After traveling half a day and resting for the remainder of Saturday, we had an early start today. I woke up early to get some breakfast and be ready to go at 7am. The travel time to Toledo City is usually about 2 ½ hours. This morning, it took only 2 hours. The first part of the journey was over a very smooth road on a new highway. However, once we started up in the mountains, the smooth road was history. Cebu has a very mountainous interior which makes for very winding roads. The scenery was a mixture an incredible beauty from nature and unbelievable poverty in human dwellings. It is hard for westerners to understand how the common people can live here. I saw no one walking a dog, but several walking goats and caraboa.
Once we arrived at the meeting place of the church, it was great to see Nathan and Diane Cajigas as well as their family. They are both hard workers in the kingdom of our Lord and very dedicated to Hid cause. The whole family was very busy preparing for the services. We started a little early with singing and then I presented a study on “The God of All Comfort” for the Bible study hour. During the assembly, I preached on “Holy Living in Christ.” Each lesson was about an hour in length and Jonathan Carino summarized the lesson for those not as familiar with English.
After lunch, we began our afternoon study with a lesson on “Grace, Faith & Works” with Jonathan given the interpretation, sentence-for-sentence. Though almost all of the 200 or more in attendance were already Christians, we had a few Baptist visitors and took the opportunity to teach them as well as further strengthening the saints. With the metal roof and the intense sun fully out, the temperature during the afternoon session was our hottest day yet. The lesson with translation was a little over two hours and I was totally drained by the time we finished. This was the only time in preaching over here that I have become so dehydrated that my legs started burning and cramping to the point I thought they would give way. However, when I sat down and drank some Gatorade, I recovered quickly.
The meeting house in Toledo City is very good, by Filipino standards. It is spacious and well built and has been improved each time I have come. Yet, it lacks any of the comforts we would take for granted as Americans. The pews are simple wood slats. Only the front pews have a board at the back. All others are single wooden boards. The chairs towards the back are very light plastic chairs which would collapse under the weight of anyone even approaching 200 lbs. At the back, a number sit on plastic coke bottle cases set on end. Even in such arrangements, they are thrilled to listen to teaching from God’s word all day long.
The drive back was over the same winding roads, but there was a heavy rain that made in more interesting. I continually marvel that travel is completed safely with the driving conditions in the Philippines. This afternoon, I watched for a few moments and then decided to close my eyes and sleep – it is less terrifying that way! We arrived back safely after a little over 2 hours of travel. The Lord willing, we begin tomorrow with a schedule here in Cebu City with Jun Apatan.
