The most common language spokenby the populace is Cebuano. Though English is taught in the schools, many,especially among the poor, cannot communicate effectively in English.

Purpose of the Mission

The stated purpose of thismissionary endeavour is to support the evangelistic ministry of Jireh ReformedChurch (JRC) led by Pastor Remegio Lapiz. We hoped to do so by biblicalpreaching and teaching, as well as by providing free medical treatment to thelocals as a demonstration of the love and compassion of Christ. Although visitsto government hospitals are free, the poor are unable to get help due to thedistance.  Moreover, there was noguarantee that they would get to see the doctor even if they managed to makethe journey to the local hospital.

The plan was for the JRC to open aninvitation for 300 individuals in a slum area that they minister in to come tothe church premises to receive medical treatment as well as to hear thepreaching of the Gospel. The idea was for 150 persons to come together at thebeginning of each of the two days to hear the preaching of the Gospel beforethe medical clinic opens. And then while waiting to receive treatment, to enjoyan evangelistic children’s programme or to attend biblical instruction based onthe Westminster Shorter Catechism. The catechism was chosen largely for thesake of several pastors associated with Pastor Lapiz. These had receivedinstruction on the first half of the catechism in 2004 when Pastor JJ firstvisited Cagayan. Itwas thought that perhaps the questions already covered in 2004 could berecapped by having them taught in the hearing of those waiting their turn formedical treatment.

Thewhole operation would be directed by bro Caleb, with dn Kee Yew as thetreasurer and Raymond as assistant treasurer.

Pastor (Dr) David Torlach (ofEPC Winnaleah) and elder (Dr) Gideon Ng would head the medical team comprisingMrs Mary Greatbatch (of EPC Brisbane); Andrew Lau, Raymond, Kee Yew, Linus,Chee Yean, Beng Wan, Eunice, Joel, Wei Han and Jared.

Brothers Bernard and Linus wouldoversee the children’s programme with the assistance of Poh Sue, Pauline,Winnie, John, Vanna, Josiah, Chloe, Claudia, Leah, Wei Lyn, Lois, Joan and Joy(all of whom would also help out at the medical station whenever they could).

Ps JJ, Ps Torlach and bro Linuswould preach and teach the adults and children according to a planned schedule.

Altogether 31 of us from PCC& EPC would make the trip, though we were, no doubt, supported by theentire body of PCC, EPC and JRC logistically and prayerfully.

Months of prayer, planning,preparation, co-ordination, briefings, training, purchases and acquisition (ofmedical supplies and equipment) laid the ground for the mission.

Finally, on 12 March 2011 (Saturday) at 8.30 am, thirty of us setoff for Cagayan upon the wings of prayer and the singing of Psalm 67 togetherwith a small send-off party. Linus would join us on 14^th March(Monday).

Arrivalat Cagayan  (12 Mar 2011)

We arrived at Cagayan de Oro’sMabuhay Airport at 6.15 pm. It was already dark. But the gloom was quicklydriven away by the warmly smiling faces of the brethren of Jireh ReformedChurch (JRC) who was there to welcome us at the airport. It seems that at leasthalf the congregation was there. They even had a colourful welcome banner! 

Wearrived at the JRC premises after approximately 15 minutes’ ride in the churchvehicles. There, we were again welcomed with a Filipino song and individuallygarlanded before being refreshed with a sumptuous dinner of fried chickens,noodles as well as large, sweet mangoes! 

After dinner, we were drivendirectly to Mulberry Suites’ Hotel, which was about 10 minutes’ drive from thechurch.  Providentially, the hotel islocated near a shopping mall, which served as a convenient point for us tostock up mineral water for the next few days. All praise to the Lord for Hisbountiful provision!

Sabbath Day (13 March)

The Morning Worship Servicebegan at 9.30 am. Pastor Lapiz began with a welcome note for the visitors,before handing over the time to Pastor JJ.

Pastor JJ conveyed fraternal greetings fromPCC and EPC before leading the congregation to worship the Lord. He preachedfrom Romans 12:1-2 on the theme “Transformed by the renewing of ourminds”.  The service was not interpreted,as most of the members of the congregation could apparently understand English. 

