Our trip to Philippines

Our first day in the Philippines was amazing. The people here are so friendly and hospitable. We are accustomed to “Southern Hospitality” in Alabama, but Filipinos take it several steps higher.

Our trip here to Sindangan was very long. All total, about 20 hours of flying, nearly 16 hours of layovers, and a two-hour drive down the beautiful eastern coast of the Philippines island of Mindanao, which is the second largest island in the Philippines, populated by more than 23 million people.

The trip was long, but a very good one. Delta did an outstanding job, as did Philippines Airlines. We met some great people on the plane, including another group of Americans going to a different island on the Philippines to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is their sixth trip.

While waiting in Manila for our connecting flight to Dipolog City, we met some wonderful people. We met Pastor Aries and Bro. Armand, who serve the Lord in the Manila area. Our good friend Micah Lewter of HomegrownHarvesters knows these two brothers and was hoping we would meet them. We did, at 1 a.m. Instead of sleeping, these two brothers traveled about an hour to meet us. We talked and had a good time of prayer. They are great men doing great work for the Lord in a very challenging area. We were also able to give Pastor Aries a study Bible that Micah had mailed us to bring to the Philippines. He was very appreciative. Thanks Micah! And thanks Micah for introducing us to all of these wonderful brothers and sisters in the Lord here in the Philippines.

We then met a woman named Rose. She is a native of the Philippines, but lives in Indiana, near Illinois and Chicago. She was very energetic and kept us going during the early morning hours. She told us a lot about the Philippines and she was amazed at what we were coming here to do. We told her we love our Lord and were just doing His work by the example He gave us. Rose fell in love with Mama like everyone does. She called her “Mamasee.”

Then we met two indigenous missionaries to the Philippines. Anna is a medical missionary and Joy is a missionary who teaches the Word of God to those who do not know Jesus. They were fascinating to talk with and listen to their stories and heart’s desires. We enjoyed several different times of prayer with them.

Then, when we landed in Dipolog City we were greeted by more than 30 men, women and children from the Shiloh Bible Baptist Church family. Wow! That blew us away; more on that in my next blog.

So it was a long trip with hardly any sleep along the way, but it was a good journey and one we are very thankful to have made. Everyone we met was amazed at Mama’s ability to travel that far. They just don’t know my Mama. And for anyone back home wondering, she’s doing great.

Philippines bound

A year ago I'd never been off the North American continent. Then, three months ago I was in the South American country of Ecuador, and now I'm on my way to the Asian country of the Philippines.

I never gave too much thought about traveling outside of the U.S. and Canada, but then God put it on my heart to go to different countries. I told Him, wherever He leads I'll go.

In October it was to Shell, Ecuador to work with orphans at Casa de Fe and do street ministry in Puyo. Now, I'm on my way to the Philippines with my wife and mom. How awesome is that? Traveling to the other side of the world with my wife and mom to preach and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I thank God for this awesome opportunity.

Jesus Christ gave His disciples the Great Commission before ascending into Heaven. His Great Commission is for all of us, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." - Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV)

Jesus further drives home His point in Acts as the very last statement He tells His disciples before ascending to Heaven is, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” - Acts 1:8 (NLT)

While the majority of our ministry is done locally in Dothan, Ala., God has opened doors for Love In Action to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in other U.S. cities and throughout the world. Whether it is Atlanta, Ga., Baton Rouge, La., New York City, Memphis, TN, Los Angeles, Shell, Ecuador, or Sindangan, Philippines, Love In Action is obeying our Lord and Savior by telling the world about Him.

Please keep us in your prayers. We are praying for hundreds of souls to be saved, people healed and delivered, and  pastors and missionaries encouraged.

Our volunteers are the best!

People often hear me say that our volunteers at Love In Action are the best, and I mean it. They give of themselves to serve the homeless and needy, and they do it with so much love.

Our volunteers are a major reason why Martha and I can travel to other cities and other countries to minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others. You might remember that back in October, not only did Martha and I travel to Ecuador, but our two Celebrate Recovery Inside directors went too. And, the ministry in Dothan didn't miss a beat, because of our awesome volunteers. They make it happen.


Love In Action's ministry in Dothan will continue as usual while Martha, Mama Tuck and I are in the Philippines. We have tremendous ministry leaders and volunteers who do a great job each week. We held a volunteers meeting Monday night and the room was filled with our awesome volunteers. We talked about what God accomplished through each one of them and Love In Action in 2011. Check it out and praise God with us for the great things He has done:

- Many people accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!
- We were a ministry without a home entering 2011, but we purchased a building, renovated it and moved into the new Love In Action Ministry Center. Now we have a permanent home. Praise God!
- We moved Celebrate Recovery Inside and Bible study back home to our ministry center after months of moving around from place to place
- Moved the LIA Health Clinic for the Homeless to the LIA Ministry Center.
- Began four new ministries: Lighthouse Cafe coffee house, Laundry Ministry, Shower Ministry, and Adopt-A-Block.
- Strengthen the following ministries: clothing, food pantry, food distribution, and hygiene supplies distribution.

