December Newsletter

Volume 14, No. 12

• The Gospel Ship
• Witness at the Water
• The Hong Kong Miracle
• Destiny Calls

Barners visiting China & preaching to OFWs in Hong Kong

 THE GOSPEL SHIP

"Collecting for a reason"

Because BLC's 5th Foundation Day "SHARING GOD'S KINDNESS" was also my birthday, the staff & church gave me gifts. One was a picture of a ship. 2nd was a ship, carved from a carabao horn, and 3rd was a ship paper weight for my desk. They were added to the collection of 20 ships in my office. When asked to respond, I shared my twofold interest in ships:

"First, I love to travel. 2nd, a great evangelist once had a vision, in which he was on board a ship in a vast sea. In that dark ocean of water surrounding him was a multitude of souls, drowning. One by one he pulled them into the ship, but alas, he was only one, and for every one he saved, thousands drowned.

The ship was large, but his arms were weak. Jesus is the ship to heaven. We are the evangelists. We must save as many as possible, lest they go to Hell. Here at BLC, we are bringing you into the ship of God's grace by sharing with as many as possible about salvation through Jesus' death on the cross. Come, enter the Gospel Ship!"

  WANTED:
VOLUNTEER SPOKESMEN FOR BLC

Exhibiting at Missions Conferences is fun. Churches that are serious about missions normally welcome more exhibits. If God's calling you to fill this need, please ask for a promotion packet at

PJLILTIM@yahoo.com J

WITNESS AT THE WATER

"WHY YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN"

It was that "waiting time" between the picnic meal and the beach baptismal service. We were waiting for the chicken, noodles and rice to digest. With a pile of gospel tracts in my hand, I slipped off and went to work.

"Why You Must be Born Again" read a drunkard, as he shuffled his cards with one hand and set down his cigarette to take my tract with the other.

"Hallelujah, Jesus Saves!" chided an old lady with a wrinkled face, wrapped in a towel, and grabbed a tract from me with her shaky hand.

"What's this?" asked a teenage boy in a basketball jersey. "Don't worry, it is free." I assured him. Once they heard the word "free", all his buddies came over to get one.

Gamblers, drunkards...they all looked on now as we then walked fully clothed into the water and baptized nearly a dozen from our church:

RICH- electrician
GEMMA- 1st grade teacher
ANA & NICK- janitors
ROWENCE- guard
ROCHAN- orphan & musician
RYAN- youth group president
AILEEN, JENAFE & JERAMIE- teenage cousins

THE HONG KONG MIRACLE:
Concerned that my Philippine visa had expired, we traveled as a family to Hong Kong, so that when we'd re-enter the Philippines, my forfeited visa would be cleared. A week after we returned to Davao, I visited the immigration department, only to find out that, since I traveled with my wife who is a Filipina, I am considered "balik-bayan" (returning national), and do not have to renew again for another year! Praise God!

BLC's 153 pupils march is a musical parade to begin 5th Foundation Day festivities.

Destiny Calls

{ BARNERS PREACH IN HONG KONG }

"Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."
-Romans 10:13-18

While in Hong Kong for two weeks, Elvie and I spoke in 2 churches, a hour apart from each other, both in the same afternoon. They were Filipino congregations of "OFW's".

OFW's are Overseas Foreign Workers. Every year, since the Philippines is such a poor country, over a hundred thousand Filipinos will go to other countries to earn a living as maids, nurses, doctors, mariners, and nannies. They miss their families immensely, yet help in lifting their families back home up out of poverty.

It was to these homesick OFW's that we came and challenged them that THEY are missionaries, just by being Christians in a foreign country. As they are faithful to God, then their destiny, God's calling on their lives, will be clear.

They cannot forget to be faithful in sharing the gospel, studying their Bibles, praying and worshipping at church.

Some Hong Kong churches have now promised some support for our Davao work, giving in advance 1100 HK ($170 US) to help get plywood for our new fourth grade classroom to be built in December. We'll visit HK again in February.

PLANNING YOUR '03-04 CALENDAR?

It's been three years since our last furlough, and we're now planning on being in the USA from June'2003-April of 2004. Would you like for us to visit your church? Please contact Bud Barner for available times, at budbarner(at)juno. com.

To receive the BLC newsletter in the mail, send your name and address via email to budbarner (at) yahoo.com

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Last edited November 30, 2002
Please write SteveB@boltonvt.com with comments or questions