|
|
||
‘God is really good’By Edna Mae Rabago, Philippine Bible Society PHILIPPINES — It was one of those adventure-filled distribution trips. Staff and volunteers from the Philippine Bible Society were on their way to one of the Dumagat communities in the mountains of Tanay. The road that would take us there was bumpy and slippery after heavy rains the previous day. Worst of all, we would have to make a steep descent. Sitting on top of the jeepney, with nothing to hold on to, we start to think that this could be our last trip. “If we die today, at least we died doing God’s work,”
jokes one of the volunteers. At that very moment, somebody begins to
sing a well-known hymn, easing our fears a little. I look up from my precarious perch to see who is singing. I see a tall,
thin young man who looks very relaxed on top of a box of Bibles. To
judge by his appearance, he is a rather unlikely volunteer.
The old saying about not judging a book by its cover comes to mind
when I have the opportunity to talk to him later. It turns out that
this 22-year-old has a heart for God’s work. Michael David (‘Dave’)
Molina is a student at the University of Rizal System. He has been a
youth volunteer from the Christ to the Philippines Church among the
Dumagats since this work began. He walks for two hours to bring God’s
Word to the Dumagat settlement.
“I never used to be this passionate about God’s work,”
he confesses. “I will always regret those wasted times in my past.”
Dave goes on to relate how he was a wild teenager, even though he
had attended Sunday School as a child. “Sure, I read the Bible,
but it meant nothing to me. In high school, I got involved with the
wrong crowd and even tried drugs.”
The turning point in his life came two years ago, when he dreamed
that he was going to die. At that moment, he realised that he was not
ready to die. He wanted assurance so badly that he opened his Bible
as soon as he woke up. He found the words he needed in Isaiah 6:7. “Your
sins are forgiven and you are no longer guilty” (CEV).
Dave is still amazed by God’s grace. “God is really good.
He forgives unconditionally.”
This is the message he gives every time he gets an opportunity to
tell somebody about his life. And this is his motivation every time
he visits the Dumagat settlement.
As well as spending time sharing God’s Word among the Dumagat
people, Dave is actively involved in his university’s Christian
organisation and his church’s music ministry.
“But I feel like I’m not doing enough for the Lord,”
he says. “God gave me talents and I want to use them all for his
glory.”
An earlier report about ministry among the Dumagat people can be
found in World Report 389/30.
(WR 403/18 - 07.06) [1 photo]
|
||
|
|
||
