“ASSIGNMENT FIRST THEN PROVISION FOLLOWS” (Part 2)
Pastor Serge Amigo and his family had been staying in Thailand for 13 years and they have seen God’s amazing faithfulness in their lives. As they continued serving in the orphanage for boys, they were also attending a local church and they were the only Filipinos there.
In Pakkret Full Gospel Church, they met Dorothy who is from Canada and she’s in charge of the foreign affairs ministry and a translator since she is fluent in Thai. On weekdays, Pastor Serge and his family go to the orphanage to teach English as they build their friendship with the locals. Then one evening, he and his family decided to join in an intercessory meeting near their house. It so happened that the pastor who was supposed to do the exhortation on prayers couldn’t make it because all roads were flooded due to the heavy rain. Pastor Serge saw a familiar face in the crowd, and it was Dorothy. She asked him if he would like to do the exhortation instead since the other pastor couldn’t make it. Pastor Serge did it gladly. As he had done it, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit took place. People were baptized, spoke in tongues, slain in the Spirit, and wept a lot.
News of what happened at the intercessory meeting reached the local church they were attending. The senior pastor and his son who’s in charge of the education ministry spoke with Pastor Serge and asked for his help in the education ministry. Pastor Serge prayed about it first before making his decision. Then, later on, he decided to help out during weekends. Consequently, the senior pastor gave him a schedule to preach during worship service. While Pastor Serge was preaching, one man came up to him. The man said something in Thai however, Pastor Serge couldn’t understand what he was saying. He called someone to translate for him to know what the man was saying. The man looked very ordinary, and he was wearing plain clothes. According to the translator, the man said, “I will give you whatever you need”. Pastor Serge was glad to hear it, but he didn’t show that he was overly joyed and just responded “Okay, good.” He was flattered to hear that whatever he needs will be given to him. After some time, he forgot about it and continued to do his tasks.
God’s favor didn’t end there. God continues to elevate Pastor Serge. He was the only pastor who was allowed to preach before passing his credentials. In addition, the senior pastor and his son rarely asked for help from others, so it was unusual that they asked for help from Pastor Serge. He even asked himself, “What do I have that others don’t have?” Indeed, it was God’s favor in his life! That even when someone tried to stop it, God made a way that Pastor Serge will receive His blessings. Because of that, he was granted to have a religious visa which the church board all agreed with.
Pastor Serge was so thankful that he finally got a visa! Looking back, for three years he and his family didn’t have a visa, so they had to cross the border every month to extend their stay in Thailand. It was very difficult for there were times when they had to leave their daughter behind with the driver of the van that they rented while they crossed the border to get a stamp to extend their stay. For three years, they had to exit every 14 days and they would leave at 4 a.m. and return at 11 p.m. It was very exhausting. So, they were truly grateful that the Pakkret Church provided his visa. They didn’t have to exit Thailand but just have a yearly renewal therefore, he could focus more on the ministry, and he wasn’t so busy exiting after 14 days.
Also, the man who told him that he will give anything he needs was true to his word. When the man heard that Pastor Serge and his family moved to a bigger house, he gave them what they needed. For three years they had been staying in a studio-type apartment. However, since their daughter is growing up, they needed more space and an apartment with separate rooms. They found a new home, but it was empty, and they had no appliances or furniture. The man came to their house, and that’s when Pastor Serge knew that he is a businessman who sells air conditioners. He was checking out Pastor Serge’s new house and tried to see how he could help them. After a week, he returned with his employees and installed the air conditioners in the rooms. He also gave Pastor Serge a sack of rice and money! Praise the Lord! It is true that he who has God finds he lacks nothing.
We are indeed so blessed to serve a God who cares, and who gives fine attention to our very being. We serve an amazing God. Worthy is He to be praised and honored.
To be continued…
Deuteronomy 2:7
For the Lord your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.
(Written by: Venus Jablo)
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