March to the Water

Does it seem like obeying God is like following a cloud - something uncertain, something you cannot understand, something that might make the situation worse? Does it seem like "against the cloud" is the better, wiser, more practical, maybe even only way to go? Read on; you're not the first one.

It must have been a horror. Right when they thought they were on their way to a freer, better life, they find their enemies after them, an army prepared for battle. There must have been frantic cries, mothers gathering their children, fathers trying to secure a weapon out of the common household items they carried, and a general cry to their leader, "What now?"

"Run, quickly!" Someone must have cried. But where? There was only the Red Sea in front of them, and nowhere else. 

Behind them death by the sword, before them death by drowning. Oh how they must have regretted seeking for freedom, how they must have thought that anything was better than this, anything - even a lifetime of bondage for themselves and all their children after them.

Why had they left in the first place? And why had they come through here in the second? They followed a cloud. A cloud, of all things!

But suddenly, the cloud moves between them and their enemies. And their leader stretched out his hand toward... the sea?! Okay? drowning, then? 

Yet he looked confident, peaceful. Perhaps it's alright. He has received instruction: "Go forward!" 

Alright. To the water!

How terrible it must have felt! And what a wonder it must have been! When as they moved toward the water that under normal circumstances would have swallowed them by the millions, the water parted before them, making a path of dry land for their feet.

And when they all - millions of them - have passed through the parted sea, and their enemies came after them, the water closed right back in. The trouble before has swallowed whole the trouble behind.

A miracle.

When I face the trials of tomorrow, may I be reminded of this:

A miracle's one of two requirements is the impossible. The other one is a God with whom all things are possible. Never be afraid of the impossibility, for it is only God's backdrop for a wonderful miracle. Simply trust, and obey. 

He bids them seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and His promise is that all things needful to them for this life shall be added. Worry is blind, and cannot discern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning. In every difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief. Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service and honor of God supreme will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their feet.  {DA 330.1}  

God in His providence brought the Hebrews into the mountain fastnesses before the sea, that He might manifest His power in their deliverance and signally humble the pride of their oppressors. He might have saved them in any other way, but He chose this method in order to test their faith and strengthen their trust in Him. The people were weary and terrified, yet if they had held back when Moses bade them advance, God would never have opened the path for them. It was "by faith" that "they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land." Hebrews 11:29. In marching down to the very water, they showed that they believed the word of God as spoken by Moses. They did all that was in their power to do, and then the Mighty One of Israel divided the sea to make a path for their feet.  {PP 290.1}   

The great lesson here taught is for all time. Often the Christian life is beset by dangers, and duty seems hard to perform. The imagination pictures impending ruin before and bondage or death behind. Yet the voice of God speaks clearly, "Go forward." We should obey this command, even though our eyes cannot penetrate the darkness, and we feel the cold waves about our feet. The obstacles that hinder our progress will never disappear before a halting, doubting spirit. Those who defer obedience till every shadow of uncertainty disappears and there remains no risk of failure or defeat, will never obey at all. Unbelief whispers, "Let us wait till the obstructions are removed, and we can see our way clearly;" but faith courageously urges an advance, hoping all things, believing all things.  {PP 290.2}    

The cloud that was a wall of darkness to the Egyptians was to the Hebrews a great flood of light, illuminating the whole camp, and shedding brightness upon the path before them. So the dealings of Providence bring to the unbelieving, darkness and despair, while to the trusting soul they are full of light and peace. The path where God leads the way may lie through the desert or the sea, but it is a safe path.  {PP 290.3}  

Step forward in faith on to the path of obedience. Follow that cloud. March to the water.

This post is inspired by the experience of my friend, Lorie, who refused to take an important exam because it was on a Sabbath, at the risk of not being able to take her young career forward, despite her potentials. Yet, God honored her step of faith (sometimes manifested by a stubborn refusal to budge, whatever the cost). With much prayer, she was later granted a privilege of taking a special exam alone. But the results proved that she was not, after all, alone. By God's grace, she passed that career exam. And the beautiful thing? She had passed a much more important "test" just a little earlier. God must be beaming, "Well done!"

