"How Beautiful Are The Feet Of Those Who Bring Good News"r

Sitio Maluan, Marilog District, Davao City, April, 2005.

"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news" Indeed, so beautiful, and physically strong also to hike downhill and uphill just to reach a tribe in sitio maluan, marilog, davao city.. about three kilometers of gravel road that only our medicine 4x4 pick up can navigate to reach the nearest outpost which we gathered the tribal people of three other sitios which are reachable only by horses or on foot.

Roadblocked!!!!

Roadblocked!!! It was raining hard the night before our mission to Lopez Jaena, Misamis Occidental, Philippines. at about 4 am our convoy of five vans and a toyota hilux pick up carrying the medicines started out for mission to the western side of northern mindanao. I was on the front seat of the first van following the pick up.. We usually hire vans before we acquired the bus we are using now.. As our standard operating procedure, we do our travel in convoy form without leaving sight of one anothers vehicles although we have walkie talkies in each assigned person in a van and ready cellphone numbers of each member. We were just past the boundary of Lugait and entering the city of Iligan ,except for the driver and me, all were fast asleep in our van. I was steadily looking at the red tail light of the pickup which was fading out in the distance and just suddenly this big tree on the left side of the road came crashing down in front of our van. I let out a sudden cry waking my companions inside. The driver was quick to brake just barely 10 meters away.. A loud hizzing sound and a big thud in front of us...A quick sound of relief vibrated in our group...Prayers of thanksgiving were offered and lessons experienced from our constant prayer of protection before leaving for a mission...we were blocked and yet with protection from Great God Almighty, we succeeded in our mission....

Medicines for the Poor, .. in Camalan, Lala, Lanao del Norte,Philippines

The picture was taken during our mission to Barrio Camalan, Munincipality of Lala, Lanao del Norte, Philippines two years ago.. the barrio is located along Panguil Bay which can be reached by banca during high tide and along fish pen pathways...

Today, January 5, 2008, We are going to do a mapping survey of our first medical mission for the year... to a remote barrio in Sapad, Municipality of Lanao del Norte.. Our supposed schedule for the year is in Basilisa, one of island towns in Surigao del Norte, but our contact warned us of bad weather in January so we have to pospone it to a better day. Mapping for the site is very crucial in any event which many forego that can lead to unsuccessful mission... We usually timed our departure from base to the site..meet with hosts in the area for venue preparation and scheduling, gather information for expected patients and medicine requirements, crowd control arrangements and security.. I will go on details with this subject of mapping next blog. .so now, we are leaving for Sapad, to do God's work...Pray for us.

The REASON for the Season

" For to us a child is born,to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end."
Isaiah 9:6-7

We have to go back to the real reason for the season, the real meaning of this wonderful occasion, rejoicing for what God has done, providing us the way, the only way for the salvation of the world...God is with us.

Know Death, Appreciate Life

I took this picture during a medical mission in Lapuyan, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines sometime in Feb. 2006. I have the priveledge of serving the Lord, Jesus Christ, in two Christian medical-dental-evangelism outreach groups. One is church-based, composed of church members in medical professions and some pastors and lay professionals , dedicated to support church planting within the Alliance Churches. The other group which I do the documentation and crowd control assignment, is an inter-denomination,evangelical, dedicated medical practitioners that caters to medical-spiritual needs of a community in and outside Mindanao.The team has already done three years of medical missions which were scheduled at least once a month.

This particular photo which is also featured in our website,www.cdolifelineministries.org has a story... It was during the medical mission in Lapuyan that i got to know this boy.. He was brought by his mother to our surgeon for operation but after a thorough consultation with other doctors present,it seems a more hospital-equipped type of medical surgery was needed. The doctors made necessary referrals for the boy to be brought to Pagadian City or in Cagayan de Oro where modern medical facilities are available and the local pastor was advised to facilitate the transportation. I took pictures of the boy during this time, making myself as dispassionate observer as i can but my heart really went out for this child. I have learned from his mother that he has not eaten solid for a month already, only liquids using plastic straw and even that is very hard for the boy to swallow. The swollen cheek and tongue, according to his mother, started from a mosquito bite and got infected. They did not have money to go to a rural health unit in the area which is far from where they live, they resorted to go to a quack doctor....After giving the mother some medicines for boy to take away the pain temporarily, our group prayed over the boy for His highest Will..Many cried. Later on the day I saw the boy sitting by himself, thats when I took this picture..his look has eerie effect as if he knows that his time on earth is fast ending..He has smelled death, and I can say literally because he really smelled..Just recently we learned from the local pastor that the boy died one month after..we were all sad upon hearing but the pastor told us that the boy was definitely in a better state now because he has heard the goodnews, and the only salvation is from the LORD..Amen

And as a way of a dedication, I celebrate this blog from hereon to post our medical missions every week or as often as I can. May God be glorified..

!! that was a long sleep.. actually, it was a long time learning to walk thru the world of cyberspace.. at first, i was kind of wobbling around, my feet got accustomed to stopping at the most interesting which was the news sections..many happenings around the world which i have to catch up..one time i got engrossed at the comments portions that got me so involved i went around the entire map of earth..finally back to square one of my crib..there's really a whole lot to learn here.. first, i have to learn the lingo..many times i get confused, words are not the same anymore.. then, i have to familiarize the gears, qwerty is no longer that simple..the commas and question mark are no longer in the same place...i have to learn the new ways to simplify this... and the time just flies by...i got couching from my son, just do it! i will just be natural , like riding a bike.. you fall but just go on.. never mind the hecklers.. also, the interruptions, like its " dinner time".. well, think about it, you have to eat to live...