A Tragic Tale

Thank you all for praying for wee Gio & Seke – the two brothers with dengue fever. I have some very sad news and also some very good news for you. Sorry for not being in touch sooner, usual story. The internet was off during the rain we have been having this week.

I went back to the hospital at midnight on Friday morning to pray through until 4 am. Pastor Adonis was my partner. I checked on Seke, the youngest brother, and he was fast asleep and looked very well. His dad said that he has responded to the medicine and was doing great. His blood platelet level was up and his body was fighting the dengue. The Doctor was there and she said that Seke would be discharged on Friday morning. Praise God!

But when I went to see Gio, it wasn’t so good. He was still heavily sedated and was on all the medicines and the respirator was breathing for him. The worst news was that his urine was full of blood … and that meant his internal organs were bleeding.

I sat with Pastor Adonis and Gio’s dad for most of the night, praying for Gio when the Doctor and nurses were no working on him. It was so tragic to see a wee 6 year old boy in the state he was in. Mary & Anne said that he was a really smart boy who always loved to answer questions first. He was a lovely guy …

…but here he was fighting for his life. I prayed for him and left when the next two pastors arrived at 4am. I went to bed ... and when I woke up I had been sent a text by Pastor Danny -"Sorry to say that little Gio just passed away." This was sent at 5:35am and I read it at 7:30am. I was so saddened and Mary wept when I told her. I immediately sent a text to the family with or love and prayers.

At the start of a meeting I had on Friday morning, I received a text from Winston (who was at the hospital for his prayer slot) saying that they think that they are going to switch off the respirator now because he was showing no signs of life. I couldn't believe it ... Danny had already told me Gio had passed away and I had sent a long text of condolence to the mum & dad! "Oh yeah, the family did asked me why Pastor Mark had sent them this strange text!" Even now I squirm and cringe! Only in the Philippines! Pastor Danny ....... wait till I get hold of you!!


But around 9:30 am Gio left this life. In the end, the sad thing was that it was not so much the dengue that was the main factor in his death ... his weak heart could not cope up and gave in. So sad. We spent some time with the family later in my home and tried to help them in various ways. Yesterday we went to their house with the teachers. They were all devastated because most of them had taught him. We brought all his school things and a certificate that he would have received in a couple of weeks time at Grduation. His loyalty medal is being made as we speak ... that is what he was most excited about.

The family are quite poor and where they live is not far from the river ... and full of mosquitoes. The funeral will be tomorrow (Monday) in the town where the mum & dad come from. We will all go there to pay our last respects.

Apart from the recovery of Seke, there is some good from this tragedy. When I went there on Thursday afternoon, Gio's dad (Gilbert) was in a real state. He was pacing around, confused and so emotional. He had prayed, "God, if you are there please help us." When Winston & I arrived we calmed him down and took control of the situation. We organised blood donors and took the pressure off Gilbert.

When I went back at midnight Gilbert was a changed man! He even looked different. His spirit had changed. As I prayed for Gio in the ICU, he opened up to Pastor Adonis. When he was younger, he gave his life to the Lord in Manila and served the Lord in a baptist church. But when he came back to the province he backslid and went after 'wealth and women.' After he got married he devoted himself to raising his family. God had no place in his life. But now ... this happened to his kinds and in his own words, "It woke me up."

When Adonis and Gilbert went in to pray for Gio, I saw Adonis lean over and grab Gilbert's hand. Adonis told me later that Gilbert started to pray for his son Gio, but half way through the prayer he started crying out to God and repenting of what he had done. Adonis led him back to the Father! Amazing!

Even yesterday, as the body of his son was there in his living room, he was telling me that from this day on he and his family were going to walk in the ways of the Lord. He told me that as he watched his son die, he began to see for the first time how God must have felt as he saw his son die on a cross. He had a revelation of true love and found true life at the point of a terrible death.

So pray for us tomorrow. It will be a hard day for us all ... especially the mum & dad. Thanks for all your prayers. Sometimes, you meet sadness on the journey. It's not easy but we have to pray that out of tragedy ... something good will emerge. In this case it is a repentant father. Please pray for Gilbert as he starts a new life and pray for Pastor Winston as he mentors him.