Hold Fast

(We were asked to write poems for our upcoming Camp Meeting with the theme, "Hold Fast Till I Come")

Inspiration: Sister White's vision of the narrow way

"We have hold from above!" "God holds the cord! God holds the cord!"

The path that you are travelling
to the end soon will come.
See all the signs fulfilling,
But the battle has just begun.

You will be tried and tested;
But in Me, there is no fear.
To the narrow way I have opened,
Walk in; hold fast. I AM HERE.

Hold fast My hand outstretched to save;
Hold fast the white robe that I gave;
Hold fast the faith that works by love;
Hold fast the truth, Oh, sell it not.
Till I come - Yes, I will come -
Child, I am holding you,
Won't you hold fast too?
Hold fast till I come.

Set your love on things above;
There's nothing here you can keep.
Watch and pray; trust, obey;
Go forth in tears, and in joy reap.

Now take your cross and follow Me
Into the secret place of the Most High.
When the night seems at its darkest,
Look up, redemption draweth nigh.

All Through the Blood

"some through the waters,
some through the flood.
some through the fire,
but all through the blood."

We all go through different trials and tests. often, We don't understand what others are going through, and it seems that no one understands our troubles. Although we are all tried, we are tried in different ways. But whatever we're going through, Jesus loves us. He lived a lowly life on earth and ultimately died for us. Whatever our imperfections are, His blood covers us. We are justified through faith, and are made perfect through His righteousness. Praise and glory be to our Lord and risen Saviour.

* from October 21, 2007

To and Through: The Beginning of My Mongolian Adventures

(A note from Gladys: Hello, everyone. Scribbles and Everday Miracles welcomes aboard Anthony, who will be sharing in this blog how God is leading him in his most recent missionary assignment. The following is only a first. We hope you are blessed by it and the others that will follow.)

On the morning that I received the confirmation of my travel to Mongolia, I was preparing to make an eleven-hour journey by bus to my parents’ home. It has been months since I first received the call to be a missionary in Mongolia, and for a while there it seemed that it would never happen. But it’s true that God does not think as man does.

It was a Wednesday, and I had planned to stay with my parents until the weekend. However, I was informed that I was booked for a flight out of the country on Saturday night. All plans of a nice and fuzzy weekend with family dissolved, and thus began a series of seemingly unfortunate events that turned out to be a story of grace.

I made the trip home to say goodbye to my parents (I’d be gone two full years!). The journey was supposed to be smooth, if not for the typhoon that raged almost all night and really slowed the bus down. As we reached the next province, a major part of the bus got broken and almost sent us rolling off the cliff. By God’s grace, no one was hurt.

From Better Way Foundation in Nueva Era, Ilocos Norte to my hometown in Echgue, Isabela, and back.

I arrived home Thursday morning. That same night I needed to travel back to the missionary campus. My parents sent me off with tight hugs and many tears. Two years would not go by so fast.

During the trip back came yet another typhoon. The stronger the winds blew and the heavier the rain poured, the more the bus shook, and the more intense the prayers.

Friday morning I was back in campus with only enough time to finish packing my things and say goodbye to my friends and fellow missionaries. If I were to make it to my Saturday evening flight, I had to make another night trip by bus.

The rain poured the entire day and flooded the creek that crossed the path to the campus, completely washing away the footbridge. But I and some friends, wet from the rain and wading in the creek, still managed to attend the vespers meeting and the simple farewell program prepared for me. My missionary friends sang “God Will Take Care of You.” I was moved and motivated.

After the program, my closest friends braved the still-pouring rain with me, crossing the flooded creek to bring me by jeepney to the city two hours away, where I could take the bus for another 12-hour trip to the airport in Manila. I would then have 16 hours in Manila before my flight, a safe enough margin – if the typhoon wasn’t there.

But it was.

As the rain kept pouring heavily, the flood water rose until the roads looked like a huge river. My friend drove carefully and slowly. Still one of the tires fell off the road and we found ourselves stuck in the mud. There was no way to move in any direction.