After the morning service, PsTorlach taught the Adult’s Sabbath class while Ps JJ took the children in thebasement. Ps Torlach elaborated on Matthew 24 on the signs of the end times.

Lunch was held in the basement.The sisters in the congregation had apparently turned up at 4 am in the morningto cook for us. It does take a lot of effort and time to cook over wood fire,and they did not want to miss the service. We enjoyed another delicious meal.

After lunch, Pastor Torlachswapped places with Pastor JJ to take the afternoon service.  Pastor Torlach preached from Genesis11:27-12:9 to encourage the congregation to walk by faith, and not by sight. 

The adults Sabbath class afterthe service was led by Pastor JJ. He exhorted the congregation from 1 Timothy1:15-20 and warned against making shipwreck of the faith by casting aside theirconscience.

First Working Day (14 March, Monday)

We began the day with breakfast at 6 am inthe hotel restaurant! After breakfast, the group left in two separate detailsfrom 7.15 am.

We had expected to start themorning exercise at 8.30 am, but it was no easy task to gather 150 individualswho hardly, if ever, come to church! Pastor Lapiz waited until almost 9 am whenthe hall was almost full before beginning addressing the locals in the Cebuanolanguage. When he was almost done giving the necessary instructions, the finalbusload of participants arrived, and he had to repeat everything again!

The service began with Pastor Torlachpreaching the first of a series of Gospel messages with Pastor George Engkongof Bacolod interpreting into Cebuano. As far as we could tell, many werelistening attentively. 

Almostas soon as the morning exercise had concluded, Pastor JJ took over the pulpitwith Pastor Anotonio Decena of Surigao serving as his interpreter. Pastor JJwould teach and preach evangelistically through the first half of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q. 1-38) onthis first day. Most of the lessons ran for an hour and a half with 15 minutesbreaks in between apart from the hour-long break for lunch.

Although these sessions couldbe very trying for the local folks who are used to a less hectic lifestyle,quite a number from the slums and the neighbourhood (including a pastor of achurch nearby which is not associated with the JRC) persevered in listening. Itwas heartening to see them making an effort to learn. Indeed, we were told byseveral pastors sitting in the hall that some who heard the lessons and sermonswere moved to tears.

Downstairs at the basement, thechildren’s programme also kicked off with Bernard Ong and Linus at the helm.They were assisted by Poh Sue, Pauline, Winnie, John, Vanna, Josiah, Chloe,Claudia, Leah, Wei Lyn, Lois, Joan and Joy. Sister Mercy of JRC served as themain interpreter. Three sessions were held throughout this first day, withabout 60 children averaging 8 years old in attendance.

Linustaught the lessons and the Psalms while Bernard led the children in craft-workand also instructed them in memorizing the catechisms. It proved to be anuphill task as the children did not understand English.  Amazingly though, when the children weretested later, a few of the girls scored full marks!

Concurrent with the Gospel-instruction and children’sprogramme, the medical clinic also opened as soon as the morning exerciseconcluded. Each of the patients had already been given a queue number, and thefirst 5 were led to the waiting area outside. These would return to the hallfor Gospel lectures or to the basement for the children’s programme as soon asthey had seen the doctors and collected their medication. Then the next personon the queue would be called for registration at the triage.

Thetriage comprised a long table and five chairs.  Once the triage team arrived in JRC early inthe morning, they immediately began unloading medical supplies: gloves, chits,alcohol swaps, digital equipment, weighing machine, thermometers, antisepticwash etc. Andrew is the triage IC. His team was responsible for initialscreening of the patients. That would involve getting information like theirage, weight, temperature, blood pressure, nature of ailment etc, and writingthem on a card before sending them to our very able triage nurse, Mrs MaryGreatbatch for further data gathering, initial assessment and even diagnosis insome cases. We truly thank God for Mary, for what she did in the triage greatlyspeeded up the diagnosis process. It was largely through her contribution thatour doctors were able to see so many patients on each day.

Andrew and Raymond wereassisted by two local interpreters, JC and Janeth. Mary Greatbatch was assistedby local interpreter Bong. Questions would be posed in English to the patient.The interpreter would translate them into the Cebuano language. The patientwould reply in the Cebuano tongue and then the interpreter would translate thereply to us in the English language. Thank God for the interpreters! Without them, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to extendmedical help to the locals who had little or no knowledge of English.