Thank you for all your prayers ...

Job Giorgio Francois Elducal
26th Jan 2002 - 22nd February 2008

Living in Peace

Looking back over the last 10 months since we came back to the Philippines I realise that there have been times when the enemy has tried his best to bring discouragement to me, Mary & our family. God has a plan for our lives; but so has the enemy. One is good, the other bad. One is the right path, the other the wrong. Jonah had two ships to choose from ... and so have we!

The enemy is always at it ... stealing, killing and destroying. He always wants to take the things that we need most in our lives. Cars, houses, computers ... all can be replaced by a decent insurance policy and within weeks or months we forget. These are generally not the things the enemy seeks to steal from us.

What he really wants is for us to lose our peace. Our joy. Our purpose. Our passion and probably most of all our hope. Living with out hope truly is hopelessness. The enemy hopes that stealing some of these precious God-given blessings will start a chain of events and thought processes that will even put our faith and salvation in jeopardy. He wants us to become discouraged, after a dose of discouragement maybe we could become full of self pity and feel like spiritual 'victims'. This could lead to compromise and loss of discipline that could in turn lead to us wearing a Sunday mask - look good at church but inside full of hurt, sadness and regret. Before we know it we have done something or said something in a moment of weakness and our whole lives are changed. So many people have fallen this way.

Bottom line: The devil knows if he steals your peace, joy and hope ... it could be a process that will lead to disaster.

We have to keep our peace. We have to cherish our hope. We have to live in joy. They are absolutely vital for a life of service to God. Without them we cannot live with purpose. Lose them and we are on a slope that could be disastrous.

How so we live in peace? Lets look at David. He almost lost it all. He is a classic example of what can happen to any of us. If a man with a 'heart after God' can fail, any of us can. He loved God ... lived with purpose and was great in every sense. But he became lazy and took the blessings of God for granted. When he should have been fighting and leading his men he stayed at home. Let someone else do it. I'm tired. I've been fighting for years. Anyway, we'll win 'coz God is with us!

When he should have been fighting he was relaxing, taking it easy and utterly unaware that this was exactly the climate that the enemy loves to attack us. The enemy loves Christians who 'take a break' or 'take time off themselves for a while'. Whilst strolling across the roof his eyes saw something that he could not resist ... a beautiful woman. All sense of Godliness left him. Spiritual purpose was evicted and passionate cravings ran through hos mind. The man after God's own heart became a man after a woman's beauty.

We know the rest. David committed indirect murder to get the object of his desire. everyone else thought that David was OK ... but God saw everything. And to every sin there is a consequence and David was like any other man - the product of the choices that he made.

When God blew the whistle at least David knew the score. He had to repent or he would lose everything. Already he was riddled with guilt, saddled by shame and lost his peace, joy and relationship with God. He had to change. Come before God.

This is where I want to bring you today - PSALM 51:10-13

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you

How can we keep, or even restore, peace in our lives?

David, after his terrible sins, came to a point of repentance in Psalm 51. Here we can find the keys to peace, contentment and purpose in our lives.

1. A Clean Heart (v10)

2. A Right Spirit (v10)

3. A Desire for God's Presence (v11)

4. A Walk in the Holy Spirit (v11)

5. A Joy because of our Salvation (v12)

6. An Obedient Life (v12)

7. An Opportunity to Serve (v13)

I didn't plan to write about this today but I feel so strong that this is for many people. Please, today, examine your hearts and lives. Do you genuinely have a joy, a peace, a passion, a dream, a purpose and hope? Or are you hiding the real you behind a smile or 'I'm fine thanks'. Don't dwell in yesterday; don't live in guilt; don't walk with regret or shame.

The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. The devil knows it. And often his first step is to steal your peace. Maybe it's time to say, "No More" and draw close to God again.

Like David, you will find that God is forgiving, generous and His love knows no bounds. Before you go too far ... come back.

Your peace is waiting for you ...

Selah.