The team was ready by 5 in the morning for Semitau. However problems regarding the transportation soon emerged. The bus we were anticipating was not how we thought it would be. It was old, rusty and could only fit 12 people inside. While asking how we will fit the whole team inside, the committee answered that some of the team members could ride at the top of the bus! Not having enough rest for the night, Ps. Mike feared that in their sleepy state the team members would actually fall from the top of the bus. With our safety as the top priority, Ps. Mike refused to go on the journey without a proper transportation even if that means canceling the night crusade. After several phone calls, we were given 3 extra vehicles including two trucks.
It journey to Semitau was 5 hours long on a bumpy road. Looking at the road’s condition, we were thankful that none of the members had to go on top of the bus. We arrived slightly before noon and Ps. Daniel, one of the church leaders in Semitau greeted us. After lunch, we headed to the field and set up for the night crusade. That day, our team member set a record for the fastest set up time during this mission trip. The night crusade was attended by 1500 people thirsty and hungry for the Lord. 400 people received Jesus and 5 were healed during the healing prayer.
It was the last crusade for Ps. Chris and our youngest member Joshua. We had farewell devotion soon after the crusade. Ps Chris encouraged us once more to finish strong in our life. Many who were on fire during Summer Mission faltered and fell when they were back to reality. As a matter of fact, he could calculate by hand the number of people who were in summer mission and are now still on fire or attended church. He also took an example of Billy Graham on how he is now the only one standing among his team of 3 spiritual leaders. One of them even turned into an atheist. He reminded us that there will be more trials after Summer Mission and we will be tested if we could stand up for Christ the way we do during Summer Mission. The war does not end when this mission ended. The war starts when we are back to our normal life. He challenged us to finish strong in this race and that he would want to hear great things about us in the future. That night, the girls had an interesting encounter with cockroaches and spiders crawling on their bed.
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- The bus we had to ride on
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- Trying to avoid the hole
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- Farewell devotion for Ps. Chris and Josh