The scene brought to mind an incident about three days back. I had a truck bring my things down from our mountain campus. One tire slid into a ditch and got us stuck there. After hours of trying, my two friends and I could not get the truck out. One phone call later, our friends arrived from the campus, with two carabaos (water buffalos) to pull the poor truck out of the ditch and get us back on the road. Praise God!

But this time was different. We were in the middle of nowhere, too far for our carabaos to come pull us out; and it was literally the middle of the night, too late for phone calls (phone services and electricity were down anyway, due to the typhoon). We spent hours pushing, pulling, doing everything we could, and finally we got through.

Still, the night’s challenge was far from over.

It turned out that all the bridges that led out of our little town were either broken or covered entirely with water. We went this way and that, tried all the routes we knew, all to no avail. We were left with no choice but to wait for the water to subside. Our clothes still wet, we slept in the jeepney for two or three more hours – each minute eating away the precious time allowance before my flight – before the water was shallow enough for us to safely cross the bridge.

By then, dawn was already breaking.

As we drove, we could see roadblocks and fallen trees everywhere, landslides, once-dry riverbeds filled to overflowing, rice fields turned to seemingly endless expanses of water. We could only be thankful.

Two hours to the city. Twelve hours to the airport. Now I just had enough time to make it to my flight.

At the bus terminal, I bid my friends goodbye. What a night we had! I took the bus, and the trip proved so much better this time. But this calm, it turned out, was only as the passing of the eye of a storm.

From Nueva Era to Laoag City to the airport in Manila, to Tagaytay, and back to Manila.

True enough, I arrived in time at the airport and breezed through checking in. But a tint of anxiety grew on me as I went through Immigration.

As it happened, I didn’t have all the needed documents to travel abroad, and I was held in Immigration for interviews.

One hour before the flight. I sent frantic emails to the office in our mountain campus (where there has been no electricity for days), the LIGHT office, and the hosting organization in Mongolia. No reply. Tick tock, tick tock.

“Lord, is it really Your will for me to go?” I have spent the last three nights on one vehicle or another, the last three days saying goodbye to loved ones; I have been through storm and flood, I have prayed and used up the best of my strength. “Is it really Your will for me to go?”

Tick tock, tick tock.

The plane left without me. I went to a friend’s house for a place to stay. The following day, they were leaving for their new house and invited me to come along. We got lost along the way, and they wondered why – but not me. Not anymore.

A couple of days later, the documents were prepared, another flight booked, and Immigration passed.

Mongolia. Finally.

At the Mongolian airport, I was met by my first Mongolian friend who was shaking when I first saw her. I understood why when she told me later that they met a little accident on their way to the airport. Wow.

Baaska, the girl who came to meet me at the Mongolian airport - but not without meeting a challenge first.

The following morning, we prepared to make the eight-hour trip to Starting Point Life University, where I would be serving God for the next two years. But as we were leaving the city, a car suddenly hit the back of our car. Oh, when will this end?

From Manila to Ulaanbaatar (via Incheon) to the SPLU Campus in Bugat, Bulgan, Mongolia.

Still, gratitude and praises to God filled my heart and my prayers as we reached the SPLU campus in Bulgan Province. It was the Lord’s will for me to be here, after all.

The Philippine flag I presented to Academic Dean Cathie  and Khisgee (John), the School President (right). 

In the campus, as I met fellow foreigners who will also be working with SPLU, I learned that they too had their own versions of the long and bumpy ride that brought us together in one mission field. Amazing challenges and miracles filled their joyful stories.

Their experiences and mine helped me understand more clearly the Lord’s ways of preparing a soul for bigger challenges in life. It may be a typhoon, a flood, a ditch, a bump in the road, or getting lost in the dark – all of these remind me that if it is God who has called me, it will be God who will carry me through; If He brings me TO it, it only means that He will bring me THROUGH it.

Now just thinking of what the next challenges will be completely thrills my heart. Anyway, I know that God will take care of me. Like it says in the song my friends sang,

“Be not afraid whate’er betide,

God will take care you.