The medical cards, duly filled,were then transferred to the doctor’s consultation rooms by our faithfulrunners, a.k.a. ‘hospital amahs’, Joel, Wei Han and Jared.

Theconsultation rooms were located on both sides of the entrance of the worshiphall. Whoever designed the worship hall probably never thought that theentrance area would ever be used as medical consultation and treatment rooms.However, by the providence of our Lord, they seemed almost designed for thispurpose! There was even a toilet attached to each room for the patient to use!

Themedical team had brought all the supplies they needed — face masks, bandages,syringes, torches, dressing sets, compressor nebulizer, tongue depressors,sterile gauge swaps, hospital tapes, surgical gloves, cotton balls etc. Some ofthese were contributed by Elder (Dr) Gideon’s boss at Acumed Medical Clinic.Others were on loan through the arrangement of our brother, Dr Josiah Chai.

Dr Gideonwas assisted by sister Jessa of JRC who served as his local interpreter. In the room opposite, Dr David Torlach wasassisted by sister Loise.

Consultation time varied according to theneeds of each patient. A patient with gastric and back pain, for example, tookabout 10 minutes with Dr Gideon. Those who needed surgery were givenappointments to come to clinic after 6 pm when the clinic closed. Our doctorshad to be careful whenever they prescribed medication, especially for thechildren, as many of them are under-nourished and therefore are physically muchsmaller than their actual age. Prescribing according to age could result in anoverdose!

Whenever possible, the doctorswould remind the patients of their need for Christ. “We cannot heal at all. Itis the Lord who heals. We can only do damage control. Neither is the pastor ahealer. It is the Lord who must quicken and heal,” reminds Pastor Torlach.

Afterseeing the doctor, the patients then proceeded to the Dispensary with theirprescription chit on hand.

Due to a small hiccup, themedicine that our doctors had ordered earlier did not all arrive until 3.30 pm.Upon its arrival, Linus and Eunice unpacked the boxes and filled up theprescription for the patients who had already seen the doctor.  Chee Yean distributed the vitamins andde-worming medication to the patients. This process would continue throughoutthe day as more prescriptions flowed in, with Beng Wan and the girls coming into help whenever they could. The dispensing of medication ended at 6.30 pm.

The clinic, on the other hand,had to close at about 6 pm as it was getting dark by then and the lighting inthe tentage that was erected was not sufficiently bright. However, the work wasnot done for our doctors. After dinner, Dr Gideon performed a minor (or shouldwe say, not so minor) surgery on the scalp of one of the patients. Dr David, onthe other hand, took the role of Pastor Torlach to give lectures onEcclessiology to the pastors and church members present. When he was done, hereturned to the clinic to help Dr Gideon to stitch up the patient! We thank Godfor how the Lord used the talents of our brother from Winnaleah so aptly.

Second Working Day (15 March,Tuesday)

A sunny morning greeted bothhelpers and patients alike. Although we arrived later at JRC today compared tothe previous day, we were able to start the morning exercise earlier as thelast batch of patients from the slums arrived by 8.45 am.

We were not expecting anychildren to turn up on this day, but more than 30 did, many of whom wereconsiderably younger than those who attended the programme the previous day.Pastor Lapiz decided to channel them down to the basement. The children’sprogramme team, having been forewarned to prepare for contingencies, were readyfor them with a catechism memory programme, a video programme as well as somecolouring booklets donated by Old Paths. It was incredible how much was doneover only two days! All the helpers were exhausted but happy to see manychildren instructed in the gospel truths.

In the meantime, upstairs,after Pastor Lapiz’s introductory words, bro Linus took over the pulpit and themorning exercise with another Gospel sermon. Pastor George was his interpreter.This was followed, as per yesterday, by Pastor JJ’s lessons on the WestminsterShorter Catechism.

Towards lunch time, however, it became clearthat it was much more difficult to teach the second half of the catechismevangelically while making sure that the pastors present were adequatelyinstructed. It was decided then that since the children’s programme would runonly for the morning, the pastors would move down to the basement for intensivetheological instruction, while the rest of the poor would have the gospelpreached to them by bro Linus. They would hear two sermons from Linus thatafternoon.

