Details of our furlough in California Jun 2-Aug 1, where I would be preaching and giving updates about the Philippine mission in 7 churches

RCJ Business Center Rm 305
8 Ortigas Ave Ext cor Countryside Ave
Pasig City, MM, Philippines
Tel: 63-2-661-0653 (Phil) • 925-465-6158 (Calif/Phil)

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CONCORD, California, July 2010—Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We arrived here from the Philippines on June 2 for a two-month furlough. This furlough has been the busiest for us so far. Before we travel back to Manila on August 1, I would have preached in 6 United Reformed congregations outside the Bay Area—two each in California, Oregon and Washington.

Since our last printed newsletter last Christmas, I have continued preaching in our church plant and in other churches at times, teaching at a local Bible school, and maintaining a Christian study center.

Preparing for worship

Church News: Next month, our church plant in Metro Manila, Pasig Covenant Reformed Church (PCovRC) will celebrate its 2nd anniversary. Since that first Sunday afternoon worship service in August 2008, here are some quick facts about PCovRC:

• No. of professing members: 11; baptized children: 5
• Regular worshipers: 10-15 adults, 6-8 children
• Worship: Liturgical, songs from Psalter-Hymnal
• Meeting place: small room in an office building
• Bible study: Saturday afternoons

Last January, I joined a small group of Reformed Christians in organizing a Conference on Theology with Dr. Michael Horton as the featured speaker. It was well-received by about 300 people, many of them expressing a desire to have an annual conference like this. Another exciting result of Dr. Horton’s visit is the regular airing of White Horse Inn at DZFE, a Christian-classical music radio station in Manila

For our meetings, we rent a small room in an office building in a busy part of the city. The room is furnished with a window A-C, enough to cool down 20 souls cramped into the 250 sq ft space (above). We also have a church sign on the building facade (left).

Although we try our best to spread the word about the church in our area, growth is slow. In addition to lack of extra space, we are swimming against the popular tide of entertainment-based worship and prosperity gospel preaching. Next month, we will start promoting the church after the local White Horse Inn broadcast.

Click to enlarge

Family News: Our three boys and their families are all doing well. Tim and Chesney, with their two boys Caleb and Tyler, live in the Santa Cruz area, while Lem lives in San Jose. Oli and Nem live and work in LA, while Rachel will be a HS junior in Manila.

Prayer Requests:

• Spiritual and numerical growth
• Larger meeting place
• New Bible studies
• Qualified men for eldership and diaconate

Thank you for your unfailing prayers and support,

Nollie, Evelyn and Rachel Malabuyo
Email: dvopilgrim@gmail.com
Web: blog.twoagespilgrims.com

Tax-deductible gifts should be sent to:

Mission: East Asia National Support
P. O. Box 8434
Bartlett, IL 60103

Please make your check payable to MEANS with the memo line saying “R1612 (FEURM),” our account number.

_

Obama Inauguration January 20, 2009

January 20, 2009 is a day that Americans will be proud to etch in their rich history. Who would ever think that only about 40 years ago, black Americans were denied voting rights, known as disenfranchisement? And because they could not vote, they were virtually powerless to stop discrimination in public accommodations, education, economic opportunities, or housing.

Another amazing fact, previously not well-known and officially acknowledged only in 2005,  is that the Capitol Building where the inaugurations take place, the White House and other buildings in Washington, D. C., were built mostly on the backs of black slaves in the 1790s and 1850s!

President Barack Obama appeals to Americans – and to the world – not only because he made history, but because he is literally an “international man”: born of a white American mother and a black immigrant from Kenya, and raised in Hawaii and Indonesia.

I just wish that someday, hopefully sooner than later, Filipinos would use their precious voting rights as intelligently as Americans, and vote based on issues much more than on personalities and on getting money for their votes. Filipinos must pay attention to how Americans conduct their elections, transfer of power, and government affairs, instead of watching and imitating all the garbage that comes from Hollywood and elsewhere.

One historical trivia question about American presidential inaugurations: Which American president served the shortest term?

