It has been a busy six months. On May 1, we finally made it to our house in Bullard, Texas. (Yes, we are still living in a foreign country.) It was like a dream. Our daughter, Leslie Hale, had prepared everything. It was like that old show “While You Were Out” — a family goes away and when they come back, their house is completely changed. Leslie had made it “move in ready,” down to the last detail.
But transition is so much more for us than moving into our new house. It is the act of slowing down and making a new life after literally going 100 miles an hour for 44 years. Donna and I have served five fields — Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Chickasaw, Ala. for 2 years; Immanuel Baptist Church (Oasis Church) in Camden for 6 years; Farmington Baptist Church in Corinth, Miss. for 5 years; First Baptist Church in Magnolia for 25 years; and BMA Global Missions in the Philippines for 7 years. Now, we are transitioning to serve as BMA Global Coordinator of Asia Pacific Missions.
Leaving the Philippines also meant completing our exit strategy might be better terminology. An important missionary strategy we learned early on is that, no matter how long missionaries stay on the field, an exit strategy should be implemented from the very first day.
While it was hard, very hard, leaving our precious friends and our Filipino family, it was easier knowing most of the work we accomplished continues in our absence. You might have read an article I wrote for Mission World News, “Leaving Rake Marks,” that is what we pray the Lord blesses us with in the future, that His work will be a continuation of what He gave us to do by those who follow, noticing some “rake marks” in the field.
With our transition home comes changes in our field assignment. Since we are no longer international missionaries, I will transition our monthly newsletter from being mostly information about our specific ministries in the Philippines to highlighting the work of our Asia Pacific Missionaries in my role as BMA Global Coordinator for Asia Pacific.
For the past six months, Donna and I have done lots of traveling visiting our supporting churches all over the United States. Once again, we want to emphasize we will consider all our supporters’ commitment to us to be finished Jan. 1, 2024. If we continue to receive undesignated support, it will be used to meet my responsibilities as Asia Pacific director.
Even before departing the Philippines back in April, we began planning an October trip. That trip’s focus was to visit Taiwan to reconnect with our Taiwanese churches. We then traveled on to the Philippines, ending up in Hong Kong and visiting our churches there. Dr. John David Smith, who has been traveling all over the world lately, Grant Garlington and former missionary to the Philippines Jimmy Walker joined me in the Philippines.
While geographically expanding into multiple world regions, there are 21 countries that encompass BMA Global Missions’ Asia Pacific Region — up to China in the north and to Austrailia in the south. We have a BMAA presence in 9 of these countries and it is easy to see the need for more missionaries to reach what is considered the most unreached people group in the world. Need to know more? Let BMA Global help you fulfill God’s calling in your life to “make His name known among the nations.”
These are our missionaries in this region:
• Jeremy and Mandy Hambrice and the girls are in Papua New Guinea working with the Watikian speaking people in the mountain tribe off Pengy.
• Sean and Jenny Richards have transitioned back to the United States to serve as mobilization coordinator for BMA Global — welcome home.
• B.J. and Jill Sanders are partners with the Hambrices in Papua New Guinea in the Watikia tribe.
• Danny and Rita Ballard are serving on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.
• Fil and Lisa Kakilala have served on the island of Panay in the Philippines. I affectionately refer to Fil as the “most handsome BMA missionary.” Fil and Lisa will be retiring from the mission field in December 2023. I hope you will congratulate them for their years of service and commitment to BMA Global Missions. Congratulation to Fil and Lisa for a life well lived serving the Lord in the United States, the Philippines and other Asia Pacific Countries. We all look forward to hearing and seeing how God uses you in the future.
• Doug and Diane Lee serve with the BMA Bible College in Talisay, Philippines on the Island of Negros.
• Cris and Alicia Samson will be moving from Talisay, Negros Occidental (they rented the house we lived in for five years) to San Carlos, where they have planted a new church mission.
• Stan and Donna Scroggins have made the transition stateside, visiting BMA churches around the country.
We have other American missionaries stationed around Asia Pacific who are designated as Creative Access missionaries.
On my first visit back to Asia Pacific the focus was on three countries:
• Taiwan, to reconnect with our BMA churches first planted by missionaries Jack Bateman, Paul Bearfield and Dale Thornton.
• The Philippines to participate in their annual Bible Conference and bi-annual association.
• Hong Kong to encourage our churches in this returned province of the People’s Republic of China.
With a base of operations in the Philippines, BMA Global and BMA of the Philippines seek to reach Asia Pacific with the gospel. Help us do it by volunteering for short term missions, career missions, medical trips or Volunteer Student Missions (VSM). A Medical team will go to the Philippines departing Feb. 15, 2024, and a VSM team trip is set for the Philippines June 3-15, 2024.
Please let us help you service this most unreached people group on Earth.
The expense of traveling to Asia Pacific means one tries to accomplish as much as possible in one trip. I do have plans to travel again in February and June of 2024 in our efforts to keep Asia Pacific in the minds of our BMA churches and people. Please pray for them, all our BMA Global team and me as we work to help in the spread of the good news. Pray especially for BMA Global President Dr. John David Smith. He has traveled the world from the Middle East, Europe, South America, the United States and finally Asia Pacific. It has been a whirlwind and I for one can’t thank him enough for the dedication he has exhibited to keep up with what is happening in BMA Global mission spots all over the world.
Right now, we have American missionaries in two creative access countries, Papua New Guinea, and of course the Philippines. I will be working to find new places for ministry in countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Australia, Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand and other Asia Pacific locations. We are searching for those God is calling to take the gospel to the most un-reached people group in the world. Interested? Contact me and let me help you fulfill God’s plan in your life. Our work is completely focused on sending the gospel to Southeast Asian countries. (stanmusical@icloud.com)