Each of you who volunteer, pray and financially support Love In Action were a huge part of everything that was accomplished in 2011. We couldn't have done all of this without you. Thank you so much for your support and desire to show the "least of these" the love of Jesus Christ.

Please continue supporting us and encourage others to join you in supporting Love In Action in 2012. We've already had a great start to the New Year, and it's only going to get better. We are praying that more souls will be saved this year than ever before. We are also praying for God to continue to strengthen each ministry that we do and further expand Love In Action according to His perfect will and purpose throughout this year.

We thank each of you once again. We are like Paul, Silas and Timothy were in their letter to the church of Thessalonica, "We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (NLT)

'Wake up and look around'

“Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” - John 4:35 (KJV)

I like the way the New Living Translation writes these words of Jesus, " But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest."

Jesus was telling His disciples, and He is telling us today, "Wake up, open your eyes; there are hurting and lost people all around you. Go tell them I love them and bring them into My kingdom."

Take a quick survey of what you are doing with your time. How much do you pray? Do you read God's Word? If so, how often? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? How much time do you spend watching TV? Do you tell anyone about Jesus? Do you show His love to others through your actions? Do you do more for yourself or for others? This Christmas season, are you focused more on gifts or on The Gift, who is the One we celebrate?

How did your survey turn out? This blog post isn't meant to condemn anyone, it's to help all of us do what Jesus tells us in John 4:35, "Wake up and look around." It's so important to heed His words. People are dying every day. Eternity is at stake. When we die we will either go to Heaven or Hell, both are real places. Heaven is eternity with God our Father. Hell is total separation from God our Father forever. We can make a difference in a person's eternity by showing the love of Jesus to them, and by sharing with them what Jesus has done in our lives.

Action speaks louder than words, though. I like the way St. Francis of Assisi said it, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."

Let's be sure we are doing that. Let's don't waste time by getting caught up in worldly activities. Now, events and hobbies aren't bad in and of themselves. The problem is when they dominate our thoughts and time.

I encourage you to read John 4 today. Read how Jesus broke down walls by talking with a Samaritan. See how he reached out to the woman and changed her eternal destination. See how He carried out His own "Great Commission" (Matthew 28:19-20) by going and reaching the people and then teaching them. Read how He teaches His disciples and explains things to them in John 4:34-38.

Jesus tells them that He receives His spiritual nourishment from doing the will of the Father; by finishing the work that the Father has given Him. We must do the same. Let's follow His example. God has given each of us a job to do. We receive joy and gain strength through doing it. So, let's do it, and spend our time "doing the will of God."

This is why we do what we do

This afternoon showed me why we do what we do with our Adopt-A-Block program at Love In Action.

On Sundays after church, we deliver bread to people throughout the neighborhood where we do our weekly Saturday Adopt-A-Block outreach. On our last stop, we visited Mr. Freddie. He's an elderly man missing one of his feet. He spends most of his time on the couch or in his wheel chair.

We first met him on Thanksgiving Day as volunteers delivered dinner throughout the neighborhood. The next two weeks we have gone back to clean up and do repairs on his house and take him more food.

Today when Martha, Shaun and I arrived, he just smiled at us, and then started crying. He said, "Y'all are so good to me. The Lord is so good. Everything y'all been doing for me ... I can't even talk about it without crying. It makes me feel so good."

Praise God! I told him that's Jesus showing His love for him and smiling upon him. Mr. Freddie said, "God is good isn't He."

He looked at Shaun and talked about Thanksgiving Day as Shaun was one of the volunteers who brought dinner to Mr. Freddie. A woman in the neighborhood told us about him and encouraged us to take him dinner. Mr. Freddie said he sure was glad she did that.

He told us that in all of the years he has lived at his house in downtown Dothan, nobody has ever given him anything. He said they have only taken from him.

Mr. Freddie is a precious man. It is so good to see him smile and talk about the goodness of God.

I asked him if he had ever asked Jesus into his heart to be his Lord and Savior. He said yes, he did years ago. Then I asked if we could pray before we left, and he said yes, and then he prayed. It was such a wonderful prayer. He thanked God for everything. He cried tears of joy as he prayed.

We left praising God. Such an awesome display of God's love and someone being so thankful for it.

Please keep our Adopt-A-Block outreach and all of our ministries lifted up in your prayers. God is doing an amazing work. We have recently seen seven people make decisions for Jesus. Praise God! Lives are being changed by the love and power of God. It is wonderful to see and humbling to be part of it.

Thank you for your prayers, financial support, and volunteering. Together, we are making a difference for the glory of God.