At our recent staff and faculty meeting, Pastor Ricky Gicano, who is our student intern coordinator, reported 1,032 professions of faith this past year through our student internship program. Praise the Lord and all glory to God! Doug challenged and commended our students for their hard work and love for the lost. They are truly God’s mission force to the mission field! They are the FORCE behind the Great Commission in the Philippines — Faith (Prov. 3:5-8), Obedience (Rom. 6:16), Rejection (Deut. 31:8), Compassion (II Cor. 2:4) and Endurance (Heb. 12:4).
A Night to Remember — On Sept. 15, after the completion of my radiation treatments, my oncologists released me to return to the Philippines. It was a long, 27-hour trip, but I was excited when I reached the Manila airport. It was wonderful to be back in the Philippines, and I could hardly wait to be reunited with my hubby. I waited at the luggage carousel for what seemed like an hour for my bags — the last ones to come down the carousel. There were more delays as I went through Immigration and Customs. Little did I know that Doug was outside in the parking lot in an airport shuttle bus going through the Roman Road, step-by-step with the driver. The driver asked Jesus to come into his heart and be his Savior. Delayed? Yes. Frustrated? Yes. But God was present outside in an airport shuttle bus, dealing with a young man named Alfie, who became a child of God that night. God’s delays are divine appointments in our lives!
Baby Freedom — Jack and Angie Albes joined our missionary support group about four years ago. Jack is my “go-to guy” when we need something done with our mission points. Their baby boy was born with a heart problem. The vein going into his heart must be replaced. This replacement surgery can only be done in Manila at a hospital there, and the cost is about 500,000 pesos or $10,000 US dollars. If you would like to help with Freedom’s surgery, you can send donations labeled Doug & Diane Lee “Freedom’s surgery” to the BMA Missions Office, P.O. Box 878, Conway, Ark. 72033 or to our home church, Mill Creek Baptist Church, 11 Old Kiln Road, Picayune, Miss. 39466.
A big thank you to our scholarship sponsors! We would like to personally thank all of you who responded and are sponsoring a student scholarship. Thank you to those who have committed to our new first-year students and to those who have been faithful in sponsoring a student for the past few years. You are making a difference in a young person’s life! If you would like to sponsor a student, please contact us. Funds can be sent to the BMA Missions Office or our home church, Mill Creek Baptist Church. We will send you a photo and a bio of your student. Our email addresses are edouglee70@gmail.com or dianehusserlee@gmail.com. You may also contact us on Facebook Messenger under the name of Elwin Doug Diane Lee.
Mindanao Conference — The Mindanao Association-wide Bible Conference in GenSan, Mindanao, has finally become a reality. This conference was scheduled for July, but because of medical problems, we had to postpone until this month. Diane and I were both speakers, and what a great time we had! There were 90-100 present.
The island of Mindanao is located in the southern Philippines. Traveling there meant having to take a boat over from our island where we live to another island. We then caught a flight from there to Gen San. We checked into a hotel and hurriedly changed clothes and caught a “pedicab” to the church. It was a great time in the Lord, with an opportunity to see many dear friends and graduates from the Bible College. We had five lectures and were the speakers at the Fundamental Baptist Bible Institute graduation. There were three young ladies and three young men who graduated. It was much hotter there since it is closer to the equator, but the fellowship was sweet, and we made many new friends. One young man from one of the villages who attended said, “I have never seen an American before, only in movies! But they answered my many questions.”
College choir sings at BMAP Association meeting at Tangub Baptist Church — Our BMABC choir was invited by Pastor Pete Etabag to perform for the association meeting and conference. We have 62 choir members, and it was quite an undertaking to get them transported to the church. Jeepney and bus rentals helped us achieve that goal. Their performance was inspiring and spirit-filled, and we are thankful for the dedication of each one.. It was 9 p.m. when they arrived back at the college, but our cook had dinner waiting for them and they all made it to class on time the next day! We rewarded them by serving ice cream after chapel on Wednesday.
