God’s faithfulness to our church planting ministry in the Philippines can be seen through the life of a simple van. Twelve years ago, God gave CPI a 22 passenger Isuzu van. We painted “Church Planting Institute” on the side, and immediately started hauling.
We hauled bamboo poles and tarpaulins for open air screens to show the Jesus film. We hauled sound systems, guitars and chairs for evangelistic concerts. We hauled steel rebar, cement, cinderblocks and tin roofing for building new churches. Most of all, we hauled people (double the recommended capacity!) to evangelistic outreaches, Bible studies, cell groups, and eventually, to churches.
In the summer, the van carried campers and all their baggage and bedding to evangelism camp. Its roof was a ladder for installing basketball backboards, and lighting for night time crusades. For Vacation Bible School, it ferried workers to multiple VBS locations, then shuttled hundreds of children to and from VBS meetings.
During typhoon season, the van hauled relief workers on its roof, and relief supplies inside – water, rice, noodles, cans of sardines, and bags and bags of clothing. It slogged through floods and mud, to help stranded families who had lost everything.
To help pastors make ends meet, the van hauled fish in big coolers from the ocean to be dried on racks in country fields. It then hauled the dried and salted fish to markets for pastors to sell. This gave pastors money to buy rice to feed their families, so they could keep planting churches without support or pay.
When the van broke down, we repaired it at a church, or on deserted stretches of highway, by the light of a flashlight. We wore through brakes and tires, wheel bearings and alternators. We welded the body to keep it together, and rebuilt the entire engine, some parts two or three times. And yet, it took us up narrow switchback mountain roads to the Banaue rice terraces, and rode the ferry with us to church planting and relief efforts on other islands. It drove down mud tracks that could not be called roads, as we planted churches on riverbanks far from town.
In 12 years, we wore this van out serving the Lord. By God’s grace and a roll of duct tape, it is still running, but we think it has earned its rest. Will you pray with us that God will provide us with another van to take up where this one leaves off? A new van like this costs $24,000. We would be happy with a second hand van for $17-18,000. We believe God has a church or servant somewhere with the means to meet this need. Would you pray with us that God will connect the supply to the need, so this church planting work can continue unhindered by an aging vehicle? And don’t forget to praise God for all the lives that He has changed through the use of this one faithful van.
Servants together,
David & Joy Weaver and family
Praise God for a reliable van for the last 12 years, and that He knows who can provide a replacement!
Thank God for His protection and guidance for 3 weeks and 3,000 miles, through 12 states this summer, connecting with supporters and potential partners for our ministry.
Praise God that two more Filipino churches have joined our group of churches that work together to plant new churches together.
Praise God for all of our prayer and financial support partners who have kept this van (and us!) going.
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Pray for our son, Daniel, and Miriam Morris, to be married September 22, near Cedarville, OH.
Pray for David in the Philippines in October for church planter training, Bible teaching, youth seminars and evangelistic meetings.
Please pray for Filipinos hit with flooding, ruined crops and high prices. Pray these conditions will cause people to call on the Lord.
Pray for pastors to be raised up for five of our churches.