Beneath His wings of love abide,

God will take care of you.

God will take care of you
Through every day, all o'er the way.
He will take care of you;
God will take care of you."

Do stay tuned for more Mongolian Adventures with the greatest Guide ever.

Hold Fast

Hold fast faith, hope, and love - these three.
For He is faithful who has promised,
He ever shall my hope of glory be.
Hold fast, Hold fast, till He comes;
Till Love Himself descends in majesty.

Stepping Closer to Christ in Joy (sharing an audio book of Steps to Christ)

Yesterday, as I went about the everyday duties of the home life I have chosen, I was kept from straying too far into the path of discouragement by the words of Inspiration channeled to me through an audio book of Steps to Christ (chapter 13) that I had on as I worked:


         Many, walking along the path of life, dwell upon their mistakes and failures and disappointments, and their hearts are filled with grief and discouragement. While I was in Europe, a sister who had been doing this, and who was in deep distress, wrote to me, asking for some word of encouragement. The night after I had read her letter I dreamed that I was in a garden, and one who seemed to be the owner of the garden was conducting me through its paths. I was gathering the flowers and enjoying their fragrance, when this sister, who had been walking by my side, called my attention to some unsightly briers that were impeding her way. There she was mourning and grieving. She was not walking in the pathway, following the guide, but was walking among the briers and thorns. "Oh," she mourned, "is it not a pity that this beautiful garden is spoiled with thorns?" Then the guide said, "Let the thorns alone, for they will only wound you. Gather the roses, the lilies, and the pinks."  {SC 116.3}

         Have there not been some bright spots in your experience? Have you not had some precious seasons when your heart throbbed with joy in response to the Spirit of God? When you look back into the chapters of your life experience do you not find some pleasant pages? Are not God's promises, like the fragrant flowers, growing beside your path on every hand? Will you not let their beauty and sweetness fill your heart with joy?  {SC 117.1}

         The briers and thorns will only wound and grieve you; and if you gather only these things, and present them to others, are you not, besides slighting the goodness of God yourself, preventing those around you from walking in the path of life?  {SC 117.2}

          It is not wise to gather together all the unpleasant recollections of a past life,--its iniquities and disappointments,--to talk over them and mourn over them until we are overwhelmed with discouragement. A discouraged soul is filled with darkness, shutting out the light of God from his own soul and casting a shadow upon the pathway of others. {SC 117.3}
   
          Thank God for the bright pictures which He has presented to us. Let us group together the blessed assurances of His love, that we may look upon them continually: The Son of God leaving His Father's throne, clothing His divinity with humanity, that He might rescue man from the power of Satan; His triumph in our behalf, opening heaven to men, revealing to human vision the presence chamber where the Deity unveils His glory; the fallen race uplifted from the pit of ruin into which sin had plunged it, and brought again into connection with the infinite God, and having endured the divine test through faith in our Redeemer, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and exalted to His throne--these are the pictures which God would have us contemplate.  {SC 118.1}


Exactly. Christians should be the happiest people in the world. We have Christ! What more can we desire? We only need to trust that His love will never fail us. That reminded me of the quote that I put into a bookmark I made early this year.

Because we are the gift of His Father, and the reward of His work, Jesus loves us. He loves us as His children. Reader, He loves you. Heaven itself can bestow nothing greater, nothing better. Therefore trust.  {DA 483.3}

I praise the Lord for speaking to me with the words I most needed to hear at that moment. In gratitude, I would like to share this audio book with those who desire to be blessed with God's word even as they go about the needed earthly work. 

Click here to view/download all 13 chapters of the Steps to Christ audio book.




A couple of years ago, a sister said to me, "Every moment must be a moment of learning." 
Thank God for a way to do just that.


(Written with Great Controversy playing in the background.)

A Sinner's Prayer: a work finally finished

This is a piece I found as I was going through my files this morning. Apparently, I began to write it in October 2012, but didn't get to finish it until today. The parts in red are those I wrote almost three years back; the ones in blue I put in only today to finish the poem. 

