A day of Christmas parties

ACCPHIL Christmas Party

Filipinos like their parties. First we went to the ACCPHIL (Association of Christian Churches in the Philippines) pastor's Christmas party. There were lots of smiles, laughter, and lots of games that involved sorting people quickly...by sir name..by first name...by province (which for me I guess would be Pasco county)...by favorite cartoon character alphabetically. I didn't really understand all the games, but I did enjoy watching the pastor's and their families enjoy one another. We (Eberts and the Abells) were able to provide the pig for the party so I think I can officially claim ownership of a pig even though it was for a short time. It was roasted in typical Filipino fashion and delicious as always. There were other items provided by the families all were very enjoyable along with the sweets!

CBSIS Christmas Party

This evening we attended the CBSIS (Center for Biblical Studies Institute and Seminary) student Christmas party. Their theme was "throwback" Christmas so they were dressed in clothes that represented different time eras. They had a meal there that included traditional Filipino fare. They also had many games that they seemed to enjoy. They exchanged gifts by class. I was the invited speaker for the evening and spoke from Luke 2:8-20, the shepherd's story from the Christmas narrative. After the short message, they resumed their games which lasted late into the evening. I am excited about these students' future ministry. They are the future pastors and Christian workers for the Philippines. When I travel here, I get to see every iteration of what God is doing through this ministry. Last week the conference we taught was hosted Pastor Posadas, now elderly, an early graduate of CBSIS. Tonight we were with students yet to find their place in ministry. It is all part of the thirty-year history of God's work at the Hilltop. I am so grateful for the small part he has given us in it.

New discipleship and academic possibilities with San Roque Supermarkets

On Monday we met with a Christian businessman, Mr. Carlos. He is the owner of a twenty-five store grocery chain in Metro Manila. He currently holds Bible studies in his stores; about an hour is set aside each week for the employees to voluntarily attend the study. If the employees choose to attend they are not docked pay; they are able to study the scriptures on company time! Mr. Carlos has become concerned about the quality of the content of the studies currently held and wanted us to formulate a curriculum for him. He wants to use his business specifically for kingdom work; he is expanding stores specifically for this reason. We met at a local restaurant to discuss his needs and concerns. As we talked, it became clear, he wanted us to create a basic curriculum for seekers and new believers as well as a more academically oriented program that could possibly transfer to the CBS Seminary. We informed him of our desire to expand CBSIS and he is excited about the possibilities also. By the end of the meeting, we agreed to create two programs. The basic program will be for helping disciple young believers and introduce the gospel to the workers in the stores. The advanced program will be for those seeking formal education that might lead to a degree with us.

Mr. Carlos is going to fund the necessary video equipment and room upgrade necessary at the Hilltop to record the Bible study sessions. These recorded Bible study sessions will be shown weekly; the Bible study attendees will follow along in related workbooks also created by us. These videos will be about an hour in length and a local pastor or one of our seminary students will facilitate a discussion about the content of the video. The endeavor is an answer to prayer as we have been praying for ways to expand CBSIS off the Hilltop campus into Metro Manila. This is an important first step in that direction. He wants to have a pilot ready for the end of January, which is a really short timetable with the Christmas season upon us; so we have much work to do!