Downstairs, it became clearthat it was much more profitable for the pastors to have a separate session.Not only could pastor JJ go into much greater depth on some subjects, thepastors could also openly ask all the questions they wanted to. The lessonsbecame much more interactive and satisfying for the pastors.

While all that was going on,the church compound outside the worship hall was buzzing with activity. It wasextremely busy at the Triage. Patients came in droves, probably due to whatthey have heard about the team’s work the previous day. The waiting area wascrowded.  The bench as well as all thechairs were filled. Mineral water and biscuits were distributed to the patientsas well as helpers. 

At the Dispensary, pre-packing, labelling anddispensing the medication became the order of the day. Unlike the previous day,patients were able to receive their medication immediately after seeing thedoctor. Most of the time, the dispensary was overcrowded with many hands as allthe ladies and girls participated enthusiastically in their duties. 

TheTriage closed at 6 pm, and the Dispensary followed at 6.30 pm. By this time, itwas already dark and both teams had endured a hard day’s work. In all, themedical team saw almost 300 patients, including the visiting pastors and churchmembers.

It was heartbreaking to knowhow great the need is among the poor and how little we could do. We trust thatin the hand of the Lord the labour of love which was extended in His name wouldbear good fruit for the glory of His name.

We have many stories to tell,but we were particularly moved by the plight of a 7 year old boy named TeresRainpoll.  He weighed only 17 kg and hisright foot had a deep gangrenous gash oozing pus. He had apparently fallen offa bike two weeks ago and was sent to the hospital.  The hospital’s doctor simply prescribedantibiotics.

PastorTorlach, assisted by interpreter Kaye  Lapiz,treated Teres.  He cleaned the wound, puton a dressing and prescribed some antibiotics. However, it was clear that that was not enough. Teres needed immediatehospitalisation. The infection has reached a joint. He needed intravenousantibiotics and an operation to clean out the wound. If that was not carriedout, he would likely lose his foot or even his life through septicaemia.

After consulting Dr Gideon, Dr David wrote aletter to the hospital’s doctor for follow up. Tere’s grandmother, however, wasreluctant to send him for treatment. They could not afford to go to a privatehospital and the public hospital would put him on a long queue regardless ofthe urgency of the situation. The team was at their wit’s end. We did not wantto set a precedence and unrealistic expectation upon JRC by intervening tohelp, for there are many more in the slums that were equally, if not, moreneedy. In the end we decided to give a contribution and left it to Pastor Lapizto administer it in the way he deemed fit.

That night, while most of theteam members were again able to retire back to the hotel after dinner, DrGideon had to perform surgery while Pastor Torlach continued with his lectureson Ecclessiology to the pastors and church members. Thank God for thisdoubly-gifted servant of His.

Final Mission Day (16 March, Wednesday)

The team packed their luggageand checked out of the hotel.  We arrivedat JRC for the morning exercise led by Pastor JJ.  Apart from the team, 34 members of the JRCand 6 pastors were present. Pastor JJ preached on the Lord’s Parable of theTalents to exhort all to serve the Lord faithfully according to the talents oropportunities and abilities that the Lord has given us.

There would be two moresessions of catechetical instruction for the local pastors while the rest of usleft the church premises in two vehicles to shop for presents to bring home toloved ones, as well as to visit a slum in which some of the patients live.

Thevisit to the slums was an eye-opener. The people live in makeshift woodensquatter houses erected along rough roads. Basic water supplies as well asproper sanitary facilities are absent in many of the houses! Our hearts go outto the many children who are living in this sad condition, but all we could doto alleviate their plight then was to distribute sweets and lollipops purchasedearlier. Oh may we ever remember to pray for them upon every remembrance oftheir yearning faces.

Conclusion

The team returned to JRC beforeleaving for the airport at 3.30 pm. We arrived in Singapore at around 11.30 pm.Most of us were quite exhausted, but the joy of the Lord filled our hearts aswe revel in the sweet memories of what the Lord has done through us and in us.

“Theharvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore theLord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Mt9:37-38).

Maythe Lord of the harvest stir in our heart a desire to participate in anothertrip of a similar nature, whether to Cagayan to another needy locale where theLord will lead us to. Amen. Ω