William Henry Harrison (1773-1841)

Answer: President William Henry Harrison, who served only for 31 days. Wanting to prove that he was still the heroic general, he delivered a two-hour speech without an overcoat on a bitterly cold inauguration day on March 4, 1841. He then rode through the streets in the inaugural parade. Three weeks after his inauguration, he developed a cold which led to pneumonia, and died on April 4, 1841. Note: there is no medical proof that cold weather exposure causes colds, flu, or pneumonia.

Extremely difficult days face the Obama administration. But no matter what happens during his administration, this day will be gratefully and  joyfully remembered by all Americans.

Again, congratulations, America!

In three days – next Monday, November 10 – Rachel and I will be going back to Manila, after a 20-day visit to California, mainly because of Oliver and Nem’s wedding. Evelyn will be going back on Sunday, November 16.

It had been a good visit with family and friends, especially at the wedding, and here are some of the highlights:

Pampered: We had a taste of luxurious living for a week, staying in a lakeside condo in Santa Cruz and driving a Mercedes. Both were courtesy of a couple of friends from our church, Trinity United Reformed Church.

Family times: Since the condo was about 15 minutes from Tim and Chesney’s house in Scotts Valley and 45 minutes from Lem’s apartment in San Jose, we got together for some evenings together. We even babysat Caleb and Tyler one afternoon.

Disneyland: Lem drove with Rachel to LA to join Oli and Nem for a day trip to Disneyland. Although tired from the trip, Rachel thoroughly enjoyed her first visit back as a teen.

Wined and Dined: We’ve had several lunch and dinner invitations, and not being used to big meals have made us feel stuffed after the meals.

Unexpected gifts: I visited Harris & Associates, the company I worked for temporarily in 2005 and 2006, and the IT Manager, Ramon Guiao, promptly donated a couple of their spare laptops after I talked to him about Mars Hill Study Center’s needs. How God’s providence works. Thank you, Ramon and Harris & Associates!

New mission organization: We’re finally coming close to finalizing our affiliation as a tax-deductible foundation under Congressional District Programs. Details are forthcoming soon, hopefully before the end of November.

Preaching: I’ll be preaching this Lord’s Day, November 9, 9 am and 5 pm services, at Trinity URC. My texts will be Psalm 46 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

I’m posting here a picture of the ordination invitation that we sent out. Everyone who’s in the area is cordially invited to attend.

As for family matters, Evelyn and Rachel are in the Philippines, even though they would very much like to be with the rest of the family during this time. We’ll be moving to another house in Antipolo, Rizal on the first week of June, right after I come back from California and after Rachel’s school is done.

As a missionary pastor in the Philippines, the areas of my involvement are church planting, pastoral training, and teaching at seminaries. Lord willing, we will be able to open a Christian Study Center in the area where we live to serve as a resource and study center for pastors, as well as a seminar or workshop center and a place for worship and Bible study.

I plan to be in Concord, California until May 26. Here’s my schedule for the rest of my stay:

May 9: Ordination service
May 11: Lead worship services and preach at Trinity URC
May 17-18: Presentations at Escondido URC and Christ URC (Santee)
May 25: Preaching and presentation at Zion URC in Ripon, CA

I finally made it to the San Francisco Bay area last Friday night after waiting for two weeks for my new passport. The environment change for me was drastic: high 90s in Manila to low 40s here, with a 15-hour turnback in time. As for driving, adjusting to civilized driving wasn’t too difficult: just a constant reminder to myself not to cut off others, stay in the right lanes, stop on stops and red lights, etc.

All of these changes pale in comparison to the joyous occasion of my ordination service scheduled on Friday, May 9, 7:30 pm (D.V.) at Trinity United Reformed Church in Walnut Creek, California (click here for location). If you’re in the SF Bay Area on that day, you’re most welcome to attend. Tim and Chesney, Lem, and Oli are planning to be there, as well as some of our other family and friends.

I’ll be here until May 26, and most weekends I’ll be visiting other UR churches in California, particularly Los Angeles and San Diego. You can reach me at dvopilgrimatgmaildotcom and I’ll send you my contact phone numbers.