“Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.”  Job 36:24

Another summer has so quickly come and gone. This summer has been full of activity and opportunity, as we have continued to see God work here at the International Baptist Church in Dumaguete City.

Here in the Philippines, our college year begins in June. Elmer Rusiana, one of my converts from over 2½ years ago, began Bible college this year! Elmer has grown immensely in his faithfulness and Bible knowledge. I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for his future service. Elmer has been working on the Gather and Transfer (GAT) route in the area known as Camanjac. This past Sunday he had two riders baptized from his route!

I have been honored to be able to teach classes in Hyles-Anderson College of the Philippines. This school year I have been able to teach the book of James and the first two classes of the three-part series called Old Testament Survey. During the Old Testament Survey classes, we concentrate on the students learning the chronological order of events, how each book fits into the order of the Bible, and what stories are found in each particular book. We have fun as we challenge each other to put the events of the books in order from memory and find the stories in the Bible from memory. The students do a great job by the end of the week!

Even with a great college here in the Philippines, it is necessary that Elisabeth, our oldest daughter, would go to a Bible college in the States. On August 1, our family was able to fly to Manila for a little vacation, and a week later Elisabeth left us to attend the Commonwealth Baptist Bible College in Lexington, Kentucky. Kim, Bethany, and Luke also left on the same flight for a six-week visit to the States. As to be expected, we are very sad to see her leave but are also excited to see her begin her next phase of adult life.

You may have noticed the long tables that the college students were using for their class activity in the former pictures. Compact, plastic tables are very expensive here in the Philippines, and we were running out of storage space for more tables. The solution was folding tables/desks for the college students to use for their college classes that meet in the church library! At about half the cost of plastic tables, about two weeks’ work, and some help from four different men in the church and college students, four new folding tables were built!

Serving the Lord with gladness,

The Lawrenson Family
Stan, Kim, Elisabeth, Zechariah, Bethany, Josiah, Chloe Anna, Stephen, and Luke