Murrell Family Report

Cebu City, Philippines

Volume 5 - #8 – February 19, 2006

Howdy from Cebu City!

We hope you are fine and that things in your world are manageable. Things here have been pretty much a blur since the last time I wrote. Sometimes it seems like our lives over here are nothing more than an endless cycle of getting up each day, going to the office to work, teaching classes in the evenings, coming home late and going to bed in the wee hours of the night, and then starting the whole thing over again! I will tell you though, that I would not have it any other way. It is one thing to look at what might at first appear to be a rather mundane side of things and conclude that missionary life is not much different from what anyone else experiences in life but even though things often become repetitive, they never become boring! There is ALWAYS something unexpected waiting just out of sight!

This week we ended our first session of classes at the Bible Study Center. We had a graduation party for those who completed courses and had about 30 in attendance. We had some games and snacks, gave out certificates, and talked to the group about our programs and invited visitors to enroll. We are planning the next session to begin on March 6th. We have sent out letters and printed up handouts for use during the Enrollment Week, which will run, Lord willing, from February 27th through the first week of classes.

Group photo of graduates and friends of Session 1 for 2006 at the Bible Study Center

We had some really good classes this session and some great students. One student in particular who stood out was our NEW BROTHER FRANCISCO! That is right! In the last report I said that he had dropped out of sight. As it turned out he had to be out of town for a while but had taken his thoughts and studies with him and when he returned back to Cebu he came in and told us he wanted to be baptized. We were so happy. What made it very special was the fact that he asked Jon Marc to be the one to immerse him into Christ! That was a truly AWESOME sight to watch! Thank you all for your prayers in behalf of Francisco. Please continue praying that his interest in study will continue so that he can gain much more Bible knowledge in these early days of his new life.

Jon baptizing Francisco!

Ping was also at Graduation, even though she could not attend classes this session. We were so happy to see her. It was so strange how her work schedule changed so drastically that she could no longer come study at the Center. However, she said that she really missed being with us and was eager to continue. She and Rachael talked about setting up a special schedule so she can continue learning and so please keep praying that Ping will keep her openness and sincerity in wanting to learn more about God.

I am sad to report that we may have lost Dante. It seems that his motive for coming around might have been more of an interest in one of our young ladies in the Uptown congregation than an interest in learning about God. When he discovered that she was not interested he just sort of disappeared. We keep watching for him, but have noticed that he is frequently attending the fellowship activities of the other religious group that is located in our office building. (They have MANY young women in their group!)

Beginning Greek students taking their first major FINAL!

The other two I mentioned last time are still with us. Anna, the Korean lady who is here in Cebu because her kids are attending school, has just completed her first ever study of the Gospel and is now trying to sort things out in her heart. She and Jon talked at Graduation and she wants to have some extra sessions so she can have her questions answered before she makes any decisions. We met her kids at Graduation and discovered that we had misunderstood her situation a little. It turns out that her kids are attending elementary school here. She comes from a Presbyterian background has been attending the local Korean Church because of the social benefits of being with people from her home country. However, she is very open to the truth and has been one of the best students I have ever seen. She speaks very good English and each week asks for the outlines of the next class in advance so she can study all of the verses. It is interesting to see her pocket translator on the table and every once in a while she will quickly reach for it and enter in a word, look at the screen, and then smile and shake her head in acknowledgment. Please keep Anna in your prayers.

You will also remember hearing about a young lady, named Mercy, who works for Anna. Like Anna, she just completed her first ever study of the Gospel and is trying to sort things out. Her background is Catholic and so she has been greatly challenged by all of the things she has learned. Please pray for her, that she might have the courage to stand on the truth. Her greatest challenge – as I see it is the fact that she is young and Catholicism is deeply ingrained in her family. They will not easily accept the idea of her leaving it behind!

Advanced Greek students in class.

We continue to have many church members studying courses at the Center. We completed our series of lessons on the Sermon on the Mount and the group taking the teacher training series is finished with Part 3. They have one final six-week installment to go before they will be able to join our teaching staff. THIS is exciting! The beginning Greek students have now completed the equivalent of one semester of college level training and took their Final Exam this past week! The advanced Greek students finished their final classroom work this week and now have two weeks to complete their papers and present their findings!

Things are going pretty well with the family. A strong virus worked its way through us in late January but we are in the final stages of recovery.

We had a very frightening experience last weekend – February 11. There was a murder in our subdivision, at a construction site just three houses down our street! It was Saturday evening and Sara was out walking our dog. She was walking up our street on her way back to the house when she heard the sound of what she first thought was someone hitting one piece of wood against another coming from the darkness inside the partially built house. However, as she turned to look closer she saw what she thought was a man hitting another man, who was lying down, with a stick of wood. She immediately ran home and told me. I went to investigate and arrived on the scene at the same time as one of our security guards. He told me the details of what he had been told by others – which was not much - and together we made our way into the house. My heart was racing! At first there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. We turned to our left to enter a room that was almost completely dark except for the glow of the streetlight pouring in one side through an upper window. There was enough light to silhouette a person lying on a makeshift bed and the light glistened on his face the way it does when it shines on something wet. As our eyes adjusted to the light we were horrified to discover that he had in fact been brutally beaten! There were no signs of a struggle and blood was everywhere and splattered all over the walls.

Miraculously, the man still had a pulse and so I went to get help. We loaded him in my truck and headed for the hospital – which is about three minutes from our house! Unfortunately, somewhere during that short trip he expired. In the confusion of all of these happenings, the one responsible for the mauling escaped. The next five hours were filled with police investigations, contacting and helping the family of the victim, and wondering how someone could cause so much anger in another that they would slaughter them in such a brutal fashion.

As the details began to materialize, we found that the victim was in fact a construction worker assigned to the house project going up on our street. His attacker was a fellow worker in the same construction company but assigned in another jobsite in the city. Evidently, a group of workers had agreed to meet and go drinking together after being paid. The victim had to leave the party early and for some reason did not leave money for his share of the bar tab. He returned to the site and went to sleep. His “buddies” had to pay his share, which came to 120.00 Pesos, or about $2.25! When the rest of the group came home to the site the attacker, in anger, picked up a three foot piece of scrap lumber and hit the sleeping man REPEATEDLY in the face and head.

The doctors at the hospital told the man’s family that they could take some comfort in knowing that the victim most likely never knew what hit him. As they were taking what comfort there was in the thought of his not feeling any pain my mind suddenly sobered to the reality of what this man was in fact about to face in the realm he was now entering! He WAS NOT a Christian! For the first time in my life, I actually saw the darker realities of life in the world! I had this man’s blood on my hands. He DIED in my vehicle! There was nothing I could do! The Evil One had stolen this one from us - and for what? $2.25?

I have one note of follow up. When the homicide investigators talked to the family we discovered that they are somehow connected to the construction company that all of these men worked for. Even though they told us that they knew where the attacker came from it turns out they acted as if they knew little about the details of this man. One of our Filipino neighbors told us that the family will probably take matters into their own hands and exact their OWN justice!

As I lay in bed that night, and most nights since, I cannot help but wonder if Satan will steal yet ANOTHER soul?

At times, it seems so hopeless with so MANY people all around us and yet so FEW seem interested in learning about God! What can we do? For us, we can get up each day and go to the office, try to get more students, teach those classes, go home and go to bed and get up the next day and start over again – and with God’s help snatch some away from the Evil One! This is our work and you are our partners and for THAT we are so thankful. May God help us all to do what we can where we are for his Kingdom! The Evil One is out there harvesting and so must we! His going price – at least over here where we are is $2.25 each!

Love and Peace,

Barry, Shari, Sara & Amy