| HOSEA NEWSLETTER APRIL 2024
Hello dear mission supporters!
The mission is moving forward quickly, we have experienced many miracles and the work has produced a rich harvest!
Our young Norwegian pastor, Nathan Osnes, has also been active in Norway: he was a speaker at a youth conference where more than sixty young people gave their lives to Jesus, and a couple of hundred young people received prayer and spiritual renewal. On the same day there was also a baptism ceremony for new believers..
After these meetings, Nathan returned to the Philippines saying, “Of course it's wonderful to preach to a large crowd, but my heart is in Asia. Working with individuals makes missionary outreach so meaningful, and therefore you can do it tirelessly, because every person is precious to God."
In a remote area we met a little sick boy whose parents had no chance of getting him help. Nathan put the boy in the car and drove to the hospital, where the boy received treatment. The doctor said: "If the boy had not been brought to the hospital now, he would have died." New clothes were also bought for the boy and food aid was given to the family. The boy asked later, crying: "Why did Nathan leave us if he loves us… why won't he stay here?"
Of course we cannot explain this to the boy, but we in Hosea have a widespread mission field to reach, and we are supplying vital help in many areas.
The boy nathan transported to Hospital
We distributed God’s word and food aid to more than 5,000 people over several days. Many had never seen a Caucasian person, causing them considerable amazement. We aim to reach those areas where the gospel has not been preached before, partly because terrorism dominates such areas, and that's why our team needs military protection.
It is amazing to see how God works to save and heal the sick. In the tribal area, a woman with an eye disease burst into tears when God's healing power made her well. A big thank you to all you donors because you make this work possible for us!
Women healed with an eye disease
In another tribal area, a little girl had a strong experience of God's healing power at the same moment as she gave her life to Jesus. This girl suffered from severe nerve pain throughout her body as a result of an infection that left her with long-lasting ailments.The healed girl was so filled with joy that she has been singing about Jesus to everyone ever since. It is wonderful to see the genuine sincere worship and praise of such a little child, as she naturally witnesses and faithfully attends meetings.
In many tribal villages, people live in misery without basic necessities and without any kind of help. Even a small inflammation or disease can lead to death. Therefore, our mission is not only to proclaim the gospel, but also to help with all practical needs.
Tribal area children
Our Christian schools produce good results, according to Proverbs 22:6: Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. I strongly believe that God will raise up the generation of King Josiahs -- see 2 Kings chapter 22. Josiah was a boy who loved God with all his heart and led his own generation back to know God. The story of Josiah is a prophetic description of what will happen in the nations. It is no coincidence that Josiah became king at the age of 8. Symbolically, eight means a new beginning. Even though Josiah was still a child, the story illustrates that God has no age limits when it comes to building His Kingdom.
This is why we in Hosea work hard to proclaim God’s word to children: when these children grow up, they will become pioneers who will point others to a righteous life in Christ and bring a new spiritual beginning to the nations. That is why bringing children to faith is important to us, and we have already seen the results in how the first students from Hosea schools are now involved in our outreach work as young adults.
With blessings,
Anne
Mangyans had bravely formed a choir and even composed a song. We have now more than 40 adult students in the school, their ages varying from young to old. They told us that they were now able to vote for the first time in the elections. Earlier they had had to give their voting slip to others to fill in, without knowing what they wrote in them, because they could not read or write.
When the Mangyan students were singing their song, I was standing in the back of the church. Suddenly I noticed four small children hiding between benches. Our teacher said that they were our students, and she then went and asked why they were not among the other children. One of them explained with tears, that they were so hungry that they could not go to sing. I was so surprised to learn that they were already 6 year olds, even though they looked more like 2 year olds, skinny and bony small children. Nheng commented that this is due to malnutrition, which is the reason why all these tribespeople are so small: their continuous lack of food stunts their growth. We brought a 40 kg bag rice with us and also other foodstuff and fed them all after the meeting, thanks again to the donors! We made so much food that there was enough for evening meal as well.
Last spring Hosea organized a medical mission for the Mangyan tribe. We also left some medicines with the local Pastor, so the tribespeople could be given help later as well. The Pastor said that some Mangyans come even at night begging for help in their desperation. Also some people from other tribes turned up for medicine and were given some, for it is hard to turn desperate people away without help. Now we are in the process again of collecting funds for another medical mission, which should happen sometime next year.
While we were in the Mangyan village, I recognised that most of them were walking bare foot again. I wondered what had happened to all those sandals which had been donated for them a year earlier. The Pastor laughed and explained that the Mangyans have a peculiar walking style, they step heavily on their heels and that wears out the heels of the shoes very quickly. That means that they will need a new pair of sandals every year. One man had a good pair of sandals slung over his shoulders, so I went and asked him why he didn't use them. The man replied: “I don't want to use them as they would wear out. When they hang on my shoulders everyone can see that I have shoes.” So this man had still good shoes, while others had worn theirs out”¦ Now, who is the wise and where is the wisdom here?
We also distributed a bag full of clothes. Birgit and Ulla went to buy some more and as always the Mangyans put the new clothes on top of their old rags. They can't see any reason why the old clothes should be taken off, so they carry their whole wardrobe with them all the time. The same clothes are worn day and night and the extra clothing keeps them warm at night on the mountains. The price tags are also left on, so everyone can see they are new clothes.
Hosea's second fishing boat is now operating on the eastern side of Mindoro Island (Oriental Mindoro) where it is manned by our Mangyan pastor, thus serving the Mangyans also. There are more fish now on the Oriental side of the island because big Indonesian fishing trawlers have appeared close to the Occidental Mindoro shores (the western side of the island). Occidental Mindoro is facing the open ocean, so Indonesian factory ships come close to the shore and take in all fish, big and small, diminishing the fish population. Locals usually fish with spears, sparing spawning fish for reproduction. They understand the laws of the nature and know that spawn fish are needed to keep fish stocks -- you cannot empty the ocean of fish. Local small fishing boats can't drive away large foreign fishing vessels, so locals are deprived of their fishing livelihood.
The Hosea Filipino team want to send their heartfelt thanks to all the supporters and prayer warriors. They and also our students keep praying for you. They understand that it is because of you, your prayers and your donations, that they have this wonderful opportunity to get an education and thus a good start to their lives. It was really great to meet some of our very first students, the ones with whom we started this ministry in the Philippines. It was so wonderful to see the fruit of this work. Many parents are also saved as they attend our weekly Bible studies.
Great blessings from the islands,
ANNE
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