“What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’”
Acts of the Apostles 22:16 NLT
Today, Jomie and I went to visit his family. Jomie became a disciple because of his friend Albert, who made him a disciple of Jesus and then baptized him. Jomie was then used to make disciples of his family. I felt honored to be taken to see his home where he grew up.
Our trip began on a motorbike. If you want to experience the streets of the Philippines, the motorbike is the way to go. Many people ride motorbikes. Unlike the US, howvever, there are not many rules, it seems. If you want to pass someone on the road, you just beep and go on by, as long as you think you can make it past without being hit by another car. Sometimes you might pass on the left, other times on the right. It's whatever works. You have to watch out for the gypnees (spelling unsure), which are small truck-like vehicles adapted to take passengers in the back with long bench seats. Some are highly decorated and charge so many pesos for people to ride in. They are a bit unpredictable because they can pull over at any time, so you need to be sure to beep before going past them, especially on the right..
We drove at least 5 or more kilometers before arriving at his neighborhood. We drove past his high school where he graduated, and back a long unpaved road with many gullies, that Jomie successfully dodged.
Upon arrival, I met his mother, Maristera, and his two sisters and brother. His older brother was at work and his father had gone looking for money. they had not eaten the day before. Jomie brought bread from the local bakery which we bought on the way. He gave his brother, Ronnell, money to buy the family a kilo of rice. If a Fiippino doesn't have rice at their meal, they don't feel like they have eaten. It is a true staple here.
He showed me his house, three rooms, where the family sleeps, and a small kitchen with only a sink for washing dishes and a small one burner cooker. The water is lifted from the well in the back yard. The house was rebuilt by Molong and his team of disciples several months ago. They were still one of the victims of the typhoon.
In one small room, just off the kitchen, was a 93 year old women they call grandma. I don't remember how they came to know her, but they took her in because she had fallen in her house and had no one to take care of her. She couldn't walk because of the fall, and her kids simply desserted her. In the Philippines, no one goes to an old folks home. Everyone is taken care of. This family has little food, but they take her in anyway. She only lived there several months.
As Jomie interpreted, I learned that she felt she must have committed some great sin because she is the only one left of her family, and her kids desserted her. I told him the Lord has shown her much grace. I asked if she was a follower of Jesus, and he said she wasn't, but wanted to be. She had not been baptized, either. Here, baptism follows directly after one chooses to follow Jesus, just like it was done by the disciples of Jesus, because baptism is our burial of our old, sinful, dead self. Sin makes us dead in our spirit. What do you do with dead people? You have to bury them. Baptism is also the resurrected new life that Jesus brings us. People cannot even understand spiritual things until the new life is brought by the Spirit. The Spirit descended upon Jesus after baptism, as well as many in the book of Acts.
Jomie explained all this to her, and she wanted to be a disciple, so we had to baptize her. We filled up a large bucket, but she couldn't walk, so Jomie lifted her to the bucket, where she sat on the edge. Ronnell drew water from the well and filled the bucket. We then poured water over her because we couldn't physically dunk her.
Then we prayed that God's Holy Spirit would come upon her and seal her for His Kingdom.
I later learned that she was afraid to go to the doctor because she was afraid of what they might do to her. So, she lives with much pain. Jomie says he prays for her often, and she actually can sit up now, where before she could not even do that. So, we prayed for her again. God is indeed merciful. His glory is being shown through this family, who have all become disciples of the Lord, who have extended His grace to this old lady.
Jomie explained that his mother and father worked in the big company behind their neighborhood many years. They make 300 pesos a day--about the minimum wage requirement--seven dollars a day. With that they must live, buy food for the whole family. Now, the father cannot work, and so it becomes very difficult. Often in Philippines it doesn't pay for people to work, because many don't even make the minimum wage, only three or four dollars a day. The government doesn't give assistance.
Jomie said that his father cannot work because of health issues, so he gave him money to go to the doctor for medicine, but they used it for food because they didn't have any. These are daily choices for many of these people.
On the way back, I had much to ponder as we rode the crowded streets back to the house, weaving in and out of vehicles as we passed and were passed by others. My heart was encouraged by what God did and was doing, quietly amongst the poor, yet broken for the many who still do not know of the true coming King who is their Provider, Banner, Deliverer, Hope, Fortress, and so much more.
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.” Isaiah 61:1-2 NLT
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