Dear friends,

One week ago we arrived in Manila . . . we’ve learned a lot, but we’ve got a lot more to learn.

For one thing, I just took the hotel shuttle to the supermarket at the huge Mall of Asia. It is within walking distance; but the fumes of the traffic are quite strong along the road. What did I learn? I learned that to ride a jeepney costs PhP$7.50 . . . that’s maybe 20 cents US. And besides that, I learned how to find one that is going where I want to go out of the long lines in the jeepney stand. The man in charge showed me which jeepney and said to the driver, “Give her a good seat to the Heritage Hotel.” (It was full of people in the back.) So the client already seated in the front with the driver scooted to the middle and I climbed in. I learned that that particular jeepney goes to a street near the Heritage and back to the mall many times a day.

President Mangiliman says that the attendance at the meetings continues to grow. There was no dip so far on the week days.

Don’s message last night (Wednesday) was entitled “Your Day in Court.”

• Every person has sinned (turned his or her back on God) and the penalty is final separation from God and no entrance into heaven (final death). The Good News is—Jesus paid our penalty by His own death.
• Every person is eligible to receive Jesus’ pardon.
• No person is doomed if he or she invites God to be in charge.
• And at the Judgment Day, when the person who has received Jesus’
• pardon must stand trial, Jesus steps forward and presents His own life and death on our behalf.
• No expensive lawyers! Nothing to pay! It is free!

The phrases Don gave for them to remember were: “I am guilty. Jesus will forgive me.”

Albert Gulfan, the Southern Asia-Pacific Division president, drove up from the division office last evening, in spite of his heavy schedule. Others we saw last night were Keith and Barbara Heinrich, on their way to Bangkok, then Bangladesh. He is treasurer of the division. And Kandus Thorpe of Hope Channel. She is flying back to the U.S. today after working with some media production in this division.

Our attendance and the leaders of the small group are largely the result of preparation work done long before we arrived. At the end of October 2007, three teams from ASI came to the Philippines. They trained 4,000 people in various parts of the Philippines and equipped them with printed sermons, DVDs with sermon graphics, and a DVD player. The DVD players were provided with the stipulation that they would be used in meetings three times before the evangelistic campaigns. Because of this preparation, Don was able to invite people to make decisions to be baptized early in the effort. Last night he again gave the same invitation . . . and even more came forward for prayer following their decision . . . several hundred. Again they gathered in their small groups afterward. One group has bright blue polo shirts as their uniform.

After the meetings each evening, several little girls—probably 8-15 years old—gather around and we talk. They help me with a few new words in Tagalog, laugh at my pronunciation, and generally have fun! Ruth, the 15-year-old girl, has neatly copied all of the major points and all of the texts each evening. She wants Don and me to add our signatures to her work each evening.

Last night at the request of the small group leaders we began to use a translator. We believe it is making a real difference for a fair number of those attending. Although English is well understood and spoken by many, there are still those who need translation.

God  bless you all.

Our love,
Marti (and Don)

From: Marti Schneider
Sent: Friday, March 7, 2008
To: The Quiet Hour supporters
Subject: Schneider's Manila Update #6

Dear friends,
 
This morning after breakfast Don and I went out in front of the hotel. There was the most beautiful jeepney parked by the sidewalk! While the poor driver dealt with the police who had pulled him over, I took pictures of the front, pictures of the side, and pictures of the inside where the people sit on two long benches. Several young policemen also jumped into the picture, just like kids. They laughingly said it would be my souvenir.
 
The small groups in the AstroDome come to the meeting in jeepneys. Don’s personal assistant, Pastor Fred, has two jeepney-loads coming nightly. Sitting on those two benches together offers them time for socializing as well as the time in the auditorium following the message.
 
After inspecting the jeepney we walked to the “7–11” convenience store just down the road to stock up on water for the weekend. It’s in an area where jeepneys gather, kind of a staging ground. On the way we passed a Kenny Rogers and saw a McDonalds just beyond. We can see two other McDonalds in the distance. At least two Pizza Huts are within walking distance. . . . so you can see, we are not destitute.
 
One observation: The sidewalks and roads are kept so clean here. Often we see someone with broom and dustpan, cleaning up.
 
Just now our “maid” (a man named Ritchie) came to clean the hotel room. Don asked him what he would be doing this evening after work, then we told him what we are doing and invited him to come to the AstroDome. He sat beside Don a few minutes and looked at the pictures on Don’s computer that go with the message. “You must come up and sit beside me,” I invited. I wonder . . . will he come?
 
Do you like mangos? For lunch I just ate an entire sweet, juicy, ripe mango. I did it the way the Filipinos told me, peeling it kind of like a banana. Oh, what a mess I was! But I was leaning over the sink. So, hindí probléma!
 
Don’s message last night was “Whatever Happened to Right and Wrong?” Just like the law of gravity or the laws of health are unchanging, so God’s Ten Commandments have not changed. They are provided for our benefit. Ten simple laws given by God that can be summarized: Love God supremely, love your fellow men and women . . . Ten, compared to the some 35 million man-made laws that try to control our behavior. Breaking God’s law is what we call sin. Love leads to obedience.
 
For illustration, Don used seven kids and named them —
Law.  Tells us God’s will for us.
Sin.  The transgression of the law which results in eternal death.
Savior.  If we sin, we need a Savior.
Grace.  The forgiveness and power the Savior offers.
Gospel.  The Good News that we have a Savior.
Preacher. The one who teaches the Good News.
Church.  Those who believe the Good News and share it with their friends.

As each kid came on stage Don introduced him or her to the audience by their new name and asked the audience to repeat it. Then he wove a little story in which, when he pointed to a kid, the audience would call out the name. They got right with it, the whole auditorium-full calling out the names of the kids.
 
Then Don sent the kids away one at a time. If there is no law, then there is no sin. If there is no sin, we don’t need a Savior . . . no grace. So there is no gospel . . . we don’t need a church, and all that is left is a preacher with nothing to say!
 
Don said this morning, “When you start a series of meetings like this, it is like getting on a train that keeps rumbling through . . . and you can’t get off until the end.” Every evening he preaches the sermon, and by the time that sermon is done, it is time to study for the next sermon. There is no time to simply relax.
 
It is almost 4:00. Time to get ready to go. Benny Moore just left the room after importing tomorrow night’s sermon into Don’s computer. Now he has left, and is going to one of the other sites tonight. He carried our security blanket with him; but Kent Sharp, treasurer of Arizona Conference, is coming to be our new security blanket tonight.
 
Please have a beautiful Sabbath!
 
Our love,
Marti (and Don)

Manila email reports: February 29 - March 3 | March 4-5 | March 6-7 | March 9-10 | March 11-13 | March 17

Bacolod email reports: March 10-12 | March 16-17 | March 19-23 | March 30