Early one Saturday morning, all of us were getting ready to visit a newly opened mission school and have Sabbath services there. The sun was shining, the weather was great, and we knew we were in for a very pleasant day.
While at the mission school, we planned to give gifts to our Mamanwa brothers and sisters.
Our travel that day would take us by one of the military detachments near our area. As we approached, we asked permission to pass and told the military personnel what we would be doing. The officials told us we couldn’t go—at least not right away.
They asked many questions about Sulads. We told them that we were student missionaries who wanted to teach villagers literacy, farming methods, sanitation, public health, and Bible stories.
We were told to hold our program in the gym on the military base. They insisted we must be supporters of the New People’s Army (NPA) because of the items we had with us, such as rice. They thought we were taking the rice to feed the NPA.
“Why are you putting yourselves at risk? You are just hiding the truth,” one person told us.
To keep the situation from getting worse, I told my fellow missionaries to follow the military’s suggestion. We prayed together. Afterward, I asked one of our group members to go to the village and let everyone know that they should come to the gym at the military base.
Soon the villagers arrived, and we held our program.
During Sabbath School, I read from one of Ellen White’s books and talked about how God is bigger than our problems—and how we should always stand firm and hold fast to His promises.
Later, our district leader gave the message during the hour of worship. I went to the kitchen to help our fellow missionaries prepare lunch.
After lunch but before we gave out the gifts, heavy rain fell. What if we had been in the village and this heavy rain fell? That would’ve really messed up our plans. What about the houses in the village that were not yet fully finished? The Sulads’ cottage, for example, had a tarpaulin roof, and the siding had no covering.
I smiled and thanked God for His goodness in providing a military gym for shelter. Sometimes we have trouble seeing God’s leading in our lives. If we wait, however, we may see that all things work together for good.
We felt hurt when the military suspected we were working with the NPA, but then we saw how wonderful and how great our God is in His providence. He’s always watching out for us.
God opened a way for us to stay dry and spread the good news with more than just the villagers. Indeed, God’s way is the best way. Please pray that our task of being the messengers of God will continue to expand.