Our First Year in Payatas: 2006

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Our first year in Payatas began with a calling that God placed on my heart years before we ever moved to the Philippines.

While I was there, I witnessed something I could not forget. I saw poor children begging and children working around the garbage trucks. Seeing the conditions in which these children were living affected me deeply.

The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart about returning to the Philippines as a missionary.

After returning from the Philippines, I had married my wife and began the long process of dealing with the government so she could come to America.

Waiting for God’s Time

When my wife finally arrived in America, I told her about the calling I had felt in the Philippines. I told her that I believed God wanted me to return as a missionary.

Her answer was simple: “That’s good, honey. When you retire, we can go.”

I was devastated. I believed God was calling me to go, but I knew I could not force my wife to share that calling. I had to wait.

During that time, I felt God telling me to be patient. If this was truly His plan, it would happen in His time, not mine.

About three years later, we attended an anniversary celebration at a Filipino church. My wife spent time visiting and talking with the people there. When she returned to me, she was crying.

I asked her what was wrong.

She said, “I see how well my people are doing here and how bad it is back there. It’s time we go.”

That was the moment I had been waiting for.

God had not forgotten the calling. He had simply been working on both of us in His own time.

Our First Year in Payatas

Our first year in Payatas began in July 2006, when we arrived in the Philippines to begin the work God had placed on our hearts.

We did not arrive with a large organization, a church building, or a lot of resources. We simply came ready to serve.

Our first church began in the home of one of the local ladies. People gathered closely together in a small room to study the Bible, pray, worship, and spend time together. There wasn’t much room, but we had a place where the work could begin.

The photograph dated October 25, 2006, comes from those early months. Looking back at that photograph today reminds us just how simply everything started.

It was a humble beginning, but it was the beginning of Payatas Baptist Church, a ministry of Payatas Mission Outreach.

A New Home for the Church

Before long, we moved from the lady’s home into a building where we had more room to welcome children and families from the community.

That building became the home of Payatas Baptist Church, and it is the same building we are still in today.

The other photographs from our first year show how quickly that little beginning grew. The rooms filled with children. We had more space to teach, worship, play, eat together, and reach families living in the surrounding community.

We could not have known then how many children and families would eventually come through those doors.

Christmas in Payatas

By Christmas 2006, we were able to celebrate with the children together.

We celebrated Christmas with games, Bible studies, music, and plenty of food.

As we like to say, that’s the Baptist way of life!

One of our photographs is dated December 24, 2006. Those early Christmas photographs are especially meaningful today because they show what the ministry looked like during our first year in Payatas.

There were no grand facilities or elaborate programs. There were children, families, people willing to serve, a place to gather, and a desire to share God’s love with the community.

Looking Back After Nearly Twenty Years

Looking back at these photographs today reminds us how simply it all began.

What started with a calling many years earlier, followed by a time of waiting, eventually brought us to Payatas in July 2006. The first church meetings took place in someone’s home. From there, Payatas Baptist Church moved into the building that continues to serve the community today.

We did not know in that first year what God had planned for the years ahead.

What we did know was why we were there: to serve the children and families of Payatas and share with them the love and hope of Jesus Christ.

Nearly twenty years later, the work continues.

Looking back on our first year in Payatas, we could already see God building something far greater than we had imagined.

These old photographs aren’t merely pictures from the past. They are part of the story of where Payatas Baptist Church and Payatas Mission Outreach began.

Learn more about how Payatas Mission Outreach helps poor children and families in Metro Manila.