A brother in the Lord once asked me why I have a passion for the preaching of the Gospel to the Nepalese. It was a question that I did not really ponder except for the primary fact that I knew that the Gospel is to be preached to all nations (Luke 24:45-47; Matthew 28:18-20) even to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8) which is a commission given originally to the apostles, and by extension, to all believers. As to the specifics of the call, it’s unfolding happened over a period of time. At the beginning, I sensed that I was called to go and take the Gospel to a country other than mine but being young then in the faith, emotion was more the rudder than anything else.
Our brother made a follow-up question and said, “why don’t you rather do missions locally in the Philippines?” During the mid 90s, I had an intense desire to enter a bible school and be a part of a local church in my country, yet the only possible way at that time was eventually hindered by the Lord. I endeavored instead to buy books used by an international theological school in Metro Manila; and then more books over the years written by authors whose theological integrity are tested, some of whom have already gone to be with the Lord. I remember bro Julito who formerly served as the senior pastor of ICS said reading will help me balance my theology. He is a bible teacher in one of the schools in the Philippines and I took his advice and benefitted immensely. At the same time, however, the continuing opportunity to remain overseas as a tentmaker was being firmly established and prospered by the Lord as time went by.
After pausing to compose my thoughts, I reverted with a question to the brother who initially asked me. I asked, “why do you think God would send American missionaries to the Philippines instead of Filipino Christians from the hundreds of congregations in our country?” A well-thought out answer that he may have provided would have been my very answer to his first question. But he was silent. And his silence was, I think, said it all. I might not have replied also if I were in his shoes. The fact is, God’s call to reach other people groups with the Gospel can only be understood by the one called himself.
Each missionary possess individual details for their call, but what will definitely be the fuel is a combination of the Lord’s zeal and His love for the lost sheep of His pasture. You have to read that sentence again…and will notice that it is not the missionary’s zeal and love, but the Lord’s. All these are His gracious gifts poured into the missionary’s heart by the Holy Spirit –
What do you have that you did not receive?’ ‘ – 1 Corinthians 4:7
I have my personal individual details and nuances of God’s call which are part and parcel of where I am, what I am engaged in currently and the direction I intend to take in the future. None of them were planned in explicit terms but just like during the missionary journeys in the Bible, it is the Lord who opens and shuts doors, provides the means and determines the results. At the beginning, each one may have their list of “desired countries”, but for me, Nepal was not in my list, not even by any stretch of the imagination. But when God has set my heart for His direction, He has also arranged for events to fit into that call. I am still a tentmaker in another part of the world, yet the handful of lovely Nepalese that my road has crossed with are the very people I know will be partners in my work in their country. Some are recent converts and one has a small ministry in Kathmandu and Rolpa. They have all expressed their desire to be partners for the Gospel and during my sojourn in Nepal last year, I have learned more about them. A recent acquisition – a book entitled ‘The Missionary Call: Find Your Place in God’s Plan For The World’ by M. David Sills – proved very helpful to me in understanding why some things are.
My only born-again cousin, Susan M.M., who works for the Assemblies of God Missionary Fellowship (AGMF) in the Philippines has shared some wonderful stories of American missionaries. Amazing as it is, many of them would come to the Philippines without speaking a single sentence in Filipino and they would soon disappear into a village in a corner of the country. Months would pass and the next time you meet them, they would not only know Filipino but the dialect of the tribe they minister the Gospel to. I remember a couple who look like giants (well, from a Filipino vantage point, that is) and how elegant they looked the first time they arrived into the country. As soon as they are about to embark into the mission field, a metamorphosis takes place and apart from being caucasians, everything about them would blend well into their place of call. More than the looks, you can certainly perceive their love for the Filipinos. Some stories are laced with humor, such as how a missionary couple could eat the boiled local mung beans mixed with the American style (Hunt’s) white beans in tomato sauce – a combination that could make the eyes of the Filipino city-dweller roll and his tummy churn. 🙂 I had my own experience while sampling Nepali food that are truly unusual at the beginning, but turned out to be my favorite now – fried goat cheese (called Paneer) cooked in a mixed sauce of pureed tomato, spices and yoghurt or sour buttermilk (doesn’t that sound good??) One poignant story Susan told me was about a missionary who suffered a heart attack and was airtransported to Manila in one of the best hospitals in the country. What made him sad was not his heart attack but the money that was spent for the surgery which he said would have been better spent for the poor people of his mission field (even now as I recall that, tears would just well up and may the Lord richly bless that brother and his family according to His good purpose and call).
During our fellowship at the Reconciliation Church in a farming valley in Kathmandu, one of their pastors, bro Megh, distributed Nepalese OT/NT bibles which were purchased through the offerings sent by Filipino and Nepali brothers from Jesus Our Good Lord fellowship. The excitement and joy written all over the faces of the brothers and sisters at Reconciliation when they were handed their copy were truly heart-warming. With many of them farmers, the cost of a medium-sized bible is quite a dent on a small budget. A sister graciously offered me a bowl of freshly-picked plums. I also cherished time spent with the pastor and his wife, with some women of the church, and together with bro Basant and his mother. The experience climbing a hill in the rain and mud, wearing formal leather shoes and attire to match, on the way to bro Megh’s house was truly unforgettable. Being together with them encouraged by the Scriptures concerning issues of the Christian life brought us much joy. In retrospect, my experiences as a kid in my mom’s home province of Zambales (Sta. Cruz and Candelaria, very rustic during the many summer vacations in the 1960s) also proved beneficial to let me appreciate what I experienced in my sojourn in Nepal in 2008. There are villages with no electricity and only small oil lamps lighting the dark night prove nostalgic and welcoming.
Surprising even was reading one article by a major Filipino e-newspaper published during the height of the success of the Mt. Everest campaign by Filipino men and women. The article revealed that there are nearly 150 registered Filipinos in Nepal . A few are there by marriage, a handful are exchange students or professionals in a government program while the rest are – – – missionaries!
The apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, had the final section reserved for greeting and commending individual brothers and sisters who are his partners in a variety of ways to the cause of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I commend to you our sister, Phoebe…Greet Prisca and Aquila , my fellow workers in Christ Jesus…Epaenetus…Mary… Andronicus and Junia…Ampliatus…Urbanus…Stachys…Apelles…the family of Aristobulus…Herodion…those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus…Tryphaena and Tryphosa…Persis…Rufus, also his mother…Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas…Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.” – Romans 16:1-15
I do not personally know the many names or faces of the AG missionaries in the Philippines. Although I am not currently an AG member, I have met a few of them during my occassional visits to AGMF and ICS. I would like to take this time and electronic space to sincerely thank all of you for your obedience to the Lord’s call in your lives, forsaking your own ambitions, and faithfully serving Him in the far flung places of the Philippines so that the people whom He has appointed for eternal life will believe Him through the Gospel. I also acknowledge the brothers and sisters who work at the AGMF office for your untiring dedication and love, seeing to it that the administrative needs of the missionaries are taken care of. I cannot list all of your names here like Paul did, but there’s one who truly know and called you individually by name – Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Harvest! We may not all get a chance to meet now but one day when the Lord returns and we shall be all gathered unto Him, I would surely be blessed to meet you all together with the Lord’s harvest from Nepal .
To all those who have been sent by the Lord of the Harvest to the fields, together we ascribe glory due to the Triune God whom we truly worship and serve.
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.” – Romans 16:25-27.
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