Faith Bible Christian Church in the Philippines hosts many evangelistic Bible studies throughout their town. Students and teachers, police officers and at-risk teens, parents and young children all meet regularly to hear the Word of God taught. In mid-September they were all in one place, listening to the gospel of Christ, and then talking with each other over a dinner hosted by the church. The Filipino church service reminded me of one of Grandma Sutton’s rag rugs. Many different colors and kinds of cloth are woven together to make a rag rug. At this service, people from every age group, social status and economic level, all came together to hear the Good News of Jesus. It was a joy for me to preach the gospel to all of them in one place.
It has been three years this month that Joy’s grandmother, “Mom” Sutton, passed on to glory. Just as she wove together multi-colored scraps of cloth to make lovely rag rugs, we are watching God’s Spirit gather a variety of souls to Jesus through the love and witness of Filipino believers.
During our training with these believers, we studied through the Gospel of John. In the book of John, people often accused Jesus of working through the power of Satan. Filipino pastors are facing similar warped thinking due to legislation recently introduced in government. If passed, this law would eventually force churches to accept immoral lifestyles or face severe penalties. Please pray these pastors can stand for truth, while loving people who need Jesus.
We thank God for each of you who pray for us faithfully, and those who support our ministry financially. You are part of God’s weaving of the love of Jesus Christ to each of these Filipino churches. We are honored to connect you to them in God’s pattern of grace.
Servants together,
David & Joy & Weaver Family
RAG RUG by David J. Weaver
I was a shirt too stained to wear,
You, a torn, orphaned sheet;
She measured our worth,
And our colorful pasts,
Till we lay in rags at her feet.
Then, strip by strip, each memory strand
Was sewn with her simple faith,
Till in her lap, our balled potential
Lay, content to wait.
She anchored an end to a slipknot of hope;
We counted her prayers as she wove
Around and ‘round the edges of life,
With an intertwining love.
She bound him to her, and her to me,
Then me to you, each strand,
Right over left in a seamless bond
According to her plan.
At the hundredth row, her work complete,
She tied the last strand and sighed,
Then laid her rag rug at heaven’s door,
And satisfied, went inside.
Read more of David’s poems here!