A SINNER'S PRAYER

My heart is sore within me

My knees tremble as I kneel

I've had my way, I disobeyed

But I feel empty still

Lord, raise me from the mire

This is my soul's desire

Take away my guilt and fear

Wash me, this is my prayer.

I don't deserve to face You

But there is no one else.

There is no good in running,

Or hiding from Your grace.

Lord, free me from my chains

Your grace I humbly claim

I ask, save me not from pain,

But cleanse me, Lord, from sin.

What amazes me and drove me to post this piece is how much I can still relate to the sentiment expressed in the unfinished poem, so much so that I could still pick up the thought and continue it. But more than that, I am more amazed at how much more of God's grace I have come to understand by study and experience in the three-year gap. 

I think today of 1 John 1:9,"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Jesus loves us so much that the forgiveness He offers is not just a pardon from the sinful act committed, but also a cleansing from the unrighteousness within that causes the wrong act/thought/deed/sentiment. I love how Inspiration puts it in the book Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing:

But forgiveness has a broader meaning than many suppose. When God gives the promise that He "will abundantly pardon," He adds, as if the meaning of that promise exceeded all that we could comprehend: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:7-9. God's forgiveness is not merely a judicial act by which He sets us free from condemnation. It is not only forgiveness for sin, but reclaiming from sin. It is the outflow of redeeming love that transforms the heart. David had the true conception of forgiveness when he prayed, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10. And again he says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12.

My Redeemer is indeed faithful and true. Praise God for His wonderful mercy and matchless grace!

BWF Volunteers Bonding at the Vintar Dam

After five months of waiting, the volunteers of Better Way Foundation finally had the tiny window of opportunity (and we had to make it, too!) to leave our mountain home and spend time together. We went for a river adventure rather than the usual beach, and Vintar Dam offered just the perfect place. Only about 20 minutes from Laoag City Proper, Vintar Dam offers a clean and safe spot for swimming and other water activities such as boating and kayaking. Life guards also stand ready and watching for crying kids on solo kayaks drifting off from mommy and daddy in the (mostly) six-feet deep roped-in area, beyond which are the deeper waters restricted only for more skilled swimmers (such as our Bicol boys. Carlo, Joseph, and Joshua). At the end of the day, the volunteers had more fun than expected - especially with the abundance of food heartily given by brethren and friends. It truly was wonderful hearing God speak through nature, His Word, and experience in Christian fellowship how it makes Him happy to see His children living and working in unity and harmony. Till the next bonding moment!

The perfect sunrise backdrop to morning devotional on a floating cottage.

BWF Volunteers refreshed and ready for the day's water adventures.

BWF President Emerson Zarate pedaling off with one of the Dam's attractions. 

Of course, Yeng had to try it too! :D

Volunteer Mae Monarez on a solo kayak

Joshua and Rose Jean on a kayak for two...

...or three (when the guard's not looking. hihi).

Hello, me, with the BeCool boys, Carlo, Joshua, and Joseph. :D

Jelai Fajarito and the kayaks of many colors.

Let's go boating! with Jeniflor Ramos.

Tatay Rudy with some of the Dam's other attractions.

My jogging buddies, Carlo and Anthony, at the Dam.

The BeCool boys, again. Before diving in.

View from the Dam Watchtower.

Out Jogging

In the 16 months that I've been in Ilocos Norte, I took my rubber shoes off the shelf only about five times. But starting last week, a couple of friends and I decided we'll put our legs, feet, and shoes to a little more work.

In the early mornings, right after devotionals together, we go out for a walk/jog/run - just enjoying the sun and sweat and pumped feeling. We've been coming home refreshed and ready for a hearty meal that just really motivates us for the next morning's run.

To the Dust Again, and From

Mercy, Father, for mercy I plead

Not for any argument, but my great need.

Where, if not to You?

From where else shall mercy flow?

So I bow to the ground whence I come

To be taken again by my Potter's hands.

Ukulele