Bible Study at the Bridge

Praise the Lord, we started a bible study at the bridge. After months of searching I found a Filipino pastor in the area who has devoted his life to serving God and the poor. During my search for him, a mutual friend gave his number. His name is Sonny Malangis. I called him and we agreed to meet at a restaurant near the bridge. It was then that we discovered that I met Pastor Sonny before - actually he met me. He attended a preaching conference we held last July and he sat in on a seminar that I taught.

I learned that Pastor Sonny (Standing in front of his church) has a church that is about a 25 minute walk away. He has committed to walking to the bridge every Sunday afternoon to teach my friends there the word of God in Tagalog. I knew right awayI would like Pastor Sonny. When I took him to the bridge, he immediately began to engage with the families living there. He began to laugh with them and to talk about life with them. I'm praying that all of my friends there will become followers of Jesus Christ and that we will either plant a church right there or that we will be able to bring them to pastor Sonny's church to worship on Sunday mornings.

Kuya Edwin (the man in the center of the picture) and his wife Charlyn have stood out to be a core couple at the bridge. They speak the most English of all those living under the bridge so between their limited English and my limited Tagalog we are able to understand each other pretty well. Kuya Edwin built several benches so that the people wouldn’t have to sit on the ground any longer during the bible study.

Edwin and Charlyn opened up their home so that the kids can meet in it for bible study while the adults meet separate for their bible study. Our friend Merriam (holding the books, Charlyn is standing to the far left) agreed to teach the kids which is an extra joy for me to see since the Lord used Jessica and I in the process of drawing her to Himself.

The space under the bridge where Edwin and Charlyn live is tight, but it works well for little ones to hear the word of God, do some coloring, play games, and eat snacks. Merriam is teaching the kids bible stories starting with The Creation and the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, to the story of Jesus Christ and the Salvation He offers to all those who trust in Him alone.

Every week these precious little ones would run out to the road to greet me and then run back down to the bottom of the bridge to let everyone know that I was there. Now I have the pleasure of seeing them learn about the Lord! Pray with me for God to open their hearts and give them faith to trust in Him as their Savior.

It is also a great joy to see Robert helping to lead the worship in song because he is the first person that I met at the bridge and the first one there that the Lord used me to draw to Himself. We provided a guitar for Robert and I can't wait to see him again because I found a few cassette tapes and books of Tagalog worship songs for him.