to say how Claire has become a spiritual mentor to her over the last few months they would meet to talk about ministry events that they do at the café. She the founder of a partner ministry (to youth) called Abrehon. “It’s like receiving a crash course [on spiritual life, missions and servant-leadership] every time I talk to you!” Claire has had the privilege of mentoring other women in leadership as well.
Meanwhile, Tim has finally found his niche ministry doing one-on-one mentoring with most of our staff. We think of our staff as our own growing family. Tim is sometimes homesick for his family in California but doesn’t feel it as much now knowing that we have a spiritual family here in the Philippines. He’d like to leave a legacy by helping the staff to rightly handle God’s Word and become more mature servant-leaders. It is always exciting to pour into other people’s lives.
Part of the Family
Nelly (not her real name for privacy), an Indian student, supposedly in her sophomore year, is trapped in the Philippines. She got scammed by some Indian agents which cost a lot, that she could no longer enroll to continue her medical studies. She has a huge penalty for an expired visa and couldn’t afford to buy plane tickets to go back to India. Her family is doing their best to send her money to come back to India. Meantime, she has nothing to do during the day since she couldn’t attend school, until we welcomed her to participate in some of our ministries to pass the time. She is a believer and grew up in a Christian home.
“I’m so glad to be a part of this family!” she exclaimed one day. She told us that she was devastated and depressed when couldn’t go to school anymore, but that she started to live again when she found Christian communities that welcomed her. She would stay most of the day at the campus café for fellowship and Bible studies. Please pray for God’s provision so that she can go home to India.
Families Affected by Volcanic Eruption
Families in Camalig, Guinobatan and Ligao in Albay had to evacuate as the Mayon Volcano erupted yesterday (May 2) at around 5:00 p.m. It was zero visibility as thick plumes of ash covered the said areas. BCCL is around 14 kilometers from the volcano and way beyond the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone, but after just an hour of its eruption, we can feel the volcanic dust on our skin and had to wear face masks to avoid breathing it in. Fortunately, it rained so the dangerous sulfuric dust didn’t spread as much. But it caused thick mud on roads, rooftops and farmlands.
Mayon Volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines. It erupts every few years. Prior to its explosion yesterday, it had been spewing lava for almost 120 days.
Please pray for the families who had to evacuate. Pray also for those who lost their livelihood—farm animals experienced burns and suffocation due to the sulfuric gases; vegetable farms got covered with thick volcanic mud.