‘Precious Things of the Lasting Hills’ (M.C.B.C SOWING THE SEEDS’ Ministry to Philippines on 11th to 17th Dec. 2012)

by Bethany Khng

“And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills” (Deuteronomy 33:15).

Philippines. The verse in Deuteronomy 33:15 describes a land that belonged to Joseph one of the sons of Israel, a land that was bountifully blessed by the Lord God.  However, the land of Palawan, one of the 7,000 islands of the Philippines, was nothing like Joseph’s mountains.  There were ‘precious things’ indeed, the indigenous local natives, who live in small crude huts or shelters tucked out of sight in the ‘lasting hills’ of Palawan.  Poverty, however, is etched on the faces of the people, although the land is rich natural resources.

This is the journal entry of a ‘reluctant missionary’ who tagged along, ‘reluctant to let go’ of her half-completed school work to go on a missions trip organized by the Church from 11 – 17 December 2012.  With an attitude such as this, one wonders if the Lord’s blessings will flow or cease because one person is not getting her priorities right! 

But God is good.  He did bless us – He did bless me, despite my unwillingness to ‘let go’ and let Him have His ways with me.   He watched over us, guided and protected us; He kept the mini bus we were travelling in from breaking down (it was known to be unreliable!) so that we were none the worse from the experiences, except throwing up a couple of times (in handy plastic bags or in the sea!)  Still, we survived the ordeal with precious lessons learnt.

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