Afterward, Albert and I grabbed something to drink and sat and talked for some time overlooking the water. He shared about his experiences making disciples among classmates, his family, and a local college where he attended for awhile.
It is important to remember that Albert, and his friend Jomie, have been disciples of Jesus for several years and have never been to church! How tragic, you may be thinking! But Albert and Jomie have made more disciples and baptised more people than most people who have gone, or go to church every week. They spend time reading the Word of God on their own and spend time serving others together, and living life together, where they encourage one another daily, talk about the scriptures and the Lord. Albert said to me that when he talks to a church person about making disciples, the normal respons is, "what do you mean?" He then tries to explain, but to blank expressions. We both agreed that disciple making, perhaps, is best understood if it is started from the beginning of a person's faith. Traditional church does not teach bibical disciple making, if it teaches about making disciples at all. Now that, my friend is tragic! I still hold on to the hope that there are some who started in traditional church who can truly understand this very basic, yet essential component.
Molong made a truly valid point about being equipped "for every good work. When he was in the tradtional church, and still pastors he knows today, only preach the Bible. They don't teach how to serve. They don't teach skills that enable people to serve others, like sewing, building, cooking, gardening, etc. These are skills that can be used to serve. But all they know is the Bible and how to preach about God. Here, Molong, though not a pastor but a spiritual father, teaches these young men how to serve by teaching them life skills as well.
Sometimes, Molong will send them out to another island to make disciples. He tells them to pray, and seek for the "man of peace" who will openly hear the Good News and receive it. Usually this "person of peace" will also be a person who is receptive to the making of disciples. A key to this process is the process itself, because each disciple is then told to make other disciples after they are baptized. The procedure that was used to make them a disciple will be the same prcess they will use to make more disciples.
After our chat at the zipline, we went swimming briefly in the Philippine Sea. The tide was low, but the water was almost like bath water, but still refreshing. It was just after noon, so the sun was high. We are close to the equator, but still north of it, so the sun is not as high as it would be in June, but still more intense than anytime of the year in Kansas City. So, we didn't stay long because this white American would get quite a sunburn. I got a little pink, but overall, not so bad.
I rested some in the afternoon, reflecting on so much that I have seen and heard since I arrived. In the evening, after supper, Molong and I were playing guitar together in the front yard. Life is generally lived outside. It can be done that way because the weather is warm all year. Albert has a room outside. His room is open on one side, with a thatch roof. It is quite nice, with a TV, a hammock, a bed and a wooden floor. And no, the bugs aren't really all that bad.
As Molong and I were sharing songs, his sisters called and invited us to their house down the street. When we got their around 10:00 PM, they had a bunch of home cooked Filippino food. I got to try some new dishes, one of which was a special dried fish. They take small fish, dry them, salt them, then cook them with tomatoes. The fish are very small, so you eat the whole fish. You can get several on your fork at one time.
Since I love Asian food, I am right at home, but apparently most of Molong's "white" friends and visitors do not and want special foods prepared. They want to feed me potatoes because other white people eat them. I assured them I love rice anytime, and please NO potatoes! They really are surprised that I like the food. They call me a Filippino with white skin. I even learned that when others are using their fingers to eat, do likewise. It is a common practice in much of this part of the world.
That concludes the day. I was quite tired, so I fell asleep and had to do the blog in the next morning, as it is Friday here already. I'm not sure what we are going to do today, but this weekend we will travel to their mountain hub, where we will take food to the saints there because they don't have as much food. Also, we will be doing some work and they will gather the saints and do some sort of teaching. It is much like when Paul and his clan would visit a church community. Anyhow, more later! As they say in the native tongue of Cebuano, Hangtud sa sunod ("Until next time").
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