“How long have you been here?”

“A little over a month,” I replied.

“Wow, I thought you had been here a lot longer than that since you are in tune with Filipino culture and riding in a Jeepney.”

Yesterday as we were riding home, our driver said, “Your Tagalog is quite good.”

“Nagsasalita ako ng kaunting Tagalog,” (“I speak a little Tagalog,”) I said. I praise the Lord for these evidences that we are making progress with our language learning.

Our time in Manila is almost through. In 10 days, we will head to Palawan! God has blessed us with some precious friends here in Manila. Perhaps the dearest is our language helper, Lanievel. Although she has been an Adventist for years, she didn’t have a Bible because she couldn’t afford to buy one. Praise God, we were able to give her a Bible as well as a copy of Steps to Christ.

She invited us to preach at her church three Sabbaths ago. That Sabbath we also received an invitation to preach at a sister church, which we were able to do yesterday. I couldn’t preach in Tagalog yet, but I was able to read Bible verses in Tagalog. Praise the Lord, two people indicated that they want to be baptized!

We will also miss our friends at the language school. We gave the office ladies copies of Steps to Christ in Tagalog. Our teacher Gabriel likes history, so we gave him a copy of The Great Controversy.

“Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel . . . and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen” (Ps. 72:18, 19). By God’s grace, that is our prayer for the Philippines and the whole world. Thank you so much for your partnership with us in Christ!

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