Nov 2002 Highlights

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=120 BGCOLOR="#FFCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0443f781egdyul.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#009900" FACE="Arial" ><B>Proclaim His Praise in the Islands - the Hallowells</B></FONT> <B> </B><B>|    </B><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Proclaim His Praise in the Islands the "><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=360 BGCOLOR="#CCFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Nov 2002 Highlights</div> <bR> <div> Page 1</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Hallowell Highlights</B></div> <div> <B>The Newsletter of Jay and Amor Hallowell</B></div> <div> Members of OMF-International in the Philippines</div> <div> c/o BSOP, 77-B Karuhatan Road  P.O. Box 11  1469 Valenzuela, Metro Manila  Philippines</div> <div>  November 25, 2002</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="267" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="263"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="263" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> (The paper edition of our newsletter included <A HREF="id66.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pasko"><U>a photo that can be found by clicking here</U></A>.)</div> <bR> <div> Dear Friend,</div> <bR> <div> What a year!  The highlight was returning to the Philippines to a brand new ministry in a different people group.  We arrived in Manila in mid-May to teach and mentor Filipino-Chinese students at the Biblical Seminary of the Philippines (BSOP).</div> <bR> <div> Like every year, 2002 had its share of lows and highs.  Some of the lows were:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c002d011800990000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">March: wondering if support would ever come together so that we could return to the Philippines.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c002d011800990000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">May: discovering that many of our books in storage in the Philippines had been eaten by termites.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c002d011800990000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">June: our furniture for our apartment was finally available, but had to be moved in a typhoon through flood water as the rains poured down.</div> <bR> <div> But the highs were higher:</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c002a011800990000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">April: learning we would be able to return</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c002a011800990000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">May and June: settling into our cozy apartment in the dorm and making it home</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c002a011800990000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">August: Marinel, our house helper, became a Christian</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c002a011800990000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">September: Jay led 16 BSOP students and faculty on a mission trip to a tribe, the Mangyan</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c002a011800990000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">October: we received a big box of books from a friend, replacing those lost to termites</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c002a011800990000.gif" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Often: watching the eyes of students light up as they understand important points!!!</div> <bR> <div> One of Jay's favorite illustrations is about the man who saw three construction workers and asked them what they were doing.  The first construction worker said, “I am laying bricks.”  The second answered, “I am working on a wall.”  The third replied, “I am building a beautiful cathedral for the glory of God!”  So it has been for us in 2002.  We are laying bricks, working on walls, and building cathedrals.  Please see inside for what we mean.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Happy belated Thanksgiving!  Merry Christmas!  Happy New Year!  Happy New Year!*</B></div> <bR> <div> Because God so loved the world,</div> <div> Jay and Amor</div> <bR> <div> * The repetition of “Happy New Year” is not a mistake.  The Chinese here celebrate both the calendar new year on Jan. 1 and the lunar or Chinese new year which will be on Feb. 1 in 2003 (like Easter, its date changes each year).</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Page 2</div> <bR> <div> Laying bricks</div> <bR> <div> Most of our ministry involves the day by day activity of laying bricks.  We teach.  We prepare lessons.  We grade papers and exams.  We counsel students with problems, academic and personal.  We pray with faculty and students.  We eat with them.  We are involved in sports with them.  We preach as guest speakers at various churches.  We lead Bible studies, for both non-Christians and Christians.  We write letters, cards, and e-mails.  We prepare transparencies for overhead projectors, handouts, and PowerPoint presentations.  We study.  We pray.  We try to be good examples.  </div> <bR> <div> Jay had the opportunity recently to give an evangelistic message to a group of Chinese college students from outside of the Philippines.  Three of them spent an extra hour after the meeting asking Jay questions about the gospel.  They were especially interested in the fairness of God in the light of human pain and suffering.  They have not accepted the gospel yet; please pray for them.</div> <bR> <div> The missionary vision of churches in the Philippines is growing.  Amor recently spoke to a ladies fellowship in a church about missions.  On November 17 Jay preached to more than 400 at a missions conference in a Chinese church.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Working on Walls</div> <bR> <div> Of course, no one lays bricks only for the fun of it.  One lays bricks in order to make something.  </div> <bR> <div> The walls we are building are the lives of students.  We work hard to train students to go out motivated and equipped to evangelize, establish churches, and to be effective teachers, pastors, counselors, and missionaries.</div> <bR> <div> Jay had a great time at lunch with K. the other day.  She is in his Global Missions class.  But she is trying to apply some of the principles she learned in the class to her struggling home church.  Jay was really encouraged to see the lights come on in her eyes as she realized that she now knew some basic next steps to take to be effective in her own church.  It is so encouraging to see bricks becoming walls.</div> <bR> <div> X. is aiming to return to the country, where she is from.  Amor is able to spend regular time with her.  She feels she has so much to learn about the Bible.  The situation she will be returning to will not be easy.  But Amor's steady friendship, prayers, and encouragement help her to keep on smiling and keep on learning.  It is so encouraging to see bricks becoming walls.</div> <bR> <div> But our vision is not just to make walls, but to see the walls put together into cathedrals!</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Page 3</div> <bR> <div> Building Cathedrals</div> <bR> <div> The Chinese in general continue to be one of the largest blocks of unreached people in the world.  BSOP is here to train workers to reach this large unreached block, both in the Philippines and in other countries.  </div> <bR> <div> Please pray for the Chinese churches in the Philippines.  "Most [Chinese in the Philippines] are wealthy and have been targets of much crime and kidnapping. Many are Catholic but only 3% are evangelical Christians. There are 78 predominantly Chinese evangelical congregations with 18,000 members. Their goals: 500 full-time workers, 30,000 worshipers. Pray that many more may find their true security in Jesus."  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#009900" FACE="Arial" >Source: Patrick Johnstone, Operation World, 2001, p.524</FONT>.</div> <bR> <div> Over half of the full-time students at BSOP are from other countries and intend to return to serve in the rapidly growing churches there.  Please pray for them as they study here and as they return to ministry there.  It is not easy for young Christians in other countries to get theological education there.  Pray for a continued open door for these leaders to come here.  BSOP expects the students to find enough money for their transportation to the Philippines.  BSOP then works hard to raise funds to pay for their living and tuition expenses here.</div> <bR> <div> Obviously we do not expect to build God's Church among the Chinese all by ourselves.  He has called us to work with many others, including you.  <A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BSOP Vision"><U>Here is our vision. </U></A> We realize it can only be accomplished by God.  We can only do our small part of it.  But, we are thankful that God has put us into such a strategic place.  And, we find that it helps to keep a vision that we, along with thousands of other workers, are building a cathedral among the Chinese for God's glory.  It helps to motivate us to do a better job laying bricks and building walls.  Glory to God in the Highest!</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Page 4</div> <bR> <div> <B>Merry Memories of </B><B>Majesty Made Man!</B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Thank You!</B></div> <bR> <div> <I>Thank you very much for listening to the Lord and letting Him use you as partners in our ministry.  Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, your gifts, your support, and your cards, letters, e-mails, etc.</I></div> <div> <I>  </I></div> <div> If you sense the Lord leading you to support us,  please contact us, our church, or:  </div> <div> OMF, 10 W. Dry Creek Circle</div> <div> Littleton, CO  80120-4424</div> <div> www.us.omf.org, 1-800-422-5330</div> <bR> <div> Any gifts designated for our ministry are tax-deductible.  Personal gifts (such as for birthdays or Christmas) may also be channeled through OMF at the address above, clearly marked as a personal gift.  Personal gifts are not tax-deductible.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> by Jay and Amor Hallowell</div> <div> December 11, 2002</div> </td> </tr></table></body>