Following is a message to the church emailed this morning (January 31) from Bart Kelso, our man in the Philippines!
How I hope this message gets through! For several days after our Jan.14 arrival in the Philippines, one of our neices tried without success to send my "Dear Church Family" letter to a couple of you from her workplace in town (no computer on the family farm), but a major cable in Manila was down for about a week. Rachel reached us by phone, however, and so I hope there was an announcement in church on Jan.20 that we had arrived safely. Mercifully, Priscilla's mother is still with us, very weak but still able to take food, to laugh, and to converse in both Cebuano and English.
Since recovering from jet-lag I've been active, yet not overly busy. I preached Jan.20 & 27 for a local fellowship where my brother-in-law Rey is an Elder, but there's still plenty of time to relax. That's good, as I'll need time and stamina to fulfill a major commitment March 7-8. Rey and his Pastor want me to lead a seminar for church leaders on the dual themes of Administration and Pastoral Self-Care. I said yes to them, as it's congruent with my mentoring. I figured we'd have 12-15 people that Fri.-Sat. Pastor Jerry, however, expects 60-70. Whatever the number, please pray for that gathering.
Since the 28th we've been staying with a cousin in Dumaguete City, near Silliman University. This Sun. I'll preach at the early service of the SU Church, where I was Pastor-in-Residence for the Summer of '96. Next Tues. & Thurs. Priscilla and I have been asked to co-lead discussions with graduating Seniors and with new faculty and staff, as part of the university's Christian Emphasis Week. I said in my letter in the Dec.30 bulletin that "I don't think God will let me lie fallow for long," but who could have guessed all of this? Obviously, I won't begin to know what a "typical" month of retirement is like until we get back to the U.S.
There are so many people to visit with here, both relations and friends. And so many stories to tell: of our travel adventures, of God's provision during the trip here, and of you, our church family, whose love and generosity enabled us to be here, and to return home. That, we expect, will be on March 19, during Holy Week. Meanwhile, Priscilla and I are praying for you, confident that the Lord has good things -- and choice people -- in store for Cambridge Church. Please share this letter, in some way, with the rest of the church family. We love you all! Yours and His, BART
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