"FOR A GREAT AND EFFECTIVE DOOR HAS BEEN OPENED TO ME
AND THERE ARE MANY ADVERSARIES"
I Cor. 16:9
How we praise and thank God for His faithfulness and how we thank you for
your prayers on our behalf. God was truly with us as we traveled across America
in August sharing the vision God has given us for the work on Mindanao.
Indeed there were many adversaries blocking our path - injury, accident, and
mechanical problems too numerous to mention - yet God brought us through each
one and blessed in every service. We returned to California Labor Day weekend
and felt an urgency to return to the Philippines as quickly as possible. So we
got our airline tickets and visas and left for Mindanao a week later - on Monday
night, September 10! We arrived safely in Manila, totally unaware of the
terrible tragedy that had happened while we were in the air.
What we discovered when we arrived in Mindanao explained why we had faced
such hindrances on the way. Never have we experienced such open doors! We
immediately began finalizing plans for the Bible school. Classes have already
begun in Tagum City where we are training twelve full time workers as well as
others eager to be involved in ministry. They are already going to their six
teaching points to teach others what they have just been taught. We have two
tribal chiefs coming for training so they can teach their people about the God
of the Bible.
The first week here we met a chief from the Ata tribe. He just received
Christ as Savior and was baptized the first week in September. He had come to
ask us to send workers to every village under his authority to bring them the
Gospel and turn them from their idolatry. There is currently only one church in
existence in this tribe. Several of our students are from this tribe! God is
raising up the laborers for this harvest field.
The mayor of a city on the edge of this tribal area was so excited to hear of
our Bible school, he has offered us the use of his official government car if we
will go to the villages in his area to plant churches. Another mayor of a
village in the Ata tribe has offered to give us free land if we will come to her
village to plant a church.
In another remote area, four of our full time workers traveled 6 1/2 hours by
motorcycle to a tribal village where the mayor called the entire village
together to hear the Gospel and to receive the desperately needed food and
clothing that we were able to send there with your help. Seven of the villagers
received Christ as Savior and were baptized. A new church is being planted in
that village for the first time because of your faithful giving.
But God is not just opening doors in the remote areas and among unreached
tribes. The mayor here in Tagum City has asked us to develop an evangelistic
outreach to the street children in his city. We had 75 children come to our
first meeting last Saturday, led by some of our students. There are 100 children
in a neighboring city that are also waiting for someone to come teach them about
God.
There are only two things preventing us from walking through all these open
doors - a lack of trained workers and a lack of financial resources to
facilitate the work. We are busy training the workers right now. Will you help
provide the finances and the prayer support to get the job done? We need at
least three motorcycles to transport workers to these remote areas where public
transportation does not go. We need money to buy Bibles. At one teaching point,
we have 24 students (including some from the Ata tribe) but only three Bibles
among them. We are still lacking support for some of the full time workers. We
have a young Christian lady with a degree in education who feels called of God
to go to the Ata tribe to teach literacy but she needs someone to support her
financially. Will you help us walk through these open doors and bring the Word
of Life to those who are still walking in darkness?
Since the recent tragedy in America, President Bush has called for a world
wide war on terrorism. In Mindanao, a group of Muslim extremists linked to Osama
Bin Ladan are trying to exert their control over the hearts and minds of the
tribal people. We feel the most effective way to fight this terrorist threat is
to deliver the people from this murderous lie and bring them to the eternal
Truth found only in Christ Jesus. We sincerely believe we must invest all we can
at this moment to establish God's dominion and authority over this region. It is
a spiritual battle, not just a military one. The weapons of our warfare are not
carnal, but are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. As we
establish God's Kingdom here in Mindanao, we are helping to pull down
strongholds of Muslim extremism and setting the captive free.
Will you help us? Will you reach out with the prayer and resources we need to
accomplish the task? $100 will buy 20 Bibles. $150 a month will pay a teacher's
salary to set up a Christian teaching center to bring literacy to a tribal area
where there are no schools. $2,500 will buy a motorcycle for a church planter to
be able to reach a remote mountain village that has yet to hear the Gospel for
the very first time. A gift in any amount will help us provide a hot meal for
starving street children.
Make a difference in this world. Bring the message of God's love to these
tribal peoples. Don't let the voice of hatred and violence be the only voice
they hear. God bless you abundantly.
In His harvest fields,
Howard & Barbara Gard | 
