Mission: Philippines 2016 Preview
A new season
By Ace Concordia
Ace Concordia, front right, with C4C Philippines members summit on a “training” climb on Mount Batulao on Dec. 29, 2015.
A year can make a difference. It had been a year since I laced up my climbing shoes to go climb a mountain. But on Dec. 29, 2015, I geared up again so I could get myself ready for the visit of Climbing For Christ president Gary Fallesen to the Philippines. We will be climbing together back to the village that started mission climbs for C4C Philippines.
I wonder about what has happened to the village since our last visit. Whenever a major storm would hit the northern part of our country I became anxious about how the villages of Kibungan were holding up, knowing that the mountains that surround them are prone to landslides and that their homes are very fragile. Part of me will always be connected to Kibungan and the Kankanaey people. It remains a part of my thoughts and prayers.
The writer of Ecclesiastes teaches us, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” It was not an easy decision to not go on a mission climb in 2015 so I could focus on the growth of our home church in Manila. I did wonder for a while what God had planned for C4C’s missions.
A lot may have happened during the year we ceased climbing to Kibungan. But despite our absence I know the plans of God are unstoppable. We often cannot comprehend the full scale of His plan, but we are assured that if it is His plan – nothing and no one can hold back its fulfillment.
I will not attempt to comprehend last year’s season. That year has served its purpose for I have seen its fruits. I look ahead to the possibilities of this new season.
A message from Gary in early November 2015 that he would be coming in January 2016 to visit the Philippines confirms that God is pursuing a plan for Kibungan. I pray for:
- Leaders to rise up in C4C Philippines;
- Active volunteers to increase in number;
- Generous supporters to step up;
- A breakthrough in the Kankanaey Bible project;
- The equipping of the church leaders in Kibungan;
- The training of new missionaries.
Please pray for C4C Philippines as we climb to the village of Tacadang from Jan. 15 to 20 to reconnect with our Kankanaey brethren and seek God’s great plan for Climbing For Christ’s work there. There is much to look forward to this New Year. I am encouraged and excited because I know God is moving. It’s a new season. For C4C Philippines, this year can make a difference.
Ace Concordia coordinated C4C Philippines from its inception in 2007. He has led 18 short-term Mission: Philippines expeditions since 2008.
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